Okay, okay I give up. Clearly a lot of people love this story already to the point I'm getting so many emails regarding this fic. Consider this one of my daily focused fics. Now onwards!

Oh, and if you're looking for a silly one-shot fic to read, look for The Great Cyber Snowball War of 2032. It's silly enough to make you smile, only on ao3.


Hakuno led Bell and Haruhime into the Dungeon for a rookie quest. One of the most basic ones that is considered punishment by high ranked Familia for those that cause trouble for them. Dungeon Sweeping, a task to cull monsters outside of the standard routes in order to keep the population in check. But Hakuno made it a training session for both members of the Hestia Familia and to help them learn the layout of the Dungeon's top floors. Purchasing a map is still expensive for the Familia at the moment.

But Bell and Haruhime got to see Hakuno in action with her spear this time around. She's known for her magic, but they never really saw her with the spear…but were left in awe.

Beautiful.

That was all they could think about. She moved with grace and technique, moving like a dancing fairy on water on a moonlit night. Even the monsters were captivated by her movements as they were reduced to dust and leaving only magic stones in their wake. "Current route cleared, let us go to the next and show me how you fight." Hakuno ordered in a calm, focused tone that sent chills down their spines. She wants to see how they fare against these monsters and somehow, they felt as if they were to screw up…the monsters would be the least of their worries.

Bell fought with a Guild issued knife, using basic stances he practiced with the Attack Program while Haruhime used a wooden hammer that was light and dealt crushing. Fitting tools for rookie adventurers while Hakuno observed the Dungeon walls with caution. Her stats won't rise in upper floors due to the monsters being easily dispatched by her, but she had a duty to make sure her Familia knew how to defend themselves in case they were ever separated in the Dungeon. So many things can go wrong in here that it pays to be prepared for anything.

Bell's technique was fine, needing a bit more honing to help him control his movement and breathing, while Haruhime herself needed more stamina and something better than a wooden hammer for a weapon.

She nodded her head in silent agreement, she'll take them shopping for new armor and hammer for Bell and Haruhime respectively after the festival that is slowly coming up. She saved up enough from her latest Goliath Day with the magic stone and the drop item so she could afford it for the Familia to enjoy themselves for this occasion. Besides, this is her first festival as well.

But then there's Mother to worry about…


Speaking of Hestia now, the Goddess was dressed in a simple dress as night was upon Orario for a party at Ganesha's home. She had come for two things, one was for the free food here for not just her, but for her Familia when she got back so they could enjoy some fine foods once in a while, all while ignoring the taunts and jeers aimed at her for being poor. If they knew the Holy Witch was in her Familia, they'd be singing damned praises to not make an enemy of Hestia. If it wasn't for Hakuno's request to remain anonymous and the whole Ishtar incident, Hestia would have boasted about her daughter. Now she saw wisdom in it, because she's hearing gossip on the other gods seeking to lure Hakuno into their own Familia.

One in particular was the Aeshma Familia.

She heard rumors about his methods, a god focused on creating the ideal adventurer through selective breeding. He's seen Hakuno, saw a value to her and was seeking to have her in his Familia as a broodmare. The day he's allowed to have Hakuno is a dark time in Heaven before she had anything to say. She refuses to say anything about Hakuno here, Bell-kun and Haruhime-chan were okay though.

"I see you're enjoying yourself Hestia." A woman's voice spoke up as Hestia paused from her gorging on fine foods to turn and see a goddess with flaming red hair and a crimson dress with an eyepatch on her right eye and golden earrings looking at her.

"Hephaistos! It's been a while!" Hestia smiled and rushed to hug the goddess.

When Hestia and Hakuno first came to Orario, they meet the smith goddess and tried to learn how to run a Familia and what types there were. With Hakuno's simple request of a simple home to keep the rain out with Hestia backing her up, the smith goddess gave them the abandoned church they lived in. She last heard; Hestia was working several part-time jobs while Hakuno was venturing in the Dungeon. Oh, she knew Hakuno was the Holy Witch every deity in Orario was talking about and kept her lips shut. Hakuno was Hestia's first child and she had never seen her friend act so concerned for her child.

