Even with Lili standing right beside him, Liang Yue still felt the warmth that was meant only for him — the unmistakable softness pressing against his chest, and the faint fragrance lingering in the air.
He gently put his arms around her, greatly easing the mental fatigue accumulated from the high-intensity Dungeon expedition.
There was no need for any particular words.
That passionate embrace already said everything.
Only after realizing there was a newly joined supporter right beside them did Hestia let go of Liang Yue's neck. As she released him, she subconsciously turned her face to the side, not wanting the newbie to see the blush spreading across her cheeks.
Once she confirmed Liang Yue wasn't injured anywhere, she finally breathed out in relief.
There was no need to ask about what happened.
In past reports, Liang Yue always talked about his Dungeon explorations in an understated manner — everything sounded easy, as though no danger had ever happened.
That was… until she discovered the "heroic deeds" he had intentionally kept hidden from her during his level-up.
"I have good news, Liang Yue-kun… regarding your title." Pulling him to sit down on the sofa, she completely ignored Liliruca.
With a slightly proud smile on her face, she couldn't hold back from revealing the surprise she had been waiting to tell him.
"It went extremely smoothly."
"I didn't even need to ask other gods for favors."
"Just like you predicted — at the Gods' Assembly, Ouranos personally nominated the title Sword Soul for you."
She skipped over a lot of details — including the fact that Freya fully agreed with it.
Hestia's bright eyes couldn't hide her pride.
"The fastest adventurer ever to reach Lv.2."
"Sword Soul, Liang Yue!"
"No surprises there."
Knowing that in the end it wasn't some strange title like "Sakura" or something, Liang Yue felt quite satisfied.
As for grand titles like "Sword Saint" or "Divine Blade"…
With his current strength, those would be excessive — too much attention would make it hard to quietly grow.
Smiling sincerely, he nodded… before shifting his gaze to Hestia in her shop uniform.
Knowing the original story, he knew that at full strength the Takemikazuchi Familia could only reach around the 18th floor.
Sharing the same "expedition goal" was mostly something said for form's sake.
However, before he could open his mouth, Hestia — realizing she'd been found out — raised her finger and gently pressed it against his lips.
"This was my idea. Whatever consequences there are, you don't need to worry about them."
"And besides, I don't have any technical skills. I can't just lie around at home doing nothing all day. At least I should find a job."
"…"
Liang Yue looked at the unusually serious Hestia. Their current financial situation was indeed rather tight. After a moment of silence, he didn't say anything else.
Letting her stay at the familia home and do nothing but wait for him every day after he came back from the Dungeon… that would definitely bore her.
Working at the Hephaestus Main Forge…
At that thought, he remembered how his weapons were constantly getting worn out by his "Ultimate Blade" skill — and suddenly it didn't seem like such a bad idea.
"I will support Hestia-sama's choice unconditionally."
Repairing his weapons was inevitable anyway. And now that the title matter was settled, the next step was obvious:
It was time to update his status.
After such high-intensity exploration in the Dungeon, the Sword Soul class had clearly jumped to a new level.
There was no way his stat increase would be insignificant.
With high expectations, Liang Yue looked at Hestia and spoke earnestly:
"After so long exploring in the Dungeon… please update my status."
"Of course!"
After helping him with the expedition, and now getting to update his status — there was absolutely no reason for Hestia to refuse.
She took his hand and only then noticed Liliruca blinking in confusion beside them.
The latter sensed that something about the atmosphere was… strange.
But Lili didn't press the matter. From an objective standpoint — since the familia only had one member and that member was this powerful, it was normal for the god to dote on him.
It couldn't possibly mean… the goddess had special feelings for Liang Yue, right?
She didn't think too deeply about it. Since she had just joined the Hestia Familia, keeping a low profile was best. So she said:
"I'll go to the Guild and report that the expedition has been completed."
"Thank you."
Despite the slight inconvenience she brought, Hestia's impression of Lili improved — she really was an understanding child.
Once the sound of footsteps faded, she turned back around, unable to hide the anticipation in her eyes as she pulled Liang Yue toward the bed.
"Then let me update your status!"
"Um…"
Remembering what she had just said earlier, Liang Yue stood rooted in place.
"Hestia-sama. If I recall correctly, you said that if you stay here any longer, you'll be late for work."
"…"
Not that she'd forgotten. Realizing that Liang Yue was teasing her, she looked up at his refined face.
Their eyes met — and she could clearly see the sincerity in them.
Her blush deepened. In the quiet underground of the abandoned church, it almost felt like he could hear her heartbeat.
She didn't look away. Instead, she answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world:
"I think…"
"You're more important than… anything else. Besides, helping update your status is only natural."
"Liking and respecting such a goddess… is only natural too."
One should only tease to the appropriate level — and to hear her say such a thing already made Liang Yue feel it was something extremely rare and precious.
He didn't use any cheesy lines. What he said came genuinely from his heart.
Hearing his honest words, Hestia suddenly looked up. She could tell he wasn't lying — and her heart started beating even faster.
Almost unconsciously, she murmured:
"Actually… there's no need for words like 'respect' between us…"
—
Liang Yue — Lv.2
Attribute
Before
After
STR
H121 → B703
END
H101 → C681
DEX
H133 → B755
AGI
H120 → B738
MAG
H101 → C601
Development Ability: Sword Soul
Magic: Battle Fervor
Skill: Power of the Sword Soul
—
Having gone through the procedure countless times, Hestia pricked her finger and let a drop of divine blood fall onto Liang Yue's well-shaped back.
Once the gentle light faded…
She pressed the updated status onto parchment. After seeing the rather… absurd numbers, she quickly averted her gaze.
Then she compared them to the values from a day after his last level up.
"Hmm…"
Without a comparison, the numbers already looked ridiculous.
But compared to his status seven days ago — Hestia's hand trembled slightly as she held the parchment, struggling to keep her emotions in check.
Her eyes continued down the page—
And what appeared before her… was a worthy feat capable of making Liang Yue level up again.
"During Dungeon exploration, encountered floor boss Goliath, and defeated the monster in its full state with ease."
"Liang Yue-kun."
"Mm?"
"It's nothing."
---
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