The evening rush at the Hostess of Fertility was in full swing, transforming the tavern into a chaotic symphony of clinking beer mugs, roaring laughter, and the rich aroma of roasted meat and stews. Waitresses blurred past the heavy wooden tables, deftly weaving through the packed crowd of hungry adventurers and locals with stacked trays balancing perfectly on their shoulders.
Among them, Hestia moved with a surprising, newfound grace. Gone were the days of her clumsy stumbles and dropped things from when she first started working. Now, she maintained a perfectly straight posture and a bright, professional smile as she effortlessly carried two trays loaded with foaming ale and steaming plates of food, slipping past a row of rowdy customer chairs without breaking a sweat.
"Here is your order, gentlemen! Enjoy your night!" Hestia cheered, her voice carrying clearly over the din as she set the drinks down with practiced precision.
Meanwhile, Lili was navigating her own shift with a bit more caution. Since she was still a beginner, Mia had shown some mercy, assigning her to the less chaotic duty of wiping down cleared tables and running errands when called upon. She looked incredibly cute in the signature green Hostess uniform, though the skirt had been heavily tailored to fit her small Prum stature.
She wiped down a corner table with focused intensity, her eyes occasionally darting around to make sure she wasn't in anyone's way.
Over by the bar, the usual banter was taking place. A pair of slightly tipsy human adventurers leaned over the counter, grinning as Anya set down their refills.
"Hey, Anya-chan, you look extra sharp tonight," one of them laughed, raising his mug. "How about you take a break and join us for a drink?"
"Nya~? If Anya drinks, Mia-mama will turn Anya into cat food, nya!" Anya chirped back with a playful, unbothered grin, already wiping down the counter without missing a beat. "Just keep ordering the expensive ale if you want to keep Anya smiling!"
A few tables over, Syr chuckled softly at the exchange as she took notes on a parchment, politely turning down a polite compliment from an customer with a gentle wave of her hand, keeping the atmosphere relaxed, professional, and lively.
Behind the swinging doors, the kitchen was busy and hot. Long counters were lined with large iron stoves powered by magic stones to keep a steady heat, while pots and pans sizzled everywhere. Mia stood by a large skillet, stirring a thick sauce, while Luki helped her as an assistant.
"Hey, can you hand me the garlic and chop those carrots for me?" Mia asked casually over the noise.
"Sure thing," Luki replied, his knife moving quickly across the cutting board.
While the girls were working as waitresses and handling other tasks, Luki—not wanting to be useless—offered to help in the kitchen, even if it was just prepping ingredients rather than doing the actual cooking; it was something they had done a few times before, so the two of them were already used to working together.
As he slid the diced carrots into a bowl, he looked over at her skillet. "Hey, how do you get the sauce for this roast so thick? It smells amazing."
"It's just about letting the marrow reduce slowly, it makes the flavor much richer, and it goes perfectly with thick bread. It's actually pretty easy to make once you get the timing down. Didn't you learn any cooking before all this?"
Luki let out a soft chuckle, scratching his cheek. "To be honest, back where I come from, kitchen tools were way more... modern. Food was very convenient, industrialized, and easy to prepare. Plus, if you ever got stuck, you had a tutorial for everything right in the palm of your hand, if you know what I mean..."
Mia laughed softly, shaking her head. "Sounds like a world made for lazy people."
Before Luki could answer, the kitchen doors pushed open and Chloe stepped inside, holding a long piece of parchment.
"Next order is up!" Chloe said, hanging the paper up.
Luki leaned over to read the long, specific list: Three plates of garlic-butter roasted ribs, two bowls of spicy meat stew with extra pepper, five baskets of deep-fried potato puffs with honey-mustard glaze, a double portion of pan-seared river trout with lemon herbs, and four pitchers of ale.
Luki cast a deadpan look at the order in his hand, unable to believe how specific someone could be about certain things.
A sudden commotion outside the kitchen doors caught their attention. Peeking through the order counter, Luki and Mia watched as two drunk human adventurers stood up, slurring their words in a heated, a little louder argument.
"I'm tellin' ya... you... you totally stole my kill in the Dungeon today, Bart!" the one in the cloak shouted, swaying dangerously on his feet. "That... that Almiraj was mine!"
"Yer full of it, Boris!" Barth stammered back, his tongue heavy as he accidentally bumped his hip against the table, rattling the empty mugs. "You couldn't... couldn't hit a sleeping Goblin even if it... it sat on yer face! I saved yer sorry ass!"
Instead of panic, a ripple of amused murmurs washed over the tavern. The surrounding customers casually slid their chairs back to give them space, wide, expectant grins spreading across everyone's faces. This was free entertainment.
"Hey, five Valis says Ryu or Chloe throws them both through the front door," a nearby guy whispered to his friend, leaning back with a chuckle.
