Chapter 89 – Banquet

The following day I sat at the table in front of Hestia. I took one of the bread and spread something that looked like jelly on it.

While I was doing all this, Hestia was silent as she ate and took a sip of her tea. She didn't seem to have noticed that I was here yet. This is an excellent time to ask her about this.

Bell is not here, and Lili left with him.

'The two of them went into the dungeon together.' As soon as I woke up in the morning, Lili came to me saying that she was a little bored of being alone at home, and Bell offered to take her along with his group.

I had no reason to refuse because I knew Bell was strong and could protect her. Besides, he would not put her in danger unnecessarily. But I confess that I'm still a little worried about her.

'I was not letting Lili go into the Dungeon because I feared her getting hurt. She was never a strong girl, even though she was quite intelligent.'

But this is not the time to think about that. I'm sure she's okay. Now I have to focus on this conversation. I need to ask Hestia what is bothering her. I couldn't stop thinking about it since yesterday when I saw her entering the house with that grim expression.

"Hestia, what happened?" I asked her.

"Huh?" She finally noticed that I was sitting at the table together with her. "Ah, Luan. What do you mean? Nothing happened." Hestia gave a weak laugh, clearly trying to hide her concern.

"You said you were dealing with something involving Bell and me. And yesterday, you seemed to be very nervous and worried about something. I want to know what happened."

"About that... You don't have to worry about that. It's all taken care of." She said confidently. She drank the rest of her tea and sighed. She was trying to be calm.

"It doesn't seem like everything is okay... Tell me, what happened?"

"It's Apollo." Hestia sighed and finally told me. As soon as she said Apollo's name, she looked slightly annoyed. Well, taking into account the history of the two of them, I can understand that. "He wants to steal you two from me." She pouted and looked sad.

What? I know he likes pretty and cute people, but am I also one of his targets? I'm flattered, but... I'm sorry. But this is weird. Does Apollo know who I am?

Well, probably.

'But it is strange. Shouldn't we have received an invitation to a banquet before the War Game proposal happened?'

"Hestia, what do you mean? How do you know he wants Bell and me."

"I received an invitation to his banquet."

"Ah, so you received the invitation. But why do you think he will try to steal Bell and me from you? What makes you think of that? I don't think that will happen."

"It's just an assumption of mine. But Apollo is an eccentric guy. He loves beautiful people. He will pursue what he wants."

"So you are saying that Bell and I are beautiful, and he will go after both of us? Interesting, very interesting." I smiled at Hestia and bit off a piece of my bread. As soon as she realized what she had said, Hestia was embarrassed.

"Forget I said that! I didn't mean to say you're pretty, but..." She began to stumble over her own words.

"So you mean I'm ugly?"

"No, you're not ugly! Arrrgh, stop playing with me. I'm serious!" Hestia slammed both her hands on the table. Her acting this way is cute.

"All right, I get it. So you're not sure, but you're worried that Apollo will try to do something."

"That's right. He's a degrading guy..."

"Yes, I know that. But don't worry, nothing will happen. Even if something happens, I'll still be there to protect you. I won't let that god do whatever he wants."

Hearing my words, Hestia put her hand in front of her mouth to hold back her laughter. "This is funny."

"I wasn't trying to make a joke. But it's true, nothing will happen as long as Bell and I are there. Do you understand?"

"..."

####

"Hey, Lili, how was it?" When the afternoon came, Lili arrived together with Bell. He went to the bathroom to shower, and I stayed in the living room with her. Lili was a little dirty, but she didn't look hurt. This is good.

"It was nice. Welf and Mikoto are good people. And Bell is powerful. I didn't have to do anything inside the dungeon even though I asked him to let me fight."

"He was worried about you. Please let me know if you want to go into the dungeon with me next time. And if you want to go with Bell's group, I don't see a problem. It's good that you have fun with them."

"Well, it's not something I want to do often, but just staying home is boring. Besides, I was interested to see how Bell fought since I hadn't seen that before."

"Bell is very strong, but I'm stronger than him."

"Yes, you are much stronger than him," Lili said with a smile. I stroked her head and later prepared something to eat while Bell finished taking his shower. As soon as he came out, he sat down at the table with me, and Lili went to the bathroom.

After a few minutes, Hestia came downstairs. As soon as she sat down, Hestia began to talk about the banquet, but I asked her to wait until Lili arrived so that she could hear about it.

She may be interested in going to the banquet.

And Hestia waited.

We were all sitting at the table together, and Hestia started talking again about the banquet. It was not a surprise to me, but the two of them were pretty surprised, especially Lili. She didn't imagine she would be invited to such an event one day.

Or at least that is what I think she is thinking now.

I was wrong. Lili's expression changed with time, and she had a somber expression on her face after a few minutes. I think she disliked that idea.

'I'll talk to her later.'

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