Chapter 23: Hestia
"Goddess Hestia!" The young goddess heard the same voice call her, one that had bade her goodbye not a few minutes before.
"Bell?" She questioned as the young boy nearly tripped down the stairs into her room in his excitement. She sat up straighter on the couch, confused but happy that he'd come back for whatever reason. "Aren't you supposed to be heading out to the Dungeon? What's wrong?"
"You won't believe who came to visit!" Bell said.
"Who?" Hestia asked before she thought back to both their conversations on the previous day. "Wait, is it your friend?"
"Yes, it is." Bell nodded. "Ryo came to visit us. I'm so excited, I can't wait for you to meet him. Now we can try and convince him to join our Familia. I'm sure he would accept if we try hard enough."
"...I don't know Bell." Hestia sighed. She'd actually kind of been enjoying all the alone time she'd bee having with Bell in their cosy little cellar. "From what you've told me about him, he seems headstrong and stubborn. I doubt it would be easy."
"You never know until you try. And he'd be a great boost to our strength as well. He's even brought a couple of friends too."
"Oh really?" Hestia excalimed. "Look at this place Bell. We're not fit to accommodate that many guests."
"We could at least say hello." Bell replied.
"...Fine. So where are they?"
Bell made to say something when they both heard a pair of footsteps approach their doorway. First skipped out Noel, both shy and timid but courteous enough to give them a smile. Uraume came second, not at all interested or bothered to see them. Though she did pause and look at Hestia a second longer, and the goddess could not help but see a flicker of disapproval and disappointment in her eyes.
Nothing new though. Hestia was well used to those kind of looks by now. After all, gods were supposed to be mighty and respected beings. Not poverty-stricken croquette flippers at a fried food stand who were living in the basement of an abandoned church. That feeling was temporary this time around though as Hestia immediately zeroed in on the little girl that had skipped in.
Noel also came to a stop before Hestia and both girls seemed to inspect each other's aura. A moment passed before Hestia's eyes widened at what was standing before her. It was not mortal in any way but a close step down from godhood, an intermediary existence.
'A Spirit.'
"Hello Child." Hestia said warmly as she held out a hand. "What's your name?"
"Noel, Goddess Hestia." Noel said as she shook Hestia's hand with both of hers.
"Have you come to join my family, Noel?" Hestia asked, deciding then and there to take a shot. "I will gladly take you in as my own, and shield you from your progenitor if they try to come looking for you."
"No goddess." She shook her head. "I already serve someone else. And I don't know who my progenitor is, so I don't think they'd be bothered about me."
"Progenitor?" Bell scrunched his eyebrows at the funny term. "You mean her parents?"
"Not quite Bell." Hestia said excitedly as she lifted Noel's hand up. "She's a Spirit, Bell! Like the ones from the stories you read."
"A spirit?" Bell asked calmly before he processed again what he'd just heard. "A SPIRIT! You're a spirit Miss Noel!?"
"I'm a High Spirit, Mister Bell." Noel smiled.
Meanwhile, Uraume just stood there looking stoic as ever, though twinged with a little annoyance as all three just seemed to forget her in the background. Though it was nothing she was used to. In all her time serving Ryomen Sukuna, she lived very much under his shadow. Kept around only because of her cooking skills as well and her specialty in human meat. Otherwise the Disgraced would surely have feasted on her own flesh back in the day when she was a human sorceress.
She cocked her head a little as she sensed the deaths of the swarm of curses that had been hiding out on the ceiling in the prayer hall above. All but one of them died, and she sensed her current master's energy flare a little before the last curse was snuffed out and steady footsteps approached the stairwell and started down the steps.
"This is crazy." Bell said as he clenched his hands in excitement. "I've always wanted to meet a spirit. They were always noble and powerful in the stories. It's truly an honour, Miss Noel."
"I'm not all that strong." Noel flushed a little at his praise. "And anyway, there is another spirit here way, way stronger than I am."
