CHAD HESTIA - Chapter 8

"Um, is it me, or is the box heavier than it should be?" The innocent sound boy asked after a while.

Ais frowned. Not because that question offended her. Obviously not.

She just didn't want her cover to be blown too early.

No. Wait, she's not undercover, she's being kidnapped.

Had she been eating too many snacks lately?

No. It's the boy that's weak.

"How could he say that about a lady?" Said spear girl next to her, scandalized. Ais nodded in union of the sentiment.

"Bell! You can't say that about a girl's weight! Shame on you!" Cried out the goddess, Hestia, Ais believes she was called. She found herself nodding with the goddess. For... tactical reasons. Or something.

"N-No! I didn't mean that. Just that, it's heavy enough that it feels like two people!" The innocent sounding boy, now identified as Bell, quickly said. Ais decided to hold back any displeasure toward the boy for his clarification. For now. "W-What I mean is, what if we ended up capturing another person by mistake?"

"Oh please, what are the odds of that happening?" Hestia scoffed in dismissal. Spear Girl looked proud of herself for having gone unnoticed. "I mean, someone saw someone else about to be kidnapped and jumps in with her into the trap? Who could be so dumb?" Spear Girl looked like she was verbally stabbed. "I mean, that person would have to be either extremely reckless, or extremely gluttonous for potatoes."

Spear Girl was suffer more heavy verbal hits. She was in critical condition!

Ais moved her hand Spear Girl's back.

Just like I saw others do before. 

Pat. Pat.

"There. There." Ais whispered in monotone.

Nailed it!

Eventually the sound of the streets quietened down, there was the sound of a creaking old door opening, and some careful movement to set the metal plate with the cardboard box down.

It was time.

Ais and Spear Girl looked at each other, both nodding at seeing the resolve of their captured comrade, who had journeyed through this potato trap together.

With resolve in their heart, she looked ahead to face their kidnappers with courage.

The cardboard box was lifted.

Ais and Spear Girl stilled.

First was the smell. A divine scent of jagamarukun rolling upon them like waves, that felt like a lost home welcoming them.

Then there was the sights. Ten baskets filled over the top with a tower of golden shiny jagamarukuns.

Ais Wallenstein has found Potato-halla.

The basket closet to her was held by a human almiraj. The nervous boy looked like he was almost holding the basket as an offer to placate the Sword Princess. Ais wanted him to stay by her side and serve her jagamarukuns everyday.

The last one was an odd thought. But regardless!

"Ha Ha! It seems the Cardboard Gacha was graced us today with two SSRs rather than one! Probably. Praise RNGesus! You, the orange one, who the heck are you?" Said the short goddess with... a gifted chest.

This Reverse Loki must be Hestia, Ais thought to herself.

"So there were two people." The other boy, a half-elf, much to Ais' surprise but close to her initial guess, face palmed while shaking his head.

"I-I am Oriana Drake, Knight-Aspirant!" Ais' potato loving comrade in arms stood up, eyes at the jagamarukuns rather than their kidnappers. She wiped the drool from her mouth as she tried to look more serious and intimidating. "A-And you villainous criminals will identify yourself now!"

"W-We're not crim—" The white rabbit one, Potato Bunny—Bell! That must be his name. Ais nodded to herself as she stood up. Bell, he began to say and defend himself before the goddess cut him off.

"You! Drake girl! Are you with a Familia?" Hestia spoke with authority.

"A-Ah, no. I have left my previous familia to start a new life in Orario as an Adventurer. My former familia, the Pose—"

"Right. Backstory time for later. Take a plate and go sit in the corner and I'll get to you afterwards." Hestia commanded. There was even a stool in the corner of the room.

"B-But—" Oriana said looking between Ais, the mischievous but commanding Hestia and the jagamarukuns plate Ruhig offered her.

"If you don't want to then you're welcome to leave. No one is stopping you." Hestia said.

The goddess was right. The door to this building was so open it was breaking apart.

"...Okay," Oriana sai dejected, taking the plate with a thanks and went to sit in the corner.

It seems I have lost a comrade. Ais wept in her heart but understood her friend's sacrifice. It would seem I will have to face this goddess and her machination all on my own. 

However, regardless of what tricks his goddess pulled, she was still Ais Wallenstein.

One of the Aces of the Loki Familia, Sword Princess and a First Class Adventurer. She would not be swayed from justice, nor fall to any deception or swindling.

"Ais Wallenstein," Hestia greeted with her arms spread. "Welcome to my humble home. I am Hestia, Goddess of the Home and Hearth, of the newly formed Hestia Familia. You might be wondering why I brought you here."

"Hmm," Ais narrowed her eyes and nodded.

She looked to the side for a moment at Potato Bunny—Bell! Right, it was that—and his basket of jagamarukun tower, before focusing back on Hestia.

For some reason Potato Bunny paled at that.

"I wish to negotiate a trade. You are, of course, free to refuse or leave whenever you wish."

Ais steeled her nerves and nodded. Here it comes. 

"I offer you this fifty serving of my best highest tier of Jagamarukuns everyday, and in return—"

"I accept!"

===x===

Riveria sighed as the dilapidated church came into view.

