Chapter 60
Soon, the late night had arrived, and it was time for Draco and his group to leave for their inn.
Demeter had left earlier, as she had some other matters to attend to.
The goddess was quite busy with her various responsibilities.
As they prepared to make their way back, Draco was pleased to have saved some sweet treats for Cleo, the youngest daughter of the inn keeper, back at the inn.
Bahamut, Demeter, Clair, Eleni, Dimitra, and Vasiliki had become quite the sweet monsters when it came time to share desserts.
They had consumed so much, despite claiming they were full, that it was a rather frightening experience for Draco.
Fortunately, he had managed to secure some of the sweets for Cleo, as they had promised her earlier in the day.
"Do you all have to leave?" Bahamut asked, standing at the door of her house.
It was evident that she was reluctant to be alone after having such a fun time with the group.
"We will be back by the morning, so don't worry." Draco reassured her.
Internally, he thought, 'Seems like we've got ourselves quite a needy goddess.'
"Sigh, you all take care and stay safe," Bahamut replied, reluctantly bidding them farewell.
The group quickly made their way to the inn, which was not too far from Bahamut's house.
As they walked, Draco glanced at his map and noticed that most of the places they had visited throughout the day were located around the western area of the city.
‘How odd,’ he mused to himself.
‘We arrived from the western gate as well.’ he thought.
Soon, they arrived back at the inn, ready to turn in for the day.
They had left almost everything at Bahamut's house, so they didn't have much with them.
"Welcome back," the innkeeper greeted them upon noticing their return.
"Ah, I forgot to save some sweets for Cleo!" Eleni suddenly exclaimed.
"We forgot too." Vasiliki, Clair, and Dimitra nodded in agreement.
Vasileios, Nikolaos, and Michalis chimed in, "We didn't even get to touch the sweets, so no blame on the boys' side."
"Ugh, what do I do? What do I tell her?" Eleni muttered.
She paused for a moment, then thought, 'Maybe she might have forgotten.'
Draco, seeing the unfolding situation, reassured them, "Relax, I saved some."
"Thank you so much, Draco nii!" Eleni said, hugging him with relief.
"That's why I love you very much." she added.
"I know, now let go," Draco replied, used to his sisters' dramatic displays.
It was late at night, and Cleo was already asleep, so Draco handed the sweets for her to her mother, the innkeeper.
"Thank you," the innkeeper said with a smile.
"I don't get to make or buy such treats anymore for my youngest daughter Cleo, since I'm always busy running the inn." she said.
“It no problem” Eleni replied.
"By the way, will you be having dinner now?" the innkeeper asked.
"No, we've already eaten. Are the baths still open?" Draco inquired.
"Yes, I'll prepare some hot water now," the innkeeper replied.
With that decided, the group took a bath and turned in for the night.
They knew that the next day would also be a busy one.
The next day…………
The next morning, the group woke up quite early to begin their day.
After freshening up, they all headed downstairs to have breakfast.
“Good morning,” Draco greeted the innkeeper who was entering the inn.
"Morning, I hope you all slept well," the innkeeper replied warmly, a genuine smile gracing her features.
"That we did," Michalis chimed in, his voice carrying a hint of contentment.
Eleni then approached the kitchen door, where Cleo was peeking out.
"Morning, Cleo," Eleni greeted the child, but Cleo simply avoided eye contact, appearing a bit sullen.
'Well, I can't blame her,' Draco mused inwardly.
'We did return rather late last night.' he thought.
The group soon took their seats, and one of the innkeeper's older daughters arrived, placing some delectable-looking breakfast dishes on the table.
"Enjoy your breakfast, nya," the young woman said, her tone cheerful and melodic.
"Today's breakfast looks delectable," Clair exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Yes, it does smell divine," Dimitra added, her gaze fixed on the steaming soup in front of her.
"I wonder what kind of soup this is?" she muttered.
As they savored their meal, Draco couldn't help but remember the conversation they had the previous day.
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot to mention yesterday," he said, his voice taking on a more serious tone.
"When we get to the guild, please be cautious. I'm quite sure that our goddess is going to draw a lot of unwanted attention." he warned.
Nikolaos nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I can already imagine that," he said, his brow furrowing slightly.
Throughout the breakfast, Cleo continued to steal glances at the group, her curiosity evident despite her reluctance to engage.
It looked like she wanted to say something but couldn’t bring herself to come forward.
Eleni, being observant, noticed Cleo’s actions and decided to take action.
Walking up to the kitchen door, Eleni gently coaxed Cleo to join them at the table.
The young girl, though initially hesitant, did not resist Eleni's gentle persuasion.
"Morning, Cleo," the group greeted the child warmly as Eleni guided her to a seat.
"Morning," Cleo responded, her voice barely audible as she avoided eye contact.
After a moment of silence, the small girl spoke up.
"Thank you for the sweets yesterday," she murmured, her words barely above a whisper.
Draco couldn't help but wonder about the child's change in behaviour.
'She seemed so attached yesterday, but now...' he thought, his brow furrowing slightly.
"You're welcome," Eleni replied, her tone soft and reassuring.
"Do you want to eat breakfast with us?" Clair asked, her voice filled with warmth.
Cleo responded with a slight nod of her head, and Dimitra and Vasiliki immediately shifted their seats closer, eagerly offering the young girl bits and pieces of their own meal.
The rest of the group, Michalis, Nikolaos, Vasileios, and Draco, focused on their own food, content to let the others engage with Cleo.
As breakfast came to an end, the group bid farewell to the innkeeper and Cleo, ready to go to Bahamut's house.
On their way, they made sure to purchase some breakfast for their goddess, knowing full well that her culinary skills were lacking.
It didn't take long before they arrived at their destination.
Draco stepped up to the door and knocked, but there was no response.
After a few more attempts, he decided to use the spare key Bahamut had given him the previous day.
As they entered the quiet house, Draco couldn't help but wonder if their goddess was still asleep.
"Dimitra, can you check her room?" he asked, knowing that it would be inappropriate for him to intrude on a lady's private quarters unannounced.
Dimitra nodded and made her way to Bahamut's room, her footsteps echoing in the stillness of the house.
Upon entering, she found the goddess still slumbering, unaware of their arrival.
Returning to the main room, Dimitra reported her findings to the others.
"She's still asleep," she informed them, her voice soft so as not to disturb the goddess.
They had come with the intention of heading to the guild early with their goddess and registering their newly formed familia.
This would give them enough time to finished their planned tasks, and still have time to enter the dungeon.
“So why didn’t you wake her up?” Vasiliki asked.
“S…she looked too cute and peaceful while sleeping, so I couldn’t bring myself to wake her up” Dimitra replied, covering her now flushed face in embarrassment.