Sitting down next to Poseidon, Cirrus was genuinely scared.

“Lord Poseidon how long did you know she was here!” he said whispering to him.

“A while…she told me not to tell anyone. I’m sorry kid but it’s Hera, even now I don’t want to get on her bad side. You see that look in her slitted pupils! The swirls of madness in her eyes that looks like they'll drag you in like a whirlpool! Plus she has that yandere strength."

"I don't know what that means but it sounds scary." He knew what it meant and he was even more scared now.

They sit on a tea table with an umbrella when Hera comes out of her house with drinks on a tray.

“Thank you for waiting.” She places it on the table and sits down. “Here have some, I made it myself!”

It was red drink with fruit in it. she pours one for Cirrus and Poseidon and she watches them as they drink it.

“Oh fuck that’s delicious!! Fuck what did you put in this!” said Cirrus as the drink was truly outclassed anything he ever had.

“Hera you truly outdid yourself! I doubt even Dionysus could top your Sangria!”

“Fufu, not bad for a goddess of family and marriage!” she said proudly and happily.

‘She isn’t as bad as what I heard from Ouranos, Hermes, and Astraea…and she really looks like my mom just with golden hair and red eyes, even her voice is different.’

“Now that you have a drink Poseidon can you leave?” she said flat out, it didn’t even change her demeanor or the sound of her voice as though it was natural for her to say.

“Yeah, yeah I know.” He chugs the drink and walks. “I’m going to help with the new people, and again sorry I didn’t say anything kid.” He walks through the door and closes it.

“Now it’s just the two of us!” she puts her hands together.

Cirrus could see her eyes begin to swirl again.

'Oh geezus christ.'

 

Cirrus still couldn’t get over this sense of surrealism seeing Hera as well as her scary eyes.

“Um yeah… so um why did you want to meet me?”

“Well you are Nephele son and thereby my grandson. So what other reason should a grandmother not wish to see her cute little grandson?”

“Ah… well you’re not wrong but… why now? Is it because of the chaos in Orario—“

“No. I have to tell you straight out that I don’t care for Orario nor it’s people.”

“Ummm…”

“I called you here because of my rude daughter Alfia and also maybe to see how you were doing in general after the whole bloodbath thing which I have to say I found it really impressive! Truly makes one put the fear of gods in them!” She gives him a smile and a thumbs up.

“Thannnks?” Cirrus felt conflicted on it. “But it seems news travel fast I see, even under a lockdown.”

“Well it helps I have eyes in the city.”

“You do?”

“Yes, kinda like your spirits but less versatile.”

“Is that…” Cirrus stopped talking for a second and realized her eyes reminded him of the old woman who sold him the conch shell. “D-did you give me the red conch shell!”

“Oh? How cleaver of you! After a year or so you still remember!” she said putting her hands together. “Yes with them I see a lot, see look.” She takes out a purple conch and touches it show a POV from Ai’s conch. “It also gets sound!”

“!!!” Immediately Cirrus tried to remove his earring.

“It’s no use, only I can remove it. Those times you did remove it was so you didn’t think it was cursed or anything too serious. Well it’s not like you would come down to that conclusion.”

‘Guh!!! She is like what they said!! Wait! If she could see and hear… and me and Ai had them on during—‘

His blood was starting boil more and more. The sheer audacity of even watching such a intimate special moment for him and Ai, he wanted to wring her head.

“…” He glared at Hera and she easily could see the anger in his eyes. “Did... you see… when me and Ai did on... the 50th floor?" He said with a cold anger in his tone of voice.

“What? Had sex? Oh no I turned it off when she gave you that kiss.”

That was a lie, she saw the whole thing from finish to end. She also won’t tell him she was the one whispering advice into Ai’s ears leading her to what she wanted. If he was this angry from what she admitted she didn’t wish for him to learn more. Better to give them enough to hold them off before cutting them off before they reach even further.

“…Turn the shells off, now.” Cirrus said sternly.

“I will, if it was someone else I would have rung their little heads for such a order.” She took out her purple conch and handed it to him. “Here just break it.”

Cirrus grabs it and shatters it into dust with the grip of his hands. He then see if he could remove his earing and he did.

“I don’t care if you are my mom’s goddess.” He crushes the conch like what he did with the purple one. “I don’t care how you did it but if you do that shit again and invade my or her privacy I will fucking make sure you live in a shack drinking cheap wine and wear lice infested clothes. Understand.”

