It isn't hard to get temporary clothes from the members of the Loki Familia.
They have been nothing but eager to help Gin get new clothes.
It turns out that the prospect of not looking at a dude prancing around their familia home in nothing but a small towel is a good enough incentive for them to help him.
Riveria has paid the expenses for his new clothes, with the money coming out of Ais's and Loki's personal coffers.
Speaking of Ais, her mood hasn't gotten any better ever since his last conversation with her.
She would get all sulky, all the more so if she spies him spending time with Hel.
Gin has tried reconciling with her by offering his snacks as usual, but she only took the snacks wordlessly and went away quickly afterwards.
"Gin, man, you have got to make peace with Ais-san, please." Raul whimpers as the two of them shop in the First District.
"I can't relax with her hanging constantly in our peripheral sight."
Next to him, Aki is nodding wordlessly, grasping a small potion vial securely hung around her neck like some sort of amulet.
Gin turns around at his words, and sure enough, he can see a familiar blonde head peeking out from a nearby store.
He sighs helplessly.
Ais has avoided him for the past few days and in exchange began discreetly tailing him around every day.
Well, as discreet as that silly girl could, anyway.
Who in their right mind would try to camouflage themselves with branches in the middle of a shopping district?
"In my defense, I already tried to talk with her, but she still sulks anyway." Gin shrugs. "What do you want me to do?"
"Whatever is necessary." Aki answers. "I am not above sacrificing you to her, to be honest."
"Ditto." Raul adds. "If she wants you to kowtow for three days and three nights, then that's what you're going to do."
"Wow, I can feel the loyalty, you guys." Gin laughs dryly. "She's just entering her rebellious phase. It will pass sooner or later."
"Not soon enough for me." Raul groans. "What started this anyway?"
"Me being honest." Gin says. "I told her that I like Hel-sama more than I like her."
"Gin, what!? Why would you do that!?" Aki slaps his back. "Just lie to her or avoid the question! Is that so hard to do!?"
"Okay, if me, Raul, and Miach-sama are chased by a Goliath, and you can only save one of us, then who would you save?"
"In that scenario, will Miach-sama's safety be more secure if I trip your legs?" Aki asks naturally, no trace of guilt present even when she is planning his and Raul's demise.
"See, you can't just lie about stuff like that, right?"
"Ah, I get it. It can't be helped, Gin." She nods sagely.
"You two have clearly lost your minds." Raul buries his face in his hands. "Since when am I the only sane one in this group?"
Gin and Aki pat Raul's shoulders.
People who haven't fallen in love just wouldn't get it!
"Anyway, what are you planning to do now, Gin? You can't just leave Ais like that."
"Wait and hope?" Gin watches both of them shake their heads in tandem. "Not good enough?"
"That's just you doing nothing."
"Use your head for a second, man. My safety is at risk here."
"Hmm…" Gin rubs his chin in thought. "I can arrange an open seminar about Hel-sama's greatness so Ais could-"
""No.""
"Eh, then I am drawing a blank here, guys." Gin admits openly. "Any suggestions?"
The two of them think for a while before Aki speaks up.
"You can spend a day with Ais to show that you care." She says. "Why don't you arrange a date with her or something similar?"
"A date? Nah, Loki will crash that somehow. It's still a good idea, though." Gin's mind goes back to the drawing board.
He needs it to be a special event that could be done without much preparation.
It shouldn't take a long time so as not to worry Loki, yet not too short as to make it seem like he doesn't care.
A magic stone lamp lights up in his head.
He finally hits on a good enough idea!
"Ah, I think I've got one."
"Let's hear it then."
"I will invite her to a sleepover." Gin smiles confidently at both of them.
"Oh, that's not a bad idea at all." Raul approves. "So what are you going to do there?"
"Pizza!"
....
Food is the foundation that supports all life.
That is a truth that was instilled in his mind a long, long time ago.
It still holds up even as he puts away the groceries he just bought in preparation for the event.
He surveys the kitchen of Helheim, his new house.
It will still be a couple of days more until he and Hel formally move in, but he decided to extend early access perks for two people.
Speak of the devil, he hears a knock at the front door.
"Wait, I am coming!" Gin moves toward the front door and opens it.
"Good evening, Gin. Thank you for your invitation."
A softly smiling Big Sis Riveria and a stubbornly pouting little sis Ais enter his view.
Huh, he has quite the weird sibling lineup now that he thinks about it.
"Welcome to the resting place for those beloved by the goddess of death, dark, and silence." Gin bows and steps aside to show them the interior.
