After giving her silly Caelan a pep talk and seeing him off with a pat on the back and a kiss on the cheek-
Hestia promptly rolled over and curled up in their bed with a whimper. Now that it was the morning after, her body, especially down there was aching in ways she hadn't known was possible before.
Despite how gentle Caelan was with her, he was a very big boy and it was her first time.
Despite the aching pain though, Hestia couldn't contain her giddiness at all and just basked in the morning afterglow.
….One thing she did learn as she lay there though, was that sex had a distinctive scent.
And it was all over her bed sheets.
And her.
"…I'm gonna need to wash these sheets." she realised with a groan.
And herself.
If she ran into practically any deity, they'd probably smell the heady scent wafting from her body. She wasn't ashamed in any shape or form and would happily shout about her and her precious Caelan's loving romp from the rooftops in pride…that didn't change the fact she was known as one of the three virgin goddesses up in Tenkai.
And her giving up her virginity to a mortal child would be cause for gossip and interest.
And the longer she could keep their eyes off of Caelan until he grew strong enough to ward off everyone himself, the better.
'Ugh, I've got other things to do today as well.' she whimpered mentally. While she didn't have work today, she'd promised Caelan she'd talk to Hephaestus about getting one of her shops off of her in Babel Tower or at least renting the space.
And she'd took it upon herself to pick up what he needed while he was in the dungeon so he didn't have to himself when he was all exhausted from the dungeon.
Well…she couldn't put it off. She didn't want to either. She had to show some reliability as his goddess right?
Hestia learned one very surprising fact when she managed to roll out of bed and slip her casual white dress on.
When she got to her feet and made her way out of the church that was her and Caelan's home for the moment…she couldn't walk normally.
Her steps were ginger and she had to walk with her legs spread apart. It had to be done to walk without her hips smarting.
'I used to think all those sluts were just playing it up when they walked bowlegged after sex, I didn't think it was a real thing!' the twin tailed goddess of the hearth moaned within her head as she slowly made her way through the streets of Orario towards her destination.
Etna Volcano, the home of of the Hephaestus Familia.
"…I should have totally had Caelan heal me before he left." she mumbled to herself as she trudged along. With just a wave of his hand he could have sprinkled her with some of his love(powders) for her and healed her up in a jiffy!
She was so dumb!
Super dumb!
Thankfully, it wasn't that long later she managed to reach her destination and despite some odd looks she got from some of Hephaestus' children, they didn't say anything beyond greeting her and let her into the large manor.
Her best friend looked up as she all but crumpled her way into her office, "Hestia?" Hephaestus raised a fine red eyebrow at her.
Hestia didn't answer for a moment, instead shuffling her way over to the couch she had spent months reclining on after coming down from Tenkai and all but collapsed in it with a great and powerful sigh of relief.
"I'm not giving you a single valis, no matter how pitiful a look you put on." Hephaestus added drily.
"I'm not here for money!" Hestia squawked on instinct. Her hand went to her waist where a pouch of valis hung and she pat it roughly, making the mass amount of coins within it jingle loudly, "I get more than enough now thanks to my Caelan!"
The pouch she was carrying right now had a full five hundred thousand valis for her to use as she pleased!
Way more than she needed and way more than she expected to see for a long time before she met Caelan and took him in as her first child. But, he'd not taken no for an answer and just left it for her before he shot off to go maul monsters for fun in the dungeon.
Caelan was a bit weird like that. She loved it though!
"...Right, you did pick up a child recently didn't you?" the goddess of the smith paused in what she was doing and gave Hestia her full attention, "And going by that pouch of valis, it seems to be going well, really well actually. Did you pick up someone that was in a Familia before yours?"
"Nope, my Caelan is just special," Hestia preened, sticking her nose into the hair smugly. Usually she wouldn't be so open about him with another deity, but she could trust Hephaestus, "Actually…maybe he's a little too special." her smug look faded into a grimace.
"Mmhmm?" Hephaestus hummed, "So you're here about him then?"
"You're too smart," Hestia pouted at her, "But yes, well, more that, he asked me to talk to you about something when he heard we were friends."
"I'm not giving him a weapon." Hephaestus cut that route off instantly.
"Mou! Why do you think I'm here to scrounge from you so much, didn't my big jingly coin pouch convince you I'm not like that now?" Hestia pouted.
