Without hesitating for too long, Loki made her choice.
"Alright, I agree!"
She was not the first deity to decide to stand on the platform for the Hestia Familia, and of course, she would not be the last.
"Ara~"
Demeter hugged her chest with one hand and propped her cheek with the other. After listening to the request of the pale-gold-haired youth opposite her, a teasing curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"You want to use my network of connections to meet with the patron deities of factions at the middle-tier and above?"
Levi sat on the sofa on the other side, nodded, and did not deny it: "Yes."
Hearing this, the smile on the orange-haired goddess's face became increasingly rich.
As the largest supplier of agricultural products in the Labyrinth City, Valis was truly no different from ordinary numbers to her.
After deciding to move and become neighbors with Hestia and Hephaestus, she simply paved the way with money, allowing the new resident villa, which originally would have taken about three weeks to build, to be erected in just ten short days.
After moving into the new home, she didn't learn the good things but learned the bad, running over to the Hestia Familia every now and then.
It was also fortunate that Levi had previously saved the entire Demeter Familia membership, and subsequently helped them successfully awaken their own unique 'Constellations'.
If it were anyone else outside the Familia receiving such pity and love from their own patron deity, even the members of the Demeter Familia, who were not good at fighting, might have gathered together and caused incidents one after another sufficient to trigger turmoil in Orario.
Unlike Artemis and Astrea, who were still waiting for their new residences to be completed, Demeter, because she moved in relatively early, had listened in on Levi's factory construction plan almost the entire time.
Because of this, she was very clear about the significance of the Grand Bathhouse to the youth before her, and even to the entire Hestia Familia.
To use a simple analogy, it was roughly equivalent to the relationship between the few most fertile acres of farmland outside Orario and her own Familia.
Admittedly, after the bathhouse was endowed with the functions of helping Falna holders improve Ability Stats and even increase potential, the Hestia Familia's business would not be bad.
It was just a matter of time; it would explode in popularity sooner or later.
But since the pale-gold-haired youth sitting opposite her was anxious to solicit customers, even going so far as to seek her out for this purpose, Demeter naturally wouldn't mind taking advantage of the current situation to slightly satisfy the wish in her heart.
Thus, after thinking for two seconds, her cherry lips parted lightly: "You also don't want the bathhouse to have no customer flow after opening, right?"
Levi: "..."
—This Goddess from the Sakura Empire, please tone down the vibes.
He really wanted to retort like that, but he forcibly held it back.
"Demeter, what do you hope for me to do?"
Seeing that the youth she held affection for was so quick on the uptake, the orange-haired goddess didn't waste words. She immediately stood up from the soft sofa, then walked with measured steps to Levi's side and plonked down.
"I feel that my behavior during this period should have been very obvious."
Demeter circled the youth's arm with both hands, resting her head on the latter's shoulder.
Between her words, there was a trace of resentment that anyone could hear.
In terms of romance, Levi had never been considered dense.
Coupled with the awakening of 'Goddesses' Loving Protection', he might not be clear on who among the Lower World goddesses disliked him, but he could basically know immediately those who held affection.
Because he had saved the other party's Familia members before, Demeter held a considerable degree of gratitude toward him, and this consequently gave birth to a not-low level of affection.
Levi naturally understood this point.
Calculating seriously, he hadn't actually rejected her either.
He just thought that through spending time together over a long period, everything would happen naturally.
However, standing beside him were Hestia and Hephaestus. Not to mention singing songs every night, he at least got to eat meat every few days.
But Demeter...
While Levi was busy making money and iterating magic, she chatted with her two divine friends from the Tenkai and heard about 'how happy they have been recently', making her so envious she nearly crushed her silver teeth.
Talk about a sweet and honeyed romance?
For Freya, who could easily obtain 'love', this might be her lifelong craving.
But in the eyes of the orange-haired goddess, no matter how good the meat looks, you only know if it's fragrant when you actually eat it into your mouth.
Demeter didn't intend to give the person beside her a chance to react. After her voice fell, she spoke again: "Levi, I like you."
"This liking sprouted from curiosity, grew from despair, and metamorphosed from gratitude."
As she spoke, the hands circling the youth exerted more and more force.
"A goddess's love is eternal. Whether you agree or refuse, in the long years to follow, I do not plan to give up."
With the other side saying all this, what reaction could Levi give?
He wasn't some upright gentleman to begin with, and what's more, the two at home already wanted to pull Demeter into the 'united front'.
However, Levi felt that the necessary sense of ritual should not be lacking.
After all, even in the galgames played in the previous life, before confirming a romantic relationship with a girl, one needed to give gifts a few more times and make the correct reactions in the corresponding events.
After a moment of silence, he spoke slowly: "Demeter, in two weeks, Orario's Colosseum will host the Sword Festival. When the time comes, do you want to go watch it with me?"
The orange-haired goddess's eyes brightened fiercely; she obviously heard the subtext of the person beside her.
She asked an extra sentence just to be safe: "Only you and me?"
Levi nodded: "Just you and me."
In the next instant, Demeter's reply rang in his ears: "Okay, I will definitely be there on time that day!"
Although there was a suspicion of living off a woman—actually, it was exactly that.
But in the following three days, with the help of Demeter and Hephaestus's connections, Levi still successfully met with numerous patron deities of middle-tier factions who hadn't even shown their faces a few times in the anime of his previous life.
The strength of the captains under their command was mostly at Lv.4 or Lv.3, with a minority able to reach Lv.5.
Internally, they had a relatively complete promotion system.
Although they couldn't compare to the Freya Familia and Loki Familia, most had stood in Orario since the time when the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia were still around.
Now, hearing that the Hestia Familia intended to sell the extremely cost-effective Shihakusho externally, and simultaneously open a bathhouse that could increase adventurers' existing Ability Stats and potential upper limits.
The male gods were actually okay; most expressed they would let their children go try it out. If it really had an effect, they would naturally help lobby at the next Denatus.
As for the goddesses...
Mm, for quite a few of them, their focus was slightly strange.
"Hero King, how did you become a Demigod?"
"I heard that Demeter, Artemis, and even Astrea moved near your house along with their Familias. Hehehe~ Could it be that after Hephaestus, you've extended your demonic claws towards them?"
"I clearly look pretty good too~ How come I don't see you making a move on me? As long as you confess, I guarantee I'll agree immediately, and let you taste the flavor of a goddess this very night."
____
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