Chapter 399: [Vol.4] Quest 302- Visits

One week later, Cirrus, Ai, and Artemis returned to Orario with Hakushika and Callisto. Many came to see the children. The first was, of course, the Hestia Familia.

"Hello, Artemis!!" Hestia said, coming in with beams of sunshine.

"Ah, Hestia, you came!"

Behind her were the rest of the Familia.

"Hello, Lady Artemis," Bell said politely.

"Hello, Lady Artemis!" said the rest, but a few people.

"Hm? Are these your new Familia, Hestia?" Artemis said, looking at the three new members.

"I-I am P-Primo!!" said a young blonde elf. "I-I-it is an honor to meet s-s-such a goddess like yourself!!" She was nervous to have met a goddess of such renown as Artemis.

"It is nice to meet you, Lady Artemis." said a noble-looking woman with black hair. "I am Karen Morris. It is an honor to be in your home."

The next one to come up was a man with long blonde hair and purple eyes.

"I am Enoch! Ooh! It is a wonderful pleasure to meet one of such esteem as you, Lady Artemis!!" He said it with jubilation.

"My… Your new members are something! I'm proud you got new members after so long!"

"Y-yeah! After Mikoto left to return to Takemikazuchi, it was rough for a bit, but we got new blood! Now, where are the kids?"

"They're asleep, Hestia. Ai and Cirrus are in charge of it while I run the Familia."

"Aww… I wanna see the kids." Hestia said dejected.

"Do not worry, they should be up a bit, unless they—!" Artemis quickly looked up, as if something had happened.

"Um… Did something happen, Lady Artemis?" asked Bell.

"Well, the kids are up again. Hestia, you don’t mind if you can help them, right? As much as I would like to help, I have an important meeting."

"Of course!! Leave it to us!!"

They would deeply regret this decision.

"Thank you! Also," Artemis leans in and whispers into Hestia’s ear. "You know not to remove the necklace, right?"

"No problem!" Hestia whispered back.

 

Baby room, 6 hours later in the dead of night.

"Zzzz~" The children were sleeping.

"Ugh… Finally." Said Hestia slouched against the wall, exhausted.

"Ahh… I think I prefer the dungeon… or Hephaestus’s training." Said Welf.

"As one would expect from your children, Sir and Lady Zephyr," Enoch said, with his face on the ground.

"Ugh… Sora, is it like this every day?" Lili asked with a dazed look.

"…. Huh? Did yoo sy sothing?" Cirrus spoke with his words slurred together.

"L-lady Kyūjouno?" Haruhime said, slowly getting up.

"Np oplem." She said so as well.

Both Cirrus and Ai’s brains were fried from staying up and trying to get them to sleep. The moment they put them in the crib, they would instantly cry, and they would continue to do that until they were rocked to sleep.

"Haha…" Bell said exhausted. "These two really want to be spoiled by their parents, huh?"

"You can say that again, Bell," Hestia said.

"I don’t know what you mean," Malion said, watching over the two. "They are rather cute and worth the time and energy."

"How are you still up?" asked Hestia.

"I am an artist. I have stayed up many nights trying to get my paintings done just the way I see them. Also, Lady Hera’s training was very thorough for several kinds of situations."

"What could possibly have prepared you for a pair of crying babies?"

"I’d ask her the same thing, but then she had many of the Familia work in an orphanage. Long story short, we grew more patience."

 

Three days later, Eupheme and Hephaestus came.

"Ah! Eupheme! Lady Hephaestus!" said Ai, waving at them. "You’re here!"

"Ai!" Eupheme came up to her. "Lady Hephaestus asked me if—"

"—Ahem!!" Hephaestus cleared her throat loudly. "I wanted to come and see the little ones."

"Oh sure! Sure! Come, I’ll show you."

They followed Ai up the tower and to the kid's rooms.

When they got there, they could see Cirrus and Artemis sleeping shoulder to shoulder with the kids in their arms.

"Aww~ Isn’t that adorable," Ai said.

"Seems they are dead tired," Hephaestus said as she looked at Callisto in Artemis’s arms. "Tell me, Ai, why does Callisto have fake ears?"

