Author's Note: The 19th was my birthday! As a celebration, I decided to release a Lunar Hearth chapter a week early. So welcome back my readers! And welcome to any new ones joining us!
Takei Daloui: Plenty of character interactions to be had in the future!
Dxhologram: Perhaps, Freya is quite mysterious in her ways.
Student: Any useful items are probably above her price range for now, though perhaps Hakuno can create a Formal Wear or Mystic Code, it is a feature in Fate/Extella after all.
Rst64tlc: Maybe! Welf is going to appear, Bell did get Welf's armor before Hakuno had appeared.
King of Fans: Yeah, Hestia is trying to bring Hakuno out of her monotoned shell. Perhaps Hakuno will decide to use Code Cast View Status on some items.
Saru: Agreed! She's really vulnerable without protection!
Enjoy the chapter everybody! A tale of a different wish, a story that changes the predetermined outcome, the journey, the Extra that pushed the world of gods into Extella!
Digital/Lunar Hearth
Chapter 7: Conversations with your Goddess
"Huh? Hakuno?"
Hakuno Kishinami turned her attention away from browsing through random store wizard store goods and towards the source of the voice, she spotted her recently elected Dungeon Advisor, Eina Tulle, dressed in Guild uniform and holding a board with papers locked on it, a writing utensil in hand.
"Hm?" Hestia appeared from around the corner, "Oh, you're Bell's… Wait, you're Hakuno's advisor as well?" She asked in shock, before trailing off, "Well, that does make sense…"
Eina walked up to them, and asked, "Goddess Hestia, a pleasant surprise meeting you here, and with Hakuno. I had just met Bell little over an hour ago."
"At the Guild I presume?" Hestia questioned.
The woman nodded, "Yes, if you don't mind me asking, why have you brought your Second Child to a mage-focused store in Babel Tower?" She questioned.
"Why shouldn't I?" The Goddess of the Hearth replied, "Hakuno is a mage, so a shop like this fits."
"Eh?" Eina's mouth opened in surprised before facing Hakuno, then back to Hestia. "You're joking, right? Hakuno is human, you know they can't learn normally learn magic without a Grimoire, and humans rarely get the Mage Development Skill at level up."
Hakuno Kishinami blinked, why wouldn't humans normally not be able to use magecraft? Sure, in modern times it was impossible considering the circumstance, but in this world's age, it should be that most humans have decent quality magic circuits- Wait.
This world.
This world's humans may not have magic circuits at all, it may be that without Falna that humans having magic is so incredibly rare it would be considered practically a myth to have a single spell without already had obtained the blessing of a god or goddess.
In that way, Humanity was probably considered the weakest sentient race on this planet.
Which also means that the magus girl would be a prime target if they discovered she had magic circuits.
Perhaps there are rare exceptions?
"I know that," Hestia replied. "It just means she's a bit more special, that's all!" She boasted proudly.
Hestia said that so casually, with such lightheartedness and little concern, like she believed everything would be fine.
When had anything ever been fine with her getting attention?
Were the multiple near-death experiences of being nearly assassinated not enough clues to the fact?
The Digital Human winced at the sudden recollection, the memories of the Holy Grail War still came back to her in sudden bursts, even with segments of the whole event blurred in her mindscape from her near deletion within the Moon Cell Core.
"Anyway, Hakuno," Eina turned her attention towards the magus girl. "Be sure to attend tomorrow's lesson, don't make me have to drag you to the Guild," She said sternly.
Hakuno nodded, it was going to be valuable information, why would she skip out on it?
Hestia also agreed, "Be sure to listen to your advisor, Hakuno~" The goddess teased.
"About that Supporter, Hestia…" Eina began.
Bell Cranel, the first adventurer of the Hestia Familia, had quite a number of thoughts running through his head. Normally this wouldn't be the case, but even he had concerns, most of which were related more towards the well-being of others than himself.
Not to say he didn't have any, his own weakness, the inability to pass his fear-
The shape a large humanoid bull, massive bulging muscles with clench fists, an echoing roar… Minotaur, standing above him as certain death seemed to wash over…
He shook his head, there was still plenty of time to grow his Status before he'd ever face something like that again.
Ais Wallenstein herself offered to train him, his heart could barely handle being in her very presence, now she would train him? It would have to be kept a secret, that was for sure, as it would attract attention if anyone knew otherwise, so they scheduled for early mornings or late night routines, depending on the circumstance.
In the meantime, his thoughts trailed over to his newest, fellow Familia member.
Hakuno Kishinami.
Finally, another member of their Familia, the Hestia Familia! Honestly, he never expected to see another person besides himself in his goddess' Familia until much later. He should never have doubted his goddess' ability to find someone to join so early on, even when himself reassured her that they were still growing.
Not to mention, Hakuno was kinda cool! Well, what she can do anyway. A mage! A magic user through and through, not like himself, Hakuno seemed intently focused on her aspect as a mage. Though, if there was anything that seemed odd about her, is that's she's very… Quiet.
Not that it was a problem, she spoke when she wanted to say something, and seemed to learn quickly about how the Dungeon worked. Hakuno was also very kind, respectful, and Goddess Hestia seemed to like the girl lot!
Also, Hakuno's reaction speed was fast, not in the sense of her body movement, but how she reacted to changes in combat around her. Bell wasn't sure he'll still be around if it wasn't for her crucial timing, but she is a mage, they were like an adventurer's best support member, so perhaps she trained for this beforehand?
