"Chapter 38: Haruhime’s New Fate and the Beginning of Training"

Waking up the next morning, Alex felt he hadn't slept this well since arriving in this world. After lying in bed for a bit, he realized something was missing and started feeling around the bed for another person. Not finding who he was looking for, Alex opened his eyes and began looking around for the goddess who always sneaks into his bed. Confirming that Hestia was nowhere to be found, he sighed in frustration and decided it was time to get up. Dressing and heading to the dining hall to have his morning coffee and start his day, Alex walked downstairs and was surprised to see everyone already sitting at the table and having breakfast.

Alex couldn't understand how this could have happened. Usually, in the mornings, only Hephaestus and Tsubaki were up for breakfast, while the rest loved to sleep in and wouldn't wake up unless disturbed. Pushing these thoughts aside, Alex approached Hestia, who was eating breakfast, kissed her on the head, and took an empty seat next to her. Everyone watching Alex slightly smiled because his actions were so smooth, as if he was already used to doing this.

"Good morning. How come everyone's up so early?" Alex asked, sipping from his cup.

"It's already 10 AM," Hephaestus said, watching Alex, who choked on his coffee upon hearing her words.

"How is that possible? I usually wake up early," Alex said, stroking his chin. Remembering what he did yesterday, he smiled, realizing why he had slept so well.

Everyone who saw his smile understood he had done something, but they were more interested in when he managed to do it. Hephaestus, who figured it out faster than anyone, realized he had done something last night when he went to bed.

"What did you do last night after you went to bed?" Hephaestus asked, drawing everyone's attention. All eyes were again on Alex, who blushed upon hearing her question.

"I went to bed. You know I go to bed on a schedule to maintain my sleep routine," Alex replied, trying to divert suspicion.

"I would believe you if we had just met. But over the time I've known you, I've come to understand that you must have done something," Hephaestus said, not letting Alex "off the hook."

"Hephaestus, what about our love and trust? How can you doubt me?" Alex asked, making a pitiful face.

"I might love you, but that doesn't mean I'll believe you when you say you did nothing," Hephaestus replied, not believing Alex's pitiful face. But when she realized what she had said, her face turned red. Everyone at the table had their mouths wide open, not believing what Hephaestus had just said. Hephaestus began mentally cursing herself for yesterday's conversation with Hestia.

"I love you too, but honestly, I did nothing last night," Alex replied, trying to fix the situation, but his words had the opposite effect, and Hephaestus blushed even more.

"Alex, tell the truth. Your innocent face won't fool anyone anymore," Hestia said, staring intently at Alex. The girls at the table watched Hestia and thought she would be jealous, but they didn't know that Hestia and Hephaestus had formed a united front to keep bad women away from Alex.

"Alright," Alex clicked his tongue. "Yesterday, I visited Haruhime's old home."

Everyone at the table understood that this did not end well.

"Lord Alex, you didn't blow anything up or throw a meteor at the house, did you?" Haruhime asked nervously.

"Haruhime, you don't need to call me 'Lord,' just call me Alex. And no, I didn't throw a meteor or blow anything up," Alex said, causing the group to breathe sighs of relief. But then they tensed, realizing that if he didn't do that, he must have caused trouble in another way.

"Then, Lord Alex—" Haruhime began, but Alex's gaze stopped her, and she fell silent. "Then, Alex, what did you do when you went to my old home?" Haruhime asked nervously.

"I just had a nice chat with your father and brother," Alex said with a sweet smile. But Lili and Hestia knew that he didn't just have a nice chat.

"Why did you talk to my brother?" Haruhime asked, not understanding what her brother had to do with it.

"Do you want the truth or a lie?" Alex asked, looking into Haruhime's eyes. His question left her stunned, not understanding why he asked that.

"Um… Can I know the truth?" Haruhime asked, nervous but wanting to know the truth.

