'Goddess, I'm home!'

A familiar voice jolted me out of my half conscious state. It was getting late, almost 9 at night, but Kaito had finally come home from the dungeon. Perhaps it was due to the terrible posture I had laid in, but my body felt stiff all over. Yawning, I slowly got up from the bed on the second floor and made my way downstairs.

"I'm hungry." Kaito greeted me in the kitchen. "I feel like omelet rice today."

"But it's too much trouble… can't you just go buy something from a diner?"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He challenged with an expectant voice, causing me to look down and chew my lips. I sighed before shrugging, it wouldn't be too much trouble to make I guess. Kaito skidded off upstairs like a happy child while I started getting out the ingredients I needed to prepare the meal.

After a brief wait, I came back to Kaito with the meal on a platter, setting it on the table in front of him. He dug in enthusiastically.

I scrunched my nose up as I watched him eat, trying my hardest to look unbothered by what was in my mind. Shifting around nervously, I summoned the remnants of my courage.

"U-um I'm feeling kinda sore. Can you give me a massage after you're done?..." I drew back and finally found my voice, quiet as it was. Kaito had made the offer many times, but this was the first time I would take him up on it.

"Is that so? You're finally interested?" Kaito gave an elaborate grin. "Since you asked so nicely, I guess I'll have to give it to you. There was a hidden meaning in his voice as his smile turned sharper.

I went rather rigid, looking away to avoid eye contact. Since I had asked him, I wouldn't back down this time...

While waiting for him to finish his food, I walked up the staircase and into the bedroom, picking a random book from the shelf and plopping down onto the soft mattress. I had never been the type to find history entertaining, but the city of Orario was rich with lore and was fun to read about.

"Haah…" I let out a sigh, thinking about Bell's crush on Ais. I found myself scowling at the idea. He was so cute I wanted to keep him all for myself. Someone with a godly aura like him should never end up with a mortal.

With such feelings nestled within my heart, I paused my reading. It was getting pretty late now. I probably should just go to bed…

"Myu?" Suddenly the doors to the bedroom opened and Kaito walked in, his eyes perfectly glistening. Was he really looking forward to being my masseur for the day?

Not needing words, I stumbled towards the bed and fell facedown into the sheets, my back arching expectantly. This would be a nice experience, wouldn't it? I could have someone knead out the kinks and sores of my body.

I felt fingers start kneading my back, and the soreness was starting to fade away.

Ahhhh. That felt pretty nice… Wait.

"What's wrong?" Kaito let a little amusement slip into his voice, pushing his hands harder into my back.

"Stop... It hurts! Ouch ouch ouch! Stop pushing your fingers in there so harrrrd!"

"Just shut up and bear with it for a minute."

"Uahhh, you're so mean…" I mumbled quietly, but gave up, submitting to my fate.

But he was right. Eventually, I relaxed into it, enjoying the motions of his hands kneading my body.

This was nice. Spending some time like this would do wonders for the stress that accumulated inside of me. I shifted around awkwardly in an attempt to get more comfortable. "How was the dungeon diving today?" I asked Kaito with my eyes closed tightly in pleasure.

"Oh, It went fine." He quipped as he continued the motions of his hands.

Despite being level one, with my blessing, Kaito was able to solo the dungeon without much trouble. Admittedly, the absurdly powerful armor and weapons helped him a great deal, but it didn't hide the fact that he was a quick learner… as well as a talented masseur.

By now my entire body felt like water and twitched erratically in pleasure each time he hit a sensitive spot. This felt like heaven...

"Haaaaaa…" I should really ask him to do this more often. I think I've gotten addicted already...

...

"...Wait, don't stop yet?" I whined as the pleasurable feeling suddenly left my back.

"My arms are already sore. Can't you be more considerate of my well-being too?

O-oh. Had it already been that long? "I'm sorry…" I murmured apologetically. Kaito had taken a seat in the armchair looking rather tired as he propped up his face with an arm. I felt a pang of guilt assault me.

"Whatever. Just hurry up and update my status already."

"Uh - yes." I stated while awkwardly trying to get up. My arms shook erratically, and I felt like my body was a total mess. Getting up myself seemed to be too tall a task after that.

"...Help me?" I looked at him with an embarrassed smile.

He studied me for a moment, eyeing all the wrong places for a little bit too long. My blush must have been evident by now. He must have thought I was such an unreliable god...

