Epilogue: HESTIA FAMILIA

A large manor stood in the middle of a wide garden.

Hestia took a deep breath.

"Ta-da! This is our new home!"

""Ooohhhh—""

Bell, Lilly, Welf, and Mikoto stood in awe of the building Hestia pointed at.

It was three stories tall; they had to crane their necks to get a good look at the top

floor. Hestia went on to say that there were covered passages along with more gardens

inside. The property was surrounded by a tall iron fence. Flowers and trees hid most

of the bars from view.

"But was it really okay to take Apollo Familia's home…?"

"Oh yes, he blew mine into a million pieces. I don't want to hear any complaints!"

Lilly muttered as she looked up at the manor, but Hestia cut her off right away.

It was a prize from the War Game—the building that Apollo Familia had once called

home was now theirs. Bell was just as surprised as Welf and Mikoto at this sudden

upgrade in living conditions.

None of the mortals could believe their luck as they looked over their new home from

the outside gardens.

"The ones who lived here before had… strange tastes. So, since we've got a lot of

money, I say we do some remodeling! If you have any requests, let me know!"

"L-Lady Hestia, I humbly request a bathhouse!"

"Lady Hestia! Would you build me a forge?!"

Mikoto and Welf didn't waste any time in suggesting what to build to replace any

remnants of Apollo Familia. Hestia turned to them, holding her arms out, saying,"Wait,

wait," and smiling.

"Now that we can finally puff out our chests and say we're a proper Familia, don't you

think we should decide on an emblem first?"

""Good point!""

All of Hestia's followers nodded in unison. Bell was the most excited among them. He'd

been wanting to have his own Familia emblem for quite a while.

Hestia took a seat on the front steps of the manor. Pulling out a small piece of paper

and a pen, she set to work on sketching a picture. Bell and the others formed a half

circle around her, watching her pen move while standing shoulder to shoulder.

"Hee-heee, I put a lot of thought into this___"

Hestia's pen didn't stop for an instant until she turned the paper around to show her

new family, grinning from ear to ear. Welf, Mikoto, and Lilly each held the paper in

their hands and gave the design a once-over.

"This is fire and…"

"I see. This is the Lady Hestia's idea of protective flames."

"That's not it at all. This emblem, it's all about the relationship between Lady Hestia

and Mr. Bell!"

Welf and Mikoto whispered to each other, but Lilly's eyes twitched in annoyance.

The three of them had different reactions, but Hestia used her authority as a goddess

to ignore them and said in a very satisfied voice:

"What's the problem? This Familia started with me and Bell, after all."

At last, the paper made its way into Bell's hands.

His ruby-red eyes opened wide as he studied the emblem design.

"Goddess, isn't this…?"

Hestia giggled as she looked at the surprise on the boy's face.

Smiling once again, she made eye contact with Bell and said:

"Now, Bell. Today is the real debut of our Familia."

Bell looked back down at the paper as he listened to her words. A few moments later,

he smiled back at her with an expression as radiant as the sun.

The boy held out the paper once again for everyone to see.

The design on the paper in his hands consisted of a bell surrounded by flames.