Chapter 68 – Demeter comes to visit

Although the magic stones from the past two days have not been exchanged, Hestia's earnings from selling potions in the last two days have been quite good, totaling 550,000 valis. Taking out 1 million valis to exchange for shop points is really not a problem.

If not exchanged this time, it's uncertain when such an opportunity will arise again. After all, once this chance is missed, there may not be another.

Aston didn't hesitate to exchange 1,000 shop points and redeemed the "Faction Card" from the shop.

Currently, Aston's Faction Card only has the original ten slots, which is really not enough for Aston. Once the Familia develops in the future, even if taking an elite route, the number will not be so limited.

At least it won't be like the Astraea Familia. Speaking of which, Aston believes that the reason for the small number of members in the Astraea Familia is entirely due to their strict joining conditions. Having an unwavering sense of justice and being female are two conditions that already eliminate most adventurers.

In contrast, the Hestia Familia does not have such strict conditions. As long as the character is good, Aston doesn't mind.

Hestia agrees with Aston on the matter of recruiting new members.

"System, upgrade the Faction Card!" After purchasing the Faction Card, Aston immediately began to merge the two Faction Cards in his hand.

Accompanied by a flash of white light, the Faction Card in Aston's hand became one, and the system's notification sounded in his mind: "Ding! Faction Card fusion successful, current level is 2, maximum number of signatories is 20!"

Seeing the introduction level on the Faction Card change to 2 and the slot number change to 20, Aston couldn't help but smile. The more slots in such a good item, the better.

After purchasing the Faction Card, Aston then turned his attention to the other items in the shop. His attention had been completely captured by the Faction Card just now, so he hadn't looked at the other items properly. Upon checking, Aston directly closed the property panel and leaned back on the sofa. As expected, only the Faction Card was useful.

However, the next moment, Aston remembered that he was supposed to brew tea and sat up straight again, starting to prepare the tea. Honestly, Aston hadn't brewed tea before. He had seen Demeter brewing it before, so he knew how to do it, but he was not very familiar with it.

Just as Aston was recalling how Demeter brewed the tea, a visitor arrived.

"Ara~ ara~, I didn't expect you to be brewing tea, Aston. Did you know I was coming?" Accompanied by a gentle voice, a pink figure appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Demeter-sama." Seeing the figure in front of him, Aston was momentarily startled, then greeted her.

Perhaps because his attention was all on the shop just now, and it was broad daylight, and he was still in the Familia residence, Aston hadn't closed the main door. Someone came in without any malice, so Aston hadn't noticed.

"Good morning, Aston."

"Where is Hestia? I haven't seen her," Demeter gently nodded in greeting, then started looking for Hestia.

"Hestia has gone out," Aston stretched out his hand, inviting Demeter to sit, then answered.

For Aston, his first impression of the goddess in front of him was trouble, a headache.

Because Demeter looked at Aston with the same possessive desire as Freya, wanting to own him. Even because of their proximity, Demeter's gaze was more aggressive than Freya's.

"Unexpectedly, my first visit would encounter such a situation, what a surprise," Demeter sighed softly, seemingly regretful that she didn't meet Hestia on her visit.

Then, Demeter walked over and directly sat down on the sofa next to Aston, snugly close to him. Aston had indicated for Demeter to sit on the single sofa next to him, but Demeter ignored the conventional approach and sat right next to Aston, pressing close.

Noticing Aston's slight stiffness, Demeter revealed a mischievous look, leaned close to Aston's ear, and teased him with a soft, fragrant breath, "Hey, Aston, you seem quite scared of me."

"Can you tell me why?"

Demeter whispered warmly in Aston's ear, causing his body to stiffen even more. He shifted subtly to the side and then forced a wry smile, looking at Demeter, "Please, Demeter-sama, spare me."

Demeter's gaze was intense and undisguised, as if wanting to strip him bare. It was clear to anyone, and Aston couldn't pretend to be oblivious, nor did he wish to.

"Uh-huh, Aston, you're really adorable, I really want to make you mine," Demeter chuckled, pleased with Aston's reaction.

"Thank you for your generous affection, Demeter-sama," Aston replied, still helpless.

"Just call me Demeter."

"I really adore children blessed by nature like you, Aston."

"If you need help with anything in the future, come to me, I'll help for free," Demeter leaned in close to Aston again, breathing softly.

Aston's eye twitched slightly, feeling harassed not once but twice. 'Do you really think I can be so easily manipulated?' he thought.

However, whether Demeter sensed Aston's internal thoughts or not, she quickly withdrew, not giving him a chance to explode, and ceased her teasing, starting a normal conversation with him.

The topics were nothing special, mostly mundane, with Demeter doing most of the talking about her experiences in the manor, while Aston listened.

Aston wasn't very familiar with Demeter, and wondered how she managed to have such a cheerful conversation with someone she wasn't close with. Was Demeter a social butterfly?

The morning passed with Aston sitting and chatting with Demeter until noon, when Demeter finally stood up to leave. Aston got up to see her off.

Watching Demeter leave, Aston shook his head slightly.

He wondered what the goddess really thought. She had the opportunity to claim him just moments ago but chose to withdraw. Aston had been provoked twice by Demeter's teasing.

Demeter was a very provocative goddess, and Aston liked the vitality she exuded. If she really made a move on him, the success rate would have been high.

This was also why Aston left Demeter's manor feeling dejected previously. During their time there, there was a slight resonance between their auras, a very rare occurrence.

Once resonated, even if Aston was unwilling, some connection would inevitably form.

Speaking of which, wasn't Demeter threatened by Dionysus afterward? Should Aston remind her not to get too close to Dionysus?

***

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