A tension thick enough to cut with a knife hung in the air.
It mingled with the pleasant scent of body wash still clinging to the girls fresh from their bath, and the temperature in the room seemed to climb a few degrees.
Amou Kirukiru hadn't moved from her position leaning against the headboard.
Those long legs of hers were crossed one over the other.
The hem of her oversized white dress shirt hung open, baring a generous sweep of pale skin. She let out a cold scoff, swept her gaze over the group who had turned around and come back, and loaded her eyes with pure provocation.
"What? Finally grown a spine, have you?"
"And here I thought you'd all scurry off with your tails between your legs."
"Don't get smug!" Onigawara Rin shot back through gritted teeth.
She planted herself cross-legged on the mattress and sat up straight.
"Whatever else you want to say, we were the first to follow Kami-sama. Seniority counts for something."
"Trying to monopolize Kami-sama all to yourself — who do you think you are?"
"Exactly." Kikakujou Mary chimed in from the side, smoothing the hem of her nightgown. "This is our shared home, not your personal dojo."
"Kami-sama's Grace is something we all share equally."
"Ha." Amou Kirukiru let out a quiet laugh and reached up to sweep the black hair draped across her chest to one side.
"Not strong enough to stand on your own, so you fall back on seniority? How adorable."
"Wasn't it someone here who couldn't take her eyes off me yesterday when I was tearing through monsters in the Dungeon?"
Amou Kirukiru twisted the knife without a shred of mercy.
"If you want to stand at Kami-sama's side, show some real ability. Pretty words won't protect anyone."
Onigawara Rin's face flushed scarlet in an instant.
"You — don't you dare underestimate me! I unlocked the 『Swordsman』 Developmental Ability. From here on out, I won't lose to you!"
"Is that so? Then I'll be looking forward to it."
Amou Kirukiru was utterly unbothered.
Standing off to the side watching all of this unfold, the Holy Emperor and Tendou Kisara had both gone completely slack-jawed, their eyes wide with bewilderment.
This... this was everyday life in Kami-sama's Familia?
Everyone was just openly fighting over the chance to stay by Kami-sama's side like this?
Watching the scene dissolve into utter chaos, Haimer pressed his fingers to his temples with a helpless sigh.
These girls.
This was... a bit too much energy, even by his standards.
They had just finished updating their Grace, and instead of getting some rest, every last one of them was here squabbling over sleeping arrangements.
Still.
Haimer's gaze shifted to the Holy Emperor and Tendou Kisara, standing quietly to the side.
Unlike the others, who were practically buzzing with life, these two newcomers to Orario were clearly exhausted — and though they were doing their best to hide it, the weariness etched into their faces was plain for anyone to see.
Understandably so.
Crossing between worlds, riding an enormous emotional rollercoaster, then receiving the awakening of Grace all in a single stretch — for someone like the Holy Emperor, whose body had never been forged through combat training, this was already well past her limit.
And even for Tendou Kisara, who had trained with the sword, she had just clawed her way back from the brink of death, then spent a grueling amount of effort cutting down the Tendou clan. Her body hadn't fully recovered.
"Alright, enough."
Haimer clapped his hands once and spoke, cutting the endless bickering short.
His voice wasn't loud — but the room went silent in an instant.
Every pair of eyes turned to him.
"Since you're all clearly this full of energy and have no intention of heading back."
"You can all stay."
The moment those words landed, the girls all froze mid-motion.
They had been shouting plenty loud just a second ago — but now that Haimer had actually said yes, not one of them could keep the heat from rising to their faces.
Because.
This was the first time they were truly going to sleep in the same bed as Kami-sama.
Haimer, for his part, paid their reactions no mind.
Instead, he turned his head toward the Holy Emperor and Tendou Kisara, who hadn't quite come back to themselves yet. He looked at the undeniable fatigue shadowing their eyes, and softened his voice just a little.
"However."
"You two."
"Kisara. And you, Miss Holy Emperor."
"Don't join the chaos tonight."
"Too much happened today. You've just received my Grace, and you've been going nonstop since you arrived from that world — you haven't rested at all."
"Your bodies must be right at their limit."
"Tonight, please go back to your own rooms and sleep properly."
"It's your first day here. No need to get swept up in these troublemakers' antics."
"Kami-sama, I... we're actually still fine..."
"Don't push yourselves."