"….It hasn't even been a month yet since I kicked you out and you came crawling back whining about how you didn't have a home, food or money." Hephaestus deadpanned.
"Ack!" Hestia choked.
She couldn't deny her shamefully recent past.
Hestia shook her head, "That's totally behind me now!" she declared grandly, "I'm here because Caelan wanted to see what it would take for you to let us use one of your stores in Babel Tower!"
Hephaestus gave her a blank look, "Use one of my stores…as in to sell things from?" she asked, getting a nod from the twin tailed goddess as confirmation, "I know you definitely don't have a product to sell, which means this has to do with your child, Caelan. Unless he comes from some merchant background or something like that or more likely going by what you said before about him being special, he has some form of skill let lets him produce a product that would make a profit selling."
As always, her best friend was far too sharp. Her mind was as razor sharp as the blades she forged!
"…Yeah," she admitted, and found herself opening up, but only because Caelan urged her on and Hephaestus was her best friend that she trusted with her life, "His skill basically lets him consume magic stones and grow stronger and even gain the abilities of monsters. I gave him that magic stone that was in the lamp you gave me when we first found the skill and he's been able to make equipment from-"
"Crystal of a Crystal Mantis," Hephaestus' cut her off, her single eye widening in realisation, "I see…that's some skill. A set of armour made from that crystal by one of my smiths would go for over a million valis easily. And that's just from that one monster alone."
"Yeah…he can make a bunch of stuff already and wants to open up a shop," Hestia admitted, "While he could open a shop on the streets pretty easily, the best place to sell stuff for adventurers is in Babel Tower."
"I see," Hephaestus mused, cupping her chin in one leather glove clad hand and staring at Hestia ponderingly for a few moments, "…Alright, but it won't be for free."
"Really?" Hestia's eyes lit up.
"I'm only doing it because you're my friend and you still need to pay me back for mooching off of me, this way it might happen sometime this decade," Hephaestus snorted, "I'll let you rent one of our shops on the first floor for three hundred thousand valis a month."
'Eeesh, so expensive!' Hestia winced. And that was just for renting a small shop! But that just went to show how amazing sales were in Babel Tower!
"Okay!" she agreed, bouncing off of the couch and wincing as pain flared in her hips, but ignored it, "Should I pay now?" she asked.
"It would save time and I'll be more inclined to help you if you pay up front," Hephaestus pointed out with a smirk, "Still, while we're on this topic, make sure you lock the falna on your child's back, if any of the others see he has that kind of skill they'll won't give you a moments peace."
"…Eh?" Hestia tilted her head to the side in confusion.
She could lock the falna?
…This couldn't be real.
Could…it?
Lili was in a bit of a daze as she stared down at the table in front of her. Atop it, sat a large pouch she'd just received from the guild exchange point after she turned in her loot.
The loot Caelan had allowed her to keep in full.
147,000 valis.
In total, she'd had thirty six Killer Ant mandibles and one War Shadow claw that she traded in. Killer Ant mandibles was where they secreted their pheromone from and was used by those who had the Mixing ability to create items such as perfumes which was why they were worth so much, being worth four thousand valis each.
Caelan had killed over seven hundred killer ants over a period of seven hours. They went in early in the morning and it was already late afternoon now, the blue sky that greeted her this morning a dusky orange.
As she stared down at the glittering gold coins, Lili felt her breath come in short, quick pants and her hands were shaking slightly.
It was…almost too good to be true.
She half expected Caelan to swipe the bag from her here and now. But, that was not what happened when he made his way over, a huge sack containing all the magic stones she'd collected today hung over his shoulder.
"Here you go Lili," he casually dumped a second pouch, just as large as the one she already had sitting before her, "That's a hundred thousand valis, took me a bit to count them out. You can count em' if you want."
She looked up at the younger boy, taking in his grinning face and couldn't help but wonder if he was actually a mirage and she was still sleeping and hadn't woken up yet.
…Both of those bags together were only a few thousand valis off of two hundred and fifty thousand.
That was a quarter of her total savings not counting the magic sword she'd stolen from a rich moron a few months ago.
Savings that had taken her over three years to build up.
