The atmosphere in the dining hall was rather strange.
Cassandra seemed to have misunderstood something, her gaze drifting back and forth between Bell and Artemis.
Artemis did not dare look at Bell at all. Even though nothing excessive had happened between them, she still looked as if she had done something wrong. The moment their eyes met, her face turned bright red and she quickly looked away.
Mikoto and Lili, who had just finished changing, were also caught up in the mood around them and remained silent.
The source of it all was the furious Hestia.
Amid her tangled thoughts, she crossed her arms and stood up with an imposing air.
"Starting today, boys and girls are forbidden from touching each other inside my Familia!!"
As soon as she said that, several girls booed her.
"Hestia-sama, what are you even saying at this point?"
Lili was the first to voice her complaint.
Welf had moved into the luxurious workshop, so Hestia's words were clearly aimed at Bell.
The problem was that the boy had already entered romantic relationships with many girls. Banning contact between men and women now felt absurd, like trying to shut the stable door after the horse had already bolted.
"Supporter-san, I've seen through your little scheme. No objections will be allowed!"
Hestia declared forcefully.
"Hestia-sama, I also think that demand is rather unreasonable. It is far too cruel to Bell-dono."
Mikoto stood on the boy's side.
This was only a rational analysis. There was absolutely no personal desire mixed in. Mikoto emphasized that firmly in her heart.
"I think so too..."
"Me too."
"Exactly. Hestia-sama is such a useless goddess herself, how can she interfere with Artemis-sama?"
Starting with Cassandra, more than twenty girls began chattering their objections all at once.
Bell, standing at the center of the topic, silently watched where the conversation would go.
Artemis realized that she was the one who had caused this situation, and lowered her head in both guilt and embarrassment.
"Hmph. You clearly said yesterday that you'd listen to me. You bunch of rebels!"
Hestia's momentum did not weaken in the slightest.
"That decision was only supposed to apply to today, wasn't it?"
Lili immediately exposed the flaw in the goddess's words.
When everyone had discussed the outing, they had handed the right to set the rules over to their Familia Goddess.
Hestia was using that exact point to put the boy on trial.
"Ugh... then it applies today. Either way, none of you are allowed to touch Bell today!!"
Hestia ignored the details.
"Then are flirtatious glances allowed?"
One of the girls asked.
"I'd like to ban those too, but they're hard to avoid in the end, so I'll grant a special pardon."
"Artemis-sama, did you hear that? Please make eye contact with the boy using your most captivating gaze and teach that useless goddess a lesson!"
After hearing Hestia's answer, the girl cheered on her former Familia Goddess.
"Ugh..."
Artemis glanced at Bell and immediately curled in on herself.
Although she could endure her shyness in private and make plenty of intimate gestures, the goddess still could not get used to being discussed like this in front of everyone.
"Flirtatious glances are banned too! And stop calling me useless!!"
Hestia planted her hands on her hips and snapped, "It's because women like Artemis act pure on the surface but secretly cling to Bell behind everyone's backs. Ugh... Don't pull on my clothes, Artemis... Bell praised this outfit and said it was cute, so stop pulling... I get it, I won't talk about you anymore."
Under everyone's speechless stares, Hestia cleared her throat twice and spoke again.
"In any case, none of you are allowed to touch Bell today!"
"Hestia-sama, that's too unfair! Everyone was looking forward to today's date!"
Lili objected fiercely.
"I'm the Familia Goddess. All of you have to listen to me."
Hestia invoked her authority.
Lili was momentarily at a loss for words, but Daphne noticed a blind spot.
"Hestia-sama, you just said 'all of you.' Does that not include you?"
"Of course not. If I can't touch Bell, how am I supposed to update his Status?"
Hestia answered smoothly, as if she had prepared for that question in advance.
But that only drew more doubts.
"We're just going out to have fun. There's no need to update his Status, is there?" Lili responded at once.
"I have the same question. From that perspective, if a battle breaks out, would we not also have to come into contact with Bell-dono?" Mikoto blinked in confusion.
"Hestia-sama is being a little too double-standard..."
Cassandra murmured softly.
"Y-y-you're not allowed to say I have double standards!"
Facing twenty people alone, Hestia finally showed a hint of weakness. "If all of you are that interested in love, hurry up and find men from other Familias to marry. I'll support you!"
"..."
Bell, Laurier, and the others watching from the side all held back their comments.
Generally speaking, Gods did not want their children falling in love with members of other Familias, since it involved conflicts of interest and could even lead to the worst-case scenario of conversion.
Hestia, however, was doing the exact opposite.
"Hestia-sama, your intentions are way too obvious. Lili is not leaving."
Lili's firm declaration drew agreement from the other girls.
Even Mikoto bashfully stated that she saw this place as her new home.
"Ugh..."
Hestia realized that tactic would not work, so she changed her approach.
"Not all contact between men and women is the same. Love stories between people of the Lower World and [Spirits] are very romantic, aren't they?"
"Are you saying Lili is dirty, Hestia-sama?"
Lili questioned her softly.
"I didn't mean it that way..."
Knowing Lili's past, Hestia felt a little guilty. "I'm just saying that stories between Gods and humans don't have that lewd feeling. Bell thinks so too, right?"
"It is indeed as Goddess-sama says."
Bell answered honestly.
Since Gods and humans could not have children together, the love stories passed down about them naturally centered on lifespan, and lacked the lewd feeling Hestia spoke of.
"Bell-sama?! Gods are beings of unknown age. They'll definitely cling to you for the rest of your life and keep draining you dry even when you're old!"
Lili stated the cruel reality.
Without children, the tragedy brought by differences in lifespan would only become even greater.
"..."
Artemis's body trembled involuntarily.
Although she and Bell had promised each other eternal love, that point remained unknown in the end.
"You said the one thing you absolutely shouldn't have!"
Hestia frowned.
Daphne realized the topic was gradually drifting off course and becoming heavy. She sighed and spoke softly.
"Hestia-sama, what you mean is that, as a Goddess, your contact with the Captain does not count, correct?"
"Exactly."
"In that case, why are you trying to stop Artemis-sama? She and the Captain are lovers, are they not?"
Daphne exposed the flaw in her argument.
"That's because Artemis slept in Bell's bed. She must have been planning to strip naked and. Artemis, I-I get it. I told you not to pull on my clothes. Bell will see..."
A short while later, Hestia crossed her arms once again.
"Anyway, that's settled. Let's all have fun together!"
"..."
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
What exactly had been settled?
The conversation had not made any progress at all, had it?
Amid that unclear yet cheerful atmosphere, the Hestia Familia welcomed their first date.