The Hephaestus Familia's high-profile display spread through Orario in an instant.
Gods and adventurers alike stretched their imaginations, trading theory after theory about the Loki Familia's super rookie. Yet no matter how fanciful the rumors, none of them could guess the power Tsunayoshi Sawada truly held—power beyond imagination itself.
"Your choice was excessive, you know."
Astraea's tone carried real concern. "You openly showcased that child's power—and then practically told the gods you're still hiding something else. You've pushed him right back under every divine gaze."
The boy was undeniably gifted. In Astraea's place, she would have kept him in the shadows until he could protect himself.
"I know," Loki said. "No one wants Tsuna to keep growing in the dark more than I do. But this Joint Expedition will expose his abilities one way or another. Rather than keep hiding, we'll use them to surpass our past exploration records."
Loki understood Astraea perfectly—but there was no way to conceal the specifics this time. She could keep her own Familia quiet. Hephaestus, though?
"So, on Hephaestus's side we'll only involve Tsuna's spatial ability," Loki continued. "Everything else is controlled to avoid a mass leak after the expedition."
They would emphasize space and puppetry, and let busybodies speculate about the rest. As long as Tsuna stayed hidden well enough—and Loki's children kept their mouths shut—the details could remain sealed until he had the strength to defend himself.
"Let Tsuna expose the spatial power as much as needed. The gods will assume there's more, but they'll never guess correctly. The only one I truly worry about is Freya."
"Freya…" Astraea fell silent. Freya was indeed Loki's greatest present concern—daunting not only for her heart and methods, but for a charm that surpassed Ishtar's authority. If she became too interested, her actions alone could tilt the final outcome.
The key was simple: don't let Freya's interest grow too deep.
"Loki, showing this much—are you sure it won't attract her?"
"It absolutely will," Loki admitted. "But you know our kind. Put us in the position of hearing there's 'more' we don't know, and tell me—wouldn't you and I both be curious?"
Astraea had no answer to that. It wasn't a hard question; the answer was simply inevitable. Gods were creatures of curiosity. Put the unknown in front of them and they would reach for it. That was divine nature.
"Do you and Hephaestus have some tacit agreement?"
Astraea let the exposure question drop; Loki was clearly prepared. What interested her now was the bond between Loki and Hephaestus.
Her Familia had only a dozen children. Loki's and Hephaestus's were far more. Even if they had recruited Hephaestus into the expedition, circumstances now practically screamed that Loki and Hephaestus were aligned at a deeper level.
After all, even as allies, Familia interests mattered. Yet Hephaestus had staked her entire house on Loki and Tsuna—placing her own in a risky position to do it.
Loki's lips curved into a faint smile.
Yes, there was an unspoken accord. Hephaestus hadn't joined the way Astraea had—by folding her Familia into Loki's—so the bond wasn't inherently close. Hephaestus had been drawn in by the world's secret itself, a looser tie.
But another bond made them inseparable.
They had fallen for the same boy of the lower world, accepted his proposal, and become something far closer than "partners." They were sisters.
There was no need to hide this from Astraea.
Loki raised her left hand and tapped the ring on her finger.
"Hephaestus has one too. Different design, same meaning."
"…A ring…"
An answer bloomed in Astraea's mind, and surprise colored her face. She recalled the different ring on Hephaestus's left hand of late—two rings, one meaning.
"Loki… did you both receive them from that child?"
Loki's smile turned brilliant.
"What do you think?"
Outside, the hauling at the Hephaestus compound finished. The smiths selected for the Joint Expedition stepped through into the other space. When the public transfer was done, the mouth in the wall drew shut under unseen force and vanished before the gods' eyes.
Watching from within her hall, Hephaestus let a small smile rise.
"Good. Tsuna's ability, fully displayed. The gods have also concluded he's hiding more. Some of their attention will turn to me now—to 'investigate' him."
"But almost none of my children have formally met Tsuna. Only Tsubaki and I are exceptions—and we're the last people who would talk."
Everything was staged to buy Tsuna time to grow, and to scatter the gods' attention—pulling their focus away from Loki's children and onto safer decoys.
All of it to delay any real probe into Tsuna.
Hephaestus looked down at the ring on her hand, smiling softly, then rose from her chair.
"Well then, I should change locations."
She couldn't remain in her hall—not with a tide of divine "friends" about to pour in. Until the expedition returned, she'd take refuge with Loki.
(End of Chapter)
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