"Who?" Hestia arched a brow as she looked at Uraume. She looked the cold woman up and down but could not detect any spirit aura coming off of her, though there was a strange cloud of energy hanging around her. That was certain. It felt like magic certainly...but weird. Different...wrong even. That was Hestia's thought process before her mind was interrupted with the landing of the last step into the room of the person she'd been expecting and anticipating to see.
As soon as Ryo's boot touched the ground in the hidden room, a powerful and heavy aura instantly fell upon all of them, deep and chaotic enough that Bell was mentally compelled to fall to his knees without even realising it. The boy, though now blessed with a Falna could in no ways stand up to Ryo's aura.
Now this, Hestia realised, was most assuredly the spirit that Noel was talking about, and likely the one she apparently served. But Hestia's hackles were immediately raised as her divine senses kicked in to get a read on the spirit that had come in. Spirits and Gods could read each other and understand one another in way that mortals couldn't and they would use these to identify where a spirt or a god stood with their powers. It was with these senses that Hestia identified Noel as a strong Ice Spirit.
This new entity was different though. From within his spiritual presence, she could sense the murky taint of power fuelled by fear, anger and hatred. It sounded like the shrieks of a thousand voices to the goddess. Additionally with it came the qualities of the person itself. Malevolence and indifference rolled off of the newcomer in waves like a tsunami bearing down on a fishing village.
And his raw power made a High Spirit's like Noel's seem like an insignificant speck in the grand picture. Without even taking a proper look at this unpleasant guest, Hestia reacted with her instincts...and flared her own aura as her body started radiating bright light while her hair turned crimson. Around her feet formed a ring of transparent yet multicoloured flames as she raised her hand.
"RUN BELL!" She commanded.
"Goddess, what?" Bell said as he was driven to shock and backpedalled to the wall with his back pressed right up against it in fear and confusion. "What are you doing Goddess Hestia? It's my friend!"
"He's an evil dark spirit Bell!" She yelled, her voice echoing with an overtone like she was speaking into a clear mic. "He'll eat you all alive! He brought you all down here to kill you! It's a trap. I'll hold him off while you make a run for it."
"What?!" Bell exclaimed as he hesitated, not knowing what to do because of the suddenness of this escalation.
Hestia kept her eyes focused on the figure approaching her, a Child shrouded in such dark and evil energy. This thing was a stain upon creation itself. How could the gods have let an evil Spirit like this get so powerful without purging it immediately? Moreover, which mad god was the progenitor of a spirit so powerful? Hestia feared that her abilities were limited in the time she had and the space this was taking place in. If it came down to a fight, she couldn't let her dear Bell get caught in a crossfire. That was why she needed him to run.
The entity of darkness approached her and lifted its hand up like it was about to strike her and begin this battle.
"Arrogant Child." She said. "You would so brazenly lift a hand to the kin of your creator? We would exorcise those like you who did not follow the rules and keep in line. You will not harm my family you creature! I dare you, strike me! I, who existed at the spark of creations and watched your kind grow up in our shadows. You will not succeed here. Surrender, or you shall suffer the consequences of drawing my wra-OW!"
Thunk!
The hand that was lifted up came down on her head in a disciplinary chopping motion that made her immediately drop out of the semi-divine state she'd taken when releasing her Arcanum. She yelped aloud as the pain hit her instantly and her voice lost its majestic echo and returned quite to normal as she became nothing more than a little girl again, though this time crouching while nursing an angry red bump on her head, pouting all the while like a spoilt brat.
She looked up to see Ryo staring down at her incredulously and annoyed, the aura from before no longer around him as he looked down at her sternly.
"You idiot!" He chided her, the first two words he'd addressed her with upon meeting her for the first time. "Do you want to bring this whole church down on us? If you want to start something anywhere else, I'd be game but it would make sense to not do this kind of thing in a place where it would be easily noticeable by people, and there was no risk of a whole building collapsing on top of Bell and crushing him to death." Ryo raised a brow as he scoffed. "Do better than that, goddess."
