"It has been a while, Hephaestus!"
"Oh? When did you come down, Hestia?"
"Mm-hm, only about... five hours ago! It looked like you were all having so much fun from up above, so I came down!"
"You picked a good time to come down. The lower world has so much to see and enjoy!"
Apparently delighted to see each other again after so long, the two goddesses embraced and bounced up and down in a way that did not suit their age... Ugh... those... two mountain ranges were undergoing tectonic shifts like magnitude-ten earthquakes, one after another every second...
Naturally, my waist slowly began to bend forward. Before Tsubaki or the goddesses noticed, I hastily said I had somewhere urgent to be and slipped away.
...Well, I really did have to leave in a hurry so I would not get caught, so it would not count as a lie, right?
I had nothing else to do at the Familia, so as I wondered what to do, I spotted Welf over there chatting with his companions.
"Heeey, Welf!"
"Huh? What are you doing here, Master?"
"Oh, a friend of our goddess was crouching in front of the Familia home, so I just brought her to our goddess."
"A friend?"
"Apparently, she came down to the lower world for the first time this time... Her name was the goddess Hestia, I think."
"What kind of goddess is she?"
"Hmm... Going by the mythology I know, she is probably the goddess who protects the hearth and domestic well-being. She is also one of Olympus's three virgin goddesses."
"See? I told you, there is no mythology Master does not know."
So that was what this was about. It seemed that my usual habit of showing off what I knew about mythology had spread even among the younger apprentices and newcomers. Welf had practically been attached to me for five years while learning, and had only been independent for about a year, so naturally he knew I was knowledgeable about mythology. They must have been talking about that.
Watching them whisper among themselves, I found them rather adorable. Was I like that ten years ago too...?
"...No, I am telling you, he is not actually that good a guy. You see, last time, this happened—"
"Welf~?"
"Eeeek?!"
"Trying to badmouth me to my face when I am standing right in front of you? I guess you have not had enough facial and scalp massages. All right, I will give you a nice, refreshing one!"
"Aaaaaaagh! Master, Master, Master! Thaaaat—urk!"
I gripped Welf's face tight with all five fingers.
"You have gotten awfully comfortable just because you became independent, have you? Huh?"
"Aaaaaaagh! Please, please, please! Let go of this and let's settle it through civilized conversation—aaaargh!"
Applying just the right amount of force, I squeezed the left side of his face with my thumb and the right with my other four fingers, like I was wringing lemon juice. Tapping at my forearm, he began squeezing out screams instead of lemon juice.
"Oho? So you are saying your master is not civilized? I suppose I should add contempt of master to your charges?"
"Urk! Uuurrk!"
I let go for a moment, but it would be unfair for only my right hand to have fun while my left hand was bored, so I seized him again at lightning speed with my left. This time, I placed four fingers against his forehead and my thumb against the left side of his jaw.
"U-uh, Master? You cannot possibly mean it, right? Seriously, seriously, seriously, thaaaat—"
"Hahahaha! Time for a proper facial massage for the first time in ages!"
So that I would not drop him while lifting him, I gripped Welf's face tightly and slowly... raised him.
"Grrrgh..."
"Hm? What was that? You say your face feels really refreshed? Hahaha, this guy. Even now, he is gilding his master's reputation."
By the time Welf's feet were about ten centimeters off the ground, he had apparently finally run out of strength. The hand that had been tapping my arm went limp and dangled at his hip.
"Hm? What is this? Are you asleep already? This guy, I guess the facial massage felt so good that he drifted right off to sleep."
Whenever I gently flexed my fingers and rubbed his face, Welf's arms and legs twitched as though he were having postmortem spasms.
"Kids, it looks like Welf is very tired. He fell asleep as soon as I gave him a little massage. Mind if I take him with me?"
"Y-yes! Please, take him as you please!"
"We do not mind at all!"
"...Welf's magic power... has vanished?"
"Still, you are Welf's friends, so let us see..."
When I rummaged through my coin purse, it seemed I had quite a bit of money left.
"Will this be enough for a hearty dinner?"
