Splash
With the sound of water, the two of them squeezed into the same bathtub. A tub this cramped already struggled to fit Takumi alone, yet Hestia had wedged herself in as well. The pressing, breath-stealing tightness followed at once. And yet the sensation didn't make either of them uncomfortable. On the contrary—because of that crowding, the exquisite feel of skin-to-skin was thrown into sharper relief.
With the goddess lying in his arms, Takumi breathed in a waft of fresh fragrance. It was a goddess's scent—not as sweet and seductive as Freya's, but clean and soothing to the heart. His hands naturally circled her slender waist; under that extreme, hand-filling softness, he pulled the goddess closer.
"Takumi~~~"
Hestia let out a kittenish whimper, cheeks flushed a deep red. She had never had contact with the opposite sex before; inside, her shyness spiked to its limit. At last, she understood the feeling Hephaestus had told her about after descending. No longer a god seated high above—she truly possessed human emotions now. The thrilling, heart-fluttering sweetness of it was intoxicating. In the billions of years of her existence, Hestia felt today might be the happiest she had ever been.
Only, as time ticked by, that joy slowly curdled into unrest.
As Takumi drew in a few sharp breaths, Hestia turned to face him. The sin overflowing between his fingers pressed down heavily against his chest. A goddess really is amazing! For half a beat, that was the sole thought that surfaced in Takumi's mind. The next second he snapped back, steadied his pulse, and met Hestia's limpid gaze. He gently pinched her baby-soft cheek and smiled.
"What is it, my goddess? You look like you're about to cry."
Hestia stared into his eyes for several seconds, then seemed to melt into water and nestle into his embrace. In the warmth of his arms, drinking in his scent, her eyes grew even more dewy.
"Takumi~~ I'm afraid of losing you. I'm just a useless, good-for-nothing goddess, but you're different. It's also because of me that you're living in this shabby church right now. If you left me, you'd only have it better… but… I can't bear for you to go."
Beads of tears rolled from her eyes. Her small, delicate hands clutched him tightly. Hestia was terrified that in the next heartbeat Takumi would vanish from in front of her. Yet beneath that immeasurable fear, a deeper self-reproach surged—she knew full well that staying with her held Takumi back. If he left, he'd only soar higher. And precisely because she loved him from the bottom of her heart, Hestia wanted him to grow better and brighter… yet the selfish part of her wanted him to stay. Those two opposing feelings piled atop each other, and her heart teetered on the edge of collapse.
Takumi didn't answer her outpouring. He simply tilted up her chin and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. Hestia froze for a beat—then tears shimmered again, and she answered the kiss with fervor. In the misty bathroom, only the thread of running water remained. No one knew how long passed before the two of them finally broke for air.
Meeting Hestia's moist, alluring eyes again, Takumi at last spoke.
"I'm not going anywhere, Hestia-sama. If you want to know why, there's only one answer: I love you."
Plain, unadorned words—and they slipped past all defenses. Hestia, eyes brimming, threw her arms around him and offered up her lips once more. Her warm breath brushed his ear as she whispered, "Takumi~~ give me your contract magic."
"Hm? Hestia-sama, you're joking, right?"
Brows lifting, Takumi looked at her in surprise. He had never imagined someone—some god—would volunteer to become a retainer… a slave. But Hestia's gaze was unwavering, her expression utterly serious.
Through the power of the Falna, she naturally understood what contract magic implied. Given her rank, even if Takumi forced a contract, she wouldn't truly be bound. But if Hestia did it of her own will, the situation would be completely different.
"I know—and I'm not joking, Takumi-kun~ I want a deeper bond with you. I want to be with you forever. Goddess or whatever… it doesn't matter. I love you, Takumi-kun. Because I love you, I'm willing to offer everything—my chastity included~~"
Her soft voice lingered at his ear; small as it was, it cracked like thunder in Takumi's chest, making his heart hum. Faced with sincerity this pure and love this full, Takumi's words stalled. This time, Hestia's kiss took the lead, turning all speech into action.
Bmmm
A [Master–Servant Contract Magic] circle unfurled between them as their bodies intertwined. Gorgeous streams of light became ten-thousand threads pouring into Hestia's body. The light coursed inward, filling mind and flesh, and finally reached the depth of her being—her divine core. That was the seat of her will and divinity, the root of a god's immortality.
With her mind and body flung open, Hestia received all that Takumi was. The streamers that should never have touched that place were welcomed by the god-core; they etched themselves in as a brand. Hestia's panel surfaced in Takumi's sight:
[Name: Hestia]
[Class: Deity]
[Level: ???]
[Terms: Innate Divinity (Gold), Authority: Flame (Gold), ...]
The instant he saw that panel, another prompt chimed in his vision.
[Ding! Hestia's favorability has reached the threshold. Defeated duplicate trait: Innate Divinity (Gold).]
"Jackpot! And it's a Gold drop!!!"
He chose Fuse on instinct.
A heartbeat later, darkness slammed across his vision—like someone had swung a hammer square at his brow. His soul seemed to plunge into endless void; nurtured by the world, it was reborn out of unending law. A radiant, eternal divinity blossomed from within him. His spirit drew that divinity in, molted, and as true spirit refined, merged, and elevated the mana of his body!
An intangible-yet-real god-core germinated—pulsing like a heart, drawing in the free-flowing laws of this world. Trickles of divine power condensed within it—on a plane wholly unlike mana. Takumi's aura erupted like a geyser—twice, three times, tenfold, a hundredfold!!!
In the span of a few breaths, he had reached the Demon Lord tier—a height most demons could never hope to touch. Normally, a surge like this would be unmanageable. But with a divine nature already seated in him, not half a second passed before the god-core took command of every thread of runaway power. Inside, he was a volcano in full eruption but on the outside not a hair stirred.
....
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