Goddess of beauty from overseas

I'm sorry if things have been a bit slow.

Soon enough, I'll be making a time skip.

I just wanted to set some things first.

I hope you enjoy the chapter!

.

.

.

-----------

/Several hours later…/

/Creak…/

"That was good, perhaps I should try some of those hot springs in the Dungeon... If I find any..."

'Silver opened the door of his bathroom, leaving with a towel hanging on his waist.'

'He had a relaxed expression, yawning slightly.'

"A small nap would be perfect right now... But I have a lot to do."

I always have something to do these days...

'He walked slowly to his wardrobe, opening it with a vacant gaze.'

"Hum… I won't be doing anything formal… But I guess it would be disrespectful to treat this too casually, especially since…"

I'll be meeting with a God I've never seen before.

Not like I've kept this formality every time though, but at least this one time I'll try.

'Silver grabbed a nice pair of brown pants and a shirt, nothing fancy but it was good enough.'

'When you had a chiseled body, many styles just became that much better...

'He checked the time on his pocket watch, about 10 minutes until their agreed time...'

"It's enough time." He said with a yawn

After I'm done with him, I'll look for a few merchants around Orario to sell my items.

Long were my days of selling to the Guild, enough of losing money to taxes.

Especially now that I'll start to venture into the Lower floors, and if I were to sell to the Guild, I would literally lose tens of Millions just from Tax.

No can do.

The only problem would be haggling with the merchants, since I'm a new customer, they'll probably make it low...

Albeit still higher than the Guild.

"I could sell a portion to Miach but that is all..."

Hephaestus won't really buy my products at a high price, only if I sell her things that can only be found on the Lower floors and below.

"Sigh..."

My progress has been much faster than I expected, who knows? At this speed, I might very well clear my debt within this year.

...

"This should be all." Silver said as he looked around

'After checking everything, he walked outside, greeting the people on his way before entering an alley and disappearing.'

'Silver had considered bringing Hestia with him despite it all since he wanted to have her understand his choices and be there in case something bad happened...'

'But she went to Babel to work for Hephaestus…'

'She said that she wanted to do something, no matter how little it was…'

"I told her to try and help Haruhime, but she's so stubborn…" He mumbled to himself as he kicked a small stone nearby

In truth, she simply doesn't want to work as a maid, nor would it be proper anyway.

Perhaps having her mind full of work while being near Hephaestus is for the best.

'Silver looked around, thinking.'

Anyway, I'm here.

'He looked at the coffee shop with a small smile.'

No need to draw attention, I'll just...

'However, he didn't enter through the conventional ways, instead, he teleported inside the third floor before walking towards a pair of people sitting on a table.'

/Thud thud thud.../

'A blond man that seemed too relaxed, and a long dark haired lady that seemed too energetic as she kept using the table like a drum.'

"Is he coming?" She asked

"I told you 16 times already... We are early... He should be here on time."

"Instead, I told you there was no need to rush."

"But I was so eager to meet him!"

"... Sigh."

'Hermes seemed tired, but he just let the girl play, trying to stop her would be in vain.'

"Oh? He's here." Hermes said with a smile as he saw Silver approaching them

Finally! Freedom!

"Really?!" The girl exclaimed as she turned around to face Silver

"..."

As expected…

'The girl was extremely beautiful, no... He already knew that before she had even turned around.'

'The aura of a Goddess, and it didn't take much for him to think what type she was...'

'Her black hair flowing down onto her shoulder, and her golden eyes akin to the yellow sun, glowing in faint light…'

'She seemed to have a certain charismatic aura around her, glowing faintly, making people feel relaxed and… Happy.'

'Perhaps because she was a God, or simply because she was that happy…'

'She climbed onto her chai and jumped!'

'Her red dress flew in the wind as she made her way to Silver.'

"?!..."

'Time started to slow down as Silver started to ponder what to do...'

"YAY!" She exclaimed as she fell on top of Silver

"..."

What's up with this girl?...

It's overwhelming… She's very light as well, albeit considerably heavier than Hestia...

Is it because of her height? She's rather tall.

'Silver grabbed the Goddess, but now, he was confused about what to do.'

"Kicho! Calm down!" Hermes said as he got up from his seat in a hurry, his hat almost slightly

"How can I?! Hey hey! I've long been wanting to meet you!" She said, staring at Silver's eyes

"Is… Is that so?"

