BobOfTheHedgeField
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The Masks we Wear
🕑 Added 2025-06-11 07:10:21 +0000 UTCHestia POV
Belle was an odd one. She seemed stressed out and constantly on edge despite the mask she tried to wear. However I always had good eyes, and she couldn’t completely hide the truth from me despite how heavily she attempted to obscure it.
Nonetheless despite her clinginess to my first child, despite her odd behavior, and despite her mask she was still my child. I would be there for her, no matter what.
“Are you ready to officially join the Hestia Familia?” I asked her the question with a smile and she returned it.
After last night, she seemed to be doing better, yet I could still see so much in her eyes. Stress, guilt, sorrow, anger, hatred . . . she needed a hug from her Goddess! So as she spoke I gave her a big one!
“I thought I already-” She paused for a moment before hugging me back. Then I turned up to her and spoke with a cheeky grin.
“In the eyes of the Guild you might as well be a rogue adventurer, so we have to fix that! Though even if the Guild didn’t accept you, we still would!” She smiled faintly and then turned back towards Babel.
Was she thinking about Andrew!? I knew she was trying to steal him! I grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the Guild with a shaky smile and twitching eyebrow.
As much as I wanted to see Andrew as well, we had important stuff to do!
We entered the Guild Hall and I approached the front desk with Belle, unfortunately did have to wait in line which caused me to pout and tap my foot in impatience.
I’d only ever come in here once before, and I’d left as soon as I could.
I registered my Familia with the guild, and then disappeared for a while until Andrew came along and flipped my life upside down in a couple of days.
Those skills of his were just too much!
After a moment we arrived in front of a brown haired half elf and I gave her a once over.
“Hi there, I’d like to speak with ‘Ms. Rose’ if that’s possible?” The only thing I knew about her was that she was reliable . . . and that she was trying to steal Andrew away! This would be a good opportunity to meet her and see what type of person she was.
. . . only the best for my first child.
“She’s currently busy, is it possible I could help you instead?” I let out a sad sigh and Belle smiled, choosing to take the opportunity to speak up.
Belle even seemed to be softly blushing while looking at the half-elven woman!
“My Goddess and I simply want to register myself for the Guild.” The woman gave a cordial smile our way and spoke professionally.
“Of course, here’s the form you’ll be needing.” Belle was handed a form which she quickly filled out with beautiful handwriting that was clearly honed after many years of work.
Both of my children were literate! Truly I was lucky!
The woman blinked then turned up towards us after reviewing the information.
“Apologies Goddess Hestia, I didn’t realize Andrew was a member of your Familia. I’ll fetch his Advisor right away.”
Was my Andrew so popular? She walked away quickly while I waited with Belle.
“Goddess, who is this Rose?” Belle seemed slightly angry at the mention of her, but she buried the feelings behind a light smile after a moment.
“She’s Andrew’s Advisor, she’s the one who caused Andrew to end up finding you.” She softly pushed one of her bangs back with a blush.
“A-ah, so she’s not that bad then.” Oh my, does Belle have a deeper crush on my Andrew than I first anticipated?
That bothered me- but why did it bother me? I cut off the thought with a frown.
Andrew was my child, and he was only a young man of seventeen years-
My thoughts began to spiral in another direction so I shook them away as a red haired woman with wolf ears approached the two of us.
“Goddess Hestia, Isabelle Cranel?” She was looking at a clipboard that seemed to have some information on us clipped to the otherside.
“That’s us, and I’d like to know more about your intentions with Andrew.” She raised an eyebrow before letting out a scoff.
“My intentions are to be his Advisor on matters relating to the Dungeon.”
She was telling the truth, good! I couldn’t have her stealing his heart! He was far too pure to be claimed by an older woman that didn’t have the best idea of how to take care of him!
If Loki ever found out about Andrew she would have to bully her even harder for being flat than usual!
Either way I did still appreciate her for helping my child, so I had to show her my gratitude.
So I bowed.
“Thank you for taking care of him. He told me that he only survived because of you, so I deeply appreciate what you’ve done.”
Her eyes widened for a moment before she gave a steely nod.
“Just doing my job.”
Ah? A half lie? Hmm, perhaps I should keep a more careful eye on this ‘Rose’ in the future!
However right now I just had Andrew to get back too!
Andrew Ariti POV
I sprinted back to the church to find Belle sitting on the steps with a sleepy Hestia. The cute rabbit perked up at my presence and then gave me a slightly annoyed smile.
“Where were you?”
“Ah, sorry Belle! Sorry Hestia! I was working out all the details with my new blacksmith and got sidetracked!”
Hestia practically charged me and slammed into me with a hug.
“I missed you too Hestia!” I held her up in the sky and she seemed to turn into deadweight as she fell asleep.
The Sun has gone out!? How could this be!?
“You had us waiting for quite some time, however I’m glad you’re back.”
I gave her a smile and pulled the sleeping Hestia close to my chest.
“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep with me?”
She let out a choking noise and I looked over in concern.
“Are you alright?”
Her face was beet red, oh no, did waiting out in the sun all day give her heatstroke.
