"Haruhime is someone I saved on the way here. Hestia, don't pick on her."
Takumi rapped Hestia lightly on the head, signaling her to rein in that hostile stare. After he explained Haruhime's background, Hestia still wore a thoroughly jealous pout. She had only just—just—welcomed Takumi into her Familia, and not even a full day later he came home with a fox girl in tow. If this was how things went after a day, she didn't dare imagine a few days from now!
When she pressed for details and learned Takumi had gone into the Dungeon, met Ais, and then helped the Astraea Familia suppress the Dark Faction, Hestia's chest swelled with pride… and her sense of crisis spiked to the max. Her child was too outstanding—so outstanding she couldn't hide him even if she tried.
Stack a useless goddess like her against the other deities, and she'd be the one dragging the average down into the sewers. If any other goddess tried to steal him away, Hestia honestly didn't know how she could stop it. The more she thought about it, the closer she was to tears—especially with that tail-wagging fox girl in front of her chirping "Takumi-sama" every other breath. Hestia felt both aggrieved and panicky.
As soon as Takumi finished the plate of jagamarukun, Hestia scooted right up.
"Takumi-kun, lie down and let me check your Status. I'll update your ability scores."
"Uh… actually, I can—"
He hadn't finished before Hestia's eyes brimmed pitifully. "Uu-uu~ Are you going to take away the one last thing I'm useful for as a goddess too?!"
"Ah… okay."
Faced with Hestia this adorably wronged, Takumi could only give in. If he refused here, she really would bawl.
Once he obediently stretched out, Hestia wasn't obedient—she flipped his shirt up without ceremony.
"Heh-heh-heh~~ I didn't get to really feel last time. Mmm~ Takumi-kun, your muscle lines are so good—so hard. What a dependable body~"
Straddling his back like a bona fide succubus, she muttered her appraisal under her breath. Haruhime peeked around and nodded earnestly.
"Lady Kami-sama is right—Takumi-sama's back truly puts one at ease."
As she said it, her cheeks deepened to crimson; in her mind replayed a certain scene—she had, it seemed, raked his back rather hard earlier. Seeing him now, everything looked… fine.
"Hmph…"
Catching Haruhime echoing her, Hestia's expression soured. Their cozy little two-person world now had a fox parked in it—of course it felt different! And the thought that this fox might join her Familia only made Hestia more unwilling. In her heart, one Takumi was plenty.
With that possessive thought, Hestia let a drop of god's blood fall onto his back. The status panel bloomed again, and the numbers made Hestia's eyes go round.
[Takumi]
[Level: LV.1]
[Strength: SSS]
[Endurance: SSS]
[Dexterity: SSS]
[Agility: SSS]
[Magic: SSS]
Beyond the SSS ranks, the rest had degraded into garbled symbols. The figures were still moving, but no concrete values would display.
"Uh… this is way beyond common sense."
Rubbing her temple, Hestia felt a headache coming on. All that Familia coursework she'd crammed—none of it applied to Takumi. With nothing else to be done, she proceeded to level him up.
As her hand swept across the Falna, Takumi felt his latent potential being forcibly mined out. His aura surged a notch—far faster than any training regimen of his. He still sat at the Ultimate Demon tier, but compared to before he had advanced by a clear margin.
At the same time, his system chimed:
[Ding! Under the effect of a mysterious power, you have randomly obtained the trait: Luck (Green).]
[Luck (Green): Your fortune exceeds that of ordinary people by a fair margin; when facing danger, there is a small chance you will turn calamity into blessing.]
"A skill rolled on level-up, huh. Guess I am lucky."
No one ever complains about having too much luck—and Takumi was no exception. Feeling the God's Grace firsthand, another thought stirred. The Falna worked like a forced excavation of one's potential. An ordinary person could train their whole life and never brush their true limit; with Falna layered on, you could forcibly dig it up, ballooning strength in a short window. Coupled with his own System, the two complemented each other exquisitely…
While he was tallying up the gains, Hestia happily reported the changes.
"You even rolled a new skill—[Luck]. That's great. It's rare, too. Looks like you sure hit a lucky streak today."
"Feels like it, yeah. Today's been good."
The instant he said that, Hestia's smile went dark. She suddenly realized why today had been "lucky"—way too many girls circling around him. Jealousy spiking, she grabbed Takumi without another word and hauled him toward the bath.
"Mm~~~ Enough talk. Long day—bath. Now."
"Eh? Um, Takumi-sama, let Haruhime—"
Haruhime had just poked her head in when Hestia shot her a glare that could kill.
"Hey! I've got this, and that's plenty!!"
The flat refusal hit like a thrown door—because the next thing she did was slam the bathroom door shut as if terrified someone might steal him away. Watching the door, Haruhime's ears and tail drooped. Too guileless by nature, she still couldn't understand Hestia's reactions… but she could feel the rejection.
"I must not be doing things well enough."
Squaring her little fox shoulders, Haruhime surveyed the room and decided to start with tidying properly. Hestia had already cleaned, but there was still plenty to refine.
On the other side of the door, steam billowed. Hestia had started eager and upbeat, but as the mist rose, a rosy shyness spread across her cute face. Milky skin flushed pink under the glow of the magic-lamp, seeming to shine from within. A single thin bath towel was like a strand of hair tied around a ton weight. Those urgent, overflowing breasts swayed with every step, pounding at Takumi's composure.
Bear in mind—Hestia was shorter than Mio and the others. But the scale here… was plainly surpassing Mio. And Mio right now had already broken past G and was barreling toward H. The most fatal part was how that luxurious fullness paired with Hestia's youthful baby-face; the violent contrast made it impossible to look away.
...
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