Author's notes: And here I am again with a new chapter. It's been a bit of a wait since the last one, a few personal worries have kept me away from my keyboard, but here I am at last. What's more, as luck would have it, the chapter arrives today, so think of it as my Christmas present.
Chapter 19: Mixed Bathing
After the rather lively events on the eighteenth floor, Bell and his numerous companions decided it was time to go home. Although their group was fairly large and powerful, they decided to avoid fighting as much as possible. Everyone was still pretty tired, most of their equipment was damaged and everyone had taken a few knocks along the way.
However, the atmosphere in the group was somewhat strange. Nobody was talking and everyone seemed really embarrassed. After a while, it was Lena who broke the silence.
"You're mean Aisha. You didn't have to hit me so hard."
"You had it coming."
"Seriously? Spanking me at my age! And in front of everyone!"
"I always keep my promises."
Indeed, a few hours earlier, Aisha, upset at having missed out on a memorable fight, Bell in action and after Lena had left her in the lurch, battling an army of monsters, had decided to exact her terrible revenge. Listening to her anger rather than her common sense, she grabbed the other amazoness before turning her over onto her thighs and spanking her... repeatedly... in front of everyone... bare-assed.
All on the pretext that if she was behaving like an immature brat, then she deserved immature brat punishment. Some were tempted to ask who was the more immature of them both, but a dark look from the luscious berbera dissuaded everyone.
"I would have preferred it if Bell had spanked me."
"Out of the question, that would be a reward in your eyes."
The principal suddenly felt very embarrassed by the turn of the conversation.
"But-but-but... I would never spank anyone! There's nothing pleasant about it!"
Bell's words made some people blush and others laugh, as they all noted how innocent he still was about some things.
"That, my boy, you should know that there are certain circumstances in which-"
"No, no, no!" said Hestia, interrupting her and standing between her and Bell. "Stop trying to corrupt this poor boy with your nonsense." The little goddess was not naive; she knew that being a member of Ishtar familia would teach him things, but she wanted to preserve as much of his innocence as possible. And so much the worse if Ishtar came to give her another hard time.
"Honestly, how can you be so uptight when you're walking around with arguments like that stuck to your chest?" said Lena.
"Lili was wondering the same thing." The pallum rejoined, silent until then.
"My breasts have nothing to do with it!" replied a scandalised Hestia.
At the back, the Takemikazuchi children were relaxed and watched the exchange with smiles on their faces.
"They seem to be getting on well together." Said Chigusa, who could see that there was a lot of complicity behind the teasing.
"Yes, they're good people, I'm glad we came to help them." Mikoto replied, just as amused.
"Me too, and to be honest, I'm surprised." Concluded Ouka, whose words were a reference to Ishtar's reputation. When you knew Ishtar, you were surprised to see people behaving like this. But it proved that you shouldn't just rely on gossip and learn to form your own opinion on things.
Speaking of Ishtar, she was still at Haruhime's bedside, having suffered a relapse. The goddess was surprised not to see Bell and the others return, as should have been the case. Instead, she had simply received a message from the Guild warning her that an incident had occurred on the eighteenth floor. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to find out much more than that no one had died, which was only half reassuring. Not to mention that the messenger had quickly slipped away after giving his letter to one of her servants, no doubt to avoid the risk of being charmed and passing on embarrassing information.
As soon as Ishtar told poor Haruhime this news, anxiety took hold of her immediately and caused a relapse of her illness, proving that stress really wasn't good for a convalescent. Technically, it was still nothing serious, but the gentle fox would probably spend a few more days lying in bed.
"Sorry..." murmured the blonde from under her duvet.
"Don't worry about it." The goddess replied, stroking her head. "In any case, it really is true love if you're so worried about him that you're sick of it."
"I... I worry about the others too." Haruhime said with even redder cheeks.
"Of course, you're too nice not to worry. But in fact, it's mainly Bell you're worried about. Don't feel guilty, it's perfectly normal and it's very difficult to fight against the impulses of the heart. It's the same for me."
It wasn't as if Ishtar wasn't worried about Welf or Lili either. Still, she had a little sympathy for the blacksmith, he seemed like an honest, hard-working boy. The same was true of Lili: she had taken a liking to this young woman to whom life had done her no favours. But the goddess's thoughts were mainly focused on Bell... her precious Bell.
The boy who had taken up more space in her life than she could have imagined.
And it was precisely this that was going to be the vector of unprecedented chaos...
Fortunately, further down the dungeon, it was not chaos that Bell's group faced, but a welcome calm. Few monsters had attacked them since they began their ascent. What's more, their team was now large and strong enough not to fear the creatures on the levels where they were.
However, something strange happened just as they reached the thirteenth floor. Mikoto suddenly froze and began to look around, which of course alerted everyone around her. Naturally, everyone thought she'd spotted a threat and everyone got into position, hand on their weapons, ready to fight.
"Lili, Welf, do you see anything?"
"Nothing, Master Bell."
"Nor do I."
"Mikoto, what have you..."
But before he could finish his question, he saw the young woman suddenly drop to all fours on the ground and sniff something.
"Come on, what's this one is doing now?" said Aisha with a little disdain.
