The Protagonist System

23 Shopping Fun

After we ate the entire bag of potato treats smothered in gravy, I told Hestia about selling the stew and thermos for 2,000 valis to the Guild. She tackled me and kissed my cheek, made me heat up a bowl's worth of stew to put inside hers, then she pretty much dragged me out of the church and halfway across the city to the Guild. I had laughed the whole way.

I introduced her to Eina, my advisor, and they hit it off talking about my behavior and how mean I was for teasing them like I did. That went on for about ten minutes before I held up the thermos and gained their attention. Eina gasped and snatched it right out of my hands.

“No one must know there's more stew!” Eina hissed in a whisper.

Both Hestia and I nodded and tried to not laugh. Eina escorted us to the exchange window and approved the purchase, then she went back to the counter and hid the thermos in her bag. She was going to save it for later, apparently. We thanked her for buying it from us, a Familia just starting out, and we left the Guild with more money on-hand than either of us ever had before.

Hestia giggled like mad when I told her we had 5,700 valis to go shopping with, as long as we bought groceries with it, too. She heartily agreed and we did a whirlwind trip through the various food stalls and loaded up on everything we would need to cook and eat for a week. That burned up 1,200 valis and that was okay, because Hestia loved the fact that we could spend 4,500 valis on whatever she wanted.

The clothing stores were first and she had an absolute ball choosing a few things that she had before and had to give up. I mentioned nightwear and she gave me a slight blush and added a short nightdress with a low neckline and a matching short robe. My whispered words about buying matching panties, made her almost faint, which was adorable.

A more modest jewellery store was next and Hestia seemed reserved as she browsed. I didn't remind her to buy whatever she wanted, because she knew how much we had left and she looked through several display cases. She blushed when she passed the rings and gave me a discreet and shy look. I stayed quiet and let her choose if she wanted one or not.

Hestia didn't chose a ring and picked a nice necklace with a flame pendant. I smiled and gave her a nod and paid for it. I put it on her and lightly caressed her neck, which made her blush again.

We left there and went to a footwear shop. Most of the things they had were for adventurers and the limited things they had for normal people had lacked personality. They were purely for function and we left without buying anything.

We briefly stopped at a blacksmith and found out they do sell underlining for armor and it was expensive. The most basic armor piece was also way out of our price range, and that was before we spent most of it, so I wouldn't be buying anything from a reputable store for a long time, if ever. It would be better for me to return to the junk floor of the tower if I didn't already have what I needed.

A quick stop back at the tailor's shop and we priced a full body covering of thick cloth, which was only 200 valis, so we bought one for me to use as well as some extra fabric for reinforcement. I needed something between my skin and the armor I was going to fix from the scraps I had taken from the junk floor. Then again, I had a lot to sort through before I could think about making a full suit out of it.

I also picked up some fabric to make boxer shorts and we returned to the church with our arms full with the bags of our purchases, which made Hestia extremely happy. She bounced down each of the steps like she had before and I regretted that I wasn't at the bottom to watch her. She saw the look of regret on my face when she looked back at me and she blushed heavily.

“You can't blame me for admiring you, Goddess.” I said and kissed the top of her head. “Let's put our purchases away while the stew heats up and we can enjoy a nice evening meal together.”

Hestia nodded and we did just that. I really liked seeing the pleased look on her face when we filled her standing cabinet with her new clothing. She had several choices of what to wear during the day now and wasn't limited to wearing her normal dress, even if she had worn the same dress every day for years.

While Hestia admired her new wardrobe, I set about reheating the stew and cut up some bread for us to eat with it. We soon sat down across from each other and Hestia looked happier than she ever had before as we ate. The stew was somehow tastier after sitting for a day, probably because everything inside of it had absorbed more of the broth. We both made sounds of appreciation and enjoyed the meal.

I let her take a shower first and then took my own. When I was done, I gave her a knowing look as I settled down onto the couch that she had designated as mine. Hestia only blushed briefly and waited until I pretended to go to sleep before she changed into her new sleepwear and climbed under my blanket with me.

