/Fwoosh.../

'As soon as she heard what Lefiya said, Hestia started to run, trying to catch up with Silver.'

'She ran through the hallways of the manor, seemingly without a goal, but that was wrong as she was following their single connection… The blessing of a God to his child.'

'Previously she was occupied talking with Loki, but now she is focused on the feeling of the blessing as ran after it.'

'And eventually, she arrived at an open balcony, where Silver could be seen looking at the horizon with a pensive look.'

'He held a red potion in his hand, drinking it as if it was wine... Hestia was sure, only Silver would drink a bitter potion like that...'

"Yo, you arrived faster than I expected… Did the girl snitch on me? Well, I expected something like this to happen anyway…" Said Silver as he turned around with a smile

"Sorry, I ended up being so late that you had to come and fetch me, rather funny since it's always the contrary…"

"I did not expect this small visit to turn into such a big event at the end of the day, as always, I caused quite a mess didn't I? But don't worry, I will be fine for tomorrow."

He scratched his back as he said that, smiling in a carefree way as he looked at Hestia.

"..."

'Hestia realized Silver was still a bit hurt by the way he was standing. This made her drop her head in shame, because once again she failed as a Goddess and…'

/Thud…/

'Silver walked in front of Hestia and patted her head. He smiled and said:'

"You're thinking of some useless things again aren't you? I'm fine, a potion or two are going to…"

'But this time, Hestia did not allow him to take the lead, she grabbed his shirt tightly and said:'

"No. It's not fine! This is terrible!"

"Every time! Every time I see you are either hurt or planning to get hurt… Take a rest already... This isn't healthy. I am not talking about a few days without going to the Dungeon!"

'A single tear followed by more and more started to drop from her eyes.'

'As she sobbed, Hestia gathered her courage and said:'

"I'm trying… Really trying to not stay in your way and let you follow your dreams, but how am I supposed to do it when I feel like this?!"

'Her eyes were red from the tears and her cheeks were also red… Hestia was currently going through an emotional breakdown he had never seen before.'

'Seeing her like this shook Silver, he never thought she felt like this… He knew she liked him, that was obvious, what he was talking about was how she felt about his work and code of conduct…'

"I don't need you to turn into a hero, no, I just need you to be you! So stop trying to do everything alone, stop trying to push yourself to the point where you can barely move… Please… I can't stand seeing you like this!"

"... You know that I…"

'Before Silver could say anything or explain himself, Hestia interrupted him and continued:'

"I… I know… I am being too selfish. Adventurers need to risk themselves to grow, but I only need you to take it a step-down, okay?... Please, at least, don't fight against a Level 7 next time…"

'When she first agreed with him to help him follow his dreams, Hestia was already prepared to face such situations, but as time passed, her emotions changed and developed…'

'She never once stopped worrying for him when he went into the Dungeon, that's normal, most Gods are like that, they can't do much for their children apart from observing and waiting with the occasional advice, this makes them feel incapable and useless, most Gods will eventually pass through such a phase.'

'Or at least something similar.'

'But Hestia is worse than that, what advice would she give to Silver? What is she supposed to do? Most Gods can at least give a bit of advice, but she...'

'In Hestia's case, the height of her worry was during the War game, for obvious reasons, even if she knew he was strong, even if she knew he was capable, she couldn't help but think of the worst.'

'But with his comeback, she felt so happy for what he managed to accomplish and proud to be his Goddess.'

'However, as she saw him go to the Dungeon from morning to dawn, just to make some money, even if his clothes looked tidy and clean… How was she supposed to feel? She saw everything through his status, how he fought and how he got hurt… Every day.'

'The only thing she can do is smile and help him nurse his injuries… But how is she supposed to feel if he doesn't come back?'

'She waited and waited until night came… This was supposed to be a special day, their last day as a single-member Familia, but he did not come back.'

'And when she started to get worried, a group of people arrived at her house and told her that Silver had been seriously injured, the rest didn't matter to her… And now that she sees him, it's understandable that she started to break emotionally.'

"..."

I was careless…

For me this is fine, but what about the others? The people that care about me?...