"Alright. Yesterday, I went to take revenge for what your father did to you. But after I beat him and read his memories, I saw that it was your brother who framed you, and your father wanted to protect his son instead of punishing him. After learning the truth about why you were sold, I went to your brother and read his memories. The reason he framed you was because he was jealous that you befriended the children of your god and that Takemikazuchi himself was kind to you. He decided to frame you to get rid of you. He thought that after you disappeared, he would receive the same treatment you did, but he didn't expect Takemikazuchi's family to leave the area to look for you. After that, he behaved even worse, but I won't say what your brother did," Alex explained the reason why Haruhime faced such a terrible fate. It was all due to simple jealousy.

Haruhime, hearing the reason why her life turned out so horribly, began to cry, unable to believe that her younger brother, with whom she had been close in childhood, had framed her. The girls began to comfort the crying Haruhime, and Lili especially sympathized with her, as she had faced a similar fate and understood her pain. Hestia, learning the truth, became even angrier and regretted not allowing Alex to launch a meteor at the perpetrators' house. Hephaestus could only look at the girl with pity, not knowing how to support her. She glanced at Alex, signaling him to help.

Alex, seeing Hephaestus's look, just shook his head with a crooked smile, knowing he was the reason Haruhime was crying. Remembering the words of a respected person, he decided to say them to Haruhime to help her.

"Haruhime, don't cry and listen to me," Alex said, approaching the girl and gently stroking her head to get her attention. Haruhime felt the hand on her head, turned to Alex, who was looking at her with kind eyes, and wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Listen, Haruhime, as a wise man once said, whom I hope to meet one day: 'Family is not limited to blood ties, nor does it begin with them. Family cares about you no matter what you do for them. Family stands by you in both sorrow and joy. They always have your back, no matter what.' Now, you don't need to search for such a family because you have us. We will always be by your side. Even if you are clumsy or not good at fighting, it doesn't matter. We will take care of you and protect you from any misfortunes that may come your way," Alex said, repeating the words of the respected person.

Everyone who heard his words was surprised and curious about who had said those words. Hestia, as the goddess of the home, nodded, understanding that family is not just about blood ties; you can find family even among strangers. Alex's words touched everyone in the room, especially those who had no family or had been abandoned.

"So don't be sad, my little fox. Whatever happens, I will protect you and make you stronger. If in the future you want to throw a meteor at your house, I will help you achieve that. I will help fulfill any desire in your heart," Alex said, wiping the tears from the girl's eyes and giving her the motivation to move forward. Haruhime, stopping her crying, hugged Alex tightly, and tears started flowing from her eyes again. Alex continued to stroke her head to calm her down.

The most observant girls noticed that he took the opportunity to touch her ears. Narrowing their eyes at Alex, they stared at him intently, but he pretended not to notice their looks and continued to stroke Haruhime's head, enjoying the chance to touch her ears.

"Oh, Alex, it tickles," Haruhime said, embarrassed, no longer crying.

"Sorry, I just got carried away," Alex said, clearing his throat. "The important thing is that you're not crying anymore. So don't be sad because of those two bastards. Your new life starts from this moment, and now you have a new family that will take care of you," Alex said with a smile, looking into the girl's eyes. Haruhime heard his words, smiled brightly, and nodded, understanding that it was all in the past, and she could start a new chapter in her life.

"I see that everyone is calm now, so we can start our training. I will make Haruhime a nine-tailed fox who can defeat anyone," Alex said, raising a finger to the sky.

Everyone who heard his words could only shake their heads, clearly not understanding how his brain worked: one moment he was saying serious words that could deeply affect a person, and the next, he was spouting nonsense with a silly expression.

"Lord Alex, but I can't grow extra tails. How are you going to do that?" Haruhime asked, not understanding what Alex meant.

"You'll find out later. It's all about your power, or rather, the lineage that flows in your veins," Alex replied. Everyone looked at Haruhime, who blushed under their gazes.

"What do you mean, Alex? What's with her power and lineage?" Hephaestus asked, not understanding what Alex was talking about.

"It's all about the power she inherited, which is why Ishtar didn't want to let her go. Her lineage is connected to one of the goddesses," Alex replied, looking at Haruhime, who was still embarrassed.

