And so this goddess had never once stopped trying.
It was precisely this kind of personality, together with her almost unconditional love for her Familia, that made Natsuka willing to give up heading straight to Orario to look for a stronger Familia with deeper resources, and instead come here first to take a gamble.
Strong or not was only temporary.
Good divine character and a soft enough heart — that was the kind of thing that lasted a lifetime.
Those who get it, get it.
While Natsuka was sizing Cecil up, Cecil, in fact, had also been sneaking glances at him.
After a little while, she awkwardly spoke up.
“Hey, what’s that man over there here for?”
“Haven’t seen him before.”
“Ah, I almost forgot to mention.”
Asfi answered very casually.
“Mister Natsuka here has come to apply to join the Astraea Familia.”
Natsuka immediately picked up the thread.
“I deeply admire Lady Astraea’s justice.”
Of course.
He silently added one more line in his heart.
And also that generous bosom of hers.
The moment Cecil heard this, she immediately knit her brows, her expression visibly twisting up.
“Mmgh…”
She let out a stifled little grunt, turned her head away, and no longer looked at Natsuka.
But the way her cheeks puffed up and the corners of her mouth pulled down, no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like she was sulking.
A bit of thinking, and Natsuka had already guessed what she was being so prickly about.
The logic was actually pretty simple.
Astraea had long ago taken a liking to this girl.
But the reason she still hadn’t formally joined even now wasn’t on Astraea’s end at all — it was that Cecil herself hadn’t completely made up her mind yet.
At the end of the day, this place was a paradise for blacksmiths.
For every person who learned smithing, the Familia they most yearned for was, of course, still Hephaestus’s or Goibniu’s.
The problem was, both of those two were over in Orario.
And not just anyone had the qualifications to enter their field of vision.
Stubbornly hold onto her dream.
Or yield to reality.
For a girl who was only eleven years old, this wasn’t easy to begin with.
The atmosphere in the shop turned a little awkward for a moment.
Right at that moment, the wind chime by the door suddenly rang out.
A single crisp note.
A goddess with chestnut hair, dressed in pure white sacred robes, walked into the shop.
The instant she appeared, the very air in the whole shop seemed to soften by a few degrees.
It was a feeling that was very difficult to describe.
Not flamboyant, not overbearing — a kind of tenderness that, like the warm light of spring, embraced all things.
Her gaze swept over everyone in the shop, and finally came to rest on Natsuka.
Her soft, rosy lips curved up just slightly, her fingers gently resting against the side of her face, and her smile was so warm it made people unconsciously relax.
“I’m back.”
“Are there guests in the shop?”
Cecil turned her head away and gave a soft little huff.
Asfi immediately rose to her feet and gave a slight bow.
“Lady Astraea, it’s been some time since I last paid my respects.”
Natsuka stood up along with her and gave a nod.
“Oh my.”
“It looks like something happened that I don’t know about yet.”
Astraea calmly walked over to the table and sat down, her gaze returning to settle on Natsuka.
Red hair.
Blue-green eyes.
Only…
There was an obvious hint of bashfulness in this child’s gaze.
The moment he had looked her way, his line of sight had instinctively paused for a beat at her chest, and then, as though scalded, hurriedly slid away.
Different from that other child.
This one was the somewhat easily flustered type.
The smile in the depths of Astraea’s eyes softened a little more.
“And this is?”
Asfi mildly cut in from the side.
“Lord Hermes’s… booty call partner?”
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Natsuka nearly choked on his own breath.
What the hell, booty call.
That phrasing was way too outrageous.
He shot a sidelong glance at Asfi, who was clearly carrying some personal grudge, and hurriedly corrected her.
“I just happened to run into Lord Hermes along the road, that’s all.”
“The reason I came over this time is that I’m hoping to join your Familia.”
“Oh?”
Astraea was indeed a little surprised.
A god like her, currently almost destitute, really wasn’t the kind of object an ordinary child would actively pick.
In a place like Orario it would still be a little better.
But in a city out here, trying to recruit people using a banner like “justice” was rather difficult.
Especially since she didn’t even have a complete Familia right now.
Having someone show up of their own initiative was indeed uncommon.
Only…
“Then why is it that you would choose me, and not Hermes?”
“You should know — unlike the freedom of that god of travelers, what my Familia must shoulder is ‘justice.'”
“Do you, truly, have such resolve?”
As her voice fell, a faint trace of divine majesty quietly emanated from her body.
It was almost exactly the same feeling as that time when Hermes had asked him about his ambitions.
Impossible to lie.
And in a moment like this, hesitation itself would look very bad.
Natsuka drew in a breath, fell silent for a moment, then finally spoke in earnest.
“To be honest, I didn’t come here for ‘justice.'”
“Oh?”
Astraea was even more surprised.
Natsuka didn’t beat around the bush either, and said directly,
“I came for your ‘Constellation of Stars.'”
“There is a long-cherished wish of mine that I have to rely on it to fulfill.”
After hearing this, Astraea’s gaze unconsciously swept over Natsuka’s attire.