Some needed discussions will be had this chapter. Read on.


From the moment that runner had barged into Hephaestus' office, Hestia's heart hadn't known a second of calm. Her shock at his entrance had been pushed aside quickly enough, but when the Guild employee relayed what had been going on in the dungeon…

If that boy had anything to say to her in particular, the Goddess of the Hearth didn't wait around to hear it. Hestia had cut an impressive path through the Hephaestus Familia home, blitzing past those wandering the halls and plowing out the main entrance like a force of nature.

She may have lost a sandal at some point but it hardly fazed her at all. One second she was in her old friend's office, the next she was in front of the Guild. Hestia would have been inside the building itself but even her adrenaline rush could not pierce the wall of people mobbing the entrance.

A pink haired girl in the black and white Guild uniform stood at the top of the staircase before the front doors. The sea of people between her and Hestia pulsed and undulated, jockeying to shout inquiries at the Guild worker. The girl fielded what she could, palms up in a placating manner, but it was clear that any nervousness she may have felt about the situation had long given way to exasperation.

She may have been drawing a good deal of confidence from the red head standing in the doorway behind her. Even as the wolf girl shouted commands and moved agents about the building's interior, the armored woman made sure to toss the occasional glare over the raucous crowd. The wave of doom made for an effective pacifier.

As a goddess – the head of a familia, no less – under ideal circumstances, she would have been passed to the front of the line quickly. That clearly wasn't going to happen today, prompting Hestia to seek alternatives. The twintailed goddess made a swift run of the perimeter.

After a minute of uselessly trying at sealed side doors and locked windows, opportunity was presented. Hestia's sight snapped up at the clack of a window sliding shut. The tiny goddess sped over, her eyes locked hopelessly on the third story portal she had no hope of reaching. As she stomped across the cut grass surrounding the Guild, ready to call in desperation to whoever was above, the Goddess of the Hearth swung face first into the ground.

"Owww! What the-"

Hestia rolled onto her back, the large frame of whatever tripped her flipping over to slap against her legs. She glared back at the rigid, offending object before perking at its identity. A tall, wooden ladder had her legs tangled up in the rungs. Certainly tall enough to reach the recently closed window.

The twintailed goddess quickly unscrambled herself. Her unnatural strength came into play as the blue eyed girl snatched up the ladder and easily hefted the apparatus into place. She made no effort to be subtle about this, the wooden frame knocking against the stone wall of the building.

Ascending the rungs like she was born for it, Hestia devoured the distance up to the third floor. The ladder was actually so tall that it almost surpassed the Guild's roof. Hestia arrived beside the window, one hand reaching out and slapping against the glass.

Surprisingly, the pane had some give. The tiny goddess instantly prioritized prying the window open. With one hand, Hestia forced the portal open. Still running on a high, the Goddess of the Hearth swung into the room and through the green curtains.

A brief shriek from inside the room turned to a powerful yawp. Before she could even see past the curtains, hands clamped onto Hestia's arm. The tiny goddess was hauled forward, her sense of gravity literally turned on its head as her short frame was hurled into a quick flip.

Hestia's back struck with a muffled slam atop the area rug. The jingle of some small baubles quaking rung out, overtaken by a chorus of brief shouts and gasps off to one side of the space.

Bell's sharp cry of "Hestia!" was the last thing she heard as the air was blown from her lungs, consciousness rapidly fading.


Bell settled low next to his goddess as her blue orbs slowly crept open. Her focus settled on him for a silent moment as a warm smile lit up her features. Bell swiftly returned the expression, concern melting away as the young adventurer became lost in her eyes.

Hestia's lips found his in an instant. Bell didn't have a second to think about it, already sinking into the display of affection. His eyes slid shut, his sense of self lost to simmering passion.

"That's certainly gossip worthy."

Crossette's voice dragged Bell back to awareness. The white haired boy fell back onto his ass, both hands holding him somewhat upright. Hestia's disappointed expression morphed to confusion as the world around her came into focus. This place was not familiar.

"Has her holiness decided to grace us with her presence?"

The frankly rude tone drew Hestia's gaze to an old woman sitting forwards in a high back chair. The elder's fingers were expertly weaving bundles of blue strands into a thick spiral.

