(Monday, 26/10/1058, at dawn)
(Artemis's PoV)
"Aphrodite! I see the tower of Babel!" I shouted through the whistling wind passing by us as we ran as fast as we could.
Aphrodite had to close her eyes to protect them from the wind; her mortal body was not as tough as mine is. Sadly, our arcanum is to blame for this. Mine is associated with the hunt, making me strong enough to carry out tasks that Aphrodite, whose arcanum has no association with any form of fighting, cannot carry out.
(AN: I know about the Spartans' depiction of Aphrodite, calling her Aphrodite the warlike. I don't use that here as I am no Spartan)
"I can't hear you that well! What did you say?!" Aphrodite shouted back.
I nodded at Adonis. We could stop to catch our breathe for a moment. We slowly came to a comfortable stop.
"Huh? Why did we stop?" Aphrodite looked around in her confusion, finally stopping once she saw the tower of Babel. A sinister smile adorned her face.
'What is she th-' My thoughts were interrupted with her equally as sinister laughter.
"I'll finally see him again! That rude child!" She... gave me an uneasy feeling.
'She isn't talking about Henryk, is she?'
"Should we continue? It's not like this is our first time seeing Babel" Aphrodite said.
"I agree" That brought to me the memory of when Babel was getting reconstructed. I remember it vividly because it was the first sight I saw when I descended to the lower realm.
We started running again. From the point where we stopped, we would reach Babel by the time the sun has fully risen above the horizon the next morning.
While on our way, I felt a pull, a sort of call that I associate with my divine artifact being summoned by its wielder. It made me smile knowing that Henryk found use in it but I started worrying a moment later about why he had to use it.
(Tuesday, 27/10/1058)
Our assumption was true, as the sun was just above the horizon when we could see the gates. Between the northern, eastern and north-eastern gates, we headed for the eastern gate. It was slightly out of our way, but it was also less crowded with travelers and their caravans getting in and out.
"Halt!" A guard noticed us running from a distance and raised her hand without her weapon being pointed our way.
We came to a stop with some distance between us. We walked the rest of the way.
"Identify yourselves and your purpose" The guard said in a much lower voice, one more appropriate for conversations. Now that we are closer, I could see her mask better. It was some variation of an elephant mask.
'A member of Ganesha's familia' It was easy to identify them when their clothing is coupled with their masks, depicting many animals. Though, that isn't for all of them. I heard that many don't wear masks at all.
"I am Artemis, patron goddess of the Artemis familia" I gave her my name and affiliation. She jotted that down in a separate file, different to the much thicker one that I assume is used for the common people. "I came to meet up with a previous member of my familia"
"Next" She said while looking specifically at Aphrodite.
"I am the beautiful Aphrodite! Goddess of the Aphrodite familia!" She said proudly while pointing at herself. She was very proud of her appearance. "I came to get a harmless revenge on that previous member of Arti's familia!"
"Next" The guard lady said while looking at Adonis. She was still holding the file she used for us. That made me believe that they used it for deities and their familias.
"My name is Adonis. I'm the captain of the Aphrodite familia" Adonis said, unphased by the looks he received for giving Aphrodite a piggyback.
"Are you here to stay?" This question had some emphasis on it. Having visited the city some times before, I knew that they were always welcoming families that wanted to stay more than those that did not.
"I plan to stay for an amount of time, probably for over a year" I said. The plan was to grow closer to him during that time. If he still rejected me after that year, I will have to move on and wait for his next reincarnation.
"As for me, I'm gonna stay for only a few months" Aphrodite said. "I can find so many beautiful children outside the city, and I won't need to compete with a certain couple of lustful goddesses" Her last few words were laced with a modicum of newfound disgust.
"You are clear to enter" She then focused on Aphrodite. "And make sure not to make trouble where there were none"
We entered the city after I signed a few more papers to allow me to stay for the whole year. I was told to visit the guild's main building for a renewal later.
"Aphrodite, we part ways now" I smiled at her. "I will meet you later. How about we meet in about a week at the foot of the tower of Babel?"
Aphrodite's eyes sparkled with joy at the notion that I wish to meet her again, for us to go out as friends.
"Of course!" Aphrodite threw her arms in the air cheerfully. "Let's do that, Arti!"
After our parting, I made my way to Pantheon. There, I may find out who came down in the time I kept out of touch and who remained up in the upper realm. It's also the quickest way to find Henryk. Adventurers were bound to visit. A clerk there could relay my invitation to talk over to Henryk.
"How may I h-..." The clerk started to say professionally before freezing when she noticed me. "I hope I will be of service to you, goddess" She said while bottling her emotions and giving me a polite bow.
"I wish to know, did a goddess named Hestia come down from the upper realm?" I said with a soft smile. In the time Lante spent feeding me delusions of love, she also made sure to drill into me that mortals and gods are far too alike to view them separately. A goddess is a woman and a god is a man, after all. Now, I have even more reason than just being polite to treat others with humility.
Sifting through the files, the child confirmed that Hestia did come down. She told me that I should head to north mainstreet if I wanted to find her at this time of day.
I headed there, shocked at the sight of Hestia manning a fried snack stand. I approached her sneakily and ordered as any normal patron would. That entire act crumbled as Hestia paid attention to who she was talking to.
It was comedic how she jumped clear over the stand and clung to me with her smaller frame. After our heartwarming reunion and some talk, she offered me to stay with her while searching for a place to house my familia. While I could pay to stay somewhere, I elected to stay with Hestia because we both wanted to spend a girls' night at her place, telling each other's stories.
Searching for Henryk could wait a day or two.