Chapter 374: Maple Misunderstands? Teaching Maple How to Play Cards?
....
Seito looked at her with a knowing smile.
He had noticed Loki a while ago. He just hadn't expected her to secretly tail Aiz and Riveria like a detective. It amused him so much that he purposely used those words to bait her out, and it worked like a charm.
"Alright, I was just kidding," Seito said with a soft chuckle.
"Hmph!"
Loki let out a sharp snort and muttered, "Who knows if you're actually telling the truth?"
Seito didn't drag out the conversation. He turned his eyes back to Aiz. "As for your question, I only have one sentence for you."
"What is it?" Aiz asked instantly.
"Above the limit, there is always another limit!"
Hearing this, Aiz froze. She lowered her head and immediately fell into deep thought over his words. The simple sentence gave her a massive wave of inspiration.
Seito didn't say anything more. He turned around and walked away, with the rest of his group following closely behind.
"Seito, did you just find that line somewhere on the internet?" Kitahara Iori suddenly leaned in, whispering with a cheeky grin.
"Keep it down," Seito glanced at him. He really had seen it online, but there was no way he would admit that out loud.
"I get it, I get it," Iori chuckled, making a zipping motion over his mouth with his right hand.
Half an hour later, Seito and his massive group stopped in front of a grand estate. This was the property they had just purchased. The mansion carried a beautiful Western vintage style and looked exceptionally nice. The interior was massive, offering plenty of open space.
"Let's head inside," Seito said, stepping through the gates first as everyone followed him.
The estate was cleanly divided into a main house, a spacious front yard, a backyard, living quarters, and a grand hall. As the three resident deities, Seito, Kirukiru Amou, and Maple would naturally stay in the main house, while the rest of the rooms were allocated to Iori and the guild members.
"Alright, those of you who are still students, make sure to submit a leave request to the academy. We won't be heading back for the next couple of days," Seito turned and addressed the group in the front yard.
The student members nodded in unison. Although they held official positions now and didn't strictly need to attend classes, life was short, and they still wanted to fully enjoy their peaceful school days!
Seito then led Maple and Kirukiru into the main house. The layout inside was simple yet comfortable, furnished with standard couches, chandeliers, tables, beds, and other daily necessities. There were exactly three bedrooms available.
"Let's get some rest for tonight. It's getting pretty late," Seito said, stretching his limbs as he spoke to the two girls. They had been on the DanMachi world for a long time, and the sky outside had completely darkened.
Kirukiru and Maple nodded together. The trio picked their respective rooms and headed inside to turn in.
Midnight... Twelve o'clock.
Seito lay in his bed, tossing and turning, completely unable to fall asleep.
Should I go see Maple? Thinking of her, a surge of anticipation filled his heart.
Ever since they first stepped into the God Domain, Maple had consistently stayed right by his side. Seito was well aware of her feelings for him, and given their current cozy setup, tonight was the perfect opportunity! With that thought in mind, he activated his spatial movement and vanished from his room.
Inside Maple's bedroom, the adorable lucky queen was already fast asleep.
However, sensing a subtle movement beside her bed, she woke up reflexively and turned her head to look.
"Sei... Seito-kun?!"
Maple's blurry vision cleared instantly. She couldn't understand why Seito would suddenly show up in her room at this hour. But a second later, a thought clicked in her mind, and her entire face flushed a brilliant crimson.
"Hehe," Seito flashed a bright grin, reaching out to gently pat her head. "I'm here to teach you how to play cards. Want to learn?"
"Play cards?" Maple blinked in confusion, completely missing his true meaning for a moment.
"That's right!" Seito smiled softly.
"But I already know how to play cards, Seito-kun. Is this... a brand-new game rule?"
"Emmm, I think you might be misunderstanding me a little."
"Then what exactly do you mean, Seito-kun?"
"It goes like this..."
"Mmh..."
The next morning.
Inside the grand hall of Seito's Familia headquarters, the Fatui Guild members were already up and about, enjoying their breakfast while loudly discussing what they should do for the day.
Over in a quiet corner of the hall, Seito and the two girls were also having their meal.
Kirukiru Amou looked at the rosy-cheeked Maple sitting next to Seito and smiled warmly. "Maple, from now on, we are officially a family~"
Since their bedrooms were quite close to each other, Kirukiru had heard everything that went down last night loud and clear.
"Mhm..." Maple dropped her head, responding with a terribly shy, quiet murmur.
Beside her, Seito maintained a deeply satisfied grin. To be completely fair, the feeling Maple gave him was entirely unique compared to anyone else, making him feel as though she was truly his destined partner. Even though she had been completely innocent and clueless going into it, she had been incredibly cooperative and didn't display the slightest discomfort.
With that fond thought, Seito reached over and patted her little head.
Right at that moment, the blue-ribbon l*li goddess suddenly burst into the grand hall. Her sudden arrival instantly locked the attention of everyone in the room.
Hestia scanned the crowd before her eyes finally pinned onto Seito.
"Seito! An invitation card was delivered for your group!" Hestia held up three elegant slips of paper that radiated a distinct divine energy.
Seito and the two girls blinked in surprise. An invitation card? They had only been in Orario for a single day, so which god could possibly be inviting them already?
Tap, tap, tap!
Hestia marched up to their table and handed the slips over. "Take a look. It's an invitation to a grand wine banquet hosted by Apollo."
"Apollo?"
The trio exchanged a collective look. They hadn't expected the old god to make a move this quickly! Seito reached out to take the invites, sliding one over to Kirukiru and another to Maple before turning back to Hestia.
"What do you think Apollo is planning here?"
"I honestly have no idea," Hestia shook her head, looking puzzled.
A War Game? There was no way Apollo would be stupid enough to challenge Seito to a War Game. Every single adventurer in Seito's Familia was a Level 10 powerhouse; if a War Game actually triggered, the Apollo Familia would be wiped from existence!
But if he wasn't trying to pick a fight, what exactly was his objective? Was he truly just hosting a regular social party?
Neither Seito's group nor Hestia believed for a second that things were that simple.
....
Thank you for reading.