"Thump, thump, thump!"
A string of footsteps sounded outside the door, growing louder until they were right in front of it.
"Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock!"
Knocking echoed from the door.
Inside the room there was no response. The person outside waited a moment before knocking again.
"Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock!"
Still no reaction from within.
The person outside found this odd.
"Strange… He normally wakes up at this time after coming back from the dungeon. Why isn't he awake yet? Did he maybe over‑exert himself?"
Standing there was Hestia, who had come to wake Bell. Barefoot, she wore a bright white dress and a ribbon under her bust, making her posture appear perfectly straight. She looked as energetic as ever, and still made hearts skip a beat.
Hestia frowned slightly at the closed door, but soon that frown turned into mischief.
'Hehe~ It's been so long since I sneaked in to wake Bell… Wonder if I'll succeed this time.'
Ever since Bell became an adventurer, Hestia had often tried to rouse him. As a goddess who couldn't help much in other ways, she tried to show support in the small things. The only problem was that Bell had always been cautious and disciplined—especially before he got his Rune. Since his biological clock was consistent, he usually woke before Hestia did. Every one of her attempts to wake him in the morning had failed.
She'd almost given up—but this time she saw hope of finally waking him.
Imagining Bell's sleepy face made her little mischievous side stir with excitement.
"Hoo‑hoo Bell I'm coming~"
Quietly, Hestia pushed open the door and peeked in, bending slightly forward. She wanted to check if Bell was lying asleep in bed.
"Eh?"
Her head froze. The door offered a clear view of the whole room—and yet, she didn't see anyone in the bed.
That made her sternly straighten up and push the door open fully. Her eyes stared fixedly into the room.
She looked around but did not find him. Hestia stepped inside barefoot.
Bell wasn't in his room? Then where had he gone?
Realization hit her like a puffed‑up cat. Her adorable, slightly chubby cheeks ballooned out.
Bell wasn't in his room... and certainly not in her room... so the answer was obvious.
With her cheeks still puffed, Hestia turned around and left Bell's room. Her destination now: Hephaestus's room.
Bell's room was on the first floor; the goddesses' rooms were on the second floor; on the third floor lived Artemis, with two souls in one body.
Hestia marched straight from Bell's room to Hephaestus's. Even angry as she was, she didn't rush in—she opened the door cautiously and peeked inside in a crouched posture. After all, adventurers were much sturdier than sealed deities, and she didn't want to test whether she needed to lean on the wall to walk.
But inside, what Hestia saw wasn't a blush‑inducing scene—it was Hephaestus sleeping soundly, alone in bed.
So it wasn't Hephaestus. Hestia's usually slow mind suddenly became sharp.
She quietly withdrew and knew exactly where to go next.
Leaving Hephaestus's room, she walked straight down the corridor. At a right turn, she halted before a door on the right.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
She stood outside the door and quickly heard movement from within. Moments later, the door swung open.
Just as expected—he was here. Hestia's eyes narrowed, and her cheeks puffed up in a mix of jealousy and frustration.
"Bell, did you spend the night in Freya's room?"
Bell stood at the door, dressed in a robe, with faint marks still visible on his neck. And what could he possibly say? He couldn't just brush Freya aside—not after everything. So he had no choice but to lay it out plainly.
It was only a matter of time. Hestia had long understood that... and yet, facing it so suddenly, so directly, still left her momentarily stunned.
"Sorry, Hestia."
"Hey, hey..."
Hestia pouted, this time genuinely upset.
There were things they'd already talked about. And she didn't believe Bell was the type to lose control just because he was at home. Besides, wasn't she and Hephaestus a more... natural choice? Why would he suddenly go with Freya?
Something wasn't right.
Holding back the bitterness rising in her chest, Hestia grabbed Bell and pulled him out of the room. She didn't even need to glance inside—there was no way Freya had woken up this early.
With a body similar to theirs, there was no chance Freya could be fully conscious so early in the morning. Not after last night.
"Bell, what exactly happened?"
Bell rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, like a kid caught doing something wrong.
"Hestia, it's... a little complicated."
"Well, actually..."
Bell gave her a simple rundown of what had happened the night before. As she listened, Hestia's irritation gradually faded into calm—though she nearly jumped when Bell mentioned abandoning the "Blessing System." Still, she more or less understood what had gone down yesterday.
"So that's how it is..."
Her cheeks remained puffed, but her mood had clearly shifted from jealousy to something more subdued—disappointment.
Bell was taken aback. Hestia had never looked this downhearted before.
"Hestia, did I mess up somewhere?"
For once, Bell sounded truly flustered, a note of panic creeping into his voice.
Hestia looked at him with a complicated, melancholic gaze.
"Bell... do you think I'm useless?"