Creak, creak~
Early in the morning, the old bed rocked with a dry, creaking sound.
Sunlight stubbornly squeezed through cracks in the stained glass high above and into the basement of the dilapidated church.
It fell on Hestia's eyelids, gently rousing her.
She whimpered, pulled the thin blanket over her head, and curled up in the faintly musty darkness.
A moment later, warmth built up beneath the blanket, making her restless.
A pair of pale, slender legs slipped out from under its edge. The lines from her thighs to her ankles rose and fell in the weak morning light, her skin glistening with a thin sheen of sweat.
Her toes were small and curled slightly, like those of a startled little animal.
The stuffiness wouldn't go away.
Hestia rolled over and curled into a small C, clamping one corner of the blanket between her knees. She buried her face in the pillow and rubbed against it.
She hadn't slept enough.
Her head was heavy, her eyelids sore, and scenes from the night before clashed in her mind—
The river of starlight flowing from Thor's fingertips, so dazzling it made her soul skip a beat... The mountain of Magic Stones worth three hundred million Valis turning to Stardust at his whim, and then... it was as if the universe had exploded before her eyes.
Hestia's fingers instinctively reached over the edge of the bed, fumbling around until they finally found the Magic Stone alarm clock. She held it up in front of her.
6:12
What? It was only six...
She sighed silently.
Her body was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sink back into sleep, but the overwhelming spectacle from the night before had left her mind unnaturally alert.
Hestia gave an irritated little huff. All she wanted was to wrap herself in the blanket and sleep soundly for a few more hours.
Half-asleep, she tugged the edge of the blanket toward herself, only to find that the other end wouldn't budge. It was as if something had caught it at the foot of the bed.
What was going on?
She frowned.
The stuffiness gathered in her chest, and this small obstacle only made her more annoyed.
She lifted one bare foot and blindly reached under the blanket, trying to hook the fabric with her toes and pull it up.
She kicked.
Then kicked again.
It didn't budge.
It was caught fast.
The irritation that had been simmering inside her suddenly flared.
She sprang upright, arm tensing as she prepared to yank the bothersome blanket toward her in one decisive pull—
But her gaze passed over the rumpled sheets and landed at the foot of the bed. She froze.
In the dim morning light, someone sat silently beside the bed, their back to her.
Hestia's breath caught.
Her blood rushed to her head, then froze the very next second.
"Eek—!"
A shrill, distorted cry tore through the basement's silence.
Like a startled cat, she jerked backward, only for her elbow to find nothing to brace against.
The room spun. With a dull thud, she tumbled off the bed and onto the cold floor, blanket and all, landing hard on her backside.
"Who... who's there?!" Her voice trembled, hoarse with sleep and sharp with fear. She fumbled frantically to free herself from the tangled blanket.
Her frightened gaze locked onto the figure.
At last, her blurred vision came into focus.
Short, slightly disheveled red hair glowed in the faint light like a smoldering flame.
Hestia froze, mouth slightly agape, the fear on her face giving way to utter confusion.
"...Hephaestus?"
Recognizing a familiar face, Hestia's taut nerves relaxed a little.
But the very next moment, she shuddered.
Even if it was her best friend, sneaking in silently in the middle of the night and sitting motionless at the foot of her bed like a stone statue... that was terrifying, okay?!
She swallowed, her throat tight, and huddled toward the corner with the blanket wrapped around her. Tentatively, she called out again, "...Hephaestus?"
The figure at the foot of the bed finally moved.
The red-haired goddess of the forge slowly turned her head. Her eyes were weighed down with exhaustion, and faint dark circles shaded the skin beneath them.
She looked at Hestia, as if it took some effort to bring her into focus, and said in a low, hoarse voice, "...Morning."
Her gaze lingered on Hestia's face for only a moment before quickly growing unfocused again, drifting back toward some point in empty space.
Only then did Hestia get a good look at her friend's condition.
Had she been awake all night? Since Thor finished forging last night?!
Hestia stood up a little straighter, still clutching the blanket.
She asked carefully, "Y-you... what happened?"
Hephaestus didn't answer right away.
She took a deep breath, as though drawing in all the weight that had been building up inside her all night, then let it out in a long, sighing exhale.
Bracing herself against the edge of the bed with both hands, she tilted her head back and gazed at the ceiling, mottled with water stains and cobwebs. Her voice drifted, bewildered to the point of sounding like a dream:
"I think... I've fallen in love."
"—Huh?!!!!"
Hestia was so startled her jaw nearly dropped onto the blanket.
Her mind overloaded in an instant, buzzing.
Fallen in love? Hephaestus?! That Hephaestus?!
She forced herself to calm down and rapidly searched through her memories.
Which gods had Hephaestus been in contact with recently...?
Well... it seemed like the only one was Thor!
Could it be... that she'd fallen for Thor?!
How could she... No, how could she possibly fall for Thor?!
Hestia suddenly began to panic.
She took a deep breath, her fingernails nearly digging into the blanket.
No, she had to make sure. What if she'd misunderstood?
Clinging to her last bit of hope, she asked, "Y-you don't mean... Thor, do you?"