The blue threads were actually hair, evident in them emerging from the scalp of the small figure sitting in front of the old lady. Pale skin and amber eyes were the first things Hestia noted. When she started to wonder about the scaly patches and the red gem perched upon her brow, the "little girl" raised her hand.

"Hello! My name is Wiene!"

"Don't shuffle so much sweetie, I'm still working back here."

Wiene's jubilance stilled all at once, her features like the stone visage of a veteran warrior. The hand she had raised clapped down on her left kneecap. Hestia had to fight the urge to squee.

The blunette girl's other hand was being held by another. The half elf in Guild attire had a firm, almost rigid really, grip on Wiene's wrist. Eina also had a steel file in hand, the coarse surface pressed against one of the small girl's dark nails. Hestia noted that Wiene's thumb and pointer finger extended out in sharp talons, the others all filed down to rounded nubs.

She also took note that the half elf was not currently filing. In fact, Eina was actually quite still, save the continuous flickering of her pupils. Her gaze, shaky as it appeared, did seem mostly oriented on Bell and Hestia. Did the girl in glasses have some problem with them?

It was at this point that Hestia remembered the kiss. Her face immediately flushed scarlet. But it was no match for the deep hue of crimson overtaking her child, Bell unable to look anywhere but at the floor. He certainly could not glance anywhere in his adviser's general direction.

When Eina started to produce a low, throaty whine was when Crossette elected to intervene. A swift chop to the head acted as a hard reset for Eina, the half elf blinking back to clarity. Rather than verbal commands, Crossette tapped two of her digits against the top of the steel file. The bespectacled young woman resumed her manicurial duties with unhesitating gusto, the definition of a proper Guild worker.

Wiene hummed as her pampering continued.

Recovering before Bell, Hestia looked on at the odd scene of two women giving a miniature spa treatment to a childlike monster. Her attempts to voice some form of inquiry started and ended with her mouth hanging open, a soundless breath flowing through.

"Ask your boy," Crossette tossed out, her efforts focused on braiding the blunette's long lockes, "this is his responsibility now."

The sheer, bestial speed with which Hestia turned to her ward broke through Bell's embarrassed haze. The instinctual sense of danger lighting up his senses had the boy's hands up in surrender before he fully understood the situation. One look in his goddess' eyes and Bell knew a storm was brewing.

"What's this about little girls and 'responsibility?' Hmm, Bell?"

As the white haired adventurer flew into a vocal hurricane of rambling denials, Crossette finished off the monster girl's thick braid. Her rope like length of hair reached to about mid back, Wiene's free hand feeling around the tightly banded hair.

Eina's laser focus wavered as Bell's overdramatic pleas with Hestia reached a fever pitch. Crossette just eased the nail file out of her hands and finished rounding off Wiene's talons. Relieved of her duties, Eina turned her attention to Bell and Hestia.

"Ah, excuse me," the half elf raised a finger towards the arguing pair. She froze as the twintailed goddess locked sights onto her. "Hello. I'm Eina Tule, the dungeon advisor to Bell Cranel."

Wiene nodded, humming her appreciation for the Guild agent's greeting technique.

Hestia's entire frame turned to regard the Guild worker. Bell, in a moment of wisdom, clamped his mouth shut as the focus moved off of him.

"Umm," Eina stalled, "I can vouch for Mr. Cranel's character and that nothing untoward occurred-"

"Yeah, I know."

The half elf paused, Bell slowly rotating to face his now grinning goddess. Crossette blew the shavings from Wiene's fingers to cover up her laughter.

Hestia beamed, "I just couldn't pass up a chance to mess with my Bell!"

What followed was an adorable sequence of Bell sending rapid-fire, utterly listless punches pinwheeling into Hestia's left arm, squealing his goddess' name in a high pitched whine. Wiene's expression couldn't decide between enraptured and perplexed by the sight and Crossette retreated, her dulling of Wiene's claws complete, to store her file. She snickered all the way.

Eina looked like she'd been dumped in ice water, "… Y-Your Bell?" Her shaky delivery had an unmistakable implication.

