When the God of the Hearth Thinks, the God of Wine Laughs

Evening. The two of them returned home.

As soon as he entered the door, Lorne went straight up to the second floor with a clear purpose, opened the door, rushed into the bedroom, and fell asleep face down.

Downstairs, Hestia, full of questions, looked at the tightly shut bedroom door.

She opened her mouth, but in the end didn't say anything as she turned around, carrying the groceries, and walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Since little Anna wasn't home, only two portions of food were needed tonight, which meant the workload was relatively lighter.

However, the goddess of the hearth standing in front of the stove was clearly distracted.

She nearly cut her fingers with the knife several times, and made frequent mistakes in frying, seasoning, and other steps.

As a result, a simple dinner took Hestia over two hours to finish, as if she had just survived a trial by fire, finally emerging from the smoke-filled kitchen.

At this time, in the upstairs bedroom, Lorne still showed no signs of waking.

Hestia had no choice but to force herself to eat her portion, which tasted like wax, then sat uneasily at the dining table, glancing from time to time out the window into the thickening night.

Time ticked by.

Just as the goddess of the hearth could no longer bear it and was about to storm upstairs to break down the door and drag a certain someone out of bed—

A series of muffled booms suddenly exploded along the coastal line outside the city of Knossos.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With each violent explosion, brilliant magical patterns stirred up a sharp aether storm that swept the entire coastline.

Defensive spell formations? And magical traps? That many?!

Hestia stared dumbfounded at the bands of light outside the city that nearly lit up half the night sky.

"Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!"

At the same time, muffled sounds of flesh being torn apart rang out one after another over the shallows and sea surface.

What seemed like severed limbs and organs were scattered around, while a strong stench of the sea and blood wafted through the raging wind.

Bathed in the light flashing from magical arrays, Hestia stood at the window and saw writhing, twisted shapes on the sea surface, and shadows continuously swimming up from the deep water.

Her face was full of shock.

"W-What?"

"A beast tide…"

With a lazy yawn, the tightly shut door on the second floor opened as Lorne came down the stairs, sat at the table, picked up a plate, and began calmly serving himself food.

Recalling the warnings this guy gave Anna during the day, Hestia looked absolutely stunned.

"You knew ahead of time?"

"Not guessed—calculated."

Lorne corrected her moodily as he took a bite of still-warm food, then tapped the edge of the table.

"If you want to know the reason, sit down, I'll tell you."

Unable to resist her curiosity, Hestia had no choice but to sit obediently across from him, restraining her impatience and listening intently to his explanation.

Seeing this goddess of the hearth so well-behaved, Lorne finally spoke, his tone faint.

"You must've seen what happened at the harbor today. Those ships weren't destroyed by any storm or waves. After all, wind doesn't eat people…"

"That's right, they were probably attacked by sea beasts."

Images of the wrecked ships and the corpses in tragic conditions flashed through Hestia's mind. She nodded in agreement but still couldn't make sense of everything.

"But… what does that have to do with the beast tide outside? Ships running into sea beasts is pretty common around winter every year."

"But three ships, departing at different times, heading in different directions, and sailing in different waters, were all attacked and destroyed at almost the same time—and washed ashore on Crete the next day. Do you know what that means?"

Lorne gave Hestia a glance full of deeper meaning.

Though simple, the goddess of the hearth wasn't stupid. Remembering the nautical charts Lorne had borrowed earlier, her face changed.

"You're saying… the area from the fishing grounds to the various trade routes was packed with sea beasts?"

"Exactly. That's the conclusion I reached based on the death times of the crew, their departure times, the approximate directions and ranges of the ships."

As he spoke, Lorne pulled out several sheets of papyrus filled with characters from his pocket and tossed them on the table.

These were familiar to Hestia—they were the statistical reports Lorne had asked Anna to retrieve from the priestesses and clerics.

One mystery was resolved, but even more questions began to surface.

"Then how did you know the sea beasts would attack Crete tonight?"

"I told you already—use your brain more, think more, calculate more…"

Lorne sighed helplessly as he looked at the clear, innocent expression in Hestia's eyes.

"The Harvest Festival was months ago, and now it's late autumn, when beasts fatten up for the winter.

So many sea beasts traveling all the way from the inner sea to the outer sea and gathering near Crete—do you think they're here to celebrate King Minos' birthday or join a feast?

Add to that the fact that there are very few human settlements nearby, and that King Minos and the Sea God have always been at odds, they had a small conflict not long ago.

If you think just a little, you'd realize: these beasts are clearly targeting Crete."

In the face of his practically tangible disdain, Hestia nodded repeatedly in embarrassment, muttering under her breath.

"I meant… how did you get such an accurate estimate of the attack time?"

"I wouldn't call it precise."

Lorne shook his head and pulled out a few of the papyrus sheets, pointing out various data for Hestia.

"Using the departure times and sailing speeds of the ships, I estimated where they probably sank.

Then, I factored in the tides, the swimming speeds of the sea beasts based on marks found on the wreckage, and their known behavior patterns.

From all that, I could roughly calculate when the beast tide would reach land.

Plus, that old man said the sea beasts always have a habit of coming ashore at night during late autumn, riding the tides and storms to attack livestock and rural villages.

It's just that their numbers were usually small and activity scattered.

Cross-referencing all that, and with enough relevant data as support, the conclusion wasn't hard to reach."

Looking at the three full pages of densely packed characters that made her dizzy just by glancing at them, Hestia involuntarily swallowed.

You call this… not hard?

Completely unaware that he was now being looked up to by a goddess who had flunked her studies, Lorne finished the last bite of his meal, then turned to the window, watching the glowing magic patterns flicker along the coastline, unable to suppress a sigh.

"But still… I wasn't completely sure. It was just a calculated guess.

I didn't expect King Minos to actually believe it.

Judging by the density of those defensive formations and magical traps, he probably mobilized half the priests and clerics from the temple in Knossos."

"Yes, with such thorough preparations, there shouldn't be any problems now, right?"

Hestia rose and gazed at the sea, murmuring softly as she watched the sea beasts being blasted and driven back by spell shots, magical beams, arrows, spears, and a variety of attacks.

"Laaa…"

Just then, a melodious and seductive song floated in from the sea.

The soldiers on the front lines immediately became entranced, their souls resonating with the voice.

Then… they blankly stepped forward, some missed their footing and fell straight off the cliffs, their bodies smashing into pulp, while others plunged into the surging waves below, becoming food for the sea beasts.

"Sirens! Divine-blooded kin!"

At the sound of that hauntingly beautiful yet cruel and insane magical voice, Hestia's expression changed before sse abruptly stood and rushed toward the door.

"If I were you, I wouldn't step outside tonight…"

A soft murmur came from behind. Lorne stood up, retrieved some chilled fruit wine, and filled the two cups on the table.

(End of this chapter)

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