Long ago, we gods descended to the mortal realm where our "children" dwelled, all in search of excitement.
Then, we made a bold decision—To remain here in the lower world, and live among you for all eternity.
We sealed away our divine powers and chose to live joyfully, bound by the hardships and constancy of the mortal realm.
The only thing we could grant you was a single gift: a power known as "Grace," and the monsters with which to wield it in battle.
Those blessed with this power would become part of a god's Familia—a member of their chosen family.
You are my Familia... the one and only member of the Hestia Familia!
Ye Yu didn't feel well at all.
A searing pain coursed through him—starting from the tips of his hair, spreading all the way down to the depths of his soul.
It was as if both his thoughts and spirit were being torn apart, and all he could feel was a coldness without end.
His memories were a scattered mess. So fragmented that even his own name—Ye Yu—felt unfamiliar and insubstantial.
If he tried to remember, all that came rushing in was endless frost… and the lingering whisper of a girl's voice brushing past his ears.
Seriously, what kind of god gives up being divine just to come down here and play RPGs with mortals?
Carrying that confusion and a healthy dose of skepticism, Ye Yu slowly opened his eyes.
Had there been a mirror before him, he might have noticed the fleeting, ice-blue glow that flickered in his pitch-black eyes—a cold, eerie glint not of man, but more like a wary beast guarding against the world.
What greeted him was an unfamiliar ceiling. He was lying in a cramped little room, and a glance around told him all he needed to know: shabby was a generous word for it.
He instinctively curled into himself. Though he was awake, that biting cold still clung to his soul, piercing deep into his bones.
"You're awake—thank goodness!"
As Ye Yu blinked in dazed confusion, a voice rang out by the doorway—bright and clear, like a lark's song, filled with joy.
His gaze lifted, and there she stood—a beautiful girl, beaming with delight. That radiant smile… that joy on her face… for a moment, it melted the frost clinging to both his body and soul.
Her lustrous black hair fell just past her ears and was tied into twin tails that reached her waist. A faint blush tinged her pretty, youthful face, and though her features were a bit childish, her figure was anything but—voluptuous and strikingly mature beneath that innocent appearance.
Most eye-catching of all was the blue ribbon, threaded under her arms and lifting her generous chest—not quite an accessory, not quite functional, but impossible to ignore. It made her curvaceous figure stand out even more, inviting all sorts of less-than-pure imaginings.
As Ye Yu stared in a daze, the girl finally spoke again.
"I'm Hestia—your goddess! And you are…?"
"Hey, hey! You know it's super rude to stare at a lady like that, right?"
"Hello? Are you just going to keep staring? Don't tell me I picked up a dummy?"
"Waaahh! I'm doomed! My very first Familia member is a complete idiot!!"
Now she had rushed right up to him, and at this close distance, her sweet, unique scent wrapped around him. It muddled his already-dazed mind even further, making it harder to distinguish what was real.
Ye Yu wanted to respond to her questions, but she spoke so fast that every time he tried to open his mouth, her words drowned his.
Finally, just as Hestia was about to give up, Ye Yu managed to collect his thoughts and speak.
But the sound that came out shocked even him.
It was cold. Unfeeling. A voice that shut the world out—frigid enough to freeze a person's very soul.
Ye Yu had half a mind to pull back the covers and check if he was, in fact, encased in ice.
"If it's my name you want… just call me Ye Yu. Now—what exactly were you saying? What is this place? And who are you, really?"
Ye Yu's first words made the girl before him light up with excitement. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke—with a smile far too carefree for the comment that followed.
"Thank goodness! So you're not a mute or a moron! I was really starting to worry there!"
Mute? Moron?
You're the moron. Your whole family's full of morons…
Swallowing his irritation, Ye Yu shrank back slightly, still unable to shake the biting cold that clung to him. He tightened the blanket around his body and waited—somewhat patiently—for Hestia to give him the answers he needed.
After a while, just as his patience was about to run dry, Hestia finally shifted gears and began to explain.
"This is my home. And from now on, it'll be the home of the Hestia Familia! As for what a Familia is… wait, don't tell me you don't know?"
"I don't," Ye Yu replied bluntly, shaking his head without hesitation. "I don't know anything."
At that, Hestia raised a hand to her forehead in mock despair, looking at him with a mix of exasperation and disbelief.
"Oh gods... how can you not know anything?! Becoming part of a Familia means you've made a divine contract with a god. That god becomes your family, and in return, grants you power—the strength to fight monsters. And you—" she said with a bright grin, "—you're my very first family member. No matter what happens, I'll always be on your side~!"
Family…
The word echoed in Ye Yu's mind. He stared at the lively girl in front of him, his expression turning distant, vacant. That cold weight—both physical and spiritual—seemed to lessen ever so slightly.
His memories were still in disarray, scattered like shattered glass. But sadness rose in his chest like a crashing tide.
Family, huh...
He didn't know why, but that single word made his heart ache unbearably. A lump formed in his throat, and for a fleeting moment, he wanted nothing more than to cry like a child.
But he held it back.
There was no reason for it—none at all. Only the unshakable instinct that he must not allow himself to cry.
Not here.Not in front of this girl.