บท 9: [9] I Need More Power!
"I'm really freaking clever." Aiden thought to himself, watching the goddess Hestia fry potato balls while humming a tune. He began reciting the prepared lines.
Upon hearing Aiden's words, Hestia, who had long been troubled by the lack of interest in joining her familia, immediately became excited. Her already large eyes widened as she handed the fried potato balls to Aiden. Then, she raised her right hand, adorned with white silk gloves, and deliberately cleared her throat before speaking in a lower voice, "Ahem, um... Don't be fooled by my appearance. I'm also a goddess. I'm Hestia. Because I've only recently descended to the lower world, I don't have much fame yet. But I'm planning to establish my own familia soon and am currently looking for children who can join my familia."
Looking at the seemingly innocent yet artificially mature Hestia in front of him, Aiden pretended not to understand her implied meaning and cooperatively replied, "Ah, so you're also a great deity? My apologies."
Seeing Aiden's exaggerated acting, Hestia, satisfied that Aiden didn't catch her drift, chuckled with satisfaction. "Yes, one day my familia will surpass Loki's and become the strongest and most famous in Orario."
Pausing for a moment, she extended her right hand to Aiden. "So, would you like to join my familia and become my family?"
"Family...?" Hearing this word, Aiden felt a bit dazed, but he didn't forget his purpose. He gently grasped Hestia's gloved right hand and said, "I would be honored to be part of your family."
Hearing Aiden's response, Hestia, who had been rejected countless times before, couldn't believe her ears. Stammering, she asked, "G-guest... Did you just say... say you want to be... be my family?"
Seeing Hestia's incredulous yet adorable expression, Aiden smiled and nodded in confirmation, tightening his grip on her hand.
"Fantastic! This is fantastic! I finally have a familia!" Hestia's eyes lit up with excitement upon receiving Aiden's affirmative reply. She immediately released his hand and dashed out from behind the stand, embracing Aiden tightly.
"Referee, that's foul, she's dribbling and bumping into people!" In that moment of being embraced by Hestia, Aiden felt a warmth he had never experienced since birth. Even separated by mountains and rivers, one could still feel the beauty and goodness of life, the future filled with brightness.
Hestia hugged Aiden for a while before excitedly saying, "Right! I won't work today. I'll take you to our familia's residence first."
As she was about to pull Aiden's hand towards the northwest street of Orario, it was Aiden who held her back.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Aiden Sparda. From now on, we're family, Hestia."
Hestia nodded vigorously, her big eyes brimming with happiness.
Looking at the joyful goddess in front of him, Aiden felt as if he had been infected by her emotions, smiling as he pointed to the setting sun. "Hestia, it's almost dinner time. Let's eat first before heading back. Also, this is where you work. At least tidy up a bit before leaving."
"Okay, Aiden-kun, just wait a moment~" Hestia bounced off in her flip-flops to clean up the stall.
She really was wearing flip-flops, truly unique. Watching Hestia clean up while smiling and humming, Aiden silently chuckled to himself.
Seeing Hestia finished tidying up, Aiden said, "Hey, Hestia, let's go have a nice meal at the Hostess of Fertility."
"Really? It's expensive there. I only went once with Hephaestus before and then I was broke." Upon hearing about going to the Hostess of Fertility for a feast, Hestia's big eyes sparkled with excitement.
Aiden took out his purse, "It's okay, I may not be rich, but I have over 400,000."
"Wow~ Is Aiden a rich person? That's amazing." Hestia's mouth couldn't help but water.
Seeing Hestia, who was jumping around like a child, Aiden silently chuckled to himself, thinking he had never seen a god who looked so miserable.
"Starting tomorrow, I'll go exploring the dungeon. Let's eat there every day from now on." Aiden gently touched Hestia's head, saying before leading her towards the generous lady's place.
...
After a hearty meal, under Hestia's guidance, Aiden walked through the western street, passed through several narrow alleys, and turned a few corners until what caught his eye was a dilapidated church.
Looking at the crumbling structure before him and the rickety wooden door, Aiden couldn't help but smirk. While it didn't seem so bad in the anime, seeing it now, Hestia, really is in dire straits. Is the money the system gave tp him meant for renting a house? With a sense of resignation, Aiden followed Hestia inside.
