That morning was pure hell.
Potatoes were piled up like a mountain, endless peeling.
Mama Mia was standing nearby with an angry expression, which terrified her into trembling all morning.
And these two culprits actually went to be maids for someone for a whole morning?!!
When they returned,
They even let out a satisfied burp right in front of her!
One must know!
She hadn't even eaten breakfast because she was peeling that pile of potato skins!
Unforgivable!
" If Xielu hadn't come back to help, "
" I really would have died of exhaustion, meow!! "
Anya sniffled, sat back down on her chair, and glared fiercely at the two.
" So... "
" Mama Mia said, no one is allowed to move until closing time! "
" Whoever moves, I will hit them, meow! "
Looking at this scene full of comedic effect,
Hestia blinked, and then—
" Hehe—"
She laughed quite shamelessly.
Although it was wrong for a kind Goddess to mock the misfortune of others,
But...
" Hehe..."
She just couldn't help but laugh.
" Anyway... no matter what, you two had better work hard. "
" Heimer is busy right now, so he probably won't have time to save you. "
" Besides... "
Hestia glanced at the two guilty, prominent figures.
" I think Manager Mia is right. "
" Skipping work is wrong! "
With that said,
Hestia patted Chloe's shoulder, mercilessly abandoning the two pitiful figures begging her for help, and walked away with light, cheerful steps, pushing open the double wooden door.
Leaving behind two desperate screams.
...
...
Inside the tavern.
Unlike the quiet outside,
It was peak dinner time, and the main hall was already bustling.
The loud voices of Adventurers, the crisp clinking of glasses, and the shouts of the servers shuttling back and forth wove together into a symphony full of life.
But in a corner of the tavern,
The atmosphere was exceptionally strange.
"...I am truly, truly sorry. "
Ryu.
The Elven girl who usually kept a cold expression, serious like a moral guardian,
Was currently lowering her head,
Her hands tightly twisting the edge of the green apron she was wearing.
The pointed Elven ear peeking out from under her hood was completely red now, like a boiled shrimp.
Because opposite her,
Stood a gentle and lovely-looking girl with light gray hair—
—Xielu Flova.
Also known as the poster girl of [The Hostess of Fertility].
" Ryu? "
" What's wrong? Why are you apologizing? "
Xielu blinked her light gray eyes, still holding a tray in her hands.
She looked somewhat bewilderedly at Ryu, who had suddenly pulled her into this corner and was now acting flustered.
Ryu had dragged her into this empty corner.
Then, without another word, she performed a ninety-degree deep bow.
Xielu was genuinely a bit stunned.
Since the tavern wasn't busy, Xielu had finally returned today.
Ryu hesitated for a long time, finally gathering her courage to ask the question that had been weighing on her heart, making her unable to eat or sleep.
" Xielu..."
" Do you know that Deity named Heimer? "
Ryu looked up, her sky-blue eyes filled with anxiety.
Upon hearing these words,
Faced with Ryu's expression as if the sky was falling,
Xielu froze.
As Freya's subordinate,
She naturally knew Heimer.
She could even say she was very familiar with him.
However,
She never would have thought
That her slight abnormal reaction would be discovered by Ryu.
And then, to protect her?
She attacked Heimer?
Was she crazy?
When she realized the target Ryu had attacked was Heimer,
Xielu almost lost control of her expression.
Fortunately,
At this moment, Ryu was still looking down in remorse and didn't dare look at her face.
This gave her time to recover.
So,
After slightly adjusting her composure,
Xielu gradually realized what might have happened over the past few days.
She suppressed the strange feeling in her heart, tilted her head slightly, and transformed her expression from bewilderment to confusion, which was perfect.
" Heimer? "
" Is that the Deity who's been talked about so much recently? "
" I don't know him. "
" That day was also the first time I met that Deity. "
" I didn't expect that Deity would have such powerful Familia members by his side. "
" As for why I left early that day... it was actually because something happened at the orphanage. A child got sick, and Aunt Maria needed me to go back and help first. "
" BOOM—"
As soon as these words came out,
Ryu instantly turned to stone.
It was as if a bolt of lightning, hitting precisely, had struck the top of her head.
