Found the Hestia Familia

The quickest way Marcus could accumulate credits is by utilizing a capture method unique to Danmachi called 'Divine Marking.' Divine Marking took advantage of the Falna system that underpinned the Adventurer system.

Aspiring adventurers applied to serve Gods as members of their Familias. In exchange for servitude, the deities granted the mortal a blessing called Falna. The Falna gave the mortal superhuman physical prowess, which the mortals leveraged to kill monsters. Killing monsters yielded money, which they used to support their deity and pay for luxuries, as well as excelia. The excelia was then used by the deity to update and enhance the Falna of the Adventurer, making them stronger and more capable of killing monsters, which in turn allowed them to gather more excelia and make more money.

The Falna system was an established positive feedback loop Divine Marking could corrupt without alerting anyone to the fact something was wrong. If Marcus captured a deity with his shroud, the deity would then have the option to stamp their children on his behalf when they updated their child's Falna. He would gain ownership of the Adventurer within seventy-two hours after their Falna had been updated. Effectively, Divine Marking meant if he captured a God or Goddess, he would inevitably gain control over every Adventurer- waifus included- within their Familia.

The most valuable deity he could capture in this way was Loki. If he could capture the Goddess of Mischief, he would also gain ownership of two Tier Four waifus, a Tier Five waifu, and eight Tier Six waifus. Excluding the reward for capturing Loki, a tier eight waifu, he would receive two-hundred-sixty-four credits. If he factored in one hundred-twenty points Loki was worth, his profits rocketed to three-hundred-eighty credits; more than what he would receive for deploying to a Tier Seven planet.

Consequently, Marcus had decided, pre-deployment, his victory condition would be the subversion of every deity in heaven and earth. As Pokemon would say; gotta catch 'em all. After he gained ownership of the deities, the vast majority of existing superhumans would fall under his sway in days and all new superhumans would be his as a matter of course. Any who managed to escape capture would die off over a century due to them being mortal, and one day, every superhuman on the planet would be his.

The issue with Marcus' plan was, while deities were forbidden from using their divine powers in the mortal realm, the only punishment for breaking this rule was being banished back to heaven. If he tried to capture a deity through brute ****, there was a high probability the Tier Eight being would obliterate him. This was especially probable if Marcus angered the deity while assaulting his Familia or backed the divine into a corner and made them think they were going to die and be sent back to heaven anyway.

Consequently, Marcus prioritized deception and seduction when formulating his build. He chose Light as his element because who would suspect a Paladin, a holy warrior, of subverting Gods? Certainly not the deities themselves. Blessed Talent would ensure they would warm up to him far quicker than normal, Communication Talent would help him deceive, and Information Defense would prevent the lie detector ability Gods and Goddesses possessed from functioning. Then factor in Marcus' appearance- airbrushed due to Body Tune Up- and he was effectively catnip for deities.

And all of this was before you factored in Hestia's unique circumstances. The Goddess of Hearth and Family had not been having an easy time since she descended from the Heavens.

She was living underneath an abandoned church in the bad part of town while working at a Potato stand to earn money to make ends meet. Due to her living conditions and her job, demeaning and unfitting for deity, no prospective adventurer took her seriously. Consequently, Hestia didn't have a single child under her banner and was suffering from loneliness that was antithetical to the Goddess of Family. Altogether, Hestia was in a uniquely poor position to resist Marcus' sweet little lies.

When Hestia asks Marcus why he wants to join her Familia despite her not having resources to support him, he praises her and her domains. "You are the Goddess of Family," he says. "Is it true that children automatically belong to their parent's Familia?"

Hestia says it is, so Marcus says, "I'm going to be an adventurer- a dangerous job, I think you'll agree. I imagine my future wife will also be an adventurer. In the best-case scenario, we will be in the dungeon for days on end. In the worst case, we might never return.

"At the same time, I've always wanted to have kids. In the best case, I'll need a babysitter. In the worst, I'll need someone willing to be a surrogate mom to my children. How do you feel about babies?"

Marcus watches Hestia's eyes. Without Communication Talent, he would have missed how they lost focus for a second, but with it, he can tell she had just pictured what his offspring might look like. "I love babies," Hestia says. "I wouldn't mind looking after your kids while you're away- but members of the Hestia Familia aren't allowed to die. You need to promise to come home, safe and sound."