Suddenly, he took both my arms and pulled me roughly onto my feet. The room was quiet for a second, but the silence was quickly filled by Kaito's chuckle. I let him lean over me. He rested his chin on my forehead, making me shiver.

"I'm curious… you don't act like a god at all... You seem awfully submissive right now." He grasped my hand, rubbing it with his thumb in soothing circles. "You like it when someone takes care of you, don't you?"

"You don't need to be so blunt about it..." I groaned, still blushing. My voice had no authority at all, it came off as timid and shy,

Deciding not to embarass myself further, I my eyes tightly and pricked my index finger with a pin, before slipping my hands under Kaitos shirt towards the falna tattoo printed on his back.

A person's abilities rise when the blood of a god is used on their familia symbol, known as a falna. The more monsters are slain, the faster the person's stats rise up, which allows them to become stronger.

Gods could also read the falna in order to check the stats of one of their familia members.

Kaito

Level One

Strength: I-12 → H-190

Defense: I-15 → I-30

Utility: I-15 → H-190

Agility: I-90 → H-226

Magic: I-0 → I-0

Skills: None

"Wow, not bad for your first couple days."

I felt an incredible amount of pride in Kaito's growth. If he could become a first-class adventurer, it would make our familia a very well respected one. Maybe Bell would look up to me just like how he looked up to Ais!

"You really think so?" Kaito grinned at me.

"Yeah, but don't get too arrogant just yet. You really should ask to join someone else's party, so you guys support one another. Maybe you could join someone elses group?"

"That's true, but still..."

"It's settled then! You won't be a solo adventurer starting tomorrow!" Still reeling from how I was treated earlier, I left no room for rebuttal.

I knew personally how dangerous the dungeon could get, so having someone trustworthy like Bell with him would ease my worries a lot. I knew a companion could complement and assist him while adventuring.

Grumbling, Kaito got up to leave for his room which was one across from mine. Before he could get too far, I managed to grab his hand.

"Um, can you stay for tonight? I just sleep better with your presence near me..." I half heartedly called after him. I'm sure I looked fragile, like a young girl asking out her crush, but for some reason, I didn't care.

"Oh, really?" He looked straight at me, his eyes glistening. He took a step closer, trying to process the look in my eyes.

"D-don't look at me like that! It's not what it sounds like!" I stammered in embarrassment. It wasn't like I really wanted him near that much anyways! I turned away with a pout, secretly praying he would humour my request.

He did.

Relieved, my head fell limply down onto one of the many fuffy pillows. Clumsily feeling around in the dark, I managed to grab his hand in mine, before falling asleep quietly.

...

It was a mildly cool morning. Normally I would have stayed in bed until early afternoon, but today was different. A clean scent smelling of soap tickled my nose, while my shoulders were being softly shaken.

"...Goddess….. Wake up."

I felt so comfortable I couldn't bear to open my eyes. Turning away tiredly, I rolled to the opposite end of the bed, clinging tightly to whatever was in my arms. There was a surprised grunt, but the shaking stopped.

"...What the hell are you doing?"

"Eh?" I opened my eyes. Plain black hair and brown eyes stared up at me. It seemed like I had accidentally ended up on top of Kaito. A blush formed on my face as I hurriedly got off.

"You've finally woken up, Goddess."

His teasing voice fully roused me from my half asleep state. I guess since we live together, it's okay to share the same bed after all. But waking up with Kaito still here was indeed a rare occasion, since he was normally long gone when I got up.

"... I guess I'll start breakfast."

Kaito never seemed to take the initiative, and I had time, so I was responsible for all the chores around the house. I personally enjoyed cooking for myself, so I had no issues making a larger portion.

I hummed as I walked downstairs and began the process of preparing breakfast.

Kaito was making good progress in the dungeon, but adventuring was dangerous by itself and the risk grew exponentially as you went deeper into the dungeon. With such thoughts in mind, I asked him the question that had been on my mind for a while.

"Why don't you take me with you into the dungeon today?"

...

"...Are you sure it's safe for you to enter?"

"Hmm? Oh, the last time a high level monster spawned and nearly killed me, but I'm being more careful this time, so it should be fine?"

"What?! Did you at least check with the other gods before coming in here?" Kaito suddenly stopped in his tracks and held me by my arm, preventing me from heading towards the dungeon entrance.

