Chapter 148: Loki: That Kid’s Seriously Screwed Up (Bonus)

Early in the morning, Loki arrived at Hephaestus's Familia with five of her children.

The one who greeted them was Tsubaki Collbrande, the captain of Hephaestus's Familia.

"Tsubaki, where's Phae?"

Loki didn't beat around the bush—her goal this time was simple: to meet Hestia's child through Hephaestus. There were questions she needed answered.

"Hephaestus-sama actually left yesterday and hasn't returned yet."

"Huh? Phae left yesterday?"

A bunch of question marks filled Loki's head. She couldn't quite figure out what yesterday's events had to do with Hephaestus, or why she still hadn't come back.

Still, Loki didn't think Hephaestus had left just to avoid her.

Honestly, yesterday's incident had little to do with Hephaestus. It wasn't the kind of thing she'd run off to avoid. Loki believed that—and so did Riveria, Gareth, and Finn.

"Loki-sama, yesterday was the Divine Council. You knew that, right?"

Tsubaki shot her a puzzled look. There was no way Loki didn't know that.

"After Hephaestus-sama went to the assembly, she never came back."

Loki frowned slightly, then sighed and rubbed her face.

"Don't tell me she went to see the shorty?"

Truth was, Loki had already figured that out. In all of Orario, the only god Hephaestus was close enough with to stay overnight was that shorty. And wasn't this just perfect timing?

She'd brought her kids here today hoping Hephaestus could take them to the shorty—only to find out the one she needed had already gone ahead.

Tsubaki gave a helpless nod.

"I think so. Hephaestus-sama and Hestia-sama are close. If Hestia-sama invited her over after the assembly, it wouldn't be surprising."

Actually, Tsubaki had already guessed as much yesterday when Hephaestus didn't come back.

She knew how close the two goddesses were, and since their Familias were now cooperating, she hadn't sent anyone to look for her.

...

Loki covered her face in exasperation. The three beside her looked just as drained. This turn of events really wasn't great.

"Tsubaki, do you know where the shorty's Familia is?"

"Mm, I do. The Hestia Familia just bought that piece of land. The paperwork was handled through the Ganesha Familia."

Tsubaki knew the location, though she also knew it was basically a pile of rubble. Even if it had been handed off to the Goibniu Familia for reconstruction, it wouldn't be done anytime soon.

So she wasn't sure if Hephaestus-sama was really staying at the Hestia Familia.

"That land is still in ruins—it'll take time to rebuild. So I'm not entirely sure Hephaestus-sama is actually staying there right now."

Seriously?

Loki felt like fate was just messing with her. Why did things always seem to work against her?

She knew the shorty's Familia had made a fortune from those Rune Stones. It made perfect sense that the shorty would use this opportunity to buy land and build a new base.

But the bigger question was—where was the shorty now?

Since the Hestia Familia's base was still under construction, where exactly had Hephaestus and Hestia spent the night?

'Too careless.'

'I should've contacted Phae first. Then we wouldn't have made this pointless trip.'

Just as Loki was wondering whether to turn back and try again tomorrow, Finn suddenly spoke up.

"Tsubaki, could you tell us the exact location of the Hestia Familia?"

"Yes. The land they bought is at the southernmost edge of Orario."

"The south..."

The location immediately came to Finn's mind. It was right on the outskirts—directly behind the Pleasure District.

No wonder Haruhime and Aisha had accidentally wandered into the Hestia Familia's territory while escaping.

"Thanks a lot."

"No need to be so formal."

With that, Loki's group of six left Hephaestus's Familia.

But as they walked away, Loki turned to Finn.

"Finn, you really think the shorty and Phae are over there?"

Finn was completely certain.

"It's clear from what Aisha and Haruhime said."

Aisha and Sanjouno Haruhime looked a little surprised to be mentioned, but Finn just smiled as he glanced back at the two newer members.

"Didn't you say the atmosphere around you suddenly changed while you were fleeing?"

The two nodded slightly.

"But Captain Finn, maybe it was just our imagination from running in a panic?"

Finn nodded.

"That's entirely possible. People often have a poor memory of their surroundings when they're running for their lives—and later, they start doubting what they actually saw."

"But there's another possibility."

He looked toward Riveria, and with a single glance, she understood.

"A barrier."

"What Aisha and Haruhime saw was real—but it was what appeared after they accidentally crossed into the territory of the Hestia Familia and entered a barrier."

"Exactly. That's one of the reasons I suspect Hephaestus and Hestia are staying there."

"Though it's not the only reason."

Everything so far was enough to form a reasonable guess—but without one more key detail, Finn wouldn't have made the call.

"The other reason is that boy's personality."

Loki paused, then chuckled softly.

"So that's it."

"Because he's extremely cautious—even if their base isn't fully built, it's still safer than being out in the open?"

"Yeah, that does sound just like him. Meticulous, careful to a fault."

"With a barrier already set up... and knowing that boy, maybe he never intended to have the Goibniu Familia build anything for him."

After reaching this conclusion, Loki nodded to herself.

Setting up a barrier that early—just that alone was far too preemptive.

If they'd actually planned to bring in the Goibniu Familia, there'd be no reason to go to that extent so soon.

It made sense only if they never had that plan in the first place—so they set up a barrier right from the start.

'That kid really doesn't trust anyone.'

Loki twitched at the corner of her mouth. She'd met a lot of Adventurers in her time—but this was the first time she'd encountered a kid this deeply paranoid.