Chapter 355

Chapter 355: Chapter 355

The welcome awaiting the returning adventurers was nothing short of spectacular.

The streets were filled with cheering crowds, colorful banners fluttered overhead, and the thunder of drums and celebratory fireworks echoed throughout the city.

People had gathered in such overwhelming numbers that, without the Ganesha Familia working desperately to maintain order, the excited crowd might have surged forward and completely swallowed the returning expedition.

"Look! It’s the Braver! He’s so adorable!"

"Ahhh! Lady Nine Hell just smiled at me! She’s gorgeous!"

"Lord Hedin! Lord Hedin, I love you!"

"Lord Hogni! Have my babies!"

Unable to approach the adventurers and introduce themselves personally, the spectators could only shout at the top of their lungs to express their excitement and relief at having survived the recent catastrophe.

Some of the young women were making particularly outrageous declarations.

Under ordinary circumstances, remarks like those would have attracted plenty of amused attention, but everyone had been thoroughly terrified by the enormous magic circle that had appeared over Orario.

Now that the danger had passed, they were celebrating and releasing their emotions in every way imaginable, making even the most shameless declarations seem relatively normal.

"Kiriya!"

"Mama!"

Two delighted cries suddenly rang out as two figures launched themselves from the elevated platform at the end of the broad avenue.

One was tall and slender, while the other was considerably shorter and rather more generously proportioned.

Naturally, they were Loki and Hestia.

From her position on the platform, Hestia had quickly spotted the young man she had been longing to see.

Without even considering how high above the ground she was standing, the petite goddess immediately leaped toward him with her arms spread wide.

Fortunately, Kiriya reacted quickly and caught her.

Otherwise, even with her rather impressive natural cushioning, Hestia would probably have suffered quite an unpleasant landing.

Loki was considerably less fortunate.

Riveria and the others knew their patron goddess far too well.

No matter how dramatically she threw herself toward them, they remained perfectly calm and made absolutely no attempt to catch her.

Consequently, the Goddess of Mischief experienced a rather intimate reunion with the pavement.

THUD!

Without Hestia’s generous cushioning to soften the impact, Loki’s landing produced a particularly satisfying sound.

"WHYYYY?!"

Loki immediately burst into exaggerated tears and turned an aggrieved expression toward Riveria.

"Riveria! Why didn’t you catch me?!"

Riveria simply turned her head away, pretending that she had neither seen nor heard anything.

That only made Loki even more miserable.

"Kiriya, are you all right? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you? Here, let me check!"

Meanwhile, Hestia had already begun frantically inspecting Kiriya.

Her little hands roamed all over him, searching for injuries, and she even slipped them beneath his clothing in her determination to make absolutely certain that nothing was wrong.

Her expression was filled with worry.

Although she had confidently reassured everyone that Kiriya would save Orario, knowing intellectually that he was powerful and actually watching him walk into danger were two entirely different things.

Love had a remarkable ability to make even a goddess irrational, and Hestia was no exception.

She had spent the entire crisis worrying that Kiriya might have suffered some terrible injury.

She was so completely absorbed in checking him that she did not even notice the absence of Jeanne, Ryuu, and Esdeath.

Naturally, Hestia’s behavior came entirely from genuine concern, without the slightest ulterior motive.

Unfortunately, that was not how the surrounding young women interpreted it.

Countless hearts practically shattered as they watched the petite goddess freely touching Kiriya’s chest. T

he envy among the spectators was almost tangible.

That was Sylvan they were talking about!

He was handsome, powerful, and now one of the greatest heroes in Orario.

Just imagining what it would feel like to run their hands over his muscular chest was enough to make some of the women blush.

For a moment, an astonishing number of young women and goddesses wished they could push Hestia aside and take her place.

"Hey, hey, Hestia. There are an awful lot of people watching."

Seeing that more and more buttons on his shirt were coming undone, Kiriya hurriedly caught her wandering hands.

If this continued, the gods responsible for maintaining public decency would probably descend upon them personally.

"You’re right!"

Hestia finally came to her senses and released the legs she had wrapped around his waist.

The instant her feet touched the ground, she seized his hand and began dragging him toward Hearthstone Manor.

"Let’s go home first. I need to give you a proper examination!"

Everyone watching fell silent.

’An examination? Who exactly are you trying to fool?’

Even the most innocent spectators could guess what kind of examination Hestia had in mind.

That goddess was clearly just eager to get her hands on her boyfriend.

