Astraea and Zoe Elpis(end)(corrected)

The next day, they woke up early in the morning. After having dinner at the tavern, they had waited for Ryuu to finish work, to go to her apartment to sleep there.

They had all had breakfast together while having simple chat when it was time to go and visit Hephaestus.

"Well Ryuu, we better go." -Said Astraea greeting her.

"Good day, Ryuu." - Zoe said cheerfully.

"Good day to you too." -Said Ryuu showing a happy smile. For the first time in many years, she could feel that emptiness inside her, finally being filled.

When they left the apartment, they headed towards the blacksmith's district, where the Hephaestus Familia building was located.

The blacksmith's district could be understood from the name, it was an area full of workshops, where the most experienced blacksmiths produced their works and in the middle of the district was the building where Hephaestus lived and worked.

"It looks like she hasn't moved luckily." -Said Astraea as she approached the gates.

"Alt! Why are you here? " - Said the guards at the gate.

"We are here to see the goddess Hephaestus." -Said Astraea simply.

"Haaa, you must know that our goddess is busy, she can't interact with every person who wants to meet her." -Said the guard wearily.

Many wanted the equipment produced by the goddess, but due to the number of requests, you had to wait a long time, so people came here to make the request directly, with the hope of not having to waste time.

"Simply tell her that there is a woman who knows what happened behind the tree in the forest. She should understand. " -Said Astraea mysteriously.

The two guards then looked at each other and the one who had talked to them decided to go to Hephaestus.

"Mother what were you referring to earlier?" - Zoe asked quietly.

"Fufufu is a secret." -Astraea winked at her.

In the meantime, the guard had reached the door, where the sound of the banging iron and the heat it released could be heard continuously.

'knock Knock'

"Goddess Hephaestus I am Jacob, can I enter?" -Jacob asked respectfully.

"Oh Jacob, come in." -Hearing a woman's voice, Jacob calmly entered.

When he entered he saw a woman with relatively short, red, fire-like hair and crimson eyes. She wore long black gloves, dark pants, and a white shirt, plus she wore a patch on her right eye.

"What happened" -Hephaestus asked as she wiped away the sweat.

"At the entrance, there is a woman who wants to meet you."

"'Sigh' you already know what to do then." -She said, as she began to work the metal again.

"The woman said she knows what happened behind the tree in the forest." - Said the guard.

'Behind the tree in the forest?' - Hephaestus thought strangely, as she slowed down her work.

Forcing herself to remember something, nothing came to her mind when she thought about an event that happened many many years ago. The moment she realized what the phrase meant, Hephaestus's face turned red like her hair.

"I was hoping to forget that event, tell her to come." -Hephaestus said while trying to hide her embarrassment.

Seeing an unseen side of his goddess, the guard returned to the gates and permitted them to enter.

(A few minutes after.)

In a small living room, Astraea and Zoe could be seen sitting on a sofa and in front of them was another sofa where Hephaestus sat looking irritated.

"You promised me you would never talk about that story again."

"Sorry, it's the only thing that came to my mind to meet you" -Astraea said trying to hold back the laughter.

"'Sigh' forget it. I am happy to see you again Astraea. " -She said smiling at her.

"Me too Hephaestus, I find you good." -Astraea said smiling at her.

"So why are you here? I thought that after that event you had decided to leave the Orario." - She told her sadly.

She had heard what had happened to her Familia, but beyond words of comfort, she could do nothing for her. The adventurer's life was full of dangers and you never knew when it might end.

"I wanted to grant my adopted daughter's wish." -Said gesturing to Zoe.

"Pleasure goddess Hephaestus, I am Zoe Filips, adopted daughter of Astraea. My mother spoke very highly of you. " -Said Zoe respectfully.

"You don't have to be so strict dear. You have found a beautiful daughter Astraea, I'm happy for you. " -She said smiling at her friend.

"But bringing her here to Orario was not a good idea, especially for your situation. These are only vague news, but it seems that Evilus is more active than usual. " - She said seriously.

"Precisely for this reason I want to ask you this favor. My daughter wants to become an alchemist, but she needs to be in a Familia if she wants to level up smoothly. " -Said Astraea seriously.

"'Sigh' then you came to the wrong person. In recent years, the alchemists and I have been having bad relations "-Hephaestus said wearily.

"What are you talking about, aren't they the ones who deliver the enchanted metals to you?" -Astraea doubtful churches.

"Exactly, we gave them discounts, while they gave us the enchanted metals, but for a couple of years, they have been trying to enter the blacksmith economy. As you know my brand is recognized by everyone and they asked me if I could give up the right to sell in some realms and of course, I refused. At that point they started to raise the prices for our orders and so did we, now we can barely stand each other. " - Hephaestus said irritably.

"For this reason, if you want your daughter to enter the world of alchemy it is better that she has nothing to do with us. I'm sorry I'm not helping. " -Said Hephaestus. She wanted to help her friend, but that would only harm her daughter's future.