"You two really are spitting images of each other." Hestia mumbled as she looked between Ryo and her child. She got up and rubbed her bump. "Why are you here?"
"Simple." Ryo said as he took a scroll out of his pocket. "I'm here to get you off my property."
...
"YOUR PROPERTY?" Hestia's eyes bulged as she grabbed at the document but he held it up out of her reach.
"Yep." He said, popping the 'p' at the end. "In fact, you've been squatting on my turf for a period of two weeks now."
"But-but-" Hestia started to ramble as her pig-tails started frolicking about somehow in some twisted anime logic. "Hang on! Hephaestus gave this church to me! She owned and gave it to me."
"Rather you moved in improperly." He said as he rolled up the scroll. "Have you looked at this place? She hasn't paid any of the upkeep taxes or any service charges for decades. As a result..." Ryo pulled out the second piece of paper that Rehmer had given to him and placed it in the goddess's hand. "...the church was seized."
Hestia grabbed it hastily and began to read, while a numb minded Bell came over and looked over her shoulder to see the contents. As much as the goddess didn't want to believe it, she couldn't deny the Guild's stamp on the aged notice. Her shoulders sagged as she found herself unable to contest the hard facts brought before her. She just stood there unable to speak as Bell put a hand on her shoulder and looked up at his older look-alike.
"What's going to happen now?" Bell asked.
"Well legally I can't do anything to you Bell." Ryo said as Hestia's eyes flickered upwards to meet his. "However, Goddess Hestia here has been squatting on my property in excess of two weeks. That leaves her with two options, time behind bars or time spent repaying me in whatever way I see fit." Ryo smiled at the boy. "In the first days of Orario, that usually meant slavery. But of course that doesn't exist now. However, Hestia is still compelled to pay for this offense against me."
"Is that truly the law here?" Uraume asked, raising a brow as she made Ryo look at her. "What a stupid system..."
"Read up on it in a law book at the Guild." Ryo said.
"But I had no idea!" Hestia protested before she did a double-take. "Hang on, you didn't even say anything! And you just walk in here without even introducing yourself to me. You just slap an eviction notice in my face!"
"Eviction is if you were a paying tenant here." Ryo quipped. "You're a squatter, a criminal. As the offended party here, I can do whatever I want with you."
"Is that true Goddess?" Bell asked. "Are you really going to have to pay him back for this mistake?"
"I was already poor." Hestia mumbled sadly as she slumped her arm. "Now I'm in debt. Just great. Yes Bell, it's true."
"But...where will we go?" Bell asked as he looked up at Ryo pleadingly. "Please Ryo. We don't have a place to stay...this was the only place we could take refuge in. Isn't there another way?"
"No, please. Bell, stay out of it." Hestia said as she stepped up to Ryo and looked up at him. "It's my fault. I'm the one who overstayed, so please don't punish Bell for anything. Just me."
"Stop being so dramatic both of you." Ryo snapped. "Like I said, I'm not evicting you. But you are at my mercy, so you'll have to do what I want. And just as it happens, there is something you can do."
"Anything!" Bell said as he pushed in front of Hestia, as if he were protecting her. Ryo almost laughed at how pathetic that actually looked. Even Uraume cracked an amused smile.
"I have to say, he does have some courage." The sorceress said. "Perhaps you should make him a jester, and have him entertain the customers while they eat. His act will definitely bring more on the side."
"I'm sorry, who are you again?" Hestia turned to look at the woman, suddenly filled with a fire at Bell being insulted.
"Uraume." The sorceress replied instantly. "A sworn servant of Lord Ryo. I am not a Spirit per say unlike my master. But I might as well be in the same group."
"Wait..." Bell said as his eyes widened upon realization of Hestia's tirade earlier. He looked back at Ryo who just had a deadpan expression on his face. "You're a spirit, Ryo? Like Miss Noel."
"Yes." Ryo said.
"That is so cool!" Bell brightened up. "But why didn't you tell me?"
"You never asked."
