Chapter 17

Orsted and Lili said goodbye to Eina and headed toward the church.

After more than ten minutes of travel, the two returned.

In the past, Hestia would wait for them on the stone outside the abandoned church.

However, this time, Orsted and Lili did not see her.

As they approached the entrance of the church, Orsted heard laughter coming from inside.

There were two female voices—one was Hestia's, and the other was unfamiliar to both Orsted and Lili.

The two exchanged glances.

"Is this one of Hestia's friend?" they wondered.

Then, they stepped into the church.

"Ah, Orsted, Lili, you're back!" Hestia exclaimed. "Let me introduce you to Hephaestus."

"This is Orsted, my first familia member," Hestia continued. "And next to him is Lili, from the Soma Familia, who is Orsted's supporter."

As Orsted and Lili approached, Hestia immediately introduced them to the red-haired goddess sitting beside her.

Hephaestus was dressed like a modern beauty, wearing a white shirt, black leather pants, and a black eye patch over one eye.

"Lady Hephaestus," Orsted said, bowing slightly.

He was familiar with her, as she was Hestia's closest friend.

After Hestia descended from heaven, she had initially stayed with Hephaestus.

However, Hestia's obsession with heroic books and her lack of effort in building her familia eventually led Hephaestus to ask her to leave.

The church where they now lived was provided by Hephaestus as a gesture of friendship.

Lili followed Orsted's lead and greeted respectfully, "Lady Hephaestus."

"Just call me Hephaestus," the goddess replied gently.

At that moment, system prompt sounded in Orsted's mind:

[Random sign-in has been triggered. Would you like to sign in?]

'Sign in!'

[Sign-in successful. Congratulations, for obtaining Mystery: EX!]

"Hmm?" Orsted was momentarily confused by the reward but decided to investigate later, as the current situation wasn't suitable.

"Orsted, Lili, surprise!" Hestia said with a smile.

"Hephaestus and I have agreed that if you need to buy equipment in the future, you can visit her shop, and she'll give you a 20% discount."

Orsted was slightly stunned, his mouth opening in surprise.

Lili, too, was taken aback.

Hestia noticed their lack of enthusiasm and grew confused.

"Why don't you seem excited about this?" she asked.

Hephaestus, however, quickly deduced the reason. "Hestia, it seems Orsted has already brought new equipmentz," she said, covering her mouth as she chuckled.

Hestia froze, then shattered into a state of despair.

Recovering, she rushed to Orsted, grabbed his collar, and roared in frustration, "Orsted, why didn't you discuss the equipments with me?!"

"Hestia-sama," Lili blushed slightly, "Orsted-sama mentioned it to you last night, but you were drunk at the time. He and I left you a note this morning. Didn't you see it?"

Hestia's face froze.

The previous night, she had dined and chatted with Hephaestus and Miach, drinking heavily.

When she woke up, she felt terrible and had a runny nose.

In her groggy state, she had grabbed something from the bedside table, crumpled it, and used it to blow her nose.

After fully waking up, she had tossed it into the trash.

"Huh? The paper is missing?" Lili's voice came from the bedside.

At this point, not only was Hestia's face frozen, but her entire body seemed to stiffen.

She turned her head mechanically toward the trash can near the bed, her expression one of utter devastation.

Seeing her reaction, Orsted and Lili didn't need to guess what had happened.

"Haha!" Hephaestus laughed without restraint.

Her laughter seemed to trigger something in Hestia, who clutched her head and shook it wildly.

Orsted quickly stepped forward to comfort her, saying everything he could to soothe her shattered spirits.

Eventually, Hestia calmed down, though she remained somewhat silent.

"Well, I'll head back now," Hephaestus said, as she stood up. "Orsted, I've already informed my familia."

"When you visit to purchase equipment, just mention your name, and they'll give you a discount."

"Thank you, Lady Hephaestus."

"No need for formalities. Just call me Hephaestus."

"Then… Hephaestus?"

"Yes, that's fine."

---

Interested reading advance chapters? Check out our patreon!