"You are a good person," Marcus gives her another compliment. "Too many Gods regard their adventurers as disposable. I haven't even joined your Familia yet and you are already worrying about me." Hestia flushes and Marcus tries to soothe her embarrassment. "How you treat others is more important than how much money you have or what resources you can provide."

"So you don't you mind living beneath an abandoned church?" Hestia asks. Marcus can hear the self-conscious vulnerability underlying her tone.

He drops Information Defense before saying, "I don't mind not having money," so Hestia will know he is lying. Without Communication Talent, Marcus would have kept his Defense up, but with it, he knows reminding Hestia of her inadequacies is the right choice. Knowing Marcus wasn't completely satisfied with her and Familia will make Hestia more eager to please; more likely to agree to his suggestions and more proactive in ensuring Marcus doesn't regret his choice.

Marcus followed up by bringing the defense back up and saying, "Rather, I don't think this will be a problem for long. Do you know how much it will cost to renovate this church into a proper Familia headquarters?"

Hestia glances to the side and Marcus learns she doesn't know the real price. Then, unexpectedly, Hestia chooses to lie. "I'll have to recheck the price," she hedges, "but I think it's somewhere near four-hundred-thousand valis." She didn't want to disappoint him further by admitting she didn't know the real price. Eager to please indeed.

He would have to train the impulse out of her later, but for now, he lets the lie slide. Instead, he asks how much buying a new home would cost, and now committed to fibbing, Hestia says a million valis.

"I wasn't expecting you to know the numbers off the top of your head. It's reassuring to see you've been looking ahead and considering what our Familia might need going forward," he says to hammer in the guilt Hestia had been feeling over her lies. Then, to make it easy for her to stick to her lie, Marcus says, "I don't think we'll be here for long."

He extends his hand and calls on his shroud. A hard-light shield, pale yellow in color and rectangular in shape, comes into existence. After a second, he lets it fade and creates a new construct, a hard-light blade. After another second, he replaces it with a bow and arrow and then lets that fade as well.

Hestia's jaw hangs open. "You have magic? Chant-less magic? You can't have magic without a Falna."

"It's a congenital skill," Marcus says. "An ancestor of mine contracted to a spirit, and since then all of my ancestors have possessed a Shroud of Power. I possess it now, and all my descendants will possess it after me." To reiterate, children of Familia members are born into their Familia. If Hestia added Marcus and his bloodline to her Familia, she will have a guaranteed source of uniquely powerful future members.

Having demonstrated his value, Marcus proposes they form the Familia now. "There are a few other skills I have you need to be aware of- they all stem from my Shroud," he clarifies when he catches Hestia's disbelieving look. "And they're all boons- no hidden curses."

"What do they do?"

"I'm not sure how to explain what I can do, so I'm hoping my Falna will do it for me."

Again, if he hadn't received Communication Talent alongside his Glorious shroud, he would have tried to set up an exchange where he would join Hestia's Falna in exchange for her allowing him to bind her. Obviously, Marcus wouldn't inform Hestia that letting him bind her was the equivalent of letting him enslave her. Instead, he would have said the procedure was the equivalent of a magical hug. It would only take an instant and afterward, she would have her own fire-themed shroud, courtesy of her being the Goddess of the Hearth. Marcus would then tell her that, through the Grand Tapestry, he would be able to use her shroud to keep himself safe, increasing his odds of survival. In this way, she would be able to contribute to the Familia's success beyond selling potato snacks.

Instead, he let Hestia splatter her ichor on his back, making him her first Familia member without demanding a thing in return. When Hestia goes to read the Falna, Information Defense kicks in and begins to feed her misleading information- mostly true, but with certain details omitted. Everything he would have told her, the Falna says and Hestia ends up insisting Marcus bind her.

Surprisingly, she focuses on the boons of Conjunction- what Marcus considered his least useful purchase. Conjunction allowed him to share his experiences and senses with individuals he had bound. Hestia found it appealing because it ensured she would be able to communicate with him while he was in the dungeon and would know immediately if he was in danger. Marcus doesn't out that, given she can't use her Arcanum, she would be useless if he was in danger.

