Evening, in Freya's private room within Babel. There, three goddesses had gathered while waiting for the start of the Banquet of the Gods in a few hours.

Hestia adjusted the form-fitting black dress that Freya lent her and then looked into the full-body mirror nearby. When she did, Hestia frowned, carefully spinning in place to examine herself.

It was a pretty outfit. Unlike her usual bright blue bow and white clothes, the dress Freya lent her was mostly black, with only a bit of white around her shoulders and chest. Paired with the black ribbons that Freya also lent, Hestia was sure that she gave off a more mature vibe. Even so...

"...Am I growing a bit?"

Staring at herself in the mirror, Hestia couldn't help but think that.

She knew that her clothes had been a bit small recently, but Hestia thought it was just because she had been eating a bit much. But the woman in the mirror...

It was definitely her. But at the moment, it looked like people would double-take if Loki called her a Shrimp again.

Freya walked over to the mirror and smiled. Like Hestia, the Norse Goddess was wearing a form fitting dress. It was a bit different in style though. Unlike Hestia's dress which had shoulders to support the top of her dress, the top of Freya's dress had bare shoulders and was being held by the thinnest of silk strings.

It was still an elegant ball gown, but it looked like a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen.

Freya glanced at Hestia's reflection and then let out a calm smile. "Perhaps it's the maturity of motherhood, Tia?"

Hephaestus walked over as well to look at Hestia's reflection.

The Goddess of the Forge was also wearing an elegant black ball gown that night. But to reflect her origin as a blacksmith, she was also wearing a few accessories. An obsidian and gold necklace, golden trimming at the top edges of her dress to properly support it (unlike Freya's), a golden armband... and most importantly, a golden sword at her side that had been forged by the man she loved. <Eternal Love>.

xxx

xxx

Hestia eyed the sword Hepheastus wore at her side and raised an eyebrow. "Are you seriously planning to carry that around, Faefae?"

Hephaestus blushed a bit, but then she held her head high and said, "Of course." She rested her hand on the hilt of the sword and let out a warm smile. "With how much love Welf put into it, how can I not?"

Hestia gave her a blank stare and said, "...Weren't you the one worried about drawing attention because of the kids? Isn't carrying around a ridiculous sword like that even worse?"

Hephaestus waved her hand and said, "Don't worry. It's sealed and just looks like an ornamental blade." She glanced over at Freya and said, "Even you can't detect anything from it, right?"

"Mm..." Freya stared at the sword and said, "No. You've done a great job of concealing it."

Hephaestus looked at Hestia and said, "See? It will be-"

"It's a pity though." Freya interrupted Hephaestus and sighed. "To think that the crystallization Crozzo's pure love and affection would be smothered like this instead of being revealed to the world..." She glanced at Hestia and said, "It's a bit tragic, isn't it, Tia?"

Hephaestus flinched, but she quickly recovered and said, "At least it's a mutual love, unlike yours."

Freya smiled and said, "You say so, but does your child know that?"

Hephaestus winced and then lowered her head.

Hestia sighed and said, "Could you stop jabbing at Faefae, Freya? You know she has her circumstances."

"If you say so, Tia." Freya turned away from Hephaestus and then helped adjust some of Hestia's ribbons. As she did, she gave a sidelong glance at Hephaestus and said, "Though, I just have to say. If it came between choosing my Familia or the man I loved, I would choose him without a doubt."

Hephaestus pursed her lip, subconsciously resting her hand on <Eternal Love>.

Hestia glanced at Freya through the mirror and said, "That's my Bell you're talking about."

Freya nodded. "Yes. And I'm his Mistress."

"...Say that again after I marry Bell." Hestia stepped away from Freya and then glanced out the window at the setting sun. "In any case... Should we get going?"

Hephaestus looked out the window as well and then sighed. "...I suppose we should." She reached up the scratch the back of his head and said, "I'm still not prepared though..." She looked over at Freya and said, "Are you really going to back us?"

Freya smiled and said, "We're a sisterhood of divine mothers, are we not? Of course I will."

Hestia resisted the urge to sigh again at Freya's shameless insistence. Instead, she nodded and said, "Then... Let's go." She put a serious expression on and prepared herself.

For the sake of her family.

xxx

Fina was enjoying herself.

