chapter 4

[Quick recap]

When Astrea reached Hephaestus' workshop, she knocked on the door, and then a woman with crimson eyes and red short hair opened the door. The woman has a rather sharp face and slender body with an eyepatch over her right eye. Astrea smiled.

"Hello there, Hephaestus! I'm sorry for being late. I had an incident earlier with a little kid."

"Oh, I see. I was wondering why you were late since it's very unusual to you. Come in. Why don't we have a little chat?"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hephaestus invited Astrea to enter her workshop to discuss some things. Hephaestus then prepared some refreshments, and they both sat on the island counter.

"So, what business do you want to talk about? Normally, you would send one of your Familia members to order some pieces of equipment." Hephaestus asked Astrea.

Astrea's smile slightly faded. "The Evilus is getting more and more aggressive these days since the Zeus and Hera Familia got annihilated by the One-Eyed black dragon."

Hephaestus paused, processing what Astrea had just said to her. After a while, Hephaestus looked at Astrea and spoke.

"So, you want to order new pieces of equipment for your familia to gain level faster inside the dungeon?"

Astrea nodded her head. Hephaestus nodded and asked, "So, do you have any information of when this 'inevitable' battle will start?"

Astrea shakes her head Sideways "No, we don't know when Evilus will attack. So the best thing for us to do is to be prepared."

Hephaestus nodded her head "Okay. Well, since you're my friend, I will give you a discount on the pieces of equipment you order"

Hephaestus grabbed a pen and a paper

"Just write the things you need and I'll do the rest."

Astrea muttered thanks to her friend and started writing. While writing the pieces of equipment she needs, Hephaestus suddenly asked,

"Hey, have you heard? There's a little kid around 10 years old buying some supplies here and there. And the thing is, he's an orphan. Do you think he has some kind of connection to the Evilus? I mean, where does he get all of his money from?"

Astrea paused, but then continued.

"Don't be silly, Hephaestus. The Evilus is backed up by various anonymous familia. why would they use a child who can be tracked down easily?"

As Astrea was finished talking, Hephaestus said, "I know. But, think about it, where does he get all of his money from? And how can you be sure that he's not on their side?"

Astrea looked at her friend

"I found something peculiar about the child."

Hephaestus then asked, "Oh? What is it?"

"His name is Elijah Dragneel. He's a half-human. No, scratch that. It's more like he's a human, but at the same time, not. I don't really know how to explain it. Normally I can tell what species I've come across, and he's not an Elf nor a dwarf either." Astrea said.

"So, do you have a plan regarding the child whether if he's not affiliated with the Evilus? Maybe in the future, once they took an interest in the child or worst, Freya."

Hephaestus asked her friend.

"For the meantime, no, but what you said makes sense. Maybe I'll have someone to monitor him, but that will be just a temporary thing since he doesn't seem to have someone to protect him." Astrea said, thinking about how to permanently fix the problem.

"Hmm... How about letting him join your familia? Since your familia is one of the most famous and loved familia in Orario, surely the amount of the Evilus will think twice before targeting him." Hephaestus suggested.

Astrea's smile turned into a slight frown and said, "That might be a wonderful solution to help the kid, having a strong familia as a backup, but the thing is, males are strictly forbidden to join my familia."

Hephaestus smiled and said, "Well, I guess this will be the first time. Besides, it will be beneficial for you in the long run, to have a new and strong familia member since his race is still unknown. Maybe you can find out if he joined your familia."

After some time, Astrea decided.

"I'll consider it, but for now, let's see what he can do. I'll ask Maryuu to look after him in the meantime."

With that, Hephaestus finished her business with Astrea, and then Astrea made her way to the Stardust Garden, which is located in the southwestern part of Orario.

As Astrea was at the front of the stardust garden, 2 people opened the door and greeted her. "Welcome home Goddess Astrea."

These 2 were the new recruits of the Astrea familia; Alise Lovell and Gojouno Kaguya.

Gojouno Kaguya has long black hair, and wears a kimono, a robe over it, and a kanzashi in her hair. Currently, 9 years old.

Alise Lovell has green eyes, and red hair tied into a clean ponytail. she carries a rapier which she keeps at her waist. Currently, 8 years old.

Astrea gently smiled

"Thank you Alise, Kaguya. Is Maryuu here?"

"Captain Maryuu is still patrolling around Orario. She will return in a couple of hours. Please enter and wait for the captain Maryuu's arrival." Alise replied.

"I see. So, let's go inside then." Astrea said and smiled .

The two girls nodded and guided her inside the stardust garden.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[A/N]

20k views thank you guys so much this chapter is special since i asked my friend who has an experienced writing a novel one of her novel got the interest of wattpad and got a deal, so i hope you guys enjoyed it as much as i do.

thank you, everyoneonce again, for the support Alise is still not the captain of the Astrea Familia if you are wondering Maryuu is not an OC she is real and had a flashback in the LN though there is not much information about her is small so I chose her so I can shape her personality and background once again thank you, everyone

PEACE✌️