Chapter 123: Hestia's Child!
"Hestia-sama, please don't do something so troublesome in front of our shop."
A gentle voice sounded.
However, the temperature around them rapidly dropped.
Ethan turned his eyes to the side.
Good grief.
Cold sweat immediately broke out across his body.
The beautiful girl named Syr had appeared there at some point.
And waves of cold air seemed to be radiating from her body.
Ethan looked at Syr and instantly began sweating.
Wasn't she supposed to be at Babel?
Why had she appeared at the Hostess of Fertility again?
He was being kept by this goddess, and now another version of her in disguise was nearby.
What was this?
The goddess version of getting caught in front of his "wife"?
At that moment, Syr's face looked a little dark.
Her mood was clearly terrible.
As an extremely possessive goddess, having someone who belonged to her touched by another goddess was something Freya absolutely could not allow.
And this was not just anyone.
This was the child she cared about the most, the one whose future even she was looking forward to.
Yet now, Hestia had directly latched onto him.
Anyone in her place would have lost their patience.
It was only because Freya still had some reason left that she did not expose her identity.
After all, this disguise was still very important.
But that did not mean she could endure it.
That was why the scene just now had happened.
"Ethan-san, how does it feel to be liked so much by a goddess?"
Was she blackening?
Ethan seemed to see waves of black energy rising from her body.
Good grief.
She was about to go berserk.
"Uh…"
Ethan also panicked a little and quickly tried to pull Hestia off him.
Unfortunately, she was gripping him tightly.
On top of that, she was still a goddess, so he did not dare make any overly rough movements.
Because of that, there was simply nothing he could do.
"Hephaestus-sama, please help me~~~"
"Sigh, this idiot."
Bang—
With a sigh, Hephaestus stood up, stepped forward, and gave Hestia a clean knock on the head.
"Have you made enough of a scene, Hestia?"
Good grief.
That was quick and decisive.
In the next second, Hestia finally let go of Ethan.
She crouched there alone, clutching her head, clearly having been hit quite hard.
"What was that for, Hephaestus?!"
"You're asking me? Look at what you're doing. You're standing in front of someone else's shop, clinging to a stranger and refusing to let go."
"If you go out like this, don't tell anyone you know me. I'm not Ishtar."
(Ishtar: What does this have to do with me?)
"Hm?"
The drunken Hestia finally looked at Ethan again.
It had to be said that after crossing over, especially after being strengthened again and again, Ethan's aura and appearance had improved by a great deal.
If he crossed back now and became a pretty-boy idol, he would have absolutely no difficulty succeeding.
"Goddess Hestia."
"My child!"
In the next second, Hestia tried to bring up the same thing again and was about to pounce on him once more.
However, the moment she moved, Hephaestus grabbed her by the back of the collar.
Was she really trying to do it again?
"Hephaestus, what are you doing? That's my child."
"What do you mean your child? He belongs to the Freya Familia. He is Freya's child."
"No, he's my child."
Bang—
"Wake up already!"
Facing this divine friend of hers who was drunkenly making a fool of herself, Hephaestus felt her patience reaching its limit.
In public, acting toward a man as if she were in heat—did she still care about her dignity?
Hestia was a virgin goddess.
Why was she behaving like some shameless pervert?
Even Ishtar would not grab someone on the street and refuse to let go like this.
(Ishtar: ???)
"Ethan-san, what did you come here for? To charm another goddess?"
At that moment, Syr, standing nearby, also began to attack.
"Of course not. I came here to eat."
"Then please come inside."
"Y-Yes."
Being stared at by Syr like that made Ethan feel uncomfortable all over.
It felt as if he were about to walk into a wolf's den.
But in this situation, he truly did not dare leave.
After all, if he went back, she might tear him apart.
"Child, my child—"
Hestia was still making drunken noises, but she had already been restrained by Hephaestus.
Under Syr's "watchful gaze," Ethan entered the tavern.
The farce seemed to end just like that.
But was that really the case?
"Hestia, he's already gone. Behave yourself already!"
"No, he's my child. In his heart, he 'likes' me!"
"Hm?"
Hearing Hestia's words, Hephaestus frowned slightly.
That did not sound like drunken nonsense.
As a goddess, Hestia was naturally not stupid.
Otherwise, with so many people around, why would she cling to Ethan and refuse to let go?
Thinking back to the uproar from two months ago, that Ethan seemed to be the one Freya had snatched off the street.
Combining that with Tsubaki's interactions with him, as well as how others described him, it seemed this little guy had not been charmed by Freya.
Now, with Hestia's words added on top, Hephaestus could not help thinking more deeply about it.
Unconsciously, she raised her head and looked into the tavern.
By then, Ethan had already taken a seat and started ordering.
Looking at his back, Hephaestus had a bold guess in her heart.
"Ethan-san, what would you like to eat?"
"Today's special, a glass of rum, and a serving of fruit."
"Of course. One today's special, one drink, and one serving of fruit."
Syr wrote down the "order," but Ethan did not believe she would actually serve him exactly that.
He had been tricked plenty of times here before.
Unfortunately, she was his own goddess, so he could only swallow it down and accept it even if he got scammed.
"What about me? What about mine?"
At that moment, Paimon grew anxious from the side.
Why was he only ordering for himself?
She had not ordered yet!
"Don't worry, I won't forget you. Tonight, you can eat as much as you want."
"Really?"
"Trust me."
Paimon sat down half-believing him, though she still had some doubts in her heart.
As for Ethan, he could only say this: after being tricked so many times, he knew better than anyone.
Believe him.
There would definitely be enough food tonight.
In fact, whether Paimon could finish it all was the real question.
The so-called "order" had no meaning at all.
After all, Syr would not actually look at it.
"Don't go too far."
At the counter, Mama Mia looked at Syr as she returned and could not help speaking up.
"It's fine, Mama Mia. Ethan-san and I are good friends. This is just our way of deepening our relationship."
"Do whatever you want."
Looking at her goddess, what else could Mia say?
However, when she looked at Ethan, there was a faint trace of pity in her eyes.
Young man, please do not let this goddess play you to death.
The entire Hostess of Fertility fell into a strange atmosphere.
An indescribable pressure filled the shop, causing many of the customers who were eating to leave one after another.
…