"Your faces are as white as paper."
"This is your new home. You don't need to keep yourselves wound this tight every moment."
"Sleep well tonight. Tomorrow, you can start getting to know this world at your own pace."
"Is that... a divine decree?"
"If you want to think of it that way."
"Either way, I can feel how tired your bodies are."
Haimer gave a small nod.
The Holy Emperor and Tendou Kisara exchanged a glance.
"Then... we'll do as Kami-sama says... We'll go rest for now."
"Good night, Kami-sama."
With that, the Holy Emperor and Tendou Kisara dipped their heads slightly and bowed together.
Haimer quietly closed the bedroom door behind them.
He had barely turned around when he spotted two small figures.
— Aihara Enju. And little Kohina.
Both pairs of eyes were sparkling like stars, every trace of sleepiness long gone.
"Kami-sama!"
"Can I sleep here with everyone? Can I?"
"And Kohina too..."
Looking at these two bright-eyed Cursed Children, Haimer felt a familiar helplessness settle over him.
As Cursed Children, the Gastrea virus factor in their bodies granted them a recovery rate far beyond that of ordinary humans.
Add to that the fresh excitement of having just awakened their Grace — the thrill of it was more than enough to steamroll any fatigue.
Still.
Looking at those two little faces, so full of hopeful expectation.
Haimer simply couldn't bring himself to say no.
After all, for these two who had known nothing but cold looks and hard knocks in the world they came from — he had always carried a soft spot for them. Naturally.
"Fine."
"If you're not sleepy, get up here."
The moment permission was granted, Aihara Enju let out a whoop of delight — hoodie and all — and launched herself at the bed.
"Here I go—!"
Her small body traced a perfect arc through the air and landed squarely in the pile of blankets beside Hanasaka Warabi.
Little Kohina scrambled up right after her.
"Ow!"
The impact sent Hanasaka Warabi's eyes rolling back in her head.
So. Everything was settled.
Which brought them to the biggest problem of all.
Who was sleeping where?
The bed was enormous, to be sure.
But the prime real estate — the two spots directly on either side of Haimer — numbered exactly two.
Amou Kirukiru had already claimed the right side with supreme naturalness, leaning there like it had always been hers.
That left the spot on the left.
Which instantly became a contested war zone.
Onigawara Rin and Kikakujou Mary glanced at each other.
The united front they'd formed just moments ago shattered on the spot, their eyes now flashing with competitive fire.
Neither would budge so much as an inch.
Just then.
Haimer's gaze swept around the room.
And finally settled on Inaba Tsukuyo, who had been sitting quietly in the corner at the foot of the bed the whole time.
She had her fingers locked tight around the hem of her clothes, her whole body curled inward, doing her best to shrink herself into nothing.
She was the youngest of the group, and she couldn't see — Inaba Tsukuyo's heart was a sensitive thing.
She had worked up the courage earlier to say she wanted to stay, too.
But when it came to actually fighting for a spot — with that cool-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside personality of hers, there was no way she could make herself elbow into the competition.
So.
Haimer thought for a moment, then stepped forward.
He walked to the foot of the bed.
And stopped in front of Inaba Tsukuyo.
A shadow fell over her. With her keen senses, Tsukuyo immediately felt someone approach.
"Ka... Kami-sama?"
She called out softly.
Haimer reached out his hand and wrapped his fingers around her slender wrist.
Tsukuyo's wrist was cool to the touch, her skin so fine he could feel the pulse beating just beneath.
"Ah!"
Inaba Tsukuyo let out a sharp little gasp.
Being touched directly by a god — that overwhelming presence, that iron will wrapped in warmth — blanked her mind in an instant.
Haimer applied a gentle but firm pressure and drew her up from the corner — firm enough to be undeniable, gentle enough not to frighten.
Taking her hand, he walked her straight to the empty spot on the left side of the bed.
The very spot Onigawara Rin and Kikakujou Mary had been fighting over.
Onigawara Rin and Kikakujou Mary froze.
They watched, wide-eyed, as Haimer settled Inaba Tsukuyo into that spot and had her lie down.
"Tsukuyo should sleep here."
In that instant.
The entire room went silent.
Every voice cut off at once.
Onigawara Rin and Kikakujou Mary stared, eyes blown wide, at Inaba Tsukuyo — the quietest girl in the group — now installed in the most coveted spot on the bed, led there by Haimer's own hand.
