The lanterns hanging along Orario's main street refracted golden light, creating beautiful reflections in the irises of each member of Charlie's group.
They moved slowly through the sea of people, occasionally stopping to admire street performances featuring acrobatics by Lower Class Adventurers seeking extra income.
The sounds of laughter and traditional percussion music blended with the aroma of grilled meat wafting from every corner, enveloping the atmosphere with genuine joy.
At a skill game stall, Kei tried her luck tossing wooden rings toward rows of porcelain bottles, a simple challenge that turned out to be quite concentration-draining.
Beside her, Est stood observing with a flat expression but was actually enjoying it quite a bit.
Meanwhile, Aishia remained faithfully at Charlie's side, occasionally tugging his sleeve to point out night flower decorations blooming perfectly under the moonlight.
Astraea walked with very light steps, her face radiating peace seeing them living in harmony. She occasionally stopped at handicraft vendor stalls, touching the texture of woven fabric that reminded her of the early days when she descended to the lower world.
They then crossed a stone bridge spanning a water canal. Charlie observed how the moon's reflection on the water surface looked more beautiful than usual.
The joy continued as they tried various festival specialty snacks, from sugar-coated berries to savory forest mushroom skewers.
Every corner of the Holy Moon Festival offered new surprises, as many vendors from outside came to Orario specifically for this event.
In front of a fragrant grilled squid stall, the aroma of savory roasted spices filled the air. Astraea, standing in front, suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"Astraea!"
That cheerful and enthusiastic voice came from behind.
Charlie's group turned around in unison. There stood a group of four people—two men and two women, a balanced gender ratio, very contrasting with Charlie's female-dominated group.
The figure who had shouted was a goddess with long black hair tied into twin tails.
She wore a very short blue-white thin dress that only reached her thighs. Her figure was petite, yet her body curves were truly fantastic beneath clothes that revealed so much—her large breasts supported only by a single blue ribbon crossing below her chest.
She was the Goddess of the Hearth, as well as one of the Three Virgin Goddesses, Hestia.
"Long time no see, Hestia. You haven't changed much, still cheerful as usual." Astraea replied with a gentle, refreshing smile.
Hestia immediately approached and grasped Astraea's hands enthusiastically.
"Although I heard from Demeter that you'd returned to Orario, this is the first time we've met."
"I heard what happened to your Familia. Are you alright?" she asked, showing genuine concern.
"Thank you for your concern, Hestia. Everything has passed, I'm fine." Astraea answered in a gentle tone, then smoothly shifted the topic while glancing at the three people behind Hestia. "By the way, are they your children?"
"Mm-hmm~ let me introduce my pride and joy!" Hestia immediately became excited, spinning around and pushing a white-haired, red-eyed young man forward. "Don't be shocked, Astraea~ this is Bell Cranel! Bell reached Level 2 in just one and a half months! Amazing, right? He's extraordinary!"
She puffed out her fantastic chest with overflowing pride.
"Indeed, he's an extraordinary child." Astraea praised while observing Bell, who immediately blushed and became flustered under her attention. She chuckled softly seeing his innocent reaction.
"Just that?"
Hestia was somewhat disappointed in her failed boasting when she saw Astraea didn't look shocked like most people upon hearing Bell's record.
Lili, who had been hiding behind Bell, finally spoke up after noticing the figure behind Astraea.
"Hestia-sama. The reason Astraea-sama isn't very shocked is because there's someone else with an even more outrageous leveling speed. And that person is behind her."
After all, she had once tried to deceive others. No wonder Lili was afraid of him. That's why she hid and hoped the other party wouldn't recognize her.
"Eh, supporter-kun? Who do you mean?" Hestia frowned, then followed Lili's gaze. Only then did she notice the figure who had been standing calmly behind Astraea all along.
"AH! You're the man who looks like Bell!" she shouted while pointing directly at Charlie.
The corner of Charlie's mouth twitched hearing that nickname. Kei beside him even covered her mouth holding back laughter.
Only Aishia and Est remained expressionless as if they didn't care.
"Goddess Hestia. It's rude to call someone by such a label. I remember already mentioning my name to you at our meeting."
"Umm... Sorry, I don't remember." Hestia scratched her cheek, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Could you say it once more? I promise I'll remember it. Really!"
"Good grief, Hestia-sama, you don't even know Solo Leveling's name?" Lili sneered, hands on her hips. "Do you live in a cave?"
"Hah! Who are you calling cave-dwelling, shorty!" Hestia immediately jumped up, her twin tails seemingly standing on end.
"Who are you calling shorty when you're only slightly taller than me!" Lili retorted, equally fierce.
"Grrrr...."
The two pushed their foreheads against each other, glaring like quarreling cats.
"Okay. That's enough, Lilisuke." Welf pulled Lili's shoulder with his large hand.
"Goddess. Don't fight." Bell frantically pulled Hestia's arm, separating the two small creatures in conflict.
His face was full of the expression 'please don't make a commotion in public.'
"Ufufufu... Your relationship with your children is very close, Hestia." Astraea said in an amused tone, feeling happy to see her colleague living well.
From the information she had gotten from Loki before, Astraea knew full well Hestia's struggles since descending from heaven.
Hestia descended to the lower world late. After that, she lived with Hephaestus for a long time.
Because of her late arrival, people tended to prefer joining established Familias rather than taking risks with a new Familia starting from zero. As a result, Hestia had failed to invite even a single person to become her follower.
The climax was when Hephaestus finally lost patience seeing Hestia just lazing around. She kicked her out and forced her to start living independently.
Of course, Astraea had particular concern for Hestia.
Although Astraea wasn't part of the Three Virgin Goddesses, she herself had maintained her purity for hundreds of millions of years. Considering the number of virgin goddesses didn't exceed one digit, relationships among these purity-keeping goddesses tended to form very well.
"Hestia, want to join our group? The more people, the merrier."
"Sure! It's been so long since I played with you!"
Without needing to think long, Hestia immediately agreed to Astraea's invitation. She immediately jumped up joyfully, momentarily forgetting her small quarrel with Lili.
Bell and Welf exchanged glances, slightly confused by how quickly the situation developed.
Lili let out a long sigh, seemingly already able to imagine the increasing commotion.
Meanwhile, Charlie just observed calmly, not minding the temporary addition to their group. Kei looked curious, while Aishia and Est remained neutral.
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