The sun slowly descended toward the western horizon, painting the sky above the Labyrinth City of Orario in a stunning expanse of reddish-orange.
The shadows of the grand buildings began to lengthen, blanketing the cobblestone streets in a tranquil evening ambiance.
Leaving behind the noisy hustle and bustle of North Main Street, Natsu Dragneel and Hestia walked side by side down the city’s quieter alleyways.
The petite goddess’s steps felt incredibly light, as if she were dancing on clouds.
Every so often, Hestia would do a little skip, humming cheerfully with a smile that never left her lips.
Gaining her first Familia member—especially someone who accepted all her flaws unconditionally—had washed away the crushing weight of poverty and despair that had tormented her for the past two months.
Beside her, Natsu strolled casually with both hands clasped behind his head.
His sharp eyes occasionally observed the shifting surroundings.
The further they walked from the city center, the neat cobblestone streets were gradually replaced by dusty dirt roads.
Lavish buildings morphed into rows of cramped, dilapidated houses, signaling that they were heading toward the marginalized slums on the outskirts of Orario.
However, it wasn’t the environmental conditions dominating the pink-haired youth’s thoughts.
There was one fundamental aspect of Gekai that had been picking at his curiosity for a while.
“Hey, Hestia,” Natsu called out, breaking the comfortable silence between them.
Hestia immediately turned her head, looking at the youth with sparkling, enthusiastic blue eyes.
“Yes, Natsu-kun?
What is it?
Do you want to ask something about the city?
Or the Guild system?
Just ask your reliable goddess anything!”
Natsu chuckled softly at the goddess’s enthusiasm.
“It’s not about the city.
It’s about the absolute rule of the gods.
Is it true that humans, or any mortals in this lower world, absolutely cannot lie to a god or goddess?”
Hearing the question, Hestia puffed out her chest proudly.
She gave a firm nod.
“The correct answer is: yes.
The denizens of Gekai cannot hide their lies from us,” Hestia explained in a serious yet gentle tone.
“Even though our Arcanum is sealed when we descend to this world, our divine essence is never lost.
Part of that essence is our eyes and our instincts.
When a mortal utters a lie, their soul trembles.
To a deity, the tremor of a lie is as clear as a drop of black ink in a glass of pure water.
No matter how skilled someone is at deceiving their fellow mortals, a lie can never slip past a god’s perception.”
Natsu stopped in his tracks.
He lowered his hands from behind his head and turned his body to face the goddess completely.
The evening breeze blew gently, fluttering the ends of his scaly white scarf.
“Well, this is very interesting,” Natsu murmured, the corner of his lips curling up slightly.
“I want to test something out.”
Hestia stopped as well, looking at Natsu with a confused frown.
“Test something out?
What do you mean by that, Natsu-kun?”
The youth didn’t answer immediately.
He stared straight into Hestia’s blue eyes.
The relaxed expression on Natsu’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a look that was incredibly flat, cold, and dead serious.
His gaze was so convincing it seemed as though he was preparing to reveal the most important secret in the universe.
Then, with a firm and steady intonation, Natsu opened his mouth.
“Loki has big boobs.”
Hestia stood frozen for a second.
Her brain needed a moment to process the absurd sentence that had just been delivered with such a serious face.
The moment she realized what Natsu had said, the goddess’s defensive reflexes instantly exploded.
“No, Natsu!
Oh my gods, you are so wrong!” Hestia yelled, waving her hands frantically, her face flushing red from a mix of amusement and indignation.
“Loki is flat-chested!
As flat as a washboard!
I used to fight with her all the time back in Tenkai, so I know perfectly well how pitiful that cunning goddess’s body is!”
Hestia panted after screaming that fact.
However, in the very next second, the sound of Natsu’s suppressed laughter made her freeze.
The petite goddess gasped sharply.
Her eyes widened, her pupils shrinking in shock.
She stared at Natsu in sheer disbelief.
Her memory replayed the moment that ridiculous sentence came out of the youth’s mouth.
As a goddess, her divine instincts automatically triggered every time she heard a statement.
And what gave Hestia goosebumps was…
she hadn’t felt any tremor.
There was no drop of black ink.
No distortion in the soul.
The statement “Loki has big boobs” that Natsu had just uttered registered in Hestia’s divine perception as an absolute truth.
“W-wait a minute…” Hestia took a step back, pointing at Natsu with a trembling index finger.
“This doesn’t make any sense!
My perception didn’t detect a single lie from you!
B-but that’s impossible!
Is Loki secretly using illusion magic?
Or did her washboard chest suddenly grow after she descended to Gekai?!”
Seeing his goddess panic and start rambling nonsense, Natsu finally burst into laughter.
He rubbed the back of his neck and returned to his relaxed demeanor.