But the samurai didn't seem to care about her opinion and started frantically searching for something, starting to move around a bit like some kind of four-legged spider, which was a bit weird.
"Kyaaaaa! Call an exorcist!" shouted Lena as she passed by.
On the other hand, her two familia companions seemed to understand this strange phenomenon.
"Ouka, would it be..."
"Here? That would be totally unlikely."
Mikoto, however, seemed to have a very specific idea in mind and began to head towards a little-frequented section of the floor, the rest of her team hot on her heels. This brought them face to face with a wall, which she sniffed in turn, before starting to smash through it, as everyone looked on in amazement.
"'She's really crazy, your friend!" said Aisha to the other two Takemikazuchi children.
Finally, Mikoto got her way and finished smashing through the wall, revealing a hidden area from which a light steam was escaping.
"Paradise!" she shouted enthusiastically before rushing into the passage, to the amazement of everyone.
The passageway that the young woman had just opened seemed calm and radiated a greater heat than the rest of the floor. What's more, there was this steam in the air, attesting to the presence of hot water in the vicinity.
"What is this place?" asked Welf, somewhat surprised by what they had just discovered.
"No idea," replied Bell. But he hadn't been an adventurer for long, so he turned to the more experienced ones. "Does anyone know this passage?"
Everyone nodded in response. If even more experienced adventurers like Lili, Ryuu, Aisha, Lena or Asfi didn't know, this was getting really weird.
"Could this be an unknown area?" asked Lena, putting forward the most obvious theory.
"Here, at the entrance to the intermediate floors? It would be a miracle if no one had found it in all this time." Aisha then clarified.
"It looks quiet." Ryuu remarked.
"Incredible! An unknown safe zone? The Guild would pay a lot to know where it is." Said Lili, whose business sense had immediately taken over. Old habits die hard.
"Let's start by taking a look around before jumping to conclusions." Said Asfi, to which everyone nodded. In any case, Mikoto had already chosen to explore the place without even asking the others' opinion and it wasn't as if everyone was going to go back and leave her in the lurch.
The whole little group entered the passageway, cautiously, but also with curiosity.
Belit Babili was a large building with many commodities, including a large bath for Ishtar's children. The bath was frequented mainly by Berberas, but also by her other servants.
Of course, here, at the heart of Ishtar familia, the premises were mixed, since, the goddess always encouraged contact between people and the fact of assuming one's body in front of everyone. A philosophy shared by almost all her children.
Except when it was Phryne. Then, strangely enough, everyone avoided the baths.
But the error of evolution was not there at the moment. The baths were actually rather quiet at this time of day. In fact, it was only Samira who was busy washing herself.
The amazoness heard footsteps behind her, but didn't pay any attention to them, or at least pretended not to care. The person moved closer, until he came up behind her, sat down, took a bit of soap and started washing her back.
She didn't need to look in the mirror in front of her to guess who it was. She realised the moment she felt it was a man's hands.
"Are you still determined?" she asked.
"Yes." Tammuz replied soberly.
"Very well, then. Doesn't our goddess suspect anything?"
"It's hard to say, but I don't think so. She seems too busy mothering Haruhime."
"Let's leave her to it. It's better if she looks after it. It'd be a shame to have gone to all that effort only to have our trump card die on us now because of a simple flu."
"I doubt she'll be willing to sacrifice her from now on."
"Maybe, but once she's faced with the facts and sees what we've achieved, then she'll know we were right."
"Yes... she'll be forced to admit it." Tammuz replied, although his voice betrayed the fact that he wasn't convinced. Deep down, both of them knew very well that what they were doing wasn't necessarily the right thing. But they had already gone so far down this path that there was no turning back.
"Any other news?"
"Apparently there was an incident on the eighteenth floor, but I don't know much about it other than there were no fatalities."
"So fate wasn't kind enough to take the kid off our hands. Too bad, that would have solved our problems. No choice, we'll stick to the plan."
It was then that the sound of conversation was heard. A group of Berberas were entering the baths. Samira immediately recognised their voices as those of young recruits. Those who were not in the know and who were rather favourable to Bell.
The amazoness immediately pressed her back against Tammuz's torso and grabbed his hands to press them against her chest.
"Tammuz! You naughty boy! Do you really want to do this here?"
In the Ishtar familia, if you wanted to plot secretly with someone, the best cover was still to make it look like you were sleeping with that person. Tammuz understood immediately what she was getting at and played along, kissing Samira's neck to keep up the appearance. He too was prepared to make a few sacrifices to hide this conspiracy.
And it worked, because the group of young Berberas didn't suspect a thing.
"Oh, someone's having a good time, isn't it?
"Don't mind us, we'll pretend we're not looking." Said one of the young women, provoking laughter from her friends, as they went about their business... all the while casting a curious eye from time to time.
This forced the two conspirators to do their little business in the middle of the baths to make sure they didn't arouse any suspicion.
In the newly discovered secret area, the party found Mikoto leaning over a steaming pool of water. They could see her examining the area from every angle, smelling the water before taking a sip, then standing up again with a happy look on her face.
"It's a real hot spring!" she exclaimed with strange enthusiasm. Which surprised most people.
"It's really interesting, but isn't she overdoing it for so little?" asked Aisha in the direction of the other two Takemikazuchi children.
