I was startled to see Grandpa appear out of nowhere, but he didn't seem to care about my feelings at all. He perched himself on the edge of the sofa and spoke.
"Why don't you bring me some tea?"
"Ah, yes..."
Snapping back to my senses, I quickly rummaged through the kitchen cabinet. Luckily, I found a packet of tea leaves, which I brewed in the kettle.
Digging a little further, I found a few snacks as well. Had they been prepared for a date between the two of them? For now, I'd serve them to Grandpa and restock them later.
A little while later, once the tea was ready, I poured it into a pot and carried it over on a tray.
"...I didn't expect you to visit, so I apologize for the poor preparations."
"Forget it. I don't mind."
For a moment, I was at a loss for words, but I managed to compose myself.
...It really is Grandpa.
His attitude toward me was different from what I remembered, but there was no mistaking him. This man was the one I knew.
...That stings a little.
He was the only family I had, and seeing him act so coldly hurt. I knew that, from Grandpa's point of view, I was practically a stranger, but human emotions aren't so easily compartmentalized.
I understood his perspective, but I still wished he could have been a little warmer.
"What are you staring at me for? I'm not particularly fond of a man's gaze, you know?"
"...I'm sorry."
Knowing it was a foolish wish, I lowered my eyes and poured the tea. Grandpa watched me with a flicker of interest as I brewed it skillfully using only one arm.
"You've got some talent. How are you pouring tea with one arm like that?"
"I got used to it. It's not much, but please, help yourself."
It wasn't exactly the right thing to say while serving tea in someone else's house, but the awkward atmosphere made the words slip out on their own.
Fortunately, Grandpa said nothing and quietly drank the tea. He didn't comment on whether it was good or bad.
After silently sipping his tea and eating the snacks, Grandpa suddenly spoke.
"Do you know why I came here?"
"I assume it's because of me, but I don't know the details..."
"Hmm..."
Grandpa stared straight at me. There was something vast in those eyes, as if they held the sky itself, and I found myself lowering my head instinctively.
It wasn't because of a difference in status or power. It was simply the natural reaction of a grandson before his grandfather.
"Weird kid."
Fortunately, Grandpa didn't press the issue. I couldn't tell whether he was genuinely uninterested or simply pretending not to notice.
"Since that day, all sorts of rumors have been circulating about you. If Maxim and Materia hadn't actively defended you, their Familia would have moved to deal with you immediately."
I was surprised to hear that. I could understand Materia, since she was the one who had requested the job, but Maxim?
Was our meeting back then that memorable? I wasn't sure, but at least it seemed I hadn't earned his hostility, which put me slightly at ease.
"But it's only a matter of time. Arphia is still sharpening her blade, and it seems the Empress is after you too."
"Huh?"
"Poor bastard. Of all the people to be targeted by, you had to catch the eye of those two..."
Grandpa looked at me with a genuinely pitying expression.
Hey, that's unfair...!
"...Did I really do something that wrong?"
"Well, Arphia's brother complex is legendary. As for the Empress, she probably just wants to fight you once."
I stuffed a snack into my mouth and gulped down the tea, falling into thought as I watched Grandpa.
I'd assumed that because nothing had happened, they were focusing on the quest... but could I actually be in danger right now?
With their information network, there was no way they wouldn't know where I was. It wasn't as if I'd been moving in secret, and I hadn't exactly shaken off the subtle gazes I'd been feeling lately.
One of those gazes belonged to Fels. And since that information would have gone to Ouranos, there was no way the two Familias connected to the Guild wouldn't know.
Even if that weren't the case, there was no way they were unaware of this place. Otherwise, they wouldn't be causing trouble so boldly near the church.
Maybe this was a place they all knew about but were pretending to ignore. I had no idea why such sharp-eyed people would deliberately play dumb.
No, more importantly, was that really the issue right now?
Should I change bases?
I'd been showing myself on purpose to prove I had no hostility, but if the other side was going to draw their blades anyway, it would be better to move in secret.
There was no reason to insist on staying in this church. Aside from the fact that it was a place I'd grown attached to in both the past and the future, there were plenty of better options.