"No way," his companion replied, slamming a coin on the table. "I bet ten Valis that Mia launches something from behind the counter and knocks 'em both cold right there."
Bart and Boris continued their chaotic dispute, completely oblivious to the bets. They didn't have the energy for anything, so they just stumbled into each other, grabbing collars as they tried to square up.
Just as the two looked like they were finally about to clumsily swing at each other, a heavy mug flew in a blur straight from the kitchen counter. It struck Bart square in the jaw, and the sheer momentum carried him backward into Boris, knocking them both off balance.
The pair crashed backward, tumbling clumsily through the swinging tavern doors and onto the street outside.
"AEEEEEEE!!!"
The crowd immediately erupted into roars of cheers and laughter.
"Ha! Told you! Pay up, cough it over! Lunoire-chan, two more here!!" the second guy barked, scraping the won coins off the table with a triumphant grin.
Back inside the kitchen, Luki stared out the window, thoroughly impressed.
"Wow. Nice shot. That was incredible accuracy."
"Comes with years of practice, brat," Mia grunted casually, already grabbing another clean rag to wipe her hands.
Then, she raised her voice to a deafening roar that shook the kitchen walls. "Anya! Go outside and get my damn mug back! And make sure someone adds those two idiots' tab to their friends' bill!"
...
As the hours ticked away, the roaring laughter and the heavy drinking slowly began to wind down. One by one, the rowdy adventurers paid their tabs and staggered out into the cool Orario night, leaving the Hostess of Fertility behind.
By midnight, the massive dining hall was finally empty, filled only with the quiet scraping of chairs and the soft rustle of the girls starting the cleanup, marking the official end of a long, hectic shift.
Luki laughed out loud as he helped wipe down the heavy wooden tables. "Man, every single night it's the exact same thing. It never gets old."
"Right?" Anya chimed in, leaning on her broom. "The best part is always when Mia-mama gets involved. I wish I had that kind of talent."
"I just don't get how this keeps happening, you'd think people would have learned their lesson by now." Luki said, shaking his head.
Chloe scoffed, tossing a clean rag over her shoulder. "Adventurers are just a bunch of rowdy show-offs looking for trouble no matter where they are. Alcohol just strips away whatever mask of control they have left."
"Weren't you just like that too?" Lunoire teased, looking at Luki.
"Of course not!" Chloe interrupted, gesturing with her chin toward the always stoic elf across the room. "The angel over here was raised just like the a princess over there."
Luki shook his head with a grin. "Not really. I used to go out drinking with my friends back in the day, but I never saw people throwing punches like that. The vibe was always just festive and relaxed."
'Of course... the people back home didn't have divine blessings making them superhuman, constantly driven by pride to flex their strength. Not to mention the general level of education was higher. Sure, you'd see a bar fight make the news every now and then, but I guess drunks are a universal problem no matter what world you're in.'
While everyone was caught up in the casual conversation and cleanup, Hestia and Lili quietly slipped away, moving toward the back exit without drawing any attention to themselves.
Hestia closed the heavy wooden door behind her, letting out a sharp sigh of relief. "I think nobody saw us..." she murmured.
"Why did you call Lili out here, Hestia-sama?" Lili asked, her voice cautious as she looked around.
They stood in a narrow, dark alley behind the tavern. Wooden crates and overflowing trash bins lined the stone walls, with the only real illumination coming from the faint, distant glow of the main street lamp at the entrance.
Hestia shifted her weight, her tone turning uncharacteristically solemn.
"Look, Lili. I'm going to make this quick before they notice we're missing, so I really hope you understand."
Lili instinctively took a step back, her mind instantly jumping to the absolute worst-case scenario. "Hestia-sama, if this is about this morning, I apolo-"
"No, no, it's nothing like that!" Hestia interrupted, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Geez, Lili, I thought we had a better connection by now!"
"Yes, of course... a connection," Lili replied dryly, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I remember our connection very well. Specifically, when you threw me into that exact same corner over there and stepped on my face like an Amazon declaring her territory."
Hestia swallowed hard, her confidence instantly evaporating. "W-Wait, you got it all wrong! It wasn't exactly like that! Well, I mean, technically it was, but that's not-"
"It's fine, I understand," Lili cut her off, her expression blank. "In my position, I don't really have the right to fight for... rights."
An incredibly awkward silence descended upon the alley. The serious, mature conversation Hestia had meticulously planned to have was instantly scattered by the wind, replaced by a tense, morbid atmosphere.
Hestia looked over at the dark corner of the brick wall, and a vivid flash of memory hit her mind, replaying the scene from weeks ago.
In the memory, Hestia aggressively grabbed Lili by her hair, throwing her onto the stone floor. Before Lili could scramble up, Hestia's bare foot came down mercilessly onto her face, pinning her head against the ground.
