Balm in Gilead: Chapter 5 (Patreon)

I woke slowly, surrounded by a pleasant warmth.

In my last life, that would have surprised me. An hour spent sleeping had started to feel more and more like an hour wasted with each passing day.

Now I was still surprised, but for a much happier reason.

My eyes fluttered open, taking in the plush goddess still snuggled under my arm. I was surprised, because usually she made it a point to wake me up.

I smiled, letting my eyes slip shut again. Orario would wait for a while longer. For now, I had something more important to do. I let out a yawn, and hugged Hestia closer to me. 

She murbled, twisting and nuzzling into my chest. I held back a giggle. She must have been more tired than I’d thought.

We’d wound up walking the streets of the city after dinner, talking about things that didn’t matter. Then I’d carried her back to our little church. It was, all told, a perfect evening. She should have to run herself ragged though…

“Taylor…”

“I’m here, Hestia.” I smiled as she blinked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with two fists like a kitten. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yep!” She blinked a few times, before grinning up at me. Then she gave me a playful frown. “You let me stay sleeping! That’s illegal!”

This time I did chuckle. “I wanted to watch you asleep for once,” I said. “I never get the chance to.” 

“Th-that’s because I’m your goddess!” Hestia’s face went red, and she wriggled, but she didn’t make any movement to actually escape my hug. “It’s my job to take care of you and wake you up and things like that!”

I hugged her closer. “Then it’s fine either way, isn’t it?”

“Taylooooor!” 

“Five more minutes, Mom.”

“M-mom—mom!?”

I laughed. “It’s just a joke, from my home.” I buried my face in her silky black hair. “Not that I would be unhappy, if you were my mother either.”

“Oh…” Hestia didn’t say anything else. But then she wrapped her arms around my middle, giving a hug that felt like liquid contentment. “Five more minutes.”

I smiled.

In due time, we would get up and get ready to face the day. But… just not right now.

I helped Hestia with her hair like always. Not that she needed it or even that I was particularly skilled at it, but she liked having me tie her hair for her when I could. If nothing else, it was good practice for my one remaining arm. 

“I need to go weapon shopping today.” I stood, stretching after I was done. “My sword wasn’t really rated for deeper floors, and I think I want a sturdier pickaxe as well.”

“A pickaxe?” Hestia tilted her head. “Is that really a weapon?”

I smirked, remembering the various skulls I’d split with it yesterday. “Honestly, I’m not very skilled when it comes to swords. The pick I had turned out to be surprisingly… versatile.”

“Hmmmm.” Hestia narrowed her eyes at me. I just smiled placidly. After a moment, she nodded happily, content that I wasn’t leaving anything important out. “Okay! We can go weapon shopping on my way to work.”

Now it was my turn to hum. “Work?” She’d been exhausted last night. I’d never had a retail job back on Earth Bet, but I knew how draining they could be. “Why don’t we look for a different job for you as well?”

Hestia blinked. “A different job?”

I nodded. “You’re wasted on a food stand, and they haven’t started paying you more even though you doubled the number of customers they get.”

Hestia blinked again. “Me?” She shook her head, twin tails whipping through the air. “No, no, no! It’s not me, it’s the delicious Jagamarukuns! Really, how can anyone resist them?” She crossed her arms, nodding. “They sell out every, every day, you know!”

I smiled fondly. “Oh, Hestia,” I patted her on the head. And she pouted at me, even as her cheeks went red. “You’re a goddess. Do you really think all of those people pick your stall because they like that food more than anything else Orario has to offer?”

“Yes?”

I laughed. “Never change, my goddess.” Brushing myself off, I stood. “You’re underselling yourself. I don’t mind if you want to work and help support our little family.” My eyes narrowed. “But I won’t allow you to be exploited by anyone.”

Hestia let out a little laugh. “Taylor… you’re kind of scary right now.”

My frown evaporated into another smile. “Sorry. I just remember what it was like.” 

“Somehow that smile is even more suspicious…” Hestia muttered.

I just laughed. “Still, will you do it, for me?” I smiled at her. “We can talk more on the way, but I really do think you could get a better job. One that can help support our Familia after it starts to grow.”

Hestia frowned at me for another moment, before nodding. “Okay!” I reached out and took her hand, and we left the church together.