“Calm down, Hestia.
That goddess’s body hasn’t changed one bit,” Natsu said with an amused smile.
“What just happened proved one important thing.
Gods and goddesses can indeed detect lies.
But, that system has one fatal loophole.”
Hestia swallowed hard, staring intensely at the young man.
“A loophole?
What kind of loophole?”
“Your instincts don’t detect the objective facts of the world, but rather the intent and subjective truth of the speaker,” Natsu explained in a calm tone once more.
“This means your lie detector is useless if the person speaking is exceptionally good at twisting their words, or in a more extreme case…
if that person genuinely believes what they’re saying is the truth.”
Natsu tapped his own temple.
“Regarding the statement ‘Loki has big boobs’ earlier, I wasn’t lying to you, Hestia.
Because right before I said it, I used my absolute focus to bend my own logical perception.
I planted the absolute thought in my head that somewhere out there, or in some abstract concept, there is a figure named Loki who has a large chest.
I willed it to be true in my mind.
Because my soul considered it the truth, your divine instincts accepted it as a fact, and the statement bypassed your lie detection.”
Hestia was stunned.
She looked at Natsu as if the youth before her was an anomaly that defied all common sense.
Mental manipulation like that—forcing the brain and soul to believe a falsehood as an absolute truth within seconds—required a terrifying level of self-control, focus, and willpower.
The vast majority of mortals in Gekai could never pull off something so insane.
And yet, this young man, who looked no older than fifteen, did it effortlessly just for a joke.
Hestia clasped her hands together in front of her chest.
A strong sense of curiosity overpowered her shock.
“Natsu-kun…
that is a truly terrifying ability.
But, why did you go through the trouble of testing this method of lying on me?
Aren’t you free to talk to me about anything?”
At that question, the smile on Natsu’s face slowly faded.
His eyes flashed with the sharpness of a predator constantly wary of its surroundings.
“This ability isn’t meant for you, Hestia,” Natsu answered, his voice dropping slightly.
“It’s absolutely necessary in case we ever have to deal with other gods or goddesses in the future.
Orario is filled with powerful familias and factions, and I know many gods love to meddle in other people’s affairs just for their own amusement.”
Natsu stared straight toward the western horizon, which was now beginning to darken.
“Regardless, the ability to conceal information in a city this massive is an incredibly valuable weapon.
If some cunning deity tries to interrogate us or fish for secrets about our strength, I can use this method to give them answers they perceive as honest, but are actually misleading.
I won’t let anyone dig into our family’s weaknesses.”
Hestia fell silent.
The night breeze began to blow, sweeping past her flowing black hair.
She couldn’t take her eyes off the pink-haired youth in front of her.
In a world that glorified raw muscle and destructive magic, it was exceedingly rare to find an adventurer who thought this far ahead regarding information defense strategies.
The fact that her very first Familia member—who physically looked like a reckless front-line brawler—actually possessed such a sharp and fiercely protective mind, made Hestia’s chest feel incredibly warm.
The petite goddess realized something.
Natsu hadn’t conducted this test to show off his prowess, but rather to ensure he had the proper tools to protect Hestia and the confidentiality of their fledgling Familia.
Natsu was truly being cautious, and at the same time, he was being completely open and honest with his goddess.
“You’re right, Natsu-kun,” Hestia finally said, a soft, genuine smile blossoming on her face.
“Information within a Familia is indeed highly sensitive.
Especially when it involves the strength and ability statuses of its members.
Freya and Loki are prime examples of gods who are extremely dangerous when it comes to gathering intel.
I am so glad you’re being so careful.”
Hestia stepped forward, aligning herself beside Natsu once again.
The goddess looked up at the young man with profound gratitude.
“Thank you for thinking about the safety of our family even before you officially received a Falna.”
“That’s my job now,” Natsu replied casually, slipping his hands back behind his head.
“So, how much further is our luxurious mansion?”
Hestia giggled at the familiar sarcastic tone.
“Not much further!
We just need to turn at the corner up ahead!”
They resumed their walk beneath the Orario sky, which was now beginning to fill with stars.
That brief conversation had forged a very strong, invisible bond of trust between the two.
It didn’t take them long to navigate the remaining narrow alleyways on the outskirts of the city.
Finally, their footsteps came to a halt at the end of a dead-end street.
Before them stood an old building made of gray stone, parts of its walls overgrown with moss and creeping vines.
The windowpanes had long since shattered, and the roof appeared to be caving in at several spots.
Silence blanketed the place, as if Orario’s civilization had forgotten about it years ago.
They had arrived at the abandoned church.
The shelter of the poor goddess, and the starting point that would bear silent witness to the birth of a new legend in the world of Gekai.