After watching Artemis depart, Su Mo returned to his room. By then, Hestia was already fast asleep—lying sprawled ungracefully on the floor. With no other choice, Su Mo tidied up a little and gently carried the lazy goddess to the bed.
The night passed peacefully.
The next morning, a groggy Hestia stirred awake, her head throbbing slightly. "Ughhh…" she groaned, rubbing her eyes open. She saw Su Mo calmly brewing tea at the table.
"Su Mo? Where's Artemis?" she asked, her voice still drowsy.
"She left last night," Su Mo replied, handing her a freshly steeped cup of tea. "You were dead drunk—I couldn't very well ask her to stay."
"Thanks…" Hestia took the tea obediently and sipped it. But after a moment, her expression suddenly shifted, a flicker of panic in her eyes.
"Wait—Su Mo! When exactly did you come back last night? I didn't say anything… weird, did I?"
Although her memory was fuzzy, Hestia still recalled some of the things she'd said to Artemis the night before. Even if she was a goddess, she still had a sense of shame. If Su Mo had heard her confessions… she'd be so embarrassed she could die on the spot! Her image as a dignified goddess would completely collapse!
Luckily, Su Mo's reply calmed her down.
"I came back pretty late," he said with a shake of his head. "By then, you were already half-asleep. Lady Artemis said her goodbyes and left soon after."
"She also asked me to tell you—next time, you'll meet again and catch up properly."
"Phew…"
Hestia breathed a long sigh of relief.
Thank goodness he didn't hear it! Her divine dignity was safe—for now.
"Artemis… she's always traveling outside Orario. Feels like the next time we see each other will be at least six months from now."
Thinking about the long wait ahead, Hestia couldn't help but feel a little downcast. But then again, Artemis had always been like that—steadfast, reliable, and always on the move. Hestia had long grown used to it.
Just as she was about to happily get out of bed, Su Mo's voice suddenly rang out behind her.
"By the way," he said, feigning nonchalance, "I think a certain goddess might've said she'll love Su Mo forever. That kind of declaration… seems like there's no way out now but marriage!"
"Eh—EH?!"
The blue-ribbon goddess let out a strangled yelp, equal parts shy and horrified.
"So you did hear everything after all!" she cried, cheeks flushed and eyes shimmering with unshed tears as she stared at Su Mo in disbelief. Her expression was painfully adorable.
That was it—her goddess dignity was officially gone.
Face red, Hestia covered her face with both hands, too embarrassed to show herself again.
...
...
While Su Mo was teasing his beloved goddess in the world of Danmachi, elsewhere, in the world of Teyvat…
Having just exited the Mist Realm, Su Mo felt utterly invigorated.
After a full month of wandering, he had returned to find himself nearly invincible from the start—a stroke of luck so ridiculous, it was almost comical.
He stood up from beside the campfire, gazing off into the distant horizon.
"What's wrong?" Paimon floated up beside him, following his gaze. "Is there something out there?"
"Can't you hear it?" Su Mo asked with dramatic flair. "The divine murmur of the wind!"
"Hmm??"
Paimon scratched her head and closed her eyes, trying to listen—but she didn't hear anything out of the ordinary.
"There's no wind right now… what are you talking about?" she said, looking thoroughly confused.
"I mean to say…"
Su Mo smiled faintly, spreading out his right hand before suddenly clenching it into a tight fist.
"I think I've awakened the power that's been sleeping inside me all along!"
"Awakened power?" Paimon blinked.
She was just about to say she didn't feel anything unusual—when—
BOOM!
A thunderclap split the sky.
At the same time—
WHOOSH!
The tranquil wind suddenly erupted into a furious storm, coalescing into a towering cyclone before their very eyes.
"Wuuuummmm—!"
The skies darkened. Thunder rolled across the heavens, lightning streaked down, dyeing the windstorm in a brilliant azure hue.
In mere seconds, the entire weather had transformed.
And in the midst of that awe-inspiring tempest stood Su Mo, bathed in lightning and storm—like a god descended from the heavens.
"Su Mo… what is this?" came a soft voice from behind.
It was Lumine, her eyes wide in astonishment as she walked forward, her usual simple expression replaced by one of unmasked awe.
"Waaahhh!!"
Paimon also let out a loud, startled cry, her face a picture of utter shock.
