117 Chapter 117 – The secret of the Goddesses

"How does it feel to kill a monster again?" In the 10th floor of the dungeon, Aston watched as Naaza killed a monster with an arrow and asked with a smile.

"It feels really good, thank you, Aston-san." Naaza smiled slightly, putting away her bow and arrow, and thanked Aston with a bow.

Naaza's mental trauma was quite easy to heal. The reason she feared entering the dungeon and facing monsters again was due to the trauma of losing an arm to a monster, which had deeply scared her. However, when she faced weaker monsters and her own strength was increasing, especially with a very strong adventurer by her side, her fear of monsters gradually disappeared.

Indeed, Aston had Naaza sign a Faction Card. After Tiona signed the Faction Card, Aston still had three slots left in his Faction Card. In the afternoon, one of these slots was given to Tione, and now, one of the remaining two was given to Naaza, his disciple.

Although Naaza was part of Miach's Familia, she was also Aston's disciple, respectful and loyal to him. As long as she could sign the Faction Card, Naaza would also be a member of Aston's forces, not an outsider, so there was no difference. Furthermore, Aston was also inclined to help Miach rise again, considering Miach's Familia was an ally of the Hestia Familia.

After signing the Faction Card, every time Naaza killed a monster, she could feel a slight change in her physique. This change was what quickly cured her psychological trauma. Aston took Naaza from the first to the tenth floor, allowing her to gradually readjust to the presence of monsters. After a few hours of fighting from the first to the tenth floor, Naaza was no longer afraid of monsters. 

Of course, the most important factor was the increase in strength, which greatly reduced Naaza's fear of monsters. With continuous improvement in her abilities, how could Naaza still be afraid of monsters? To her, monsters had become a source of growth, and she wished to encounter more monsters, more opportunities for growth.

"Time to go back, Hestia and Miach will start worrying if it gets any later," Aston reminded with a nod.

"Yes, Aston-san," Naaza replied with a nod, her eyes full of understanding.

"You're finally back," Hestia exclaimed excitedly as Aston entered the living room of the Hestia Familia residence. Aston quickly reached out to catch Hestia as she leaped towards him.

Holding Hestia in his arms warmed Aston's heart. Since their intimate encounter, Aston found it harder to resist such closeness. Fortunately, their relationship had officially progressed since that night. 

Without hesitation, Aston embraced Hestia's curvy form, even giving her a playful squeeze, which made her blush deeply.

"Aston, I'll give you more later, but there's something important now," Hestia said, her face slightly red as she buried it in Aston's chest.

"The war game has been successfully signed?" Aston asked, settling Hestia on the sofa before sitting down.

"Yes, it's all set. You should have seen Apollo's face; he looked so foolishly confident," Hestia chuckled while sitting in Aston's lap. She couldn't help but laugh, recalling Apollo's smugness, acting as if he had already won a great advantage. She wondered if Apollo would be able to maintain that smug expression after his Familia got crushed in the war game three days later.

"What about the format, time, and place of the war game?" Aston asked, clearly understanding why Hestia was so amused. He, too, felt like laughing when he thought about the upcoming events. Even without his involvement, Hestia's Familia members like Reed were more than enough to crush Apollo's Familia. What could Apollo's Familia possibly use to fight against Hestia's? Their defeat would turn Apollo into a laughingstock.

Hestia explained the details of the war game without any hesitation...

"I see, I've got it."

"Hestia, when the time comes, just make the request to send Apollo back to heaven," Aston suggested after hearing about the war game, nodding slightly.

"Ah, don't worry, I can't stand that guy either," Hestia replied seriously. "Instead of letting him disturb the children on the surface, it's better to send him back to heaven to sleep."

"Ah."

"Now, Hestia, it's getting late. We should rest," Aston said softly, looking at Hestia with a gentle expression.

Hestia's serious expression faded away, and her cheeks, which had just recovered from blushing, reddened again. She nodded shyly in agreement.

Seeing this, Aston scooped Hestia up in a princess carry and headed towards his room.

Hestia's abilities were much stronger than those of the sisters, Tiona and Tione. Even after descending to the surface and sealing her divine powers, she was no ordinary being. Having existed for hundreds of millions of years, her accumulated experience was beyond any mortal's comparison. Once unleashed, it was unstoppable.

That night, Aston found himself overwhelmed by Hestia.

Even Aston's robust physique was no match for her. Incidentally, Hestia revealed a secret to Aston: many goddesses in heaven were like her. Only she, Artemis, and Athena were known as the three virgin goddesses due to their divine duties and disinterest in men. This didn't mean they were the only pure goddesses in heaven.

Many goddesses, like Hestia, retained their purity. Hephaestus and Demeter were similar, while Loki was a different case. Loki wasn't conservative; no male god dared approach her – after all, peace is hard to maintain.

***

Enjoyed the chapters? Read 20 chapters ahead on Patreon!

PATREON.COM/METARLN

600 power stones = 1 extra chapter