I can only imagine how it would feel to see my parents go to a dangerous place and return injured every single day, not being able to do anything to stop them…

It would leave a bad feeling in my mouth.

"Hestia. It's okay to be selfish, I don't mind at all."

'He slowly cleaned the tears from her face.'

"To be honest, I don't wish to be a Hero myself, and I never thought about it, I only wish to have a fulfilling life, to have an adventure I can be satisfied with."

There was no way I could've predicted this situation, and in essence, it's not my fault.

But I don't mind her venting from time to time, she deserves it.

'Silver just pulled Hestia close and hugged her.'

"Every time you wish to vent, I am here to hear you out, don't forget that."

'Hestia remained silent but she hugged him back and said:'

"... I'll bother you a lot."

"It's ok, I am already used to it." Chuckled Silver as he continued to caress her hair

"...!"

This mood… It's perfect!

'Hestia realized, now was the time! Nothing was on her way, she vented and he accepted! It was now or never!'

'She raised her head and looked at Silver, her face was burning, she felt as if she was in the middle of summer.'

'She completely ignored everything and slowly raised her head to meet his lips…'

/Cough!/

"!!"

WHO DARES?!

'Unfortunately for Hestia, someone did interfere. She hastily looked to the side to see Ais.'

'It was rather faint, but Ais's cheeks were also a bit red.'

"...Wa-llens-te-in!"

'Each syllable carried her anger, this was how pissed Hestia was right now. In a single moment, Hestia's anger towards Ais reached the same height as in the original show…'

"Hahaha…"

'Silver on the other hand, already knew this was going to happen from the beginning, he had heard Hestia and someone else walking towards him a bit before she even arrived.'

'Now that he thinks about it... He said a lot with someone nearby... He felt a little embarrassed now.'

"Excuuuuse me! Can't you see we are B-U-S-Y?!" Said Hestia as she grabbed Silver tightely

'Ais looked at the horizon, ignoring what Hestia said.'

"State your business and leave!"

"Hestia, don't be rude…"

"I'm not talking with you."

"...-_-..."

'Silver found the situation pretty funny, but he couldn't let things remain like this.'

/Fwush!/

'Silver teleported himself out of her arms and got behind her.'

'When Hestia felt the sudden disappearance of the things she was holding, she looked behind her and pouted.'

"Don't look at me like that..."

"Humph! So be it!"

'With a very angry face, Hestia left the balcony without looking back.'

"..."

She is really…

'Silver turned his face to Ais who was currently looking at him and said:'

"Sorry about this, she is quite upset due to several things..."

'Ais shook her head.'

"I don't mind, it was my fault as well."

'Smiling, Silver said:'

"We met again, earlier than I expected… And it seems I caused big trouble this time…"

Several houses went down with my little fight… That will cost quite a bit for me…

'As Silver scratched his head, Ais looked at the scarf around his neck.'

'The image of someone suddenly intersected with his, but Ais quickly shook it off.'

'As she thought, the wind started to blow, throwing her golden hair into the sky…'

'Under this nostalgic feeling, she said:'

"Don't worry about this… We already dealt with it… It wasn't your fault."

'Silver smiled, at this point in time, he had already figured out Aetos was the man behind what happened to the Loki Familia, so indeed, this wasn't his problem… It never was.'

'He was just dragged into these waves... No, he threw himself into them for fun, and rode them until he ended up falling… He wasn't strong enough to follow it to the end.'

"There was something I've been wanting to ask… For a long time." She said as she fixed her hair

"Just say it, I'll try to answer to the best of my ability."

'Ais nodded, but when she opened her mouth to speak, she closed it again, she was clearly having difficulty finding the right words.'

"... You..."

"... Know..."

"... Do you… What do you know about the Sword Champion? No… Wh…"

'Ais cutely moved her hands and shook her head as she thought about what to say.'

"I see what this is about now… To be honest, I don't have much to say…"

I don't know if I should reveal the fact that I know he is her dad… I have no idea how she would react.

I am pretty sure not even Loki knows about it, but I could be wrong.