Falling back on skills which had kept her from overt conflict with Hephaestus while she was staying with her, Hestia employed the most basic strategy: deflection. "At any rate, I believe you had an explanation for this…" The goddess' sight flickered to Wiene and then back to Bell's advisor, "… situation."

Throughout this, Bell continued pelting Hestia with impotent whaps in a display of girlish wrath. Wiene hopped up from her cushion and proceeded to approach, the Goddess of the Hearth pointedly ignoring her in favor of a fidgeting Eina.

"A Xenos."

Hestia and Eina turned to the work desk in the top corner of the office. Crossette slapped a drawer closed before rounding the counter. She held a half full jar of something clearly alcoholic and a stack of wooden cups as she advanced on the sitting area. Two foot taps was all that was needed upon her arrival to spur Eina into action, the half elf taking up the cup stack quickly.

"As I'd started explaining to these two before your holiness hopped into my window and was thrown to the floor by our precious Eina, excellent form by the way," Crossette grinned as Eina seized for a split second. It was unfortunate that she was also in the midst of handing a cup to Hestia, the deity fixing her with a raised brow. The half elf moved on without comment, handing a cup to Bell as his goddess stared a hole in her back.

Crossette continued, "It is a term used to describe sentient monsters."

The notion made the twintail's eyes go wide, her attention fully back on the old medic. She completely glossed over Wiene who was now standing right beside her, opposite Bell who had taken up Hestia's free hand. "Sentient… monsters…" the goddess murmured.

Here, Eina's inner intellectual shined through, "You said 'monsters,' plural. You have a whole term dedicated for this… so it isn't an isolated case."

Crossette nodded to her coworker, pouring some drink into her own cup before passing the jar off to Eina. She elaborated on Eina's point as the half elf sheepishly moved towards a waiting Hestia, "A reasonable conclusion, though this is the first example I've seen in person."

Hestia took a swig of her drink as soon as the pour was finished, Eina nearly sprinting away to fill Bell's cup. Tiny fists began tapping at her right thigh, the brunette goddess quickly gulping down her mouthful. Glancing down revealed Wiene mimicking Bell's pinwheeling arms-assault from earlier, her face warped into a visage of righteous determination. Bell grinned at the sight, drawing himself closer to Hestia.

Doing her best to ignore the peanut gallery, Eina pressed, "Do you know who first coined the term 'Xenos'?"

Crossette presented a second empty cup to her fellow Guild worker, Eina starting her pour with no further prompting. "Some kind of stir kicked up around a decade ago, something the higher ups really wanted to keep hush-hush. Then the city got sieged half a year later and the Guild had to focus itself on rebuilding. It was an awfully convenient distraction, but I'm fairly sure there's no correlation.

"When the Guild was restructuring, the 'concept' of the Xenos was introduced to the new department heads, me included, as strictly confidential. The only exception was Search and Rescue since they were potentially operating in the dungeon: the whole branch was briefed and vowed to silence."

"That explains Yuta and Ms. Rose," Bell interjected.

Crossette groaned something about young punks shirking their work, passing the second drink to Eina in exchange for the jar. The Medical head took a long draw straight from it as Eina took a brief sip from her acquired mug. Hestia handed her half downed glass off to Bell as the little monster girl continued sternly pecking her knuckles against the goddess' leg. The twintail's palm touched down on Wiene's scalp with gentle pressure, Hestia doing her best to treat her like any normal child.

Wiene glowed under the attention, her "assault" ended and an appeased grin splitting her features. Bell took an errant drink – unknowingly from his goddess' cup – as he mulled over the girls' adorable interaction. Because cute displays of violence should always end in head pats.

"How high up the ladder do you think it goes," Eina posed, again more concerned with the interplay of her own organization, "do you thin Royman is overseeing this?"

The old medic placed her jar on the desk, swallowing another gulp of alcohol from her cup proper, "Higher than Royman, no doubt in my mind."

"H-Higher?" Eina couldn't help but take a longer sip of her superior's odd brew, even though it really wasn't to her pallet. Whatever could help cleanse that sinking feeling in her gut.

"Do you think old Roy could operate as the head of any kind of 'conspiracy?" The statement caused the advisor to deflate.

