"Let's go."
Freshly changed, Loki stepped out of the dressing room looking crisp and clean, casually slinging an arm over Sawada Tsunayoshi's shoulder.
A camisole, a single ponytail, and shorts that bared her thighs—her getup was nothing like the proper young-lady image Tsunayoshi had expected. With her arm hooked around his shoulder, she felt more like a boy his age than any prim heiress.
"What? Never seen someone like me?"
"Not often. You don't feel like a young lady—you feel more like a boy."
Loki didn't get angry; she chuckled instead.
"Ma~ I hear that a lot, especially from a certain little shorty."
She sounded cheerful at first, but when she said "little shorty," Tsunayoshi could clearly hear her grit her teeth. That itchy, biting tone made it obvious how Loki felt about this "shorty."
A mix of anger, a bit of resignation, and a hefty dose of envy.
"Tsunayoshi, tell me—am I pretty?"
"Mm. You are."
There was no way to deny it. Aside from being a bit flat and a touch boyish in manner, Loki was undeniably cute and pretty.
"Right~"
The corners of her mouth lifted—barely under control. She didn't even need her lie-detecting trick to know he meant it.
"Even if I'm boyish and my figure's not very girly, I'm still gorgeous, right~"
As a goddess, this was the one point Loki held absolute confidence in.
No god is ever lacking in looks.
"So, how do you feel about my personality?"
"How? Well, nothing strange, really. Where I'm from, boyish girls tend to be the lively type—they get along with guys and can talk easily in a group. They're usually popular. Some boyish girls are even popular among girls, too."
"Oh~ that so~?"
"Yeah. Some boyish girls don't even try to act cool; it just leaks out unconsciously, and that attitude attracts a lot of girls' attention. As for you, Loki-sama… you'd be super popular with guys. I feel like you could hang out and play with a lot of them."
"Ahahaha~"
When it isn't flattery, it sounds pretty nice, Loki thought.
That said, gods of the opposite sex shouldn't be catching 'feelings' for her anyway. Loki didn't believe her personality upstairs would appeal to male gods. Those guys had big enough guts if they didn't avoid her outright. Compared to the gods up there, the kids down here were a lot cuter. Loki didn't care much for those male gods—just like that "shorty." The deities above were all a chaotic bunch, nothing like the children below.
"So, Tsunayoshi, you like my type, then?"
"Eh? Me… I'm not great at dealing with girls. Maybe it's my personality—I didn't interact much with people my age. My hobbies are camping, climbing, swimming, and fishing, so I didn't overlap much with classmates. But if you force me to answer… yeah, I do like girls who are a bit boyish, like you, Loki-sama."
Pretty, a little boyish, not fussy—what guy wouldn't like that? Tsunayoshi couldn't help picturing Loki. He figured lots of guys would like a girl like her, even if her figure was average.
Dating a girl you can actually play alongside is every guy's dream—as long as your interests match. Tsunayoshi was sure of it.
"You really do know how to say nice things!"
Loki fell quiet for a heartbeat, then grinned. Her gaze, though, drifted a little—especially after she confirmed he was being sincere. She felt a jumble of emotions: awkwardness, excitement, and an amused thrill—like she'd been confessed to out of nowhere.
This kid is mine. In that instant, Loki made up her mind. No matter what, she couldn't let anyone else snatch him away.
With that thought, she quickened her pace, still hooked around Tsunayoshi's shoulder.
They soon stopped before a door. Loki pushed it open and, arm still slung over him, declared her sovereignty.
"Finn, this kid's mine."
She looked as smug as if she'd just scored the deal of a lifetime. Finn, Gareth, and Riveria could only feel their eyelids twitching.
Just moments earlier, they'd been discussing the intruder who appeared during Loki's bath. Before they'd reached any conclusion, Loki brought the culprit herself—and announced she'd already recruited him into the Familia.
It was… a bit slapdash.
But seeing Loki's excitement, all three instinctively turned to the boy who'd "invaded" Loki's bath.
He didn't look very old. About Loki's height—taller than a Pallum—seemingly a pure human rather than a demi-human at first glance.
As captain, Finn hesitated, then couldn't help asking:
"Loki, did you pick him because you know how he slipped into your bath?"
"What kind of question is that! What are you implying! Do I look that shallow to you?"
Loki's eyebrow jumped as she fired back.
I think you do, Finn nearly said aloud, but he held his tongue. Better to hear her out.
"As for the reason, I'm not spelling it out. That's better left unknown—if Hermes gets wind of it, he'll poke at it and bring me trouble."
That serious? Finn hadn't expected that. He nodded slightly and stopped fussing over the bath incident. He trusted Loki not to joke when it came to business.
"As for the other reason—it's because this kid is super strong. If he can fully master his ability, even if those two from three years ago came back to life, they wouldn't be his match."
…Seriously?
Finn, Riveria, and Gareth traded looks of disbelief.
Three years ago, during the era of the Great War, Orario and the Dark Faction clashed head-on. Among the most troublesome enemies were "Silence" of the former Hera Familia and "Gluttony" of the former Zeus Familia.
And now Loki was saying the boy she'd just picked up could defeat those two Lv.7 monsters from the Great War?
(End of Chapter)
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