When I pulled my hand from the coin purse... I had grabbed roughly a thousand valis—about one hundred thousand won.
"Use this to buy yourselves a meal somewhere good. Will it be enough for the three of you?"
"N-no! It is more than enough. Thank you!"
"Sorry... Welf..."
"It was... too much money to refuse..."
After soothing the kids enough to send them on their way, I slung the sleeping(?) Welf over my shoulder and headed for the Hostess of Fertility.
Hmm-hmm-hmm~
If I sold this guy to Chloe(?), I could cover tonight's drinking bill. Welf had grown up a bit lately, putting him somewhere between a boy and a young man... but Chloe had said last time,
"If it is not now, right before he fully ripens, there will not be another chance, nya!"
So... it should be fine.
"All right! Today is a day to eat until I burst!"
.
.
.
.
.
A middle-aged man, currently kidnapping his disciple...
.
.
.
.
.
"Hey, Chloe!"
"Nya? Smith is here, nya?"
"Yep, and I brought you a sacrifice. Feel free to grope his ass all you want!"
"Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"First, though, put tonight's drinking bill on your tab."
"Fine by me, nya!"
"Okay, deal!"
"Hehehehehe..."
I handed Welf over to Chloe and took a seat in front of the kitchen bar.
"Mama, one of today's specials and a dark beer!"
"All right, wait there! One extra-large special!"
"Huh? That is a lot."
"You always order another serving after you finish one bowl anyway. Just order it all at once."
"...Do I?"
"You do."
"Well, it is not my money paying for it, so I might as well eat plenty."
"You sold Welf to Chloe again, did you?"
"...(grin)"
"That boy really is pitiful, having you for a master..."
"Today's special, tomato meat spaghetti and baguette, nya!"
"Here you go. Enjoy your meal, 'son.'"
"...Thank you for the meal, 'Mother.'"
Time to eat...!
I twirled a generous bundle of spaghetti around my fork and was just about to put it in my mouth when...
"...Uuuurgh, again?!"
"Huff... huff... Stay still, nya! Let me feel that firm, bouncy ass a little more, nya!"
"You fucking—extremely severe Orario profanity! I am past being a boy now! Stop trying to grope me!"
"If it is not now, right before you fully ripen, there will not be another chance, nya! A peach is at its most delicious when its flesh is so full of juice that it is almost about to rot, nya!"
"Damn you, Masterrrrrrrr!"
"...Can we really leave that alone? His chastity seems to be in danger now."
"Mama, you know as well as I do that Welf is starting to lose his boyishness. The day will come when even if you throw yourself at him, he will not take the bait. For now, she will be satisfied with touching him and will not actually go through with it... right?"
"You are not certain yourself, are you...?"
"Well, Ryu and..."
Swish, thud.
"Ghk, ack."
"Please stop. You are being loud."
"Huff, huuff... I was really, really about to get stripped!"
Hmm... It looked like Welf really had been in danger.
"...Kaguya keeps her under control well enough."
"It has been a while, Smith."
"...It has, but could you stop poking me in the back with the Hidden Blade I gave you every time I see you? My heart stops every single time."
"That is your own fault for having such entertaining reactions, Smith."
"My fault?! You are shifting the blame onto me here?!"
"Isn't that obvious?"
"And what exactly is obvious to you, Kaguya?"
"That you are perfect for teasing."
"Ho..."
"Urgh... I do not know what you are planning, but stop it."
"Hmm? And how do you know what I am planning?"
"I do not know what it is, but I know it will be absolutely awful."
"It was seven years ago, on a particularly clear day, when Kaguya came to our shop—"
"Aaaaaaah! Shut uuuup!"
"Ahahahahahahahaha! Absolutely not! She opened the door and said—"
...Kaguya tried to tease me and got turned around on instead.
Chloe kept eagerly eyeing Welf's ass.
And Mama Mia shook her head with a helpless smile.
I hoped this peaceful everyday life, where Ryu could watch all of it and smile at ease, would simply continue forever.
Was it too much to wish that this beautiful daily life would never be shattered?