DanMachi: Cheat? What's a Cheat?

Chapter 47 - Hestia's Front Line - Knocking on Power's Door (POV Hestia)

I'm not running.

Running would be a sign of panic, and right now I can't afford to panic anymore.

The rage that exploded at Ganesha Familia's headquarters has cooled into a chunk of ice in my chest ice that's cold, sharp, and burning with determination.

My steady steps carry me across Orario's industrial district toward the only place I can think of: Hephaestus's workshop.

The air around here is hot and smells like charcoal and forged metal.

The rhythmic clanging of hammers echoes from every direction, a symphony of hard work that never stops.

I walk in without knocking, passing several of her Familia members who stare at me in confusion some recognize me, others whisper about

"the goddess whose member..."

but I don't care.

Their stares don't mean anything anymore.

What matters is reaching Hephaestus's private workshop.

There, my friend is standing in front of a huge worktable covered with weapon blueprints and intricate jewelry designs.

Her fiery red hair is a mess.

Her skilled hands are carving fine details on a gleaming short blade.

"Hestia? I'm busy right now—" she greets without looking up, her voice flat as usual.

But her sentence cuts off when she finally lifts her head and sees my face.

Her sharp eyes immediately read everything my messy hair, my swollen eyes, the way I'm standing tensely like I'm ready to either fight or shatter into pieces.

She carefully sets down her tools and turns to face me fully.

"What's wrong? You look like you've been rolling around in the dirt."

"Kaen-kun was arrested," I say directly, my voice hoarse.

"They're accusing him of doing the most horrible thing. They threw him in jail like... like some street criminal."

Hephaestus lets out a long sigh, massaging the bridge of her nose with a gesture I know she does that when facing big problems.

"I already heard. The news is spreading like wildfire in dry season. The whole city's talking about it."

"IT'S A LIE, HEPHAESTUS!" I step forward, my hands clenched tight.

"You've known me for hundreds of years in Tenkai! I know my child better than anyone! He would never NEVER do something like that!"

My red eyes start glowing, and I feel my divine aura leaking a little from my body.

Some of the metal tools on the table start vibrating softly.

"Ganesha should be able to see it!" I continue with my voice getting higher.

"He's a god! Just have him ask Kaen-kun, he'll know Kaen-kun isn't lying! Problem solved! It's that simple, right?!"

Hephaestus looks at me with a complex expression there's sympathy, there's understanding, but there's also something heavier.

She walks toward me with calm steps.

"Hestia, sit down. Take a breath. And listen to me carefully because this isn't—absolutely isn't that simple."

"What's not simple?!" I demand, but I follow her advice and sit in the nearest wooden chair.

"We're gods! We can see the truth behind lies! We have the ability to—"

"Can we?" Hephaestus cuts in calmly, a simple question that makes me fall silent.

"Really? Can we just do that so easily?"

She pulls up another chair and sits facing me, her sharp eyes staring directly into mine.

"Listen, Hestia. First of all, 'sensing lies' isn't some kind of magic ability we can just use on anyone whenever we feel like it."

She pauses for a moment, letting her words sink into my still-churning mind.

"Ganesha doesn't have that kind of bond with Kaen. Not at all, and he doesn't want to get involved either especially now that rumors are spreading."

"But—"

"I'm not done," Hephaestus says with a firmer tone.

"Second, and this is the most important part, we're now in Gekai. The mortal world. The law here doesn't run on divine instinct or godly feelings. The law here runs on visible evidence, audible testimony, and clear procedures."

She stands and starts pacing, her hands moving as she speaks—her habit when explaining something complex.

"There are more than a dozen eyewitnesses who claim they saw your child attack a girl. There's a victim crying with clear grip marks on her neck. There's a coherent story from the victim about what happened. Now imagine if Ganesha or any god came and said, 'I don't care about all that physical evidence, I don't care about your testimonies, my divine instinct says he's innocent, so he goes free.'"

Hephaestus stops and looks directly at me.

"What would happen, Hestia?"