"S-Su Mo, what just happened to you?!"
"Aren't you just like me—a complete pushover who can't even beat a wild boar? How did you suddenly—?!"
Both Lumine and Paimon were dumbfounded by the sudden transformation in Su Mo. After all, the three of them had been traveling together for over a month now. During that time, both Lumine and Paimon had come to know Su Mo's combat capabilities—or lack thereof—quite well.
To put it bluntly, if Paimon's fighting power was one-fifth that of a wild boar, then Su Mo's strength would barely measure up to three-fifths of a wild boar… and that was only with a weapon in hand. There was simply no way he could be stronger than that.
And yet now, the strength he displayed couldn't be measured in wild boars or Hilichurls anymore. From where they stood, it even felt like Su Mo's power could rival that of the gods themselves. The leap in strength was so overwhelming that they couldn't help but be stunned.
Seeing their reactions, Su Mo smiled faintly and dismissed the wind and thunder that had filled the sky moments earlier. In just a few seconds, the once darkened and tempestuous sky returned to normal.
Watching this unfold, Lumine and Paimon finally accepted the truth: the sudden change in the weather had, without a doubt, been Su Mo's doing.
"I mentioned this before, didn't I? Like you, Lumine, I'm also a traveler from another world," Su Mo said calmly.
"Mm, I remember that," Lumine nodded. Back when she had fished him out of the sea, Su Mo had already confessed to being a fellow otherworlder. He'd told her the truth not just because she seemed trustworthy, but also because fabricating an identity in this world was far too troublesome—especially when there was no reasonable way to explain why he'd been drifting in the ocean. Since Lumine herself was also a traveler, admitting his true origins didn't just save him the hassle—it also helped build a bond between them.
"For some reason, after arriving in this world, my power and part of my memory seem to have been sealed," Su Mo went on. "Until just now, I really did have the combat ability of an ordinary person. But I've just awakened a portion of my strength again."
He fabricated the story on the spot with practiced ease. It might have sounded far-fetched to anyone else, but to Lumine, it was surprisingly convincing.
After all—"Your powers and memories were sealed too!" Lumine exclaimed, eyes wide with excitement. "Su Mo, your situation is exactly the same as mine! I've lost part of my memory, and I can't access my true strength either!"
She used to be someone who could go toe-to-toe with gods, but now? Now she was barely strong enough to bully wild boars and Hilichurls. Compared to her, Su Mo had simply lost even more power—so much so that he had been utterly helpless until now. But their conditions were eerily similar.
Unlike her, Su Mo had retained none of his strength—not even a little. That realization made Lumine fully believe what he was saying. And it got her thinking.
"My powers were sealed after I encountered that strange god," she said, her expression turning serious. "If you're the same, could it be that you were targeted by the same deity too?"
It felt like the logical conclusion—how else could their experiences be so alike?
But Su Mo immediately shook his head. "I don't remember anything like that."
He wasn't about to tell a lie that might come back to bite him later. Let others do the guesswork and fill in the blanks with their own theories. For example—
"If you just don't remember, then maybe you did fight that god too, but forgot about it afterward?" Paimon suggested thoughtfully.
Now that was a very convenient and considerate guess. When someone's missing memories were involved, all sorts of inconsistencies could be swept neatly under the rug.
"Exactly," Lumine nodded. "If the memory was erased, it wouldn't be surprising at all."
"Looks like our goals are aligned, Su Mo!" she said cheerfully. "To figure out what happened to us, we'll both need to track down that god."
In this strange world, Lumine had often felt the loneliness of being on her own. Thankfully, she had met Su Mo and Paimon. Whether it was their companionship on the road or their emotional support, both had become indispensable to her.
She had once worried that once they reached a human settlement, Su Mo might say his goodbyes and part ways with her. After all, wandering the wilds was dangerous and exhausting, and Su Mo never really had a reason to follow her on her journey to find the Seven Archons.
But now, it seemed they shared the same goal—they both needed to search for the gods. That meant there was no need for them to go their separate ways. And that made Lumine genuinely happy.
"Right," Su Mo nodded with a smile. "If we can find that god, we'll be able to answer a lot of questions."
As he said that, his gaze drifted toward Paimon. After all, the mysterious god who had attacked them at the very start bore a suspicious resemblance to Paimon—right down to the white hair and strange clothing.