It didn't help that Hakuno called Hestia 'Mother' with a lovely voice and was able to return the affection to her. That girl was a smart cookie, the few times when Hestia isn't working herself hard to come visit for snacks and tea, Hestia always talked about how Hakuno drew maps of the Dungeon, notes on the monsters she's fought, and how accurate their current funds were so they were careful with spending.

Hephaistos speculates that killing the Goliath on the first venture caused Hestia to be careful with spending. She was probably worried that Hakuno was going so far just to get the money they needed that she'd go that far down on her lonesome and face a Floor Boss like that. Yeah, must be the Goliath thing Hakuno has been doing every bi-weekly.

"So how have things with your Familia been since I last saw you?" Hephaistos asked while Hestia was brimming with joy with the way her eyes were practically glowing.

"I got two new Familia members thanks to my daughter finding them. They've all been supportive and helpful, and it eases me now that my daughter doesn't go to the middle floors now that she has to look after them." She smiled.

Of course, Hakuno was taking the role of Captain of the Familia seriously, making sure that Bell and Haruhime knew the basics of melee combat before they were allowed to branch out to specific fields. But that also led to another point Hestia noted within the notes Hakuno left strewn about when she was cleaning up the girl's small table of papers and notes. Of the need of a blacksmith, preferably one of level one, is competent, and can keep secrets. Reason number two of why Hestia came here.

"Say Hephaistos, do you have any rookie members of your Familia that are looking for business?" Hestia asked as the smith goddess raised a brow with suspicion before another voice interrupted them.

"I see you two are still best of friends…" a coy voice spoke as the sound of clicking heels made the entire room fall silent. Silver hair, silver eyes, smooth skin that was like pale white snow. The perfect portioned body in an elegant dress befitting of the impossibly ideal beauty.

Hephaistos instantly was on guard, for Freya the goddess of beauty to appear was a rare occasion, but it also meant that something bad was going to happen. She's heard tales of Freya's little habit of poaching people from even other Familia into her own if they caught her eye. For her to appear, she must be gathering information. "Be on guard, she might be after your children." She quickly whispered to her friend who narrowed her eyes with wary.

Even with that, Hestia wasn't exactly fond of goddesses of beauty in the first place, their personalities rubbed her the wrong way, and she does her best to avoid them. But unfortunately, Freya for some inexplicable reason views her as a friend.

"Hey Fei-Fei! Freya! Itty-Bitty!"

Great, one goddess Hestia hates the most. The loudmouth trickster that always caused trouble back in Heaven. This goddess likes to tease her for some reason despite not knowing each other well but it rubbed Hestia off at the very existence of her. "If you're here to make fun of me Loki, buzz off. I'm trying to talk with my friends here about something important."

"Ah, come on Itty-Bitty! I heard you were showing up and I came to see how'd ya dress. Thought I'd laugh at how poor you are to not even afford one." Loki smirked. Hestia only closed her eyes and smiled. Suddenly the room turned cold, and a waiter tripped and spilled alcohol all over Loki, ruining her clothes as she screamed and raged against the man who was apologizing.

"Thank you Hakuno." Hestia mentally thanked her daughter. Her little witch made a special curse specifically meant for Loki. She didn't like the way the trickster teased her mother and made a curse that caused misfortune to her every time she tried anything with Hestia. Petty for sure, but very entertaining in Hestia's case.

Hephaistos took a cautious step from Hestia with a wary look, knowing the Holy Witch was somehow responsible for the cold air and Loki's current misfortune in some way. "Ahem, so what kind of business did you have with my Familia, Hestia?" Hephaistos asked, trying to change the subject and avoid another headache.

