Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Hestia Familia's home, Su Mo was completely unaware that Ais was planning to visit him the next day to apologize.
Not that it would have mattered much to him even if he knew.
After all, compared to things like that, there was something far more important occupying his mind— Did the experience points gained from killing monsters also get shared in the Mist Realm?
That was the question he needed to figure out.
And besides that, there was something else he had to do.
He'd grown stronger—much stronger.
That joy needed to be shared with someone.
And the only person worthy of sharing in that joy, the one he trusted without question, was just one.
Taking a deep breath, Su Mo knocked on the door.
"Hestia, I'm back!"
"Su Mo!"
Came Hestia's cheerful voice almost instantly from within.
Moments later, the door flung open—and a petite goddess wrapped in her signature blue ribbons flew at him with open arms.
"Welcome home!"
Like a koala, she clung to Su Mo tightly, reciting some cheesy line she'd probably picked up from who-knows-where.
"You've worked hard today. Time for a proper reward."
"Would you like to eat first, take a bath first, or... me first?"
With a mischievous grin playing on her lips, Hestia teased the one and only member of her Familia—her only family.
"I choose to eat Lady Hestia first. So... are you ready?"
Su Mo caught her in his arms and fired back with his own brand of mischief.
Hmph.
He wasn't the type to let a goddess walk all over him without retaliation. Nor was he some bashful innocent who'd start stuttering the moment a loli goddess tried to tease him.
If anything, Su Mo saw himself as more of a Big Bad Wolf.
Sure enough, the moment he said that—
Hestia panicked.
As one of the three famous virgin goddesses of the heavens, Hestia did like Su Mo—no question about that.
But she hadn't mentally prepared herself for that kind of situation.
"W-Wait a minute!"
She flailed her hands in protest.
"I'm a goddess, Su Mo! What you just said is blasphemy—you'll get divine punishment, you know?!"
"But... if Lady Hestia consents, then it's not blasphemy, is it?"
Su Mo pressed on with a sly smile.
In truth, among the gods who descended to the lower world, there were only a handful like Hestia and Artemis who still held onto their virgin status. The rest—male or female—had long since taken partners.
Take Freya, for instance. The goddess of beauty had probably broken enough hearts to earn a "thousand-kills" title at this point.
If intimacy with a deity counted as blasphemy, half the divine realm would already be on trial.
In practice, so long as a god or goddess was willing, no one really cared.
"Ugh, t-technically speaking, that's true, but, but..."
Hestia floundered, desperately trying to come up with a way to respond.
If she turned him down too harshly, would Su Mo think she didn't like him?
But if she refused too softly... what if he couldn't hold himself back and pounced on her?
She wasn't ready for that!
Having spent tens of thousands of years cooped up in the heavens, Hestia was utterly inexperienced in the matters of the heart.
She had no idea how to handle this kind of situation.
Watching the flustered little goddess panic, Su Mo couldn't help but chuckle.
This blue-ribbon goddess really had a thing for picking fights she couldn't win.
Every time she tried to tease him, she got countered and defeated.
Yet she never seemed to learn her lesson.
Letting her down from his arms, Su Mo patted the top of her head.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. I've known for a long time that Lady Hestia is a total scaredy-cat. There's serious business to take care of today, so I'll let you off the hook—for now."
"Uu~"
Hestia pouted and rubbed her head, letting out a pitiful little whimper.
She couldn't help but feel like her dignity as a goddess was steadily slipping away.
Still, shaking her twin tails and brushing aside her frustration, Hestia lifted her head and looked curiously at Su Mo.
"Serious business? What kind of business?"
Ever since taking Su Mo in as her only familia member, Hestia had been quite content with her current life.
Sure, it was a little strange that Su Mo had no interest in exploring the dungeon, but she didn't really mind—in fact, she wholeheartedly supported that decision.
He was her only familia member. There was no way she'd send him down into that dangerous place!
Even if he didn't go out to slay monsters and level up, and instead chose to live an ordinary, peaceful life, Hestia had no complaints.
She knew that Su Mo usually made money selling fried rice in the shopping district.
So if he was talking about something serious... could it be that he came up with a new recipe?
"It's this," Su Mo replied as he began taking off his shirt.
"Wha—W-Wait a second!"
Seeing him suddenly undressing, Hestia panicked, clearly getting the wrong idea.
"Is this what you meant by serious business...?! Su Mo, it's way too soon for us! I-I need to take a bath first! And change into something cuter!"
Flustered, she waved her hands around and covered her eyes with her palms—though the gaps between her fingers were so wide, she might as well have been watching a movie.
"…"
Having taken off his shirt, Su Mo stared at the flustered little goddess with an expression full of exasperation.
"The serious business I mentioned is the update of my Falna. Hestia, what exactly is going on in that tiny head of yours?"
The moment he said that, Hestia's face instantly turned scarlet.
A blazing red blush spread all the way down her neck and to the tips of her ears.
How humiliating!
She was supposed to be a pure, chaste virgin goddess—so why did her brain always leap to such impure things whenever Su Mo was around!?
If there were a crack in the floor right now, she would've dived into it without hesitation.