Everyone knows who the Sword champion is, he is the most famous fairy tale hero, on the same level as Argonaut and a few others.

His tale from beginning to end until he met his demise at the hands of the Black Dragon… That is what he is to most people… A fictional character from a fairy tale with an even more mythical story…

Almost all Heroes are like that, from legends to myths and eventually, to fairy tales…

"I see… Thank you for replying."

'She seemed a bit down...'

'Silver shook his head and said:'

"I said I don't have much, but it's not like I have nothing to share."

'To that, he slowly started to walk towards Ais, this made her confused, but she didn't step back.'

'Silver stopped right in front of her, he slowly removed the red scarf from his neck and said:'

"Take it, this is rightfully yours... Pardon me for its current state... I didn't have time to clean it... I'll do it now then." He said as water started to fly around it, removing all of the dirt

'A single action, but it was more than enough for Ais, it completely answered her questions and doubts… She definitely knew what this was now.'

'For the first time in many years, her eyes started to tremble.'

"Don't hesitate, I have no use for it…"

'Ais gently grabbed the scarf, complex emotions passed through her mind as she opened her mouth to say:'

"Thank you… But how…"

'Silver smiled, he walked past her and said:'

"When you come back from your expedition, how about another spar?"

'Ais thought for a bit before she nodded. She understood the meaning of the words, even if she wasn't that much of a social person, she wasn't stupid... Just a bit of an airhead in certain situations...'

"That's the spirit… Until next time, Ais… Ais Wallenstein…"

(The Sword Champion's name was Albert Waldstein)

'Ais remained frozen on her spot, complex emotions she never felt before made her unsure of what to do.'

'The more time she spent with him, the less she understood. Be it his progress, his personality, and now, what he knows… She even felt as if he knew more about her than herself…'

"..."

… Father…

'As Ais was lost in her thoughts, a big owl flew from the ceiling of the Manor, flying towards the horizon…'

"..."

'When she turned around, Silver wasn't there anymore, so she went back to Loki's office, and sadly, he wasn't here.'

'Everyone noticed the scarf on her neck, and Loki's eyes sharpened, not because of its origin, but because of how they got into her hands… Especially her expression!'

"..."

Tsk! The boy is playing two-timers! Do you think I will allow my Ais to get in your hands, bastard?!

'Thankfully, Silver wasn't here to suffer the consequences…'

"So he left?" Asked Riveria

'Ais shook her head.'

"I don't know."

"Tche! If neither he nor roundy is here, then they must've left, treating this place as a hotel…" Said Loki in annoyance

'Gareth looked at Loki and said:'

"He certainly must be feeling rather conflicted after everything that happened, he was beaten enough in one day."

"And in any case, we need to discuss what will happen from now on."

"Gareth is right, we talked a lot but we didn't arrive at an answer, what do you think Finn?" Asked Riveria

"It's obvious, the expedition has to be delayed, we need to provide help to the civilians affected by this…"

'Everyone nodded at Finn's words.'

'It was a shame though, it seemed that the Loki Familia was going to be busy once again…'

…

/Below the Guild, in Ouranos throne room…/

"... And this is what happened, the red scarf eventually fell into Ais Wallenstein's hands." Said Fells

'Hearing this made Ouranos smile and say:'

"How ironic… Truly, Genkai never ceases to amaze me... Fate is such a funny thing..."

'But Ouranos quickly returned to being serious.'

"This raises a question… Do you think he knows?"

'Fells stayed silent for a while before he replied:'

"There is a big chance that he does know, and that may be related to what he discussed with Aetos before their fight."

'Ouranos pondered…'

"Even if he knows, it isn't really something to worry about, this is something for him and Ais Wallenstein to resolve on their own."

'Ouranos rested his head on the throne.'

"This ended in a better way than I expected… Although there was heavy infrastructure damage, no lives were lost."

'Fells nodded and said:'

"I noticed that before the fight started, Freya had already evacuated most of the civilians within a 50-meter radius of their encounter, there is a big chance that she orchestrated their meeting ahead of time."

