A cheerful smile bloomed on Tiona's face.
There was no teasing in her brown eyes, only genuine confusion.
"It's not a date! We have something very important to do."
Faced with the innocent Amazoness girl, Lefiya hurriedly denied it.
"Hm? But Lefiya, that outfit is new..."
"Aaaah! Tiona-san, um, what are you doing right now?"
Lefiya clumsily changed the subject.
"I'm buying wine for Loki. She's been crying all day and insisted I bring back the best wine." Tiona shook the wine bottle in her hand, the emblem of the Soma Familia reflected on its surface.
Although it was not Divine Wine, judging by its quality, it was still the finest wine the Soma Familia currently had to offer.
"Eh? What happened to our Familia Goddess?"
Lefiya frowned at this unexpected piece of news.
"Loki told me not to tell anyone else, but since it's Argonaut-kun and Lefiya, it should be fine, right?"
Tiona glanced at Bell, who was watching from the side, and explained with a smile, "Loki seems to have heard from Ais that Ais wants to have children with Argonaut-kun. Mm?!"
In that instant, Bell sensed a massive crisis about to strike him.
He poured in all the [Agility] he had saved up until now, rushed forward, and covered the Amazoness girl's mouth.
"...?"
Lefiya had not clearly heard what Tiona said, and she stood there in confusion.
"Lefiya-san, this matter involves extremely confidential information. Please allow Tiona-san and me to speak privately for a moment."
Bell spoke with a perfectly serious expression.
"I-I understand..."
Although Lefiya was curious, she still agreed to the boy's request.
"Mmm..."
Tiona did not try to break free. She went along with Bell's movements, and the two of them walked to an empty corner of the square.
Under the cool shade of the trees, Bell let out a long breath and released his right hand.
"Sorry, Tiona-san. Did I hurt you?"
Bell apologized.
"I'm fine. Argonaut-kun is surprisingly manly. You even startled me a little."
Tiona's smile was still as bright as ever.
"Um... Could you please keep what you said just now a secret from everyone else? Especially Lefiya-san and Riveria-san."
Bell made his request softly.
When he and Ais had visited the mercenary house together, they had somehow ended up with an absurd promise to have children together. Although Ais had realized how ridiculous that promise was at the time, insisted on calling it off, and agreed not to tell anyone, keeping secrets was probably not easy for that airheaded girl. Goddess Loki was skilled at deception and could see through lies, so she had surely noticed something strange about Ais and coaxed the answer out of her.
If Lefiya and the others found out about this, Bell truly could not imagine what kind of hellish trial would be waiting for him.
"The thing about Ais and Argonaut-kun having children? I understand. Loki did tell me not to say anything, after all..."
Tiona did not seem shocked by the matter itself at all.
She rolled her eyes, then added with a smile, "But I have one condition. From now on, Argonaut-kun has to keep telling me adventure stories!"
"Keep telling you... That might be a little inappropriate..."
Bell did not intend to make such a vague promise.
"Then I'll go tell Lefiya and the others right now."
With a smile on her face, Tiona delivered an extremely cruel threat.
"I understand. I'll keep telling Tiona-san adventure tales. In exchange, please keep the secret from just now."
Unable to bring himself to hurt that sunflower-like cheerful smile, Bell chose to compromise.
"Mm!"
Tiona nodded happily and returned to the center of the square with the boy.
For some reason, watching the Amazoness girl's light steps made Bell feel uneasy.
He hoped Tiona would not end up like Ais, having her secret easily coaxed out of her... Bell remembered Riveria's emerald eyes, which seemed to see straight through people, and felt a faint sense of worry.
"Lefiya, I'm heading back to deliver the wine. Have fun on your date."
Tiona waved and left.
"Ugh... I already told you it's not a date!"
Lefiya raised her voice in protest.
She watched Tiona's retreating back, puffed out her cheeks, and asked, "Bell Cranel, what were you two talking about just now? What happened between you and Ais-san?"
"Sorry. This matter concerns two Familias and even involves human lives, so I can't reveal the details. But you don't need to worry, Lefiya-san. I'll handle it properly."
Bell deliberately exaggerated the situation to stop her from digging any deeper.
"It's that serious? I understand..."
Lefiya ended the topic with a serious expression.
"..."
Bell had finally made it through the immediate crisis.
Judging from Goddess Loki's attitude of not wanting the matter to spread, she probably also knew that the so-called promise to have children was a misunderstanding caused by Ais's airheadedness. Otherwise, Loki would have stormed over cursing long ago, rather than drinking alone in misery.
With that in mind, the only one he really had to be careful of was Riveria...
Bell could only put his hopes in [Luck], praying that good fortune would descend and help him avoid this unexpected disaster.
"You eternally horny rabbit, why are you still staring at Tiona's back? Are you that reluctant to see her go?"
Lefiya asked resentfully.
"I was just spacing out. Lefiya-san, let's get going."
Bell pulled his thoughts back to reality.
"Mm. But where are we going?"
Lefiya asked softly.
She still did not know the location of this date... no, the training location.
"To the Dungeon, of course."
Bell answered plainly.
He did not have a deep understanding of the technique behind Concurrent Chanting. The only thing he could teach Lefiya was the feeling of using it in actual combat, so naturally, the training location had to be the monster-filled Dungeon.
"Eh?"
"Hm?"
Lefiya blinked, and the two stared at each other.
"And here I went to the trouble of dressing up. No, wait! If we're going to the Dungeon, why did you choose the square on North Main Street as the meeting place?"
Lefiya questioned him aggressively.
On this bustling North Main Street, all sorts of shops were doing brisk business, and every storefront had a lively, festive air around it.
Pedestrians passed by in endless streams, including more than a few affectionate couples.
"Did you choose this place on purpose so Tiona-san would see us...?"
Lefiya voiced her suspicion.
"No. How could I possibly have predicted something like that? I chose this meeting place only because the Loki Familia headquarters is nearby, so Lefiya-san wouldn't have to walk as far."
Bell answered frankly.
"Ugh..."
Lefiya pressed her lips together.
Answering with such a considerate reason was far too unfair...
"Fine. Let's go."
Lefiya sighed softly and slowly moved closer to Bell.
At that moment, along with the boy's clean scent, a strange, sharp fragrance filled Lefiya's mind.
"Eh?"