"That explains why you're so strong and you're able to use magic without a Blessing." Bell said. "You never needed it in the first place...and that's also the reason why you said we can't be related! We're two different species!"
"That we are." Ryo said.
"But how do you two still look like each other?!" Hestia pressed. "I wouldn't be able to tell the difference if you weren't taller than my Bell."
"Don't know, you'll have to ask whoever made me." Ryo said as he pushed past them and observed the cellar, already making plans for it.
"Do you know who made you?" Hestia asked.
"No." Ryo replied, making Hestia's brow furrow.
'A lie.'
"What can we do then to settle this affair, Ryo?" Bell asked.
"You haven't forgotten already about my offer from yesterday, have you Bell?" Ryo asked as he turned around. "What have I been talking about with you ever since the day we met?"
"Your restaurant." Bell said before he realized something and looked all around them. "Wait, the church? You're turning the church into the restaurant?"
"That I am." Ryo smiled. "And if you two want to stay here...well you'll have to earn your keep somehow. I assume you might have some experience in cooking, Lady Hestia?"
"Why do you assume that?" Hestia asked.
"I can smell the residue of frying oil on you."
"I work at a stall where I cook potato croquettes for people." Hestia said.
"Deep frying." Ryo said as he put his hand to his chin. "Good enough. How about this then? You'll come and work in my kitchen, and I won't penalise you. That about fair?"
"But-but...I already have a job." Hestia protested. "That lady has been so kind to me...I can't just walk out on her."
"Not my problem." Ryo said as he began walking up the stairs again. "But I will sue you, make no mistake. So you'd better start weighing your choices now."
Uraume and Noel spared them a glance before dutifully following him up the stairs, leaving Bell and Hestia behind.
"How could you have ever befriended him Bell?" Hestia asked. "He's vindictive and evil!"
"We have been sleeping on his property Goddess." Bell said. "He has every right to be upset...and while yes, he's not the most forgiving person, we're still in the wrong. And let's face it, I've only just begun adventuring and I'm not good at it. We won't be able to rent anywhere. Let's accept this offer Goddess. He's also willing to pay me for my position and work in the restaurant, so he might do the same for you. we'll get to stay here still."
"I know...but it still doesn't feel right." Hestia sulked as she crossed her arms. "Stupid evil spirit...he didn't even get to know us properly. Just came in and hit my head."
"We don't really have many options goddess." Bell said. "I still want his training, so I decided last night that I would accept his offer. It would be great if you came as well...plus..." Bell rubbed his cheek a little. "...it would be nice if we spend time working together as well. I like being around you."
Hestia just stared at him before her cheeks reddened a little and she playfully punched him.
"Oh come on, Bell. Do I have to hold your hand all the time?" She fixed her hands on her hips. "Oh well, seeing as you can't possibly survive without my guidance Bell, I guess I'll just have to take the job offer with you then. Who knows where you'd be without me after all?"
"Uh...thanks." Bell said, unsure of himself before he shrugged and pulled her along. "Come on Goddess. Let's go give him our answer."
...
Bell pulled them both up the stairs and out of the door just in time to see Ryo place down a crate amidst a whole bunch of other giant boxes, racks and crates full of what looked to Bell like building and construction supplies.
"Where did all this come from?" Bell asked before he saw the morphed shape of Ryo's shadow return to normal. "Oh."
He'd seen Ryo putting stuff away in his shadow before.
"Have you thought about my offer?" Ryo asked.
"Yes, we have." Bell said. "Goddess and Hestia and I will work for you to settle this debt."
"Good." Ryo said casually, like he'd not just made them go through a hard choice. "You two can get settled into the employee dorm when I'm done building."
"It's a whole lot of stuff." Noel commented before she looked up at Ryo. "How long is it going to take to get this place finished?"
"Not even an hour." Ryo said as he held up his hands in a sign, and the shadows around him and in the room got very much darker all of a sudden. From beneath his feet, the shadows pooled like water.
"Ryoiki Tenkai..."
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