Through the Exploration Log, Hestia already knew that Renn was dealing with something particularly nasty right now, something he couldn’t handle on his own.
The new function of the Hero Raising Plan let her keep track of her familia member’s movements at any time.
Checking it every few hours did make it hard to keep her mind on anything else.
[Renn encountered war shadows in the sixth floor area of the Dungeon, the monsters the Adventurer’s Guild calls newbie killers, and fought them briefly.]
[He discovered that the so-called newbie killer wasn’t nearly as hard to kill as he’d expected.]
…
[After a day of intense exploration, Renn felt tired, but through perfect stamina management he returned safely to Orario.]
…
“Phew.”
Reading that, the weight finally came off her chest, and out of habit she started to get up and ditch work.
Then she noticed her best friend’s serious expression not far away.
Hephaestus was clearly unimpressed with how absent she’d been today.
It’s not my fault!
Her own child was being targeted by other adventurers, and the whole reason was her, so of course she couldn’t stop worrying.
It wasn’t like she could just come out and say she’d sensed Renn was in danger through the Hero Raising Plan panel.
What she could confirm was that she seemed to be the only god in Orario who could see that translucent screen above Renn’s head.
“All right, now I can finally focus on work!”
Right then the glass door of the weapon shop swung quietly open.
She looked up out of habit, and the figure that walked in was one she knew.
Renn.
Why was he here!
The moment she saw the black-haired boy her brain locked up, but her body reacted faster than her mind.
Head down.
She flattened herself onto the counter in one smooth motion.
It was obviously pointless, but she’d worked so hard to build up a proper goddess image in front of Renn.
Was it all going to collapse just because he caught her working a part-time job?
Watching her, Hephaestus, the one supposedly supervising this employee, put a hand to her forehead with a very strange look on her face.
“So you’re here…”
“…Lady Hestia.
And Lady Hephaestus.”
Renn looked at the two goddesses in front of him, so different in style, and at Hestia in a shop uniform, and it wasn’t hard to work out.
His goddess was employed here.
He didn’t think much of it.
Even Takemikazuchi, a god of war, worked at a jagamarukun stall.
As for why Hestia was working…
Most likely it was because of his adventurer gear.
He was moved.
Don’t take what other people give you for granted.
She’d never once asked for anything back, either.
If you had to name something, building up the familia was the closest thing.
That was how Renn saw it.
He held out the jagamarukun in his hand and explained with a smile, “Lady Hestia, I passed the jagamarukun stall on the way, so I picked up a snack.”
“…”
[Affection +3]
[Renn sharply realized that the reason his goddess was working outside was most likely the adventurer gear he was using.]
[Moved by this, he decided that he would protect that feeling no matter what.]
So embarrassing~
That got affection points too?!
But Hestia had the feeling that line was a lie.
She looked at the exploration log on the translucent screen of the Hero Raising Plan.
The answer came immediately.
[Returning to Orario, Renn didn’t find Hestia waiting for him as usual, and felt a little lost.]
Hey, come on…
She’d really wanted to go, but if she’d asked Hephaestus, given her friend’s current mood, the answer would absolutely have been no.
[So.]
[Renn chose to go to the jagamarukun stall on North Main Street to ask about training with the god of war, and took the initiative to ask what snack his goddess liked.]
She knew it.
Renn really did have her on his mind!!
Hestia lifted her head again and reached out to take the jagamarukun he’d brought her.
“Renn, you’re really…
I’m so happy.”
“Thank you for the gift.”
“I should be the one thanking you, Lady Hestia.
You’ve been looking after me this whole time.”
With that gentle gaze from the beautiful loli fixed on him, Renn felt a little awkward, since he was the one being taken care of.
He hadn’t come for any other reason.
He’d just had a feeling Hestia would be here.
As for the threat hanging over him lately, he had no intention of telling her about it.
That’s how it goes once you’re out in the world.
After working away from home long enough, even when you call the orphanage director, you only report the good news.
No point adding to her worries.
His eyes moved between her and Hephaestus.
“Well, Lady Hestia, I’ll let you get back to work.
I’ll just…”
“I’ll head back to the dorm and rest?”
“Mm…”
Hestia nodded seriously.
But looking at the easy smile on his face, it was obvious he had no plans to mention the adventurers threatening him.
She hesitated, then made her voice as gentle as she could.
“Um…”
“Renn, you must have come to see me about something else, right?
If it’s hard to talk about here, we could go discuss it in the office?”
“No.”
He scratched his head and denied it flatly.
“I was just thinking about you, Lady Hestia, so I came to see how you were doing.”
“…”
The first part was a lie.
But in the second, Hestia could feel exactly how much he meant it, and she watched the boy’s back as he walked away.
It left her with a lot of feelings, though most of it was a quiet ache at how mature Renn was for his age.
Because plenty of grown adventurers didn’t have the kind of steady mind Renn did, and that meant he’d been through a lot.
“You know…”
“Sometimes you’re allowed to rely on your goddess a little more!”
She grumbled it under her breath.
But there was no hiding the warmth in her voice.
To have found a familia member like that, coming to Orario had already been worth every bit of the trip.
Besides, through the Exploration Log she knew Renn wanted to solve the coming clash with those adventurers in his own way.
“In that case…”
“When Renn can’t handle it anymore, that’s when I’ll step in and help!”
That was what she decided.
There weren’t many adventurer customers at this hour, and Hephaestus couldn’t see the translucent screen at all.
So the goddess settled in and slacked off in plain sight.
Renn’s Exploration Log.
[Leaving the weapon shop, Renn let out a breath of relief.
Nothing had been exposed, and he’d kept his goddess from worrying too much.]
[He was very clear about what came next.]
[On the way back to the dorm to rest, Renn once again ran into the androgynous deity he’d met that evening in the restaurant.]
[When Loki tried to start a conversation, Renn brushed her off by saying he was tired.]
“?”
“Oh, really now!!”
Reading that, Hestia was angry enough to laugh.
She was stuck at work with no time for Renn, and now Loki wanted to come raid her home?