Chapter 24: 24 – Is it wrong to enjoy this family life?

"Yay! Lunchtime!"

Hestia smiled as she watched Fina pull out a wrapped sandwich from their lunch basket. "Now, Fina. You can't be too eager, you know? You might drop something."

"Oh! Sorry Mommy." Fina apologized and said, "I'll be more careful."

"As long as you are." Hestia patted Fina's head and then picked up their lunch basket.

It had been a long morning. For whatever reason, they had a lot more customers recently... And as a result, they were doing well on income. But also because of that, they were really busy.

Fortunately, the customers were respectful enough to mind their lunch period, and after closing up shop for a bit, Hestia and Fina could take a break.

At the moment, the two were sitting on a bench near the stall, eating the lunch that Bell prepared for them.

As usual, it was mostly just sandwiches. But there were a few sweets tucked in beneath as well. Crystallized honey shards.

Seeing that, Hestia sighed.

"Hm?" Fina looked up and said, "Is something wrong, Mommy?"

Hestia shook her head. "No. Just that your Papa is too caring." She smiled and then pulled out a sandwich for Fina.

"Thank you, Mommy!"

Hestia ruffled Fina's hair and smiled. "Of course, Sweetie."

After that, the two sat together, eating their lunch.

It was a peaceful scene. And the food was good too. Almost too good.

Hestia had to resist the urge to sigh as she ate the sandwich.

It really wasn't fair. Ever since meeting Bell, he had given her everything. He worked hard, he cooked, he even granted Hestia's wish that she hadn't known she had. A miracle brought to life in the form of Fina. A beautiful young child that had her flesh and blood.

While Fina wasn't born from Hestia, there wasn't mistaking the relationship there. The appearance alone was enough, but there was her status too.

The Flames of Vesta... It was a name Hestia didn't think she would see again. And yet to have it embodied in Fina's skill...

"Is something wrong, Mommy?" Fina looked up at Hestia, confused. "Does the sandwich not taste good?"

Hestia blinked and then smiled. "No. Mommy's just thinking about Daddy."

"Oh!" Fina nodded and then frowned. "I miss Daddy. I wish he didn't have to go to work in the dungeon. It's scary in there."

Hestia pulled Fina into a hug and nodded. "I know, Sweetie. I wish he didn't have to do it either."

It was dangerous. Even though Bell was skilled... both literally and figuratively with his status, she was worried. He was making strides a bit too quick for her liking. And while he had Welf to help him and was cautious about his adventuring, Hestia was worried that something unexpected might happen.

Didn't Bell mention it? The first time he entered the dungeon he was ambushed by a horde of monsters. And from the looks of things, that hadn't changed. The only difference was that he was more capable of fighting back against the monsters and prepared to adapt to unexpected circumstances.

So Hestia was still worried.

But she couldn't show it too much. Especially not with Fina here. So Hestia put a smile on her face and said, "But don't worry. Your Daddy's strong."

Fina giggled. "I know! Daddy's the strongest!"

Hestia's smile widened as she watched Fina's precious expression.

And then a familiar voice called out.

"Hm? Is that you Hestia?"

Hephaestus. Hestia's best friend and the person who helped her the most since descending. She was also the one who knew Hestia the best.

Which meant-

"Hold on."

Hestia gulped and looked up with a nervous smile.

Like she thought, it was Hephaestus.

The Goddess of the forge was wearing a casual outfit today. Jeans, a loose black blouse. Her short crimson hair shifted in the wind, and the familiar eyepatch was still over her right eye. But that didn't hide her shock.

Hephaestus's visible eye flicked towards Fina and then back to Hestia before widening in shock.

Hestia let out a nervous laugh and said, "H-Hello Hephaestus."

Fina looked over as well and then smiled. "Oh! Are you Mommy's friend?" Fina waved and said, "Hi! I'm Fina!"

Hephaestus mouthed the word Mommy and then looked at Hestia.

Hestia cleared her throat and said, "Um... How have you been?"

"I've been doing well." Hephaestus crossed her arms and said, "One of my newest children has been causing a bit of trouble, but it seems like he's gotten back on his feet. You on the other hand... Is that your first child?"