Does she know me?

I mean, it isn't strange... Hermes must've said who she was meeting and why, and that must've given her enough time to process that...

Besides, she being here means she's trustworthy, Hermes wouldn't risk involving such people with my personal matters, especially one I asked out of favor.

But meaning to meet him?... Did I ever meet her before?

She's not the kind of person I would forget...

'She nodded quickly.'

"You saved several of my Children some time ago, and ever since the War game, I've been wanting to meet you!"

'Silver raised an eyebrow.'

So that was why, even now, the result of my actions in the past are showing.

People that I saved on a whim on the Upper floors... They do account to something.

Still...

"It's not like where I live is a secret…"

'She placed her two hands on her cheeks, flushing.'

"KYA! I can't visit a boy's home just like that!"

"..."

"..."

'Silver looked at Hermes, and he looked at Silver with an apologetic smile.'

"I'm sorry for this man, she's just like that… Even in Heaven, she used to be a pain…"

'The Goddess seemed really offended.'

"A PAIN?! You're the one too stuck up with your things, your eyes are sharper than your nails!" She said as she rolled her eyes

"S... Stuck up?..." Hermes muttered to himself

I'm I really like that?

I'll ask Asfi later.

'But she quickly focused her attention back on Silver.'

"Thank you for saving my children." She said with a nod in an oddly formal tone

'But the situation didn't look formal at all as she was still being carried like a princess.'

"Well… How about we first introduce ourselves?" Silver asked awkwardly

Although she's very beautiful, she acts more like an overly excited fangirl…

She's one of those girls... They can be either very nice people or very annoying.

This makes her feel younger than she actually looks, and that may be why I don't find her attractive.

Doesn't change the fact she's beautiful though… And soft…

"OH! How could I forget that? Te-he!" She said cutely

"..."

"..."

'Silver looked at Hermes with a dark expression while the latter just begged him to be patient…'

…

'After a little more empty conversation, the Goddess finally rested her foot onto the ground, saying:'

"Kichijoten!" She said as she raised her arms up high with her back towards the window

"..."

"..."

/Silence…/

"I… I see. A pleasure to meet you." Silver said calmly

This girl… She's... Amusing.

Although it seems Hermes finds her extremely annoying.

/Cough!/

'Hermes coughed, continuing her talk:'

"Her name is Kichijoten, Goddess of Happiness and Beauty."

"As her appearance and name may suggest, she's from the far East in order to... Spread Happiness and make money."

"She arrived in Orario around… Mumph?!"

'Kichijoten suddenly blocked Hermes' mouth, saying:'

"Mo?! Don't you know that it's bad to say a lady's age?" She said with a pout

"I…"

I wasn't even going to say that… Are you worried that he may look at you as old?

You are old though! Several thousand years old!

That isn't even secretive information!

"Now that you say…" Philip said as he looked at her

It does look very reminiscent of what I know…

Her clothes and manner of speaking, resemble Take's and his children.

I should've paid more attention.

'She was using a fancy red Kimono that was more like a dress as it went all the way to the ground, and despite it scraping against the ground, it wasn't dirty in the least.'

'Her Kimono was full of golden details, and on top of her head were two golden pins on her hair that together, made her seem as if she was wearing a small tiara.'

"Cough… Well, apart from that, her Familia is rather small, but I don't think that matters…"

"I have 13 children, 9 Level 1s, 2 Level 2s, and 2 Level 3s!" She said proudly

"That's quite good." Silver agreed

This means I should've saved one of the Level 1s.

"Don't agree with her!" Hermes exclaimed

…

'After a bit more useless talk, they sat down on the table again, Hermes now looked more tired than before.'

'But Silver was rather amused.'

"Let's start this before I go insane…" Hermes said

Did I make the wrong choice bringing her here?

'He raised his hand in Kicho's direction, asking:'

"Why don't you start explaining what a Charm is?"

"Hummmmm…" She said pensively

"Charm is… An intrinsic ability all Goddess of Beauty have." She said in a rare serious tone

"Even after we sealed our powers, this ability couldn't be sealed because it isn't entirely to our control as it's more of a side effect of our Arcanuns."

"In a sense… It is possible to take off your clothes to enter a pool, but is it possible to take off an arm?"

"..."

"Or the question should be… Is it sensible?" She asked herself

"..."