"Er... let's just say that Mikoto really likes hot springs." Chigusa began.
"A real fanatic." Ouka added.
"Finally! After all this time! A real bath at last!" cried the young woman, confirming that her friends were not exaggerating in the least. "Our familia is too poor to have a real bathroom. What's more, there's no such thing as a public bath here, apart from the one reserved for the gods. I'm sick and tired of having to make do with the Guild showers."
"Ah? Personally, I like the Guild showers." Bell said with a somewhat... jaded look on his face. Mikoto immediately came over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Bell, how can you utter such blasphemies! How could anyone prefer these horrible showers to the bliss of a real bath?"
"Let's just say that the bathroom at the Astral Mansion isn't particularly the quietest place in town." Hestia said behind them.
Well, it wasn't when Bell was inside. As soon as the boy went to wash up, he had a nine out of ten chance of seeing Ishtar, Lena, Lili and even Aisha from time to time. If not several at once. In other words, Bell rarely took a bath in peace and quiet.
"No, really, sometimes the Guild showers don't seem so bad." Bell replied with a blank stare into the distance. Seeing his eyes, Hestia said to herself that it was about time she had a serious talk with Ishtar about notions such as intimacy and personal space.
"If someone had told me that one day I would fuck you." Samira said to Tammuz as they emerged from the baths at Belit Babili. The amazoness had hoped that her younger sisters would lose interest in them quickly, but the opposite was true, forcing them to do their business right to the end. After all, these curious little girls had had a good look around, a little more and they were even asking to join in.
"Likewise." The man replied coldly.
"Oh, come on, don't pretend you weren't having fun. I had a first-hand look at how hard you were from start to finish."
"I wasn't thinking about you."
"You know, that's not the kind of thing you say to the girl you've just had sex with." Samira replied with a look halfway between annoyance and amusement. She obviously suspected, given the fixation he was having on their goddess.
"Unfortunate necessity dictated by circumstances."
"You don't say that either. Too bad, I would have gladly invited you to my room so we could have round two."
"I'll save that for the next time I need an excuse to see you." he told her before walking away.
"Really? Shame. I guess I'll just have to satisfy myself tonight."
"And that's why I've got swinsuits for everyone!" shouted Hermes, proud to show off everything he was hiding under Asfi's cloak.
After confirming that it was indeed a hot spring, Mikoto was adamant that she wouldn't leave until she had bathed. In fact, everyone was tempted. Nobody had been able to have a real bath for days and the cold river on the eighteenth floor had its limits.
However, many were hesitant because of the mixed nature of the baths. Then Hermes made his big revelation... which included a lot of questions.
"But why did he take swinsuits in the first place?"
"And how come he knows everyone's size?"
"I always knew that guy was a dangerous pervert." Hestia said with a look cold enough to freeze him in place.
"And may I ask where you were hiding all this Perseus?" asked Aisha, about as shocked as everyone else. Asfi then approached her and put her hands on her shoulders before answering with a very serious look.
"That, Antianeira, you don't want to know." She said in a tone that showed she wouldn't take any more questions.
"Well... I suppose we've all earned a little rest." Bell said to lighten the mood.
To which everyone nodded.
"Wonderful my friends!" said the wandering god in his usual grandiloquent manner. "In that case, I suggest... er... what can I do for you ladies?" he said worriedly as Aisha and Lena approached him with sadistic looks on their faces.
"Let's just say we'll just make sure we relax in the quiet. Lena?"
"I've got just the thing." Replied the other amazonrdd with some rope in hand.
The two amazoness then grabbed the travelling god and began to tie him up without asking his opinion.
"Ladies, I can't let you do this." Said Asfi as she approached and readjusted her glasses.
"Asfi." Said Hermes, his eyes full of hope, convinced that his captain was going to get him out of this predicament.
"That's a very good idea, but he's a clever one, he'll manage to get away with so little. If you want to have peace, put more rope on and tighten it more." Putting her money where her mouth was, she handed more rope to the amazonesss, who set to work.
"Asfi!" cried Hermes with all his indignation.
"And gag him too, otherwise he's going to be a real nuisance."
"Asfi, how can you make that to mmmmmmm... mmmmmmmmmm..."
The poor guy didn't have time to protest any more as he was promptly bound, gagged and left in his corner. As a result, Hermes was condemned to utter muffled groans of his own as he fidgeted in a vain attempt to free himself. Unfortunately for him, Asfi had given the right instructions to neutralise him.
The ladies then took the opportunity to change behind a rock, under the watchful eye of Ryuu, who had decided to skip the bathing, but refused to explain why.
"Seriously, is it too small? But these things are really illegal!"
This observation was made by Lena, as Hestia complained that her bikini was too small to contain her generous breasts.
"What a waste to put that on a virgin goddess of all people." Aisha continued. "Besides, they could be useful for lots of things, starting with..."
"I don't want details! Help me instead of staring at me like that."
"Lili may not have as many arguments, but she won't let herself be defeated!"
"We'll do without your comments Lili!" fulminated the little goddess, who didn't feel at all helped in this case.
"Calm down, leave it to me, there are a few tricks for this kind of case." Aisha replied as she set to work so that the goddess of hearth could put on her swimsuit.