"Ah, right. My daughter suggested finding a smith to make a direct contract with that's a level one, but she wants to see the quality of their work and see how they are in the Dungeon." Hestia explained while Hephaistos raised an eyebrow.

"You're talking about their skills with a forge or in combat?" she asked.

"Both." Hestia answered.

Now this caused Hephaistos to cup her chin in thought before a name sprung up in her mind. "Does your daughter have a preference with the smith in question?" she asked while Hestia shook her head no.

"This is a test run so she can help both the smith and our Familia. She's been trying to help my other children survive but she knows the current gear they have won't be up to par with the standards she has." Hestia answered, a wry smile on her face as she recalled the list Hakuno had of what gear is needed to take the others to the floors she's already been to. From quality of the gear, possible costs, and even the materials needed. It still scares Hestia with how good Hakuno is with this kind of stuff, as if she's been through an entire war or two and learned all this on the fly.

If only she knew…

"I can think of one, but why my Familia exactly?" she asked while Hestia scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"She liked the spear forged by this Welf guy in your Familia's shop. Found it useful in her first bouts in the Dungeon when she tested it and has kept it up till now. Poor things been going through a lot with her ventures…" Hestia explained with a wry smile as she recalled that spear. Hakuno used it like it was an extension of hers and every time she returned from the Dungeon with it, it always looked a bit more worn and torn every day. Until she used her magic to alter its appearance. It had to be a witch thing for her to abuse the weapon to near unsalvageable before turning it into something wonderful.

"Ah…that explains his rather happy mood at the time." Hephaistos mused, recalling that particular child of hers being happy that someone appreciated his works without returning it. Satisfaction that someone liked how his work turned out without anything special to it. Perhaps this will help him get his act together with interactions with Hestia's Familia.

"Oh, sneaky-sneaky Itty-Bitty." Loki grumbled out as she was drying herself off with a towel. "Trying to use connections to your advantage huh?" she demanded as Hestia merely placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm not using her High Smiths, just a rookie under her wing so that way both the smith and my Familia can both grow and improve each other. It's a sign of trust between friends helping each other out." Hestia told her as Hephaistos nodded her head.

"Indeed, perhaps your Familia could get that troublemaker of mine out of his little dilemma if they're up to it." Hephaistos told her as Freya smiled.

"Oh? Only three months in and you've already acquired three children Hestia? What are they like?" the goddess of beauty inquired as Hestia felt a surge of caution when dealing with her.

"My first child, my beloved daughter Shirano is a plain girl, gentle and sweet and is a hard worker. She does her best trying to make money for the Familia when we first started that I needed to help lessen her burden with multiple part-time jobs. Humans are after all fragile with their limited lifespans and would be worse if their health were to drop from exhaustion and overwork." She explained her first child while feeling like her daughter was pretty clever with an alter ego name like that.

Both Hakuno and Shirano use the same characters in the language of the Far East, both meaning 'white field' and none of the gods in Orario besides Takemikazuchi and those in his Familia would be able to figure it out if she wrote her name in their native language. Which will never happen since her name was already written in Koine and she rarely writes in her native language.

It was the perfect crime!

"That's rather surprising for you Hestia, considering you usually hole up in your temple up in Tenkai?" the smith goddess mused as Hestia grumbled indignantly at that small arrow through the heart.

"So, these other two?" Loki sighed out in disappointment, already not liking any of Hestia's Familia members since they weren't the Holy Witch at all.

"Well, there's Haruhime-chan! She's a Renard rescued by the Holy Witch Hakuno during the Ishtar Incident, a former slave none the less and nowhere to go. I took her in and she's a sweet girl, she and I take turns cleaning and cooking in at our home. She's not much of a fighter but she's good at providing support when she needs to." Hestia beamed. That spell the Renard had been a given, a rare boon that many adventure type Familia would kill to have if it would give them an edge against the Dungeon's more sinister monsters.

