Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka - Volume MM&L-1 - Chapter 17.09

UNTIL NOW, AND FOREVER

Hestia was a goddess.

More importantly, she was the goddess of a familia that had suddenly risen to prominence.

“Mrh…”

And yet, at this present moment, she was sulking.

It was all because she had no time to spend with her very first familia member, Bell Cranell.

It’s not just us two anymore…I know that, but still…

Her followers had grown in number, and Bell had become captain in more than just name. Through all their trials, the Xenos incident especially, Bell had seen a need to improve himself, and recently, he had been pursuing his aspirations and goals more than ever, leaving little time for anything else.

It wasn’t his fault. Hestia was happy to see Bell grow, to watch him continue writing his own story—the familia myth—inscribed upon his back.

But she felt lonely whenever she thought back to the old days, when the two of them lived together in the cold, dusty basement of a forgotten church. She wanted Bell to dote on her more.

And so she picked a time when the two of them were alone in the mansion lounge to talk about it.

“Hey, Bell! Do you know about familia blues?” she asked, leaning across the sofa toward him. “I’m not saying we’re going through a rut or anything, but I was just thinking, our relationship has kind of plateaued lately, and I was wondering if there was any way we could spice it up…”

“Goddess,” Bell said all of a sudden. “Do you want to do something together?”

Hestia looked shocked.

“It’s just…I feel like we haven’t spent much time together lately,” he said, an embarrassed smile on his face. His eyes were filled with love, respect, affection—all of it showed how important Hestia was to him.

Hestia was happy. Because Bell had been feeling the same way.

“Yeah! Let’s laze around and do nothing together!”

“We can aim a little higher than that, can’t we…?”

Hestia beamed and sidled over to Bell, who smiled back. The pair of them chatted, teased, and blushed, making the afternoon a peaceful time together.

“All right! Let’s turn this into a Jyaga Maru Kun party! The night is still young!”

This was their life, as it had ever been and as it would always be.