She couldn’t help but smile, he had his mother’s temper as well. Even the way his emerald eyes lit up in fury were exactly like her as well.

“Clear as crystal." She smiled joyfully. "I’ll make it up to you, bring her around next time, I promise I won’t do anything.”

“…I want you to promise me, promise me on your name and pride.”

Hera was if not extremely prideful, she holds herself on such a high pedestal she wouldn’t do anything to besmirched her pride nor name. That was what Cirrus had found of their short meeting, that was the thing he could count on reliably about her, anything else evaporated with that invasion of privacy.

“I promise you my sweet little grandson.” She promised with a smirk on her face, happy that her grandson picked up on her traits. “You know me so well, what else do you know of your beautiful grandma?”

“You’re a goddess of marriage, women, fertility, childbirth, family, royalty, queenship heirs, kingdoms, and the air.”

‘Your also a very jealous and petty god that would fuck over those who Zeus either charmed or raped… I can see why he stuck his dick in every hole if the Hera from mythology and this Hera are similar. No... maybe it's because of Zeus she is like this? Well this is a can of worms I didn't think I'd come across.'

She has a big smile on her face.

“Look at you! You know your grandma so well!” She said in a excited nonchalant manner as if everything pass this answer never happened.

‘I don’t wanna deal with her anymore then what I have to.’

“Sigh.” Cirrus takes a deep breath and calms himself down. Getting any more angry won’t do him any good. “Tell me since you have been watching what do you think of Erebus? Do you have an idea on what he’s planning?”

“Ah yes, Erebus…the very unlikable, sick man with a fetishistic obsession over evil and being hated… hmm well  don’t know what his irrational mind is planning I must say he was impressive to get nine gods back to heaven, that fact alone is enough to tell you he is planning something big along with him managing in recruiting Zald and Alfia.”

“Yeah…them.”

“Well no worries I’m sure you will deal with them once you update your status, I mean I saw your little tantrum and I must reiterate say it was truly beautiful! You truly made Evilus terrified! Oh yes that Zald & Alfia are ever a day closer to their deaths.”

Cirrus didn’t want to acknowledge what he did. It was a weak point brought upon the high emotions he was feeling when faced against them.

“That last part what do you mean?”

“Zald retired after the battle from the Behemoth, he ate it’s poisonous flesh and killed it in one swing.”

“Well he didn’t move like he was poisoned, and he even spit his own blood at me.”

“Ah that…Hhmm yes well I heard a new powerful antidote came out from Orario made from the Amphisbaena’s liver so the poison’s progression may have been delayed.”

“…Ah.” The potion Lenoa made from the liver he gave her.

“I can see from your face that you made it?” she takes a drink herself.

“Well it was my aunt Lenoa who made it for the Nuckelavee.”

“Ah yes Lenoa, your caretaker, a very skilled witch, to think she made an antidote to counter-act the Nuckelavee’s poison. It’s strong enough to kill most 1^st class adventures. From it I assume your Immunity rank was drastically increased?”

“It was, lucky for me it was enough for me to fight that goat-monster thing near Telskyura.”

“That…your ranking should be the highest achieved, I doubt Zald’s diluted poisoned blood was enough to even hurt you, in fact it invigored you from what I saw.”

“A skill, so long as I am in a sandy area, wind or poisoned my stats increase.”

“A very useful skill if you were in the Behemoth raid.”

“Hm…Lady Hera—“

“Call me grandma sweetie!” she said with eyes that said to call her that.

“…Grandma if your Alfia’s goddess couldn’t you—“

“No. I won’t seal her Falna.” she said bluntly as possible. “She may be my child, but she is her own woman who can make her own choices. Like I said before Alfia is also on death doorstep as her congenital disease worsens so what would be the point of me diminishing her already short life?"

“But she is with Evil—“

“Regardless, as her goddess I still wish for her survival, even if she is committing such acts I would appall she isn’t so bloodthirsty to commit such things for no reason. You of all people could understand that right?"

Cirrus had to take her word on it begrudgingly.

“…Then do you have an idea on what she wants to do?”

“None whatsoever. But I have faith that my stupid daughter is amounting to something with her remaining life, both her and Zald. As the stupid girl's goddess what I do know for sure is that she and by extension Zald must have reason to why they are doing what their doing. Now is there any more questions?”

There was one that he wanted to know. A question he has always wanted answered.

“Can I ask about my mom?”