"And this new member?" Hephaistos asked while Hestia was brimming with joy at her newfound member.

"Bell-kun is a rookie adventurer for sure, doing his best trying to catch up with Shirano in the Dungeon. Not to mention he looks cute, with his white hair and red eyes. He looks like a rabbit!" Hestia boasted as both Loki and Hephaistos noticed the smile Freya had. They had a bad feeling the mentioning of Bell was going to be Hestia's undoing, especially Loki. She knew Freya out of most of the deities in Orario due to them having the same pantheon in Tenkai. Frey found her new prey, and an innocent rabbit was going to be rabbit stew if Hestia isn't careful with Bell.

Even Loki felt pity for that boy now.

"I'll take my leave now." Freya told them as she turned to leave.

"Eh? You're leaving already?" Hestia asked warily while Freya smiled.

"I've got what I've came here for and…" Frey told them with a smile as caution crept into all three goddesses looking at her.

"…and?" Loki demanded with her squinted eyes.

Freya's smile seemed different, more serene than usual. "…and I've had my fill of all the men here." She said aloud as the atmosphere turned silent.

Many male gods were looking away, blushing red and excusing themselves while several goddesses were downright glaring at Freya when she said that while Loki slumped on the floor in defeat, Hephaistos looking exasperated, and Hestia's bewildered expression.

"Wow…" was all Hestia could think of, partially impressed but shouldn't be given that Freya was not just a goddess of beauty, but also sex. That detail she had completely forgotten about and instantly worried for Bell's chastity if that fox cornered her little rabbit alone.


/Monsterphilia/

It was a rare day for Hakuno to change clothing. Well, actually her Mystic Code but this and that. Changing out of her Witch Initiative Mystic Code for Memoria Lunar Mare, Hakuno looked at the mirror with nostalgia. It was the school uniform of Tsukumihara Academy, the skirt and blazer jacket were part of it while her black turtleneck and pantyhose were her add-ons to the outfit. Compared to the clothing in Orario, this one was more elegant in appeal if Hestia was to say anything about it.

It made her stand out as her other members of the Familia had different clothing. Haruhime in her kimono and Bell in the very same clothing he came in Orario with as the three held excitements in their eyes. Monsterphilia was today, and the three wanted to spend the day with their goddess enjoying the sights and learn more of Orario's events. All while unaware of the whims of two goddesses chatting away in a restaurant up above the streets.

"─they're special, one who is weaker than any of our children yet so pure, the other a radiant star that lights the dark like a guide for the lost." Freya answered from under her hood as Loki frowned at the description as Freya looked out to the busy streets fondly. "I recall how it is like today, when they both walked into my line of sight…"

The sight of white hair and plain brown hair in the crowd of busybodies caused Freya to pause, and desires began to kick in. "I apologize. Something has come up."

"Eh?"

"Let's do this again sometime." Freya told her companion as she got up to leave, much to Loki's indignant squawk as the goddess of beauty began her ploy.

While everyone was enjoying going to the stadium, a battle-hardened Hakuno tensed a bit before looking around. She recognized the stare anywhere, one of longing, desires. It reminded the girl of that woman. One of deprave desires. Yet this one was tamer than that, liken a cat stalking a mouse for the thrill. She felt it a few times when she was in Orario, one when she was at the base of Babel, the second during the incident with Ishtar, then at the Hostess of Fertility with Bell.

You don't need to be a war veteran to know when someone is stalking you, ask about Passionlip for that confirmation. "Haruhime, here." Hakuno told the Renard, handing the vixen a pouch full of valis, "I need to investigate something really quick, you two find Mother and enjoy yourselves." She told them as Bell was confused while Haruhime merely nodded her head in understanding. Before Bell could blink, Hakuno vanished in the crowd.

"What's going on?" Bell asked in the confusion as Haruhime gave him a small smile. "Lady Hakuno has a sixth sense when it comes to trouble, so she's probably trying to nip the bud so to speak." Haruhime answered. That made Bell even more confused, for what could possibly go wrong here?