Instead, he summons his shroud and tells Hestia the binding would only take a second. "It should feel like a hug," he says.

Hestia nods and says she's ready.

His shroud surges forward. A flash of light. His company smartphone pings. He has a notification.

Sixty Credits have been deposited to your account for capturing Hestia (Tier Seven Waifu). Would you like to sell Hestia? [Y/N]

Marcus' gaze slips from Hestia's eyes to her breasts. He snorts. Hestia is worth far more than the forty extra credits the Company is offering.

Hestia knew what the lechers called her- Loli Big Boobs- and while she hated the moniker, she would admit there was truth to the epithet. She was four feet seven inches tall but had G-cup breasts that were further emphasized by her outfit's boob window. Several Gods and a particularly drunk mortal had asked her why one of the Three Celestial Virgins would include a boob window in her outfit, especially given she claimed she didn't want anyone to look.

Hestia had responded the boob window wasn't a choice, but rather a necessity. There weren't any off-the-shelf clothes for someone of her height that accounted for G-cup breasts and she couldn't afford bespoke clothing. Consequently, she had to make do with premade shirts, and the only way those would fit her is if she left the buttons around her tits undone.

For her first few months, when Hestia had the arrogance of deity intact, she had rebuked individuals who stared at her exposed cleavage. Months of working in the service industry and living in a ruin had stripped her of that pride, and nowadays she no longer mentioned it when she saw someone staring. That didn't mean she didn't mind when someone ogled her, however, or that she didn't appreciate it when men at least tried not to look.

Or at least Hestia thought she appreciated their restraint. When she sees Marcus stare at her breasts, she doesn't feel any of the disgust she normally directs towards lechers. She doesn't feel thrilled either, though- or at least not primarily thrilled. If she had to describe her emotional state, she would say she's anxious.

Marcus and Hestia- they're already on the bed. Marcus had been lying down, face-first, less than ten minutes ago so Hestia could climb on his back give him her blessing. They hadn't gotten off after- they hadn't needed to. Marcus' shroud worked just as well, irrespective of whether he was sitting, standing, or lying down, so he had bound her while they were sitting on the bed.

So she's alone in a room with a man who is staring at her cleavage like a lecher, and Hestia's not sure what's going to happen next. She doesn't know what she wants to happen next.

In the end, it's a relief when Marcus takes over. It's one of the reasons why she loves him- he's a leader.

He rolls on top of her, planting his hand on her should and using his body weight to push her until she's lying on the bed. Hestia puckers her lips for a kiss, only to flush with embarrassment when he ignores her and buries his face in her outfit's boob window. In all the romance novels she had read over the millennia, the lovers always kissed, sweet and tender, while making love. There's nothing sweet or tender about the way Marcus' mouth moves against her breasts. He seems hungry.

His hands cup her breasts from the sides, pushing them together and she can feel her shirt's buttons strain to keep her boobs contained. Hestia knows she must look obscene but can't bring herself to care. The anxiety is gone, replaced with fire as Marcus' thumb circles one nipple and he bites down on the other. She gasps in pain even while her core throbs in arousal. He hears her and licks what he just bit, the saliva soothing her ache.

He doesn't bite her again as he kisses his way across her exposed cleavage, and Hestia thinks it's because he doesn't want to cause her pain, but then he hooks his fingers in between two of the top buttons of her shirt and pulls sideways. Under his Falna-enhanced strength, the shirt stands no chance. The buttons fly this way and that, ruining one of the few good shirts Hestia has.

Her protest becomes a whine as Marcus abandons the gentleness he had been treating her with and bites down savagely on the sides of her breasts. He misinterprets her protest and tells her not to worry- he had memorized how much of her was visible through the boob window. "These will be well hidden," he says. "You can continue pretending to be a virgin."

Hestia feels the first stirring of offense she had since Marcus bound her. "I wasn't pretending to be a virgin- I was a virgin. And still am, I guess?" That last part, she mumbles. There hadn't been any penetration yet, though that was probably coming soon.

Marcus laughs. "I know. Why do you think I came to make you my Harem Queen?"

"H-ha-harem?" Hestia stammered. "Queen?"