Hestia had largely checked out of the conversation, her form lowered as she vigorously rubbed Wiene behind the ears. Both of them were absolutely humming with joy. Bell fought off the urge to join and returned to the discussion.

"So… what can we do about Wiene then?"

There was no ready response. The still air was broken when Hestia and Wiene toppled to the floor, laughing openly as the claws-trimmed girl engaged the tiny goddess in a tickle fight. The three "acting adults" continued to stare at one another.

Crossette finished off her drink before reaching for Bell's untouched cup, leaving the conversing trio with one glass apiece. The medic took a brief sip.

"Eina." The half elf jumped as her superior spoke her name. Crossette kept going, "She really does have ears like an elf, wouldn't you say?"

It felt odd for the old woman to repeat observations from barely an hour before. But glancing down towards the little monster, and considering how Hestia's focus on them left them clearly on display, Eina couldn't help but voice her agreement.

They even twitched when a particular spot got pressed, just like Eina's own. She took extreme care not to voice that end part out loud.

Satisfied, the Head of Medical turned to the white haired boy. "Bell Cranel." The young adventurer stood a bit straighter, a bit of his goddess' brew sloshing out of its cup. Bell stuck his knee out to catch the droplets, keeping them from hitting the rug. Crossette grinned as a sweatdrop raced down the boy's face.

"Are you aware of the sheer variety of monsters that exist in our world? Even beyond the scope of the dungeon, can you name them all?"

Not knowing where this was going but eager not to cross his elder, Bell declared, "I know a fair bit about those residing on the upper floors… and a few things about the more dangerous kinds." His eyes glanced off as a memory of the minotaur came forward in a sudden flash.

The Guild's Head of Medical quite literally snapped the boy out of his thoughts, "Focus, young man!" Bell swiftly nodded, his subservient side showing strong. Crossette smiled, appeased, "Now… If you, an adventurer – albeit a fledgling one – only knows of a handful of monster species, then how much can a simple citizen know?"

Bell knew it was a rhetorical question, somewhere in the depths of his consciousness. He still offered a hesitant, "Not… much?"

To the young man's quiet pleasure, Crossette favored his response with a pleased grin and an eager finger snap. Nothing brightened a boy's day like a smile from grandma.

Off to the side, Hestia had coaxed Wiene up onto her shoulders in a loose fireman's carry. The twintailed "adult" was twirling mostly in place, the spinning pair all giggles and smiles. Crossette pointedly ignored their antics though Bell noticed the old woman became much more invested whenever the two looked ready to collide with one of her chairs.

Reigning in her more mischievous notions, Crossette refocused onto an attentive Bell and Eina. "So then, if we were to claim to questioning individuals that little Wiene's appearance was due to an unfortunate encounter with a rogue monster-"

If Eina had a desk in front of her, she would have slammed it. With both hands. The best she could do was cross her arms in a "time-out" gesture, "You can't be serious. Even out in the boonies I'd be hesitant to try such a story, let alone in the Dungeon City!"

Crossette's flat stare seemed to bring the half elf back to herself, the girl in glasses offering a fast string of apologies. The old medic brushed off her coworker's tirade, "Would you be quicker to believe some strange creature cursed an innocent girl or that a monster capable of emotion and speech existed?"

Eina's panic cut off mid word, her mouth hanging open. Her green eyes folded into slits, pupils shifting and gaze downcast in rapid thought. Honestly, even with her clear advantage in knowledge… she'd be tempted to go along with the former.

Catching Bell's eye, Crossette explained, "People are stubborn creatures. They cling to the things they know with zealous desperation, ever confident in their truth."

"People are basically good," Eina intoned, raising a single finger, "you can always count on family," a second finger raised, "all souls will eventually reincarnate." She held up three digits for the three points she made.

"And monsters are evil," Bell finished, glancing towards the floor.

"There it is," Crossette pointed at the white haired lad, "the most important 'truth.' The common man could hardly fathom the idea of a 'monster' being a 'person..' It'll take some real doing for the masses to accept that reality – something I doubt I'll ever see in my lifetime."

Bell's features fell further at Crossette's rater accurate estimate. Having just met his first Xenos, Bell doubted a genuine acceptance would be achieved even in his own lifetime. The stigma regarding monsters was just too ingrained.