"Listen here, Pallum girl," Hestia snarled, her tone dropping into something dark and hollow as she looked down at Lili like a repulsive piece of trash. "I don't care about your tragic past or whatever misery you've crawled out of. You messed with a heart that already has an owner."
She intentionally twisted her bare foot, grinding Lili's cheek harder against the dirty, rough stone. Lili could only let out a muffled groan of agony, tears of pain and sheer humiliation streaming from her eyes, yet her gaze remained completely locked onto the Goddess, raw and defiant.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't erase your entire existence right now," Hestia threatened, leaning down as a heavy, dark divine aura began to flare up around her like a suffocating blanket.
"With a single snap of my fingers, I can wipe clean the memories of every mortal who has ever crossed paths with you. I can leave absolutely no trace of your life, as if you never set foot on this earth."
Lili thrashed frantically beneath the crushing weight, her skin scraping against the dirt until it bled. "You... you can't... kill me!" she gasped out, fighting for every pocket of air. "Luki-san... would never forgive you! He loves me!"
"He loves ME!" Hestia snapped, her eyes flashing with a dangerous, ancient authority that made the air in the alley grow freezing cold. "You are nothing but a worm trying to steal what is mine. Your time is running out, trash."
Lili groaned in agony under the renewed pressure, but instead of breaking, a small, twisted smile slowly broke across her bruised lips.
"You can... s-stop... with your little games, Hestia," Lili wheezed, intentionally dropping any respectful honorifics.
"Games?" Hestia's divine aura intensified, threatening to crush her completely. "Treat me with the respect a Goddess deserves if you want to keep breathing."
"No... you won't kill me. Not now... not after waiting days since we met, and definitely not after waiting for my wounds to heal." Lili chuckled weakly, her defiant smile widening despite the blood dripping down her chin. "Let me guess... this is all just a pathetic test, right? You want to see if a mortal is worthy of your companion, so you come out here to force your authority when nobody is looking!"
With a roaring explosion of determination, Lili launched herself upward. The sudden movement caught Hestia off guard, throwing the Goddess onto her back. Before she could recover, Lili tackled her, pinning her to the ground.
They clashed in a raw, chaotic catfight. The two rolled aggressively across the filthy stone alley, fiercely pulling each other's hair, scratching, and trading wild, frantic blows born from pure adrenaline.
After a breathless, bruising minute of scrapping, they violently shoved each other away, standing a few feet apart, panting heavily and covered in alleyway filth.
"You are nothing but a common rat, crawling into places you don't belong!" Hestia spat, adjusting her torn clothes while glaring with an aristocratic, angry disdain.
"It doesn't matter what you think!" Lili shot back defiantly, wiping a fresh smear of blood from her swollen lip. "If you want to get rid of me, you'll have to kill me! I will never give up on Luki-san! Not for anything!"
"For nothing?!" Hestia's voice dropped, suddenly cold.
"Nothing!!!" Lili screamed, her tiny chest heaving.
"...Then so be it..." Slowly, the dark, suffocating aura around Hestia dissipated into a mysterious, calculated smile. She calmly raised her right hand, hovering her thumb and middle finger together in position.
Seeing the exact gesture that threatened her very existence, Lili instinctively flinched, her heart freezing in terror. Yet, with raw stubbornness, she forced herself to take a firm step forward, refusing to back down.
Snap!
A blinding wave of unseen, warm energy instantly washed over the entire alley. In a literal heartbeat, the world blurred.
Lili's bleeding cuts, painful bruises, and swollen lip vanished as if they had never existed. Her torn, filthy clothes instantly became immaculate, and every piece of scattered trash around them snapped perfectly back into place.
Lili stood entirely frozen, her jaw dropped as she looked down at her unblemished hands, frantically touching her smooth face in utter bewilderment.
"What... what did you do?"
"I restored things to how they were before and lowered the muffler, so speak softly now." Hestia crossed her arms, her smirk softening into a proud expression. "Thank you, Lili... for proving to me that I was right about you."
"What do you mean by that?" Lili demanded, her voice sharp and dripping with deep suspicion.
"It was just a test, as you suspected," Hestia replied with a self-satisfied nod. "Though, I'll admit, having you fight back so violently wasn't part of my plan."
Lili let out a harsh tch and scoffed. "Don't think that because you're a Goddess I wouldn't dare try to kill you back. A tiny Goddess isn't going to intimidate me."
"Exactly! I needed to know if you actually had what it takes to stand by our Luki's side." Hestia cheered, her eyes lighting up as Lili lowered her guard in sheer confusion.
"A wonderful, creative way to find out if someone has the will to survive," Lili retorted sarcastically.
"Hey, it worked, didn't it? Besides, if I'm right, you're going to go through this or similar things, quite a few times, so stop complaining." Hestia shot back, sitting down at the bottom of the tavern stairs and gesturing for Lili to join her.
