"Heeey, Hestia! Long time no see!!"
"Eek!!"
Loki, dragging Alice along, made her way over to where Hestia was. As she got closer and saw what Hestia was doing, a gleam flashed in Loki's perpetually slit-like eyes.
Alice could sense that Loki's mood had improved considerably.
But when Alice saw what Hestia was up to, she too found it hard to hold back a laugh.
"Hestia, I know Apollo dragged you here and kept you for three days, but you're still a goddess. Surely they didn't starve you that much," Alice said, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "What in the world are you doing?"
"Uh... Alice-chan... and... you, you tomboy!" Hestia's expression was fine upon seeing Alice, but the moment she spotted Loki beside her, Hestia's face instantly darkened.
"Well, well~ What do we have here? A poverty-stricken goddess sneakingly packing away food from the banquet. Tsk, tsk. I heard you finally got your own Familia, pipsqueak. I wonder if your child would be utterly embarrassed if they saw you now."
Loki sighed with exaggerated pity, her tone deliberately crafted to be as irritating as humanly possible.
But Hestia, who even in her current state as a 'captive' was boldly stacking up containers and packing away various foods and fruits, clearly wasn't going to be ruffled by Loki's taunts.
"Hmph~ Look who it is. You tomboy. You even wear a man's suit to a banquet. I suppose you've finally given up hope on your own 'forward artillery' and decided to just become a man, huh?"
Abandoning all pretense of stealth, Hestia stood up straight, proudly thrusting out the assets that were the envy of every goddess. Crossing her arms over her chest only served to emphasize her impressive 'armament.'
Alice herself didn't really care about such things.
But Loki gritted her teeth, then took a deep breath and said casually, "I'll let it slide this time. Arguing with you is less interesting than something else. Speaking of, you've been here with Apollo these past three days, right? The party's been going on for a while now, so how come we haven't seen that flamboyant bastard, Apollo?"
Seeing that Loki wasn't looking for a fight, Hestia dropped her own sarcastic intentions.
It was always Loki who started picking on her anyway, even if Hestia always managed to counter with some inexplicable finishing blow.
Ultimately, Hestia never actually wanted to argue with Loki.
"You said it yourself, Apollo's a flamboyant bastard. He came out with me initially, but that peacock said he wanted to present his most dashing self to Alice-chan, so he's probably still changing his clothes or putting on makeup."
Hestia pouted, clearly not having any fondness for Apollo.
"By my estimate, he should be making his entrance just about now." As Hestia spoke, she glanced towards the head of the banquet hall and her eyes suddenly lit up.
Apollo hadn't appeared, but she saw a familiar figure.
"Loki! Let me introduce you to my child! Bell is an absolutely wonderful boy... Wait a second!! Bell! Who is that woman next to you?! I didn't know that Apollo guy assigned a female attendant to you!"
Having spotted Bell, Hestia had naturally also seen Cassandra beside him.
Cassandra, knowing she might not see Bell much in the future, was holding his hand, reluctantly saying her goodbyes. The scene looked quite intimate; Cassandra's upper body was pressed right against Bell, making him extremely awkward.
This very ambiguous scene had been discovered by Hestia, who promptly stormed over in a rage.
Looking in the direction Hestia ran, Alice also spotted Bell.
Hestia was fine, and Bell seemed to be in good spirits, clearly having been treated well, which lifted Alice's mood considerably.
'If Apollo doesn't go too far later, I can probably put up with him a little,' Alice decided.
"I'd advise against holding back, Alice-chan," Loki, having heard Alice's quiet mutter, slightly opened her squinted eyes, a sharp glint flashing within that was somewhat startling.
Loki spoke to Alice seriously.
"In this whole affair, many of the gods are still in the dark. They only know that Apollo tried to target a child without a Familia."
"At this banquet, whether you take action or not, your existence has been exposed. There are plenty of gods here who would be interested in you, Alice-chan."
"If you have no intention of joining any Familia, then even if Apollo treats you politely, you need to demonstrate how dangerous you can be. That's the only way to kill the desire other gods might develop for you."
"Of course, the best choice would be for you to join my Familia."
By the time she reached that last sentence, Loki's eyes had narrowed again, and her expression had softened.
"As for joining a Familia, I'm afraid I must decline," Alice replied with a slight smile. "But you're right. I'll just act according to my original plan then."
Just at that moment, the previously lively banquet hall suddenly fell silent.
"Ho~, Apollo's made his entrance. This guy really is as flamboyant as ever," Loki couldn't help but complain. "Seems he's going to proposition you directly, Alice-chan. So, what are you going to do?"
The grand doors of the banquet hall swung open, revealing Apollo in a pristine white suit, followed by Hyacinthus in a black formal dress.
It had to be said, as the famous beauty from mythology, if one just looked at Apollo's face without him speaking, he was rather pleasing to the eye.
But Alice could feel it the moment Apollo appeared—the intense, scorching gaze of this male god immediately falling upon her.
And after seeing her face, the god named Apollo seemed to grow even more excited.
A wave of disgust welled up from the depths of Alice's heart. Almost instinctively, she linked her arm with the male-suited Loki standing beside her.
"Oh my~ Has Alice-chan fallen for me?!" Alice's action sent a thrill of surprise through Loki.
"No... It's just that god's gaze... it's making my skin crawl."
Alice was feeling extremely uncomfortable. Apollo's stare made her feel utterly unsettled from head to toe.
Compared to Apollo's gaze, the looks from the adventurers on the street were as pure as a child's.
Simultaneously, Alice resolved in her heart that she absolutely had to drive this Apollo fellow to a place she would never have to encounter him again.
Even if it was a difficult thing to do, even if it required disbanding the Apollo Familia itself.
Alice would strive for it.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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