Huh, what did she do beforehand? Perhaps it was a similar case to himself, having traveled to Orario in search of a Familia to become an adventurer? That was a common occurrence.
"I'm sure Hakuno has her own reasons!" Bell spoke out loud to himself with a smile, it was rude to pry into someone else's past after all. Hakuno Kishinami was a good person, he could tell!
He wondered how fast Hakuno's Status was growing, Hestia always told him that his own Status grew quickly because he was in a growth spurt of sorts, perhaps the brown-headed girl was going through the same process?
"Her Magic Status must be leaps ahead of my own," He joked lightly before arriving at his destination.
"How can I help you?" A man asked as Bell entered the store.
Bell Cranel scratched his nose, "Yeah… Um… I'm looking to buy a bunch of things, had an additional member in my Familia and we're lacking sets of three for most of our stuff."
"Come to the right place, what's your budget? We're work around it."
"Like to keep it below ten thousand Valis," Bell answered.
"Mhm… A small amount… But I can work with it, alright, what do you need exactly?" The man said.
"Ah… Well…" Bell trailed off as he began listing what was on the top of his head.
Hakuno Kishinami sat at a wooden table just outside a restaurant, her goddess, Hestia, sitting right across from her drinking a large mug filled with an orange-hued beverage. The magus girl might be unfamiliar with liquor as a whole, but even she knew the petite goddess was gulping down flavored alcohol. It was a bit pass evening, the sun was starting to head down, beginning close in on dusk, Hestia had dragged Hakuno nearly everywhere in Babel Tower middle and lower floors.
The Digital Human appreciated looking at all the different stores and shops within the large construct, there was quite a number of interesting items that she had been quite tempted on using a Code Cast on, but restrained herself. Still, it made her day relaxing, just to browse through all the goods with a bubbly, overly optimistic goddess.
Now, Hestia had led the magus girl out of Babel Tower and towards a type of eatery, where they were seated right outside in one of the tables on the front porch.
The pint-sized goddess immediately began ordering alcohol for both of them.
It was commonplace in this era for those of Hakuno's age group to drink alcoholic beverages, not surprising, given it was same back on Earth in the same time period. But Hakuno Kishinami had absolutely no experience in such liquor, and couldn't help but find it quite wrong-doing to delve into the drink, given her more modern day mindset and morals are driven into her head by the fake high school student memories.
That didn't stop Hestia.
"Ah," Hestia said in satisfaction as she placed down the now empty mug. "Don't like it, Hakuno?" She questioned, pointing towards the untouched mug on the magus girl's side.
"I prefer tea," Hakuno replied.
"Oh? Sorry, should've asked that earlier, can I?" She asked, reaching out for the mug regardless of the girl's answer and brought it over to herself.
A waiter came around and placed down two dishes on the table, each steaming hot, and smelling very good.
"Hey, hey!" Hestia waved at the waiter. "She needs tea, can you get some?"
"Of course," The waiter said and left.
"You know, Hakuno," Hestia began as she stabbed silverware into the meal before her. "There is like a hundred questions I would love to ask you, but I don't want to seem mean, so I'm just waiting until you settle in with the Familia."
Hakuno arched an eyebrow at the odd sentence.
"I mean, you can take as much time as you want!" Hestia quickly continued, taking a bite and swallowing it quickly. "You're my second child! I'm your goddess! So no use trying to keep secrets from me! I want to know everything about you!" She said it happily.
The Digital Human gave her a monotone look of absent confusion, even as the magus girl occasionally ate some of the dish presented.
"First order of business is trying to get you to smile more often!" Hestia said, slamming a hand on the table like she meant it, twin tails of black hair wavering in the air from her head, "Seriously, with a face like yours and the adorable head of hair, you should be the talk of the town! But your expressions are liked a kicked puppy, Hakuno! A puppy that doesn't know how to wag its tail!"
She only blinked at the goddess.
"Just like that!" Hestia accusingly pointed at the brown-headed girl, "It doesn't help that you don't speak your mind, mou!" She pouted and sat back in the seat. "Argh, Bell, you get more words out of her than I ever do! How do you manage it?"
"I'm sorry?" Hakuno apologized.
"Nothing to apologize for, Hakuno," Hestia replied. "It's actually kind of refreshing, you're really are a quiet person, huh?"
"I'm not used to talking to often," Hakuno replied. "It's… I'm still learning."
Human interaction was still a new thing for her after all. She only had a month of experience as a self-aware AI conversing with mostly just her Servant and an extremely demanding another twin-tailed hair girl in red… Along with a silent homunculi as another conversationalist.
"Well, at least you're trying to learn, that counts!" Hestia exclaimed.
The waiter returned with a glass of tea and another mug of liquor, which the goddess took immediately.
"Thanks!" She said before beginning to pour it down her throat in want.
Hakuno took a sip of the tea.
It wasn't Archer's tea, that's for sure…
She winced slightly at the random memory, but it faded away quickly as she turned her attention back to the meal.
"Ahh!" Hestia released a breath as she placed the drink back down, "Well, eat up, Hakuno~!" She exclaimed. "It's on me!"
Hakuno Kishinami took her time eating, wondering where the goddess got the money required for the bill she was stacking up with those repeated alcoholic beverages. Well, if the goddess was ordering it, the magus will assume she was aware of her current financial limits…
Right?
