Deus.Ex.Machina

"Ugh, I'm bored."

Hestia muttered those words as she sprawled across the couch, her body practically melting into the cushions.

Normally, there was always something happening around the Hestia Familia. Training sessions, arguments, missions, or one of Leon's ridiculous plans dragging everyone into another dungeon delving.

But now?

Nothing.

Leon had gone into the Dungeon once again.

Mira was busy training Bell on the upper floors, pushing the young adventurer through another brutal round of combat drills.

Grokk had locked himself inside his workshop, likely working on another one of his creations and ignoring the outside world entirely.

As for Ais, she had disappeared along with Leon.

Which left Hestia with very little to do.

She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

"Why is everyone so busy all the time?"

No answer came.

Not that she expected one.

The goddess let out another dramatic groan.

"I'm boooored."

She stretched her arms over her head before lazily kicking her legs in the air.

The peace and quiet would probably be a blessing for most people.

For Hestia, however, it was torture.

She was a goddess who enjoyed excitement.

And unfortunately, ever since meeting Leon, excitement had become her new normal.

"Maybe I should bother someone."

Hestia sat upright then paused.

"Actually, that's a great idea."

A mischievous grin spread across her face.

The goddess immediately hopped off the couch and headed for the door.

If she was bored, then clearly the solution was simple.

She would go find someone to entertain her.

But who?

Hestia stopped just as she reached the door.

Then her eyes lit up.

"Hephaestus!"

It had been a while since she had last seen her friend.

Before Leon had joined her Familia, Hestia had regularly visited the Hephaestus Familia for her part-time job. It wasn't glamorous work, but it had allowed her to earn some money while spending time with Hephaestus.

Now, however, things were different.

Ever since Leon had become a member of her Familia, money had ceased to be a concern.

In fact, Hestia sometimes forgot what it felt like to worry about finances at all.

As a result, she no longer needed to work part-time.

Which also meant her visits to Hephaestus had become far less frequent.

The realization made her blink.

"Come to think of it, it's been months."

Between managing her growing Familia and getting swept up in Leon's endless adventures, she had barely noticed the time passing.

Hephaestus was probably busy as always.

But that had never stopped Hestia before.

A grin spread across her face.

"Perfect!"

Without another moment of hesitation, she threw open the door and marched out of the mansion.

If Leon wasn't around to entertain her, then she would simply go bother her oldest friend instead.

—o—

"Leave."

Hephaestus didn't even look up from her work as she delivered the cold response.

"But, Hephaestus..." Hestia whined. "I'm bored."

"Then go bother someone else."

"I did."

"No, you didn't."

"I was about to."

"Then go do that."

Hestia pouted.

"You've become mean."

"I've always been like this."

Hephaestus finally looked up from the document she was reviewing and fixed Hestia with a flat stare.

"Besides, you're the one who disappeared for months."

"I didn't disappear!"

"You absolutely did."

"I was busy."

"You?"

The disbelief in Hephaestus's voice was immediate.

Hestia placed a hand over her chest.

"I'll have you know that managing a large Familia is a very demanding job."

"Right."

"It is!"

Hephaestus simply stared at her.

Hestia stared back.

Neither moved.

Eventually, Hephaestus sighed.

The goddess of the forge had known Hestia for centuries.

Long enough to know that getting rid of her once she had decided to visit was nearly impossible.

"Fine," Hephaestus said. "Sit down."

Hestia immediately brightened.

"Yay!"

She practically threw herself into the nearest chair.

Hephaestus regretted her decision instantly.

"So," Hestia said, leaning forward. "What are you working on?"

"Work."

"Very descriptive."

"It's more descriptive than your daily schedule."

"Hey!"

Hephaestus ignored the complaint and returned to her paperwork.

A few seconds passed.

Then—

"Hephaestus."

"No."

"I haven't asked anything yet."

"You were going to."

"I was."

"Then my answer is still no."

Hestia puffed out her cheeks.

Meanwhile, several nearby members of the Hephaestus Familia quietly watched the familiar exchange unfold.

It had been a while since they had seen their goddess's oldest friend visit.

And somehow, despite the months apart, nothing seemed to have changed between them at all.

Then, unexpectedly, Hestia fell silent.

The change was so sudden that Hephaestus looked up from her paperwork.

Her friend was staring at the table, fidgeting with her fingers.

More importantly, she looked nervous.

That immediately caught Hephaestus's attention.

"What is it?" Hephaestus asked.

Hestia opened her mouth then closed it again.

A few seconds passed.

"Hestia."

"..."

"Hestia."

The goddess flinched.

"Okay, okay!"

Hephaestus set her pen down.

"Out with it."

Hestia hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"I wanted to ask you for a favor."

That was unexpected.

A favor?

Normally, Hestia came to bother her, eat her snacks, complain about something, or drag her into some ridiculous conversation.

Asking for a favor was unusual.

"What kind of favor?" Hephaestus leaned back in her chair.

Hestia looked away, for some reason, she seemed embarrassed and after another few seconds of hesitation, she finally spoke.

"I want to give Leon a gift."

"A gift?"

Hestia nodded.

"Yeah. ever since leon became part of my familia everything have become better." she smiled softly thinking about leon and all he did.

"I wanted to give him a gift to show him my thanks."

