Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 218 - Furnishings

After Hestia calmed down, they began touring around the common areas of the building which Hestia had decided to call ’Hearth Manor’ since her principle Divinity related to the Hearth. For their emblem, other than the crest itself, Hestia wanted something that embodied their first meeting and the bond they shared from now on. The final design ended up being two winged snakes, one black and the other white, circling around a flame that was half-part aquamarine while the other half was the crystalline blue of Hestia’s eyes.

Since Vahn had relatively high dexterity and could even put fine details into metalworks, it was actually very easy for him to make the basic design of their emblem. Hestia hugged the piece of paper like a treasure and Vahn promised to forge a plaque that they could put outside the gates to represent the Hearth Manor in the future. He even intended to make it out of magically conductive metal so it could act as one of the formation cores for the security of the manor. Since this building and property was specifically designed by Hephaestus in the past, it already had powerful security that made Vahn’s mind go numb after imagining the cost. Though he was still unaware of how much she had spent for his previous security, Vahn imagined the number for the current manor was an astronomical amount.

While they were touring the building, Vahn purchased various items from the system shop to decorate the Manor. Hestia was amazed at how he was able to ’create’ things and pull them out of thin air, but she was already informed about the nature of his pseudo-divinity previously. The fact he could make use of a power similar to the Arcanum of the gods was an incredible sight to behold. After asking him about the details, she learned that he could usually only create general use items that had few, if any, magical properties. The consumables he ’created’ were only usable by himself, and any of the equipment he created couldn’t be used by others unless he used a special method to transfer ownership.

Interested by the prospect of an item that only she could use, Hestia asked Vahn if he could make her an accessory or piece of clothing that he thought suited her. Vahn saw the shining eyes of Hestia and began to seriously consider what he could possibly give her. He inspected her body from top to bottom in a contemplative manner while Hestia waited patiently, though Vahn could see that she was very excited by how her aura was flickering like an actual flame. Noticing a slight peculiarity, Vahn asked, "Do you not like to wear shoes?"

He hadn’t thought about it previously, but the entire time Hestia had been accompanying him she hadn’t been wearing shoes. Even though some of the roads were somewhat rough and had uneven or even abrasive stone surfaces, she seemed to be completely immune. While looking at her feet with interest, Hestia lifted up her foot and dangled it a bit as she said, "I don’t really like to wear shoes that much since it feels more natural to walk on the ground with my own feet. If its cold, I’ll probably wear boots though and I also sometimes wear sandals so I don’t track dirt into places."

Vahn was listening to her words while remarking in his mind about how clean and petite Hestia’s feet looked in his mind. There didn’t seem to be any dirt to speak of and her foot looked very soft, unlike something that would be able to walk on a rough surface without difficulty. Since she kept dangling it in front of him, Vahn asked, "Do you mind if I look at your foot more closely?" He was genuinely curious to inspect it since he couldn’t make sense of it just looking from his current angle.

Hestia’s smiled widened at his words as she sat down on the floor and held up her foot for Vahn to ’inspect’. With the angle she was sitting at, Vahn could see her pure white panties that matched the color of the short dress Hestia wore. He wondered why she wore such a ’revealing’ outfit since there was barely a hands width between the start of her thigh and the end of her dress. If she weren’t ’petite’, it would be very easy to see up her dress as he could at present. Even if she sat in a chair, unless she crossed her legs, Vahn imagined her panties would be fully visible to anyone paying attention.

Since she had been paying close attention, Hestia noticed Vahn’s eyes look up her dress and it made her heart beat quicken a bit. He seemed to have a ’curious’ and ’inquisitive’ look instead of desire, l.u.s.t, or passion. She released a relieved sigh in her mind and felt slightly more emboldened by his naivete. She felt that, though he seemed very dense, Vahn was also incredibly attentive and genuinely respectful of the bodies of women. Instead of feeling disgusted by his gaze, she only felt an increasing amount of excitement.

Vahn kneeled down and held Hestia’s ankle with his left hand while he used his right hand and thumb to inspect the texture and feel of Hestia’s foot. She immediately began laughing at his touch since she was actually quite ticklish. Her movements made her dress ride up her thighs even further and Vahn could see her panties on full display as if she didn’t notice the situation at all. Instead of gawking, Vahn took a slightly deeper breath and kept his focus on her foot.

As he expected, though against common sense, Hestia’s foot was soft and tender. Since she walked around on bare feet everywhere, Vahn had assumed her skin would be slightly thicker or there would even be calluses on her feet. Instead, they were completely smooth and Vahn couldn’t even find any dirt even though they had walked around back alleyways earlier. After feeling the foot for around a minute, Vahn set it back down on the floor before turning away to give Hestia time to fix her dress.

When Vahn had ’tickled’ her foot earlier, Hestia had noticed her own dress riding up and was paying attention to how Vahn would react. Though he looked for a brief moment, he immediately turned away and began inspecting her foot in a very serious manner. She almost laughed because of how innocent and serious he was. Though he obviously wanted to look, he was able to keep his sensibilities and remember the purpose of his request which was to inspect her foot. She remarked internally about how ’dense’ he was but also commended him for his focus and ability to retain his reasoning.

