Chapter 231: Loki, Watching the Show, Was Shocked

Loki, who was still teasing Hestia, turned at the sound and shifted her gaze from the shorty to behind her.

Hephaestus looked a little different today—her smile was practically glowing, and it caught Loki completely off guard.

'Do those two... have some kind of complicated relationship?'

Loki had spent plenty of time around Hephaestus, but it was rare to see her this happy. And when Hephaestus was in a good mood, did she ever look this radiant?

That realization made Loki lose interest in the shorty for now. She let go and stood quietly to the side, listening in on their conversation.

"You've got a lot on your plate coming up."

"Yeah. Making a living is important, and since Loki-sama has already paid me in full, I can't exactly slack off."

Honestly, Bell could have delayed Loki Familia's order, but that wasn't an option anymore.

He had so many things lined up that if he didn't take care of them now, he wasn't sure he'd have the time—or the energy—to come back and handle the Rune Stone orders.

"Aside from the order, we also need to arrange the test as soon as possible. Otherwise, we might not keep up with Loki Familia's expedition schedule."

The monster testing was another big issue, and Bell had to start preparing for that too.

Just thinking about all of it made his shoulders ache. It was clear he wouldn't be getting any rest for a while.

"Who told you to cram everything together like this?"

Hephaestus gave Bell a playful flick on the forehead.

"I didn't have a choice this time—it really just happened all at once."

Bell rubbed the spot where she'd tapped him, looking helpless. He hadn't meant to stack everything up, but things just didn't go according to plan. Thankfully, he had a habit of stockpiling supplies. He'd already finished most of the items in Loki-sama's order—except the Attribute Rune Stones, which were the bulk of it.

They were simple to make, but the sheer volume made things difficult.

"I didn't prepare enough this time. Totally underestimated the demand for 'Attribute Stones'."

"You're running into the Dungeon, training your Status, and fulfilling Loki's order—you're doing way too much lately."

Hephaestus didn't hide her concern.

"I really think you need to manage your time better. Finish Loki's order first, then move on to other stuff. If you dive into the Dungeon like this, I'm not even sure you'll make it back out."

Bell gave a wry smile. He knew his routine had been completely thrown off, but with everything going on lately, what could he do?

In fact, Bell hadn't wanted to get involved with the "Monsterphilia" at all—it would've saved him a lot of time for making Rune Stones. But he hadn't avoided it. Not only that, he'd dragged Freya Familia into it and now had to figure out how to deal with them.

That just made an already tight schedule even more stressful—and that was what really had Bell feeling overwhelmed.

"Hephaestus-sama, I'll get some rest once I finish my work.

I don't like messing around with my safety, and I have no intention of spending my whole life in the Dungeon."

He absolutely needed time to rest, and he also had to make room to investigate monsters in the Middle Floors.

Bell had always prioritized monster intel for safety reasons.

Of course, he'd been taking better care of his body lately too. Even though he could now go several days without sleep, he still forced himself to make time for it. Otherwise, his mental state would definitely fall apart.

To squeeze out even a little extra time these days, he had to rely on runes to help with sleep again.

What a pain. He had just gotten used to sleeping without them, and now he was back to working overtime.

Just thinking about it made his trigeminal nerve throb.

Hephaestus shook her head slightly, lowered her propped-up leg, and gently patted it.

"Go ahead and take a nap now."

"Loki and Hestia might not..."

"Gu-gu..."

Suddenly, Hestia popped in with puffed cheeks, squeezing herself right between Bell and Hephaestus.

She shot Hephaestus a jealous glare.

"Hephaestus, what are you doing?"

Caught in the act, Hephaestus looked a little awkward. She had assumed Loki and Hestia would keep bickering for a while longer—she didn't expect them to settle so quickly...

"Ahem, I just thought since Bell's going to be busy later, he should rest a bit."

That made Hestia grit her teeth in envy.

"So you let Bell-kun nap on your lap?"

Hephaestus blushed slightly, but she didn't back down.

"What's the harm? It's just a short nap."

From the sidelines, Loki's grin started to twist with amusement.

Now she was absolutely certain there was something unusual between Hephaestus and Bell—and Hephaestus wasn't even trying to hide it. She was being shockingly bold.

"Oho~ Shorty, looks like Freya's not the only one eyeing your kid—Hephaestus is in on it too."

Loki, ever the mischief-monger, was thoroughly enjoying the show and hoping things would escalate. Watching two goddesses fight over one guy? That was entertainment.

But Hestia and Hephaestus shot her matching glares at once.

"Loki, shut up."

"Yeah! Loki, this is between me and Hestia. Stay out of it."

Faced with Loki, the two instantly joined forces.

That took Loki by surprise. But after studying Hestia and Hephaestus's expressions—and their rather delicate behavior toward Bell—an odd thought crept into her mind.

"You two... aren't seriously going all in, are you?"

The idea made Loki's lips twitch. This drama was getting juicier than she'd expected.

"I figured only Freya would pull something like this... No, that vixen just has an extreme possessiveness."

"She's not nearly as creative as you two."

Freya's possessiveness was legendary. If she wanted something, she'd make sure to claim it.

But Hestia and Hephaestus weren't acting out of simple jealousy—it was more like competitive affection.

Almost like they were fighting over who could win more of him over.

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

p@treon com / PinkSnake