"And why do you need my help for that?"

Hestia scratched her cheek.

"Because I have no idea what to give him."

"You came all the way here because you don't know what gift to buy?"

"It's not that simple!"

"It sounds exactly that simple."

"It isn't!"

Hestia leaned forward.

"Leon has basically everything already."

That was unfortunately true.

The captain of the Hestia Familia was absurdly wealthy, absurdly powerful, and somehow seemed capable of obtaining almost anything he wanted.

Trying to buy something useful for Leon was surprisingly difficult.

Hestia slumped against the table.

"Every time I think of something, I immediately realize he probably has something better."

"Then don't."

"Huh?"

Hestia blinked in confusion.

Hephaestus set down her pen and looked at her friend.

"You're approaching this the wrong way."

"What do you mean?"

"You're trying to find something useful for Leon."

"Isn't that the point of a gift?"

"No."

"Think about it for a moment. Leon is rich, powerful, and capable of obtaining almost anything he wants. If you try to compete with that, you'll lose every time."

"Well... that's true."

"Of course it is. True, Leon might already have everything."

Hestia nodded.

"But he doesn't have anything from you."

The goddess froze.

"It doesn't matter what you give him. A gift isn't valuable because of its price or usefulness. If it's something you chose for him, then that's enough," Hephaestus said. "Leon would appreciate it simply because it came from you."

A small smile slowly appeared on Hestia's face.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Hephaestus snorted.

"Honestly, you could probably give him some cheap trinket from a street stall and he'd still keep it."

"That's oddly specific."

Hestia laughed.

And the more she thought about it, the more she realized Hephaestus was probably right.

Maybe she had been overthinking things.

This wasn't about finding the perfect gift.

It was about giving Leon something that carried her feelings.

"Thank you, Hephaestus." The goddess smiled warmly.

"You're welcome." Hephaestus blinked before shaking her head.

Then Hestia suddenly sat upright.

A determined look appeared on her face.

"In that case, I want to commission something."

"A commission?"

"Yep."

"What kind?"

Hestia leaned forward.

"Please make a bangle for Leon."

"A bangle?"

Hestia nodded enthusiastically.

"Money is no issue."

The moment those words left her mouth, Hephaestus nearly laughed.

Months ago, hearing Hestia say that would have been the greatest joke in the world.

"Well," Hephaestus said, folding her arms, "that's certainly a change from the goddess who used to count every valis before deciding what to eat for lunch."

Hestia immediately flushed red.

"Mou..."

Hephaestus smirked at her reaction before shaking her head.

"Fine, I'll stop teasing you. But I should warn you—if you want me to make something worthy of Leon, it's going to cost quite a lot."

Hestia's smile never wavered as she nodded.

—o—

"Hestia-sama!"

"Hestia-sama!"

As Hestia returned to the church, Bell and Mira had already come back from their training session in the Dungeon.

The moment they spotted her, the two hurried over to greet her.

"Welcome back," Bell said with a smile.

"You're back later than usual," Mira added, tilting her head curiously.

Hestia blinked before smiling.

"Yep! I had something important to take care of."

Neither Bell nor Mira knew exactly what she meant, but the unusually cheerful look on her face told them it must have been something good.

"How's the training going?"

Mira nodded approvingly.

"Bell is making good progress."

Bell scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed by the praise.

"But," Mira continued, "he still has a long way to go."

"Still," Mira said, a small smile appearing on her face, "at this rate, he'll be much stronger before long."

Bell's ears turned slightly red at the compliment.

"Th-Thank you."

Hestia smiled proudly.

"See? I told you all that hard work would pay off."

Bell laughed awkwardly while Mira simply shook her head.

By the time dinner came around, everyone had gathered in the dining area.

Over the months, it had become an unspoken rule within the familia that they would eat dinner together whenever possible. No matter how busy their days were, they always tried to set aside at least this one time to sit down as a family.

Of course, it wasn't always possible.

Tonight, both Leon and Ais were absent.

That left only the four of them.

Hestia sat at the head of the table, Bell and Mira across from one another, and Grokk occupied his usual seat, looking as gruff as ever as he focused on his meal.

Despite the smaller number, the atmosphere was warm and comfortable.

Bell talked about the day's training while Mira occasionally corrected parts of his story whenever he exaggerated.

"I did not exaggerate."

"You absolutely did."

"I only got knocked down three times."

"It was seven."

"It was not seven."

"It was seven."

Bell lowered his head in defeat.

"...It might have been seven."

Hestia giggled while Grokk let out a snort from the side.

Then—

Knock. Knock.

Everyone paused.

Bell glanced toward the entrance and instinctively began to rise from his seat.

"I'll get—"

"I'll do it."

Hestia stood up first.

Bell blinked.

"Huh?"

"It's fine. You keep eating."

Without waiting for a response, Hestia made her way toward the front door.

The others didn't think much of it.

Minutes passed then more minutes.

Eventually, Bell frowned.

"Hestia-sama is taking a while."

Mira glanced toward the hallway.

Bell finally stood up.

"I'll go check."

No one objected.

He walked toward the entrance, expecting to find Hestia talking with a visitor.

Instead, he found the front door slightly open.

The entrance hall was empty.

"...Hestia-sama?"

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