“…” She made a slight pause; it was a pause that did not fill Cirrus with much hope or confidence. “Of course!! She was a beautiful, strong, confident, proud, independent, elegant, adventurer, the perfect daughter! You should see the way she bashed things with her sledgehammer!”

“That’s cool but did she have any like favorite foods? Or colors?”

“…” Hera looked at him for a second before answering. “Oh! I almost forgot something! Wait here a second!”

Hera quickly went inside.

‘…She doesn’t know…’ Cirrus felt a greatly disappointed that even his mother’s own goddess didn’t know what her captain’s favorite color or even food was. He could understand why many did not like her. With the invasion of privacy and prideful attitude one could see how she would rub many gods the wrong way. If she wasn’t his mom’s goddess he would have left ages ago. ‘I should just stop asking about her, I don’t want my only memory of her to—‘

Hera suddenly called out to him.

“Cirrus!! Come over and help!!” she shouted.

Cirrus walked in to find her home is rather lavish but as he looked he found that most of these furniture’s and decorations were handmade.

‘Queen she is, how many things is she skilled in??’

He walks to her back room which was a mini armory filled with various weapons and armor.

“What’s this?” Cirrus said looking at a pure elegant white bow.

“Ah that’s Malion’s bow or guess you know her as Galatea. A rather odd High-Dark Elf who was obsessed with everything white and art, at least after the last raid of my Familia…” She stopped for a second to think on it. She made a expression of regret for a split second before her natural expression quickly covered it. “…Last I heard she was somewhere out in the frontiers looking for the perfect purity of white.” She moved on from it rather quick but that second was enough to say she still thinks about that day. Maybe she had a kernel of humility down beneath all of her layers of pride. “Now could you help lift this?”

“Wait I thought everyone in your Familia was killed?”

“More or less. Very few of them survived if you can call it that. They were all a shell of their former selves after that fight so they all bit the dust one after the other, of them only Malion my vice-captain came out significantly far better then everyone and as far I am aware she is still alive.”

“How?”

“She ran away. I couldn’t blame her that dam monster has been plaguing the world for literal generations.”

“Ah…”

“I do have to say Zeus’s children, as unbearably foolish as they may be they lived by his ideals and fought to the end…I should have done better as their goddess.” She said in a low and painful voice. “Ahem! Anyways come here.” She said returning to her usual tone.

‘I hope there is something deep down that is likable…’ Cirrus hoped his observations are true and not just her making herself sympathetic.

Cirrus walks over to see an elegant sword in a black and silver sheath with a ruby and emerald pommel symmetrically in half.

“Whoa…what’s with this sword?”

“It was your mothers; I gave it to her for reaching level 9. It was originally a more boring design when Odin’s captain had it about say hmm….400 years ago? It was a long time, either way it was during a War Games with the Odin Familia and the sword broke leading to my Familia winning, Zeus was…Grrr….” she made herself angry remembering.

 

North of Orario.

Chills!

“What’s wrong grandpa?” said a young child with white hair and red eyes.

“Nothing Bell! I just felt something go down my spine.”

 

Back to Hera’s home.

“As I was saying my Familia won and I had Odin reforged it to my liking as a war prize, but the old one-eyed bastard made it into a cursed sword! so it was never used, your mother had it as a ceremonial sword and symbol of her status within the Familia.”

“Does the sword have a name?”

“Gram is what it’s called, a symbol of Odin’s anger at his loss. I had Hephaestus and several other gods of the forge as well as gods of magic even Freya to look at it and they all said the same thing.”

“What? That’s its cursed?”

“Yes, by a god, so it’s extremely more potent than any made by a mortal, should one wield it they will have their bodies experienced all the pain they felt in their life…for 3 hours from what many gods gathered.”

“Ah…so no one has used it? even my mom?”

“Nope. The dam thing isn’t worth it considering you can get a high-class weapon without the 3 hours of pain. Hell since it’s never been used we don’t know what it can do, well besides that one-eyed loser. The most anyone has gotten was 5 minutes before tossing it aside.”

“Heh…” Cirrus grabs the sheath and found it far heavier than expected. “Can I have it?”

“You want it? Like use it?”

“Yeah, I wanted something from her even if it’s cursed and I’m curious what happens after 3 hours, plus I need a new weapon since my last weapon is um…on the moon.”

“Ah…your blacksmith is going to get angry. Also Artemis is gonna chew you out for desecrating her symbol."

"How bad is it?"

"...Your rather lucky you have Astraea as your goddess."