Chapter 64 – Hestia’s worry

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By the time they returned from the dungeon, it was already night, with stars twinkling in the sky.

There was no helping it; even though they hurried, returning from the deeper floors took several hours.

Because it was so late, they didn't exchange their valis and parted ways at a crossroads after reaching the surface, each heading home.

Having separated from the group, Aston only took about ten minutes to return to his base.

Because of his late return, Hestia was obviously worried about his safety. She didn't go into the abandoned church but sat outside on a large stone, looking gloomy and upset.

Upon seeing Aston's figure, Hestia's eyes lit up instantly. She jumped off the stone and ran towards him. When she was about two meters away from him, she leaped up and clung to Aston.

"Aston, you're finally back. I was so worried!" Hestia was very excited.

Although she could feel Aston's falna and knew he was alright, this was the first time he had come back so late since becoming her Familia member, which made Hestia understandably worried.

After all, being alive and being injured are two different things.

Seeing Hestia's worried expression, Aston smiled slightly and gently stroked her head, offering simple words of comfort.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Though just a word of comfort, it was very effective.

At least Hestia's trembling body had calmed down by now.

Seeing Hestia relaxed, Aston took her hand and walked towards the entrance of the church.

"Have you eaten?" Aston asked gently, seating Hestia on the sofa.

"Not yet," Hestia replied, shaking her head.

She had been too worried about Aston to eat, not even bothering to cook.

"Is that so? Wait a bit, I'll make something." Hearing her reply, Aston nodded, quickly changed his outfit with Requip magic, donned an apron, and headed to the kitchen.

Hestia didn't stop him. Leaning forward with her elbows on the coffee table, she watched Aston in the kitchen, a gentle curve on her lips, lost in thought.

Earlier, when Aston hadn't returned by evening, she was worried to death. But now, seeing him busy in the kitchen, Hestia felt incredibly reassured.

Watching Aston bustling about, Hestia felt it was a kind of enjoyment.

Soon, half an hour passed, and a delicious dinner was ready, all prepared by Aston.

"To be honest, the food you make, Aston, is nothing like what I've seen in books, but it's very delicious. I'm really lucky to have met you," Hestia said with joy, her cheeks bulging.

Sitting opposite her, Aston smiled slightly.

It's normal that she hadn't eaten this kind of food before.

Although he could also cook Western-style, which is the mainstream cuisine in this world, Aston didn't prefer it. Instead, he liked to cook dishes from cuisine of his previous life.

Aston is skilled in various cuisines. He prefers the food from his previous life over the mainstream cuisine of this world. The dishes of this world couldn't compare to those of his previous life. Why settle for less when he had access to better?

"Did anything happen in Orario these past few days?" Aston asked Hestia while eating dinner. It was a routine inquiry.

Aston would report his adventures in the dungeon to Hestia after returning, to alleviate her worries. He would also ask Hestia about any special events that had occurred on the surface.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes! Loki went around visiting more than a dozen Familias within two days, and now the whole of Orario is buzzing about it," Hestia excitedly relayed the recent events.

"But the stir caused by Loki was taken over by Miach."

"You wouldn't believe it, but Miach's shop has been packed these days, constantly visited by children from the lower world and other deities." Hestia was thrilled to discuss recent happenings in Orario.

Due to Miach's newfound fame, his shop was bustling, and thus, the potions made by Aston were sold out. Aston had turned all the ingredients provided by Hephaestus into potions, which Hestia then sent to Miach's shop to be sold. In the past two days, she had made around five million valis, sharing the rest with Miach.

"Haha, that sounds like something Loki would do." Aston was somewhat surprised to hear about Loki's actions but found it fitting with her personality.

"Yep, she's been very smug lately." Hestia nodded repeatedly, then inquired about Aston's adventures: "By the way, how was your adventure in the dungeon these past two days?"

Aston didn't conceal anything and narrated his recent dungeon experiences to Hestia.

"You've already reached the strength of a first-class adventurer and even defeated the Dungeon's Lone King Udaeus with the children of the Loki and Astraea Familias!"

"However, considering your status's leveling pattern, it's not too surprising." Hestia was genuinely shocked to hear that Aston had attained first-class adventurer strength and had teamed up with Ais and others to defeat Udaeus. But then, realizing the peculiar nature of Aston's status and its exceptional leveling breakthroughs, surpassing SS and SSS to reach the so-called EX level, she felt it made sense.

Given Aston's unique grace and leveling skills, it was highly plausible for him to possess the combat power of a Lv.5 adventurer at Lv.3.

Thinking about this, Hestia eagerly wanted to update Aston's status.

Under Hestia's urging, the dinner, filled with her lavish praises, ended quickly, and Aston found himself seated on the sofa by Hestia.

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