Son of the Hero King

When Sol opened his eyes, he was not surprised to find himself once again in a different space. His experience with Castitas, Ira, and Invidia had been more than enough for him to know that the goddesses would not let pass the chance to have a private discussion with him.

He only wondered which goddess would be the first to act. Milia was a beast woman so she was under Ira and Patientia. At the same time, she was a modified chimera and had the gene of Echidna. As such she was theoretically also under Gula and Temperatia. Finally, the contract they signed was a Pride type so Superbia also had her share.

Looking around him as the space slowly started to morph until he found himself in some kind of dining room with a large rectangular table and fifteen luxurious chairs arranged all around it. The room itself was quite lavish, a soft music filled his ears, while small golden light floated on the ceiling, illuminating the whole room.

The table itself was covered with mouth-watering food and Sol could feel his stomach growling as a seemingly insatiable hunger started filling his body.

Eat eat eat eat eat! This one singular thought was repeating endlessly in his mind, as if it wished to drive him insane and change him into a monster who had no desire aside from eating.

Sol frowned a little as he fought against this feeling and took a seat. His steps were slow and measured as he fought the influence of the compulsion that was tearing him apart but in the end, he was able to properly sit and look at the person sitting on the other side.

“Goddesses Gula. Happy to meet you.”

“You are as impressive as the others said. I am surprised you were able to fight the urge to eat. Not that it would have changed anything. I prepared this food for you after all.”

Sol grinned, “Why the surprise? I have already shown that I can fight the compulsion goddesses naturally emanate.”

Even as he spoke, Sol made sure to not have Gula’s face in his direct line of sight. Gula was undoubtedly far stronger than he thought at first and he did not want to take any risk as he thought about what could happen if he made a mistake here.

“Heh. You underestimate how impressive this is. Out of all of us sisters, both Luxuria and I are undoubtedly the strongest and this is because while the other’s sins and virtues are emotions or actions, Lust and Gluttony are tied down to primordial need. They are things that no one can really escape from. Even more so for mortals.”

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Sol nodded, quietly tucking away the information about the power level of the goddesses. He could feel that Gula was pretty chatty and was directing no hostility toward him. In such a situation, it would be stupid of him to start the hostility and push away a potential ally. Even more so when she was seemingly part of the top 2 most powerful.

“So, with what should I begin?”

“Oh? Are you not worried that I might have poisoned the food.”

Sol shrugged, “I believe someone whose concept is related to hunger would not desecrate food.” That and he was also sure he could survive if she did try to poison him.

“You are funny. I like your confidence.” She giggled lightly, giving Sol the impression that he was facing nothing more than a young woman who was still discovering the world. “Then…Let’s eat? Only after eating while we talk about serious things.”

The meal proceeded in silence and Sol watched, bemused, as the food seemed to be literally inhaled by the dainty and slim woman in front of him. If at least she was eating disgustingly, he would have not been so surprised. Instead, she was eating in a stylish and well-mannered way that contrasted greatly with the amount she was ingurgitating.

Ignoring the human-shaped vacuum cleaner, Sol focused on the food he was eating and he nodded as he realized that while the food did not possess some mind-blowing taste, it had a certain warmth that filled his body and made him feel calmer.

His nerves, taut because of all the stress he had been under lately started relaxing and he could feel his sense of danger lessen greatly.

“One of the spices I used is a special one that grows in the Afterall realm and grows by feeding on the water of the river of forgetfulness. It is a rare ingredient that is extremely useful when it comes to helping the soul grow.”

“Oh…” Sol looked down at his food. Wondering for one small moment if he wished to know more about the food he was consuming but then, realizing that all it result would be to upset him or destroy his appetite he decided to simply smile and keep eating.

He ate and ate and did not raise his head even as two shadowy figures appeared and sat on either side of Gula. All he knew was that the food was good for his soul and he certainly was not going to miss this occasion.

When the food finally vanished entirely from the table, Sol finally gazed at the two new goddesses who had joined them.

He didn’t really need to hear their names to know who they were. He simply needed to focus on the feeling they were bringing out. This was more than enough,

“Goddess Superbia. Goddess Temperatia. I am surprised you are joining us. I thought it would once again be a one-on-one meeting.”