"Not only that, she did not discuss anything with Loki even when things got serious, retreating with her children instead of facing him together."

'Ouranos frowned.'

"Sigh… She is once again putting her hobbies ahead of public safety and duty. But I asked for it… Nevertheless, we can deem this case closed."

It's better not to pull her leg too much...

"We'll provide help in the reconstruction and limit the flow of information. Also, you can tell Hermes to stop protecting him, it's better this way."

Although I doubt Hermes will stop…

"Understood Ouranos-Sama."

'Ouranos let out another sigh as he rested his head.'

So many things have been happening recently…

'He noticed that Fells had yet to leave so he asked:'

"Is there anything else?"

"Just a small worry of mine, it's in regards to the Xenos… It seems someone has found out about their existence..."

…

"She really left huh…"

I can't blame her.

'Silver looked around after his talk with Ais, but he did not find Hestia, he asked a few of the guards, and they said she had already left. So Silver took up the pace and went after her.'

'As he walked, he asked the gate guards and they pointed in a direction. He knew where she was going now.'

'So Silver entered an alley and teleported… All the way to the Hearth Manor.'

…

"I'll give her a small surprise… Ho?"

'As Silver waited in an alley, he saw two girls walking left and right outside of the gates, one with flowing blue hair, and the other with short red hair…'

'It was Daphne and Cassandra!'

'Curious, Silver approached them…'

…

"Come on! There is no one here Cassandra, we already waited for 2 hours…"

"No! I am sure of it! My pillow is here and I'll get it now!"

"I already told you to not treat those dreams seriously!"

"They're not dreams!"

'Cassandra and Daphne could be seen arguing in front of the gates, Silver found it pretty comical.'

"Do you two need some help?"

"?!"

'Silver suddenly appeared behind Daphne, giving her a scare, he chuckled slightly, and this annoyed Daphne.'

"You shouldn't creep on girls during the night."

"Sorry, It's just that you two are blocking the entrance."

"I didn't have any intention of scaring you… But with that out of the way."

'Silver looked at Cassandra.'

"Are you looking for something?"

'Cassandra nodded as she kept her head down trying to avoid eye contact with Silver.'

"Pi-Pillow…"

"Sigh… It's like this, this clumsy girl dropped her pillow when we came here to get our stuff a few days ago, but when we went to sleep at a nearby inn, she realized she lost her favorite pillow, and we've been looking all around the place since then…"

'Cassandra suddenly interrupted.'

"I know it's here, I saw it…"

"Don't do this again…"

'Silver looked at her and he smiled.'

"It's just a pillow no? We can search for it, do you have any idea where you might've left it?"

Of course, I already have it, a few days ago, one of the workers found the pillow behind a stone pillar, hidden inside a bush. It probably fell from the window when they were moving things… I just need an opportunity.

'Daphne nodded while Cassandra rejoiced. The two entered the mansion and searched for a few minutes until Silver took the pillow out of his inventory and hid it behind the same pillar it was found.'

'With a bit of acting, he gave the pillow back to Cassandra who was now blushing slightly.'

"Thank you for this adventurer Silver." Said Daphne

"It was nothing really."

'Cassandra on the other hand blushed as she hid behind Daphne.'

"... You… Believed it…"

'Silver heard what she said, but he decided to act dumb.'

"Did you say something?"

'Cassandra hid her face behind the pillow as she muttered something to Daphne.'

"Hm… You sure?"

"Uhum!"

"Fine… It seems we will meet again soon." Said Daphne as she looked at Silver

"I hope so, until next time then." Said Silver as he waved at the two

'Silver smiled, his relationship with the two was still a bit confused, they fought, but he did his best to leave a good impression on the two, then, there was the rather awkward moment after his fight with Vultus.'

'He never saw them again after that day until now… So it was difficult to say where their relationship was at.'

But I hope it was enough…

'Smiling slightly, Silver turned around and entered the mansion, he had some things to prepare…'

"Today was really my lucky day huh, I got some points with over 4 girls sheesh..."

No, it was 5... 6?

Damn!

.

.

.