"Be that as it may," Eina interjected, "I'm still dubious about such a flimsy story-"

The Head of Medical huffed at that. "Hard to believe as it is, they'll take that before they hear the truth. If given two unbelievable stories, they'll follow the path of least resistance to the most 'rational' conclusion."

The way Crossette spat the word "rational" as though it insulted her gave her audience pause. Wiene and Hestia had somehow swapped places, the Goddess of the Hearth far more alarmed in her laughter as the blunette below spun faster and faster.

Breathing out through her nose, Crossette fell back into one of her chairs, crossing her arms and legs. "But it would help to pad the narrative out with more details… Eina, where was your mother born?"

Eina blinked at the sudden question, "Umm.. well, my mother hailed from the Midoryl Highlands."

Before Bell could process how his Guild handler addressed her mom in the past tense, the head medic pursued, "On the edge of the elven capital, yes?"

"Yes… it is."

"And she was cast out when her family found that she was pregnant with you?"

Eina… took a little longer to answer that one. She nodded instead of speaking.

"It's not an unheard of situation among elves who tend to place great importance upon the purity of one's blood."

"Hmm, you want to say Wiene is an outcasted half elf?" The three turned to regard Hestia. The little goddess was riding piggyback on the monster girl. Wiene's smile was unshakable, not a trace of exertion in her body. The bark of laughter Eina gave at the sight was clearly a release of tension.

Though Bell couldn't help but gawk at his Guild handler, prompting Eina to bury her face in one hand, Hestia and Crossette maintained eye contact. The Head of Medical presented a smile, "It's a good enough story. Makes enough sense to explain an anomaly but has a level of hurt that discourages polite people from prying."

The riding goddess hummed in thought, "It's decent, but you're putting a lot of stock in people not pushing for answers."

"I imagine Wiene herself will be enough to sway most beyond initial fear and confusion." The monster girl in question beamed at Crossette, bouncing lightly at the apparent praise. Hestia giggled as her faithful mount hopped beneath her. "Your everyday bystander won't maintain suspicions when they get a taste of her personality. She's just too precious, too far removed from what they 'know' of monsters."

"That's true… Wiene, down." At Hestia's request, Wiene dipped low, allowing the slightly taller goddess to dismount. The blue haired child made an immediate b-line for Bell. Hestia returned to the old medic, "But what about those who keep asking questions?"

"Bring that sort of thing straight to me."

Hestia was taken aback by the swift reply. Crossette maintained a stony glare, not directed at he tiny goddess but rather at the current topic. "The Guild has a few ongoing cases, high up stuff I… I can't really discuss. But if you experience anyone taking a particular interest in Wiene, bring it to me and stay wary around them."

That got a nod from the Goddess of the Hearth, one that was mirrored by Eina who became invested as soon as Guild dealings were brought up. Wiene had thrown herself onto Bell and was currently preening for head pats.

But Hestia had more to add, "And what about a curious god? They can tell when mortals lie."

Crossette dismissed that with an actual snort. Hestia wasn't sure whether to feel amused or insulted when the old woman began, "You know, there's a bit of a trick with that."

That piqued the twintail's interest, Hestia waving her hand in a "continue" motion.

"As long as your answer is 'in the spirit' of the truth, it's much harder for the deus deia to discern it as a lie. Saying something like 'she's a child cast out from society because of her appearance' is technically true, after all."

Then Crossette's features hardened once more, "The only problem then will be if one of our illustrious deities pursued more specific inquiry. Probing questions. If that happens, you definitely come to see me. Post haste."

The look Hestia sent her was remarkably schooled, but Crossette could make out the silent alarm lingering in the corners. Rather than say anything, the old woman gave the short goddess a knowing glance and a silent nod. Hestia's eyes widened a fraction before her features got contemplative.

Eina looked between the two. She could tell something had been communicated but what it was remained beyond her. Something she wasn't meant to know… from the flow of the conversation, something involving the deus deia?

As the lull in talking dragged on, Hestia turned to regard Bell and Wiene. Her thoughtful features gained a small smile seeing her boy had been "coerced" to a spot on the couch. Wiene had perched herself on top of the couch's back and was returning the head pats from earlier. Bell looked to be in a fairly zen-like trance as the little monster mussed his hair and scratched behind his left ear.