She could even hear the sound of something shattering.
That was the sound of the self-esteem named 'Ryu Lion' turning to dust.
Didn't know him?
She really didn't know him?
Xielu said she didn't know Heimer.
The orphanage...
So, that day was because of the orphanage?!
Then that scene she made that night...
Her self-proclaimed sense of justice, her actions that were like a perverted stalker, and finally the challenge she made like an idiot...
And in the end, she even sacrificed herself, having to wake up at four every morning to be a maid at someone's house...
Wasn't this...
Completely one-sided affection?!
Moreover...
She actually... attacked an innocent Deity purely based on her own conjecture!
And even thought the other person was a pervert!
But in the end...
That pervert... was actually me?!
"I..."
Gradually realizing this, Ryu's mouth fell open.
Her face instantly flushed from shy pink to deep red, then from deep red to deathly pale.
The firmness in her eyes vanished, replaced by swirling spirals like mosquito coils.
A massive wave of guilt, mixed with enough shame to cause immediate social death, instantly overwhelmed her.
Seeing this, Syr couldn't resist the urge to tease her. She leaned in closer, looking into Ryu's eyes with a concerned expression and asked:
"Ryu... you didn't make any rash decisions while I was gone, did you?"
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
"I actually... did something like that..."
With that,
Ryu immediately covered her face, crouched down, her shoulders trembling slightly.
If there were a crack in the floor right then, she would have dived into it without hesitation, buried herself, and never come out again.
Ruined.
Completely ruined.
Her honorable reputation for this entire life was utterly ruined.
Seeing her friend so devastated, looking as if she might shatter the next second,
Syr was about to pat Ryu's shoulder to comfort her.
However,
Before Syr could seize the moment to offer comfort and subtly probe for details about what had happened these past few days,
"Mistress—!!!"
A sudden, energetic shout came from the entrance.
The voice was incredibly penetrating.
It directly cut through all the noise in the tavern.
Causing the entire hall to fall silent for a moment.
"..."
"!!!"
Immediately after,
Hearing this familiar voice, Syr's eyes widened in shock, and she instantly turned her head!
There, standing at the tavern's entrance, was Hestia.
That nouveau riche look on her face.
Caused Syr, who was just about to comfort Ryu,
The instant she realized Hestia had appeared!
To react like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, or a mouse encountering its natural predator!
Her whole body jolted.
"H-Hestia?!"
If one were to say,
Syr—or rather, the goddess Freya disguised as a mortal—
As the Goddess of Beauty, the deity she least wanted to encounter in the lower world,
—was the Goddess of Chastity!
Deities can see through mortal disguises.
Similarly, as the natural enemy of the Goddess of Beauty,
The charm of the Goddess of Beauty is something few can resist, even in heaven, not even the great gods.
Only the Goddess of Chastity is completely immune to any influence of the Goddess of Beauty!
Especially the transformation magic the Goddess of Beauty prides herself on; before the Goddess of Chastity, it's like a thin veil, holding no secrets whatsoever.
Therefore,
Now, if Hestia were to lay eyes on her!
Even just a single glance!
Her disguise would be seen through by Hestia!
At that point,
If Ryu were to find out she had been deceiving her all along...
"No!"
To avoid immediate social death and exposure of her identity,
Syr could no longer spare a thought for the mortified Ryu.
"Um... Ryu! I forgot something in the back kitchen!"
"Something very important! I think I left the fire on!"
"I need to go check!"
After saying that,
Before Ryu could react,
Syr hurriedly ducked into the back kitchen.
Leaving only the crouching Ryu, still covering her face, peeking through her fingers at her friend's fleeing back.
In that instant,
A huge question mark popped up above Ryu's head.
"What's wrong with Syr...?"
...
As for the other side,
Hestia, who had entered the tavern, wasn't paying any attention over there at all. Her thoughts were completely captivated by the Adventurers' clamor, the clinking of glasses, and the rich aroma of grilled meat.
She was wholly engrossed, eyes glued to the pictures on the menu, drooling as she ordered from Mia.
"This! This! And this one!"
"I want all of it!"
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"