Chapter 446 - Aliases (1/2)
Hestia got home with her soul almost coming out of her body, ”...I'm home...”
Seeing her like this, Kisuke, Yoruichi, Kuroka, and Medusa already knew what happened. However, they still didn't know how bad it was, ”Welcome home, Hestia-sama~! Did you have your dinner?”
”...I had a meal with Hephaestus.” Hestia then slowly walked towards the four of them and immediately apologized, ”I'm so sorry! I couldn't get any acceptable ones!”
Kisuke and Yoruichi's smiles became cold, however, they didn't show it to Hestia. Depending on those Aliases, especially their Aliases, the whole Orario might not have a wink of sleep tonight.
”Don't worry, Hestia-sama~! We'll accept whatever nickname they gave us. After all, all Adventurers of Level 2 and above have one, right?” Kisuke consoled Hestia, but he would regret his words later.
Hestia's eyes swam around as she knew how bad it was, especially Kisuke's Alias, ”Umm... Do you want to hear it now? Or wait for the Guild to announce it tomorrow?”
”Let's go to the living room and hear it there~!” Kisuke urged everyone and Medusa separated from them to prepare some tea and snacks.
Hestia stayed quiet until she was served tea. She knew that Kisuke and the rest were somehow different from the rest of the children and they would understand how painful those nicknames are. Their understanding was to the point that they would laugh behind the back of certain Adventurers with really cringy names.
After she drank her tea, Hestia sat straight up and cleared her throat, ”Ehem... As you know, everyone's Aliases were already decided and there's no way to change it until you gain another level. So it's useless to protest about it if you are not satisfied.”
”We understand. Please tell us.”
Hestia gritted her teeth and spoke, ”The first ones to be decided were Koneko-kun and Kuroka-kun...”
Kuroka perked her ears up and was quite happy that they were decided first as that would mean that they used the same theme for both of the sisters, ”Let's hear it, nya~!”
”Ehem... Well... Koneko-kun got White Flames of Dawn while Kuroka-kun got Black Flames of Twi...light...” At the end of her sentence, Hestia's voice started trailing off.
Kuroka froze. Everyone froze. They didn't expect that it was this bad and a few seconds later, Kisuke and Yoruichi started laughing out loud, ”Fuhahahaha! That's great, isn't it, Black Flames of Twilight-san~?”
”Don't laugh, nya! We haven't heard yours yet! For all we know, it might be worse than that, nya!” Kuroka immediately protested.
”Now, now. Don't get too worked up, Black Flames-san. To all others, this is a great and prestigious title~.” Yoruichi patted her shoulder in mock consolation.
Kuroka knew that it was useless to argue with them as they would take every chance they got to mess with someone. She also imagined what would happen if her comrades from her homeworld were to hear about her 'prestigious title' and she could easily see Bikou laughing his ass off and Vali nodding in agreement. Shaking her head, she urged Hestia to continue, ”Whatever, nya! Let's hear the rest! Let's see if you're still laughing after Hestia-sama finishes, nya!”
Hearing that, Hestia flinched and that reaction of hers gave some worry to both Kisuke and Yoruichi, 'It shouldn't be that bad, right?' Both of them thought and wished. Although they were experienced warriors, and would not bat an eye to whatever those around them think of them, there's really just something different about a painful title, yet it was seen as something great by the others.
”N-next is Aika-kun who got Flashy Knight Champion and Sona who got Magical Girl★Azure...” Hestia wrote their Aliases on the paper.
Kisuke and Yoruichi both wanted to laugh, especially at Sona's very coincidental nickname which her big sister would very much adore However, the worry and bad feeling they were getting overtook their desire to make fun of the absentees.
Hestia, noting their silence, continued, ”Medusa-kun got the title of 'Tiny Maid Warrior' because of her usual attire...”
”Yoruichi-kun got the title 'Void Shadow Stalker'...”
Yoruichi's brows twitched as she heard hers. The desire to bury those who decided her title increased inside her. However, she didn't interrupt Hestia as she had a weird feeling that the next and last Alias would be the most cringy.
Kisuke, on the other hand, really wanted to laugh at their titles, especially after seeing Yoruichi's face. But the grim feeling didn't decrease but instead, it multiplied as they waited for Hestia to reveal his own title. He wanted some relief, however, Hestia's next words chopped all hope he had, ”Uhhmmm... You see... Kisuke-kun's title is a bit special and was decided by the Gods with great vigor after reading a certain detail in the report about you...”
”And that is?” Kisuke asked.
”...Every child from the Hestia Familia is your lover...”