“Thank you for today, Bell.” Hestia whispered and her lips lightly touched my own.

I made a hum sound and put my arms around her to hug her.

“Are you awake and pretending to be asleep?” Hestia asked me.

“Mmm hmm.” I responded.

Hestia softly laughed and cuddled against my chest. “Why didn't you kiss me back?”

“I can't do too much with you or I'll ruin your powers.” I said without opening my eyes.

Hestia was quiet for several minutes. “You know who I really am.”

“You are the Virgin Goddess, whose power rivals that of Freya herself.” I whispered and rubbed my hands over her back. The nightgown was a nice thin fabric and it let her feel my fingers along her spine. “I would love to partake of your divine body; but, we both know we can't. You need your powers and I need my Goddess to remain strong.”

Hestia sighed and her arms hugged my chest. “I want to, Bell.”

“I do, too.” I said and was reminded of the similar situation I had with Rias. I doubted that I could get away with licking Hestia's insides, so I slid a hand up to her head and pet it instead. “I wasn't lying before when I said that fate brought me to you.”

“I know.” Hestia said and sighed again. “Why must we both be tempted like this?”

“It's a test of character.” I said and she lifted her head to look at me. I opened her eyes and met her gaze. “Either yours or mine. If it was mine, I tested it already because I came once because of you.”

Hestia's face flamed to a deep red. “You... you really...”

“What part of you being the perfect goddess for me did you miss?” I asked and bent my neck to give her a very quick peck on the lips. “Love can come in many forms. For us, it's as parent and child.”

Hestia gave me a very pointed look. “That doesn't sound as restrictive as it should be when you say it like that.”

I chuckled at her catching me so quickly. “I freely admit to having a deep appreciation and love for sexy and caring mothers.”

Hestia blushed deeply again and ducked her head to rest it on my chest. “You are a horrible pervert for thinking about doing... that... with your mother.”

I chuckled and hugged her close. “What would you say if I told you that my mother taught me how to kiss, how to massage breasts properly, and how to love?”

Hestia's breath sped up. “I... I think... I don't know.”

I kissed the top of her head. “That's a great answer, because I don't know what kind of response I wanted.” I said and let out my own sigh. “I want to tease you, except I don't want you to think I'm making fun of you.”

“You're not?” Hestia asked and kept her head pressed to my chest.

“No, my Goddess.” I said, my voice serious. “I would ravage you right now if I thought it wouldn't change everything about this world and our places in it.”

Hestia took a very deep breath and let it out. “You really do know about me.”

“I do and I won't sully your Purification Flames.” I said and kissed the top of her head again. “I also promise that I will restore your church to a fully functioning order in time. I just need... well, time.”

Hestia softly laughed. “Isn't that funny? It takes time to get time.”

I nodded and lightly stroked the soft skin of her arm. “If I could mitigate some of the magical backlash, I could do a lot more a lot faster. As it stands, I have to do little things and hope for the best.”

Hestia took a breath and let it out. “It's only been two days and my life is already so much better.”

“That's because we can't hear our stomachs growling.” I joked.

Hestia giggled. “Yes, it's too quiet.”

I thought about needing time and it brought a song to my mind, so I started softly singing it and humming between the words. “If I... could save tiiiime... in a bottlllle... hm hm hmmm... the first thing that I'd want to doooo... hm hm hm hm hm... is to saaaave every day... 'til eternity passes away... just to spend them with youuu.”

When I finished the song a couple of minutes later, I felt several wet drops fall onto my bare chest.

“D-do y-you m-mean i-it?” Hestia's shaky voice asked in a soft whisper.

I moved a hand up from her back to gently cup the side of her face and felt more tears. “You are my personal Goddess, Hestia. I promise to stay here for as long as fate allows.”

Hestia let out a sob and hugged me tightly. I held her and pet her head until she fell asleep. Her deep breaths let me know she was really asleep and not faking it. I could also see a smile on her face, despite her tears.