She looked to see Ai not flinch one bit. Even Eupheme was beginning to sweat.

"As expected from a god of your skill. She has fake ears because she is not my child. She is Artemis’s biological child."

"!?" Hephaestus shook from her words. "Was this why Artemis wanted me to come visit?"

"Yes. It’s a shame you were busy, but I hope you can keep this between us."

"Of course, but... How? How did she—Ah. I understand." Hephaestus smiles from ear to ear. "You don’t mind if I take a look at Cirrus’s magic tool, right?"

"Not at all here." Ai takes out a spare necklace.

"A spare in case of emergencies. How very prepared he is." Hephaestus then examines the necklace. "Hmm…" Her eyes trace the magic tool, and she has a wide smile throughout. "How exquisite. Another fine and genius work from Cirrus. I could see all the work, pain, frustration, and love he put into it to make these intricate and complex myriads of hieroglyphs. You don’t mind if I take this, right?"

"Not at all. Are you going to improve it?"

"Improve it? Not at all. It’s already perfectly doing its job. I am merely polishing up the ears a bit more."

"That will be very much appreciated! We will send you the—"

"I don’t want money; this one is on the house. We can’t let this secret get out. If they learn she is a genuine demigod, I can already see all the male gods making their moves."

"And I can already see pillars of light shooting towards the heavens," Ai said. "Leaving behind only a single arrow."

"Fufu. That is what I am hoping to avoid. I’ll be back in a day or two." She quickly took her leave.

"I have spare time. Do you want to get a little snack?" asked Eupheme.

"Of course! We better go before—"

"W-wah!!!!" cried Hakushika.

"Buwah! Huh!?" Cirrus and Artemis woke up.

"Oh no."

 

Hephaestus returned two days later, as she said.

"Thank you, Lady Hephaestus." Said Cirrus, with Callisto in his arm, sleeping.

"Not at all. Just want this one." She tapped her cheeks. "Safe and free from the gods trying to, well, you know."

"I know."

Hephaestus hands him the polished necklace.

"Ooh! I can see the small added details." He unfurled Callisto’s blanket a bit and quickly switched the necklaces.

In that very, very brief moment, Hephaestus could feel an energy similar to her father's when he activates White Night.

"She really is her child."

"Yeah. My heart nearly stopped when she told me."

"I would be too if I was in her shoes. So… Elpis."

"Yeah. Elpis. If you wonder if I can do more insane stuff, it kind of blended with one of my skills."

"Truth be told, Cirrus, I didn’t think Elpis would have this power. I am sure you know very well to keep Callisto from the god's eyes, but you as well. If a goddess knows you can give them a child, well, they won’t remain civil."

"I will keep that in mind, but I have Artemis to defend me on that front."

"Fufu. Very true. Had it not been for her, I would have tried my hand."

"Haha! You're joking, right?"

"Haha! No." She had a very calm yet happy expression. "What you can do is something that will literally make any goddess kneel before you requesting a child. There will be no end to their attempts. It’ll make an Amazoness’s obsession over a strong man look like a child wanting a new toy."

"Hm. I knew the result would be bad, but having more than two sources really solidifies it for me and the extent I am willing to go to protect my daughter."

"Heh. Just what I expected from Artemis’ Orion."

"I thought you knew I don’t like to be called that."

 

Five days later, some of the Loki Familia came over.

"Hello, Lady Artemis!" Ais said with Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya.

"Ah, you girls! Have you come to see the kids?" Artemis said, relaxing at the archery range.

"Yup!" said Tiona with a bright smile. "We were a bit busy helping with the Xeno with the Knossos and some other stuff for Circe."

"Well—Fsh!! Fsh!! Fsh!! Thunk!! Thunk!! Thunk!!" All three arrows hit one another through the target. "Rethusa, could you show them to the kids?"

"Of course. Here, take my arrows. I’m going off today."

Rethusa took them to the kid's room.

"So, um, have many people come to visit the babies?" asked Lefiya.

"Quiet a good few people. The Hestia Familia came, Lady Hephaestus and Eupheme came as well."

