The next day.
"Haa..."
Half a day had already passed.
It was the time that had gone by since Loki and Hestia Familia made contact with Cali Familia.
And at the same time.
"Haa~"
It was also the time during which the completely dazed Magus, who hadn't even slept at night, had simply stared out the window with open eyes and let out endless sighs.
The reactions from everyone around him were nothing short of shock.
"That is, you know what that is, right?"
"That reaction, that expression... is there really anything else it could be?"
"S-so then, could it really be...?"
"Wow, that word really doesn't suit that person at all. What a surprise."
"Ugh, gross... Just a little while ago he was humiliating us and Lady Riveria with that filthy word, and now he's making that face? It's a nightmare. This is truly an outrageous situation!"
"Calm down, Lefiya. I understand how you feel. But lurking behind us like that is a little too disgraceful. Take a deep breath and settle down."
"Well, for our part, it's not exactly an incomprehensible reaction either. Even Lili has never seen An like that before."
"What's the big deal, Liliruca? Turns out that Magus guy is a man after all. As another man, I feel a little relieved. Right, Bell?"
"Ah, um... no comment."
The outfield buzzed with all kinds of comments as they pleased, but in truth their voices weren't all that loud.
Rather, as if they were being mindful of someone nearby, they whispered so only the people right beside them could hear.
And the one they were all so carefully watching right now was...
"Ahh, no way. This is completely hopeless."
Gloom...
With a face as pale and wilted as a corpse, Tiona kept staring endlessly at the back of the Magus's head.
Beside her, her twin sister Tione couldn't even bring herself to scold her.
She just kept glancing back and forth between the two people in question, irritably scratching at her own head for no good reason.
But given her hot-blooded nature, even that thin patience was bound to reach its limit.
"Aaaaaaah! I can't take this anymore! As if the Cali bastards haven't already made my head a complete mess!"
"W-whoa! T-Tione!? P-please calm down a little...!"
"Like hell I will!"
Bang!
In the end, she grabbed the Magus—the source of all this trouble—by the nape and hurled him straight onto the floor.
Yet despite the heavy impact that should have come with such a loud crash, there was no reaction from him at all.
That limp, lifeless state only made Tione's temper flare hotter.
"Hey, you little bastard! Quit it already...!"
"An."
"Huh?!"
A voice cut her off.
It was Tiona.
Her call was drained of strength, lacking even a trace of her usual cheer, and yet it carried a strange force that made the Magus turn his gaze toward her in response.
Their eyes met.
"An... do you know those Cali people?"
Tiona was the first to speak.
At her question, the Magus thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"No. I only wandered around the outskirts of Terscura briefly as part of my research. Even then, I left quickly because I got tired of the Amazons who came out hunting men."
"T-then... who was that girl with the weird name, the one behind that Cali yesterday? Do you two know each other...?"
In that follow-up question, Tiona felt a tremendous unease.
From yesterday until now, the Magus's condition and reaction toward the person she had feelings for had absolutely not been the kind of thing one could calmly ignore and feel reassured about.
Then... what if, by any chance...
What if the kind of anxiety she was imagining was actually real...?
"Tell me, An. What exactly is your relationship with that woman?"
And the others around them felt the same way.
They were all very curious about the Magus's answer.
But his reply was...
"Hm? No. We just met for the first time today, didn't we?"
"""Huh?"""
It was a refreshing answer that slapped their anxiety—or perhaps their expectations—square in the back of the head.
It was the kind of reply that sounded so absurd it could almost be taken as mockery.
So naturally, Tione, who had no reason to feel good after hearing such a ridiculous answer, growled fiercely and yanked him up by the collar again.
Her ferocious momentum looked like it might actually kill someone if she wasn't careful.
"You damn freak! What kind of bullshit is that? Are you messing with us right now?! You're messing with us, aren't you?!"
"...I don't know why you're so angry, but I'm not lying."
At that flat excuse, everyone's puzzled gazes shifted to the two goddesses here.
And receiving the children's stares, the goddesses also wore frustrated expressions as they told them the truth they had figured out.
"Well, that's exactly what he's saying."
"I understand how you feel, but how about calming down a little and continuing the conversation, child of Loki?"
"U, right..."
At Hestia's gentle yet fairly firm words, Tione let go of the Magus's collar and stepped back.
It was her way of saying she wouldn't recklessly jump in as she pleased anymore.
With that, Hestia took over the questioning and continued.
The topic was, as expected, the part everyone wanted to know.