Their faces were pictures of pure disbelief.
They never could have imagined it.
After all that fighting.
Kami-sama had simply stepped past both of them and given the spot to the one girl who had never made a single move to compete.
Amou Kirukiru raised an eyebrow.
She didn't have any objections, though — just a quiet exhale through her nose, and she said nothing.
As for Inaba Tsukuyo in that moment.
She was floating in a warm, dizzy haze.
The steady warmth radiating from where Kami-sama's fingers had encircled her wrist.
That unmistakably deliberate, preferential gesture from Kami-sama.
Her heart was in complete chaos.
As the sleeping arrangements settled into place, the atmosphere in the room shifted into something subtly charged.
Onigawara Rin and Kikakujou Mary each found themselves a spot and lay down, reluctantly — but their gazes kept drifting back to that empty patch of bed in the very center.
Hanasaka Warabi and Nomura Satori were no different, lifting their heads to look from time to time.
Because.
That was the spot Kami-sama had left for himself.
Every one of them was secretly wondering the same thing.
And yet.
Against all expectation.
Haimer did not move toward that wide, soft bed.
Instead, he turned.
His gaze fell on the low rosewood cabinet against the wall.
He walked over.
Picked up a thick, leather-bound book sitting on top of it without giving it much thought.
Book in hand, Haimer made his way to the ironwood rattan sofa by the window and sat down.
Then, completely at ease, he crossed one leg over the other.
At this.
Every girl on the bed froze.
They all stared at each other, baffled.
The quietly simmering rivalry that had been bubbling between them a moment ago ground to a dead halt the instant Haimer made that move.
Several long seconds passed.
Onigawara Rin — the worst at keeping things inside — couldn't hold it together any longer. She poked half her body out from under the covers and leaned over the edge of the bed, calling toward Haimer.
"Um — Kami-sama?"
"Aren't you... going to rest?"
"Hmm."
"Gods in the Lower World don't necessarily need a full night's sleep the way mortals do."
"Besides."
Haimer turned a page.
"The bed is spacious, but without me in it, you'll all sleep more comfortably."
"Get some proper rest."
"You've had a full day in the Dungeon, after all."
Silence fell over the room again.
But.
The girls on the bed — who had been eyeing each other with barely concealed rivalry just moments ago — now found their gazes meeting in mid-air.
Because.
Every single one of them had stayed here shamelessy because she wanted to be near Kami-sama.
And now the man himself had gone and sat down on the sofa with a book.
What exactly had they been fighting over this bed for?!
The thought struck all of them at once, and with a single exchanged look, their minds aligned.
One shared goal.
So.
The very next second.
The blankets went flying.
A great rustling whoosh.
Several figures launched off the bed simultaneously.
Even Kikakujou Mary — who was usually meticulous about propriety — was bare-foot on the carpet without a second thought.
"???"
Before Haimer even had time to react.
He caught several shapes bearing down on him out of the corner of his eye.
Something clamped around his arm.
Amou Kirukiru had already crossed to the left side of the sofa in a few long strides.
Without a word of warning, she reached out and seized Haimer's left arm.
"What do you all think you're doing?"
"How are we supposed to sleep soundly with Kami-sama sitting over here reading a book?"
From the right side.
Kikakujou Mary refused to be outdone.
She grabbed Haimer's right arm with both hands, her voice carrying a stubborn note that left no room for argument.
"Exactly!"
Onigawara Rin planted both palms flat on Haimer's back.
"With everyone here together, how can Kami-sama just run off on his own?!"
"Come rest with us, Kami-sama!"
In that moment, all quarrels were forgotten.
United at last, they pooled their strength.
And physically hauled Haimer up off the sofa.
Pulling, dragging, not taking no for an answer.
They strong-armed him all the way back to that enormous eight-person silk-cotton bed.
Then.
Before he'd even steadied his footing.
The girls, as though they'd divvied up the positions long in advance, surged forward all at once.
And pressed Haimer down squarely into the center of the bed — the prime golden spot that not one of them had been willing to surrender.
"There! Now nobody has to fight anymore!"
Onigawara Rin clapped her hands with a satisfied look at Haimer lying in the middle.
Then, without ceremony, she found an empty spot beside him, lay down, and pulled the blanket over herself.