And she'd gotten that much…in a single day. A crazy day for sure, supporting what had to be the most powerful and suicidally stupid level one she'd ever seen, but a single day nonetheless.
Lili swallowed heavily, "No, it's fine, I believe you," she replied and surprised herself by the fact that she actually did, there would be no point to him lying about it when he had no problem with her taking all the item drop loot as well, "What about you, are you not going to trade in those magic stones?" she asked, to get her mind off of the money in front of her and try and calm down.
"Nah, I've got a better use for them." Caelan laughed, reaching up into the sack atop his shoulder and bringing it to his face, then opened his mouth and bit down on the magic stone, crunching through it easily, chewing it up…and swallowing it all in a second or so.
…Eh?
What?
"Mr. Caelan….why did you?!" she couldn't help but ask, gaping at him in shock. He just literally ate what amounted to more than an average persons daily wage!
Actually, how did he do that even? Magic stones were as hard as stone, even with how strong he was, he shouldn't have been able to chew through one like it was a piece of bread!
"I'm just built different cute stuff." Caelan just laughed again, giving her a wink and a pat on the head, "I'll see you tomorrow Lili, same time!" he then promptly bid her goodbye.
Leaving her staring after him stupidly.
It took longer than she cared to admit to regain her mental faculties, "I don't understand that guy at all." Lili mused to herself, before turning her attention back to her pay for the day.
247,000 Valis.
That was the kind of pay day only top tier adventurers of like level three got to see!
'He's weird and a bit stupid, but Mr. Caelan is competent, strong and honest if nothing else.' she thought to herself as she giddily snatched up both pouches of coins and left the area.
She had to quickly go store this away with the rest of her savings where nobody could get their hands on it!
…So caught up in her giddiness over the massive amount of valis she'd made that day, she never noticed the short, muscular older man with raccoon ears atop his head trailing her form with a gleam in his eyes and a grin on his face.
Lili was in such a good mood, that on the way to the place where her gnome deposit box was, she actually found herself humming.
Her good mood did not last long.
As she turned out of the main streets and made her way deeper into the city a foot came from behind her and crashed into her small back.
The force of it sent her rolling forward with a yelp of surprise, pain and shock, her huge supporter bag sliding off her shoulders during the fall as her face hit the dirt.
"Ugh…" she moaned, dazed for a moment before she realised what happened and quickly pushed herself up on her hands and knees and looked over her shoulder with a glare.
A glare that immediately fizzled out when she saw who it was exactly that struck her from behind.
"Well hello there Arde," Canoe Belway, one of the strongest level one adventurers in the Soma Familia, and one of the most violent and malicious grinned down at her, "Saw you made a new friend in nice shiny armour."
"Mr…Canoe…" Lili swallowed heavily, a sense of defeat already beginning to emanate from her core.
He ignored her and walked over to her bag, reaching in to the side pocket and pulling out two very familiar pouches filled with valis, "Woah now, look at this," he whistled, "This'll make my quota for this month twice over!" he laughed.
She grit her teeth, forcing herself not to reach into her cloak. The temptation was there to use her magic sword, but she couldn't just use it willy nilly.
It was her last resort for inside the dungeon, her last line of defence if things went incredibly wrong.
So instead, she did what she always did. She kept her mouth shut and her head bowed.
Enduring was all she could do.
"Seems you've got a good thing going on Arde," Canoe turned to her after admiring her money, his eyes glinting with malicious greed, "How 'bout you let me in on it? It's only fair, we're from the same Familia after all. And he looks like an easy mark, walking around with that shiny armour of his, looks like he came right from some noble family. "
Lili grit her teeth to stop herself from responding venomously. Was he an idiot? What part of Caelan made him look at all like an easy mark? This was why adventurers were stupid, Caelan might have been young but he towered over not only her, but Canoe as well. Just his presence alone when she saw him yesterday with Ged, before Ged even started a fight with him, was enough for her to feel that he was strong.
That he was someone that shouldn't be messed with. Entirely the reason why she'd forgone pocketing any of the magic stones he wanted from the trip in the dungeon.
"He's probably sitting on a ton of valis come to think about it, I mean that armour, looks like something straight from the Hephaestus Familia, probably cost a few million!" Canoe continued on, near drooling at the thought of the wealth Caelan Odhar possessed, "Think about it Arde, if we can get that off him and whatever else he has this will be like pocket change!" he jingled the sacks of valis at her.