'Hermes was mouth opened, he couldn't believe how serious she was being…'

"Alright, in that case, what are the scopes of it?" Silver asked slowly

From an interesting perspective, perhaps the Charm ability can be sealed, but not without a big consequence.

Perhaps it's more harmful than neutral, hence, the Gods simply choose to keep it since they're in the mortal world for fun, and not to suffer.

"Don't know." She said plainly

"Each Goddess is different, their Charms can vary, their powers in different scales."

"Kicho… He's asking if there are restrictions or limits…"

"OHHHH! I made a mistake..."

"Don't know." She said plainly once again

"..."

"..."

"For the same reason, each Goddess is different from each others."

"So let me tackle this question through another perspective." Silver said with a small smile

"If someone was charmed…"

"Can you protect yourself against it? How can you free someone from a charm? And is it possible to realize you've been charmed?"

"For that, I may be of help." Hermes said with a smile

If it goes on like this, he'll learn nothing from this, and I'll feel bad.

I myself am very interested in knowing if he can actually resist it...

"For your last question, I can say with certainty that it's almost impossible for a normal person to realize they've been charmed unless an extreme situation happens."

"Gods can somewhat feel that, but most are... Simps." Hermes said after a lot of thought

"..."

'Silver remained silent.'

(N1)

"A goddess Charm isn't mind control, but more akin to a very powerful form of suggestion."

"To make someone abide by you as if you were the closest person to them... As if you were their everything and that was the norm of things."

"That seems like mind control to me." Silver retorted

"You don't quite understand, mind control is intrusive, Charm is... Natural."

"Normally, the Charmed can be very well aware that he/she were indeed charmed, but will still do what the Charmer wants."

"Similar to a Mind-controlled person who would do things completely against their will... They can still do, but the limit of such actions is relatively smaller."

"Since in a situation where they are put under extreme stress, the Charm could break on it's on." Hermes said as he lifted his index finger

"Albeit several things could happen after that… And also, the chances of the charm breaking go down with time."

"The longer you are charmed, the lower the chances of the charm breaking."

"Of course, any given time the Goddess could stop the charm, or another Goddess could outpower the charm, and cancel it afterward, freeing the person from their grasp…"

"Many things can happen." Hermes replied with a shrug

'Kicho nodded and said:'

"I don't think there are any ways to protect yourself from such a Charm unless you are an adventurer."

"Regardless of it all, being high Level is the only solution I can blurt out… Sorry." She said apologetically

"No, it's okay, this is plenty." Silver said with a smile

But not what I wanted…

This means I'll have to be extra careful.

"Alright, there's only one last thing I would like you to do for me." Silver said deeply

I considered this many times, but Hermes is sufficiently trustworthy.

So I'm willing to let myself…

"Alright! I've been waiting for this!" Hermes said with a small smile

'He took out several objects from a small bag, and put them all on the table behind Silver.'

"It's simple, take a good look at these items and memorize them."

"After that, Kicho will Charm you and tell you to forget about it, and after that, she'll ask what is on the table behind you."

"Normally, after she stops, you would remember what she did while you were charmed, but not in this case."

"We'll be able to measure how effective it was based on that. Are you okay with that?" Hermes asked

"... Yes."

My Level isn't particularly high, so I don't expect it to help much.

It may be enough for it, coupled with my mental fortitude to make me resist the natural charm of these Goddesses, but if they actively use it on me?

Let's see, this is only a test after all, but if I fail here…

I'll not be able to allow myself to even meet with Ishtar in the future.

"Is everyone ready then? If so…"

"Wait a…"

/Flash…/

'Kichijoten's golden eyes flashed for a moment, and Silver couldn't help but… Be drawn into them…'

'Would he be able to resist being Charmed?'

…

/At the same time in the entertainment discrict.../

'A naked Goddess could be seen updating the blessing of one of her children...'

"Hum... As expected..." Ishtar said with a pleased smile

The number of Level 4's under my command has just doubled.

'With a thin smile, she gazed outside towards a distant Tower...'

This time, I'll not fail.

'She licked her lips in delight.'

.

.

.

Notes

N1

Actually, Gods are similar to us, the readers.

They have terms and a way of thinking pretty similar to ours.

For example, they understand that the names they give to the children are wacky, cringe, and Chunibyo in a sense.

But the people of this world don't have a concept of 9th-grade syndrome...

So sometimes, they'll use terms that don't really make sense, but for Silver, he can somewhat understand what they mean.