Vahn helped Hestia from the floor and she fell forward into his body a bit before he helped her find her footing. She laughed cheerfully before separating from Vahn and asking, "What do you think of my feet~?" Since he had been seriously inspecting them earlier, Vahn gave an honest response, "They’re very small and have a soft texture. I find it hard to comprehend how they’re able to stay that soft when you walk around barefoot." In response, Hestia laughed and proudly proclaimed, "It is because I’m a goddess! Every part of me with always be beautiful~!" She then began to laugh in a ’haughty’ manner and Vahn felt like she was very happy at the moment.

Since she didn’t seem to need shoes, Vahn decided to buy her something that could be worn that wouldn’t change her normal appearance. Other than her b.r.e.a.s.ts, he thought her outfit had a great balance and well-designed color scheme that enhanced her beautiful black hair and crystalline blue eyes that always seems to have a slight glimmer to them. For a brief moment, his eyes were drawn to what he could only describe as a ’b.r.e.a.s.t window’ and thought of an interesting gift to give her.

Searching through the system, Vahn looked for accessories before finding one that seemed almost perfect for the current situation. Though he didn’t know its effects, it cost 5,000OP and had the name [Sapphire Star] and was listed in the category of necklaces. Since Hestia had blue eyes that glimmered, Vahn felt like a sapphire would compliment them well. When he purchased it, a small silver necklace appeared in his hand that had a tear-shaped blue sapphire that glowed with a blue radiance that looked very similar to twinkling starlight.

[Sapphire Star](A/N: Not really necessary, but I know some people would want to know.)

Rank: B (Magic)

P.Def: 0

M.Def: 110

Passive: Resists Mental attacks and promotes mental development and recovery rate.

Active: [Sapphire Starlight: A]: Single use ability that immediately heals the wounds of a single target in exchange for all mental energies.

Vahn thought the pendant was very useful, but the only thing Hestia saw was an incredibly beautiful necklace that glowed with an enchanting light. As if trying to compete with the glimmering starlight in the sapphire, Hestia’s eyes were also shining as a large smile plastered itself on her face. She asked in an excited voice, "Is this for me!?" Before Vahn even answered, she already moved close to him and tilted her chin in a manner similar to how Anubis and Nanu had done so in the past.

Vahn realized she wanted him to put it on her, so he smiled as he leaned forward slightly and attached the links of the silver chain as she stared into his eyes with an excited expression on her face. While he was fixing the necklace Vahn explained its use but Hestia seemed to be completely immune to his words at the moment. The moment it was fixed firmly on her neck, she immediately held it in her hands and admired the gemstone that complimented the color of her ribbons.

With greater speed than a Level 6, Hestia exclaimed loudly as she jumped toward Vahn with her arms spread wide. Though he was surprised, Vahn still managed to catch her body as she planted a wet kiss on his cheek as she dangled from his body while laughing in a very happy sounding manner. While dangling from his neck, Hestia looked up into Vahn’s face with a vibrant expression and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, its so beautiful~!" She put more strength into her arms and hugged Vahn’s neck tightly while laughing once again.

Vahn felt happy that she had such an incredible reaction to the gift he had given her, but he couldn’t help but feel that the current position was somewhat awkward. Even though her weight wasn’t anything significant, it still held her soft and malleable b.r.e.a.s.ts firmly against his body. Vahn was amazed at how much they could ’expand’ when she dangled with her full weight against his body. It was really strange because they were so soft that Vahn almost felt like Hestia’s weight was somehow magically offset by the sensation.

Eventually, Vahn felt like he was getting a bit dizzy so he put his hands on Hestia’s waist and pulled her away from his body. Though she resisted a bit and tried to hug his neck, Vahn was much stronger than she was and managed to free himself from her grasp. Though she still had a happy expression, Hestia gave him what Vahn felt like was a ’blaming’ look as he held her body off the ground by her sides. He once again marveled at how light she was but attributed to his own strength as he set her gently on the floor.

After looking up at him for a few seconds, Hestia released a frustrated sigh before turning her attention back to the [Sapphire Star] Vahn had given her. Though she ’lamented’ at how dense he was, Hestia felt like it was actually a good quality since she thought his ’naive’ and ’innocent’ sensibilities made him easy to be around. If Vahn actually responded to her actions with ’l.u.s.t’ or ’desire’, Hestia imagined she wouldn’t be able to stay around him as much in the future. Though she acted in a very ’forward’ manner, she was actually very apprehensive about Vahn actually doing anything in return.

For the rest of the afternoon, Hestia followed Vahn around the Manor and made suggestions about furniture choices and decorations as they personally decided the best manner to decorate ’their’ home. She hoped that this place would be able to remain their exclusive residence for a little while since Hestia knew there would be many girls approaching Vahn in the future. Though she wanted to keep them away, Hestia knew it would be impossible since there were already goddesses like Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis involved with Vahn before she even descended. She lamented about her ’late’ arrival as the image of a black haired cat person with mischevious green eyes appeared in her mind.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Cohabitation’,’Every good life starts and ends in the bed’,’Late to the Party’)

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