I was startled to see Grandpa appear out of nowhere, but he didn’t care about my feelings at all. He half-sat on the sofa and spoke bluntly.
“Why don’t you bring me some tea?”
“Ah, yes...”
Snapping back to my senses, I quickly rummaged through the kitchen cabinet. Luckily, I found some tea leaves, which I put into the kettle to brew.
Digging a little further, I found a few snacks as well. Had they been prepared for a date between the two of them? I decided to give them to Grandpa for now and restock them later.
A little while later, once the tea was ready, I carried the kettle over on a tray.
“...I didn’t expect you to visit, so I apologize for the poor preparations.”
“Forget it. I don’t mind.”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words, but I managed to compose myself.
...It really is Grandpa.
His attitude toward me was different from what I remembered, but there was no mistaking it. This man was exactly who I thought he was.
...That stings a little.
He was the only family I had, and seeing him act so coldly hurt. I knew that, from his perspective, I was practically a stranger, but human emotions aren't so easily compartmentalized.
I understood his position, but I still wished he could have been a little warmer.
“What are you staring at me for? I’m not particularly pleased by a man’s gaze, you know?”
“...I’m sorry.”
Knowing it was a futile wish, I lowered my eyes and poured the tea. Grandpa watched me with a flicker of interest as I handled the task skillfully with only one arm.
“You’ve got some talent. How are you pouring tea with one arm like that?”
“I just got used to it. It’s not much, but please, enjoy.”
It wasn't exactly the right thing to say while using someone else's kitchen, but the awkward atmosphere made the words slip out on their own.
Fortunately, Grandpa said nothing more and quietly drank the tea. He didn't comment on whether it tasted good or not.
After silently sipping his tea and eating the snacks, Grandpa suddenly spoke.
“Do you know why I came here?”
“I assume it’s because of me, but I don’t know the details...”
“Hmm...”
Grandpa stared straight at me. There was something vast in those eyes, as if they held the entire sky, and I found myself instinctively lowering my head.
It wasn’t because of a difference in status; it was simply the natural reaction of a grandson before his grandfather.
“Weird kid.”
Fortunately, Grandpa didn’t press me on it. I couldn’t tell if he was genuinely uninterested or simply pretending not to notice.
“Since that day, all sorts of rumors have circulated about you. If Maxim and Materia hadn’t actively defended you, the Familia's subordinates would have moved to deal with you immediately.”
I was surprised. I could understand Materia, since she was the one who had requested the job, but Maxim?
Was our meeting that memorable? I wasn’t sure, but it was a relief to know I hadn't earned his hostility.
“But it’s only a matter of time. Arphia is still sharpening her blade, and it seems the Empress is after you too.”
“Huh?”
“Poor bastard. Of all the people to get targeted by, you had to catch the eye of those two...”
Grandpa looked at me with a genuinely pitying expression.
Hey, that’s unfair...!
“...Did I really do something that wrong?”
“Well, Arphia’s love for her brother is legendary. As for the Empress, she probably just wants to test your strength in a fight.”
I watched Grandpa stuff a snack into his mouth and gulp down his tea, falling deep into thought.
I’d assumed that because nothing had happened, they were simply focused on their quest... but was I actually in danger right now?
With their information network, there was no way they wouldn’t know where I was. I hadn't been moving in secret, and I hadn't exactly shaken off the subtle gazes I’d been feeling lately.
One of those gazes belonged to Fels. Since that information would have reached Ouranos, there was no way the two Familias connected to the Guild would be ignorant of my presence.
Even without that, they surely knew about this place. Otherwise, they wouldn't be causing trouble so boldly near the church.
Perhaps this was a sanctuary they all knew about but chose to ignore. I had no idea why such sharp people would deliberately pretend not to notice me.
No, more importantly, was that really the issue right now?
Should I change my base?
I’d been showing myself on purpose to prove I had no hostility, but if the other side was going to draw their blades anyway, it would be better to move in secret.