He was flashing her own money at her, after robbing her…as a reason to help him rob someone who could kill her with a single blow.
But beyond that, someone who was fair to her.
…What should she do here? No matter how she thought, there was no way out of this situation without her losing something.
"…No." her mouth moved before her brain decided.
Her resentment was getting the better of her.
She cursed herself. But even still, her hand drifted towards her chest, towards where her magic sword was waiting.
It was hardly the strongest magic sword and it wouldn't do anything to the likes of a Minotaur.
But it was well enough to end Canoe.
"No?" Canoe frowned at her.
"No!" she repeated louder, plunging her hand into her cloak and wrapping her fingers around the cool metal of a hilt, "I won't help you." Lili snarled, standing up and facing the older chienthrope.
"Well that's too bad then Arde," Canoe frowned deeply at her, shaking his head, "Here I was gonna be nice and give you a cut, but now I'll just have to cut you instead." his hand drifted towards his belt, where a sheathed sabre lay waiting.
"Is that right?" a voice cut him off.
Both of their heads twisted to look towards the voice on instinct and Lili's heart caught in her throat as she saw who it was.
Caelan, outside of his armour and dressed in casual clothing, a sleeveless top and black pants with his hands in his pockets stared directly at Canoe, eyes cold.
"Mr. Caelan…" Lili gasped, eyes wide and panic rushing through her veins. When did he get here? What if he thought she was actually with Canoe?
Even if he didn't, he'd find out she was with the Soma Familia, or probably already knew now! After this, he wouldn't want anything to do with her.
No…no…no, this was bad, seriously bad! Why, why did things always go wrong for her just as they were looking up?
It wasn't fair!
She grit her teeth to force tears not to bud and her nails dug ineffectively into the stone ground beneath her as she slumped to her knees. With just two weeks of supporting Caelan she would be able to buy her freedom from the Soma Familia…and now….!
"Yes, it is right boy," Canoe completely ignored her, his frown turning into a wide grin as he looked at Caelan, "And look at you, completely saved me the trouble having to set you up and came to me out of your armour and everything." he grasped his sabre and pulled it free with the hand not holding the sacks of valis and pointed it at Caelan threateningly.
Caelan didn't pay it attention, instead his eyes were on the sacks of valis, "I don't remember giving those to you fat ass." he bit out.
"And what of it? I wanted them so I took them from this useless supporter," Canoe scoffed and lashed out with a kick that caught the kneeling Lili in the face, drawing a cry of more surprise than pain from her, "What are you going to do ab-"
As he turned his attention back to Caelan, he never got the chance to finish. In that split moment he'd taken his attention off of the younger boy, he moved.
Something rippled along his feet that Lili couldn't make out and he accelerated into a blur.
The sole of his boot crashed into Canoe's face, bodily lifting the shorter, yet heavily muscled chienthrope up into the air before slamming him down into the ground hard enough to create spider web cracks in the stone pavement, his hands going limp and the sacks of valis and his weapon clattering to the ground.
"Sorry I couldn't hear you," Caelan glared down at the man beneath his foot, "Want to run that by me again?"
Lili stared wide eyed. It was over.
Just like that?
She knew Caelan was strong, incredibly strong, but Canoe wasn't weak. Yet…all it took was him looking away for a split second, and he was done for.
Canoe flailed beneath Caelan's boot, hands reaching up to scrabble at it, trying to push it off.
Only for Caelan to push down harder and a muffled moan of pain to echo through it.
"You alright Lili?" he asked, turning his attention to her and his glacial look being replaced by a warm smile.
…He wasn't mad at her?
"Lili…is fine…though a little surprised." she admitted haltingly, confusedly.
"Good," he nodded before huffing and rolling his eyes, "Fuck, I knew the Soma Familia was filled with shit heads and when I saw this idiot following you after I stored away my armour figured he was up to no good…but this beyond my expectations."
Lili's eyes widened, "You…knew?" she gaped at the boy.
"Had a feeling, which was confirmed with this little get together and you confirming it now," Caelan shrugged and shook his head, "Honestly, I heard the Soma Familia was a shit show but I didn't think it was this bad. Why even stick with a Familia like this?"
