Hestia, Did You Lure the [Unknown] Here?! (Please Read~)

At night, the top floor of the main building at the Hephaestus Familia headquarters was brightly lit, the main deity's private office aglow.

Hephaestus, the red-haired Goddess of the Forge, sat upright behind her expansive desk, buried in a mountain of paperwork.

The scratching of her pen against paper was the only melody in the room.

She focused on the Familia's affairs, her brow habitually furrowed.

Knock, knock-knock.

A rhythmic rapping at the door sounded abruptly, shattering her train of thought.

"Come in." Hephaestus didn't even look up, her gaze remaining fixed on the report before her.

The thick wooden door of the office creaked open a crack.

A familiar little black head, topped with a signature pair of twin tails, poked inside cautiously.

Those large, sky-blue eyes held a clear mixture of mirth and guilt as they quietly sized her up.

It seemed she was trying to gauge what kind of mood the goddess was in today.

Hephaestus caught the unique black hair in her peripheral vision, and in a single instant, she recognized the intruder.

It was Hestia, who had once sponged off her for three whole months before finally being "tossed" out.

A trace of helplessness welled up in her heart.

"Hephaestus~ My dearest friend~" Hestia's voice carried a deliberate intimacy, her face wreathed in smiles as she squeezed her body through the door.

At this forced, affectionate opening, Hephaestus understood everything.

She knew this "dearest friend" far too well.

Whenever she wore that smile and spoke in that tone, nine times out of ten, she was asking for a favor.

Hephaestus finally looked up, her gaze calm as she regarded the figure who was smiling a bit too brightly, and sighed silently.

Before the other could make any potential request, she spoke in a steady, level tone, effectively blocking every possible path:

"Let's get this straight: I won't lend you money, I won't help you find a Familia, and I certainly won't allow you to continue lazing about in mine."

The smile on Hestia's face froze instantly.

She puffed out her cheeks like an annoyed little pufferfish, making a "pfft" sound of dissatisfaction.

"What kind of thing is that to say! Am I the kind of person who... who only borrows money when I see a divine friend?!"

She tried hard to make her voice sound more righteous, but it was all in vain.

Hephaestus didn't speak, simply watching her quietly.

Her eyes said everything that needed to be said.

Hephaestus sighed silently, her gaze falling back onto the stack of documents.

"If there is nothing else, I must continue with the Familia's business." Her voice was calm and ripple-free, yet it cut into Hestia's heart like a dull blade. "After all, unlike you, who has no Familia, I truly have many things to attend to in a day."

"Pfft--!!"

This sentence struck the softest part of Hestia's heart with pinpoint accuracy.

Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to her knees with a "thud," clutching her chest and letting out a miserable wail:

"Waaaah! Mean! Mean!! Hephaestus, you are too mean!!!"

The pain of being "without a Familia," poked so nonchalantly by her dearest friend, had undoubtedly dealt her ten thousand tons of emotional damage.

But after only a few seconds, Hestia sniffled sharply.

She braced her hands on the floor and, with a posture bordering on tragic, wobbled back to her feet.

"However!" She wiped her face vigorously, her voice carrying a hint of forced stubbornness as she pointed toward the door. "This time, it really isn't about me asking for something!"

"Not you?" Hephaestus looked up again, and this time, her single eye clearly reflected the slightly ajar door behind Hestia.

A flicker of genuine confusion crossed her mind; who could make Hestia act so solemn?

Hestia took a deep breath, stepped aside, and pushed the office door wide open.

In the dim light of the hallway outside, a figure stood silently.

Clatter.

The quill in Hephaestus's hand slipped from her fingers without warning.

The sharp tip struck the document spread before her, leaving a small ink blot that rapidly bled into an eye-searing black.

Her gaze froze on the calm face outside the door.

Boom--!

Hephaestus bolted up from her expansive chair!

The chair legs scraped against the floor with a jarring screech.

Her pupils shrank, and a monstrous, turbulent wave surged in her heart, making it nearly impossible for her to breathe.

How could it be him?!

Hestia spoke leisurely, seemingly still reeling from the mental trauma she had just endured.

"Actually... it's Thor who has something he wants to ask you."

Hestia... had actually brought the [Unknown]... right in front of me?!

Hephaestus felt her scalp tingle instantly!

Ignoring her composure, she rushed to Hestia's side in a few strides and gripped her best friend's wrist so tightly that Hestia let out a pained "Oof."

"Pardon the intrusion!"

Hephaestus apologized hastily to the figure at the doorway.

Immediately, she half-dragged the bewildered Hestia to the furthest corner of the room, where the two crouched down, huddled in the shadows.

"Are you insane?!" Hephaestus hissed through gritted teeth, her single eye locked onto Hestia, her voice lowered to a tone filled with shock, anger, and lingering fear. "How could you bring the [Unknown] to my place?!!"

"Unknown?" Hestia rubbed her aching wrist, her eyes filled with confusion. "What unknown?"

Hephaestus was practically choked with rage; she truly wanted to crack open that twin-tailed head to see what was inside.

"Have you not heard other gods mention it? An [Unknown] has descended upon Orario, one who must absolutely be avoided! Everyone is talking about it, everyone is hiding! And you... you actually led him straight to my office?!!"

Hephaestus spoke with rapid speed, every word dripping with immense pressure.

Only then did it dawn on Hestia, her small mouth agape. "Ah... that 'terrifying unknown'... I have heard a little about it..."

She then tilted her head, even more confused. "But what does that have to do with Thor?"

In her eyes, Thor was just Thor.

There was no change at all.

It was just that he seemed... well... a bit more confident?

The terrifying phenomenon described by the gods simply could not overlap with the Thor she knew.

Watching her best friend's expression, which was so innocent it bordered on stupidity, Hephaestus felt the world go dark, and she nearly coughed up blood.

It's over, it's over, the [Unknown] has already been led to the door!

What if a single word offends this existence? With just a thought, would my base, along with all of Orario, be reduced to cosmic dust?

Seeing her best friend's pale face and "I'm doomed" expression, Hestia quickly explained.

"Oh, you're overthinking it! Thor is actually just here to borrow a forge! He wants to craft a weapon for a child in his Familia, and he just needs a good furnace and a workspace!"

"Borrow... a forge?" Hephaestus froze, her taut nerves loosening slightly, her eyes filled with disbelief. "He doesn't need me... to offer up my entire Familia? Or to submit?"

Hestia rolled her eyes speechlessly and waved her hand, retorting, "Haha, how could that be! Thor isn't that kind of god!"

She felt the other gods were truly making a mountain out of a molehill.

Having confirmed that Thor's intentions were truly this..."simple."

Hephaestus's heart, which had been in her throat, finally settled back into place.

She let out a long sigh, the cold sweat on her back feeling a bit chillier.

She steadied herself on her knees and stood up, her legs feeling somewhat weak.

Composing herself, she looked back at Thor at the doorway.

The terrifying sensation that had nearly crushed her just moments ago seemed to have... receded?

Or perhaps, the other party had never released it to begin with?

She couldn't tell, but at least, the stated purpose was harmless.

Hephaestus straightened her disheveled clothes, striving to maintain the proper demeanor of a Goddess of the Forge, and cleared her throat, her voice regaining some of its composure.

"If... it is only to borrow the forge... then naturally... that is no problem..."

She also began to feel puzzled in her heart.

This [Unknown] actually knows how to forge?

And just what level has his forging skill reached?