"They're really diligent. Don't they ever sleep in?"
After finishing breakfast, Hestia stared in curiosity at the busy shopkeepers.
Opening for business this early… had the human world become that harsh?
"Well, they sell breakfast. Most people still sleep in."
Cid was certain that anyone who made a living selling breakfast had to be extremely disciplined.
After all, it was the kind of job where you had to have your stall set up by six—meaning you started work at two or three in the morning.
In his previous life, Cid had once tried to break through the limits of the human body by cultivating immortality through all-nighters, hoping to obtain magic.
That method had been suggested by a friend from Tōdai.
Back then, he'd seen breakfast vendors bustling around in the dead of night.
He led Hestia away. When he noticed her staring at a fried potato-ball stall, he bought her a portion.
"Isn't that too extravagant?"
Hestia looked a little embarrassed… and then immediately took it from him.
"A portion of fried potato balls is still cheap. It's only thirty faris."
Cid might look poor on the surface, but buying fried potato balls was well within his means.
"I heard about it too—you're in debt, right? Then don't waste money."
Hestia spoke while eating, her face radiating happiness.
She loved the taste of these fried potato balls.
Just being able to eat this made the trip to the lower world worth it!
"If I could… I could even work at this fried potato-ball stall."
Hestia was already daydreaming.
Turning your hobby into your job—wasn't that romantic?
"Lady Hestia, please don't think like that. The hourly wage at this stall is only thirty faris. The god Take has been complaining about it nonstop—it's a truly black-hearted employer."
Cid hurried to stop her.
Working here for an hour would earn you only enough to buy a single serving of fried potato balls.
At that level, the base pay was basically on par with a doomed web-novel author.
So what kind of respectable person writes web novels, anyway?
By the same logic—what kind of respectable goddess works a stall like this?
"Cid, don't you dare look down on fried potato balls!"
At this moment, the person standing before Cid was already a devoted follower of the Fried Potato Ball Faith.
"Lady Hestia, I'm not that poor. Please don't work here."
Cid pleaded urgently.
"Why? Are fried potato balls not good?"
In this short span of time, Hestia had already demolished one serving—and refused to let Cid buy her another.
"No, it's just… with Lady Hestia's beauty, if you work here you'll stand out. And then I'll stand out too. I want to be a mob character."
Before a goddess, Cid could only speak honestly.
He absolutely did not want his patron deity becoming a walking attention magnet.
If that happened, what was the point of leaving Astraea Familia?
Cid had learned his lesson: this time, he couldn't casually switch Familias again.
So he had to stop Hestia—no matter what!
"Cid has good taste."
Hestia was satisfied by that reason and stopped insisting.
Seeing her give up, Cid still didn't relax in the slightest.
They hadn't been together long, but he could already tell—this goddess had ideas.
The kind of goddess who could become famous just by doing things the wrong way.
Now he had to park the bus and play full defense!
"Cid, next I'm going to teach you the lifestyle of the poor. Come with me!"
Without caring what Cid was thinking, Hestia grabbed him and pulled him along.
Before meeting Cid, she'd intentionally wandered around Orario.
And in the end, she'd found a place she really liked.
Better yet—it was free. Perfect for a debt-ridden Cid.
...
"Cid, don't look so lifeless. It's right after the next corner!"
"...Lady Hestia, this is the twenty-seventh time you've said that."
Cid looked around. This area felt strangely familiar.
He was pretty sure this wasn't the first time they'd passed through here.
"This time I'm serious! You have to believe me!"
Hestia puffed out her chest—making it hard to tell whether she was emphasizing her words… or her figure.
"Lady Hestia, that was the thirteenth time you said that, so where are we actually going?"
Cid knew Orario fairly well.
He'd lived here for a long time, after all.
As long as the place wasn't too remote, he could find it.
"If I tell you, it won't be a surprise anymore. Keep up!"
Hestia jogged ahead, and Cid could only follow.
Fortunately, this time Hestia really hadn't gotten lost.
"This is… the abandoned church?"
The moment Cid saw it, he recognized the place.
Rumor had it that Dark Faction members showed up around here fairly often—making it a dangerous area.
And for that reason, Astraea Familia even had a temporary outpost nearby.
Hestia really knew how to pick locations.
"That's right. It's a church, so it's totally reasonable for me—a goddess—to live here, isn't it? Don't mind how dirty it looks. There's a basement inside."
Hestia put her hands on her hips proudly, looking like she was waiting for praise.
"But Lady Hestia… I think someone's already living here."
Cid poked her arm and pointed off in the distance.
Over there, a silver-haired woman in a robe appeared to be resting with her eyes closed.
"No way… no, no. She's dressed so nicely, and she's not a goddess—how could she live here?"
Hestia didn't hesitate. She immediately walked over, intending to negotiate.
She'd worked hard to find this perfect spot!
Given that woman's aura, she was probably just here to pray.
On the other side, after examining her closely, the look in Cid's eyes changed.
It was the scent of a curse—something he'd been studying recently, and had already made some breakthroughs in.
And the curse on this woman… wasn't even on the same level as the curses he'd researched.
If the curse on that eyeball he'd dealt with before was "human-grade," then the curse on this woman was "god-grade"—no, even "Eminence in Shadow-grade."
How was she still alive with a curse that heavy?
Maybe her eyes weren't closed because she was meditating…
…maybe she simply couldn't open them.
Cid felt a flicker of frustration.
At his current level of curse research, he wasn't confident he could completely remove what was on her.
As the Eminence in Shadow—how could he fail to handle a mere curse?
Cid decided it then and there: from now on, he would study curses even harder.
Especially methods of removing them.
There was no way he couldn't break it!
"Cid! Even if she's mature and beautiful, you can't just keep staring!"
Hestia stomped on Cid's foot.
She had to admit it: that human woman's appearance was exceptionally beautiful—enough to rival certain gods.
But earlier, when Cid had praised her, he hadn't looked anywhere near that mesmerized.
In the eyes of her own Familia member… was she, Hestia, not the prettiest?!
No—she refused!
Clearly, Cid preferred this "mature aura" type.
So Hestia absolutely had to step on him to vent her anger!
If Riveria ever learned Hestia's conclusion, she would absolutely nod and say, "Correct."
"It's not like that, my goddess, I—I just…"
Cid didn't know how to explain. He couldn't exactly say he'd been drawn in by the curse on the woman's body.
So he simply acted shy and tried to muddle through.
Seeing that, Hestia got even angrier—her small face puffed up like a steamed bun.
At that moment, the woman—who had been silent all this time—finally spoke.
"Someone lives here."
....
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