Kikakujou Mary smoothed her nightgown and settled herself neatly on the other side.
Amou Kirukiru let out a quiet scoff.
She stepped over the side of the bed and lay down close against Haimer.
And with that, the whole ridiculous spectacle was finally over.
The Magic Stone lamp set into the wall began to dim at its appointed time, the light fading to a soft glow.
Only a small night lamp remained, casting a faint amber halo over the area around the headboard.
Listening to the girls' breathing around him, gradually evening out into the slow rhythm of exhausted sleep.
Haimer lay in the center of the bed.
Surrounded on all sides by warmth and softness.
He stared up at the carved ceiling.
And sighed.
These girls.
They'd barely just broken through to Lv.2.
And already they could team up and bodily haul their own patron god into bed through sheer force of numbers.
In another while.
When they'd all leveled up further and their stats had made a qualitative leap.
What then?
Not that it looked too bad from where he stood right now.
So.
Thinking that, Haimer let go of the tangle of thoughts rattling around in his head.
He closed his eyes, slowly.
And let himself enjoy this rare, peaceful night in the Lower World.
Time flowed on.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning.
Pale gold light filtered through the gaps in the heavy curtains, slanting down in long diagonal shafts across the plush wool carpet.
Scattering dappled patches of warmth across the floor.
The Magic Stone climate-control system built into the mansion kept the room at a perfectly comfortable temperature.
The air still carried the faint remnants of body wash and the warm, distinctive scent of the girls.
Haimer stirred from sleep.
The moment consciousness returned.
Before his mind had fully woken up.
The first thing his body registered was weight.
Tremendous weight.
Like a small mountain had been stacked on top of him. Just breathing felt like a mild effort.
Haimer slowly opened his eyes.
The sight that met them made the corner of his mouth twitch.
The bed — which had been so impressively large the night before — had devolved into total chaos.
The orderly formation everyone had started in before falling asleep had been completely dismantled by a night of rolling around, replaced by an utterly logic-free free-for-all.
His gaze went right first.
Amou Kirukiru's side.
This tall, dark-haired beauty who fought like a wild beast in combat — her sleeping posture was equally savage.
She had practically draped half her body across Haimer.
That oversized white dress shirt of hers, worked loose by a restless night of tossing and turning, had most of its buttons pulled open at some point.
The collar gaped wide.
Exposing a broad, smooth expanse of skin.
And the deep, full valley between, pressed with total carelessness right to the edge of Haimer's vision.
Worse still.
Amou Kirukiru's long, straight, lushly toned white thigh.
Was locked around his waist in an iron grip.
Extremely tight.
Even in sleep, it radiated a fierce, proprietary desire to possess and dominate.
Because of Kirukiru's Blade Incarnate constitution, her skin was silken to the touch — but the muscles beneath held a stunning, coiled elasticity.
With her wrapped around him like that.
Haimer felt very much like a python had decided to make him its hug target.
He tried moving his right arm.
It wasn't going anywhere — Amou Kirukiru had it folded into her arms, using it as a pillow under her head.
He shifted his gaze left.
The scene on that side was entirely different.
Inaba Tsukuyo had curled herself into the smallest possible ball.
Lying on her side.
Her cheek pressed firmly against Haimer's chest, rising and falling with his breath.
One slender white hand had its fingers knotted tight in the fabric of his sleep shirt.
The collar of the silk sleep shirt he'd changed into last night had slipped open a little from her curled-up position.
Baring the delicate collarbone that made you want to handle it with the utmost care, and a small stretch of skin so pale it was nearly colorless.
He let his gaze drift further out.
The situation beyond them was no better.
Kikakujou Mary lay flat on her back, her golden curls fanning out across the sheets. Her silk nightgown had ridden up to the tops of her thighs, the contrast of her curves on full display.
One of Onigawara Rin's legs was sprawled thoroughly without decorum across both Kikakujou Mary's and Nomura Satori's stomachs, her mouth slightly parted.
Hanasaka Warabi had simply laid herself diagonally across the center of the bed, spread-eagled in a perfect starfish, claiming an impressive amount of territory entirely for herself.
In the far corner of the bed.
Were Aihara Enju and little Kohina.
Predictably restless even in sleep.
By now.
Aihara Enju's little white-socked feet had nearly found their way to little Kohina's face.
Which was causing little Kohina's eyebrows, in her sleep, to scrunch up into a deeply pained frown.