I closed my eyes and let myself drift off to sleep, too. I hadn't realized the words of the song would hit Hestia so hard. I only meant to reassure her that I wasn't going anywhere and that I would treasure our time together, not remind her that she was all alone and had no other god or goddess to depend on.

*

Rehmer, the Guild Section Chief in command of the guild staff in the Guild Hall, stared in confusion at the three weird cylinders called thermos, which was somehow both singular and plural, according to Eina's information.

“Why exactly did you spend 6,000 valis of Guild funds on whatever these things are?” Rehmer asked and scratched his own ear. He was a Chienthrope, or commonly known as a dog-man.

Eina sighed and tried to not sound exasperated as she explained it again. “They hold hot things and keep them that way for as long as they are inside of it.” She said and pointed to the third one. “That held hot stew inside from this afternoon until suppertime and it was still hot.”

Rehmer still looked confused. “I don't understand what's so valuable about that.”

Eina hung her head slightly, then straightened her back and looked at him with a gaze just short of a glare. “When was the last time you ventured out of the city and hoped to have a hot meal without any signs of civilization around you?”

“Me? None.” Rehmer said right away.

“None of us have.” Misha, the only human in the room said and relaxed against the meeting room's table. “The stew inside was delicious, though.”

Eina pointed at her for the comment. “Exactly! It wasn't cold, or gooey, or dried up, or made into trail rations. It was hot and fresh stew!” She said and motioned to the three cylinders. “Bell lives near the outskirts of the city near the ruined church and he brought those all the way here to the Guild Hall.”

“But they don't hold much.” Rehmer said, almost with a pout.

Eina almost laughed at him. “No, they don't. Not when it's thick and meaty stew.” She said and smiled. “It's a novelty item that can be sold to any traveller or adventurer that wants to carry...” She paused for dramatic effect. “...their favorite hot drink! Like tea or coffee! Each thermos holds enough to fill that large top cup four times!”

All of the people in the meeting let out surprised sounds, especially Rehmer.

“We sell basic daggers for 3,600 valis. Don't you think buying two thermos from a new Familia for only 4,000 valis was the very best deal we could have ever gotten?” Eina asked and was satisfied that her point had been made.

Rehmer nodded several times and his dog ears flopped around. “I'll contact our most favored Familias and see if their executives want to buy these... specialty items, yes, rare specialty items that hold hot drinks... for 10,000 valis each. On sale.”

A few of the workers chuckled at his wording.

“Eina, I don't normally recommend this.” Rehmer said and Eina nodded. “Stay close with your first adventurer. Advise him to bring anything else he may find right to us. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. I'll keep my eyes on him.” Eina promised.

“And her hands on his muscles.” Misha joked and a few people laughed.

“He's only 14.” Eina said, quite unconvincingly.

“Yeah, and he's a registered adventurer. An adult.” One of the male workers said. “Plus, you're only 19 yourself. That's barely a breath of air in the lives of elves, isn't it?”

Eina barely kept the blush off of her face and didn't admit that it was true, because the age difference didn't matter to her. It was that he was a client and she was his advisor.

“If you ever need a hand holding him down, in an advisory role, let me know.” Misha said with a supposedly sexy voice. It made everyone laugh, even Eina.

Rehmer ignored that and stood. “This meeting is adjourned. Goodnight all.”

“Goodnight, sir.” Everyone else said and they all filed out to pack up their things to go home.

Eina put the last of her paperwork away and her mind roamed back to Bell. He really had no idea the true value of the items he had and had pretty much given them away. She didn't feel bad about that, though. It was the Guild's job to take in everything that adventurers brought them, no matter what it was.

The Guild in turn would make even the junk drops into usable and valuable products to be sold for a profit. The market for things like that was so huge around the world that she had a hard time grasping the enormity of the need that the people had for the products distributed by the Guild.

Eina resolved to ask Bell about anything he might have found and would encourage him to bring it to the Guild for her to look at. Perhaps she could also get him to bring some more delicious food and they could eat lunch together.

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