"Hey, wait! I'll promise to keep a low profile inside if that makes you feel better…"

"No! No! None of this! You! Get her out of here!" He shouted at one of the adventurers, desperately trying to wave him over.

"You traitor! Trying to get me in troub-... grr, that's not the point! I actually did get Ouranos' permission! He even gave me this. See?" I huffed in irritation, showing him the choker that was around my neck.

Ever since the dungeon had tried to kill me with a juggernaut, I realized I had to mask my presence somehow. Using my connection with Ouranos, I had him give me a seal that fooled the dungeon into thinking I was just a mortal.

"Oh wow, you really went through all that trouble just for this? It might not be a bad idea then. It'd be like having an overpowered supporter."

"Yeah, that's right! Whatever you desire of me, I'll do my best to satisfy!" Shouting happily, I dragged Kaito with me down towards the entrance of the dungeon.

"Hey Myu…" He slows down suddenly.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, it's just that… I never really was this close to someone back then, so when I think about how you're with me now, it makes me happy…" He suddenly tells me.

"Wha?" Caught completely off guard, I could only stare at him. After living with Kaito for a while, I knew it was unlike him to be so sappy… was it because he finally had someone join his party? He was usually lazy, annoying and unpleasantly domineering, but the small moments where he seemed so vulnerable made me feel all warm inside.

"...O-oh, yeah, hahah." Not knowing how to respond, I could only laugh awkwardly.

"I'm glad… that you're worried enough to come with me today." He smiles as he starts walking towards the dungeon entrance.

I trailed after him, unable to raise my head due to embarrassment. Was it really that obvious? ….It was no use thinking about this now! A mixture of exhilaration and fear flowed into me as I looked down towards the 10 meter hole that led straight into the dungeon.

...

The sound of metal clanging against metal reverberated in the air as Kaito cut through the armored goblins like nothing, leaving dust in his wake. Not giving him any time to relax, howls filled with killing intent appeared from his right as more monsters spawned from the dungeon walls.

Eager to prove myself, I turned towards the group of monsters, focusing slightly.

"Die."

A thick beam of air pierced through the group of Kobolds that were heading towards Kaito, killing them all instantly. Too lazy to pick them up their loot by hand, the dropped stones began levitating and were directed into my pouch that was now overflowing with loot.

"...You know you could have left some to me, right?"

Kaito's bored expression showed he had much more up his sleeve. He was probably right, since he was standing there without a single drop of sweat or any indication of exhaustion.

"Um, okay. I guess we should go deeper if everything on this floor is no problem for you."

Kaito looked surprised at my suggestion, but wordlessly agreeing, he moved forwards, heading towards the grass plain and wider corridors that led us deeper into the dungeon.

The next two floors proved no challenge for Kaito. He cut down swaths of monsters without a problem using his mithril sword, while I faithfully supported him from behind and collected the dropped magic stones. Before I knew it, the close walls of the dungeon gave way to a large room filled with morning mist; we had finally arrived at the tenth floor, the area where stronger mobs such as infant dragons and orcs could be found. According to Kaito, this floor was the perfect grinding spot for lower level adventurers despite being extremely dangerous.

"Oh…!" I let out a yelp of surprise as an imp jumped out at me through the mist. The low visibility made it hard to prepare for ambushes, so I was totally caught off guard.

"Watch it." Kaito sliced it in half before it could touch me, the imp disintegrating into dust right in front of my eyes.

"Wahh! Scary… this floor is scary!"

"Hey, stop clinging to me like that! I can't focus with you on my back."

"O-oh, sorry."

A-anyways, even as we continuously marched forwards, Kaito led me with that stoic face of his. Wasn't he out of his comfort zone here? Or, was he just good at maintaining a poker face? He gave off a confident aura that made it seem like he was an infallible pillar that supported those around him.

Our plan was pretty simple. He would roam around hunting the monsters while I acted as support in case he was caught off guard. Thanks to the guild, we had a good idea of what we would be up against; mostly orcs and the occasional young dragon.

The only problem was that it was getting late, and by now I was tired of walking around.

"How long till we can go home? I'm tired already…"

"Just bear with it for a bit longer. It already took us hours to get down here." He gave me an exasperated look. "If you can't handle this much, just stay home."

I sighed and trailed after him dejectedly. As we headed deeper into the tenth floor, the scenery shifted into an eerie mess. The white grass was stained with bright red blood and the dead bodies of three adventurers, their bodies bent at odd angles.