At the extreme end... living in Rivira Village was an option. Or I could even leave Orario altogether. It was only one choice among many, but it was certainly possible.
Of course, I didn't have to decide right away, but it might be worth considering...
"Well, that said, they probably won't attack you immediately, so don't get too scared."
"Huh?"
"You look like death warmed over. What is a man so afraid of? So what if you can fight a little? If it's dangerous, run away. Why are you worrying so much about something like that?"
Grandpa spoke indifferently and downed the rest of his tea, leaving me speechless.
How should I put it? The phrasing was different, but it reminded me of something similar I'd heard before.
Run when it's dangerous. Run when you're scared. Ask for help if it feels like you're going to die. Apologize right away if a woman looks like she's about to get angry. Even if people call you a fool, that's nothing to be ashamed of. The most shameful thing is not moving at all because you can't make a decision.
The advice Grandpa gave me when we walked hand in hand when I was a child. Counsel that had once exerted a huge influence on my choices.
Remembering it made me feel as if I couldn't breathe.
Was I worrying about something right now?
What was I worrying about? Leaving this place? Heading to Rivira Village? Or leaving Orario?
I realized they were all similar, but not the same. Those were only surface reasons. The real worry was just one thing.
Do I want to go back to my original time?
Facing that true question, something heavy pressed down on my chest. The sense of reality that had vanished began to return.
What am I doing here right now? What do I want to achieve here?
Do I want to go back? Or do I want to stay?
While I spent my time in a state of limbo, before I knew it, I had become unable to move at all, stuck in the middle without ever making a choice.
I want to go back. I don't want to go back. Which one was I feeling?
...I don't know.
Going back to my original time was the right thing to do. But there was no one there.
I liked this time, where everyone was together. But I was only an outsider here.
They said I should walk the right path, but I knew how it ended.
I wanted to change everything. I wanted to deny that horrible future.
But was that really the right thing to do? Was it truly right to say that the ending everyone had worked so hard to create was wrong, and try to change the past itself?
I didn't know. I didn't know anything.
My head spun. The problem I was facing began to press down on me far more heavily than when I had first looked away from it.
I'd said I would become a hero, and yet before I knew it, I had become the most pathetic version of myself.
"What are you worrying about so much?"
"!"
"You've got me and Hera's Familia after you, and you're off in your own little world. How arrogant."
"Ah, s-sorry..."
"Forget it. Apologies from men are useless anyway."
Grandpa cut off the flow of my thoughts just as they were deepening. Did he know what he was doing, or not?
"Nom... Anyway, that was pretty entertaining. You suddenly showed up, so I wondered what kind of guy you were, but you're unusual in a different way."
"...Am I unusual?"
"You are. Guys at your level usually treat the gods like dirt."
"...?"
"Honestly, these days' kids don't know how to respect the gods..."
Grandpa muttered to himself. Maybe he had a lot of pent-up frustration toward his own Familia, because his grumbling showed no sign of stopping.
I realized then that I didn't really know much about Grandpa.
I knew him as my grandfather. But I didn't know him as the god Zeus.
To me, Grandpa had always just been Grandpa. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Ahem. Anyway, this should be enough. I'll tell my Familia, so don't worry about my side."
"Ah, if you're leaving, I can escort you..."
"Ah, get lost. I really don't need a man escorting me."
Grandpa waved me off in disgust. His disdain for men was as strong as ever.
...I wondered what expression he'd make if he knew I used to walk around holding Grandpa's hand as a child. That would be interesting.
"Still, it's dark out. Going alone..."
"Persistent little brat. I said I don't need it."
Then he turned and headed out. But as if something had just occurred to him, he looked back.
"Come to think of it, your name was Vesta, wasn't it?"
"...!"
I flinched.
At the sudden question, my body jerked before I could stop it.
I thought I'd suppressed my reaction well enough, but I didn't know if that meant anything in front of a god.
"Why did you give that name? Is there a reason you can't use your real one?"
"..."
So he'd noticed it wasn't my real name too. Feeling strangely guilty, I pulled my hood down even lower.