I'm starting to understand where this conversation is heading, and a cold feeling starts creeping through my stomach.

"The entire justice system we've worked so hard to build in Orario would collapse," she continues with an increasingly serious voice.

"The mortals would completely lose faith in us. They'd see us as arbitrary tyrants who can change the law on a whim based on just 'feelings.' Orario would fall into chaos. And eventually, the Guild would force us to leave Orario in other words, exile."

Each of her words hits like a hammer to my chest.

My anger starts wavering, replaced by cold and suffocating despair.

"So..." my voice starts trembling again.

"So there's nothing I can do? Just because there are a bunch of idiots who saw wrong—or maybe deliberately lied my child has to rot in jail for a crime he never committed?"

Hephaestus walks over to me and places her warm hand on my shoulder.

That touch is a little comforting, but it doesn't take away the pain in my heart.

"This is way more complicated than just 'people who saw wrong,' Hestia. There's one more crucial thing you need to know, and this will change the entire game."

Her tone becomes more careful, more serious, as if she's about to tell me a dangerous secret.

"The victim... that waitress girl, Syr Flova. She works at the Hostess of Fertility."

I frown.

"So what? That's just a regular bar where adventurers like to drink, right?"

"No," Hephaestus says, and there's something in her tone that immediately puts me on alert.

"It's absolutely not a regular bar. The bar's owner, who they call Mama Mia... her real name is Mia Grand. She's a former Level 6 adventurer captain from Freya Familia."

My heart stops beating for a moment.

"That bar, and everyone in it every waitress, every regular customer, even the janitor are unofficially under absolute protection from Freya," Hephaestus continues with an increasingly low voice.

"You know what that means, right Hestia?"

My blood feels like it's freezing in my veins.

Freya.

The goddess of beauty and love who's also the most terrifying war goddess in Orario.

"Oh no..." I whisper, my voice barely audible.

"Accusing that waitress girl of lying," Hephaestus continues with an increasingly grim tone,

"accusing her of deliberately framing your child, is the same as declaring that Freya's inner circle has conspired to bring down your Familia member. You're no longer just fighting Ganesha Familia who's bound by law and procedures. You're indirectly challenging the strongest Familia in Orario."

She sits again in front of me, her eyes staring directly into mine with an intensity that makes me unable to look away.

"This isn't about right or wrong anymore, Hestia. This isn't about justice or truth. This is top-level god politics. This is a war that could destroy not just you and your child, but anyone who dares to help you."

My legs feel so weak.

I sink deeper into the chair, covering my face with both hands.

The world feels like it's collapsing around me.

Kaen-kun wasn't just framed.

He was framed by the most terrifying power in this city.

A power that makes even other gods think twice before acting.

"So... so this is it?" I whisper desperately, my voice muffled by my palms.

"There's no hope at all? I have to give up and let my child be destroyed by their dirty games?"

"I never said you should give up."

Hephaestus's voice comes from above me, and there's something in her tone that makes me lift my head.

Her sharp eyes look at me, not with pity or empty sympathy, but with a burning fighting spirit.

"I said you can't fight them as a goddess relying on divine authority. So, fight them as a mortal. Fight them with their own rules."

"What do you mean?"

Hephaestus walks to a large iron cabinet in the corner of the workshop, opening it with a key she takes from her apron pocket.

From inside the cabinet, she takes out a leather pouch that looks extremely heavy, then walks back and tosses it onto the worktable in front of me.

*clink!*

The sound of clashing gold coins fills the workshop's silence.

The pouch opens slightly, and I can see the gleam of Valis inside more than I've ever seen in my entire life.

"If they used mortal evidence to frame him, then you need to find stronger mortal evidence to free him," Hephaestus says with a firm and confident tone.

"But Hephaestus, I can't accept—"

"This isn't charity," she cuts in quickly.

"This is an investment. My investment in your familia, and an investment in our friendship."

She pulls the chair again and sits, this time closer to me.