Foundry street was perhaps a little farther from our house than the dungeon. But, due to yesterday’s windfall, I could afford to spend time on other things, even if it meant a few less hours delving. Better equipment was simply good sense, because a bit of extra money or not, we still had a long way to go before anyone so much as knew about the Hestia Familia.

I wanted to sell Canoe’s sword and armor as well. To big for me. While we went through various shops, I walked Hestia through a hypothetical job interview.

“Really, the important thing is selling yourself. It’s not lying, to put your good points on display,” I told her. “Especially when you know you’re going to do your best on the job no matter what.”

“Yes but…” Hestia shrugged her shoulders. “Is that really okay? If they ask what I’m bad at shouldn’t I tell them?”

I chuckled as we exited another shop, leaving a somewhat confused looking blacksmith behind us. “Of course not. They don’t actually want to know what you’re bad at, they just want to know if you have any glaring weaknesses that will prevent you from doing your job.” I smiled. “Of course, you have none.”

“O-of course I do. I’m—” 

“A hard worker, who never misses a single day,” I begin, counting her ‘charm points’ off on my fingers. “An incredibly cheerful and bubbly person that naturally entices people to buy things. A goddess that will attract the eye of potential customers far better than a billboard or any other form of advertisement. Really, you’re perfect for any job where you talk to customers.”

Hestia’s face was beat red by now. “Mou… Taylor, you can’t just go praising me like that! It’s my weakness.”

My smile grew. “I know, my goddess.”

Hestia—impossibly—blushed even harder.

“So,” I continued. “In Orario, there aren’t ‘job available’ signs or things like that, which means we’ll have to play things by ear. That’s why I asked that first smith if he needed a bit more help around the shop.”

“Oooooh!” Hestia nodded happily. “And that’s why we left after he said he could use another apprentice but that was it.”

“Exactly.” I poked Hestia in the shoulder. “These arms aren’t meant for smithing.” Not that I’d let her do something so exhausting the first place. The point of this was to get her a job that was less tiring.

Hestia humped. “I’ll have you know that Hephaestus is my best friend! I could do smithing if I wanted to.”

It was a playful rebuke, so I put on a playfully hurt expression as well. “Hephaestus… huh?” I looked away, eyes downcast. “I guess that means I’m just second place…”

“W-w-w-what?!” Hestia leapt in front of me, waving her arms frantically. “Of course not! You’re more than a friend! You’re my child, my only child! You’ll never be second place Taylor!”

I paused, but I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “My, to say something like that so openly…”

Hestia blinked, looking around. More than a few passersby were giving the two of us odd looks. Hestia blushed again. I only laughed. “Come on, let’s keep shopping. We haven’t found what we need yet.” I reached out, snagging Hestia’s hand again and pulling the unresisting goddess in my way. Lowering my voice, I added.

“Though, I’m happy to hear that I rank higher even than another goddess in your heart.”

Hestia sputtered, but didn’t contradict me. Perhaps because she didn’t have the air. 

I just smiled as I entered another shop, it was shaping up to be a very good day. 

I spotted a nice pickaxe on the wall and one sized for humans instead of dwarves no less. A good day indeed!

Maybe if the price was low enough, I’d be able to get some armor as well.

“Welcome!” A tanned woman came into the front of the store, point ears flicking on her head as she sized us up. “Looking for anything in particular, or something custom?”

“That pick there, actually.” 

She blinked in surprise. “Hoo, really?” The woman grinned. “Though it was going to be a waste! Everyone is always swords, swords, swords these days.”

“I did notice it looked a little big for a dwarf.” We shared a laugh.

“Does this place have what you’re looking for, Taylor?” Hestia asked. I nodded with a smile. 

“Why don’t you go try what we talked about.” I smiled, ruffling her hair again. “I’m sure you’ll find something better than that stand.”

“Okay! And say safe in the dungeon today!” 

“I always do.”

The smith chuckled again as Hestia practically skipped from the shop. “Oohh, what a cute little goddess.” She leaned forward onto the counter, bushing fox tail sweeping back and forth in the air. “And taking you out shopping too? My oh my.”

I rolled my eyes. “If you think you’re going to get a better deal by buttering me up, you’ve got another thing coming.”

She grinned. “I’ve got more tricks than that up my sleeve.” She held out a hand. “Izumi.”

I looked at her bare, and well-muscled arms, “That would be quite a trick, with the sleeves.” I shook her hand with my own. “Taylor.”