"Now then, Magus-kun. You should have calmed down a little by now, so why don't you tell us exactly what's going on?"
"That's a pain. I'd like to exercise my right to remain silent..."
"Ssssh!"
"Honestly, you really are a goddess at times like this."
Under Hestia's refusal to let him escape, the Magus let out a small sigh and briefly rubbed his chin while sorting out his thoughts.
And a moment later.
"I just... thought of someone who looked a little like her."
"Someone who looked like her?"
"Yeah. Someone who looked a lot like her."
In both appearance and name.
As he said that, the Magus's expression again became faint and distant, as if he were recalling some memory.
Seeing that uncharacteristic look, Tiona quickly realized it.
Ah, so this was real.
He really had liked that woman from the bottom of his heart.
"Well, it was only a lonely one-sided love where I never even properly spoke a single word to her."
"A lonely one-sided love?!"
"Looking back, it was a rather strange feeling. To see someone for the first time and feel such deep affection in your heart."
"Love at first sight?!"
"Ahh, Lili wants to stop thinking now. This just doesn't suit the usual An at all. It's way too out of place."
"Don't give up, Liliruca! If it comes to that, who else here can stop that guy besides you?"
The outfield around him was noisy, but Tiona couldn't say a word.
Her chest felt as if it were being tightly squeezed shut, and she frowned on reflex.
Then, wanting to hide her ruined expression, she lowered her head.
Strangely enough.
Even though both her body and heart hurt this much.
Not a single tear fell from her eyes.
"Tiona."
At that miserable sight, Tione looked at her younger sister with worried eyes.
But this was, after all, a complicated matter of feelings between a man and a woman.
If she interfered any further as she pleased, that would be no way to treat her sister either.
So all she could do was glare fiercely at the source of the trouble—the Magus—as if she wanted to kill him.
"Why? I already told you the gist of what you wanted to know."
"You pathetic idiot."
"Wow, you're unusually aggressive today."
"Shut up! Can't you stop with that half-baked act like you don't know anything?!"
Bang!Rustle...
But there was no way a hothead like her would leave her precious little sister alone any longer.
In the end, completely fed up, she forcibly hauled the depressed Tiona to her feet and dragged her outside with her.
The door she slammed shut in a fit of anger shattered into pieces as a bonus.
"Loki."
"Well, go on and follow them."
Ais and Lefiya hurried after them.
Before long, the uncomfortable air among those left behind grew heavier with every passing second.
"Loki, we..."
"Well, enough. In this situation, who's going to start pointing fingers at who? This is just one twisted, miserable mess where there ain't even room for that kind of easy thinking in the first place."
But still.
"With my temper, I've got one thing to say before I go."
With that, Loki let out a deep sigh.
Then her narrowed eyes fixed on the Magus with a cold gaze that held none of her usual mischief.
The air inside the room grew colder and heavier than ever before.
Even though it was obvious that such a thing should not have been possible, everyone around them felt as if they might suffocate from the tension.
At the sight of that serious, ruthless, and evil goddess-like authority, Hestia remembered something.
That this was the true face of the goddess once known as the trickster of the heavens.
"If it were up to me, I'd like to jump you on the spot and settle this my way. But since you've been close with my son and have helped him out a lot, I'll stop here."
"Should I offer a prayer of thanks for the goddess's generous mercy?"
"Don't spout bullshit you don't mean. I don't need that kind of thing either."
"But remember this one thing."
Loki actually growled, breathing rough, and shoved her face right up to the Magus's nose.
She bared a ferocious expression that looked like she might bite out his throat at any moment.
"I'll let anything you do slide. But if you make my children, my kids, especially Tiona, shed even a single tear any more than this..."
You'll learn why I was feared and avoided in heaven.
"Burn that into your head, you crazy bastard."
"...I'll make sure to carve it into both my heart and my mind."
"Hmph! You think words are enough?"
And with that, her warning—or rather, threat—was over.
Starting with her, the remaining members of Loki Familia all left the building.
They had probably finished checkout perfectly as well.
"A-An..."
"Sorry, Lili. I'm going to walk around outside for a bit too."
There were still things I needed to sort out in my head.
With that, the Magus also headed outside after them.
In the end, the sighs of frustration belonged to those left behind.
As for the rest of it.
The weather in the sky that everyone absentmindedly looked up at knew nothing of the feelings of those watching it.
Just like yesterday, it remained bright and dazzlingly clear.
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