Seeing the flustered expression on Hestia's face, Su Mo couldn't help but chuckle and give her a way out of the awkward situation.
"Hestia, help me check my Falna stats first," he said with a smile.
"Y-Yeah, sure!"
Hestia latched onto the change in topic like a lifeline, finally escaping her embarrassment.
Su Mo laid down flat on the sofa, exposing his back.
Without hesitation, Hestia straddled his waist, her small hands bracing against his back.
To begin with, Su Mo had always found the petite goddess light as a feather. Now, after awakening the powers of his otherworldly self, she felt practically weightless—like a breeze resting on him.
"Wait a minute!" Hestia suddenly blurted out, just as she was about to start updating his Falna.
She had just remembered something important.
"Su Mo, why are you suddenly asking for an update? I thought you weren't planning on going into the dungeon?"
"That was the plan, yeah," Su Mo replied calmly. "But… because of certain circumstances, I've changed my mind."
He wasn't lying, but he wasn't telling the whole truth either. There was no need to bring up the Mist Realm. Even if he wanted to, it was too complicated to explain.
"Certain circumstances?"
Hestia tilted her head, clearly curious, but she didn't pry further.
"So… you're saying you're planning to start venturing into the dungeon from now on?"
"Mm," Su Mo nodded. "I had a bit of a lucky encounter. I've got enough strength to protect myself now, so you don't have to worry."
"Protect himself," he said—though with the power he now wielded, he was well beyond that. If anything, slaying gods was within his reach.
Hearing that, Hestia went silent.
Everyone knew how dangerous the dungeon could be. It had claimed countless lives—brave adventurers who never returned. Even if Su Mo said he could protect himself, Hestia couldn't help but worry.
Still, she wasn't going to stop him. She knew Su Mo well enough by now to understand she couldn't talk him out of a decision once he'd made up his mind.
After a long pause, Hestia sighed and spoke in a soft, resigned voice.
"Well… if that's your decision, then I'll support you."
But then—
Her voice shifted slightly. She leaned down and hugged him from behind, her arms trembling just the slightest bit.
"But promise me this: above all else, prioritize your safety. You have to come back alive!"
Feeling the weight behind her words, Su Mo responded in a voice as steady as a rock.
"I understand. I promise I won't act recklessly. I won't die in that dungeon."
Hearing that, Hestia hugged him even tighter.
"We've made a promise now, okay? A promise with a goddess! You're not allowed to break it!"
"If anything ever happens to you down there… then even if it takes ten thousand years, I'll wait through all of reincarnation. I'll find your soul again and bring you back to me. We'll start all over again, and you'll become my Familia once more."
"Su Mo… a goddess's love is heavy. If you dare make a goddess fall for you… then be prepared to be tied to her for all eternity!"
And at that moment, just a fraction of that love revealed itself.
Su Mo could feel it—Hestia wasn't joking. If something ever did happen to him, she'd never take another follower. She'd wait, alone and in grief, until his soul was reborn, and then she'd find him again, to restart their story from the beginning.
In a way, that kind of devotion bordered on madness.
But personally, Su Mo didn't dislike it.
"In that case, I have no complaints. If the one waiting for me across lifetimes is a goddess as adorable as you… I'd be happy to meet you again, and again, and again."
He smiled faintly as he spoke.
"Besides, I've made you a promise—I won't let anything happen to me."
Not only was he nearly invincible now, with barely any threat in the dungeon capable of endangering him…
Even long-term concerns like lifespan—he had a feeling those wouldn't be a problem either.
Once the version of himself from the Campione world completed his god-slaying and was fully reborn as a Campione, Su Mo's lifespan would increase by at least a thousand years—possibly even longer.
Which meant there was no need to worry about Hestia waiting ten thousand years. Su Mo was confident that he could achieve an eternal life alongside the goddess.
"Mm!" Hestia nodded firmly, and a soft, heartfelt smile crept onto her face.
She had been worried that revealing such deep emotions would scare Su Mo away.
But to her surprise, he accepted her feelings without hesitation—and even responded in kind with unexpected warmth. That child... he actually accepted everything she had to offer.
If not for the need to maintain her dignity as a goddess, Hestia would've rolled on the floor in joy like a happy little girl. But in front of Su Mo, she tried her best to maintain her composure.
Lifting herself back up from Su Mo's back, a sudden thought struck her.
"Wait a second. If you're only planning to enter the dungeon in the future… there shouldn't be any need to update your Falna now, right?"
That realization sobered her up from the dreamy haze Su Mo's reply had left her in.
"Don't tell me—you snuck into the dungeon today without telling me?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, staring at Su Mo with the intensity of a newlywed wife suspecting her husband of sneaking off.
"The experience points I've gained have nothing to do with the dungeon," Su Mo replied calmly, shaking his head.
"You'll understand once you see the data. Just… don't be too shocked."
"Shocked?" Hearing that, Hestia puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"I'm not some child, okay? There's no way I'd get scared so easily! Don't underestimate a goddess!"
With that, she bit her fingertip and let a drop of divine blood fall onto Su Mo's back.
The ritual to update his Falna began.
As the rows of numbers and statuses formed into readable data…
Hestia froze completely.
"Th-this… THIS?! What the heck is this kind of data?!"
The goddess, who just a moment ago proudly claimed she wouldn't be scared, let out a completely involuntary yelp of shock.
So much for not being a child.