“Sure you want a pick axe?” She nodded to my stump. “They’re not easy to control one handed.” 

I shrugged. “I don’t have the finesse for swords.” I set down my bad, pulling out Canoe’s sword and armor. “Though, first, I wonder if you’d be willing to take these off my hands.”

She blinked once at the equipment, even as I rolled my shoulders.

Armor was heavy.

“Dare I ask where you got this?”

I gave a small smile. “Dungeon. Somebody thought a one-armed adventurer would be easy pickings.”

Izumi gave me a long look, and I let her. Not only was I telling the truth, but I’d bet that I was a better liar than anyone she’d had in this shop.

After a moment she blew out a breath, sending a lock of red hair fluttering before it settled back over her eyes. “Well, what happens in the dungeon stays in the dungeon, no?”

I shrugged. “Thanks. So, let’s talk numbers.”

Izumi grinned again, her ears perking up. “My favorite part of the day.”

“You might have picked the wrong profession then.”

She snorted. “Nah, you’re getting it wrong. All this,” she waved a hand at her store. “This is my life, and the molten metal is my blood. But selling my creations, knowing that someone else sees the same value in them that I do.” Her amber eyes flashed. “That’s what I live for.”

“The hard sell.” I nodded. “Got it.”

“You’re damn right!” Izumi crossed her arms. “To start with, all of this. Decent material, but I’d have to melt it all down anyway! I’ll give you the pickaxe for the lot and save us both some trouble.”

I smiled, my mind going back to memories of my dad haggling over fishing rods and boughs of fabric at the Lord Street market.

“I wasn’t born yesterday. Armor and a weapon for armor and a weapon seems more than fair to me. This sword has twice as much quality metal as that pickaxe does anyway.”

Izumi answered with a grin of her own, and the battle was on.

*~*~*

Hestia hummed happily as she came back to her home. The sun was dipping towards the evening. She thought she would be exhausted, after a whole day of ‘job hunting’ but for some reason she felt invigorated.

She was the goddess of Home and Hearth, so she never really understood the thrill of the hunt that Artemis talked about. But this kind of hunt was right up her alley! 

A steady source of income was important to maintaining a home after all. Just thinking about her success today was enough to make her inner goddess squeal in delight.

It also made her outer goddess squeal, but that was ‘cause she was all goddess! 

“I got so many new job offers, du du du~!” She hopped down the stairs to the basement alcove. “I got a lot of job offers, ru ru ru~!” She laughed to herself. “And Taylor said, ‘don’t be worried if you don’t get any offers today’” She dropped her voice, mimicking her daughter’s smooth alto, before breaking out into giggles again. “I did so much better than that. I got three offers!” She planted her hands on her hips proudly, already planning just how she was going to reveal this information to Taylor when she got back later tonight.

A knock came to the door to her alcove, and Hestia blinked. “Is that her? Why’d she knock?”

She walked back up the stairs with a pout—her feet were starting to hurt by now, after all! She opened the door with a smile, but it wasn’t Taylor.

Her eyes opened wide.

It wasn’t Taylor at all.

“Hephaestus!” Hestia jumped, hugging the red-haired goddess tightly. 

Hephaestus caught her before she could fall, patting Hestia on the head. “Hello, Hestia.” She paused. “Hestia…”

“Mmmm?” Hestia looked up from where she’d nuzzled into Hephaestus’s chest.

“I am married, you know.”

“Oh, right!” Hestia let go, landing daintily on her feet as one of Hephaestus’ children sniggered off to the side. “’Dite doesn’t mind though?”

Hephaestus just rolled her eye. “Can we come inside? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“We?” Hestia blinked, looking around her friend to see another woman who gave a cheeky grin. “Oh, and one of your children too! Of course!”

Hestia stepped back, opening the door wider. “Your Familia is always welcome at my hearth, Hephaestus.”

The other goddess smiled as the three of them made their way down the stairs. “And you always get so formal about that.”

Hestia pouted. “Acting like you aren’t all protective about your forge.”

Hephaestus coughed, settling on the couch. Hestia brought out her tea service and made three cups. After they were all settled. Hestia took a sip, smiling softly.

“Have some as well, Verma.” Hephaestus gestured for her daughter to take the cup. “Hestia makes the best tea.”

Well, it was one of her better blends, but that’s what having guests did to a girl!

