It was early morning, and the sun had just risen over Orario. The city still slept, wrapped in its morning quiet. Yet, for the small Hestia Familia, the day had already begun.
Luki, who until then had been asleep on the old couch, slowly opened his eyes. He sat up with a sigh, still fighting off drowsiness.
— Aihhhh ah~ — he muttered as he stretched his back, feeling the discomfort of the worn-out furniture.
'My back is killing me... all because of this damn couch. One day I'll burn this shit.' He thought, massaging his lower back as he stood up.
Despite the romantic fuss from the night before, he and Hestia hadn't shared the bed. Hestia, of course, had been more than willing, but Luki had resisted with all his strength. He knew that if he gave in and lay beside her, sleep would have been the least of his problems that night.
So, with a heavy heart and a good dose of willpower, he insisted they weren't at that level of intimacy yet. The couch, uncomfortable as it was, would be his bed for the time being.
— Wuah~ — a soft yawn cut through his thoughts.
Luki turned to find Hestia coming out of the basement bedroom, her hair messy and her gaze still half-lost in the world of dreams.
— MornING... — he said, his voice carrying the drowsiness of someone just waking up.
A mischievous smile formed on Hestia's lips as she walked toward him with slow, uncertain steps.
— Good morning, my Luki-kun~. Did you dream of your beautiful goddess last night~? — she murmured, resting her head against his chest and wrapping him in a warm hug.
Even half-asleep and on "autopilot," Hestia never missed a chance to tease him.
— Yeah... — Luki answered in his own way, confirming that yes, he had dreamed of her.
'Though it wasn't exactly the most appropriate dream.' He thought, the memories still fresh in his mind, threatening to stir a second morning erection.
— Luki-kun~, let's brush our teeth together~! — she said, more awake now, grabbing his hand and tugging him toward the bathroom.
Once there, they stopped in front of the narrow sink. Two wooden cups filled with water and simple brushes sat inside. They picked them up and began brushing in sync — though in very different manners.
Luki did it like a normal person. Hestia, on the other hand, specialy cheerful in this morning, swayed her hips from side to side in rhythm with her brushing.
He couldn't help but notice. 'She's acting just like in the anime intro... but she's never done this before. What changed?'
As he wondered, something else caught his attention. Something... hypnotizing.
Two rounded shapes, firm and graceful, moved in perfect rhythm with Hestia's animated swaying. Up and down, up again, and then cruelly down once more with the pull of gravity.
Luki tried to avert his gaze, but it was as if his eyes had a will of their own. There he was, brushing on autopilot, following the rhythmic motion of... the 'boings'.
Hestia, seemingly oblivious to the storm in Luki's head, continued swaying happily, humming a little tune he couldn't quite catch.
He swallowed hard, forcing his eyes back to his own brush. 'Focus, Luki. Focus...!'
Determined to end it quickly, he sped up his brushing, trying to finish before Hestia noticed the obvious problem starting to manifest in his pants.
As soon as he was done, he set the brush down, splashed water on his face, and left in a hurry.
'I need to be more careful. I can't just get excited like that in front of her... we're not that close yet.'
What Luki didn't know, however, was that Hestia wasn't nearly as innocent as he thought. She had noticed both his gaze and the very obvious "tent" forming without any attempt at subtlety.
Still in the bathroom, cheeks faintly flushed, Hestia wore a dreamy look and a goofy smile.
'Yes! Yes! He really doesn't mind my small body at all!' she thought, thrilled.
With renewed energy, Hestia quickly finished brushing, dried her face, and went after Luki.
— Luki-kun~, what are you going to do today~? — She asked, hugging him from behind, her voice sweet and teasing.
Luki paused, feeling her warm touch and playful tone. He sighed inwardly. 'She's even clingier than before... just like in the anime. If Bell were here, he'd already be red as a tomato and running for his life.'
But Luki wasn't Bell. Though he still felt some embarrassment in intimate situations, he wasn't the type to lose control or run from them.
However, while his face stayed firm and serious, that disdainful elf-like superiority written in his eyes, his ears betrayed him. Their tips had flushed red and were twitching up and down slightly without his consent.
'Ufufu~! His ears are red and twitching. He's embarrassed. My Luki is so cute~!' thought Hestia, pleased.
— Train... STRong... Dungeon... — He said, the words slow but direct.
In other words, Luki planned to spend the day training, building strength before his next dive into the Dungeon.
Normally, he didn't care much for physical training since the Falna took care of most of his body's growth. But with Hestia determined to pour almost everything into his Endurance, he knew he had to compensate elsewhere.
At Luki's words, Hestia's mischievous smile vanished, replaced by an annoyed frown.
— Oh no, you're not! Don't even think I've forgiven you for what you did yesterday!
— WhaT?
— Investing in your Endurance was just to make me feel safer that you won't do something reckless again! But that doesn't mean you escaped punishment!
Luki raised an eyebrow, suspicious.