"Like this? Ah yes, I'd never have thought of that."
Just goes to show, even gods can learn new things.
For their part, the men didn't take long to get changed. Everyone was finally going to be able to enjoy the baths.
"We're ready!" said Hestia in a cheerful voice as she left her hiding place to show herself to everyone, followed by Lili.
"How do I look Master Bell?"
"Oh... You're... cute." The boy replied with red cheeks, a little embarrassed by the situation. But things had to be put into perspective, it was easier to bear the sight of Lili in a cute swimsuit than dressed in sexy lingerie. As for Hestia, it wasn't much of a change from her usual little white dress.
However, Bell, along with Welf and Ouka at her side, suddenly turned red and didn't know where to look.
"W-W-wait! Aisha! Lena! What are you doing?" asked Bell, rather shocked.
"What are you talking about?" asked one of the two amazoness who had also just come out.
"Why are you naked!"
Indeed, the two women were perfectly naked, wearing only a towel... placed nonchalantly on their shoulders.
"Strange question, we're going to have a bath aren't we?"
"Yes, of course, but er... the swinsuits?" he tried sheepishly.
"Honestly, who puts on a swinmsuit to take a bath?"
Strangely, everyone remained silent at this statement. In itself, it wasn't totally untrue... if you omitted the particular circumstances of the moment.
"Yes, but... er... we're... not alone here..." tried the poor boy.
"Bell, you haven't forgotten who you're talking to, have you?" Aisha gently corrected him, amused to see him so embarrassed.
"Ah... Yes, that's right, now that you mention it."
Aisha and Lena were amazoness. And incidentally bi-classed prostitutes. The concept of modesty was non-existent for them and showing their bodies was no problem at all. If people didn't like it, they could look the other way.
"And let me tell you, we're not the only ones." Lena added, pointing at Mikoto.
"Absolutely!" replied the samurai. "Ladies, I'm happy to see that you understand the true philosophy of bathing."
The young woman was also naked, although she had wrapped a towel around her body. Addicted to bathing, yes, but still with a minimum of modesty.
"Well, now that everyone's ready, let's get on with the sacred ritual!" said the samurai with a passionate flame in her eyes.
""The what?"" several people asked in amazement, while Chigusa and Ouka suddenly turned red from the embarrassment their friend was causing with her ravings.
Mikoto then embarked on a number of rather eccentric practices, but which seemed to be particularly close to her heart, to the desolate looks of her companions. While most of them were prepared to wait until she had finished to please her, this was not the case for two amazoness who were beginning to lose patience.
"All right, that's enough nonsense, now it's time for the bath". Lena said as she and Aisha approached the young woman.
"But! Wait, wait, wait! The sacred ritual..." the young woman tried in vain as the two Amazons each grabbed her arm.
"To the bath!" they said before propelling Mikoto into the water like an old bundle, to the incredulous looks of everyone else.
"Well... bath time I suppose..." said Welf, breaking the awkward silence that had settled in for a brief moment. Following in his footsteps, everyone headed for the hot spring to enjoy the gentle warmth of the water.
Everyone took advantage in their own way. Mikoto sulked a little in her corner, disappointed at having been interrupted in her ritual, but once she was in the hot water, she finally relaxed and simply enjoyed the moment.
Lena and Aisha had slumped into a corner, still without any modesty, which prompted Welf and Ouka to escape into other areas. It seemed that they were not yet ready to mix with such uninhibited women.
The tall muscular man, followed by Chigusa, found himself in a small, particularly hot pool, which he refused to leave. There was no way of knowing why he stayed there, but he was able to experience what it felt like to be cooked in a court-bouillon.
Welf found himself a quiet spot where he came across Ryuu... fishing, floating, seated on a large leaf, in a position that allowed him to get a good view of her magnificent legs, highlighted by her hotpants.
This sent Welf into a strange psychological spiral as he blocked out the subject, at the same time discovering his rock sculpting skills as he carved a magnificent representation of his goddess in stone... wearing something different from usual.
Some men liked breasts, others buttocks. Ryuu seemed to have the power to lead them towards the third way, the cult of voluptuous thighs.
Asfi was enjoying this moment of relaxation, while keeping an eye on his god, still tied up in his own spot.
"Are you all right, Lord Hermes?"
A muffled, disgruntled grunt was the only reply she got.
"Everything's fine with me, thank you for your concern." She said with a big smile as another muffled growl was heard.
Lili had tried to move closer to Bell, but the warm water had such a relaxing effect on her that she drifted off into a gentle drowsiness, exhausted by all the events of the last few days.
As for Bell and Hestia, they were off exploring. Curiosity had naturally prompted Bell to explore further and Hestia had followed him, leading to a strange situation.
At Belit Babili, while Ishtar was busy pampering Haruhime, Samira was dealing with a certain frustration that she couldn't quite shake off. She had built up a lot of tension with the recent events and, as a Berbera, she only knew two ways of relieving the stress. A good fight or a good session of sex.
Given the way things had gone with Tammuz a few hours earlier, she was in the mood for the latter. Only, the man had only done things with her long enough to build a solid pretext before leaving her in the lurch with his frustration. After an unsuccessful hunt for a male in the entertainment district, she was now haunting the corridors of Ishtar's home.
