"Darling, how many times have you seen this view?"
Artemis suddenly asked without warning.
"This view? I've only seen it once."
Bell answered honestly.
"I know this place exists, but I rarely have the time to stop and admire Orario's scenery."
Some parts of Orario were truly worth sightseeing, with scenery unlike anywhere else.
But to Bell, such scenery was useless—cheap, even.
Even if he lost his mind, he wouldn't waste time here.
Artemis listened and watched Bell's completely unguarded expression. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Darling, your goals really have never changed."
Even a god could be moved by Bell's stubborn persistence.
It was like the gods had thrown down an opportunity—some people grabbed it only to slack off later. But others never even considered slacking in the first place. From the moment they began, they committed themselves to climbing toward the peak of power without wavering.
"A goal is something you have to keep pushing upward."
"I don't think I'm especially talented, so I have to work harder. There's no reason to doubt the road ahead. Level 10 was my original goal, and now I've set it even higher."
From the moment he obtained power, Bell had been falling endlessly into that abyss of strength.
As a certain teacher once said: climbing is something you can control—you can stop and rest when tired. But falling gives you no choice.
You keep plummeting toward the end, with no way to stop along the way.
Bell deeply resonated with that idea.
He never believed he had the qualification to climb. He certainly had no right to stop.
So he would keep falling toward the depths of his goal, until the day he earned the right to land.
"Darling, you really are different from everyone else."
Artemis laughed brightly, her smile more radiant than ever.
"Is it really all for Hestia?"
"Yes."
Bell didn't hesitate. The person who drove him to constantly grow, constantly improve—was Hestia.
"Hestia never asked anything from me. But the moment I started to fall for her, I'd already made up my mind. I want to monopolize her whole life, make everything about her mine."
"So I need to obtain that 'qualification.'"
Hestia, you damned woman, Artemis grumbled internally, though her smile didn't fade.
That early encounter had planted a seed in the boy's heart—a seed called "possessiveness."
Now the goddesses around him were suffering from the same symptoms.
Unlike Hestia, however, they were the ones who had planted the seed in themselves.
Just like the boy who had offered Hestia his sincere heart.
For the first time, Artemis completely set aside her awe and respect for that elder-sister Hestia. She truly began to feel jealous of Hestia as a person.
"How frustrating!"
"I knew Darling's heart belonged to Hestia, but hearing you say it outright today still hurts."
Jealousy toward Hestia surged uncontrollably inside her.
Her smile was as pure as Hestia's, but she lacked Hestia's aura, her authority. She seemed easy to bully, soft at the edges.
And yet it was this Hestia whom all the goddesses had come to envy.
Because the person etched deepest in this boy's heart was Hestia. That fact alone was enough to stir jealousy.
"I finally understand why Freya made that choice."
"She definitely chose that path because she had no other option."
Artemis now understood Freya's feelings far more clearly.
Freya must have seen Darling's heart too clearly. She knew once she fell behind, she'd fallen behind for good.
Her choices were either compromise, or wage war against Hestia.
But if it really came to war, their relationship would be shattered permanently, almost impossible to repair.
'That woman must be just as sour as I am right now.'
But when she looked at Bell, Artemis's whole spirit sagged.
'I can't help it… I want Darling all to myself. But the first person he loved was Hestia. Doesn't that mean I never had a chance from the beginning?'
She had come far too late.
'Why didn't our damned world destroy itself sooner?'
Of course, it was just a joke.
Even if her world had been destroyed earlier, she could only come here when Darling came to rescue her.
Unlike the others, she was never born with the qualification to compete.
The thought made Artemis droop completely, her eyes shimmering faintly.
...
She looked at Bell pitifully.
"Darling, you can't abandon me, okay?"
"And what kind of thought process leads you to that conclusion?"
They'd just been talking about Freya, and suddenly she jumped to him abandoning people.
Please. He wasn't the type to "not initiate, not refuse, not take responsibility."
He never thought he had that kind of charm to begin with. From the moment he felt something for Hestia, his gaze was locked on her alone.
True, at the beginning he didn't pursue Hephaestus—but he never intended to pursue her in the first place.
This situation honestly worried Bell a little. It wasn't that he was unresponsive; he simply lacked experience and didn't know how to take initiative in matters like this.
Not knowing Artemis's worry, Bell simply expressed his stance through action. He took her delicate, pale hand, smooth like carved jade.
"I won't abandon any of you."
"I'm not good at sweet words. It may sound a bit scummy, but… I really do like you, Artemis."
"Darling~"
In that moment, Artemis completely surrendered—overwhelmed by words so direct they hardly carried any embellishment at all.