"Haruhime is a priestess born to serve a god. And as we know from legends, priestesses were always sacrificed to appease the gods and bring about miracles," Alex said bluntly.

"Are you saying that Ishtar wanted to sacrifice this girl?" Hestia asked, not believing what she heard. After all, the gods had not demanded sacrifices for many years.

"Exactly. Ishtar wanted to sacrifice Haruhime to bring about a miracle and strengthen other members of her familia. If she doesn't cancel her plan, I will have no choice but to send her back to the heavens," Alex said grimly, not specifying that he intended to destroy her core so she could never resurrect.

"You can't kill a god! Last time, you got away with attacking Apollo because he was a bastard who did many bad things, but this time, Ouranos won't help you," Hephaestus said, trying to stop Alex from attacking a god.

"If there are no witnesses and Ishtar herself doesn't realize who attacked her, then there won't be any problems," Alex said, spreading his hands. Both goddesses sighed wearily, understanding that it would be difficult to convince him to cancel his plans.

"All right, time for training. Haruhime, go with Hestia so she can accept you into the familia, and the rest follow me. Tsubaki, you're coming too. Just because you're a smith doesn't mean you can skip training," Alex said, moving away from Haruhime, who was already hugging him with her tail. Lili's group could only sigh wearily, understanding that their hellish training was about to start again. Tsubaki, watching this with a smile, flinched at Alex's words and could only look at him, not understanding why she was involved. Seeing that he was ignoring her, she could only sigh and seek help from her goddess, who averted her gaze in shame.

Alex led the group of girls to the basement, where they discovered a training hall. Entering, they were surprised by its size: instead of an ordinary basement, a huge coliseum opened up before them. Tsubaki, intrigued by everything new, wanted to know how he did it, but remembering that his answers usually lacked specifics, she just grimaced. While the girls inspected the coliseum, Alex rummaged in his pocket with a crooked grin, understanding that it would be better to organize his things in different pockets. He postponed this plan for later when he would have time to overcome his laziness and correct the mistake.

Calling the girls over, Alex began distributing new training equipment.

"All right, my lovely ladies, here are some new items to help with your training," Alex said, pulling out various items from his pocket and handing them to the girls. "These are weights to help you move more freely and training weapons."

After distributing all the new gear, he noticed Cassandra's look and added:

"And don't give me those eyes, Cassandra. Just because you're a healer and support in this team doesn't mean you can't smack an enemy in front of you with your staff."

Cassandra, who had been looking at him with teary eyes, just nodded. Alex continued:

"Here are the training plans for each of you. If you have any questions, you can ask them after I return from visiting Loki's familia."

He handed out the sheets with the plans, not giving them a chance to object. While Alex was explaining how to perform the exercises, Hestia and Hephaestus arrived, and Haruhime, like a curious child, looked around, not understanding how such a large space could fit in the basement.

"Good, now that everyone is here, there's something I need to do with Haruhime before I leave to help her get stronger faster," Alex said, drawing the girl's attention.

"How can I help, Lord Alex?" Haruhime asked, coming closer and wrapping her tail around him.

"What I'm about to do might cause you some pain, but it may pass quickly. So don't worry and try to relax," Alex said, preparing to cast a spell to awaken Haruhime's power.

"What are you planning to do with her? And what do you mean 'might be painful, or might not'?" Hestia asked, ready to protect the girl.

"She needs to go through a rebirth that will awaken her powers," Alex said, casting the spell on Haruhime while everyone was distracted by his words.

The process happened instantly, and before them stood a new Haruhime with two tails and a changed hair color: previously golden, her hair now had white tips.

"I told you it would be quick. Probably," Alex said, examining Haruhime for any issues.

"How do you feel?" he asked the girl, who was still in a daze.

"I don't know how to describe it, but I feel like I've gotten stronger," Haruhime replied, trying to understand what had happened to her.

"It's good to hear you're feeling better. Now I need to fetch Loki's familia," Alex said, turning his gaze away from her new tails.

