No way around it, Luo En still owed the Goddess of the Hearth Hestia two batches of seedlings.
It was all karma he had created for himself.
Since he had agreed to it, he could only repay it honestly.
With the day's first rays of sun, the hard-pressed debtor Luo En started his daily routine of loosening the soil, sowing seeds, watering, fertilizing, and hastening growth.
Thanks to the Goddess of Wisdom's visit last ti to apologize, she left behind a bottle of "Essence of Life," which could accelerate plant growth.
By diluting this substance in water, Luo En's debt repaynt sped up manifold.
After several months of hard work, the whole yard was bursting with vitality, and his debt was almost fully repaid.
Well past dawn, Luo En put down his watering can and, looking at the seedlings in the nursery that were half a foot tall and lush with greenery, couldn't help but feel satisfied as he laid down his farming tools.
After washing off the dust and gri, he walked into the kitchen to prepare lunch; as Luo En busied himself by the stove, he couldn't help but mutter complaints.
Whether it was because she revealed her true nature or was intentionally training him, after the Goddess of the Hearth tasted his cooking, she not only increasingly relinquished control over what she regarded as her own territory, the kitchen, but lately she didn't even enter the kitchen door at all.
In her place, she would take Little dusa out early in the morning under the guise of shopping for goods, browsing through the market streets.
By alti, they'd often bring back a huge assortnt of exotic ingredients for Luo En to experint with and develop new recipes.
The ostensible reason was to "enrich the Minosians' nu and enhance the quality of life in Knossos City."
"We're back!"
Just as Luo En, reluctantly transford into a househusband, was bellyaching to himself, a familiar and cheerful shout ca from outside the door.
Little dusa, back from shopping, carelessly dropped a half-person-tall bag on the ground and burst into the back kitchen with a beaming smile.
A rich fragrance of flowers entered his nostrils, Luo En put down his spatula and his gaze fell upon Little dusa's head, surprise flickering across his face.
"What a beautiful garland, who gave it to you?"
"It's from the florist granny across the street!"
Bearing recognition for the day's difference, Little dusa gleefully answered while showing off excitedly.
"Luo En, I helped tend the shop today and sold thirteen bunches of flowers! Granny gave a flower garland and a bag of fresh croissants!"
"It seems Little Anna is quite popular."
Luo En smiled and nodded, patiently continuing his inquiry with curiosity.
"So, any other gains from today's outing?"
"Yes, yes, Constantine's granddaughter finally let hold her! I took care of her for a while!"
"How did that feel?"
"Tiny, soft, really cute!"
"Is that all?"
"There's more, there's more, I found the herbs Beatrice needed, and also helped the la man on the other street pick grapes from his vineyard, and before leaving, he gave a basket as well…"
In the kitchen, Little dusa's small face was brimming with a sweet smile as she excitedly boasted to Luo En about her labor's fruits along the way.
Her eyes, once filled with wariness and gloom when they first t, now sparkled with brightness, and the reluctance to make eye contact with others had completely vanished.
Luo En listened quietly to Little dusa's sharing, responding with a gentle chuckle and nods.
"Hmm, no wonder I've heard the whole street praising you."
"No, that's not true…"
Hearing such praise, the sowhat unconfident Little dusa suddenly felt uneasy, her small face blushing.
Looking at this dusa who had shed the fierce myth and revealed her innocent nature, Luo En stretched out his hand and gently placed it on top of dusa's small head, softly stroking her smooth purple hair, his eyes filled with contentnt and tenderness.
Compared to the "inevitability" of the myths, he preferred this "chance" he had created with his own hands.
If the role of the "dice" was to nurture these kinds of beautiful possibilities, then being driven by such things didn't seem to be entirely bad.
"Hey! You two, that's enough! Can't one of you co and help with this stuff?"
While the kitchen's warmth and affection grew deeper between the young and the old, an indignant protest from Hestia ca from outside the door.
At this mont, her hands were full with large and small packages from shopping, the bulky scale of which had already exceeded the limits of the door fra.
And because she stood right at the doorstep, it was inconvenient for her to use her Divine Power to dismantle the house, so she could only stand stiffly at the door.
"I'm here, I'm here!"
Little dusa snapped back to reality and stuffed half a bag of croissant bread into Luo En's hands before rushing out of the kitchen to help unload at the door.
"You've brought back so much, did you go and raid the food market and the grocery store, auntie…"
Amid the teasing banter, Athena, who had been absent for several months, appeared from around the deserted street corner with her own Lesser Deity Nike, walking with grace and composure.
Elegant and unhurried.
However, the composure of the Goddess of Wisdom lasted only a few seconds before Hestia dragged her over.
"Athena? Your timing is perfect! Quick, quick, quick, help carry stuff!"
No sooner had the words of the Goddess of the Hearth left her lips than a bag of purple onions slipped to the ground, rolling in all directions.
Frozen in place, Little dusa stiffly turned her head to look at the familiar figure with silver hair and purple eyes behind her, her voice hoarse.
"Athe… Athena?"
"…"
The Goddess of Wisdom raised her hand to her forehead, wordlessly looking at Hestia with an exasperated expression.
No matter how much you plan, you can't guard against an ally who exposes herself willingly.
"What? Did I say sothing?"
Hestia, feeling guilty, feigned confusion in response, trying to bluff her way through with feigned ignorance.
However, such tricks might work on the simple-minded little Anna in the kitchen, but not on her; she wasn't so easily fooled.
"Alright, no need to pretend anymore."
Athena, clearly annoyed, gave her aunt Hestia, who had inadvertently betrayed her, a sharp look; she then gently patted Anna's shoulder as a gesture of comfort, her voice soft.
"It's okay, it's just a na, let's keep things as they were before."
"Eh, you saying that makes feel relieved! I'm finally unburdened!"
Before Little dusa could recover from her shock, Hestia, seeing that her great-niece had no intention of pursuing the matter, let out a sigh of relief, her mood lifting greatly.
"Co, co, co, help bring these inside first!"
"…"
Looking at the bag of turnips in her left hand and the bag of rosemary in her right, Athena, who had regained her goddess status just seconds before, felt her forehead throb uncontrollably.
Forget it, forget it, don't argue with her.
Talking too much is tiring…
Having had a profound experience with such matters, the Goddess of Wisdom, forced by the tyranny of her elder, resigned herself to the hard labor, dignifying herself to carry vegetables into the house.
But having finally lugged all sorts of items into the house, Hestia was still not ready to let go of the labor force, directing them with hands on her hips.
"Hey, hey, don't stand around, the turnips need peeling, the rosemary needs grinding, and you, whoever, get those olives pickled for !"
By the way, even Nike, the lesser Goddess of Victory who didn't rit a ntion, beca an object of enslavent.
Seeing that not only was there no chance of having fruit brew, but also having to do this sort of boring manual labor, Nike's expression imdiately collapsed, her face filled with gloom.
"Don't be so reluctant, all of this was prepared thoughtfully for . Wait until tonight when Luo En and I cook together, and you'll taste the new dishes we've recently developed; you'll understand how worthwhile the hard work is now..."
The Goddess of the Hearth, ready to show off her culinary skills, scolded the gluttonous Nike while proudly announcing the plan for tonight's entertainnt.
"There's no need to cook."
Athena raised her hand to interrupt Hestia's boasting, gracefully declining the dinner invitation, her purple eyes turning toward the figure in the kitchen, corners of her lips curving up in pleasure.
"Because the person, I'm taking with !"
Caught!
In an instant, both Luo En and Little dusa changed their expressions, instinctively assuming a defensive stance, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly turned tense.
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