“I’ll get some water-” I started to bolt inside but she caught me with a wave of her hand. Her voice seemed to uptick into Young Master mode as she spoke, the haughtiness clearly present in her next words.
“You truly are a Foolish one for asking this Lady such a thing!”
I thought she said she only did that when she was stressed?
Oh. She really must not want to sleep with me and Hestia then.
“I’m sorry for asking Belle, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable like that”
She blushed deeper and started giving me the laugh of an Ojou-sama from and anime before it petered off and she cleared her throat.
“I-I suppose I can forgive you then.”
“Alright then, I’m going to take Hestia to bed . . . the next big purchase we make shall be a house for our Familia! This I swear!”
I ran off to bed and my mind quickly switched off from the long day after tucking in my radiant Sun.
Isabelle Cranel POV
This man!
Why did he make me feel like this when he asked me such a degrading question? Asking to bed me not once, but twice? Grandmother had told me to always refuse such advances, to never lower myself to the whims of a perverted man, yet why did my heart beat so fast, and why did my face flush so?
I slapped myself across the face in order to steady my thoughts.
I was getting back into that weird way of thinking whenever I got stressed out in social situations.
I threw myself under the covers on the futon and put my hands in my face.
Why did I almost say yes?
WHY DID I ALMOST SAY YES!?
Sure he’s compassionate, heroic, masterful with his hands- I let out another groan at the thought.
Why was I blushing like a maiden in Dungeon Oratorio when I was supposed to be the hero that cleansed this city?
I-I hadn’t forgotten about the mission . . . however I couldn’t help but feel as though I was far too different from those heroes in my storybook, while Andrew may as well have been the hero himself.
I blushed deeper as my mind went back to him.
I had a job to do, I couldn’t let my feelings get in the way. So I silenced them as I always had, yet even I could feel the cracks forming with each word and action he inscribed upon the world.
Andrew Ariti POV
As I drifted off to sleep I suddenly found myself in the hall of a building. Its walls were marble, and well sculpted from years of labor.
Across from me stood a man whose face was blurred. He was shorter than me, yet as I looked down at my own body I found that we looked similar.
Then I lost control of my body and words, a scene playing out before me.
“How could you %#^{*#!?”
I screamed at my brother with all my heart, rage mounting in my voice. He was given a question with no good answer, yet he still somehow chose the worst one possible.
“%{*#+%, how could I resist the finest fruit this world had to offer?”
My ‘brother’ was a monster. Someone who should have died long ago. I Foolishly held the hope in my heart that he would become better with age.
Yet he only became worse despite my efforts.
“To compare ^}*}%]% to a fruit waiting to be plucked? You truly are void of any empathy.”
I held his derisive gaze for a moment before the words I’d known I would one day have to say left my mouth.
“I-I can no longer call you brother.”
I had done everything to save him, yet I could not change who he was.
In response to my declaration he simply laughed, yet I saw the pain lurking behind his eyes.
“You don’t have the right to even declare such a thing. As long as I am favored by ^{+%*{++{^ your hands are tied brother.”
He was right about me being helpless in the face of her, yet his feeble attempt to force me to take back my words of our ended brothership would fail.
Still, I couldn’t fight a goddess. A goddess who enabled his worst impulses with a simple promise of her boon.
That however did not mean I was completely powerless.
“No matter how heavy the weight you use to drag our kingdom into the deepest trenches may be, I will never stand by and watch in wait as we fall to our deaths.”
With that I walked away, his eyes followed me and despite my hatred for him, I still loved him.
He could never be my brother again, yet I knew a piece of both of us wished we could go back to our youths when we held each other arm in arm with smiles upon our faces.
Tears streamed down my face as I turned away. My tears could not be seen by him, they had never swayed him before so why would they now?
I wiped away the liquid from my eyes as I entered the plaza to the sights of many onlookers who waited for good news.
I could give them none, yet I could still act.
I couldn’t find a goddess, but I certainly could warn our people of the coming storm.
I opened my eyes groggily and slowly sat up.
What the hell was that!?
I threw myself out of bed as a sorrowful tear moved down my face.
Brother, why- I didn’t have any brothers.
Despite that I could not help but feel for the two of them residing within that dream.
One was a bastard, one was a hero. Yet so many would be forced to face the folly of the one who had committed a truly heinous sin.
I felt connected to the figure who’s mask I wore at that moment, a weighty breath that carried with it so much responsibility for those I cared about.
Wait . . . was that my Persona?
AN: We are back with another one, and we get a little bit more insight into Hestia and Belle while Andrew gets a dream sequence with his Persona who I won’t be spoiling (unless someone guesses it first try or something crazy like that).
If you manage to somehow guess who his Persona is I’ll even give you a cookie!
Feel free to leave comments or questions down below, I love reading them!
Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you all in the next one!
Comments
dracospikex2
How could I have been defeated in a single strike? You get a cookie lol
Julian Rivera
Maybe his Persona is Hector of Troy
Ray
Hestia is heavily underestimating Andrew's patented "shounen density"