Then a mischievous little smirk crossed the blue haired girl's face. Bell barked out a short yawp as Wiene pinched his ear and gave it a quick pull. The look of betrayal the boy sent over his shoulder was so comically overblown that the little goddess couldn't hold back her laughter.

Bell's expression went from sad to playful in an instant, the opportunity for a counterattack readily presenting itself. Twisting, the rookie adventurer dislodged Wiene from her perch, swinging his arm around to catch her in a headlock. But the monster girl ducked the grapple, sliding back out of arms reach.

Wiene went wide eyed for a moment before her humored mood resumed. Bell's slackened jaw slowly slid shut, his closed lips forming into a soft smile. Then, with his ward distracted, the white haired warrior brought up both hands and sped forward.

For about half a minute the Goddess of the Hearth watched as her child and the blue haired girl darted about the open space of the room. Even as a novice dungeon delver, Bell was particularly gifted in speed. But Wiene stayed just out of reach every step of the way. Not to say that it was easy, but she was keeping it up.

Eina started attempts to corral the pair when they added flipping/rolling over furniture to their respective maneuvers. The owner of the office herself was frankly nonplussed by the mounting chaos. Crossette's sights were settled on Hestia, the chesty brunette still watching the acrobatic tussle with rapt attention.

When Wiene rebounded off the wall, vaulting over Bell's head with a swift flip and peels of laughter, was when Hestia fell into a deep, rushing stream of thought. Crossette could hardly make out the low, rapid mumbles churning from her palm covered lips. What little she did pick up had the healer tentatively optimistic.

"Hestia," Crossette spoke. Though her voice was soft and had to compete with Eina's barks of supplication, it did draw Hestia out of her contemplation. "I got some idea what you're thinking. Just… make sure you're committed to your decision."

The two held gazes, elder mortal and youthful deity. There was a tiny speck of Hestia's being that felt somewhat… indignant. Appearances aside, she was many times Crossette's elder and having this short lived whelp questioning her decisions-

Hestia paused, mentally taking a cleansing breath. That was a line of thought she hadn't entertained for quite some time. Falling back on old methods, Hestia gathered up those scathing thoughts, held them for a count of three, and then purged them from her being. The process took barely two seconds.

Crossette's gaze had become concerned. Not purely out of worry for Hestia, though there was some level of that present. The medical veteran appeared more concerned with how the goddess would react, a subtle tension in the woman's stance. When Hestia saw this, the spark of wrath swiftly faded from her eyes.

Bell and Wiene's continued struggles and Eina's ongoing placations meant they probably hadn't noticed.

"You alright," Crossette asked, the words spoken like a release of nerves. Hestia drew her palm away from her mouth, revealing a small frown. She… didn't know why the woman's words had riled her up so much. She knew Crossette was just looking out for her and her familia, the old healer didn't deserve her ire.

Crossing her arms beneath her bust, Hestia turned down to the side. A soft, "I'm sorry," drifted from her downturned lips. Crossette quickly waved off the apology, the reaction near instantaneous. But seeing Hestia wasn't looking, the Head of Medical reached out towards the goddess. A breath away from its destination, her arm froze…

"Don't worry about it," Crossette breathed, her arm falling to her side without ever touching the twintailed girl.

Being the good little tension breakers they were, Bell and Wiene chose this moment to come tumbling over the couch. Their giggling round of rough housing brought the entire piece toppling down on top of them. They were both still laughing like idiots, half covered by the sofa. Eina was standing over them, clearly stunned by her inability to resolve anything.

Goddess and Guild agent broke their standoff to stare at the literal children on the floor. When both turned their sights on the half elf, Eina quickly flicked on her freeze response. This caused Bell and Wiene to redouble their cackling fits, bringing some levity to Hestia and Crossette.

And so it was with a grin that Crossette declared, "I think you kids need to get the hell out of my office." Bell, having some social sense, cut off his humor with a few awkward chuckles. Wiene, not having this social sense, kept right on laughing. At least until her stomach started to rumble, that cut her off pretty quickly.