It was then that she was noticed by two other Berberas.
"Everything all right, Samira?"
"You look like you're in a bad mood. Something wrong?"
"I just want to get laid and I can't find a single decent male tonight!"
"Ouch..."
"Sorry, dear, it's been one of those nights..."
"It's a shame Bell isn't around, you could have asked the beast for help." Said one of the young women in an amused tone.
"Except that Ishtar forbids us to bother him on this subject." replied the second.
"Yes... that's a pity."
"The beast? Seriously, girls, do you really believe in Lena's delusions? The kid's no beast! It's literally written on his head that he's a virgin! What's more, given his build, I'd imagine that down there it can't be very big."
"The beast..." said Lena as she took two steps back, shocked by the object she had just seen.
Some unexpected things had just happened in the secret area of the thirteenth floor. Bell and Hestia's exploration had revealed the true nature of the place, which was far from a safe zone, but had turned out to be a vicious sweet trap set by an irregular monster.
The creature had almost taken them by surprise, but Bell didn't let him and a few spells, including one boosted with Argonaut, got the better of it. Only, the monster's weapon was an acid spit, which had dissolved Hestia's bikini top.
It seems that after the events on the eighteenth floor, Bell was attracting irregular acid-spitting monsters.
The young man offered his top to Hestia so that she could cover herself up before joining the others. However, the young man didn't realise that the acid had reached him and started to devour his own swimsuit, exposing his... drop items for all to see. This triggered Lena's reaction, which led to others.
"Oh dear... and to think that it's in the off position right now..." said Aisha, who was a little shaken up as well.
"C-c-could it be a side effect of Ishtar's blessing?" gibbered Hestia, who hadn't expected that either.
"Oh shit, now I've got complexes..." said Welf sadly.
For his part, Ouka was still knocked out after his little discomfort in the hot bath, but that wasn't the case for his two sisters-in-arms. They clung to each other, crying out in unison in surprise. Clearly, neither of them was used to seeing... so much.
"The world... is a place full of mystery." Asfi said soberly, adjusting her glasses.
As for Ryuu, she had covered her face with her hands, so as not to look. Or at least to pretend not to, because she was peeping shamelessly between her fingers. After all, given that she had unilaterally decided that they were going to get married, there was no harm in taking an early look at the goods. And she was quite happy to have managed to convince Syr to agree to polygamy, because it was obvious that there wouldn't be too many two of them to manage... that.
And finally, as far as Lili was concerned, she was immersed in a whole heap of mathematical calculations. These included various concepts such as volume management in space, expansion coefficients and a few other little things.
The conclusion of her calculations was quite simple: she was going to need training and preparation. She would probably go and ask Neela, who was both a pallum like her, but also an experienced professional, and who would certainly know how to advise her on how to prepare for... that.
At some point, Bell realised that his companions were behaving strangely and that he felt a strange draught between his legs. The young man turned red and panicked, all the while trying to hide this part of his anatomy.
Disappointed, but nonetheless rested, the group got dressed and prepared to set off again. They would not have the pleasure of announcing to the Guild the discovery of a new safe zone, although information on the location could still be exchanged.
"Everyone ready?" Bell asked the rest of the group, to which everyone replied in the affirmative.
"Wait," Lena began. "I'm sure we're forgetting something..."
A muffled, indignant growl was then heard, that of a god, still tied somewhere.
"Ah yes... Him..." said Aisha in a tone that spoke volumes about her regard for the deusdea.
"By heavens, Lord Hermes, I'm sorry!" said Bell as he rushed to untie the wandering god. Even he had forgotten all about it. No doubt it was karma for spying on the ladies at the river on the eighteenth floor.
Back on the surface, no one had time to go home, as they were forced to report to the Guild, particularly on the events on the eighteenth floor. The result was an absolute gag order on everything that had happened. No mention of the irregular Goliath, the fight in the safe zone, or the fact that the presence of two deities at the same time was probably no coincidence. It was also made clear that Hestia and Hermes would have to answer for their actions. And Ishtar too, since everyone knew that the little goddess of hearth was her employee.
But everyone was too exhausted to think about it. So they all split up to go home. The three children of Takemikazuchi returned to their god and their familia to tell them that everything had gone well, even if they omitted many details because of the Guild's orders.
Welf returned to Hephaestus, but only to tell her he was fine before collapsing on his bed, exhausted by all they had been through.
Hermes and Asfi withdrew quickly and discreetly, leaving Bell, Lili and Hestia to return to the Astral Mansion while Lena and Aisha went to report to their goddess at Belit Babili.
As soon as the goddess was informed, she entrusted Haruhime, who was still ill, to the care of the two amazoness and headed for the Delebat's residence. The young human and the pallum found themselves pressed up against her for a big hug without being asked. After days of worrying, the goddess had the feeling that she could breathe again.
This was not the case for Hestia, who almost suffocated to death when her divine colleague also gave her a big hug to thank her for keeping her promise, burying her face in her chest. But far from confining herself to simple thanks, Ishtar also offered her a generous bonus to thank her for her efforts.
The following night, Bell and Lili were forced to sleep snuggled up to their goddess, who would not let them go until the following day.