The full panorama of spring light and long pale limbs stretched as far as the eye could see.
Haimer glanced down at himself.
His sleep shirt had been thoroughly worked over by a night's worth of company — the collar pulled wide, the fabric creased and kneaded into a map of wrinkles.
Being a god really was a bit of a thankless business sometimes.
Haimer shook his head.
Reached up to tug his collar back into something resembling order.
And started making his way toward the bedroom door.
Running through the day's agenda in his head as he went.
First order of business: go down to the main bath on the ground floor, wash up, change clothes, and get his brain working properly.
The Familia had just gone through its first major expansion.
Tendou Kisara, the Holy Emperor, Aihara Enju, little Kohina — with all of them joining.
The mansion, already not exactly spacious, had instantly become a great deal livelier.
But this was only the beginning.
More Cursed Children would be coming in the future.
And not only that.
The Holy Emperor and the others were still completely unfamiliar with this world.
They needed enough time to adjust.
The Dungeon exploration schedule also had to continue.
Though.
With the Holy Emperor's magic as a safety net.
The depth the Familia could push to next time should take a tremendous leap forward.
Which meant.
He himself needed to get through a pile of miscellaneous tasks as quickly as possible.
Thinking this, Haimer rolled his shoulder, pushed open the heavy double doors of the master bedroom.
The second-floor hallway was lined with thick carpet — not a whisper of sound underfoot.
He followed the carved spiral staircase all the way down.
Orario's upper-class residential district in the morning should have been quiet and composed.
The kind of neighborhood where the people who lived here prized peace and dignified appearances above all else.
However.
At this very moment.
Before Haimer had even made it to the bathroom door on the ground floor.
A voice.
Brimming with the particular excitement of someone who delights in turning a calm world upside down.
Sailed clean over the wide courtyard wall that the upscale neighborhood had built specifically to protect the privacy of its residents, and detonated on the street outside.
"YO——!!!"
"HAIMER——!!!"
"I'M HERE TO SEE YOU!!!"
That voice.
That completely image-unconscious way of screaming at the top of one's lungs.
There was no need to guess.
There was only one person in the world with that singular ability to make noise.
— Loki.
...This woman.
Haimer pressed two fingers to his throbbing temple.
What on earth was she here for, first thing in the morning.
Thinking that, he turned on his heel.
Bypassed the bathroom entirely and headed for the front entrance.
The street outside, which had been perfectly quiet until a moment ago, was starting to stir.
It seemed the aristocratic ladies who had been peacefully enjoying their morning were now awake and discreetly peering out through the gaps in their windows.
Haimer reached out and pulled open the mansion's heavy reinforced steel gate.
Outside.
A cool morning breeze drifted past.
Standing at the iron fence gate of his courtyard, both hands on her hips, winding up for what was clearly going to be a third shout — was a red-haired goddess.
Light crimson hair tied back in a simple, casual ponytail.
Red eyes overflowing with excitement she wasn't even trying to suppress.
Haimer took in Loki's outfit.
A pair of oversized, flashy sunglasses perched on top of her head.
On top, a tight black cropped swimsuit-style top, with a white short jacket thrown open over it.
On the bottom, a pair of extremely short denim cutoffs cinched with a black leather belt.
On someone else, this outfit might have read as undeniably sexy.
On Loki, however.
Aside from a chest that was not so much flat as it was an unbroken horizon — flatter than the city walls of Orario, flatter than flat.
There was nothing about her that prompted any thoughts of femininity whatsoever.
Just then.
Loki spotted the gate opening and Haimer stepping out.
Her mouth immediately split into a grin that reached her ears.
"Yo!"
"There he is!"
The moment Loki opened her mouth, that unmistakable aura of shameless buddy-energy came pouring out.
But.
Haimer didn't take the bait.
He walked straight over.
Pushed the iron fence gate open.
Loki seemed to sense what was coming, and took a reflexive step back.
Too slow.
Haimer moved fast, sharp, and certain.
He reached out.
Two fingers closed precisely around Loki's ear.
And then.
Without a shred of mercy.
Twisted. Clockwise. Hard.
"GYAH!!!"
Loki emitted a wretched shriek the next instant.
With her ear caught, her body had no choice but to follow the direction of Haimer's twist, bending over in a spectacularly undignified posture.
