Chapter 617 Poking the Hornet’s Nest 

The 'Celebration of Gods'. It was called that way because only Gods were allowed to attend. However, the host this time decided to change things up a bit.

Arriving at the venue, which was the Apollo Familia's Home, Kisuke and Hestia could see droves of Gods, along with their escort children, being welcomed inside.

The moonlight shone down on everyone on the street which made Hestia, in her white gown, glow even further. "You look great tonight, Hestia-sama~!", commented Kisuke.

Hestia also looked at him with a grin and replied, "I, on the other hand, was really surprised that you'd wear anything outside of your usual outfit. You should have seen how Artemis couldn't even take her eyes off of you."

Instead of his usual attire, Kisuke was wearing a gray suit that matched his eyes. His usual shaggy hair was also straightened and tied into a ponytail. This resulted in those who knew him to have contrasting feelings. The casual and shady man had become a very proper and mature gentleman.

If Hestia and Artemis didn't know any better, they'd certainly get scammed.

From behind, a voice suddenly called out to them, "My apologies, Hestia, Kisuke."

Hestia turned around and smiled, "Oh, Miach, you're here."

"Preparing everything for us, including these clothes, must not have been easy. Thank you.", added Miach, who was currently wearing a black suit.

"You don't have to think about that. You've taken care of me in the past so this was the least I could do."

On Miach's side, Naaza who was wearing a gown, expressed her gratitude to Kisuke, "Thank you very much."

Chuckling, Kisuke replied, "It's fine~! You've been taking care of Sona, Aika and Koneko, so the feeling is mutual."

"Now then, shall we head inside?", proposed Hestia and everyone agreed.

After they were welcomed by the children of Apollo Familia, they were led towards the hall of the mansion where the main event was being held. Arriving on the floor, Hestia immediately noticed some very familiar faces and approached them, "Hephaestus! Take!"

"You're finally here.", replied Hephaestus. Matching her flaming red hair, the red gown made her stand out even more.

"Good seeing you here, Miach." Takemikazuchi, on the other hand, was wearing traditional Far Eastern garb while his child, Mikoto, was wearing a tube gown with a Far Eastern motif.

Seeing her shy demeanor, Hestia commented, "You brought Mikoto, eh, Take? I heard about the incident the other day. Must've been tough."

Suddenly being talked to while trying her best to make herself inconspicuous, made her flinch, "Y-yes! B-but it was thanks to everyone, especially Bell-dono's efforts, that we were able to come back safely!"

"I see.", Hestia nodded in understanding and faced Hephaestus who seemed alone, "Who's accompanying you, Hephaestus? I don't see anyone."

Shrugging her shoulders, Hephaestus replied, "He's a strange one. Leaving me here to explore the party on his own."

But before they could continue that topic, someone's familiar voice interrupted them, "Hey, hey! Everybody's here!"

Hermes in a tuxedo came, "Let me join the fun!"

Beside him was Asfi, making a wincing face.

Making a doubtful expression, Takemikazuchi asked, "Why did you come over here?"

Hermes immediately complained at his reaction, "Hey, c'mon! Didn't we just work together? Don't leave me out in the cold!"

Not letting him say anything else, Hermes immediately turned his attention towards the children accompanying the Deities, "Hi there, Kisuke! Those clothes look good on you! And Naaza, wonderful dress! Got some butterflies in your stomach, Mikoto-chan? Your cute face is going to waste!!!"

"C-cute!!?" Mikoto immediately overreacted.

Seeing that, Hermes took the opportunity to make her blush even more by suddenly grabbing her hand and giving it a kiss.

"!?" Due to that, Mikoto instantly overheated and became at a loss on what to do.

Hermes, meanwhile, also instantly earned the ire of two people as he received a hard knock from the furious Takemikazuchi and a fierce kick in the butt by the fuming Asfi.

The chaotic scene immediately attracted the attention of the other guests in the vicinity, but when the Gods saw that it was just Hermes, they all lost interest.

The beat down only stopped when the host of the celebration came down to address all the attendees.

Coming down the stairs, Apollo greeted everyone while holding a glass of wine, "My guests, I'm glad to see you have all arrived. An idea came to me about how to make this event special. How do you like it? Dressing up the ones we hold most dear and bringing them to our celebration, what could be more delightful?"

"Seeing so many of my kin and the faces of their beloved children fills me with great joy. Tonight is a night destined to be filled with grand opportunities and new meetings. I have foreseen it." Kisuke then noticed how Apollo took a glance at him and immediately understood what that meant, 'Contempt, is it?'

Looking at everyone again, Apollo continued, "I have assembled the best wines and the freshest foods. The night is young. Enjoy yourselves." Apollo raised his cup and toast to everyone.

"I'll talk to Apollo later. Since we're already here, let's enjoy the party.", said Hestia to Kisuke.

The group then started talking about random things while Kisuke was also busy listening to what everyone around their group was talking about. Thanks to that, Kisuke was able to get a clearer picture of the power structure of Orario. After all, Gods do love bragging about the achievements of their children.

However, it was cut short when a certain pair approached them. "Would you look at that... The big cheese has arrived.", uttered Hermes with a genuine appreciation of beauty, "Freya and 'King' Ottar."

Despite wearing a suit, Ottar still looked like a barbarian due to his size, gait and grim expression. Freya, on the other hand, while wearing a low-cut dress that revealed a very large portion of her skin, still looked elegant and very confident.

Hephaestus touched her chin in wonderment, "First was Ganesha's celebration, and now this one... Like Artemis, Freya normally never comes out into public. This... It's weird, right."

Instead of speculating, Hestia directly asked her when she got close enough, "Hey, Freya. What are you doing here?"

"I merely came to say hello. It's a rare chance to see so many familiar faces at once.", replied Freya with a smile.

She then panned her eyes to other people and saw how the male Gods were looking at her 'attentively' while their children were making dark faces towards their Gods, acting all smitten.

Freya continued this until her eyes landed on Kisuke, which contrary to the other Gods and children, was looking at her with curiosity, "Oh?"

Meeting her eyes, Kisuke immediately greeted her, "It's a wonderful evening, Freya-sama."

Freya then suddenly commented, "You really are different from the rest."

While Miach and Takemikazuchi were making confused expressions, Hephaestus and Hermes' eyes sharpened with the latter smiling deeply. Hestia, on the other hand, became nervous and wanted to step in, but in the end, she trusted Kisuke.

Nevertheless, the man in question just chuckled and said, "What are you talking about, Freya-sama~? I'm just your run of a mill candy shop owner and an Adventurer on the side."

Of course, they instantly caught the lie. However, they don't know which was a lie, him being an ordinary shopkeeper or that being an Adventurer was just his side job. Either way, it was a lie that couldn´t expose the lie.

Regardless of that, Freya just brushed it off, "Fufufu, is that so? How amusing. I wonder what else you are hiding. I'm really curious."

"My~ I'm really flattered, but everyone's hiding a thing or two, and no one is exempted to that. On that note, I'm also curious about something regarding Freya-sama."

"Oh? What was that?", asked Freya, just to entertain him.

Kisuke then closed his eyes and thought, 'First and foremost, Cranel-san should be in the Hostess of Fertility right now since Miach-sama asked him to treat himself because he can't go with them. If she's really interested in Cranel-san, then the real her shouldn't be the one in front of me... Alright, let's poke the beehive~!'