"Heh. So this is the famous Virgin Goddess?"

Having been thoroughly neglected by her own children, Loki could no longer tolerate watching such an unbearably affectionate display.

She climbed to her feet and immediately began mocking Hestia.

"Looks more like the Goddess of Lust to me!"

"And what’s wrong with that?"

Hestia was not remotely intimidated.

She planted her hands on her hips and immediately counterattacked.

"I enjoy being affectionate with my boyfriend. Is that supposed to be a problem? Kiriya certainly doesn’t mind!"

Then she gave Loki a particularly smug look.

"Unlike a certain someone who doesn’t even have a single child willing to catch her when she falls. Maybe you’re just not charming enough!"

"Guh!"

Loki clutched her chest as though an arrow had pierced her heart.

Hestia glanced at the gesture and immediately found another opportunity to strike.

"You should probably ask Riveria to examine you. Did you hurt yourself when you fell earlier? Oh, sorry! I completely forgot you don’t have anything up there to injure in the first place!"

"THAT’S IT! YOU’RE DEAD!"

Loki exploded with rage and lunged forward, grabbing Hestia’s cheeks and stretching them mercilessly.

Hestia naturally refused to accept such treatment and immediately retaliated.

Within moments, the tall, slender goddess and her shorter, curvier rival were wrestling in the middle of the street, fiercely squeezing and pulling at each other’s faces.

The grand ceremony welcoming Orario’s returning heroes had somehow transformed into a public brawl between two goddesses.

Strangely enough, nobody complained.

Quite the opposite.

The spectators watched with enormous enthusiasm, and a few even started cheering.

After all, how often did ordinary people get the opportunity to watch two goddesses fighting like a pair of schoolgirls?

Missing a spectacle like this would have been a terrible waste!

Meanwhile, the unfortunate members of their respective Familias could only exchange helpless looks.

Kiriya and Riveria were already thoroughly accustomed to their goddesses’ behavior, but that hardly made dealing with it any less exhausting.

Eventually, the adventurers managed to separate the two squabbling goddesses.

After accepting the official gratitude of the Guild and the heartfelt thanks of Orario’s citizens, the group finally made its way toward Twilight Manor.

...

"What?! You’re planning to stay in the Deep Floors and continue training?"

While they were on their way, Hestia finally learned that Kiriya’s main body had not returned with the expedition.

Her excitement immediately collapsed into disappointment.

After experiencing so many emotional ups and downs during the crisis, she had desperately wanted a generous dose of her favorite Kiriya-brand emotional support.

Instead, she discovered that the young man currently holding her hand was merely a clone sent back to collect a Grimoire.

The real Kiriya was still somewhere deep inside the Dungeon.

What was she supposed to do with that?

"Relax. It’ll only be another couple of weeks at most. I’ll be back before you know it."

Kiriya smiled and gently stroked her head.

"Fine..."

Hestia reluctantly nodded, although her disappointment remained obvious.

Still, she had never been the sort to stay depressed for long. After a moment, her expression changed, and she glared at Kiriya with renewed determination.

"Just you wait! When you finally get home, I’m going to squeeze every last drop of energy out of you!"

"Heh. That’s pretty bold coming from someone who’s always the first to surrender."

Kiriya gave her a dismissive smile.

Such confidence from a tiny, inexperienced goddess was almost laughable.

Fortunately for Hestia, their conversation was taking place in relatively quiet voices, and they had fallen some distance behind the others.

Otherwise, if anyone had overheard them, the dignified image of the Virgin Goddess would have shattered into a thousand pieces all over again.

By the time their little argument ended, the group had arrived at Twilight Manor.

Riveria led Kiriya into her study and retrieved a thick book before handing it to him.

"I’m entrusting Ais to you."

Her voice was unusually solemn.

"Don’t worry. Leave her to me!"

Kiriya immediately straightened his expression and gave her a serious nod before lowering his gaze toward the book in his hands.

The Grimoire was approximately an inch thick, with a deep-black cover and large letters stamped in dark gold.

Its appearance was understated yet unmistakably luxurious, possessing the sort of elegance that made its extraordinary value obvious at a glance.

Kiriya carefully examined it, already considering the possibilities.

Both Jeanne and Esdeath still possessed unused Magic slots, and either of them could benefit enormously from awakening another spell.

The only question was what kind of Magic the Grimoire would reveal.

’I wonder which one of them should use it... and what sort of Magic she’ll awaken?’

The possibilities alone were enough to fill Kiriya with anticipation.

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