"OW OW OW OW!!!"
"I'M DYING I'M DYING I'M DYING!!!"
"You always used this on me back in the Heavens, and now you're still doing it down here?! My ear is going to come off, I swear it is!"
"I'm the patron god of the great and glorious Loki Familia, you know! Show me a little dignity, would you?!"
Loki scrabbled uselessly at Haimer's wrist with both hands, grimacing in pain and begging for mercy at the top of her lungs.
This entire scene played out in full view of the surrounding buildings.
The aristocratic ladies who had been roused from their peaceful mornings, who had initially assumed some uncouth country bumpkin was causing a racket out front — when they pressed their eyes to their window gaps and actually saw who was being wrung by the ear and wailing.
Their own eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
Haimer looked down at this fast-talking troublemaker with an unhurried expression, easing his grip by the faintest margin.
"Banging on someone's gate and disturbing the whole neighborhood first thing in the morning, and you still have a face to talk about dignity?"
"The city walls of Orario are thinner than your shamelessness."
"..."
As those words landed, Haimer noticed.
Three more people standing just beyond Loki, frozen in place by the sudden chaos.
He lifted his gaze past Loki's red hair and landed on all three.
— Ryu Lion.
— Chloe Lolo.
— Lunor Faust.
All three were in the same eye-catching tavern maid uniforms as before — green knee-length skirts paired with white half-aprons.
Each of them was holding a large wicker basket loaded with fresh ingredients.
Clearly, as agreed upon in the maid contract settled yesterday, they had arrived early to prepare breakfast.
But.
Faced with the sight unfolding before them.
Ryu and the two girls behind her — Chloe and Lunor — were staring with eyes the size of saucers, as if they'd collectively witnessed something that defied all logic.
Haimer looked at the three dumbstruck girls.
And finally, with something like magnanimity, released his grip on Loki's ear.
He gave Loki a casual pat on the shoulder.
"Right."
"Stop embarrassing yourself out here. Come inside and talk."
With that, Haimer turned and walked back into the courtyard.
Loki immediately clapped both hands over her thoroughly reddened right ear, hissing through her teeth, and hurried after Haimer through the gate.
A few minutes later.
In the spacious main hall on the ground floor.
Haimer sat at ease in one of the iron wood rattan chairs surrounding the enormous obsidian round table, his back settled into the thick cushioned backrest.
Loki sat across from him, rubbing her ear with one hand and letting her eyes roam around the hall, as if looking for something.
After a moment.
Ryu came over carrying a refined tray, head slightly bowed.
Only — as she poured the tea, the clear amber liquid sloshed in visible ripples around the cups.
"Kami-sama."
"Please, your tea."
"And... Loki-sama, your tea."
Ryu set the two steaming cups of black tea in front of Haimer and Loki respectively.
Having said what she needed to say, Ryu didn't linger a second longer — she collected her tray, gave a small bow, and retreated back toward the hallway on somewhat stiff legs.
At the far end of the hall, by the staircase landing.
The moment Ryu stepped back, Chloe and Lunor crowded in around her.
All three girls abandoned any pretense of doing their jobs.
Instead, they huddled behind the staircase, craning their necks out, pressing themselves flat against the wall and peeking at the hall with half a face each.
Haimer lifted his teacup, blew lightly on the surface to cool it, and looked over the rim at the figure across from him — still craning her neck around, checking every corner of the room.
"What are you looking for?"
"Come all the way over here first thing in the morning just to inspect my décor?"
"Heh heh."
Loki pulled her gaze back.
Having confirmed that the little bean — Hestia — was nowhere to be found.
Loki dropped all pretense at once.
The full measure of her slippery, scheming self came rushing to the surface.
She planted both hands flat on the obsidian tabletop and pitched her whole body forward across the table, sliding that lightly roguish face of hers right up close to Haimer's.
Then, very deliberately, she leaned her nose in close to the open collar of his sleep shirt.
And gave it a good, pointed sniff.
"Tsk tsk tsk~"
"That smell..."
"Several different girls' scents all mixed together~"
Loki wiggled her eyebrows, the corner of her mouth curling into an extremely punchable grin.
"Looks like."
"Someone had quite the cozy night in this big fancy house, hm?"
"Ha, no wonder you were so grumpy just now — did I interrupt something good?"
Looking at that gossip-plastered face shoved much too close to his.