"Mm." Hephaestus confirmed it without hesitation. Her gaze remained unfocused, but the corner of her mouth had unconsciously lifted into an almost reverent smile. "Lord Thor..."
Hestia's heart sank to the bottom of her stomach.
What?! Lord Thor?!
She'd even changed the way she addressed him?!
It was worse than Hestia had imagined!
She almost blurted out, "Thor is absolutely off-limits!"
But Hephaestus didn't notice her friend's barely contained panic. Her thoughts drifted deeper, accompanied by a dreamy, intoxicated murmur:
"Ah... I've already been completely captivated by that [Celestial Body] he forged last night..."
For the first time, her gaze came into focus, though it seemed to pass straight through the ruined ceiling and peer into the depths of the universe, at the phantom image of that perfect creation. Her voice held a fervor and longing she herself hadn't noticed:
"This... must be what it feels like to be in love, right?"
"...Huh?"
All of Hestia's intense emotions and prepared objections froze on her face, as if someone had hit pause.
She stared with her mouth open, unable to utter a word. Only one thought spun wildly through her mind.
A... a Celestial Body?!
Not Thor himself?!
It was... that weapon?!
Hestia let out a long breath and flopped back onto the bed, still clutching the blanket.
What the heck... She'd scared me to death.
She really was the same old Hephaestus I knew, with forging as the only thing on her mind.
The weight lifted from Hestia's heart, and as her tension eased, the heavy drowsiness closed in again.
Hugging the blanket like a cat settling into its bed, she lazily curled back into the warmth lingering beneath the covers, her eyelids growing heavy as they closed.
Just a little more sleep...
"Hestia." Hephaestus's voice brooked no refusal. She clumsily climbed onto the edge of the bed, which was far too narrow for her. "Introduce me... I want to pay Lord Thor a proper visit."
"Huh?"
Hestia barely cracked open one eye to look at her friend's exhausted yet unusually serious face. She mumbled, "That's such a hassle... Can't we do it another day?"
Right now, all she wanted was to merge with the warm blankets.
Hephaestus's single eye narrowed slightly, a sharp glint flashing in it.
"Who helped you find the place you're living in now?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it struck Hestia right where it hurt.
Hestia stiffened.
Oh, no!
She tried to resist. "B-but it's rude to visit without giving him any notice..."
"You know it's rude to bring someone along for a visit without telling them first?"
Hephaestus immediately retorted, the corner of her mouth curling in a teasing smile.
"Who was the one who showed up at my office door with him last night without saying a word?"
"Uh..." Hestia was instantly at a loss for words. Her face burned, and all she could manage was a few dry, awkward chuckles.
She sighed in defeat and gave in. "All right, all right... We can only go in the evening. I have work during the day..."
"Work?" Hephaestus interrupted, sounding incredulous. "Where are you going to find the time to work today? There's a lot to prepare before visiting someone like him."
Hestia blinked in confusion. "Prepare?"
Before she could say more, Hephaestus grabbed her by the arm with an unyielding grip and hauled her out of bed.
"Get up! Now!"
The scene shifted.
The golden glow of the setting sun draped Labyrinth City in a soft veil.
Hestia awkwardly tugged at the hem of her sky-blue formal dress, her fingertips brushing the fine, expensive fabric.
Looking at Hephaestus beside her, who was dressed just as elegantly and had even been carefully made up, with her every manner impeccable, Hestia couldn't help murmuring under her breath.
"Is it really necessary to go this far? Thor won't care about any of this..."
Hephaestus straightened her back and carefully smoothed her cuff. "It's basic etiquette, Hestia. We can't afford to show even the slightest disrespect to an existence like his."
She glanced over Hestia, making sure her friend's appearance was flawless too, and only then nodded in satisfaction.
Hestia pouted and fell silent, inwardly grumbling about her friend's excessive seriousness.
Soon, the two of them stopped in front of an ordinary two-story house.
The light of dusk outlined its simple shape.
"Here?" Hephaestus's eyes flickered with undisguised surprise, and she lowered her voice. "Lord Thor... lives in a place like this?"
It was nothing like the divine realm she had imagined.
The house was so ordinary that it only deepened the sense that he was unfathomably distant.
She took a deep breath, as if preparing to face a sacred temple.
She raised her hand, but it hovered inches from the door, trembling slightly.
In the end, she stepped back and looked at Hestia with a trace of awkwardness. "You should knock."
Seeing her friend display such rare nervousness, Hestia couldn't resist giving a teasing little snort. "Heh. You were lecturing me just now, but now you're afraid to do it yourself?"
Hestia, at least, had no such qualms. She stepped forward and knocked three times on the door.
The crisp sound echoed down the quiet street.
Almost as soon as the knocking stopped, light footsteps came from inside, accompanied by a gentle, pleasant female voice. "Coming~"
Hestia's heart gave a jolt.
A woman's voice? Why would there be a woman in Thor's house? Had he taken in a new member of his Familia? He'd never mentioned it before...
The door creaked open.
Standing inside was a girl with soft, gray hair and a gentle air about her.
Outside stood two goddesses, dressed to the nines, their expressions very different.
Time seemed to freeze at the instant the girl opened the door and recognized her visitors.
Six eyes met across the dusk-lit space.
"Ah."
Before you continue