Chapter 46. Who We Once Were
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Standing before the grand gate, which looked far more expensive than the church they lived in, Bell swallowed nervously, tugging at his suit.
"Relax, there's nothing monstrous behind that door, just a bunch of bored folks looking for fun," Cyd patted Bell on the back.
"Yeah, but..." Bell's eyes widened. "Why aren't you wearing something new, teacher?"
Cyd glanced at his usual casual attire, shrugged indifferently, and said, "Does it matter?"
"But you lectured me for half an hour about dressing up," Bell said, embarrassed. If they walked in and everyone was dressed casually, while he looked overly formal...
That would be beyond awkward!
"Don't worry, your goddess will be by your side," Cyd gestured to Hestia, who looked just as nervous. "With two of you together, it won't be as embarrassing."
With that, Cyd placed his hand on the large door and gave it a gentle push.
The door, seemingly weightless, slowly opened on both sides, and Bell and Hestia simultaneously shielded their eyes from the bright light.
"Yeah, probably the cheapest thing here is the clothes you're wearing," Cyd nodded, walking inside as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Wait for me, teacher!" Bell hurried to follow Cyd, nervously glancing around.
"Bell, w-wait!" Just as Hestia was about to catch up to Bell, a pair of hands wrapped around her neck from behind, dragging her to the side.
"Hey there, broke goddess," Loki greeted, waving cheerfully at Hestia, who was clutching her chest and gasping for breath.
Clearly, Loki was the culprit!
"You were trying to kill me, weren't you?" Hestia shouted, shaking her fists at Loki.
"Well... yep!" Loki grinned, raising a hand to press on Hestia's forehead.
"You make me so mad!" Hestia puffed out her cheeks, but with her short arms and legs, she couldn't land a hit on Loki.
"This is a time for the children to socialize. You shouldn't interfere," Loki said with righteous authority. "As a goddess, you should maintain your dignity. Clinging to the kids all the time is just embarrassing."
"Is that so?" Hestia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Then maybe you should see what your 'child' is up to?"
"Huh? My sweet Ais is, of course, following me..." Loki's expression froze as she realized that Ais was no longer by her side.
Hestia pointed towards Cyd's direction.
There, dressed in a white evening gown, Ais was clumsily making her way toward Cyd, clearly struggling to walk in the high heels Loki had insisted on out of sheer desire.
"Wobbling, yet determined to move forward—it's an image that even a goddess like me can't help but admire," Hestia said, patting Loki's back while standing on her tiptoes. "Your child is really something!"
"Waaah! Ais, stop! That way lies doom!" Loki cried out, rushing forward.
"Gotcha!" Hestia shouted, hugging Loki's legs.
"Bang—"
The sudden noise startled Ais, causing her to stumble towards the dining table.
If she fell, her pure white gown would be utterly ruined.
Instinctively, Ais closed her eyes.
"Your training's still not enough..."
Cyd sighed softly, raising his hand to grab Ais by the back of her dress as he usually did, but... that delicate fastening... probably wasn't suitable for lifting her like that.
After a brief hesitation, Cyd caught Ais around the waist.
"Waaah! Ais's delicate waist is my treasure!" Loki, who was lying on the ground, opened her slit-like eyes, tears of blood streaming down her face.
Ais glanced at Cyd, then lowered her head and murmured, "Thank you."
Cyd chuckled and patted Ais on the head.
"That was so cool..." Bell gasped in awe.
"Ragnarok! I'm going to start Ragnarok!" Loki pounded the ground furiously.
"You're just embarrassing yourself, clinging to your child like that. The world isn't ending just because they're growing up!" Hestia, her face flushed, strained with all her might to keep Loki pinned. "I'm doing this for your own good. You don't want to be buried underground, do you?"
"But Ais is different! She's my treasure!"
"This is too embarrassing. Let's head over there," Cyd muttered, rolling his eyes as he guided Ais to another table.
Bell glanced at the tussling pair of Hestia and Loki, then at Cyd, and decisively followed them.
"It's really lively here," Apollo said, leaning on the second-floor railing, looking down at the party below while holding an erhu. "Just like it used to be."
"Still can't let it go, my dear brother?" Hermes, twirling his hat playfully, circled behind Apollo.
"Don't call me that, it's disgusting," Apollo replied coldly. "Not everyone can be as carefree as you."
"That's truly heartbreaking," Hermes shrugged, leaning on the railing. "But it really is just like old times."
"Those times..."
"Brother, there's no remedy for regret in this world," Hermes interrupted Apollo's thoughts without hesitation. "Now that he's back, isn't that what matters? Sitting here, brooding, will only make him unsure of how to face things."
"Ugh, you really are annoying," Apollo grumbled, looking away.
"He's grown, you know. Back then, he had already become stronger than anyone, even the gods, but I still felt like he hadn't fully matured," Hermes scratched his head. "But he's grown up now. The life that was altered by a group of idiots is slowly returning to what it once was. He's still himself, only... freer."
Apollo sighed, clutching his erhu tighter. "If only she could see this."
Hermes' expression shifted, and he quietly edged away from Apollo.
He wasn't good at dealing with situations like this. He could use words to guide and change someone's thoughts, but he couldn't change the past. When someone was drowning in self-blame over the past, what could he do?
If he tried to talk it out, he'd just get dragged into those memories as well. But leaving would make him seem heartless, though he wasn't a stranger to such actions. And besides, things seemed pretty interesting over where Cyd was. If he casually wandered over like before, he could go back to being carefree. But the look on Apollo's face seemed to say, "Don't even think about leaving."
"I really envy you," Apollo sighed. "We... the arrogant people we once were—some chose to run, some sought to chase, some wanted to change, and some chose to..."
As if recalling something, Apollo pursed his lips. "I guess you're the one who has it the easiest."
"Brother, being carefree doesn't mean feeling nothing," Hermes pulled his hat down low, hiding his eyes. "I... was the one who took him to that party. I was the one who brought him there with my own hands. I should be the one who regrets it the most. But... if we don't act like we used to..."
"That guy will be heartbroken."