Haimer raised his hand without ceremony, pressed his palm over Loki's face, and pushed her head back.
"Less of that."
"Talk business."
"Why are you actually here?"
Loki, deposited back into her own seat, wasn't the least bit offended. She leaned back against the chair back without a care.
"What else."
Loki picked up her teacup and took a large gulp.
"The Divine Banquet's coming up in a few days, isn't it?"
"So!"
Loki thumped her chest with a confident look that said leave it to me.
"I came to help you pick out something suitable to wear! Wasn't that thoughtful of me?"
"So then..."
Haimer glanced around.
"Where is the person you brought to help with the picking?"
"..."
At those words.
The smile on Loki's face visibly stiffened.
Then.
She raised a finger and pointed at herself.
"?"
Haimer stared at her blankly.
"It's me."
"Who?"
"Me!"
"Hah?"
"ME!!!"
"What kind of look is that?!"
"I dressed up specially for this today just so I could pick clothes for you!!!"
Loki yanked at her white short jacket, fully revealing the tight black cropped top underneath.
Paired with the denim cutoffs pulled tight around her hips below.
If that same outfit had been worn by, say, Amou Kirukiru — currently up on that bed somewhere above them — or Kikakujou Mary.
It would have been an absolutely devastating sight, the sort that makes the blood run hot.
However.
Worn on Loki.
Haimer sat in his chair and let his gaze drift down from Loki's collarbone.
To be met with.
An unbroken, featureless plain.
Not even a gentle curve to speak of.
In fact, one could make out a few distinct lines of ribcage.
And frankly speaking.
For something like attending a Divine Banquet — an occasion where you had to present yourself publicly — he didn't particularly care what he wore.
Back in the Heavens.
He could have turned up to a divine gathering wearing nothing at all.
And not a single other god would have dared say a word about it.
Now that he was in the Lower World, everything came with more rules and fuss, apparently.
Still.
Since Loki had walked right to his door.
This crafty red-haired fox.
Nobody trekked across town at the crack of dawn out of pure generosity, just to help someone pick out clothes.
The Divine Banquet was just a pretext — obviously.
As the God of Schemes, Loki had more angles and tricks in her than the labyrinthine passages of Orario's Dungeon.
She'd almost certainly caught wind of something.
But.
That was fine.
Just as Loki had once said.
He was the God of Discord, she was the God of Schemes — they'd known each other since the Heavens. They were old acquaintances.
It wasn't as though this was the first time they'd dealt with each other.
Since she'd come to his door of her own accord.
He might as well make full use of the opportunity.
After all.
He happened to have something she could be useful for right now.
Thinking this.
Haimer lifted his tea and took a sip.
The mildly bitter, astringent flavor spread across his tongue.
He set the cup down and gave Loki a nod of agreement.
"All right."
"Given how eager you are, I'll leave the clothes business to you."
The moment those words were out, Loki immediately slapped the table with a thrill.
Half her body lunged right across the obsidian surface.
"Now you're talking!"
"Heh heh, leave it to me!"
Looking at Loki's smug, full-of-herself expression.
Haimer's own expression didn't flicker in the slightest. He simply extended one finger and pressed it against her forehead.
And pushed that far-too-close face back.
"Don't celebrate too early."
Haimer's tone shifted.
Cutting cleanly through the excitement Loki hadn't even had time to fully express.
"Before that."
"You need to help me with something first. In exchange."
"Hah?"
"An exchange?"
"I came here to help you, you know!"
"...But go on, what is it you want me to do?"
In this Lower World, the list of things that could make Haimer — the type who resolved things with his fists before asking questions — actually open his mouth and make a request was very short.
Loki's interest was piqued immediately.
"Materials."
"High-grade materials. A lot of them."
"Every high-purity ore that comes out of the Dungeon's deep floors, every drop from deep-floor monsters — I want it all."
Loki blinked.
She scratched absently at her red hair.
"What do you need that much high-grade stuff for?"
"Didn't Hephaestus already send equipment over for your girls?"
"She did."
"But what Hephaestus gave them isn't something they can use for the rest of their lives."
"You're not seriously thinking of..."
"Making the gear yourself?"
"That's right."
Haimer didn't deny it — he nodded without hesitation.
"So. Are you in or not."
"I might even use whatever's left over to forge a few pieces of equipment for your children."
At those words.