There was no reason to insist on staying in this church. Aside from the emotional attachment I felt in both the past and the future, there were plenty of better options.
In an extreme case... living in Rivira Village was an option. Or I could leave Orario altogether. It was just one of many choices, but it was certainly possible.
Of course, I didn’t have to decide this instant, but it was worth considering...
“Well, they probably won’t attack you immediately, so don’t look so terrified.”
“Huh?”
“You look like death warmed over. What’s a man so afraid of? You can fight a bit, can't you? If it gets too dangerous, just run away. Why are you agonizing over something like that?”
Grandpa spoke indifferently as he downed the rest of his tea, leaving me speechless.
The phrasing was different, but it reminded me of something I had heard long ago.
—Run when it’s dangerous. Run when you’re scared. Ask for help if you feel like you're going to die. Apologize immediately if a woman looks like she’s about to get angry. Even if people call you a fool, there is no shame in that. The only true shame is remaining frozen because you cannot make a decision.
Those were the words Grandpa told me while we walked hand in hand when I was a child. Advice that had once profoundly influenced my choices.
Remembering it now made me feel as if I were suffocating.
Was I just hesitating?
What was I actually worrying about? Leaving this place? Heading to Rivira Village? Or leaving Orario?
I realized those were all similar, yet different. Those were merely surface-level reasons. The real conflict was only one thing.
Do I want to go back to my original time?
Facing that truth felt like a heavy weight pressing down on my chest. The sense of reality that had vanished began to flood back.
What am I doing here? What do I actually want?
Do I want to go back? Or do I want to stay?
While drifting through this ambiguous time, I had become paralyzed, unable to move because I couldn't make a choice.
I want to go back. I don't want to go back. Which one is it?
...I don't know.
Returning to my original time was the "correct" path. But there was no one there.
I loved this time, where everyone was together. But I was nothing more than a foreign object here.
They say I should walk the right path, but I already knew how that path ended.
I wanted to change everything. I wanted to deny that horrific future.
But was that truly the right thing to do? Was it right to try and alter the past simply because I believed the ending everyone worked so hard to achieve was wrong?
I didn't know. I didn't know anything.
My head spun. The conflict I had tried to avoid now pressed down on me with overwhelming force.
I had claimed I would become a hero, yet here I was, the most pathetic version of myself, unable to decide anything.
“What are you agonizing over so much?”
“!”
“You’ve got me and Hera’s Familia targeting you, and you’re off in your own little world. Quite arrogant, aren't you?”
“Ah, s-sorry...”
“Forget it. Apologies from men are useless anyway.”
Grandpa cut through the flow of my deepening thoughts. I wondered if he did that on purpose.
“Nom... Anyway, this was pretty entertaining. You appeared so suddenly that I wondered what you were about, but you're unusual in a very different way.”
“...Am I unusual?”
“Very. Usually, guys at your level treat the gods like dirt.”
“...?”
“Honestly, kids these days have no idea how to respect the gods...”
Grandpa began to grumble. Perhaps he had a lot of pent-up frustration with his own subordinates, because his complaining showed no sign of stopping.
Come to think of it, I don't know much about Grandpa.
I knew him as my grandfather, but I didn't know him as the god Zeus.
To me, he had always just been Grandpa. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Ahem. Anyway, this should be enough. I’ll handle my subordinates, so don’t worry about my side.”
“Ah, if you’re leaving, I can escort you...”
“Get lost. I really don’t need a man escorting me.”
Grandpa waved me off in disgust. His disdain for men was as strong as ever.
...I wonder what face he'd make if he knew I used to walk around holding his hand as a child. That would be interesting.
“Still, it’s dark out. Going alone is...”
“Persistent brat. I said I don’t need it.”
He turned to leave, but then stopped and looked back as if he'd just remembered something.
“Come to think of it, did you say your name was Vesta?”
“...!”
I flinched.
The sudden question made my body jerk reflexively.
I thought I had suppressed it quickly, but I doubted that mattered in front of a god.
“Why that name? Is there a reason you can’t use your real one?”
