Cao Ye slept all the way until noon.
Although the skill [True Riding] was extremely powerful, the consumption it required was also huge. Besides, he had gone to sleep close to morning, so waking up around noon was actually about right.
However, when he woke up, Freya was nowhere to be seen in the room.
"So she really left after 'having her fill,' huh…"
Clearly he was the one who had slept with her, but somehow it felt like he had been the one taken advantage of.
Grrr…
After an exhausting night and sleeping until noon, Cao Ye's stomach was already growling.
He went to the kitchen and grabbed something to eat. To avoid starving, he always kept some food stocked at home just in case. Besides, Chun Ji had often cooked for him before.
Name: Cao Ye
Current Banner:Fate
Diamonds: 1040
When he subconsciously glanced at his system panel, Cao Ye froze.
"Wait… what's going on here?"
How had his diamonds suddenly exceeded a thousand?
Achievement – Pet of the Goddess of Beauty
Receive the favor of the Goddess of Beauty, Freya, and become the one blessed by her.
Reward: 1000 Diamonds
Sometime last night, this achievement had quietly been unlocked.
But the achievement left Cao Ye feeling somewhat speechless.
Just because he had been favored by Freya once… he received 1000 diamonds?
Wasn't that reward a bit too inflated?
But immediately after came excitement.
That was 1000 diamonds.
Converted into gacha pulls, that meant 100 pulls.
Wasn't that basically a jackpot?
At that moment, Cao Ye felt like he had already reached the peak of life.
Elsewhere…
BANG—
The door was suddenly pushed open.
The loli goddess Hestia rushed straight in.
CRACK—
At that moment, Hephaestus, who had been forging a weapon, was startled by the interruption. Losing concentration for a split second, the weapon she was crafting was instantly ruined.
"Hephaestus! I need to talk to you!"
Before Hephaestus could explode in anger, Hestia spoke first.
"You'd better have a good reason."
Looking at the failed weapon in her hand, Hephaestus took a deep breath.
Only because it was Hestia did she restrain herself.
If it had been anyone else, they would already be in serious trouble.
Interrupting a forging god in the middle of forging—not only disturbing them but causing their work to fail—was a huge offense.
For a blacksmith, that was practically humiliation.
And Hephaestus was the Goddess of Blacksmithing.
"Hephaestus, where's that child from last night?"
"My child?"
For a moment, Hephaestus didn't understand.
Then she realized.
Hestia was talking about Cao Ye.
So after sobering up, she was still thinking about him?
What kind of charm did that guy have that she hadn't noticed before?
"Yes! That child from last night. I remember clearly—he really likes me. He'll definitely join my familia!"
"Stop dreaming. He already belongs to a familia—Freya Familia."
"Freya Familia? Then I'll go talk to Freya."
Hestia immediately prepared to leave.
But Hephaestus grabbed her arm.
Go talk to Freya?
What was she planning to do—ask for him?
Everyone in Orario already knew.
More than two months ago, the Goddess of Beauty Freya had publicly taken a man under her patronage right on the street and brought him to Babel Tower.
Babel Tower was the residence of the gods.
Even many gods didn't have the qualification to live there.
Yet Cao Ye, a mortal from the lower world, was living there.
Wasn't that basically slapping everyone else in the face?
But since Freya was so powerful, no one dared to bring it up.
After all, the gods descended to the lower world for entertainment—not to get themselves killed.
Such treatment clearly showed just how favored Cao Ye was.
At a previous Denatus meeting of the gods, Freya had even secured a title for him.
Although "secured" wasn't quite accurate.
She had basically decided it herself.
"Pet of the Goddess of Beauty."
Yes.
That was the title.
There were similar examples within the Freya Familia.
For instance, the vice-captain Allen had the title "Goddess's Chariot."
But "Pet of the Goddess of Beauty" revealed a lot.
Who would be called a "pet"?
It obviously implied a relationship far beyond the normal bond between a god and their follower.
"Hephaestus? What's wrong?"
Hestia's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Nothing."
"Then hurry and tell me where my adorable child is! I'll go find him and then talk to Freya. After all, children in the lower world can change familias, right?"
For some reason, that single encounter last night had made Hestia feel extremely strongly about Cao Ye.
She wanted to claim him.
No matter the cost.
Even though she currently had nothing to offer.
Hearing that, Hephaestus felt a headache coming on.
Going to Freya to ask for him?
Even talking about changing familias?
How had she never noticed that Hestia could be so shameless?
Cao Ye was currently Freya's most favored person.
Trying to take him away was basically asking for trouble.
It was like going to someone's house and saying:
"I like your boyfriend. Break up with him and give him to me."
If it were Freya doing something like that, Hephaestus might find it normal.
After all, Freya had a history of stealing people away.
But Hestia?
She was supposed to be a virgin goddess.
Yet now she was acting like a love-crazed girl.
"I'm warning you. Behave yourself. That guy is Freya's treasure right now. He reached Level 2 in just over a month, breaking Orario's fastest record, and he's already received a title."
"He reached Level 2 in just over a month? As expected of my child!"
"Didn't you hear me? Don't provoke him. He's Freya's favorite. His title is literally 'Pet of the Goddess of Beauty.'"
"'Pet of the Goddess of Beauty'? That won't do. He's my child."
"He's Freya's child! Not yours!!!"
Hephaestus was practically about to explode.
How could Hestia be so stubborn?
She had never noticed before that Hestia could be this unreasonable.