It was a loaded question. A casual one, like if she was checking on Hestia's progress with her familia. But the real question...

"Ehehe..."

Fina tilted her head, confused.

Hephaestus sighed and then said, "I don't know what mess you've gotten yourself into this time, Tia. But I hope you know what you're doing."

"...I don't. But I don't want to bother you with this..."

"All the more reason I should bother you then, huh?" Hephaestus shook her head and said, "Let's talk later. I'm busy right now, but I'll send one of my kids to get you when I'm free." She paused and said, "Are you going to Ganesha's party?"

Hestia nodded. "I have to, don't I?"

"...Then I'm going to need to work hard to fit that in. You're going to be way in over your head at this rate."

"Sorry, Heffy..."

Hephaestus shook her head. "That's just the way you are, I guess... But it's fine. That's what friends are for." She looked at Fina and said, "Be good to your Mommy, okay?"

"Of course!"

Hephaestus smiled and then walked away.

Hestia sighed and went back to eating her sandwich.

Life was going to get complicated from now on, wasn't it...?

Well. At least she had Bell, Fina, and all of this good food...

xxx

"Groceries, food prep... Yep. All that's squared away."

I finished sorting out the fridge and the pantries and then nodded.

After separating from Welf, I did a bit of shopping to restock everything and then headed back home.

I thought about stopping by on Tia and Fina, but considering the commotion I caused last time, I figured I wouldn't today.

But that was also in part because I wanted to try some things out.

"Hm... Welf said that the Blacksmithing skill would let him create better things with less effort, right?" Mumbling to myself, I headed back to the living room and sat down on the sofa, lost in thought.

It made sense. If skills were an overlay to make things simpler, then obviously you could make things easier if you had them. But the way he put it made it sound like it was the end-all. Like it would be impossible to compete with others if you didn't have the skill.

"That doesn't make sense though."

I frowned.

Skills were just drawing out the excelia we had. That was what Tia said, anyway. It was a reflection of the experience we earned, given form.

Status was the same.

Technically, it was being channeled through divine power by gods granting their blood. But it should be feasible to replicate.

Energy was energy, and power was power.

If you understood the principles behind it, you should be able to recreate it.

"Like this." I held out my hand and focused.

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The faint niggling in my mind about what 'Compilation' really was. And also, what the nature of my 'Quantum Magic' was.

Aligning the recollected knowledge, sorting out the information and channeling it directly through mana as a medium to transmute that information into matter, turning will and thought into a tangible form...

In this instance, calling up the memory of a notebook, the blank pages, the bound cover...

A soft light emerged, and then a composition notebook appeared in my hands.

At the same time, I felt a small headache. Like I had been straining my eyes.

"...Hm. So it's like that."

I was carefully watching the process. And furthermore, that time I didn't let the divine power in my veins do it.

I set the book aside and focused again. This time though, I just focused on the image of the book. I didn't think too hard on the process and just focused...

And then it popped into existence again. This time without even so much as a bit of strain.

"So this is the difference."

I picked up the first book and compared the two.

There wasn't much of a difference, but there was one. The first book I made was a bit sloppy. Kind of blurred.

The second though was exactly like I envisioned.

"Hm..." I mumbled and made a pen before writing down some notes to pass off to Welf.

Skills definitely helped. But it wasn't a miracle. Instead, it was drawing out the potential at an easier rate. If you focused and had the information, you could definitely match someone with the skill. However, it was a matter of efficiency.

It was the difference between using a microwave to heat something up and building a fire from scratch and carefully managing the heat.

The same result could be achieved, but the first only required a bit of effort from the user.

Of course, that didn't mean the effort wasn't the same. After all, someone had to figure out how to make the microwave in the first place. And you had to power it too. But once it was made, the total work that the user needed to do was next to nothing.

In contrast, the fire required gathering the materials, starting the fire, managing the heat, and then extinguishing the fire afterwards to be safe.

Overall, there really wasn't a reason to do the latter unless you didn't have any other method.

But that was the problem.