That was the problem.
"Suspicious. What are you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding..."
"I'm Zeus. Zeus, king of Olympus. Hestia is under me too. Did you really think you could just say the name Vesta in front of me and get away with it?"
At that, I realized the whole conversation had been bait. Had he loosened me up with small talk only to spring the real issue in the gap?
I was still weak to that sort of thing, so I'd noticed too late. Especially with Grandpa, I had an absurd amount of emotional familiarity with him, which only made it worse.
Grandpa, having noticed that there was something here, stepped toward me. There wasn't the slightest hesitation in those brisk steps.
It was the movement of someone certain that I had no intention of attacking. As expected, he was quick on the uptake...!
"It's fine that you suddenly appeared. And having that kind of strength... well, I can let that slide too."
As Grandpa advanced step by step, I retreated one step at a time.
But this was a narrow basement. Before long, I hit the wall, and somehow ended up in a classic wall-press situation with Grandpa.
...Personally, I didn't dislike Grandpa, but ending up in a situation like this with another man was extremely awkward. Apparently, I wasn't the only one, because Grandpa's expression had also soured badly.
"But using Hestia's name is a different matter. This could go beyond a problem in the mortal world and become an issue among the gods."
Hearing that, I realized my mistake. Vesta was my epithet, but it was also my goddess's epithet. I'd been too careless using that name, and I hadn't considered the fallout.
There were probably plenty of gods who knew my goddess. I'd been thinking too much from my own perspective...
However close my goddess and I might be, she was still a god. She wasn't a being whose every matter was decided in the mortal world like a human's.
"So I have a duty to reveal information about you right now. If I'm not careful, Olympus could end up taking a loss."
At those words, my mind went blank.
Because of me, my goddess and Grandpa might get hurt?
I'd tried so hard not to cause trouble and handle things on my own, and yet a crisis had already arrived.
W-what do I do...?!
Well, that was a lie.
Seeing the child in front of him panic so openly, Zeus sneered inwardly.
Why should I take responsibility because of that woman?
Zeus might be the king of Olympus, but that didn't mean he was responsible for everything in Olympus.
Even if he predicted the future based on the most likely possibility right now—namely, Hestia's early descent—it wouldn't mean he himself would suffer any damage from it.
The reason he'd brought it up at all was because he thought this sort of pressure would work on the man in front of him.
This man cared about the affairs of gods that ordinary people, and even his own Familia, wouldn't bother with.
It was probably because of his deep connection to his own goddess, and because he had such a high level of reverence for the divine.
...He also showed an oddly favorable attitude toward Zeus himself, which was a little strange, but in any case, the prediction had been right. A guy who would respond to words like responsibility and duty—those disgusting, annoying words—with worry instead of dismissal.
He was probably an absurdly earnest fellow. The kind of man who had likely suffered more losses than gains in life.
Who raised him to turn out like this? Hestia, probably? That shut-in goddess really is a problem. She thinks being kind automatically makes everything good.
His willingness to accept losses on his own made Zeus feel deeply pathetic. If Zeus had raised him, he would have made him more cunning and more slippery. It was a shame his Familia forbade romance. Unless Cranel knocked up Materia, there was no hope of seeing grandchildren.
Well, with that guy's personality, it would be impossible unless Materia made the first move anyway.
"If you won't speak, then I'll have to question the other side."
"!"
He hadn't named her directly, but the boy knew he meant Hestia. The fact that he reacted immediately made it obvious he couldn't lie.
Confirmed. This is that shut-in goddess's Familia. Exactly the same.
...Why did that bastard Maxim suspect him?
Hera, who had likely sensed a familiar aura like Zeus had, and Arphia, who could plausibly have suspected him based on the circumstances, were understandable.
But Maxim, who had suddenly chased after him and questioned him like this, was just unfair. No, what on earth happened that made him so certain this was my doing?
To be compared with that flat-chested old maid goddess who had nothing appealing except her chest was insulting beyond words.
With thoughts like that, utterly devoid of conscience, Zeus kept talking.
"If you don't like that, then it'd be better to cooperate obediently."