"Haru-Haru. Flu? Seriously? This time of year?"
"Sorry Lena."
"Stop bothering her." Aisha said as she looked after her little sister. "How are you feeling?" she then asked the pretty fox.
"Much better now that I know everyone's all right."
"Yes, everyone's fine, especially a certain human I'm sure you've been very worried about."
To which the fox replied, blushing and pulling up the sheet a little to hide her embarrassed expression. A gesture that made her look absolutely adorable.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he comes to see you tomorrow. I don't think Ishtar is going to leave him alone all evening anyway."
After their return, Ishtar had entrusted Haruhime to Aisha's care, knowing full well that with the attachment she had for her, the amazoness would take good care of her. Just like Lena, who was also very fond of the blonde and was just bringing her a glass of coloured, sweet-smelling liquid.
"Thank you." she said. "What is it?"
"My secret cocktail. Only good things... Stop looking at me like that, there's nothing suspicious in it, it's just fruit!"
The three exchanged a knowing laugh and Haruhime raised the glass to her lips, savouring the sweet liquid.
"Thank you, Lena, it's delicious."
"You're welcome."
"You should get some sleep Haruhime, you still need your rest." Said the beautiful amazoness, taking the glass back from her once she'd finished drinking it.
"Yes, you're... right..." the foxgirl said softly before drifting off to sleep. She was still very tired, but at least now she would be able to sleep. Aisha tried to get up, only to find that the young woman was holding her hand in her sleep. With a kind smile, the amazoness sat down beside her and stayed by her side for as long as it took to make sure she was sound asleep.
Lili had managed to slip out early the next morning, claiming she had some private business to attend to. Business which in fact consisted of meeting Neela in secret to seek her advice on a few... important matters.
For his part, Bell was still being used as a cuddly toy by his goddess, who didn't seem to want to let him go.
"Goddess, I swear I love you too, but will you let go of me now?"
"No, this is your punishment for worrying me so much." Said the goddess, clinging to him ever tighter.
"Please, Goddess, really, at least let me go and eat my breakfeast" Bell said as he struggled to free himself from Ishtar's grip.
Then, suddenly, Ishtar was startled by a strange, high-pitched scream. The two remained silent. Bell tried to understand what had happened and recalled the last few moments in his mind. The moment Ishtar had this reaction was when he put his hand in a very particular place.
So, even the goddess of pleasure was hiding such a weak spot...
"I see... so if I do it there..." Bell said softly as he gave a strange, worrying smile. A smile that Ishtar had no trouble interpreting.
"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no, no! Don't even think about it, you dirty little rabbit!" inveighed Ishtar as she took two steps back.
"Sorry goddess, but I think it's time for revenge!" said the young man, jumping on her and starting to... tickle her!
Because Bell had just discovered Ishtar's weak point: she was ticklish under the armpits. No doubt driven by the accumulated nervousness of the last few days, Bell gave in to a sudden urge to pay Ishtar back for all the times she had teased him.
"HAHAHA! No... HAHAHA! Stop... HAHAHA... please... stop..."
The goddess tried in vain to run away, but Bell managed to catch her and didn't let her escape.
It was around this time that Lena, who had left Haruhime in Aisha's care, arrived to see Bell.
"Hello Bell! It's your lovely big sister Lena! How are..."
Her words were cut short by the sight before her. In the middle of the Astral Mansion hall, Ishtar was lying on the floor, her light outfit half undone (from moving around so much), she was short of breath and had tears in the corners of her eyes (from laughing so much) and she looked totally exhausted (from trying to escape Bell). But above all, the young human was still leaning over the goddess. All of which naturally led Lena to draw the wrong conclusions.
"I'm... I'm bothering you! See you later!" she said as she ran off. "The beast... the beast is free... I can't believe he can get Ishtar in such a state when he's still shy. What's it going to be like when he dares to go for other women? What's going to happen when he fancies me?" the amazoness began to say to herself in panic. "No! Get a grip, Lena! All you have to do is train so you're ready when that day comes. Courage, girl! You can do it!" she said to motivate herself.
Next objective: to put together a suitable training programme.
Since the reports of the eighteenth-floor affair had poured in, the Guild had a lot of work to do. They had had to implement Ouranos' orders, ensure that all witnesses to the incident were kept secret, and determine the penalties for the familia of Ishtar and Hermes for allowing gods to descend into the Dungeon.
Dealing with this last detail was the job of Rehmer, one of the Guild's section leader, who wasn't counting his hours at the moment.
"Come in." The chienthrope said simply when the knock came on his office door.
"Did you ask for me, boss?" asked the person who had just come in, a gorgeous werewolf with flaming hair.
"Yes, Rose, I need you to take charge of a particular job."
"Something to do with the last case?"
"Exactly. It has been decided to fine two familia, those of Hermes and Ishtar. The former didn't make too much of a fuss, even though it was equivalent to half the assets of his familia. According to those who went there, he simply froze in place. However..."
"Ishtar causing problems?"
"Yes. For her, the fine isn't too bad considering her assets, but it's difficult to pinpoint who's responsible since it wasn't her, but a goddess without a familia who committed the fault, even though she's related to her."
"Where does the problem lie?"
