endless path infinite cosmos Pt. 2

chapter 220

A few minutes after he had returned to his room, Vahn saw Hestia step inside with her hair down and she had already worn her white dress once again. She seemed to look very tired and Vahn thought she had spent too much time inside the bath and exhausted herself. Rising from the bed, he approached her before pulling out a cold bottle of [Vanilk] that he had become fond of in the past. It was a dairy product that tasted like vanilla that was popular in the Far East and Vahn had managed to find it listed within the system for 2OP.

Hestia received the glass bottle with a bit of confusion on her face before Vahn said, "If you remove the top and drink this after soaking in an onsen, it helps rehydrate your body and calm your mind a bit. It's also pretty sweet and I haven't met anyone that disliked it yet." Some of the tension in her body melted away as Hestia removed the seal on the bottle before taking a small sip of the milky white beverage. Noticing it was actually very sweet and creamy, Hestia gulped it down in a few seconds before exclaiming with a, "Paaaaaa~" sound.

As if the earlier tiredness had been an illusion, Hestia handled the empty bottle over to Vahn with a large smile on her face as she said, "That was super delicious~! From now on, we'll always drink that after we take a bath!" Since it was already a habit he had developed when he lived with Tsubaki, Vahn nodded his head before saying, "It's getting pretty late, so I'm going to head to bed soon." In response, Hestia seemed to hesitate for a brief moment before she said, "Since we just got out of the bath and are already relaxed, I wanted to try something unless you're already tired."

Vahn turned his head to look at Hestia and saw there was a glimmer of expectation in her eyes even though she also seemed to be nervous. He asked, "What did you want to try?" Since he couldn't think of anything, the only way Vahn could know was if she answered him. He could see her take a deep breath as if she was mustering up her courage before she responded, "I heard from Hephaestus and the others that you were very good at massages. Since I've never had one...I wanted to try it out if its not too much trouble."

Ever since she had heard the 'warnings' from Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis, Hestia had been curious about Vahn's [Hands of Nirvana]. She had wanted to ask him back at the Inn the previous night, but hadn't had enough courage to follow through in the end. Because of the tensions, she didn't even remember to conduct the Familia induction ceremony until the following morning. Now that they had gotten to know each other better and had even bathed together, Hestia wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Hearing Hestia's request, Vahn tilted his head sideways and thought about the matter a bit. He knew from experience that his massage skills were very effective and he hadn't met anyone that had any complaints to offer. Since Hestia was the type that liked to be spoiled, Vahn had already expected her to ask at some point so he wasn't too surprised. He actually liked giving massages and using his [Hands of Nirvana], so Vahn didn't have any reason to refuse so he said, "Sure, but you have to prepare yourself. I'll try to go easy on you at first and you can tell me how you feel during or after the fact. Most of the girls I give a serious massage to end up passing out, so I'd like to receive feedback if possible."

Hestia's heart began to beat powerful in her chest after she heard the words, 'serious' and 'passing out'. Though she was very curious, she was beginning to think there was more to the matter than was insinuated by her fellow goddesses. Seeing the gentle and 'innocent' expression of Vahn and remembering he said he would 'go easy' on her, Hestia mustered up a bit of courage and asked, "W-w-what do I need to do?"

Vahn looked around between the couch and bed before coming to a decision and saying, "You just need to lay on your stomach in a comfortable position. If you're worried about falling asleep we can use the bed, but if you think you'll be able to stay awake we can use the couch. Hearing that it was something as simple as laying on her stomach, Hestia released a relieved sigh and said with a smile, "Let's use the bed, its actually super comfortable and I don't mind if I fall asleep. I can always tell you my opinion in the morning~!"