The entire hall went strangely still.
Loki stared hard at Haimer.
This guy.
He was serious?
For a handful of kids he'd just taken in down here in the Lower World.
"You..."
Loki swallowed.
"Fine. I'll admit you've got me."
Loki scratched at that mess of red hair.
"Twilight Manor's storage rooms have some things that came back from the front-line expeditions stacked up."
"After we're done with the clothes, I can take you over for a look — whatever you want, just take it."
Loki made a face like she was hemorrhaging money.
"But!"
"If my children ever run into something nasty in the future, you can't just stand around and do nothing!"
"Deal."
"I'll go change and we leave."
Haimer stood, walked directly toward the staircase to the second floor.
Completely ignoring everything else Loki had been about to say.
Looking at Haimer's utterly unceremonious retreating back.
Loki clicked her tongue.
"What a heartless jerk with no appreciation for a beautiful girl."
Then.
Loki turned and looked at the three girls who had been covertly watching from behind the staircase corner in the distance.
"Yo! You three little elf-cats-and-rabbits over there!"
"I saw those baskets of food you brought in!"
"Get breakfast started! I ran all the way here on an empty stomach!"
Loki's expression flipped on the spot.
She broke into a wide, carefree, utterly guileless grin.
And so.
Ground floor.
Morning sunlight slanted in through the floor-to-ceiling windows along the corridor, painting long stripes of gold across the hardwood floor.
The wooden door of one of the guest rooms creaked open from the inside.
Hestia shuffled out through the gap, still half-asleep.
She padded across the carpet in bare feet.
Her signature twin black ponytails had been thoroughly slept on — they drooped in a somewhat sorry state behind her head.
Probably because the Magic Stone climate system in the mansion was so blissfully comfortable.
The oversized white sleep dress she had on had been kneaded into a thoroughly wrinkled mess.
One shoulder strap had slid right down to the bend of her arm.
"It smells so good..."
A muffled gurgle emanated from her stomach.
Hestia twitched her small, cute nose.
The air was saturated with the rich smell of freshly toasted bacon, caramel-butter toast, and warm milk all mingling together.
Her feet carried her of their own accord toward the enormous obsidian round table in the main hall on the ground floor.
In the hall.
Chastened by yesterday's exploded kitchen incident.
Today's arrangement was: Chloe as head chef, Lunor as assistant, and Ryu on plating and serving duty.
The three girls in their Benevolent Mistress green maid uniforms were working briskly and efficiently, setting out plate after plate of lavish morning fare across the table.
Hestia leaned against the edge of the table.
Her gaze swept across the steaming spread of food and around the hall.
But she didn't see the familiar figure she was looking for anywhere.
"Excuse me, miss elf."
Hestia gave a quick tug at the collar of her nightgown, pulling it up just enough to preserve a shred of modesty.
She turned to Ryu, who had just set down a large bowl of fruit salad, her voice carrying the drowsy mumble of someone who hadn't quite woken up yet.
"Where's Haimer? I didn't see him anywhere this morning — did he go out?"
Ryu looked up at the question.
Her short green hair shifted slightly with the motion.
She placed both hands flat on her white apron, standing straight and formal as ever, that precise, almost rigid air of professionalism firmly in place.
"Yes, Hestia-sama."
Ryu reported honestly.
"About ten minutes ago, Loki-sama of the Loki Familia came to call."
"Kami-sama changed his clothes and went out with Loki-sama."
"Loki?"
At that name, Hestia's eyes — still half-glazed from sleep — snapped open a full half-size wider.
"What did that flat-chest come here for? What did she want with Haimer?"
"Well..."
"She came to take Haimer-sama out shopping, meow."
"Loki-sama said she was going to help Haimer-sama pick out some clothes for the Divine Banquet, meow."
From the kitchen.
Chloe poked half her head out from around the corner, cat ears twitching twice, unable to resist adding to the fire.
"And by the way, Hestia-sama~"
"The moment Loki-sama walked in, she pressed her face right up to Kami-sama's chest and neck and sniffed him up and down, meow~"
"The two of them had breakfast together and then headed out, looking very chummy indeed, meow~"
"NANI——!!!"
And with that, another shriek tore through the sky above the upper-class residential district, detonating across the entire neighborhood.
____
👻🔥Read More: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: COTE: Confessing to Sakayanagi From the Start
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