The plan for the next year had actually been finalized the day before.
The coming year would be dedicated to accumulating ability points, gaining Excelia to continue leveling up, and helping "Sword Princess" Ais raise her own ability points along the way.
The plan itself sounded simple, but carrying it out would take an entire year.
It was simply too time-consuming.
Even Bell, whose Status growth was far faster than normal, needed a long time to accumulate and adapt. Even a year felt painfully tight.
But the original plan still ran into unexpected problems.
Because Bell didn't obtain "Sloth" from Loki yesterday but only received it later that night, some parts of the plan were thrown off.
Bell certainly hadn't expected that experimenting with the power of the "Seven Deadly Sins" right after waking up would cause them to fuse with his innate "Self-Discipline," triggering a strange reaction that created a unique sphere.
"Plans for the coming year…"
Bell scratched his head helplessly. The limited time he had now seemed like it would be filled with yet another massive project.
"Besides accumulating my own ability points and Excelia to prepare for breaking through Level 9, I still have to help Ais accumulate hers. And then there's this unknown, incomplete, but seemingly important sphere that I need to finish."
"A year… feels a little too short now."
Yes—looking at everything, Bell truly felt one year wasn't enough.
If he had two years, things might go a lot more smoothly.
Loki's narrowed eyes opened slightly.
"Looks like the shorty was right. One year really is too rushed."
But how were they supposed to divert the gods' attention away from Bell now?
Loki began to think about this headache-inducing problem, but no answer came quickly. Bell lowered his head, feeling helpless.
"I already expected accidents to happen this year, but I didn't think the first one would happen on the very first day."
Unexpected developments were normal in any plan; once a plan existed, risks existed. Even small coincidences could disrupt everything.
But Bell hadn't predicted that such a coincidence would happen immediately on day one.
And the most frustrating part—it was an accident he caused himself. A perfect self-inflicted blow.
Freya didn't say anything unnecessary. She quietly approached Bell, gently stroking his hair as she comforted him:
"Some things can't be changed. Even if you had retrieved 'Sloth' from Loki later, the same thing would still have happened."
"...Yeah, I know."
Bell understood that well, so he didn't blame anyone.
"This isn't anyone's fault. If anything, having it happen earlier might prevent us from running out of time later."
Bell's lowered gaze passed through what the gods themselves could not see—a sphere hidden in a higher-dimensional space. It continually absorbed both black and white power, growing larger by the moment.
Suddenly, Hestia remembered something.
"Bell, are you experiencing any effects from that sphere absorbing your power?"
Something that made even a god feel danger at first glance was clearly not some ordinary creation.
Hestia didn't understand why such a thing had manifested from Bell's hands, but right now Bell's condition was the top priority.
"That thing?"
Bell could clearly feel his power draining away, but he could also feel some kind of source behind him helping bear the pressure.
"Simply put, that thing can drain almost all my magic power in a single second. But something—though I don't know what—is helping me withstand the drain."
Bell said it lightly, but was that truly a good thing?
Given his cautious personality and deep-thinking nature, Bell sensed it was anything but good.
A mysterious source in his body suddenly helping offset the loss of energy? That was terrifying.
Something like that existing inside him without his knowledge—he, the owner of the body, completely unaware of its nature—felt like being reduced to a puppet with its strings pulled by someone else, stripped of autonomy.
"Smack!"
A sharp pain hit Bell's head.
He looked up at Hestia, bewildered, question marks floating above his head.
"What was that for?"
"What do you think?"
Hestia's expression was extremely unpleasant. Having spent the most time with Bell, she knew he would never say something like that—unless he truly had no better way to deal with it.
"Would someone with your personality ever talk like that?"
At those words, the four other goddesses paused, then let out small, helpless smiles.
They understood as well—Bell in his normal state would never speak like that.
Bell himself hadn't expected Hestia to see through his tone so quickly.
He let out a quiet sigh.
"I admit it. This is a very serious problem—serious to an extreme degree."
…
"There's an unknown source in my body supplying power to that sphere. Just imagining not understanding what it is is enough to scare me."
"When I can't fully control my body, when I can't command even a single part of it, it means that right now I'm essentially as vulnerable as a scarecrow."
Since the moment Bell's consciousness had awakened completely, he had never encountered a situation where he was the one being controlled.
Until now, he had always been the one directing everything from behind the scenes. No one had ever treated him as a puppet.
Yet now, such a situation had appeared.
Bell had no idea who might be pulling the strings, nor could he understand whether something inside his own body had gone wrong. For him, this was the worst possible scenario.
Bell then opened his hand. The black-and-white mist appeared once more, and the sphere materialized again as well.
"If the white power represents my 'self-discipline,' then my mind should feel constant exhaustion. But right now, I don't feel tired at all."
"And if the 'Seven Deadly Sins' draw their power from desire, then right now I can feel endless desire rising throughout this world. But in the end, the 'Seven Deadly Sins' are still a part of my power—yet I barely feel their consumption."
"This situation has definitely exceeded my expectations. I suppose this counts as my biggest mistake."