"Don't be Hephaestus, I didn't expect this situation. It seems we will have to ask Hestia. " -She said stiffly.

"Astraea, it may surprise you, but Hestia is no longer as lazy as she was in heaven." -Said Hephaestus smiling.

"For real?" -Astraea asked not believing her.

"That's right, now he's working to pay her debt."

"What kind of debt?" - Zoe asked strangely.

"She wanted me to make equipment for her son and I did."

"Ehh so Hestia already has a child... Wait! Hephaestus you said you made the piece of equipment, how much is the debt. " -Astraea asked palely.

"... 200 million." -Hephaestus said, looking away.

"... hahaha, Zoe come with me, it looks like we'll have to look for someone else." -Said Astraea with a smile.

"Wait for a second, the debt is only for her and not for her children. I already told her that, if I knew that she had taken the money from her children, I would have doubled the price. Besides, Hestia may be a bit... particular, but you can trust her. " -Said Hephaestus as she tried to calm her down.

"Haaa, alright I'll give her a chance. Do you know where she lives? " -She said with a sigh.

After receiving directions about the area, Astraea and Zoe greeted Hephaestus and started heading there. The place was on the other side of the city and when they arrived, they both had strange faces.

"Is this place at least habitable?" - Zoe asked confused.

"Hestia where did you go?" -Said Straea, as she rubbed her temples.

The building indicated by Hephaestus was a damaged small church, which was located in an almost deserted area of ​​Orario.

Having no other alternative, they went knocking, and shortly thereafter, the door was opened by a Chienthrope girl.

"Do you need something?" - She asked suspiciously.

"We're looking for Hestia, is she home?" -Astraea asked her.

Turning her head towards hooded Astraea and Zoe, the girl decided to let them in and then headed for a door that was near the altar.

Shortly after leaving, the girl returned with another girl of short stature, but with a chest that barely managed to stay in the dress, she also had black hair arranged in a double ponytail and deep blue eyes.

"She told me, that you were looking for me." -Said the girl.

"Hestia, I haven't seen for a long time." -Said Astraea as she took off her cloak.

"Astraea!" -At the moment Hestia saw who it was, she immediately ran towards her, jumping off her.

"I see you are as energetic as ever." -Astraea told her as she caressed her.

"Why are you here, I knew you left the city." -Hestia asked curiously.

Having recently come down, Hestia did not know what had happened to the Familia of Astraea. She only knew that she had decided to leave the city.

"I wanted to allow my adopted daughter to make her dream come true." -Said Astraea.

"Nice to meet you goddess Hestia, I'm Zoe Filips." - Zoe said politely.

"It's a beautiful name." -Hestia said smiling at her.

"Instead, is she your daughter?" -Astraea asked, pointing to the Chienthrope girl.

"No, this is Lili, she is my son's supporter. He should be back soon, he went to visit a friend who was injured. " -Said Hestia.

"Hestia can I talk to you about something in private?" -Astraea asked seriously.

Seeing Astraea's serious look, which she had never seen, Hestia asked Lili to wait outside.

"Now you can talk." -Said Hestia.

At that point Astraea explained to her about what happened to her Familia and the reason she left the city, then she explained to her about the meeting with Zoe and her desire to become an alchemist, but with the problem that she could not belong to her Familia, so she was looking for someone to entrust her to.

"It must have been tough." -Hestia told her while holding her hand. Astraea was an important friend to her.

When they were in Heaven they spent a lot of time together and she enjoyed being with her every time. Also, she had this maternal feeling, which made you always feel comfortable being with her, which was why Hestia was pained by her experience.

"Yes, it was." Astraea nodded sadly.

"As far as your daughter is concerned, there is no problem. I may not have the means to buy alchemist materials, but a god friend of mine runs a potion shop with his daughter. She could make and sell the potions there, so there would be no problem using their tools. " -Propose Hestia.

Hearing the idea of ​​Hestia, Astraea did not find it wrong. Zoe would have a new teacher and the instruments to work, and Hestia lived in a quiet place, which would not attract attention.

"Okay, Hestia." -Nodded Astraea.

After making the decision, Astraea deleted her blessing from Zoe and Hestia put hers on, though she was shocked when she read her status.

"Surprise isn't it? I also couldn't believe it. Well, I think it's time to go." -Said Astraea as she stood up.

"Mother..." - Zoe called her with difficulty. She had spent so much time with her, that she felt strange when she had to walk away from her.

"My girl what are you worried about? You can always come and see me, you know that I leave you here only so that you can make new acquaintances and be safer." -She said while she gently stroked her head. Then he turned to Hestia.

"I beg you, take care of her." -Astraea told her before leaving.

Since Hephaestus told her that the Evilus was back active, her worries had risen. She was afraid that if she continued to be with her, she could be discovered, bringing danger to Zoe, which she absolutely had to avoid. For this she intended to investigate and the person who could give her the most information was Loki.