However, upon hearing her sigh, the members of the Hestia Familia present—without exception—all wore strange expressions.
That look... Alise and Gojouno Kaguya had previously revealed the exact same expression near the Elsoth Ruins.
Artemis hadn't thought much of it initially, but at this point, if she still didn't catch on, she might as well be struck from the ranks of the gods.
"Do you all know something?"
Hearing the blue-haired goddess's question, Alise, Daphne, and the others immediately averted their gazes.
Hestia, on the other hand, scratched her cheek and let out a dry laugh.
"Umm, Artemis, you should know that I participated in a War Game with the Apollo Familia about half a month ago, right?"
The blue-haired goddess nodded.
She didn't care for gossip, but since everyone around her was discussing it—and her children were somewhat curious about the matter—she had looked into it slightly.
"I can only say that gods truly never change. Even back in Tenkai, Apollo was the type who wouldn't stop until he achieved his goals. To think he's still like that after descending to the Lower World."
The Three Virgin Goddesses had actually all been pestered by Apollo's confessions in the past.
But unlike Hestia, who tended the sacred flame, both Athena and Artemis were genuine martial practitioners. Leaving Divine Power aside, their martial arts alone were enough to string Apollo up and beat him.
Naturally, they never suffered the misfortune of being blocked at their own doorstep like Hestia.
However...
"Since your Familia is still accepting tasks from The Guild, then, did the Apollo Familia lose in the end?" the blue-haired goddess asked.
She remained completely oblivious to the looks of astonishment that flashed across the faces of the Artemis Familia girls upon hearing her conclusion.
Although Artemis didn't gossip, her dependents were all young girls in their late teens or early twenties. Naturally, they had long since known the news of the Freya Familia's participation.
Moreover, before leaving Orario, they had heard that the Captain of the Apollo Familia had leveled up to Lv.4.
Looking at the Hestia Familia again, there were only a few kittens. Even with two Lv.4s like Alise and Gojouno Kaguya, defeating Hyakinthos would certainly be no problem.
But to pass the 'test' and 'trial' of the Freya Familia's reinforcements was unthinkable, no matter how one looked at it.
In other words...
Seeing that everyone except Artemis had caught on, Hestia placed her hands on her hips and proudly raised her small head.
"The Apollo Familia and the Freya Familia naturally lost. Furthermore, they were defeated single-handedly by my Levi in a one-versus-six sweep!"
Artemis: "..."
The maidens of the Moon Goddess's Familia: "!!!"
"Later, Freya turned into a sore loser and sent out her Ottar. It's just a pity that even 'The Fierce' was no match for Levi."
Hearing this, let alone the girls, even Artemis was thoroughly shocked.
She instinctively asked, "Did he use that black liquid?"
Unexpectedly, her friend before her suddenly flashed a teasing smile.
"Nope~"
Her curiosity piqued, Artemis wanted to ask more. "Then..."
But she was directly interrupted by Hestia. "Although it wasn't the decisive move, he did use it during his battle with 'The Fierce'... yours..."
"—Artemis's Arrow."
O_o?
The blue-haired goddess tilted her head.
Even as a deity who had existed for tens of millions of years, at this moment, she actually felt the illusion that her brain capacity was somewhat insufficient.
No, Artemis had actually understood her friend's subtext.
But precisely because of that, she was even more baffled. "Why can your child summon Artemis's Arrow without my permission?!"
Hestia spread her hands. "Why is that, I wonder? I'm also looking for the answer."
"Artemis, as the owner of Artemis's Arrow, could you tell me~?"
The blue-haired goddess fell silent upon hearing this.
She could sense her Divine Weapon left in Tenkai. She hadn't detected anyone using it during this period.
Yet, there hadn't been a single shred of falsehood in Hestia's statement just now.
In other words...
Levi Bright, whom she had just met and had a terrible first impression of, might, possibly, probably be the [Orion] she had been searching for all along?
After reaching this conclusion, Artemis immediately shook her head vigorously.
"No, this isn't true!"
She was so shocked that she even voiced her inner thoughts aloud.
As for the members of the Artemis Familia, they couldn't help but whisper amongst themselves:
"That annoying guy is actually Lady Artemis's destined lover? Have I gone crazy, or has the world gone crazy?"
"However, if you only look at his face, they do seem like quite a match."
"Rethusa, what nonsense are you spouting?! You want to fall in love yourself, don't drag Lady Artemis into it!"
"Shut up. When you get to my age, you'll understand the worry."
"Wait, shouldn't the key issue be—Lady Artemis's [Orion] is already Goddess Hestia's lover? What will happen to our Lady Artemis? Are they going to share a husband?"
"Aaaaaah, I'm so envious! I'm really so envious! Even as a girl, I'm envious!!!"
Initially, the girls managed to keep their volume down. But as the discussion grew more heated, coupled with a few loud voices, their conversation soon reached Artemis's ears.
Then...
"Everyone, stand at attention!"
A certain blue-haired goddess, flying into a rage out of humiliation, shouted immediately.
"Rethusa, take Lante and the others and copy the Familia rules ten times. If you don't finish, no food for you today!"
"Ehhhh?!"
"Hmm?!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
After scolding her children, Artemis turned her head to look at Hestia, who wore a teasing smile.
She then coughed loudly. Whether from anger or some other reason, her cheeks were slightly flushed as she declared, "Even if I'm sent back to Tenkai or swallowed by Scorpio Antares, I will never fall for Levi Bright!"
"And I certainly won't do something as shameless as sharing a husband with you!"
The twin-tailed goddess raised an eyebrow, wearing an expression that said, "Keep talking; if I believe you, I lose."
"Aaaaaah! Hestia, believe me!!!!!"
Artemis screamed.
Unfortunately, while Hestia mouthed "I believe you, I believe you," she actually didn't take in a single punctuation mark of what was said.
They were all Virgin Goddesses—though Hestia had already graduated—so they knew each other through and through.
Then, that night, after checking Levi's Falna, the twin-tailed goddess revealed an expression that said, "See, I told you so."
[No. 4 · 'Moon Goddess' Artemis's Tsundere Love III: Strength significantly increased; obtained Development Ability 'Abnormal Resistance D']
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