"Welcome to Helheim, the home of the Hel Familia."
"Quite a fancy name, there." Riveria chuckles as he ushers the two of them in. "It is a comfy house."
"Yeah, well, it needs to have a good name if nothing else. The place still needs a lot of renovation and decoration so it can live up to its name." Gin shrugs. "So how is it, Ais? Cool place, huh?"
Ais stays silent for a while before speaking up, but instead of responding to his question, she sulkily asks, "Where is Hel-sama?"
Gin kneels down and smiles at her eye level. "Not here. Tonight will be all about you."
Ais perks up a little at that before suspiciously surveying the room, probably expecting Hel to jump out and ruin her night.
"…She is not here?"
"Yup." Gin pats her head, watching as her expression softens. "Let's just say Hel-sama is fighting a hard battle against a great evil right about now."
(At an undisclosed location)
"Hel-tan! Let me go! That bastard is trying to trip Ais-tan's flags!" A great evil yells as she struggles against her bindings.
"Not only that, he's even aiming for a threesome route with Riveria!"
"Silence." The sound of slapping echoes around the room. "You shall not spread your malignant presence on this night."
Another slap resounds.
"Ohhh! That actually feels good!" The great evil squeals in a mix of pain and pleasure.
A nearby pallum and dwarf man close the door to the room and wisely pretend they didn't see anything.
(Back at Helheim)
"Ah, I see." Riveria sighs, probably getting a clear picture of what preoccupies Hel currently.
"Alright Ais, play nice and just enjoy the night, okay? Gin has gone to the trouble to prepare all of this for you, after all." She gives a small push to Ais's back.
Ais looks down for a while before nodding silently to Riveria. She looks at Gin and gingerly offers her hand to him.
"Let's have fun, Gin."
"Yeah, leave it to me. We will have so much fun you will have dreams about it for years to come." Gin takes her hand and immediately leads her to the kitchen.
"Un." It feels like such a long time since he last saw her smile like this.
"What are these?" Gin watches as Ais pokes at the dough he took out.
"Hmm? You've never seen them before? This is pizza dough." Gin gives it a light pat, feeling it has grown quite nicely.
"We will use them to make pizza."
"Pizza?" Ais tilts her head to the side. "Is it yummy?"
"As long as you don't put pineapple on it, yes." He replies. "Okay, watch closely, Ais. This is how you make them."
He takes one of the balls of dough and begins to work on it. The dough slowly changes shape as he stretches and flattens it on the counter.
Feeling in the mood to show off, he tosses the dough into the air.
He feels the blessing of the Falna to his Dexterity flowing through his veins as he tosses and spins the pizza dough in midair, cheekily making complicated maneuvers to look cool.
"Wow!" Ais watches in pure joy, excitement clearly shining in her eyes.
"Are those moves really necessary?" Riveria asks amusedly from the side.
"Looking awesome is a necessity in life, Big Sis." He winks, kinda.
Judging from Riveria's laughter, he still can't wink properly!
"Oh, oh! Let me try it too, Gin." Ais raises her hand and points to one of the remaining balls of dough.
"Hmm? Maybe I should do it as well?" Riveria joins in.
"Sure, go wild." Gin smiles as he puts toppings on his own dough.
…
…
"Uuu, it's all dark."
"Gin, fetch me another one. This dough is clearly hopeless."
A couple of minutes later, Gin is heaving on the floor, watching as Ais's dough somehow manages to widen enough to cover her entire body.
On the other side of the kitchen, Riveria clumsily struggles to control the movement of her dough.
None of her usual grace is present as she confusedly moves her hands to shape the already holey dough.
"…And it's done!" Gin pulls the peel out of the firewood oven, smiling as the smell of cooked pizza fills the kitchen.
Ais and Riveria clap their hands, seemingly trying to ignore their incidents with the dough.
Gin cuts the pizza and divides it into parts.
Taking a slice, he lets out an impressed whistle as the cheese creates strings connecting the pieces.
"Pizza Pasta Pizza Pasta~ Let's eat them all~ Pomodoro~" Gin sings for some reason, sharing the pizza with Ais and Riveria.
"Pizza Pasta Pizza Pasta~" Ais sings along with him. "Look! Look! I bite into it~"
He happily sings together with Ais as they enjoy their pizza.
Riveria laughs and claps along, not even chiding Gin and Ais's bad eating manners.
Looking at Ais and Riveria, happy and content like this, one thought appears in his mind.
'Ah… maybe this is how having a family feels.'
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