Please Let Me Join Your Familia Too! (Please Keep Reading~)

A moment later, the chaos finally subsided.

Hestia and Hephaestus were formally welcomed into the living room.

Yet a subtle tension hung in the air.

Thor sat across the long dining table from the two goddesses. This didn't feel like a casual visit between old friends so much as a serious negotiation.

And the instigator of it all...

Thor glanced at Syr, who had taken the seat right beside him, and sighed silently.

She sat so close that the warmth of her body seeped through the thin fabric of their clothes beneath her skirt.

Hestia's gaze darted repeatedly between him and Syr, trying to decipher the secret of their relationship from their overly intimate distance.

Thor had already changed into clean, casual clothes.

After taking a sip of the hot tea Syr had promptly served him, he broke the silence. "So, ladies, you're both dressed up. Is there something important you wanted to discuss?"

Hestia had just opened her mouth when Hephaestus cut her off.

She got straight to the point. "Lord Thor, may I ask what your relationship with Miss Syr is?"

Thor set down his teacup, his expression open and frank. He was about to answer honestly. "Syr is my Fami—"

The crucial word, "lia," was still on the tip of his tongue when Syr pressed herself against him.

Her soft hand slipped between his fingers in an instant. She interlaced their fingers tightly, raised their joined hands high, and displayed them before the two goddesses as if showing off.

The corners of her lips curved into a sweet smile as her gaze swept over them. Rather than answer directly, she asked, "What do you think?"

Her gesture was nothing less than a silent claim of ownership.

Hestia immediately clenched her back teeth, a nameless anger flaring up inside her.

A look of "I knew it" flashed in Hephaestus's eyes.

"Mm!"

Syr suddenly let out a soft groan.

Thor curled his knuckle and gave her smooth forehead a light tap—not hard, but enough to warn her.

"Don't say things that could give people the wrong idea."

His tone was calm but firm. He drew his hand from her grasp and met the eyes of the two women across from him.

"Hestia, I told you yesterday that I'd accepted a second member into my Familia. Do you remember?"

Hestia nodded unconsciously, confusion deepening in her eyes. She didn't understand why he was bringing that up now.

Syr's heart sank, and a bad feeling welled up inside her.

She wanted to stop Thor, but it was already too late.

Thor spoke frankly. "The second member I accepted into my Familia was Syr."

His words struck like thunder.

The living room fell into utter silence, save for the faint light of dusk fading beyond the window.

The expressions on Hestia and Hephaestus's faces froze completely. It sounded like something out of a wild fantasy, and for a moment, they wondered if their ears had deceived them.

Hephaestus was especially stunned.

Wait... a Familia?

Did he mean the kind of contract that bound a god to the mortals of the Lower World?

Hephaestus forced down the tumultuous waves of shock rising within her. Her voice came out a little hoarse. "You mean... the kind of Familia relationship between a god and a mortal from the Lower World?"

She had to confirm that she hadn't misunderstood this utterly absurd claim!

Thor nodded frankly, his expression unchanged. "Of course. I personally inscribed my Blessing on Syr."

Boom—!

That emphatic confirmation completely shattered the last remnants of common sense in Hephaestus's mind.

He'd given a god a Blessing?! He'd taken a goddess as a member of his Familia?!

This... this was simply...

Wait...

Hephaestus instinctively thought it had to be a joke.

But then she remembered the power Thor had displayed the previous night.

Given Thor's rule-level divinity, taking them, the gods of this world, into his Familia didn't seem... impossible to imagine.

Might it even... be only natural?!

As soon as Thor finished speaking, a sharp pain pinched the soft flesh at his waist.

He turned his head and met Syr's eyes.

Her usually smiling gray eyes were now clouded with a thin film of tears. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she glared at him with an almost accusatory look.

Why?! Why tell them?!

Hephaestus and Hestia were both completely frozen in place.

Several seconds passed before the extreme shock in Hephaestus's eyes began to settle. In its place, a fervent realization dawned.

This seemed like an opportunity!

An opportunity to behold greatness up close!

The words burst from her almost before she could think. "Lord Thor, would you allow me to join your Familia too?"

"Huh?!"

Hestia and Syr both turned to look at Hephaestus, their faces filled with disbelief.

Hephaestus herself realized how empty the request sounded.

What could she possibly offer a being like him?

He didn't seem to have any reason to take her into his Familia.

She hurriedly added, speaking faster now. She had to seize this fleeting opportunity.

"In return... I can offer you ten million Valis every month! That money could first go toward paying off the one billion Valis you borrowed last night!"

She quickly calculated in her head.

One billion, ten million per month... It would take eight years and four months to pay it all back.

If she could be near that ultimate greatness, the cost was nothing!

Afraid her offer wasn't enough, she eagerly sweetened the deal.

"And more! I'll personally handle the forging and maintenance of the weapons, armor, and all other equipment for your current Familia members and anyone who might join in the future!"

Oh?

Thor raised an eyebrow slightly.

He was somewhat tempted by Hephaestus's offer.

A steady income of ten million Valis each month, plus the guarantee of top-quality equipment...

There was no downside to that for him or his Familia. These were tangible benefits.

After all, once his Familia grew, he couldn't personally prepare weapons and equipment for everyone.

As the Goddess of the Forge, Hephaestus's craftsmanship was beyond doubt.

Even if she couldn't use divine power to forge weapons and equipment, her skill alone would still put her above anyone else in Orario.

Nearby, Hestia watched her dear friend make such a serious "offer of allegiance," her mind still a little muddled.

She hadn't fully thought through the pros and cons yet. She only felt that if Hephaestus was doing this... she couldn't be left behind.

She opened her mouth without thinking. "Then I—"

But the instant the word "I" left her lips, a sudden voice cut her off.

Syr, who had been silent all this time, abruptly rose to her feet.

The expression on her face, which had looked ready to burst into tears, was gone without a trace. In its place was her gentle smile, as if she had put on an exquisitely crafted mask.

She turned to the two women.

"Hephaestus, Hestia," she said with a smile. "Please come with me to the second floor. I need to have a proper talk with the two of you."

Her tone was almost a command.

She was ordering them both.

She'd deal with Lord Thor and his unauthorized reveal of the Familia's most sensitive secret later—and "reprimand" him thoroughly!

For now, the urgent thing was to immediately get these two uninvited goddesses, who had already begun to "plot against them"...

Out, of, this, house.