Lili hesitated but sat down, keeping a cautious distance.
"Look, Lili, I'm sorry, but it was necessary," Hestia began seriously. "Luki is incredibly special, and that will attract dangerous attention. I need to be absolutely certain that he is surrounded by people willing to risk everything for him. Because he already did the same for you."
Lili's armor cracked, her expression turning solemn. "You didn't need to test me to know that. Lili would give her life for Luki-sama at any second. I belong to him, body and soul, and I will never regret that choice."
"That's the spirit, But saying and doing are different things; you mortals are very inconsistent with your convictions. I NEEDED to see it."
Hestia smiled softly.
"Now, forgeting everything that happened, Lili, let me tell you a little bit about certain rules we Gods have to follow. You are going to need to remember this very carefully..."
The dark, gritty memory suddenly shattered like glass, and the cold reality of the quiet present rushed back.
Since that manufactured confrontation, their relationship had settled into a comfortable, genuine friendship, though it still carried a subtle undercurrent of romantic rivalry. In front of Luki, they behaved like close sisters, but whenever his back was turned, a playful, knowing glance would pass between them—a silent reminder that they were still competing for the same man's heart.
It had been barely a week since they met, and true friendship doesn't develop that quickly, but they had managed to find a unique, functional balance between affection and competition.
Yet, Hestia's situation was special, and she needed Lili, forcing her to make some compromises. But today, none of that rivalry mattered. Not tonight.
"Tonight is my last night..." Hestia said, her voice dropping into a melancholic murmur.
Lili tilted her head toward the Goddess, slightly surprised but keeping her composure. "Already? I thought we had more time together."
"Four days to cure your atrophy curse, two days for you to fully recover, our special little chat on the seventh, and two days forging camaraderie," Hestia counted, a sad smile on her lips.
"And every single day spent enjoying his company," Lili interrupted, finishing the thought. "And now, the tenth day before you..."
"Yeah," Hestia sighed. "It was good while it lasted."
An awkward, heavy silence settled between them. Hestia was resigned to her fate, while Lili felt deeply conflicted.
On one hand, part of her felt a selfish satisfaction knowing she would soon have Luki's attention all to herself. On the other, she was actually going to miss Hestia. Despite that intense fight, the Goddess had been an understanding sister figure since before and after that, making things easy for both her and Luki.
Honestly, if Hestia had demanded to keep Luki entirely to herself for all ten days, Lili would have allowed it, letting her enjoy her limited time since Lili would have the rest of eternity with him anyway.
Shaking those thoughts away, Lili looked up. "If you need anything, just tell me. I'll help however I can."
"That's exactly why I called you out here," Hestia said softly, her hands nervously fidgeting. "I wanted to ask... I... I want to have this last night completely alone with him."
Lili raised an eyebrow, instantly reading between the lines and understanding the weight of the request. "Where am I supposed to sleep then? There are no empty rooms left."
"You can stay in mine," Hestia replied. "After tonight, it's going to be vacant anyway."
"Fine," Lili sighed, a subtle smirk playing on her lips. "Just don't forget to use the soundproof it. You moan incredibly loud."
Hestia's face instantly exploded into a burning crimson, her serious demeanor shattering as she began to stammer frantically. "T-That... that is absolutely not true! I am completely normal! And how do you even know how I moan?! We haven't even done anything like that yet!"
"I don't need to see it," Lili retorted smoothly. "The noises you make just from him waking us up and likes are more than enough to let me know how sensitive you are, virgin Goddess."
"Lies and slander!" Hestia squeaked, crossing her arms defensively. "I-I'm just... not used to it yet!"
The two locked eyes for a silent, tense second, before the sheer absurdity of the moment broke the tension, and both of them burst into laughter.
"Pfft... hahahaha!" Hestia giggled, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Hehehe!" Lili chuckled.
As their laughter subsided, Hestia stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Lili. Hestia was still slightly taller, but they stood at a similar height.
"Thank you, Lili. Take good care of yourself after I'm gone." Hestia whispered gently into the embrace.
"Lili will," the Prum girl murmured, returning the hug.
"And keep a very close eye on him, just like we agreed, I feel like a lot of skanks are going to try to crawl into his pants. Luki can be quite the stallion when he wants to be." Hestia continued, her tone turning playful yet warning.
"Lili already knows that," she agreed with a small smile.
"And go talk to your piece-of-shit God as soon as possible," Hestia added, her voice dropping into a serious whisper. "When I ascend, our temporary contract ends, and you will legally become his property again."
Lili rolled her eyes, gently pushing back. "I already get it! Why so many warnings? What are you, my mother?"
Hestia let out a warm laugh, and the two embraced one last time, tighter than before, sealing their final agreement in the dark alley.