The celebration banquet was held at a relatively affordable restaurant at home, but there were so many Adventurers who had finished exploring the Dungeon that there were no empty seats.
The dishes ordered were not particularly expensive.
With staple foods and grilled meat as the main courses, Hestia also packed two dozen fruit sparkling wines. Once all the packed dinners were ready, the two left the restaurant side by side.
The dark night had completely swallowed Orario, and the bright moon was covered by thick dark clouds, making it only vaguely possible to see some dim stars.
This was not a rare occurrence for Keare.
During training the past two days, he had returned to the Familia's base close to midnight, but today the situation was completely different.
He slightly turned his head and saw Hestia's perfect profile, and the genuine joy in her eyes. Occasionally, a gentle breeze would blow, lifting the strands of hair at the young girl's temples.
"This kind of life…"
"Suddenly feels pretty good?"
There was no pressure from the fast pace of modern life, just a slow-paced exploration of another world, and most importantly, he had a beautiful young goddess with a youthful face and ample bosom accompanying him.
Shakespeare said:
When going home alone with a girl, one must take the initiative!
Keare had never held any expectations for relationships, but when he reached out his hand, he felt, for the first time in a long while, that thrilling acceleration of his heartbeat.
He gently took Hestia's small hand.
The young girl did not pull away, but he could still clearly feel her shoulders trembling slightly from nervousness.
And—
Her footsteps gradually slowing down.
"Um…"
"South Street is easy to lose sight of the road, so… holding hands is perfectly normal, right?" Hestia turned her head, trying to hide her flushed cheeks.
She even provided the reason herself, without Keare needing to think of one.
"As expected of Lady Hestia, so thoughtful."
Keare did not stingy his flattery, and it was true, as Hestia said, without the lights from the shops on both sides of the street, and only faint starlight, the visibility on South Street was indeed very poor.
He did not actively start a conversation, enjoying the rare time alone with the young girl, feeling Hestia's unique warmth in his palm.
Instead, it was Hestia who initiated a topic:
"Keare, what… what is your goal in becoming an Adventurer?"
"Curiosity."
"In my opinion, being an Adventurer isn't just an identity; it's more like a way of life—exploring the Dungeon to earn rewards and cover daily expenses."
"What about after that?" She tilted her fair neck, her eyes full of curiosity.
"My thoughts have changed slightly."
Keare did not deny it. In front of Hestia, he honestly said, "If I hadn't met Lady Hestia, my future…"
"Might have been to casually find a Familia and live in Orario as an Adventurer."
"…"
Hestia remained silent, listening quietly.
"But who made me so lucky to meet you in Orario? I want to improve my current living conditions through my own efforts."
"Help build our Familia."
Keare's tone was relaxed: "I hope that in the future, when I stand beside Lady Hestia, it won't be as a Familia member."
His answer stopped at just the right moment.
But he could confirm that Hestia had fully taken in his words, because the hand Keare was holding gently squeezed his own.
Her face was as red as a bubbling teapot.
The young girl lowered her head, her heart pounding like a startled deer. As a goddess, she could, of course, discern the truthfulness of Keare's words.
It was precisely because it was true that Hestia was so nervous. In Heaven, many male gods had pursued her.
She only felt disgusted by the blunt words of those gods, but it was the subtle Keare who made her heart unable to calm down.
How should she treat this sincere emotion?
She really wanted to say 'let nature take its course,' but Hestia's words changed at the tip of her tongue:
"I…"
"I eagerly await that day!"
—
Back at the abandoned church, during dinner, Keare and Hestia tacitly avoided mentioning their private agreement from earlier.
After the high-intensity Dungeon exploration, relying solely on french fries was not enough to replenish his energy. He had been hungry for a long time and ate heartily in front of Hestia, without any regard for his image.
The meal was the same as last night's.
But eating it today, Keare felt it had a special flavor!
When she ate something delicious, Hestia would even pick up a piece with her chopsticks and share it with Keare. Although their relationship was still that of a goddess and her dependent, their actual relationship had made a significant breakthrough.
Keare even tried the fruit sparkling wine Hestia poured for him. The taste of the alcohol was a bit beyond his expectations.
But this was the unique aspect of the Dungeon or Familia world.
One could always, in casual conversations, discover things that didn't belong to the current era. However, thinking of Orario, where gods were everywhere, he quickly felt relieved.
This celebration feast was very satisfying.
Worried that the food would get cold, Hestia didn't even change out of her uniform. After drinking nearly two dozen sparkling wines, her cheeks flushed.
She had long since kicked off her brown round-toed leather boots.
Like a docile cat, she curled up comfortably on the old sofa. Under the influence of alcohol, the young girl's face was adorned with an alluring blush.
The fitted uniform outlined Hestia's perfect figure.
Her fair, clean, jade-like feet, with just the right amount of plumpness, were naturally perfect. Keare felt that such a delicacy needed no sharing with anyone.
If their relationship wasn't still at this stage, he would have definitely played with them himself.
Enjoying the feeling of fullness from carbohydrates, while resting briefly, Keare didn't forget the main task. This was the advantage of joining a newly established Familia.
He could always update his ability values with the goddess.
After the high-intensity combat in the Dungeon during the day, he was curious about the increase in his own ability values. He looked at the hazy, drunken young girl.
"Lady Hestia, are you free now?"
"What's wrong?"
"I'd like to ask for your help in updating my ability values. That way, I can explore deeper areas tomorrow," Keare replied truthfully.
"Leave it to me!"
Supporting herself on the sofa, Hestia stood up, put on the slippers next to the sofa, and went to the cabinet to find the tools needed to update ability values.
After updating the ability values, it would be almost time to rest after a short break.
She prepared herself and looked at the brown-haired young man who had taken off his shirt, his upper body bare. After becoming an Adventurer, and through these days of diligent training, the most direct change was that he was no longer as frail as he was at the beginning; muscle definition was now visible!
She used to be able to treat it normally, or perhaps it was the alcohol's assistance, but Hestia really wanted to reach out and touch him, but her reason told her not to.
She flipped over and straddled Keare's back.
The young girl pricked her index finger with a silver needle; the slight pain dispelled her slight drunkenness.
As the divine blood dripped onto the young man's smooth back, a soft light continuously emanated. While waiting for the divine script to update and reorganize, Hestia's heart was filled with anticipation:
"Let me see… Keare-kun, your improvements from today's Dungeon exploration!"
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