"Welcome back, Bell-kun."
Hestia's lively nature always had a way of rubbing off on others.
Her carefree innocence even made the maddened Ikelos glance her way, as a thought slipped into his mind:
'Maybe being a fool isn't so bad after all.'
Had he not uncovered those truths, Ikelos could have accepted his defeat calmly.
That was simply the rule of the game—where there is victory, there must also be defeat.
"So this is the punishment for my failure? Quite the severe penalty."
If he had the chance to choose again, Ikelos wished he could have remained an ignorant god, instead of burdened with knowledge he never needed.
The very meaning of a god's existence was being denied outright.
Even if he carried joy in his heart, the pride befitting a god was still his to hold.
At the very least, as a god, he was proud.
Yet now someone appeared out of nowhere and declared, "Your achievements were nothing more than what was arranged for you." Perhaps anyone faced with such words would have their mind shatter.
He understood Hestia's nature well.
Carefree, often sloppy, unconcerned with trivialities—yet her bonds with others were strangely strong.
"Ikelos, you really never learn. Coming down to Genkai and still playing tricks like this..."
After welcoming Bell, Hestia finally turned her attention to the true target of this operation—Ikelos. The odd gleam in his eyes made her instincts flare. This man was definitely not thinking anything good.
"Well then, forgive me for interrupting your game."
"It's not a game. Only someone as extreme as you would treat the lower world like one."
Their discord was not born of personal grudges, but from fundamentally different attitudes toward people and the world.
Hestia despised the self-important attitude of gods. To her, the children of Genkai were never some game.
And truly, no god who had changed here would ever see it as one.
Ikelos, however, didn't care. As the loser, whatever he said would be dismissed as wrong.
In truth, he no longer wished to remain in Genkai. Perhaps being sent back to the Tenkai was preferable to staying here, nothing more than a puppet on strings.
"That's just your opinion, Hestia."
"For most gods, the Genkai is their playground. Besides you, how many truly see it otherwise?"
Ikelos wasn't mocking—he was simply stating a cruel truth.
"At least, many of the gods in Orario aren't that bad. Those Evilus types probably share your view, though."
Hestia huffed in irritation, but Ikelos didn't deny it.
"Most of them, yes. From what I know, those fellows also came here with a gaming mentality. Just like the war games we played in Tenkai—Ouranos leading the gods as the front side, while Evilus acted as the opposition."
"A game without opposition isn't really a game."
Ikelos gave a self-mocking chuckle.
"But I still miscalculated. I never thought that we, who treated Genkai as a game, would end up becoming the game in others' eyes."
"That's exactly why I say you're too self-important."
In Tenkai, games were fine. After all, gods had little else to do. Competing in strength, dividing into factions, and playing at war was about all they had.
But Genkai couldn't be treated like that.
At the very least, you couldn't treat it as a game.
Many gods had indeed descended with that mindset, but over time, countless of them stopped viewing Genkai as mere entertainment.
Among those Hestia knew, Loki was the most obvious example.
"Bell-kun, what do you plan to do next?"
That question immediately drew the attention of every god present.
Bell, however, didn't hesitate. Since he knew what had to be done, he would carry it through completely—leaving no trace behind.
"First, I need to confirm if Goddess-sama and Hephaestus-sama can watch what happens next."
"Me? I don't mind."
Hestia knew she absolutely couldn't miss this. And as Bell's Familia God, there was no way she would back down.
"I don't mind either."
Hephaestus naturally felt little pressure. She had witnessed plenty of bloody scenes in her long life as a goddess—one more hardly mattered.
Loki, however, grew unhappy at being left out.
"Hey, aren't you going to ask if I can handle it?"
"....."
That actually left Bell speechless.
"Loki-sama, if you couldn't handle it, then why were you so eager just now?"
Hermes nearly burst out laughing at that.
But it wasn't wrong.
If Loki truly couldn't stomach it, she wouldn't have acted so enthusiastically earlier.
Since she had come out with Bell just now, she had surely witnessed the dungeon battle firsthand. After watching that blood-soaked slaughter, seeing Ikelos's execution hardly seemed like much.
"I'm not saying I can't accept it. I'm saying I should have been asked."
That inexplicable sense of competitiveness made Loki give a reason that left even Bell dumbfounded. Maybe it was just his lack of experience, but he never thought such logic could exist.
"...Then can Loki-sama accept it?"
"Of course."
If she could, why bring it up at all?
Bell nearly groaned aloud in frustration.
What should have been a simple matter had been turned into something overly complicated. He had never realized Loki-sama cared so much about formalities.
Feeling drained, Bell sighed inwardly and gave a slight bow.
"Then I'll go make some preparations."
Even for him, taking action against a god was a first. Preparations had to be thorough before he began.
A proper environment was essential.
Since this was his first time, he needed to account for every possibility, including the chance of Ikelos breaking free.
That meant there was a lot more to prepare.
...
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