What should have been a storage room in the basement had been converted by Hestia into a bedroom.
The small basement, aside from a simple wooden table, an old couch, and an unmade single bed with rumpled sheets, had few furnishings. Aiden wondered how they would solve the issue of using the bathroom. Or perhaps goddesses didn't need to? Aiden once again lamented the bleakness of Hestia's life, truly living up to the title of "poor goddess" bestowed upon her by Loki.
"Ta-da! This is the residence of our Hestia Familia, all arranged by me!" Hestia spread her arms wide, bouncing around like a child, excitement evident in her voice as she showed Aiden around.
Approaching, Aiden gently touched Hestia's head and said softly, "Hestia, you've been through a lot alone. Tomorrow, let's find a hotel to stay in or rent a house. I'll go earn money in the dungeon and then buy a house for our familia. As long as I'm here, I won't let you suffer anymore."
"Aww, Aiden-kun, you're so amazing!" Tears welled up in Hestia's eyes as if they were free-flowing, and she threw herself at Aiden, hugging him like a koala.
"Because we're family." Aiden chuckled, lightly caressing Hestia's shiny black hair, which was still in his arms.
"Yeah, we're family." Hestia nodded, wiping her eyes and nodding vigorously.
"Alright, let's give your blessing now." Getting off Aiden as if injected with chicken blood, Hestia exclaimed excitedly.
"Hey, Aiden-kun, are you ready? Come over here." Hestia gestured for Aiden to come closer, sitting back and crossing her legs.
"Finally, is it time? What kind of skills will I, a descendant of Sparda, have?" Aiden wondered what skills he might possess. If any. Aiden prepared himself eagerly.
"You're quite diligent with your workouts, Aiden-kun." Hestia smiled as she looked at the contours of Aiden's muscles under his shirt.
"It's nothing. I haven't really been working out." Aiden modestly replied as he lay down.
With a smile as bright as sunshine, Hestia continued, "Next, I'll use divine words used by gods, with divine blood as a medium, to inscribe it on you. This will be your blessing. Are you ready, Aiden-kun?"
"I'm ready. Let's begin, Hestia."
"Alright, here we go~" Hestia took off her gloves and picked up a thin needle.
Hestia lightly pricked her finger with the needle, then lifted her hand and let the divine blood drip onto Aiden's back.
Plip-plop.
A drop of crimson, tinged with a hint of gold, fell onto Aiden's back, echoing like a drop of water hitting a pond.
In an instant, Aiden felt as though a warm spring-like flow entered his body.
Soon after, contrary to the warmth, his blood seemed to boil, and a cold force quietly began to emerge.
This force was about to collide with the warm flow, and Aiden could feel his demon soul awakening, as if someone in his mind kept chanting, "I need more power!"
Aiden could feel the power inherited from Sparda and Vergil, the power of Sparda, beginning to stir.
Just as Aiden started to worry about the collision between the power of Sparda and the divine blood, a force surged from the depths of his soul, manipulating the two forces. Under the control of this force, the power of Sparda merged with a trace of divine blood and then subsided, leaving only warmth behind. The revival of the Sparda bloodline ceased, and the repeated chant in his mind disappeared.
All of this happened in an instant.
"Is this the power of Sparda, the gods, and the system?" Feeling that Hestia showed no signs of discomfort, Aiden sighed inwardly.
Straddling Aiden's buttocks, Hestia was unaware of the changes inside him. From the spot where the divine blood dripped down, she used her finger as a pen, Aiden's back as paper, and began to swiftly sketch and outline. The sacred words, emitting a white glow, began to appear.
Different from the initial awakening and subsequent quieting of the cold Spartan power, this was a comfortable, warm force. As Hestia's delicate fingers traced, it slowly spread across Aiden's back, immersing him unconsciously.
As Hestia's fingers stopped, a pattern formed on Aiden's back, accompanied by many sacred words, flames, and overlapping bells.
"This... this is...!" Seeing the skills before him, Hestia, who was straddling him, exclaimed in surprise.
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