Eros continued to walk, carrying the Teddy Bear like a baby, until she reached the entrance of her palace. However, she didn't enter right away. Instead, she turned her head to look behind her and smiled.
"I didn't know that the God of Contracts had a hobby of stalking the Goddesses of the Temple," Eros said in a teasing voice. "Tell me, Sancus, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
Sancus grinned as he walked towards the Goddess of Lust in a carefree manner. His hands were behind his back to prevent Eros from seeing the box in his hands. When he was only a few meters away from Eros, he stood perfectly still and spoke his mind.
"Eros, I need to ask a favor from you."
"I'll listen to your request first before giving my answer."
When Sancus moved the box in front of him, Eros unconsciously flinched. Her Primal Instincts were telling her to run away. Eros knew then and there that whatever was inside the box in Sancus' hands was not a good thing!
"Please wait! I don't mean any harm," Sancus cried out in alarm when he saw that Eros was about to flee towards her palace. "Let's talk. I promise I won't open the box."
Eros eyed the God of Contracts and remained where she stood. However, she kept her guard up and was prepared to flee inside her palace the moment Sancus pulled anything on her.
Seeing that Eros was on guard against him, Sancus sighed in his heart. He decided to put his plan on hold and decided to compromise for the time being.
"I just came here to tell you that, after you finish your training with William, I would like to have a private talk with him," Sancus said. "I promise I won't do anything to harm the boy. I just want to talk to him without Issei, Lilly, and David finding out. That is all I ask."
Eros frowned. Sancus was one of the Gods that belonged to the Neutral Faction, so he was not her enemy. Even so, the thing that was inside the wooden box was making her feel like her life was in danger. Sancus holding the box in front of himself was akin to him pointing a gun at Eros, while having a "friendly" negotiation.
In the end, the Goddess reluctantly nodded her head, but added a condition.
"Swear upon your Divinity that you will not harm the boy in any way during your private meeting," Eros stated. "He is currently under my protection and I don't want Issei, Lily, and David to hold me responsible for your actions."
Sancus hurriedly placed his hand over his chest and made his pledge. Although he didn't achieve his main objective, this was also a good opportunity to have a talk with William and ask for his cooperation.
'I need to ensure that I pass Donger to him without anyone finding out,' Sancus thought as he made his pledge to Eros.
After making his pledge, he walked away since Eros had already agreed to his request. The Goddess of Lust watched the God of Contracts leave with a guarded stance. Only after Sancus disappeared from view, did she enter her palace in a hurry.
It was forbidden for Gods to fight inside the Temple, but occasional brawls broke out every now and then. Naturally, these Gods were punished and had to pay monetary compensation for the damages they had caused.
They would also enter the "God Prison" for a few years in order to give them some time to cool down and prevent their arguments from escalating.
When Eros was finally inside the safety of her inner palace, she looked at the Teddy Bear who was still looking at her as if she was his lover.
The corner of the beautiful lady's lips curled up as she opened her special domain.
After entering the domain, along with William, the Goddess of Lust kissed the Teddy Bear's lips, which made the latter twitch.
Soon, the body of the stuffed toy glowed and William appeared in his Half-Elf form. Using the power of her domain, she transformed the Teddy Bear's body into a near-perfect replica of the red-headed boy's body.
William breathed out a sigh of pleasure when Eros caressed the side of his face.
"Congratulations, William, it seems that my devout follower had set her eyes on you," Eros said with a sweet smile. "Unfortunately, the way you are now, you are incapable of staying by her side. What my cute daughters need is someone who won't fall prey to their powers. We need to ensure that you can protect yourself from their charms. Do you understand?"
"Yes," William replied absentmindedly.
Eros chuckled and planted a kiss on William's forehead. As soon as she did that, the Charm Spell that had taken hold of the boy's body was immediately dispelled.
----
William blinked once then twice before looking at the beautiful Goddess in front of him. He then flipped his hair and raised his chin in arrogance.
"My Lady, I know that I am handsome, but using Charm on me is against the rules," William said. "You can have my body, but you can never have my heart!"
Eros giggled as she eyed the arrogant Half-Elf in front of her. She then smiled mischievously as she lowered her eyes to look at William's lower half.
"Well, I'm not really interested in your heart," Eros chuckled. "But, will your little boy down there really be enough to satisfy this Goddess? I'm afraid not."
The corner of William's lips twitched when he saw the Seductive Goddess look at his "Little Will" with interest.
'Stand down, boy,'' William ordered his junior to not raise his head in defiance. He knew that the Goddess in front of him was very powerful because she was able to charm him right off the bat.
"My Lady, who are you? Where am I? Where are Issei, Lily and David?" William threw a barrage of questions while keeping his eyes fixed on the Goddess' chest. "What are you planning to do to me?"
"Oh, my~ so many questions at once? You sure don't know how to treat a lady on your first date," Eros glided beside William and whispered in his ears. "My name is Eros and I am the Goddess of Lust."
William's body shivered as he was once again charmed by the Goddess of Lust. Although Eros wasn't "actively" trying to charm William, her Divinity was always in effect. Any mortal would be hard-pressed to resist her charm even if their willpower was as steadfast and sharp as the blade of a sword.