"Ugh.. what happened here?" Kaito stopped in his tracks and began inspecting the scene. "The blood is still drying. They must have been killed recently."

Looking at the corpses, I could only assume it was the work of monsters. "I-I guess the orcs got to them?" More than a little unsettled, I shivered.

Suddenly, from a close distance came a sharp screeching roar.

"Wahhh!" My heart lept into my throat. "Kaito! I'm scarreeeed!'

"Shut up and just get behind me."

The mist parted to reveal an orc. It's size and stature were similar to any ordinary one, but its skin was completely black. Paying no mind to Kaito who was in front of me, it stared at me with sinister glowing eyes. From the looks of this one, it seemed to be much more dangerous than the other monsters around here.

Kaito tried swinging at it, but his strike was easily slapped away. Instead of following up on its swing, the orc completely ignored him, instead approaching me slowly, like I was cornered prey.

Too quick for me to react, it swung its club at me.

"Hey, watch out!" Kaito dived in front of me, taking the blunt of the blast. The force of it was enough to send him tumbling meters away and out of my sight.

Without even the slightest amount of hesitation, it swung again, this time its blow connecting with my side. The force of it was enough to cause me tumbling away a fair distance.

"Ouch…"

It didn't really hurt that much, but in any case I decided to intervene before things got worse. Thankfully, the suppression collar Ouranos gave me made it much easier to use more of my powers without the dungeon noticing something was wrong. Holding out my right arm, magic began accumulating in the air in front of my hand.

"Umph!" Deciding it was enough, a massive beam of white light shot out from my hand, and like a giant tidal wave, it singled out the orc and smashed unrelenting into it.

The light faded, and a large magic stone dropped into the smoldering crater my blast had created.

Internally pleased with myself, I walked over and stuffed it into my pouch. Turning around to face Kait-.

"Crap…" I couldn't find him.

"Kaito! Kaito! Where are you? I'm scared…" I hugged my chest in a desperate attempt to reassure myself. I had a terrible sense of direction and wasn't sure how to find him.

"Kaito?"

"..."

"Kaito?"

"I'm right here."

"Oh!" Greatly relieved, I ran forward and took his hand in mine. This way it would be much harder for us to get separated.

"What happened to that monster?"

"Uh, I killed it."

"Wh… What?! Impossible. There's no way someone as useless as you would know how to deal with that. Just admit already that you ran away."

"You're wrong! I'm actually one of the supreme gods on pair with the likes of Gaia and Ouranos!" I puffed my chest out proudly.

Kaito didn't seem convinced, but at this point I didn't care. I was sore all over from walking and covered in all sorts of monster blood.

With stiff movements resembling that of a long forgotten, unoiled robot, I looked hopefully at Kaito, putting all my hope into my next question.

"Can we go back now?"

...

The dungeon was quite big, so just getting out could take hours if not efficient enough. We were halfway through the long and arduous process of heading back up when two figures came into view.

"Someone's there." I purposely bumped into Kaito, pointing at the two adventurers who were… sitting on the dungeon floor? One of them was Ais, the famous Loki familia member with her blonde hair long enough to frame her face.

The other adventurer was lying down, as if sleeping. His face wore a serene expression as he laid on Ais' lap. Wait… was that Bell?! Why was he sleeping in the middle of the dungeon? My suspicions grew with each second.

Bell was unmoving and in his casual outfit. What if Ais had knocked him out and brought him down here for some nefarious purpose?

"What are you doing to him?" Running over, I thoroughly inspected Bell while looking at Ais suspiciously.

She just turned to stare at me, confused.

"She's hasn't done anything. Look, he's not hurt at all, and Ais is a respectable first class adventurer. They can take care of themselves." Kaito covered for her.

"Ehhhh…really?" I guess I really had jumped to conclusions. But...

I felt a warm hand in my hair as I was mulling. I looked up at Kaito. Was he petting me? My cheeks flushed.

"My goddess and I will leave you to it, you two enjoy yourselves." He spoke as if he wasn't just patting me like a stray cat. Not sparing a glance back, he started walking away.

Scared of being lost in the dungeon again, I hurried after him.

"You looked quite disappointed when you saw Ais give Bell a lap pillow." Kaito said, turning around, looking smug. "Could it be that you wanted him for yourself?" He spoke as if this was something extremely scandalous. "Or maybe... is it me?"