Despite herself, laughter bubbled up from Lili's throat and erupted from her lips. Yet it was not a joyous laughter.
It was bitter.
"Do you think Lili wouldn't have already left if I could have?" she scoffed angrily. All her self control was shredded away and it all rose to the surface now that it came to light in the face of someone so strong, so well off, someone not as pathetically weak and useless as her, "Lili was born in the Soma Familia! My parents were part of it and went and died trying to make money for that stupid wine and left me all alone! I can't leave even if I want to, Lord Soma doesn't care, all he cares about is making his wine and lets Zanis control the familia. And he won't let me leave unless Lili pays what he wants!"
Before long she was ranting and raving, everything she hated about the Soma Familia, everything she hated about herself tearing from her throat with all the force and emotion her tiny body could muster.
By time she was finished, her bitter laughter had turned into bitter crying, tears streaming down her cheeks as she vented everything she'd been bottling up for years.
"It's not fair…if only I was born strong like you Mr. Caelan…" she hiccupped.
"That's…a lot to take in," Caelan who had been silent until now nodded lightly, "Alright, I hear you loud and clear Lili."
She blinked the tears in her eyes away and looked up at him at his words. Only for her eyes to widen as he pushed down with his foot before her eyes.
And an echoing crack resounded through the alleyway there were in, Canoe's skull crunching beneath his foot and the chienthrope's body going limp.
"You…you killed him." she noted, blankly.
Just like that, he snuffed Canoe's life out as if it were nothing and he didn't even blink.
"He can't go running to the Soma Familia for back up if he's dead," Caelan replied uncaringly as he stepped off of the cooling corpse and walked over to her, crouching down to pat her on her hooded head, "Besides, not only was he wanting to target me already, he attacked you and robbed you."
"Because of…me?" Lili was confused and numb. Her emotions were completely drained after she unloaded everything.
"I told you already didn't I? I'm a bad guy. I'm selfish, I'm violent, I'm lustful and most of all, I'm greedy. I want it all. Fame, money, women, power," he grinned at her, "But I've also got standards. And the second I took you on as my supporter, you became my supporter, and your problems became my problems."
That…
"Did you…help Lili because I'm a girl?" she found herself asking.
"Partially," he unashamedly answered, "But I had my eye on a few supporters, scoping them out. You stood out. Sure, from your face I can tell you're cute, but beyond that. With that tiny body you carry around that massive bag bigger than any other supporter I see. I could tell right away you were special and I so I decided I wanted you as my supporter."
She was…special?
Nobody had ever called her special before.
"But...I'm small and weak and frail…" she replied, body trembling.
He scoffed, "Small for sure, adds to the cuteness. Frail? Sure, for now, but we can remedy that if you want, but one thing you aren't is weak." he replied, voice surprisingly warm for a boy who claimed to be a bad person.
With the hand atop her head, he pulled her hood back and revealed her entire face to him, before his hand gently touched her hair.
And then…warmth suffused her. The aches that came from Canoe's blows faded away and her body, exhausted from the long hours in the dungeon filled with energy.
"If you don't want to go back to the Soma Familia, then you don't need to, you can just come with me," Caelan told her, voice confident and grin widening, "If they want to take you back, they'll have to go through me, which just isn't possible for a Familia as weak as them."
Something stirred in her chest as she looked into his glowing red eyes. Menacing, reminding her of the monsters that scoured the dungeon below.
Yet…despite that, she felt oddly comforted by them.
They were strong eyes.
"But…you're only level one." was her last feeble defence. He was strong, maybe stronger than Zanis even despite being a level one. But, he couldn't take on the entire Soma Familia alone, there were hundreds of them.
…Right?
"For now, but I'm stronger than any level one you'll ever meet again," he assured her, "I told you a bit about my skill right? You thought it was a spell, and you aren't far off. My skill is called Typhon. It means the King of Monsters. It's a skill that's greed personified. By eating the magic stones of monsters I not only get stronger, but I gain their abilities as well."
Her eyes widened…..that was how he could breathe fire. The flame breath of an infant Dragon, or perhaps a Hellhound?
"So if you want to come with me, you don't need to worry about the Soma Familia anymore," Caelan assured her, "Give it a month at most and I'll be able to crush them all at once even if I have to take them all on in a War Game."