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When they entered the room, they could see Ai and Cirrus sleeping with one eye open while rocking their children in their arms.

"Hold on a second." She takes a step and snaps her fingers. "Snap! Snap!"

"!?" Immediately, their eyes shot wide open,

"Oh, more visitors." Said Cirrus.

"Rethusa, we told you that’s in case something comes up," Ai said.

"Well, something did."

"H-hello…" Lefiya said, a bit shy.

"We came to see the babies, Ai!" Tione said it with stars in her eyes.

"Well, come over. I’ll let you hold Hakushika." Ai spoke slowly, getting up.

"And one of you can hold Callisto. I’m thinking... maybe you, Ais." Cirrus said.

"M-me?" she said, a bit surprised.

"Yeah, out of the four of you, you seem closer to me, so maybe she won’t cry." He slowly got up and walked up to her, handing her Callisto. "Hold her head."

"O-oh," she said, with Callisto in her arms and holding her head carefully. "D-do I just... hold her?"

"Yeah, and don’t drop her," Cirrus said while taking a seat in the rocking chair.

"Yes, just hold their head. It’s a bit too heavy for them still," Ai said, having handed Hakushika to Tione. "Oof." She said this, sitting down across from Cirrus. "Now if you excuse us, we're going to sleep, right—"

"Now. Zzz…."

"Zzzz…"

The moment they closed their eyes, they instantly went to sleep.

"Wow…" Tiona said, looking at them and waving her hand across their faces. "They’re out cold."

"Hehehe…" Tione said, rocking Hakushika. "Aren’t you the cutest little thing! I just wanna nibble your little ears! I bet if the captain and I have a kid, they’ll be just as cute as you!"

"..." Hakushika looked at her.

They could see her in her own little world.

"Ais, how are you?"

"Goo! Bah!" Callisto said, grabbing Ais’s hair.

They could see the warmest of smiles on her face.

"You have your father’s eyes." She said, looking into her emerald eyes.

"Dah! Dah!" she said cheerfully.

"Seems she’s trying to say, dad," said Lefiya.

"Aww~," Tiona said. "Who’s a little daddy’s girl! You are! Yes, you are!" Tiona said.

"Ah! Bah!"

Lefiya could already see the stark difference between the two siblings. One was more reserved and quiet, while the other was more energetic and cheerful.

‘It’s like Tiona and Tione.’ Lefiya thought. ‘But... I wonder when Filvis will have her body back?’

 

Two days later, Ryuu came with a few others.

"Hello, Lady Artemis." Ryuu bowed a bit to greet Artemis.

"Meow! Hello, Lady Artemis!" Said Anya.

"Hello, Lady Artemis." Said Lunoire, Chloe, Syr, and Mia.

"This is a surprise. I didn’t think you would come, Mia?" Artemis said, surprised.

"Haha! Well, curiosity got the best of me! Not every day you can see the city's strongest adventures have kids."

"You also don’t have to worry about Chloe," Syr said, tapping Chloe’s shoulder. "Isn’t that right?"

"Y-yes!" Chloe said a bit scared from the warnings from Ryuu and Syr yesterday and today to ensure she wouldn’t try anything.

"Well, it’s fortunate that today is my day off, so I can show you to them."

They followed Artemis to the elevator, which was replaced with a bigger one to fit more people.

Artemis placed her hand next to the buttons and pressed the 34th floor out of 35.

As they went up, the workers of the Hostess of Fertility saw that the tower was rather empty.

"Where are all of your children, meow?" Anya asked Artemis.

"In the second tower, they are training or resting."

Arriving and going to the baby room, they enter to see Cirrus on the floor, stretched out, with Callisto playing with his hair and Hakushika playing with some wooden letter blocks.

Artemis and the others look around to find that Ai wasn’t in the room. Artemis walks over to see Cirrus sleeping with an eye open.

She knelt and held his hand. She then pressed a spot between his thumb and index finger.

"Gah!?" He blinks, and his eyes shoot wide open.

"Cirrus, where is Ai? It’s both of you and her turn to watch the kids?"