Hestia smiled “So what didya want?”

Hephaestus drained her cup. “Oi, Hestia.” She stared at the diminutive goddess. “What’s this I hear about you going around looking for jobs?”

“Oh, I got tired of working at the Jagamarukun stand.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “I’ll miss the delicious, delicious Jagamarukuns… but for my child…”

Hephaestus let out an aborted laugh. “And so, you just decided to start talking to random shop keepers?”

Hestia tilted her head in confusion. “Yes?” She smiled brightly. “I got three job offers you know! My customer service experience and work ethic speak for themselves!” It was a line she’d gotten pretty good at saying too! She delivered it with a sparkling grin.

Hephaestus sighed. “Why didn’t you apply to work for me again?”

Hestia blinked. “Because I didn’t want to take advantage of you?”

The goddess of the forge placed her hand on her face. “Hestia, I want you to work for me.”

“You do?”

Hephaestus nodded. “I have a storefront in the tower, and you know how picky some of the gods can be about customer service.” She huffed. “Honestly, I was waiting for you to get fed up with the food stand job and come ask me for help again… but you never did.” Hestia blinked again. Was that a glimmer of respect in her friend’s eye?

“I sent Verma to look today as well.” She nodded towards her child. “That stand had barely a quarter of the normal customers.” Hephaestus shook her head. “So, I swallowed my pride, and decided to come ask you directly.”

Hestia blinked (a third time). For a moment she was tempted to ask where Hephaestus had heard about her own job hunt, but really, that was pretty obvious.

The only thing the gods loved more than the mortal world was their gossip.

“So, you’re saying I’m good at it?”

“It would appear so.” Hephaestus smiled faintly. “I didn’t want you to get snapped up by a competitor, either. So, what do you say?”

Hestia opened her mouth to say of course she’d love to work for her friend, but then she paused. 

Taylor had told her this as well, to not just jump at the first offer that came her way. If someone wanted her, they would probably be willing to offer more as well. This was something else that came true, especially after she had more than one job offer…

“Well, I’d like to.” Hestia smiled. “But I need to think about supporting my child as well, and I got some pretty good offers from some of the shops closer to the tower…”

Hephaestus huffed. “And you grew up so quickly as well.”

Hestia just smiled more. Taylor was the best child she could ask for. In the past, she’d heard thanks in the prayers of her faithful, for a family that made her followers better people. While she’d cherished those prayers and all of the others, it was only now she understood what they meant.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I can top any of their offers.” Hephaestus smiled. “I’ll make you an artifact.”

Hestia’s eyes widened. And she wasn’t the only one. Verma looked to her goddess in shock.

“A-an artifact?”

Hephaestus nodded. “For your child. She needs a new arm, doesn’t she?”

Hestia swayed. W-w-was this the ‘sellout’ thing that Taylor had muttered? Because Hestia felt like a Sellout all of a sudden.

She opened her mouth.

Then the door opened again. “Hestia, I’m home!”

“Taylor!” Hestia shot up to her feet. 

“I got a supporter today,” her child continued as she came down the steps. “She’s… interesting but—” Taylor paused when she caught sight of Hephaestus. 

At once her demeanor changed, becoming guarded as she came to stand behind Hestia. “Goddess.”

Hestia felt a little thrill go through her as she realized that, even if Taylor acknowledged other deities, she only ever called Hestia ‘my goddess.’

But that was secondary. “Taylor! Taylor! Taylor!” Hestia jumped in place. “This is my friend Hephaestus! She came to offer me a job.” She grabbed Taylor’s hand. “She says she’ll make you a new arm as payment for me working for her!”

Something sharp glinted in her child’s eyes. “Oh? She’s your friend.”

“Yep! She even let me stay with her for a while when I first descended. Hephaestus and I go way back!”

Hephaestus nodded. “I wouldn’t make this offer to just anyone, goddess or no.”

“Well.” Taylor shifted her gaze back to Hestia. “A prosthetic is a wonderful signing bonus.” She paused. “But you should ask for commission as well.”

Verma jolted. “Why you—” But Hephaestus silenced her with a wave of her hand.

The goddess of the forge leaned forward. “Are you here to bargain, then?”

Taylor met the woman’s gaze head on. “And what if I am?”

Hestia swallowed, glancing back and forth between her child and her friend. 

But then Hephaestus smiled. 

“Perfect.”