Why was he suddenly bringing this up? My heart gave a squeeze and I felt myself flush to the tips of my ears. I just wanted to just stare at the ground and ignore his last few comments.

"Get off it Kaito-" I looked like a tomato at this point, my strides getting longer to escape him. I desperately wanted to change the topic but my brain was short circuiting. "I respect Bell too much to let him fall into some mortals hands-"

"What's with your obsession over that boy?" Suddenly angry, Kaito yanked my collar back, pinning me to a wall. Eh? I was so confused I could barely register what was going on.

"What about me? I know how you look at me sometimes." His arms held locked both my wrists in place, while his face was animated by a cheshire grin. He looked as if he was ready to sink his teeth into my neck.

"Let go!" I scowled, struggling, but my efforts stopped after realizing he was physically much stronger than me. My expression switched from defiant to worried. He had me trapped. I trusted him not to do anything too bad, but I was feeling vulnerable and hated it.

Kaito's expression grew softer. "Don't look at me like that." He hesitated, but eventually allowed his arms to fall away. Taking advantage, I pushed myself out from under him and huffed while looking away, showing my displeasure.

"You're not getting your status updated today!"

"...Myu!"

"Hmph!"

…

After getting home, I took a bath and went straight into my room, stripping out of my pants and crawling into bed. I could feel all the stress from today just melting off me.

The way Kaito had treated me in the dungeon really made me feel depressed. He treated me so lightly he probably didn't even think of me as a real goddess.

I never thought he would have seen me as such a weakling to push me around the way he did. I didn't know whatever process he went through that made him so sadistic, but all I knew was that he saw my displeasure as a form of entertainment.

The way he looked at me after I responded made me feel like a child. I probably seemed pathetic, like a kid throwing a tantrum when told him I wouldn't update his status before ignoring him the rest of the way back.

I was so absorbed in my self depreciating thoughts that I didn't hear the sound of steps coming up the stairs. Before I could mentally brace myself, Kaito walked into my room, his genuine smile catching me off guard. I rolled over, facing away from him.

I still wasn't prepared to face him.

"Still mad at me huh?" He said, pacing around before sitting on the bed himself. "I never meant to force you like that." He chuckled, amused by my childlike behavior. He eyed me up and down, finally noticing my state of dress. In my pursuit to get comfortable, I only had panties and a thin shirt on. I suddenly was very aware of the fact that I had never shown this much skin in front of someone before.

"I think that look suits you, Myu." Kaito teased, eyeing my bare legs.

"I can wear whatever I want. I own this place." Instead of defiant, I ended up mumbling the last few words. I really tried not to care what he thought of me, but I couldn't hide my true feelings from myself.

"Aren't you going to answer my question?"

"Huh?"

"Do you want me or not?" Kaito asked.

I groaned, turning my back to him, stuffing my face into the pillow. If I pretended I didn't hear him, maybe he wouldn't press further.

Kaito reached over and grabbed my thigh, pinching sharply.

I gasped, turning to glare at him sharply. He just cocked a brow, seemingly amused by my reaction, but I could swear his cheeks looked a little more red than usual. That alone let my anger dissipate in an instant.

"Take off your shirt." Trying to change the topic, I decided to update his status after all.

"What?" Kaito took a deep breath.

I hummed, urging him to go on, looking anywhere but at him.

"I-I've decided to update your status before bed I guess. Just take it off and let me see your back."

"...Oh."

He seemed disappointed, but did as I asked, revealing a well maintained body. My cheeks turned a soft pink as I took a step closer, going through the now familiar motions of letting a drop of blood fall on his back, revealing his stats.

Kaito

Level One

Strength: H-190 → F-450

Defense: I-30 → H-180

Utility: H-190 → H-192

Agility: H-226 → F-400

Magic: I-0 → I-0

Well, he certainly seemed to be growing extremely fast. It certainly explained why he was willing to go to the tenth floor of the dungeon so quickly. Against all odds, Kaito seemed to be a hidden gem that I managed to pick up. The only problem was that he still didn't seem to develop any magic yet…

"How is it?"

"Good." I give him my sincere reply, showing him the stats that I had imbued onto a piece of parchment.

Kaito was basically the perfect familia member, with the only thing he lacked being magic. Most people developed it on their own, but I vaguely remembered the tower of Babel selling some pricey grimoires…