A Blessing Called Hope—or a Curse

 

「Is it really okay for Hestia, the Unmoving Goddess, to be here?」

Kou found himself blurting the question out.

「It’s fine. I’m only projecting an avatar. Long time no see. And to everyone I’m meeting for the first time—let’s get along from here on out too, okay?」

For the members of the Decoy Unit, this was their first time seeing Hestia.

The sheer weight of it left all three of them speechless.

「It’s surprising enough that you are projecting your avatar outside the Sanctuary, Hestia.」

「And I’m glad to see you have properly returned to yourself as well, Athena.」

「What do you mean, ‘returned’? I’m a newborn super AI.」

「Let’s leave it at that, shall we? Anyway—once systems like taxation started making a comeback on the Sphene Continent, I had to hurry over. Then I found all of you already in the middle of a meeting, so I barged in. Honestly, you should’ve invited me from the