Before leaving, Alex kissed Hestia on the cheek and prepared to depart, but noticed Hephaestus's jealous glance, which she quickly tried to hide. Alex approached Hephaestus, which flustered her, and kissed her on the cheek before teleporting away, leaving Hephaestus with a deeply flushed face and the others with their mouths wide open.

Teleporting directly into Loki's home, Alex found himself in the middle of the living room, causing a commotion among its members. Seeing the flash, everyone grabbed their weapons, but upon recognizing Alex, they sighed with relief and forced awkward smiles, not understanding why he had appeared in their hall.

"Yo, kids, how's it going?" Alex asked, noticing the weapons pointed at him.

"Could you not appear in the middle of my house without warning! Because of you, I broke a bottle of alcohol I barely managed to get!" Loki shouted, pointing at the shattered glass on the floor.

Alex glanced at the broken bottle and gave an apologetic smile.

"And besides, it's still morning, and you're already hitting the bottle. Aren't you ashamed of the example you're setting for your familia?" Alex said, pointing at Loki and trying to deflect from his own mistake.

"Don't point your finger at me! It's your fault. And pay me back for my alcohol!" Loki said, running up to Alex and grabbing him by the collar.

"Alright, calm down. I came here to take you all to training today," Alex said, lifting Loki and placing her over his shoulder.

"Put me down! I'm not a child!" Loki screamed, trying to break free.

"How about no. Now be quiet," Alex said, giving her a light smack on the behind. Loki felt the smack and fell silent, not understanding what had just happened. All the members of Loki's familia stared with their mouths agape.

"Before I take you, how's your progress after training?" Alex asked, looking at the surprised group.

"To sum up, we've become stronger. Our stats haven't changed, but our strength has increased," Finn, who had been tracking the group's progress, replied.

"See, I told you it's possible to get stronger without Falna. Now, my dear kids, gather up; you're in for an exciting three-month adventure," Alex said, giving a thumbs up.

"You mean torture," Beta said, recalling what they had been through.

"It's all small stuff, my wolf friend," Alex said, rolling his eyes.

"And if you do well, you'll get a reward," Alex said, creating confetti, which elicited sighs from Reveria, who watched as he foolishly used magic.

"And what's the reward?" Tiona asked, running up to Alex.

"It's a secret," Alex replied, patting her on the head.

"And if I kiss you, will you tell me what the reward is?" Tiona asked, with some of the girls looking at Alex with anticipation.

"Nope. You can kiss me, but I still won't tell you," Alex said, continuing to pat her on the head, causing her to start acting like a cat.

"And if I add Ais and Grandma Reveria to the mix?" Tiona said, trying to melt his heart.

"I wouldn't mind, but I still won't say," Alex replied, causing the cheeks of the mentioned girls to flush.

"Are you going to hold me like this forever, or are you waiting for me to kiss you too? If you want a kiss, just say so, don't be shy," Loki said, still hanging on Alex's shoulder.

Everyone was embarrassed, realizing they had completely forgotten about Loki.

"I already told you, you can only try that when your breath doesn't smell like alcohol," Alex said, setting Loki down on the ground.

Loki heard his words, puffed up, and began to act like a spoiled child.

"Alright, that's all you're getting for now," Alex said, kissing Loki on the head. She started twirling in place but then stopped, realizing that it wasn't enough for her.

"Now I'll send you to the training grounds in my house, or do you want to walk there on your own?" Alex asked, causing the members of Loki's familia to ponder.

"Send us, I don't want to walk, I'm so tired," Loki said, starting to whine.

Alex looked at her, and his eyelid began twitching at the thought of how she could already be tired.

"Whatever you say, but I won't go with you. I have more business to take care of. I'll come and start the training as soon as I'm done," Alex said.

After chatting a bit more with Loki's familia, Alex sent them to the training grounds and prepared to head to Freya, unsure whether to teleport or simply show up at Babylon. Not knowing if she was home, he decided to walk to Babylon to check. Upon arriving at Babylon, he felt several gazes from the upper floor and realized that Freya was home. Waving at her in greeting, Alex decided to teleport directly to her room.

To be continued...