Although she was a bit sad because both Mommy and Daddy were busy, she was happy because she got to spend lots of time with her friends!

And not only that, today she managed to earn some rent money!

Since Mommy was busy, she couldn't work her job at the stall making yummy Jagamarukuns. And since Fina was still too small, Mister Owner wouldn't let her cook them. But Mister Owner *did* let them borrow the stall to sell some things with Pyrrha!

Ah, but only with an adult watching them. But Miss Lion was there to help, and even Miss Artemis came along!

Uncle Welf wanted to come too, but he was in the middle of a secret project, so he stayed at home to watch the house.

But anyway, after a long day, it was time to count their earnings!

Fina opened the bag of their earnings and dumped the coins out on the kitchen table. Staring at the glittering gold, she smiled and said, "Look, Pyrrha! We got a lot of coins!"

Pyrrha's eyes sparkled and she said, "We did! And they're pretty gold too!"

"Right? It's super pretty!"

Ryuu walked over from the kitchen and set down a platter of sandwiches cut into cute bite-sized pieces. After that, she pulled over a seat and sat down next to the girls. "Remember to eat."

"Oh!" Fina nodded and said, "Thank you, Miss Lion!" She smiled and grabbed a sandwich piece off the platter.

Pyrrha smiled and said, "Yes! Thank you, Miss Lion!" After that, she grabbed a sandwich piece as well and carefully started eating.

Meanwhile, Fina munched on her sandwich and started counting out the coins.

One for her, one for Pyrrha, one for Miss Ryuu... Oh! And one for Miss Artemis too...

While Fina was counting, Ryuu grabbed her own sandwich piece and made herself comfortable. After taking a bite, she frowned and mumbled. "Still. To let children manage a stall like that even with supervision... Is it that the children were too charming, or was the owner that careless?"

Artemis walked over with a pitcher of water and some cups. Pouring out drinks for everyone, she sat down and smiled, "I believe it was more because of you, Miss Lion." She slid a cup over and laughed. "The poor man was terrified of your aura."

Ryuu raised an eyebrow. "Was he?"

Fina paused in the middle of stacking the gold coins and then stopped to think. "...Mm. I guess Mister Owner had been acting a bit weird..."

The kind old man was extra kind that day. He didn't even ask for money from them like he did with Mommy!

Ryuu stiffened and then frowned. "...It seems that I must be more vigilant. I thought I had become accustomed to controlling my strength..." She sighed. "Truly, Bell is a terrible influence."

A door opened, followed by footsteps. After that, Welf's voice called out. "We talking about Bell over here?"

Pyrrha's eyes lit up and she dashed over. "Papa!"

Welf smiled and picked Pyrrha up, giving her a warm hug. "Heya, Pyrrha. Had fun today?"

"Mmhm!"

Fina held up a handful of coins and said, "We made a lot from selling some toys!"

"...Toys?" Welf raised an eyebrow and looked at Ryuu and Artemis.

Ryuu let out a wry smile.

xxx

At the Ganesha Familia residence, the Banquet of the Gods was in full swing.

Lively chatter, livelier arguments among certain individuals, and both good food and good spirits (in both sense of the words) were being passed around.

Despite that, off in a corner of the room, a certain blonde messenger god sat by himself, casually observing a small figurine he bought earlier that day while he was disguised and gathering information.

"...Even your granddaughter is amazing, Zeus." Hermes spun the rough figurine of Bell in his hands and said, "To be able to make a magic item that repels monsters from scraps like this..."

Fina had called it a good luck charm. And most adventurers probably bought it because she was cute in selling it.

But the truth was that it really would be good luck, at least to those who were worried about getting ambushed by monsters.

Though, for those who wanted to hunt them down, it might be more like bad luck?

"Whatcha up to over here by your lonesome, Hermes?"

A tomboyish voice called out. Loki's.

Hermes slipped the figurine away in his suit pocket and smile. "Just playing with some toys."

"Mm. You and your kids like to do that a lot, don't you?" Loki glanced at where Hermes put the figurine away and said, "Anything good?"

"Just a little interesting trinket." Hermes grabbed a nearby bottle of wine and an empty glass before pouring some for himself. "Now..." Hermes folded his arms on the table and smiled. "You wanted information?"