(Heartfelt thanks to 'Magical Armored Girl ☆ Ayumu Aikawa' for the 1888 reward! And to 'Dust of the Other Shore,' 'Wake Up, Boss,' 'Mr. D,' 'Wuma Cijian,' 'H Wenwu H,' and 'Pokémon' for their rewards!)
"Grandpa, I'll be borrowing the library on the second floor first!"
Calling out those words, Hestia pulled Noah along by the hand, despite the helpless look on his face, and ran up the bookstore stairs into a room.
It was a room whose four walls were occupied by crammed bookshelves, with thick books piled into mountains before them.
"This is the place!"
Hestia released Noah's hand and spread her slender arms as though the room belonged to her, speaking to him with great enthusiasm.
"A long time ago, I decided that when I bestowed a blessing upon a child of the Lower World for the first time, I absolutely had to do it here!"
"Isn't this just an ordinary study?" Noah asked curiously.
"Why did it have to be here?"
"Because I love books from the Lower World most of all." Hestia did not hide it in the slightest.
"I haven't been in the Lower World for long, and I'm currently staying with a god friend. I don't have any money of my own, so I can't buy books. Thanks to the old shop owner letting me read here, I can satisfy myself. This is my favorite place, so when I bestow a blessing upon my most important family member for the first time, of course I should choose somewhere like this."
"Is that so?" Noah nodded, then finally asked the question that concerned him most.
"By the way, Hestia, if I receive your blessing, how much stronger will I become?"
"How much stronger will you become?" Hestia froze, then her shoulders slumped.
"Say, Noah,