"Ugh…" Cirrus tries to get up, but Callisto holds on tightly.

While Ryuu and the others spoke, Syr’s eyes widened.

‘Their souls…’

The radiance of the children’s souls, particularly Callisto's, astounded Freya.

‘My, my.’

Of course, Freya, who had seen Hakushika while he was still in the womb, knew Ai had a single child. Given how special Callisto’s soul was, she was sure there was no way she would have missed it.

A flicker of silver, and she looked keenly at Callisto’s soul.

"Look at this cute little guy," Mia said, holding Hakushika up in the air.

This was a first for Freya. She put some effort into seeing more details about Callisto’s soul.

"Aren’t you a cute one!" Lunoire said, tickling Callisto.

The more detail she saw, the more she could see the qualities Cirrus’s soul has, but none like Ai, but more like Artemis.

"Do you wanna hold her, Ryuu?" Cirrus said, combing his hair.

"O-oh um… I’m not sure." Ryuu said a bit nervous. "S-Syr why don’t you—"

A soul’s color is very much inherited from its parents, the same way blood types are.

Then, of course, after Olympia, Cirrus's soul gained a more radical change in appearance, resembling that of a radiant azure flame that emits the night sky, stars, and all. This was reflected in Callisto’s soul. It has a radiant azure and even a nugget of pure white, but no red. Just silver. It has a similar appearance to Artemis' radiant silver soul.

‘Hmm… I rarely look at another god's soul. Their divinity says more about them than the color and brilliance of the soul, unlike with mortals.’ Freya pondered as she gazed at Callisto’s soul.

"Syr?" Ryuu’s voice rang in her ear.

"Oh! Sorry! I was a bit in my mind! You don’t mind if I use the restroom, do you?" Syr said, making a small smile.

"I’ll show you," Cirrus said, walking past Syr.

"Dah! Dah!" Callisto reaches out to Cirrus.

"Oop!" Lunoire held her tightly. "Isn’t she a little thing, huh?"

"Hahaha!!" Mia laughed boisterously. "You're going to have a hard time, Hakushika!" Mia said, holding Hakushika up high. "Your sister is a real daddy's girl already!"

Leaving the room, Cirrus showed Syr/Freya to the restroom. They could hear Callisto's wails of crying as they walked away.

"So, Freya." Cirrus glanced at her. "I know you have questions."

Freya made a light smile.

"Cirrus, I see you as a trustworthy friend." Her eyes flickered again. "So, can you tell me the truth? I know that child is not Ai’s. Of any child I have seen in my time in Gekai, Callisto far outshines you and any other child."

"Well, for one, she is my daughter."

"I can tell. So who was it that was responsible for that silver?"

"You seem to have a person in mind."

"Cirrus." Syr/Freya stopped walking and looked at him keenly.

"Syr." Cirrus turned and looked at Freya’s silver eyes.

They both look intently into one another’s eyes. The realization slowly dawns on Freya, settling in as if someone threw a boulder into a peaceful lake.

"… It’s hers." Her eyes widen, and she shakes a bit. "It’s… Artemis…"

"Yes. I will not lie to you, Freya. You know full well the gravity of this."

Freya's mind raced and raced.

"My…" She leaned against the guardrail while rubbing her forehead. "This certainly is something."

Freya had mixed feelings—feelings of regret and envy.

She hated those feelings; they were gnawing at the love she had for Bell.

"Freya." Cirrus walks over and puts his hand on her shoulder. "Can I trust you to help keep her safe?"

Freya looks to meet Cirrus’ gaze. They held great worry over his daughter, a worry that can easily grow into fear. Freya knows what will happen to Callisto. Cirrus could handle it, but not her, given her age.

A feeling of empathy resonated in Freya’s heart, washing over her feelings of regret and envy. She will not let the child face the same problem she had; she deserves to live a normal life.

Freya's expression returned to a stern and confident look.

"… Yes. Both as a favor for your daughter and as a friend, Cirrus. But you will fully honor what I want from the dealings with Dionysus’ child."

"I know. I will honor it, Freya."

They returned to the room.

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