A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ Hephaestus went out to deal with the situation, leaving only Hestia and Nolan in the room.
One man and one goddess stood close together.
Nolan looked at Hestia, whose hair was tied with ordinary bands.
“Speaking of which, this is our first meeting.” “I…” Nolan picked up the backpack he had carried all the way into the city.
Aside from the daily supplies he had prepared, it also held something he had brought specifically for this moment.
After taking out a few items, he pulled out a pair of hair ties.
Each one carried an embroidered charm marked with a beautiful flowing flame design.
“This is…” Hestia had not expected Nolan to give her something like that.
After one look, her eyes began to sparkle.
She touched the embroidery.
There was no mistaking it.
This was handmade.
It had not been created through magic or special fabric.
Someone had stitched it by hand.
“This is a gift.” Hestia’s eyes shone brighter.
A gift.
A gift from her own child.
That was wonderful.
“Uu, Nolan.” The goddess’s tears began flowing in streams.
She threw her entire body against him.
“It is not anything especially expensive.” “I only brought it because I thought I could bribe you into accepting my contract.” With Hestia pressed so close, Nolan could feel how smooth her skin was, smoother than any human skin had any right to be.
He felt slightly awkward.
The goddess was far too enthusiastic.
For gods, pretending to mix truth and lies into some clever language game was useless.
Sweet talk and tricks were things gods had seen and used for ages.
Only real sincerity could show intent.
“You pass.” Hestia listened to his words, his tone, and the way his body moved.
Nothing about him felt false.
More importantly, even as a passive sense, a god could feel whether the person speaking was sincere.
“But Nolan, were you really that sure I would let you join?” From the moment he came looking for her, Hestia realized, Nolan seemed to have already prepared himself for the idea that she would take him in.
“Because of what I knew about you, I suppose.” “In my world, Hestia exists as a mythological figure too.” “Goddess of the hearth.
Goddess of the sacred flame.
And, in another sense, goddess of the home.” “A goddess who symbolizes family.
Even if you were more of a supporting figure in those myths, you were still a gentle and benevolent god.” Nolan explained his understanding.
“Most Familias are built around groups.
Someone like me, who tends to move alone, would not be accepted easily by most of them.
Coming to you was less likely to cause trouble.” “I know myself well enough.” He scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Still, thank you, Hestia.” Seeing Nolan so restrained, Hestia felt genuinely happy.
She knew being targeted by him from the beginning carried a hint of calculation.
But this otherworlder was honest.
That sincerity suited him.
“Ahhh, I think I am starting to like you.” Hestia decided that falling for Nolan might not be a bad thing at all.
But the moment those words left her mouth, another voice cut in.
“What exactly are you feeling?” The door opened, and several figures appeared at the entrance.
Their sudden arrival interrupted the conversation between man and goddess.
At the front was a narrow-eyed goddess with a painfully flat chest.
Behind her stood a goddess of astonishing beauty, the kind of beauty that could make someone lose themselves with a single look.
A few male gods followed them in as well.
Compared with the lofty air most gods carried, one of the people present was a slightly overweight middle-aged elf whose first impression screamed wealthy bureaucrat.
“Well, if it isn’t Loki.” “What wind blew you here?” Hestia raised an eyebrow at the narrow-eyed goddess and recognized her at once.
Who else could it be but Loki, her old rival?
“Hmph.” Loki looked Hestia over and found that the entire goddess looked triumphant, like she was seconds from crowing.
Her heart sank.
Hestia, however, did not keep watching Loki.
Instead, she jumped onto Nolan and covered his eyes with both hands.
“Do not look.” “If you look too long, she will catch you.” Hestia guarded Nolan like a mother hen, refusing to let him stare at Freya.
She had noticed Nolan looking in Freya’s direction, and her heart immediately tensed.
But then she realized that when Nolan looked at Freya, his gaze showed only a brief appreciation of her beauty.
At the same time, a fierce, heated flame surged through his body.
“Amazing.
So this is the legendary goddess of beauty.” Nolan had not expected that a single glance would activate his skill, Hearthfire Charm Resistance.
And that was without Freya fully exerting her power.
It seemed this ability could still be upgraded.
If so, its growth probably had something to do with his own strength.
The moment Nolan spoke, every god present except the male elf could tell that his language did not belong to Orario.
They had to rely on divine authority to interpret the meaning and culture behind his words.
Loki raised an eyebrow.
She saw that Nolan was looking at Freya with only appreciation.
He was not especially embarrassed, nor did he show obvious desire or infatuation.
It was almost as if he were admiring a beautiful vase.
The sudden heat from a moment ago was clear to the gods.
“This child must be connected to that light.” “Was that ability a skill?” Freya touched her cheek as she studied Nolan.
In her vision, Nolan’s soul was neither a brilliant heroic soul nor a pure white one.
It was ordinary.
Mundane.
No different from the soul of an average mortal.
Yet this child had just shown resistance to her.
That meant it was the effect of a skill.
Interesting.
So he was the source of that light.
“Hephaestus, earlier you said the short one was contracting her first child.” “Now I believe it.” A human child who could resist Freya’s beauty had awakened a special skill the moment his Status was activated, even before any proper updates or training.
The reason was easy to see.
Loki was also observing Nolan’s body.
It was too obvious.
He had an adult’s body, but there were no calluses on his hands.
One glance was enough to know he was not some hardened fighter.
“Shorty, where did you pick up something this rare?” A human child who could resist Freya’s charm, who spoke a foreign language, and who was obviously an outsider.
He was a rare find in every sense.
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS AuroraVale Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you a little deeper into the story.
Stay close, because things are only getting more interesting.