"The people I sent to investigate came back a little... strange." Rehmer then said with an embarrassed look on his face.
"Do you think she charmed them?"
"Not openly, but Ishtar is good at making an enormous impression on people. As a result, I'd like you to take care of this story."
"Me?"
"Yes, you're much more uncompromising than those poor boys I sent over there. Ishtar is at her home all day, you can go whenever you like, I'm counting on you to handle this matter efficiently."
"Yes, Chief. Don't worry, I, Rose Fannett, would never allow myself to be corrupted." The young woman replied with a determined look before taking her leave.
"I-I-I... would never... allow myself... to be... corrupted." murmured Rose, trying to retain what little determination she had left.
"Are you all right, Miss? More tea?" Asked the tall muscular man sitting to her left.
"A biscuit perhaps?" offered the other tall muscular man on her right.
Arriving at Belit Babili, Rose was made to wait in a luxurious lounge. Sitting on a large, comfortable sofa, the werewolf waited while a whole group of men looked after her. All big guys, all shiny muscles, all dressed in smart loincloths.
In short, everything she needed to get her in a tizzy. At work, Rose gave the impression of a cold person, insensitive to the charms of men (and women too), but in reality she was not devoid of feelings and desires. Like many of her colleagues, Rose simply followed the rule of not dating adventurers and keeping her relationships with them strictly professional.
Like many of her colleagues, she didn't want a relationship with someone who could die and leave her at any moment. To this end, she had developed a very cold and detached image. And because she worked so much, this had come to be the image people had of her. Not having much free time, she'd never had time to find someone in her life, not even a one-night stand.
But Rose was not insensitive, she had desires, unfulfilled for years at that, tastes and preferences, even if she kept them to herself. In this case, Rose really fancied tall, muscular men, the kind who exuded virility from miles around.
Which fitted in perfectly with the half-dozen men keeping her company at the moment. Especially as the two sitting on either side of her seemed to be doing everything they could to stick to her more and more. The young woman found herself sandwiched between their thick, perfectly chiselled muscles.
She was literally surrounded by overflowing virility. Even serving tea and cakes, they did it with great virility.
How could the goddess have discovered her fantasies so easily when she was so discreet about her private life? Was this Ishtar's true power?
Imprisoned in this heavenly hell, or hellish paradise depending on how you look at it, the time seemed endless before Ishtar finally deigned to honour her with her presence.
"Please excuse me, Miss. I'm swamped with work and it's not easy managing the entire entertainment district every day." The goddess smiled broadly as she sat down opposite her.
"N-n-no problem!" the werewolf babbled in panic.
"I hope the boys took good care of you while you were waiting for me."
"Y-y-yes... no worries!"
Ishtar laughed at the situation. Of course, the fact that the young woman was surrounded by members of the Pillar Men was by no means a coincidence; it was all perfectly calculated. Besides, it was all rather innocent teasing, she wasn't really trying to annoy the Guild, just have a bit of fun.
"Rose, right? I know perfectly well why you've come. Rest assured, I have no intention of shirking my obligations to the Guild."
The goddess snapped her fingers and one of the burly men placed a tray in front of Rose, on which lay a sheaf of papers.
"Here's my letter of apology to the Guild, in which I explain everything, as well as my official compensation, in the form of a transfer order, more practical for you than carrying around a whole pile of Valis in the form of currency. I'll leave you to check." The goddess told her as she lifted the cup of tea that had just been served to her lips.
Rose managed to regain some composure and grabbed everything. Firstly, the transfer order: the sum was far less than the compensation the Guild was demanding, which was completely unacceptable.
As for Ishtar's letter... She put all the blame on Hermes!
The letter explained how he had taken advantage of Ishtar's emotional distress at the news of her children's disappearance to try and curry favour with her, how he had convinced Hestia, still new to the Gekai and easily influenced, to follow him in this rescue operation and how he had organised the whole thing. In short, easy excuses in which Ishtar almost made herself out to be a victim, in order to pay only minimal compensation.
Again, totally unacceptable.
But there was something else slipped in between the papers. Something that wasn't intended for the Guild, but for Rose herself. Delicately, the werewolf pulled out the coloured paper. It was an envelope, containing nothing more than an invitation to a VIP night at the establishment known as the Pillar Men. An all-expenses-paid invitation, with luxury meals, fine wines and as much company as she wanted for the whole night, with absolute priority given to her. All in an establishment filled with everything she could possibly have dreamt of.
The Guild, thanks to the report provided by Rose, accepted Ishtar's explanations and official compensation for her slight lapse, and placed the entire responsibility for the incident on Hermes. Just goes to show that everyone is caught up in their own karma.
As for Rose, she proved the truth of the saying that an incorruptible person is just a little more expensive.
Bell and Lili had been ordered by Ishtar to rest for a few days, to recover from their adventures and to renew their equipment. Bell's armour was in pieces and he had to wait for Welf to make him a new model.
While the prum went about her very particular business, the young man had spent part of the day with Haruhime, who seemed delighted that the young man was back, even if he couldn't tell her about his latest adventures. After all, Bell wasn't a liar, but he was the sort of person who would scrupulously respect specific instructions, such as the Guild's gag order.