As a High Elf is in the prime of her youth in comparison to human that exited from a young adult to a mature adult now. However at times like these, when the younger members of the familia would act so... idiotically, she felt herself suddenly grow much older.

More importantly, Ais, her charge that she more or less raised, should have been old enough to not fall into any trick that could endanger or incapacitate her.

Riveria isn't sure how this unknown familia had captured Ais, and how they are keeping her fighting back.

The second hand information she heard was so outlandish that she dismissed it immediately. Obviously the unknown familia threatened Ais with some information, so she would follow them without a fight.

More than likely, once Ais lost her patience with that familia she's leave, or just destroy it.

Loki had heard about this and immediately wanted to go on a crusade to 'rescue' her dear Ais. Riveria was dragged into this by Loki, and truthfully Riveria agreed to go in order to make sure things don't escalate. Lefiya heard what happened and volunteered to come. The amazonesses twins, Tione and Tiona came as well because 'busting an evil familia it looked fun'.

Thankfully Bete hadn't heard of what happened, so he wasn't added to the chaos.

"I'm going to completely wreck them. I will upend them so badly, they will be infamous to what happens when you piss of Loki. They live in a church? Well I'm not just gonna desecrate it. I will crumble it into fine powder and then burn the powder till there's nothing!" Ahead of the group, Loki marched like she was going to war, muttering comically endless threats to herself. "Kidnap my Ais, will you? Threaten my cute Ais, will you? Oooh, whoever you are, you're definitely new. And soon about to be a has-been!"

Riveria sighed at the over reaction of her goddess.

I swear, Loki can be so embarrassing. We can't take anywhere.

"Alright!" Loki shouted once they reached the front of the old church. "Tiona. Make an entrance!"

"Aye aye, Loki-sama!" Tiona with a wide grin, rushed the church's big doors with a grin. "AIS! WE'RE—"

The doors fell before Tiona could reach them. They were so old.

"Ah." Tiona stopped in disappointment, thought for a moment, then picked up the doors and put them in place, angled better to stay up.

Tiona looked back to see if her work was approved of.

Loki gave a thumbs up.

Riveria face palmed and sighed.

Tiona grinned and nodded. She ran and jump kicked the church's door open, making them fall and slam on the ground.

"AIS! WE'RE HERE TO RESCUE YOU!" Tiona shouted.

Riveria, Loki, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya looked into church and found the entrance area just filled broken pews and random junk.

Far into the church at back where an altar would be, was Ais sitting in front of a short goddess with a, a-hem, gifted chest. There were two men, teens really, the Adventurers of the mystery goddess most likely.

And finally...

Potatoes.

Or rather those snacks Ais liked very much. Jagamarukuns, Riveria recalled the name.

Plates upon plates upon plates. Baskets upon baskets upon baskets, all filled to the brim with jagamarukuns.

And in the very corner of the room was a cardboard box, a metal plate, and a stick with a string.

No. Rivera froze. Ais, no, you didn't! Her hand slowly rose up and she face palm. You let yourself be captured so you can have potato snacks!

"And one last signature here." Said the cheery goddess.

Rivera's head snapped up to see her charge do something, Riveria explicitly told her to never do. Sign something neither she nor Loki nor Finn got a look at.

"Young lady, when we get back home you're in so much trouble." Riveria said under her breath, yet due to Ais being a Level 5, her sharp senses heard her all the same.

Ais' head snapped to look at the group, a potato snack in her mouth, as her eyes widened in panic at seeing a deadpan and disappointed stare on Riveria's face.

"Oi!" Tione shouted in intimidation. "The hell are you doing to Ais you freaks—"

"Ais! If they're blackmailing you, we're here to beat—" Tiona had began to say.

Faster than the amazon twins expected, the short goddess grabbed something from her side and threw it at them.

"UMPH!"

"AMPH!

Tione and Tiona were stuck by jagamarukuns. Landing right in their mouths.

They amazons froze. Their eyes widened with delicious delight.

For a moment Riveria worried if the food was poisoned, or laced with something addicting like Soma.

"THIS IS THE MOST DELICIOUS THING I'VE EVER EATEN IN MY LIFE!" Tiona cried out, and she devoured the potato snack.

Ais sighed in relief. As if somehow that would get her out of trouble.

Ais shivered, glanced at Riveria, then started looking anywhere by at the high elf.

"A-Ais-san?" Lefiya was lost in the fuss around them.

"Y-YOU!" Loki shouted while pointed accusingly at the other goddess.

Oh no. Riveria thought.

"Hello, guests!" The diminutive goddess stood up and confidently face the Loki Familia, even spreading her arms in a welcoming gesture.

"H-How? When!?" Said Loki.

It worried Riveria that this unknown goddess didn't seem to have an ounce of fear at facing one of the strongest familia of Orario, who came to her home and broke down her door. Although, it seems she isn't unknown to Loki.

"I am Hestia, Goddess of the Home and Hearth. Welcome to my home, Loki Familia." Then Hestia looked Loki right in the eyes and grinned savagely. "And the Walking Kitchen Washboard."

"ITTY BITTY!" Loki shouted.

These two have history together.

===

AN: Sorry this is a bit short. RL stuff keep coming up. I fucking hate how my brain can't focus if there are other stuff I need to do, even if there's is no time limit, or a long one. Anyways, see you next month.