"This won't do," Eros poked William's nose. "You have to try harder, Little Will."
Eros flicked William's forehead and the Charm Spell was undone once again.
When the Charm Spell was lifted, William crossed his hands over his chest and frowned. While in his charmed state, he had vague recollections of his surroundings, but he couldn't control his body. It was like he was walking on cloud nine, only wanting to be around the beautiful lady who was looking at him with a mischievous smile.
"Can you do that one more time, Lady Eros?" William asked. "This time, I will use all my willpower to resist! Come at me, Bro!"
Eros giggled as she walked towards the boy. She then gave him a hug and didn't do anything else.
William smelled something fragrant, like the scent of flowers in full bloom. He knew that this was the scent of Eros' body. This was the last thought that passed through his mind before his body slackened as the Charm Spell took hold of his body.
"Strike three, you're out." Eros took a step back and watched as William looked back at her like a devoted lover. The Half-Elf then moved towards her and gave her a hug, like a child seeking his mother's warmth.
"Don't worry, we have plenty of time," Eros said as she embraced the red-headed boy and patted his head. This scene continued for a few minutes before Eros took the initiative to take a step back and look at the boy in front of her.
The Half-Elf was hopelessly under the Charm Spell and was completely at the mercy of the Goddess.
"I guess you're still too young and inexperienced to completely break away from my control. Fortunately, Issei, Lily, and David dragged you here."
The Goddess of Lust placed her hand over William's forehead and closed her eyes. She scanned William's memories, looking for something that might help her understand how to help the boy resist the power of her Divinity.
A few minutes passed before Eros sighed and shook her head. She couldn't find anything that could help her strengthen William's willpower to resist her charms.
"Well, there is always 'that' option." Eros' lips curled up into a smile. "It's time to fight poison with poison."
The Goddess of Lust willed her fingernail to grow longer and become as sharp as a blade. She then poked her left index finger until a single drop of blood oozed out from it.
"Take this and consume it," Eros ordered. "You are collecting Job Classes, right? This will be a good addition to your collection."
William obediently obeyed Ero's command and took her finger inside his mouth. He then licked the single drop of blood from her fingertip. A few seconds later, William's body shuddered as the blood of the Goddess was absorbed by his body.
----
< Prestige Class "Incubus" Acquired. >
( Available )
Requirement: Approval by the Goddess of Lust.
----
William's body was about to enter a transformation, but Eros stopped it. She didn't want the boy to become a full-blown Incubus while he was under her Charm Spell. Eros used her Divinity to forcefully "tweak" William's Job Class. She removed the horns, wings, and tail that were the common features of demonic creatures.
When the rest of the transformation ended, William stood still with his eyes closed.
Eros smiled because she could tell that she had succeeded in her experiment. If the Incubus Job Class was equipped as William's Subclass, he would turn into a Pseudo-Incubus. This would give him half of the power of a true Incubus.
The only way to fully awaken this Job Class was to pray to Eros in one of the Goddess' Temples that could be found all over the world of Hestia. Only then would William be able to wield its full power. At that time, it would be of his own free will and choice.
"Are you feeling better now?" Eros asked.
William opened his eyes and nodded his head. "Lady Eros, thank you for the Job Class. My only concern is, why did you do this?"
Eros smiled as she crossed her hands over her voluptuous chest. "This is a one-time special service because I find you very pleasing to my eyes. Mind you, this Job Class is not something that you can find just anywhere. Only those that have gained my approval can become an Incubus.
"Who knows? This Job Class might come in handy when you travel to the Demon Continent of your world. Demons are very sensitive and they can easily sense that you are not one of them. Just accept it gratefully, no need to thank me."
William could feel a special kind of power surging inside his body and he was unsure about how to use it. He couldn't access the system inside the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods and ask for its advice on what to do.
Eros' lips raised in a knowing smile after seeing the discomfort on William's face.
"Don't worry. I will personally train you on how to use the new power that you have acquired," Eros patted William's shoulder. "You and your lovers will be able to grow stronger once you master the arts of Dual Cultivation.
"Actually, that old man, Owen, from your world did a good job in teaching you the basics. I'm quite disappointed that he is a Life Archon and not an Incubus. That old man would certainly be able to do well as one of my subordinates."
William had to agree with the Goddess of Lust. The Old Cow that liked to eat young grass would certainly be a good candidate to become an Incubus.
"Come, Little Will," The Goddess of Lust extended her hand towards the boy. "It's time for you to start your Incubus training."
William took a deep breath before placing his hand on top of the Goddess' palms. He didn't believe that the Goddess had gone out of her way to take him away from Issei, Lily, and David just because he was pleasing to her eyes.
There must be some other reason behind it. However, right now, he had to focus on the training of the Goddess. He was quite curious about what kind of "training" the Goddess of Lust had in mind for him.
Although William didn't want to admit it, he was also looking forward to mastering the art of how to make his lovers stronger as well.
While William was having his training inside the Temple of the Gods, the Hellan Kingdom was already waging a bloody war with its neighboring kingdoms.