With Status and Skills, we all had microwaves. But what would happen when those were taken away?

We didn't have the knowledge to recreate them. Nor did we have the ability. It was a black box that the gods granted and that we were just using. But even when we were using them, the gods were still the ones that did maintenance.

It was a problem.

What happened when the gods left?

We would be left on our own.

Or what happened if gods decided to betray us and seal the status? Or if there were some villains who managed it?

Weak. Powerless.

I could see it already. So long as we relied on the power of the gods, while we could accomplish great deeds, we were dependent.

It wasn't a bad thing. As long as the gods were here, that codependency was good.

But. In the worst case...

I frowned and thought about it.

A conversion process, drawing out accumulated experience and crystalizing it using divine blood as a medium. That was what the Falna was.

There was no reason why it shouldn't be possible through other means.

Divine blood was clearly optimal. My intuition on that was because it was the purest sort of energy and had a weird metaphysical nature. And from how gods supposedly judged and took souls to heaven, that metaphysical nature definitely existed.

Then what about mana?

It was similar to divine energy. Fina was living proof of that. During her transformation process, I had melded mana and divine energy as one, causing her to turn into her current form as both mine and Tia's child. A mix of half each.

So if a person could manifest their own mana and ignite it- No, control it on their own. If they could channel their will over it, strong enough that it was controlled even without divine aid...

"We're home! Daddy, are you here?"

The front door opened and a familiar white figure appeared. Fina.

She noticed me and then smiled before dashing over.

I laughed and hugged her tight. "Heya Princess. Did you have a good day with Mommy?"

"Mmhm! We sold lots of potatoes!"

"Good!" I sat up and patted her head. "My little Princess is doing good work then, huh?"

The door closed and Hestia walked in. She smiled at Fina and then waved at me. "Welcome back, Bell. Did we keep you waiting?"

"No. I just got back a bit ago."

Hestia looked at my notes and then laughed. "Working hard?"

"Hardly working. At least, that's what I'd like to say." I closed the notebook and tucked it away in my inventory. "But life is hard. Made some decent money today though. Lots of monsters tried to off me and Welf again."

Fina hugged me tight.

I blinked and then gave her a soft smile. "Don't worry, Princess. They were easy."

"...But it's dangerous, Daddy. Be careful, okay?"

"Of course." I nodded and said, "I'll always be careful. Can't leave you and Mommy all alone, can I?"

"You'd better not!"

Hestia took off her work uniform and hung it on a shelf before looking around. "Did Welf not come with you today? I thought you boys would hang out a bit. He's welcome to visit, you know?"

I placed Fina on my lap and said, "That guy was eager to get back to work, so I didn't want to bother him."

Fina giggled and said, "Uncle Welf works too hard!"

I patted her head and said, "He really does. But he's got big dreams, so he's gotta. Just like you, Princess. If you want something, you've gotta put in the effort, okay?"

"Kay~!"

Hestia smiled and then glanced at the kitchen. "Did you start cooking yet?"

"Not yet. You hungry?"

Hestia shook her head. "It's fine if you didn't. I just thought you would... You usually do, so... Um..."

I laughed and said, "It's fine, Tia. But I ate out today, so I thought we'd have some takeout for dinner."

Hestia blinked. "Takeout?"

"Yep!" I pulled out the extra dishes I grabbed from The Hostess of Fertility and set them out on the table. "Fresh food, straight from a fancy restaurant in town. ...Mostly for me to steal their recipes, but that's our secret." I looked over at Fina and winked.

Fina gasped and said, "Daddy's awesome!"

"I know, Princess. I am, aren't I?"

Hestia rolled her eyes and then sat down on my right. "You're getting a bit too full of yourself, *Honey.*"

"And you're as naggy as ever, Wifey."

"W-Wifey?!" Hestia blushed.

I laughed and then pulled out some plates and spoons. "Here. How about we have a nice family dinner tonight. And let me know what you guys like best. I'll work on stealing- I mean, recreating the recipes later."

Hestia shook her head. "What a rascal..."

"Your rascal though."

Hestia laughed.

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