If only he knew as Hakuno's magic swallowed her in shadows as she sought her target. The woman in the hooded robes as she appeared behind her and grabbed her shoulder, startling her and causing her to turn to reveal Freya. All Hakuno could do was blink at her before tilting her head in confusion. "Why are you following us?" she asked.

All Freya could do was smile, the way Hakuno tilted her head made her think of an innocent puppy trying to figure out what is going on. "Ah, we finally meet Hakuno Kishinami, or should I say, Shirano?" the woman asked. Hakuno's grip on Freya's shoulder tightened and it stirred excitement in Freya, because this girl was resisting her charm and her soul was blinding if she didn't turn off her sight.

The minute she did, Hakuno blinked in surprised before sighing. "I should have known someone like you had the sight of seeing souls." She muttered in tired annoyance. This caused the goddess to blink at how aware of the gift she had by this lone mortal. Did that mean there were others as well? "Given you're a goddess, you must be after those with 'special' souls, right?" Hakuno guessed while Freya was speechless, caught off guard by how accurate that statement was. She felt the grip on her shoulder release as the girl placed her hands on her hip, shaking her head.

"Don't do anything reckless that endangers others. You gods can be quite careless with the lives of others when you're driven with your obsessions, and it doesn't earn you any favors with me or anyone else." She warned as Freya chuckled and caressed the girl's cheek.

"You speak of experience?" she asked while Hakuno glared at her, her eyes piercing into Freya's own with the unspoken answer.

"Leave my Familia alone goddess or pay for it like Ishtar." The girl warned as her hair was moving with the surge of power she was calling forth. Black mana surrounded her like an aura and Freya marveled at it before giving Hakuno a chuckle.

"As long as you and him continue to shine, I'll enjoy just watching alone." She winked and planted a kiss on Hakuno's forehead before turning to leave. All Hakuno could do was rub the spot Freya kissed in confusion, wondering what was going on in that goddess' head before hearing a voice call out to her.

"Shirano! Where are you Shirano!?" Hestia called her out with her alternative name for time out in Orario. Hakuno could only sigh before a small smile crept on her face. Today she'd enjoy her time with her Familia and worry about the unknown goddess later.

Then screams and panic filled the streets as strange plantlike monsters appeared to terrorize the city, ruining Hakuno's mood as black mana erupted around her as she snapped her fingers. "Accolon." She chanted and the monsters in the vicinity withered and died as their magic and lifeforce gathered into her palm before she absorbed it. She studied it, analyzed the energy before frowning. "Interesting…to be using the energy of the Fae in them, is there some sort of scheme going on that I must take wary of?" the girl mused, the blood within her raging in anger as the girl herself was pondering it before she got tackled from behind by Hestia.

"There you are Shirano!" Hestia shouted, startling the girl from her thoughts as Hakuno turned to her. "When I heard you run off, I got worried you're in trouble again!" Hestia huffed with mild annoyance as Hakuno giggled softly at the concern. It warmed her with how much Hestia cared for her.

"It's alright Mother, just a strange goddess and then those monsters." Hakuno replied as Hestia sighed. Her daughter truly attracts a lot of attention, and she prayed no one that could be a major pain.

How wrong she was.

"Aizu-tan, tell me I did not just dream it up." Loki told her companion Ais as they saw Hakuno from afar kill all those new monsters with one spell. "You did…?" Ais guessed, causing Loki to frown when she realized that her child was lying. But then she recalled reports of the famed Holy Witch, of her spells using black magical energy in them and realized she was being played with by Hestia of all people. Someone like her having someone as strong as the Holy Witch in her Familia? Unacceptable!


Wow. Did not expect to write longer than intended. Well, might as well prepare one of the biggest divergences in Danmachi I'd like trying. See you all next chapter!