Chapter 166: Loki’s Crippling Embarrassment (Bonus)

"Well, well. So this is what you were waiting for, huh, kid?"

Loki raised an eyebrow, finally seeing through Bell's true intention.

But Bell didn't care at all and went on speaking.

"It's just about growth."

"I have confidence in myself. At the very least, I won't stay stuck at this level. I want to keep growing, to keep moving forward."

What a noble reason—growth.

Coming from a freak who hit Lv. 2 in less than a month, wasn't his growth already beyond absurd?

Loki grumbled internally, but she couldn't even begin to guess how high this kid's ceiling might be.

Most adventurers with goals and vision push their Status to the limit before each level-up. That's how they maximize each advancement and expand their future potential as much as possible.

Average adventurers typically aim for the baseline—getting their Status to around D-rank before leveling up. Those are the ones with mediocre talent.

The truly talented ones—people like Finn and Riveria—always grind until their Status hits the maximum before even considering an upgrade. That's the standard among Orario's top-tier adventurers.

Loki was certain the boy in front of her had done the same. But his speed in accumulating Status? Completely abnormal.

'To hit the limit in under a month?'

Loki immediately dismissed the idea that he was lacking in talent.

'Hmph. With that smug shorty always acting like she owned the world, could this kid really be untalented? If anything, he might be even more gifted than Finn.'

'If someone could hit their Status cap in less than a month, there had to be another explanation.'

'So he really does have some kind of ultra-rare skill... otherwise, how the hell could he grow this fast?'

Loki didn't know what the skill was, but it had to be something she'd never even heard of before—something ridiculously overpowered.

'Damn it! That shorty really is the worst!'

Right now, all Loki could think was: 'I'm so pissed off.'

Sure, her Familia had gained a huge advantage from this deal. She'd even learned about another child with a rare ability. And yet, deep inside, she felt like she'd lost.

That shorty—her eternal rival, who never failed to mock her flat chest—had done absolutely nothing. But somehow, she walked away with all the benefits.

Loki had done everything, but ended up with far less.

The disparity stung.

'Sometimes, it's not that you didn't earn enough—it's just that your rival earned more.'

She took a deep breath. Today alone, she'd probably forced her blood pressure to stabilize more times than in all her centuries in Tenkai dealing with annoying gods.

'The first time I lost to that shorty was because of Haruhime's intel.'

'The second was because of this kid's magic.'

'The third was also because of his personal ability and information.'

'What does that mean?'

'It means I, the great trickster goddess Loki, stepped into the same damn pit three times.'

'And worse, except for the second time, which was accidental—the first and third were my own doing.'

Still, after the worst of her anger passed, Loki began to sort through her thoughts.

'Although that shorty strutting around in front of me all day is annoying, if this kid really can improve quickly, it wouldn't be a bad thing for my Familia.'

Loki might have been irritated by the shorty, but she genuinely admired her child.

Starting from absolutely nothing and ending up stuck with a hopeless goddess like Hestia—Loki figured any adventurer would've lost it by now.

But this kid had turned everything around with his own abilities, reshaping the Hestia Familia's fate.

First, he used the Rune Stone business to win over Hephaestus. Then he drew in her own Familia with rare intelligence, stabilizing the once-tottering Hestia Familia like anchoring it to a rock.

And all the while, he never forgot to keep building strength for the future.

Loki figured that with this kind of cautious personality, he probably wouldn't reveal too much about himself until he felt completely secure.

Of course, no sane person would assume a kid who'd only been an adventurer for less than a month could be anything close to a veteran.

Even now, most of Orario believed Bell Cranel from the Hestia Familia just got lucky and happened upon a powerful magic.

But Loki was sure—it wasn't just luck.

'This kid has sharp eyes.'

He didn't even care about Lv. 6 adventurers. That alone showed his sights were set far higher.

'So, this alliance might actually turn out to be a good thing.'

At the rate he was growing, it wouldn't be long before he stepped into the third tier—or even the second.

"Interesting. You're from that shorty's Familia, but you're still pretty damn interesting."

Gods who lust for the unknown can't stand mysteries staring them in the face.

Right now, Loki saw this kid like a massive, unsolved puzzle cube—packed with secrets any god would go mad trying to uncover. But she wasn't especially into boys. She preferred cute girls with nice figures. So to her, the boy in front of her was just "interesting."

Not all gods feel the same.

"Hey, kid. We've been talking this long, and I still don't know your name. Tell me."

Bell didn't know why, but he gave his name anyway.

"Bell Cranel."

Loki mentally noted the name and stood up from the musty old chair.

"I'll remember that name. Let's see how far you go."

Then, with Bell looking a little dumbfounded, she turned and headed for the door.

Bell hesitated a bit, then raised his voice to make sure Loki-sama could hear him before she walked too far.

"Sorry to ruin your dramatic exit, but I haven't finished telling you about the bonus service."

Loki, who'd just pulled off a cool turn, froze in place.

The three giants of the Loki Familia immediately covered their mouths—and the next second, a soft "pfft" slipped out. They couldn't hold it in either.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Loki, why are you still standing there? Bell-kun's not even done yet. What are you showing off for?"

"Pfft! That's too good. Loki's still pretending to be cool over there like an idiot."

The one who broke first was, of course, Hestia, who'd been watching the whole scene for laughs from the start.

Seeing Loki's frozen, embarrassed expression, she burst out laughing.

"Aaaaaaaaagh!"

Face red with embarrassment, Loki snapped and lunged at Hestia like a wild animal.

And as the two goddesses wrestled, the true instigator stood calmly to the side, quietly thinking—

'I didn't expect Loki-sama to be such a show-off.'