Chapter 436: Astraea as a leader?

Asahi moved to Orario after completing his objective of besting Great Red. Of course, his destination was his own Familia, the Stardust Garden. He had grown fond of this place, treating it like his new home. 

Even though it hadn’t been long since his last visit, Astraea and her crew wasted no time in dedicating the morning to his return.

Haruhime tried her best to stay out of Asahi’s sight. In their last meeting, he had offered to adopt her, but she doubted him. Astraea and others had thoroughly convinced him that Asahi had no ill intentions behind adopting her.

This, however, made the renard girl even guiltier. He had brought her to a better familia. Rather than feeling gratitude, she suspected him of something he was never going to do.

At her core, she was still a pure girl.

Asahi felt Haruhime’s awkwardness from across the room.

‘She is still on edge about that.’

(Nothing a few headpats can’t fix.)

‘I’ll bring her out later.’

He gave everyone a lookover. Everyone except for Haruhime had grown stronger since the last time he met them. The weakest adventurer could easily flatten a level 4 adventurer. Alise was close to level 6 while Kaguya trailed her not so far behind.

“Alright, this is enough love for one day,” Asahi said as he pushed back his chair. “Come to Loki’s mansion in the afternoon. It’s about time we finish our business..”

“Business?” Alise frowned. “What kind of business?”

Kaguya leaned into Alise’s ear. “He’ll gather all his women and get them naked. He is talking about that kind of business.”

The obscene remark naturally filled Alise's head with scenarios she wouldn’t have imagined otherwise. “Shut up! It’s not happening!”

“What’s not happening, Alise dear?” Asahi asked. “Your mind is full of lewdness, again?”

Asahi teased the redhead until Ryuu came to her rescue like a knight in shining armor. She glared at Asahi like a puppy defending her owner.

Asahi tickled her ears with his telekinesis ability. “Ryuu, how have you been? I missed you.”

The double attack left Ryuu in no situation to stay composed, making her blush. “I-I’m fine.”

In fact, she was over the moon yesterday for finally ascending to the highly desired level 5. She didn’t make a deal since her friends had long surpassed this threshold. She just couldn’t see anyone getting hyped over this small growth of hers. So, she requested her goddess to keep this a secret.

“That’s good.” Asahi turned to Astraea, who simply looked stunning in a sleeveless dress. “And goddess, would you like to spend some time with me?”

“Yup…”

Surprisingly, Astraea looked relaxed, not at all overworked.

‘The familia war aftermath got settled, I guess.’

(What will you do with Freya? Our plan is to leave after three weeks. She is your maid.)

‘I’m taking her.’

Freya would elevate the already chaotic world of One Punch Man to another level. He doubted many heroes there would be able to resist her temptation. But, she was even a bigger threat to Orario. At least, he would be there to keep an eye on the sultry goddess and stop her from going ham.

‘She’ll lighten Rini and Grayfia’s burden.’

Astraea suddenly took Asahi’s hand and dragged him outside the dining room. Her aggressive approach stunned everyone. Leaving behind a bunch of maidens whispering to each other, Astraea brought him to her own cozy room and forced him to sit on her bed. Her hands flew to the buttons of his shirt.

“Woah there, no sex before marriage condition is irrelevant now?”

“My future husband has been busy with some otherworld shenanigans,” Astraea answered as she pulled off his shirt. “I have to do my job as your goddess. You must have a lot of accumulated Excelia.”

Asahi sighed. “Here I thought I’d get to experience the sweetness of Goddess Astraea. Not today it seems.”

Astraea caressed his chest with a rare mischievous smile. “Just twenty two more days. You can indulge in the sweetness of other women until then… I’d have broken my oath if you were single from the start. But you are a man with numerous girls who’d give up their life for you.”

She knew how weak Asahi’s self control was about sex. Even if he was single, he’d be going around having sex with random girls. In that scenario, Astraea would most likely not care about the commitment.

“Ahem, would you bring your actual body to the wedding?”

“I wonder about that,” Astraea answered vaguely as she moved to his back and started the level up process.

Meanwhile, Asahi tinkered with the system to choose his new class that he achieved from slaying Susanoo.

[‘Bane of the Supernatural’ Class added.]

[Bane of the Supernatural: A class tailored made for those who set out to slay the supernatural species.]

[Class-exclusive skills]

—Destiny Slayer (Authority): Reforge the destiny of anyone weaker than you.

—Slayer’s Mark (Unique): Grants you the ability to track any supernatural creature you have previously hunted. The tracked target receives additional damage.

—Godslaying Noble (F-Rank): Instill fear into creatures aligned with god or divine.

—Divine Retribution (Unique): Delivers death upon any supernatural creature who slays you.

‘Destiny Slayer… It’s my first time seeing an authority. It’s totally busted.’

The authority alone made up for the useless last skill.

[Falna updated. Status is updating to reflect the changes…]

[Strength +35, Constitution +28, Defense +27, Dexterity +30, Magic +20]

‘More free stats.’

(Yay!)

Astraea embraced him from behind and nestled her chin on his shoulder. “Shizuka told me about a place called beach. Can we visit it sometime?”

“Why sometime? Let’s go now.”

“Can we take Ryuu? She’s been pushing herself in the dungeon alone. Some leisure time with you will be a reward for her.”

Asahi couldn’t help but imagine a shy Ryuu in a bikini. “How can I say no to that?”

Astraea kissed his cheeks. “Great! One more question. Why are you summoning everyone later?”

“I’ll start some hardcore dungeon training. Three weeks should get them ready for our next adventure.”

“A world where anyone can become a hero… I’m excited.” Her arms tightened around him as though expressing her excitement level. “I want to see it.”

The goddess of justice was smitten with the concept of ordinary humans rising as heroes to protect others. Asahi had an epiphany. He could visualize a future with Astraea directing an organization of heroes to fight monsters. Not the corrupted one like the Hero Association. Even if Asahi becomes a hero for fun, he’d rather stay away from the Hero Association. The more he thought about it, the more it fit Astraea. She was a perfect candidate for running a heroes organization. On top of it, her Familia would thoroughly enjoy being under her.

The goddess of justice loved to deliver justice onto evil.

‘It might actually be fun.’

Astraea ruffled the back of his head. “What are you thinking now?”

Asahi shared his plan with Astraea.

The goddess revealed a bright smile. “I’ll do it. I want to do it.”

“That settles it.”

“We’ll talk about it later.” Astraea pulled back and made him rest his head on her lap. “You’re always spoiling everyone. As a reward, I'll spoil you today.”

“Nice!”

Glorious_Milfhunte