"I considered Freya, you know? She's more beautiful than you are. Her tits might not be as big," Marcus kisses both of her nipples quickly, touch as light as a butterfly's wing stroke, "but have you seen her ass?" Marcus braces himself on a single hand so he looms over Hestia, dominating most of her field of view. His other hand disappears beneath her skirt. He's kneading her ass. "Freya's butt is to die for. And her face!" He steals Hestia's first kiss then, and Hestia's heart breaks. Never had she hated someone as much as she did Freya at that moment. Here's Marcus, about to take her virginity, and all he can think about is that harlot. "You're okay, but black hair and blue eyes are kind of plain, no? You can't compare to Freya's silver-and-violet combo."

Marcus sighs dreamily. "Freya looks like a Queen and she has charm. Would make managing all the other women in my harem easy. She would be perfect if she weren't such a whore. How many men do you think Freya's been with? Hundreds or thousands?"

"Hundreds of thousands," Hestia says spitefully. "Maybe millions." Even if Freya had only had a single lover per year, she would have had half a million and Hestia thought it unlikely the Goddess of Love, Beauty, and Sex had restrained herself to a single lover.

"I'm going to be one of them one day," Marcus says. "I'm going to be her final- and greatest- lover. I'm going to fuck her for months on end and make her my cock-drunk whore-"

Something about Marcus' grip changes and Hestia is filled with discontent because she knows she didn't cause it. Freya- the mere idea of fucking Freya- had more of an impact on Marcus than actually fucking her did. Hestia's world explodes in pleasure, but the pleasure only serves to torment her. Marcus doesn't like whores, she has to remind herself. Hestia bites her lip to keep from moaning and nearly tastes blood. She can't afford to look wanton in front of Marcus- not when it's the one thing she has over Freya.

Her resolve becomes a lost cause when his active hand switches from lightly caressing her ass to playing with her pussy. He moves her panty to the side, pinning the garment in place with his ring finger and pinky, before stroking her fold with his middle finger. Hestia's back arches and to her shame, she can feel herself throbbing- dripping- with need.

"-but I'm not going to marry Freya. King's fuck whores. They don't marry them."

Hestia needs to distract herself or she will come undone. She tries to focus on Marcus' words and when that doesn't work, on the sound of the draft. The reminder she will be losing her virginity underneath a ruined church as opposed to somewhere romantic douses her arousal enough that she manages to say, "I'm not a whore."

Marcus kisses her, and Hestia's attempts to calm herself are ruined. "You're not a whore," he agrees. "You're a good girl. That's why I'm going to marry you. Want to know what you're wedding gift is going to be?"

He withdraws his hand and Hestia blinks the spots out of her eye. Marcus rolls off her and stands. She would have followed him if it weren't for the fact her legs feel like jelly. It turns out to be a good thing because Marcus isn't done with her. Not even close to done. Neither of them had orgasmed yet.

Marcus had risen to kick off his pants, and with trepidation, Hestia realizes this is it. After today, the Three Celestial Virgins will become two. It takes her half a minute to remember he had asked her a question.

"W- what?" she asks.

"You've always wanted a large family, right?" Marcus grips her by her thighs and pulls her to the edge of the bed. Her legs go on his shoulders and his cock is aligned with her entrance. He's going to fuck her. He might even cum inside her. If Hestia had been a mortal she might have gotten pregnant from this and given birth to children- birthed the family she wanted.

Another inadequacy she always had, but never ruminated on. Hestia consoles herself that at least this inadequacy was one shared by Freya. Deity's, as a species, were incapable of having children. This flaw was shared by all her fellow Goddesses.

"As a wedding gift, I'm going to give you the family you've always craved. Every woman in my harem shall be your sister, and every child they bear shall be your child." A pale replacement for children of her own, but Hestia loved that Marcus tried. "We'll all be one big, happy, family. They'll be your family, understand? And you, o' Goddess of Family, will do what's best for them."

Freya would be her sister, Hestia thinks. If Marcus' plan succeeds, Freya would be her sister, and Hestia would have to do her best to make Freya happy. She wants to say no, but if she did, what use would she be to Marcus? If she said no, she would be putting her happiness over his, and Hestia could never do that- and so she says yes.

The smile Marcus gives her reassures her that her answer was the right one.