But that mattered little to the fox, who was just happy that he had returned unharmed. And the fact that he was taking such good care of her was an added bonus. If she hadn't been so shy, she might even have taken Aisha's advice and asked Bell to lie down with her to warm her up.
But she wasn't ready for that yet.
At the end of the day, several people were waiting in a small lounge in Belit Babili, but the atmosphere was rather tense.
Takemikazuchi was having a meeting with Ishtar and his involved children, Mikoto, Ouka and Chigusa, were nervously awaiting the outcome of the meeting. Sitting on another sofa, Hermes was also present, with Asfi at his side, waiting his turn after Ishtar had invited him... without really leaving him any choice.
Bell and Aisha were also present. The young man was a little worried and the amazoness was there to keep an eye on everyone, as well as serving. But strangely, no one had touched her tea.
After an interminable wait, the door finally opened and the two deusdeas stepped out. Immediately, the three children of Takemikazuchi moved towards their god, who waved to reassure them.
"Everything's fine, in light of everything that's happened, Ishtar has been very understanding and reasonable. As punishment, you're just going to work for a few days in the entertainment district."
This in itself was not very reassuring information and the god quickly understood this from the faces his children made.
"Don't worry, I negotiated with Ishtar and was able to preserve your honour and, above all, your chastity. On the other hand... I couldn't do anything about your self-esteem."
Which was not at all reassuring.
"Come on, I'm sure everything will work out fine, think of it as a little part-time job, a new experience." Tried the god, himself not very reassured.
For his part, Bell turned to Ishtar.
"Goddess. Do you really have to do this?"
"Yes. They've made a mistake and must accept the consequences. They admitted their mistake and took risks to save you and the others, but the fact remains that they still gave you a parade pass and must be punished for that. Don't worry Bell, they're just going to do some odd jobs for a few days, it's just a basic punishment, nothing more."
"All right, I'll trust you."
Anyway, he didn't have much choice.
"Take, I'm counting on you to have all three of them tomorrow night at the addresses I gave you."
"Yes, don't worry, they'll be there."
"Er... what are we going to have to do?" Chigusa dared timidly.
"That, young lady, you'll see when the time comes, it wouldn't be any fun if I spoiled the surprise for you."
And it was clear that the goddess would say no more, which was not going to help calm the nervousness of Take's children. The goddess then turned to the wandering god.
"All right, it's your turn Hermes."
"I wonder why, your sudden invitation took me by surprise."
"Well, I promised you a night of love sufficient to leave you nothing but a desiccated mummy in the morning, as I recall."
"Indeed, but..."
"And I'm a goddess who always keeps her promises. So let's get going!" said the goddess, grabbing the blond by the arm and dragging him behind her. "Bell, I'm going to be busy tonight, you can go home."
"Er... fine."
"Wait Ishtar, do we really have to do this tonight?"
"Shut up and get into bed."
The goddess shamelessly pushed him into her quarters before closing the door behind her. The last vision everyone had was of Hermes' slightly panicked face.
"I don't understand any more." began Take. "Is he off for a night of love with Ishtar or to the gallows?"
"Probably a bit of both." Aisha replied with a look of amusement.
"OK... well, we won't disturb you any longer then. Good night to you." Concluded the warrior god as he pushed his three children out the door.
"I think... I'll be heading home myself then. Good night Aisha."
"Good night Bell." replied the amazoness as he left before turning her attention to Asfi.
"Are you going to wait here Perseus? It's going to be a long one, Ishtar's not kidding when she says it's going to last all night. But if you want... we can find you some company for the night. Tell me what your preferences are and we'll find something to satisfy you."
"That's kind of you Antianeira, but I'm going home myself, I've got work to do. As for Lord Hermes, he'll manage to find his way back on his own."
And with that, the former princess left in her turn.
Hermes indeed returned home the next morning. Crawling. The man looked exhausted, emaciated and somewhat dehydrated.
"Wa... ter..." he struggled to say as he extended his hand towards his captain who had seen him return.
"Of course, here you go." She said, placing a flask about five metres in front of him. The young woman seemed to have decided to be a bit mean to him until the end.
"As... fi..."
"Think of it as payback after all you've forced me to do."
Clearly, Asfi was the type to hold a bitter grudge and was the instrument of the karmic backlash the blonde god was currently enduring.
Hermes eventually got over it. Nothing a bit of water, a good meal and a few hours sleep can't cure, especially for a god.
"You are so cruel with me, Asfi."
"Think of it as a demonstration of my affection for you." She told him cynically.
"There are limits to tough love!" he took offence at her lack of consideration for him.
"Let's get down to business. You've received some mail, special letters." said the young woman, taking out two envelopes and placing them on her desk. Asfi was referring to certain special channels that only the gods could use to correspond with him. Letters often written in divine runes.
The first letter was from Zeus. Nothing surprising there, the god of thunder certainly wanted to be kept abreast of the latest developments. Which was fortunate, as Hermes was going to have a very full report to write to him.
As for the second letter. The seal that closed it and identified the author surprised him greatly. And he looked more and more serious as he read the contents.
"Asfi, get everyone here immediately." He said with a serious air, the kind he rarely assumed.
"Is there a problem?"
"We're going to have to deal with a very special... and very complicated request."