"Listen carefully. I can't get directly involved. If Hephaestus Familia moves officially to help this case, Freya will see it as a direct challenge from another high-level Familia. That'll trigger an escalation that ends in war between gods. And in a war like that, your child would actually become the first casualty."

I nod slowly, starting to understand the strategy she's offering.

"But as an individual, I can give you resources to fight in a smart way," she continues while pointing at that money pouch.

"Use this. Hire the best informants in the citypeople who know how to dig up secrets without leaving traces. Pay retired adventurers to do secret investigations. People who have skills, experience, and most importantly, aren't afraid of big reputations."

Hephaestus stands and starts pacing again, this time with more intense energy.

"Look for any gap, however small, in their story. Look for inconsistencies in testimonies. Find out where the timeline oddities are. Investigate that girl's background who she really is, where she came from, whether she has hidden motives."

She stops and looks at me with gleaming eyes.

"And most importantly—find out who else was around the incident location before the commotion happened. Who might have planned this. Who had access to arrange that 'coincidence.'"

For the first time since hearing the bad news about Kaen-kun, I feel a real glimmer of hope.

Not empty hope or desperate prayers, but hope based on a concrete plan.

"Fight their dirty game with a smarter game," Hephaestus continues with a thin smile sharp as a blade.

"If they want to play politics, give them politics. If they want to play intrigue, give them more complex intrigue."

I stare at the pile of Valis that's probably enough to buy a luxury mansion in Orario's best district, then look back at my friend's face.

Such overwhelming gratitude makes my throat choke up.

But there's something in Hephaestus's expression that lets me know this isn't a free gift.

"What's the condition?" I ask directly.

Hephaestus smiles not a happy smile, but the smile of someone who appreciates another person's intelligence.

"You really are my best friend," she says with a lighter tone.

"Yes, there's a condition. A heavy one."

She sits again, this time with a very serious posture.

"If you use this money, Hephaestus Familia's name must not be dragged into this at all. Officially, I never gave any help whatsoever. If anyone asks, you got the funds from 'personal savings' or 'a loan from an unknown source.' Understand?"

I nod.

"Second," she continues with an increasingly serious tone,

"if your investigation fails if the evidence shows your child is actually guilty, or if you can't prove conspiracy then you have to accept the results. No revenge attacks. No attempts to 'save' him through violence. You accept the results and move on."

"But—"

"No buts, Hestia," she cuts in firmly.

"If you break this agreement, if you cause trouble that drags my name into it, then not only will our friendship end. I will officially declare that Hephaestus Familia considers Hestia Familia a threat and will act accordingly."

That threat is delivered in a very calm tone, but that's exactly what makes it more frightening.

This isn't playing around. This is real risk.

"And third," Hephaestus continues, "whatever you find in this investigation—whatever secrets are revealed, whatever conspiracies are exposed you have to be ready to face the consequences. If this really is Freya's or her circle's doing, then you've declared war against the most dangerous power in Orario. There's no turning back after that."

I look at that money pouch again.

A pile of Valis that could change everything, but could also destroy everything if I make the wrong move.

However, when I imagine Kaen-kun's face smiling at me, when I remember how he hugs me every night like a little child afraid of losing his mother, my choice is already clear.

I stand and take that money pouch.

It feels heavy not just because of its contents, but because of the responsibility, hope, and risk contained within it.

"I agree to all your conditions," I say with a voice that no longer trembles from despair, but from burning determination.

"And I promise, Hephaestus. I won't fight them as a goddess relying on empty authority. I'll destroy their lies with their own methods evidence by evidence, fact by fact."

Hephaestus stands and looks at me with an expression that's a mixture of pride and worry.

"Good. Now you sound like someone who can win," she says with a thin smile.

"But remember, Hestia. Once you start down this path, there's no turning back. You'll be facing very dangerous enemies who've been playing this game much longer than you."

"I know," I answer while tying the money pouch to my waist.

"But they made one fatal mistake."

"What's that?"

I look directly into Hephaestus's eyes, and for the first time since this morning, I feel like the real goddess Hestia not afraid, not desperate, but angry with controlled and deadly rage.

"They touched my family."