Despite everything she'd learned growing up, despite every instinct he'd honed when it came to adventurers. Despite how much she hated them all…
She couldn't help it.
"Okay, Lili will go with Mr. Caelan." she replied.
Lili submitted to the warm feeling in her chest despite it burning her so many times before.
Just this once, just this one final last time, she'd allow herself to hope and believe.
I am not Bell Cranel.
I am not infallibly kind. I'm not a naive farm boy wishing for love and yearning to become a hero. I'm not the hero who will turn the other cheek and forgive others for their transgressions.
I'm not the boy who who this world is looking for. I am not the one who the Gods speak about in hushed whispers in longing for a new age.
This is not the story of Bell Cranel, the Little Rookie, the Rabbit Foot, the one of crystal clear purity in his soul, Argonaut reincarnated and reborn to rise up and inspire everyone and lead the charge to defeat the One Eyed Black Dragon, save Orario and defeat the dungeon.
I am Caelan Odhar.
I'm ruthless. I'm violent. I'm lustful. Above all else, I am greedy. I am the boy who grew up around drug lords and gangsters. I am the boy who was taught how to use a knife properly to leave a mark and not kill when I was four. The boy who was introduced to carnal beastial fucking at five. I'm the boy who first saw a man beaten to death in the streets when I was seven years old.
This is the story of not the shining white hero with glistening ruby eyes, but the pitch black monster king with a searing crimson gaze. The beast that will stand atop all others. I am the one who will lie and manipulate to get what I want. I am the one who will devour the monsters and make their power mine. I am the one who will brutally maim and murder anyone who stands against me and threatens what is mine.
I will crush the One eyed Dragon.
I will slaughter the ones who threaten my home.
And I will grind the dungeon itself beneath my heel and force it to submit.
"Caeeeelaaaan, you're back!" Hestia greeted me with a massive beaming smile the second I walked through the entrance to the church, "Oh, who's this?" she asked, looking to my side.
Where Lili stood by my side.
My eyes took in Hestia, the beautiful goddess of the hearth. And my lover.
And the gaggle of empty barrels lined up at the front of the room, just beyond the pews. Exactly what I needed to fill with my healing and poisonous powders.
"This is Lili, she's my new supporter," I explained, putting the barrels out of mind for the moment, "She's from the Soma Familia, though she's having a bit of trouble with them at the moment, they're pricks to her, so I figured it would be better for her to bunk near me where it's safer."
"It's nice to meet you Lady Hestia." Lili bowed her head.
Hestia blinked, before shrugging, "Well, if that's what you think is best Caelan," she agreed, before sighing, shoulders slumping a bit, "Though it would be nice if I could get one day where you weren't doing something crazy."
I laughed, "Sorry, sorry my bad, how about I give you a massage with the healing powder?" I offered. When using the healing powders, I'd noticed it made my body feel good and all tingly.
"Trying to butter me up huh?" Hestia caught on instantly, crossing her arms under those lovely breasts of hers and narrowing her cute blue sapphire eyes at me, "….I can't say it's not tempting though."
Her stern look faded instantly.
She was just too much of a softie.
"I suppose you'll be wanting your status updated again as well, right?" she raised an eyebrow at me knowingly.
"My belly is full." I answered proudly.
"Figures," Hestia snorted, "Alright, let's go down then, you can come too Lili, it isn't much but make yourself at home."
Yes, I'm a monster of the highest order. The monster that even monsters fear. But nobody ever said monsters couldn't care about people.
And so we return with the chaptero tenyo boyo ando girlyo!
And so things happened this chapter. And Caelan murdered a guy. Yaaaay Caelan!
Last part came out a bit more edgy than I was intending for. It's amazing how edgy you can make your life sound with just a different tone isn't it? Honestly, I was still aiming for more self deprecating than edge...I just didn't hit it right.
Oh well, Hestia will make it fit better next chapter.
As far as chapters go though, we're up to chapter 13 on the Pa-atreon if you wanna read ahead.
Anyway, shameless Pa-atreon plug. I've got one, go by the same username on there, easy to find and all that jazz. Support me if you want, it'd be swell, but don't feel pressured lads and ladies, I'll be uploading my stuff outside it regardless and not keeping it all behind a paywall or anything like that.