"Um—please wait a moment!"
Driven by the pull of her own heart, Hestia found her feet moving uncontrollably until she stood before An Xora and the other two, calling out to stop them.
An Xora wasn't surprised in the slightest.
Even if he didn't know how he himself appeared in the eyes of gods in the DanMachi world, Seele's and Sakura's talents were undeniably real. Any god with even a bit of discernment would be irresistibly drawn to them.
With that level of talent—and with An Xora very deliberately "dangling the bait"—it would've been stranger if Hestia had been able to hold back.
"Well… you three look like you don't belong to any Familia yet. Would you be interested in joining mine?"
After stopping them, Hestia fidgeted for a moment before finally speaking.
She knew very well that her conditions were rather shabby, but the three children before her were simply too special—so special that she couldn't help but want to try inviting them no matter what.
What she didn't expect, however, was that An Xora nodded immediately.
"That's fine. I personally don't intend to join a Familia, but Sakura and Seele can join yours."
"H-Huh? You're agreeing just like that? Don't you want to think it over a bit?"
The happiness came so suddenly that Hestia almost didn't dare believe it.
Every child she had previously invited would first ask about the size of her Familia, her base of operations, what kind of support she could provide to new members—and after hearing her answers, they would decisively reject her and leave.
Yet now, after she invited these three children who clearly possessed extraordinary talent, the other party agreed without even asking a single question?
Even if An Xora said he wouldn't join, gaining two Familia members at once was already dreamlike for Hestia.
"We choose a Familia mainly based on the god's character. Everything else is secondary," An Xora replied calmly.
"And according to the information we gathered, Lady Hestia, your character ranks among the very best of the gods."
"Oho~ so you did your homework beforehand. You've got good taste!"
Hearing this, Hestia proudly puffed out her ample chest, a smug smile appearing on her face.
"That's right! No matter where you heard it from, I—Hestia—have always been recognized among the gods as having excellent character! Compared to Loki or Freya, and even Astraea or Artemis, I'm no worse than any of them!"
An Xora had no interest in debating whether Hestia's character really surpassed that of the Goddess of Justice Astraea or the Moon Goddess Artemis. Seeing that Hestia hadn't noticed any issue with his words at all and had accepted them with ease, he patted Sakura and Seele beside him.
"Then according to the process, the next step is granting the divine blessing, right? I'm quite curious about it, so could you hurry up, Lady Hestia?"
"No problem! Let's find a place right away. Once the blessings are granted, these two children will officially be members of my Hestia Familia!"
Hestia was clearly just as eager about granting blessings. At An Xora's suggestion, the group immediately returned to the inn room An Xora and Seele had rented earlier.
Inside the room, Hestia sat on the bed, pricked her finger, and looked at Sakura and Seele beside An Xora.
"So—who wants to go first?"
The two girls didn't answer. Instead, An Xora spoke.
"Let Sakura go first."
Sakura nodded obediently and walked over to Hestia.
"Just like Brother An Xora said, I'll be in your care, Hestia-nee."
"No trouble at all, no trouble at all."
Hestia waved her hand repeatedly and gestured for Sakura to lie face down on the bed.
"Next, take off your top and expose your back. Also—"
Hestia turned her head to look at An Xora, the meaning in her eyes very clear.
This involved undressing—shouldn't the only man in the room step out for a moment?
Unfortunately for her, An Xora remained completely unmoved.
Joking aside—if he wasn't meant to watch, what was even the point? Moreover, all avatars were fundamentally one with him. There was no reason to step out just because someone was taking off a shirt.
"Hestia-nee, Brother An Xora is Sakura's family, so it's fine," Sakura said softly, already having removed her top and revealing her fair, delicate back as she lay on the bed.
"But… the blessing information is very private…"
Hestia still hesitated.
After all, An Xora was the only one among the three who wasn't joining her Familia. Naturally, she felt more inclined to protect Sakura and Seele.
A blessing status essentially contained all of a Familia member's abilities and information. Normally, it was something that only the chief god was allowed to see. Different Familias spying on each other's status could even lead to outright hostility.
But Sakura's attitude was firm.
"I trust Brother An Xora."
"…Alright, alright. I really lose to you."
Seeing this, and realizing how close the three truly were, Hestia stopped trying to persuade them. She raised her hand and began engraving the divine blessing onto Sakura's back.
What Hestia didn't know, however, was that while she was engraving the blessing, Sakura—who looked like she was obediently lying there—was simultaneously sensing the principles and power of the blessing, learning and analyzing it at a terrifying speed.
In the original story, Sakura—without understanding or consciously using her talent—had relied only on the magic gained from collecting Clow Cards and her own later insights to surpass the greatest magician Clow Reed within two years.
Now, this Sakura not only had a clear understanding of her own talent from the very beginning, but also actively developed and utilized it.
For example—right now.
When Hestia had only completed about half of the blessing engraving, Sakura had already deduced and perfected the entire structure and process of the blessing through self-inference, fully mastering it.
As a result, Hestia discovered in horror that the blessing she was engraving on Sakura suddenly severed its connection to her—and before her eyes, as if she'd seen a ghost, completed itself.
The blessing was still the same one Hestia had intended to grant… yet it no longer had any connection to Hestia herself.
Strictly speaking, this was now a blessing wearing the "shell" of Hestia's blessing, but in essence belonging entirely to Sakura.
In other words—
Sakura had given herself a blessing.
Faced with this situation, unable to understand what had happened and only knowing that her blessing had slipped out of her control without her realizing it, Hestia could only clutch her face and cry out in near breakdown:
"I'm being NTR'd here!"
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