Still smiling, Crossette pointed to the girl, "And feed this one while you're at it. Consider it step one of parenthood."

Both Bell and Hestia froze at that comment, the pair partially through lifting the couch off of the young man and Wiene. Bell's face went tomato red as his gaze locked onto the floor. Hestia's expression was harder to determine but there was a degree of "wonder" dancing in her eyes.

Wiene crawled out from her sofa prison, rising to full height and glancing between her two guardians. Then, without a word, she crouched down and pulled Bell up to his feet. His face was still flushed beyond reason, but he mustered up a little grin for Wiene.

As Hestia lowered the flipped sofa down, still lost in a dream like daze, she noticed Wiene's little hand dangling nearby. Her features became impossibly bright as she reached for the monster girl's palm, Crossette's comment on "parenthood" hammering her thoughts on repeat.

Then Wiene expertly – and unknowingly – dodged the goddess' affections when she lunged into Bell's waist. Hestia sat on the ground with her mouth gaping, a weak, scratchy groan spilling free as she mindlessly groped the air. Eina and Crossette, choosing to ignore the sad display, walked around the downed deity to right the collapsed furniture.

A hand grabbed Hestia's. Looking up showed Bell leaning over her, his cheeks still blushing but a full smile on his face. The young adventurer easily pulled her up, the pair never breaking eye contact. Hestia's air of euphoria from earlier came back with a vengeance, her other hand wrapping around to cover the back of Bell's. Glued to her savior's side, Wiene looked back and forth between her hero and his goddess, a strange sense of excitement building.

Then Hestia's stomach grumbled, the moment immediately lost. The twintailed goddess deflated, one arm swinging limply at her side as she sighed out, "Let's… let's just go." She started towards the double doors at a listless strut, her one source of solace being Bell's hand clasped in hers.

Wiene broke free of the young man, leaping onto his and Hestia's clutched hands. The Goddess of the Hearth felt her soul shatter a little as her connection with Bell was simply severed, the monster child snatching up her beloved's palm with a round of youthful giggles.

Hestia's dwindling spirit and growing wrath were abruptly quenched when Wiene turned, the girl's free hand taking up the goddess'. The expression on the little monster's face was simply blinding, Hestia going from ruined to elated in the blink of an eye. Oh this precious child, how could she ever take umbridge with this innocent soul!?

Bell rolled his eyes, a smile breaching his features regardless. Taking on the man's role of leadership, the dungeon delver started towards the exit. Hestia and Wiene were all mirth, the twintail swiftly matching Bell's pace even through her fits of laughter. Wiene was having the time of her life, suspended between her new guardians and swinging joyously back and forth.

Eina couldn't hold back a chuckle, covering her mouth with a fist as the impromptu household stepped around the edge of the doorway and out of sight. She took a few moments more as their laughter echoed down the hallway until vanishing to silence. Shaking her head, Eina made to leave herself, her hand raised in a parting wave and words of goodbye pressed upon her lips.

"Not so fast, Eina dear." Crossette put a swift end to the half elf's departure, Eina freezing in place like a startled deer. Her countenance wasn't helped when the Medical lead's palm clapped down on her upper left arm, the woman's grip like a shackle holding her in place.

"You're a Guild agent, as well as a personal liaison to the Hestia Familia, so I have to get you a bit more up to speed. I do have to stress that what we discuss from here out is of the highest confidence. Not even that boy can know, not yet."

Crossette's preamble brought an ominous air to the ensuing discussion. But intermingled with that, Eina had to admit her interest was piqued.


Hestia can be a joy to write because I always see her as someone who feels her emotions very fully. When she's a wreck, it's a multi-vehicular one. When she's angry, it's a supernova. It gives potential for fun sequences, like her outright breaking into the Guild Hall and subsequently getting body slammed for her efforts. And getting her and Wiene to act like little kids playing is just doubly adorable.

Hestia and Wiene bond pretty quickly. It's probably more elaborate in the light novel, but I know that in the anime she acclimates to Wiene's existence damn near immediately. I headcanon this as something related to her status as a goddess, like maybe she just has an innate sense for the presence of a soul in an individual, something along those lines. As she's also the goddess of family and the home, she probably has a special connection to children that I really wanted to bring into play here. As will be evident the further we go along, Mama Hestia is Truly Bestia.

