After sending Hermes off, Loki's gaze went straight to Bell.
"You couldn't say it in front of that messenger, but you can be honest with me, right?"
Faced with Loki's questioning, Bell looked helpless.
"So why does everyone think I have the power to kill a god?"
"Don't treat me like an idiot."
Loki gave Bell a look of disdain, as if she were staring at a fool, and pointed toward the two people sitting nearby.
"Their reactions were quick, sure, but it wasn't surprise at you being given a mission to banish a god. That look was pure shock at the fact the Guild knew about it."
Hestia quickly covered her face, but that only made Bell give a wry smile.
Standing beside her, Hephaestus gave Hestia a light smack on the head.
"Idiot, you just fell for Loki's trap. She didn't figure it out at all."
Snapping out of it, Hestia turned her head and saw Loki's sly, fox-like squint. Once again, she had been played.
"Loki, you tricked me again!"
"Hmph, who told you to fall for it, idiot?"
"Ugh…"
Hestia puffed up her cheeks in frustration, but guilt welled up inside her. How could she have slipped up here of all places?
"Bell-kun, I messed everything up."
Seeing Hestia blaming herself, Bell didn't show any trace of reproach. He walked up beside her and, right in front of Loki, pulled her into his arms.
"Don't worry about it, Hestia. What matters is that Hermes doesn't know. If he did, things would turn bad fast. As for Loki-sama… she's not much of a problem."
The closeness between them was nothing like the usual bond between a Familia God and a follower.
Even Loki, who thought she was ready for anything, found herself choking on a mouthful of sugar from the scene.
"So, you're done pretending, huh?"
Loki looked at the shorty with open envy. She was unbelievably lucky—she'd found a child perfectly compatible with her, and even went after her.
She had plenty of adorable children herself, but not a single one would let her get that close.
Riveria had drilled them into guarding against her so thoroughly she didn't have the slightest chance.
Loki turned her gaze toward Hephaestus.
"They've stopped pretending—what about you?"
Hephaestus shot Loki an exasperated look, walked right up to Bell, and kissed him without the slightest hesitation.
"Holy crap!"
Loki stared at the three of them, utterly dumbfounded. The way Hephaestus drew it out had even the bystander in her blushing.
Her hand trembled as she pointed at them.
She had known their relationship was complicated, but not like this.
"You three… really know how to play."
Two goddesses chasing the same child from Genkai—this was explosive even among the gods.
And that child just happened to be Freya's fated one? That hopeless flirt? The more Loki thought about it, the messier it seemed.
She'd seen three women fight over one man before.
But three goddesses fighting over one man? This was a first.
Meanwhile, Bell and Hephaestus had finished their little display, leaving Hestia—once again sandwiched in the middle—with displeasure written all over her face.
If not for her height, she would've loved to make Hephaestus experience what it felt like to be stuck in the middle.
Hestia pushed down her irritation for the moment, leaned against Bell, and came clean to Loki.
"Bell-kun and I are in this kind of relationship."
Hephaestus stayed silent, simply taking a seat on Bell's other side to make her stance clear.
"You two are really something."
Loki reined in her surprise. This was the first time she'd actually had to process such gossip, let alone witness it firsthand.
"No wonder you and Hephaestus are so against Freya—you're just afraid of another goddess joining in."
If Freya were here, Loki was certain the current peace would go up in smoke.
With her personality, she'd want Bell glued to her side every day.
At that point, this so-called harmonious household would be one spark away from exploding.
"You've got some nerve—of all people, you had to pull in your own friend?"
"I didn't pull Hephaestus in! She's the one who deliberately got involved!"
"…Huh?"
Hestia finally lost her patience under Loki's accusation.
Loki froze at her fiery rebuttal, her gaze toward Hephaestus shifting slightly.
Hephaestus didn't bother denying it—after all, she really had only started taking a strong interest in Bell later on.
"Ahem. Loki, now's not the time for this. And besides, romance is a personal matter for each goddess. Best not to meddle too much. You wouldn't want your own children ending up in a situation like this, would you?"
Oh, for crying out loud.
Loki took a deep breath, almost snapping back with, 'Go ahead, let that kid try!'
She knew Hephaestus would never let anyone else into the dynamic they had, but the thought of her own loose tongue making that nightmare real was enough to shut her up.
Ais had changed a lot lately, and the challenges ahead of her were different from before. Right now, she was looking for a strong partner to help her face her parents.
And it was obvious she'd set her sights on that brat Bell.
If Loki said the wrong thing now, Ais might actually end up joining that little group of theirs.
The image of Ais throwing herself into Bell's arms and saying, "I love you," flashed through her mind—and the sheer hell of it made Loki's face darken instantly.
"Ahem… Let's focus on the matter at hand."
...
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