“...”
So he'd realized it wasn't my real name. Feeling exposed, I pulled my hood down even lower.
That was the problem.
“Suspicious. What are you hiding?”
“I’m not hiding anything...”
“I am Zeus. The King of Olympus. Even Hestia is under me. Did you really think you could just use the name Vesta in front of me and get away with it?”
I realized then that the entire conversation had been bait. He had used small talk to lower my guard, only to spring the real question the moment I relaxed.
I was still far too vulnerable to these tactics, and my own emotional attachment to him had made me blind to the trap.
Having sensed my hesitation, Grandpa stepped toward me. There wasn't a hint of doubt in his brisk stride.
He moved with the absolute certainty that I had no intention of attacking. He really was quick on the uptake...!
“Your sudden appearance is fine. And having that kind of strength... well, I can overlook that too.”
As he advanced, I retreated step by step.
But the basement was narrow. I soon hit the wall, and before I knew it, I was trapped in a classic "wall-press" position with Grandpa.
...I didn't dislike him, but being in this position with another man was incredibly awkward. Apparently, the feeling was mutual, as Grandpa's expression soured instantly.
“But using Hestia’s name is a different matter. This goes beyond a mortal issue; it could become a conflict among the gods.”
I gasped. Vesta was my epithet, but it was also my goddess's. I had been too careless, failing to consider the fallout of using such a name.
There were countless gods who knew her. I had been thinking only from my own perspective...
No matter how much she felt like family, she was still a god. She wasn't a being whose existence was defined solely by the mortal world.
“Therefore, I have a duty to uncover your identity. If I don't, it could result in a loss for Olympus.”
My mind went blank.
Because of me, my goddess and Grandpa might suffer?
I had tried so hard to handle everything on my own to avoid being a nuisance, yet a crisis had already arrived.
W-what do I do...?!
*
Well, that was a lie.
Watching the boy panic so openly, Zeus sneered inwardly.
Why on earth would I take responsibility for that woman?
Zeus might be the King of Olympus, but that didn't mean he should shoulder every single burden of the realm.
Even if he predicted the future based on the most likely scenario—Hestia's early descent—there was no way he would personally suffer any damage.
He only brought it up because he knew this specific kind of pressure would work on the man in front of him.
This boy cared about the affairs of gods in a way that ordinary people—and even his own subordinates—didn't. It was likely due to his deep bond with his goddess and his profound reverence for the divine.
...The way he was oddly favorable toward Zeus was a bit strange, but the prediction had been spot on. The boy responded to words like "responsibility" and "duty"—those tedious, annoying terms—with genuine worry rather than dismissal.
He's probably absurdly earnest. The kind of guy who's spent his life taking losses for others.
Who raised him to be like this? Hestia, most likely. That shut-in goddess really was a problem; she thinks being "kind" is the only thing that matters.
Seeing him so willing to shoulder the burden made Zeus feel a wave of pity. If he had raised the boy, he would have taught him to be more cunning and slippery. It was a shame his own Familia forbade romance; unless Cranel managed to get Materia pregnant, Zeus wouldn't be seeing any grandchildren.
Though with that boy's personality, it'll never happen unless Materia pounces on him first.
“If you won’t speak, I’ll have no choice but to question the other party.”
“!”
He hadn't named her, but the boy knew exactly who he meant: Hestia. The immediate reaction proved that the boy was a terrible liar.
Confirmed. He's definitely that shut-in's subordinate. Just like her.
...Why the hell did Maxim suspect him?
Hera, who likely sensed a familiar aura, and Arphia, who had circumstantial reasons to be suspicious, were understandable. But Maxim, who had suddenly chased after him and questioned him, was just unfair. What on earth had happened to make Maxim so certain it was Zeus's doing?
To be compared to that flat-chested old maid goddess who has nothing appealing about her... how insulting.
With thoughts utterly devoid of conscience, Zeus continued.
“If you don’t want that to happen, you’d best cooperate obediently.”
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