There's a lot more implications to Crossette's past and present. She is a person who has a lot of history specifically within the Guild but she's also someone who was present and fighting back against the strife of Orario's siege several years back. She's a person with a lot of experience and from that she's acquired a wealth of both knowledge and authority.

Unfortunately her stellar service and aptitude means a lot of people lean on her for things, lazy fucking youths.

From Crossette, we learn that the amount of people who know of the Xenos' existence is actually quite broad, what with each department head (including herself) as well as the entirety of Search and Rescue. In this world, the "discovery" of the Xenos was quite oddly timed with the invasion of the dungeon city which ultimately resulted in a restructuring of the Guild itself. In the rebuilding process, leadership decided that this would be he best path going forward. As to the why of that…

You'll note that Crossette doesn't display the expected reverence of the deus deia, at least in her interactions with Hestia. She kind of treats her with an almost mocking respect, the way you would picture an older person treating a younger superior in the workplace. She also knows a trick to "withhold truth" from the scrying aura of the gods, something that even Hestia seems ignorant of. You could chalk some of this up to Crossette just being an old bat who's grown beyond the capacity for ass-kissing, but there is a bit more there. She is very keen on those who show too much interest in information regarding the Xenos.

So the plan for letting Wiene live above ground is just throw out a somewhat believable cover story. We get a little bit of the backstory I've designed for Eina, her mother carrying a half breed child and being expelled from her community for it. I'm not sure in canon just how deep the prejudices of elves actually run, but considering what I've heard from Ryuu and Riveria's history, this seems well within their wheelhouse. The Midoryl Highlands get their name from Midoryl Bridge, a location from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 that you visit on the titan of Mor Ardain. It's not really a special location, I just liked the name. Mostly because it sounds like Midoriya…

"Young Midoryl, you too can become a hero!" -Chuggaconroy

Crossette's entire spiel about people and the rigidity of their believes/truths is partially inspired by K' speech from the first Men in Black film about the "knowledge" of the masses. It was something that really resonated with me when I first heard it, the notions of how a person alone can be objective but people in groups tend towards mob mentality. How an entire society's understanding of "truth" shifts over time, like how in our own history people thought the world was flat or that the Earth was the center of the universe.

There's a little touch of Secondhand Lions in there as well, for those who remember that movie. For those who don't, it's the film where Haley Joel Osment gets shipped off to stay with his… I think they're his great uncles who live in this isolated estate in the midst of this huge plot of land. They buy an actual lion in the movie.

When Eina references those three "truths" as she's raising her fingers, it's a reference to a scene in this movie where one of the uncles gives the boy a talk about growing up and "the things you have to believe, even if they aren't true." It's got a more negative connotation in this story since a lot of the things Eina mentions are faiths people hold kind of as a means to cope with the world around them. It's important, even in reality, for people to hold to certain values just to hold civilization together. Challenging the outdated is how we grow, but it is a battle…

One that will be aided greatly by Wiene's winning personality. As you can see, she is very happy to be meeting people. Think of her like a younger Elizabeth from Bioshock: Infinite, just utterly wowed in being free of her "cage." Again, that greeting of hers is gonna get a lot of mileage.

Wiene gets to show a bit of her dexterous nature and Hestia gets some thoughts in her head. Crossette doles out some advice and our favorite twintail gets a little vexed. Hestia may be better than most, but I feel like she still has the capacity to slip back into the "bad habits" of the deus deia, especially since she's only recently descended. Add in the fact that she's absorbed in this newfound romance and now they suddenly have this "complete family unit" situation… she's not in a place to have her methods questioned, particularly when she never shared anything to be judged. I liked the idea that Hestia has a kind of "calm-down" technique – albeit a rudimentary one – that she practices. Probably picked up from Hephaestus who herself is always pretty chill, more evidence of their friendship.

And we have Crossette ready for an altercation at the drop of a hat, leaning into her stance regarding the gods as well as some… further implication of her history. In time people, in time.

Coming up: a short, but necessary, shopping venture featuring a… "questionable" proprietor. And a night time frolic home leads into a promised reunion.