— For the next seven days, you're forbidden from entering the Dungeon. That's right, forbidden!
Luki reacted violently to this, one of the few times in his new life that he was so expressive. It seems the Dungeon is more important to him than it seems.
— BuT Hestia-sama... the mONEy...
— We have more than enough to last the rest of the month thanks to your little stunt! So don't even try to argue. It's decided. You're banned, end of story! — She declared, crossing her arms with a firm, authoritative look.
Luki sighed, realizing there was no way out.
— ... Yes... — he replied, resigned to his goddess's decree.
Satisfied with his submission, Hestia smiled again, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before pulling back with a smug look.
'She might be playful and kind, but she can be surprisingly strict too. It felt like I was being scolded by my mother.' he thought, glancing at the ceiling.
...
'Wait, did she just kiss my cheek?' Only then did he realize it, quickly raising a hand to his face.
'It's wet... holy shit, she kissed me! Sure, it was just the cheek, but still! It's been like... three years since a girl last kissed me.'
Elated, Luki felt even more energized and left the house to train, leaving Hestia to her own devices.
Out in the churchyard, he found an open space and dropped to the ground, ready to start exercising. Planting his hands firmly on the dirt, he began a set of push-ups.
— (One... two... three... four... five... six...)
Even as an elf blessed by the Falna, Luki knew there were no shortcuts to success. Divine blessing could amplify strength, but true progress came only through effort and dedication.
'Success is 99% effort and 1% talent, or something like that.'
— (Forty-six... forty-seven... forty-eight... forty-nine... fifty...)
His body, no longer that of an ordinary man, was far superior to one without Falna. Hestia's heavy investment in Endurance allowed him to push far beyond normal limits. In his previous life, where once he would have collapsed at 20 or 30 push-ups, now he was clearing 70 without slowing.
— Ninety-seven... ninety-eight... ninety-nine... one hundred!
Luki let himself drop to the ground, breathing steadily. Though tired, it was nothing he couldn't handle.
'Even so, 100 straight push-ups still make me feel it. But that's good. It shows I'm growing.'
After only a minute of rest, he was back up, ready for more. He repeated the cycle four more times, totaling five sets of 100 push-ups. When he finally stopped, his body was drenched in sweat, but he felt satisfied.
— (Phew~ Damn... huff... huff... I didn't know I could do all that...)
Sprawled on the dirt, chest rising and falling, he allowed himself a few minutes to recover. Maybe his high Endurance also affected his recovery speed, because within 15 minutes he was ready again.
Still lying there, he clasped his hands behind his head, planted his feet firmly, and began sit-ups.
— (One... two... three... four... five...)
Focused as before, he kept the pace steady, moving repetition after repetition without rushing.
— (Ninety-eight... ninety-nine... one hundred!0
He fell back again, this time facing the sky. Closing his eyes, he felt the sun's warmth on his sweaty skin. Despite the intensity, his spirit hadn't dimmed.
Compared to the Dungeon, hours of tension where a single mistake could mean death, these exercises felt almost relaxing, if not boring. The monotony of repetition was somewhat liberating, a welcome break for his ever-alert mind.
As they say, pain is the best teacher. After facing mortal dangers, Luki's mind had hardened. He was no longer the innocent young man from Earth; he was an adventurer now. He understood that effort and discipline were the only path to strength.
Much of physical exhaustion comes from the mind. If you think of giving up, everything feels harder. He had pushed past that barrier. Luki had no intention of giving up anytime soon.
With that thought, he stood, spreading his feet into position, and began squats. His muscles burned with every repetition, but he embraced the pain. To him, this was progress.
After finishing his squats, he decided to walk through the streets of Orario. Back on Earth, he might've done this sort of thing in a public park, but here, such places didn't exist.
Or at least, not in the poorer areas where he lived. Maybe in the noble districts of Orario, there were parks.
The streets were as busy as ever, full of adventurers, merchants, and common folk. Luki kept a steady pace, ignoring the occasional stares his striking appearance drew.
When he finally returned home hours later, he was drenched in sweat, muscles stiff, and breath short. Yet, there was something invigorating in the exhaustion. He felt like he could keep going.
— (500 push-ups, sit-ups, and squats, plus... who knows how many kilometers of walking. Now that I've followed Master Saitama's teachings, what should I do next?) — He asked himself aloud, glancing around the yard as if it held the answer.
In Orario, training outside the Dungeon wasn't common practice. Most relied solely on Falna and Excelia gained from combat, it's way more fast, like, WAY more. There were no gyms or structured training methods like on Earth, only the traditional and rudimentary approach of physical exercise.
Luki wiped the sweat from his face and smirked.
— I guess I'll just do it all over again...
Resolute, he dropped to the ground again, setting up for another round of push-ups.
'I won't stop. Not as long as there's sweat left to shed or energy in my body.'
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Luki continued his relentless training, something that didn't go unnoticed by Hestia.