The 'Celebration of Gods'. It was called that way because only Gods were allowed to attend. However, the host this time decided to change things up a bit.
Arriving at the venue, which was the Apollo Familia's Home, Kisuke and Hestia could see droves of Gods, along with their escort children, being welcomed inside.
The moonlight shone down on everyone on the street which made Hestia, in her white gown, glow even further. "You look great tonight, Hestia-sama~!", commented Kisuke.
Hestia also looked at him with a grin and replied, "I, on the other hand, was really surprised that you'd wear anything outside of your usual outfit. You should have seen how Artemis couldn't even take her eyes off of you."
Instead of his usual attire, Kisuke was wearing a gray suit that matched his eyes. His usual shaggy hair was also straightened and tied into a ponytail. This resulted in those who knew him to have contrasting feelings. The casual and shady man had become a very proper and mature gentleman.
If Hestia and Artemis didn't know any better, they'd certainly get scammed.
From behind, a voice suddenly called out to them, "My apologies, Hestia, Kisuke."
Hestia turned around and smiled, "Oh, Miach, you're here."
"Preparing everything for us, including these clothes, must not have been easy. Thank you.", added Miach, who was currently wearing a black suit.
"You don't have to think about that. You've taken care of me in the past so this was the least I could do."
On Miach's side, Naaza who was wearing a gown, expressed her gratitude to Kisuke, "Thank you very much."
Chuckling, Kisuke replied, "It's fine~! You've been taking care of Sona, Aika and Koneko, so the feeling is mutual."
"Now then, shall we head inside?", proposed Hestia and everyone agreed.
After they were welcomed by the children of Apollo Familia, they were led towards the hall of the mansion where the main event was being held. Arriving on the floor, Hestia immediately noticed some very familiar faces and approached them, "Hephaestus! Take!"
"You're finally here.", replied Hephaestus. Matching her flaming red hair, the red gown made her stand out even more.
"Good seeing you here, Miach." Takemikazuchi, on the other hand, was wearing traditional Far Eastern garb while his child, Mikoto, was wearing a tube gown with a Far Eastern motif.
Seeing her shy demeanor, Hestia commented, "You brought Mikoto, eh, Take? I heard about the incident the other day. Must've been tough."
Suddenly being talked to while trying her best to make herself inconspicuous, made her flinch, "Y-yes! B-but it was thanks to everyone, especially Bell-dono's efforts, that we were able to come back safely!"
"I see.", Hestia nodded in understanding and faced Hephaestus who seemed alone, "Who's accompanying you, Hephaestus? I don't see anyone."
Shrugging her shoulders, Hephaestus replied, "He's a strange one. Leaving me here to explore the party on his own."
But before they could continue that topic, someone's familiar voice interrupted them, "Hey, hey! Everybody's here!"
Hermes in a tuxedo came, "Let me join the fun!"
Beside him was Asfi, making a wincing face.
Making a doubtful expression, Takemikazuchi asked, "Why did you come over here?"
Hermes immediately complained at his reaction, "Hey, c'mon! Didn't we just work together? Don't leave me out in the cold!"
Not letting him say anything else, Hermes immediately turned his attention towards the children accompanying the Deities, "Hi there, Kisuke! Those clothes look good on you! And Naaza, wonderful dress! Got some butterflies in your stomach, Mikoto-chan? Your cute face is going to waste!!!"
"C-cute!!?" Mikoto immediately overreacted.
Seeing that, Hermes took the opportunity to make her blush even more by suddenly grabbing her hand and giving it a kiss.
"!?" Due to that, Mikoto instantly overheated and became at a loss on what to do.
Hermes, meanwhile, also instantly earned the ire of two people as he received a hard knock from the furious Takemikazuchi and a fierce kick in the butt by the fuming Asfi.
The chaotic scene immediately attracted the attention of the other guests in the vicinity, but when the Gods saw that it was just Hermes, they all lost interest.
The beat down only stopped when the host of the celebration came down to address all the attendees.
Coming down the stairs, Apollo greeted everyone while holding a glass of wine, "My guests, I'm glad to see you have all arrived. An idea came to me about how to make this event special. How do you like it? Dressing up the ones we hold most dear and bringing them to our celebration, what could be more delightful?"
"Seeing so many of my kin and the faces of their beloved children fills me with great joy. Tonight is a night destined to be filled with grand opportunities and new meetings. I have foreseen it." Kisuke then noticed how Apollo took a glance at him and immediately understood what that meant, 'Contempt, is it?'
Looking at everyone again, Apollo continued, "I have assembled the best wines and the freshest foods. The night is young. Enjoy yourselves." Apollo raised his cup and toast to everyone.
"I'll talk to Apollo later. Since we're already here, let's enjoy the party.", said Hestia to Kisuke.
The group then started talking about random things while Kisuke was also busy listening to what everyone around their group was talking about. Thanks to that, Kisuke was able to get a clearer picture of the power structure of Orario. After all, Gods do love bragging about the achievements of their children.
However, it was cut short when a certain pair approached them. "Would you look at that... The big cheese has arrived.", uttered Hermes with a genuine appreciation of beauty, "Freya and 'King' Ottar."
Despite wearing a suit, Ottar still looked like a barbarian due to his size, gait and grim expression. Freya, on the other hand, while wearing a low-cut dress that revealed a very large portion of her skin, still looked elegant and very confident.
Hephaestus touched her chin in wonderment, "First was Ganesha's celebration, and now this one... Like Artemis, Freya normally never comes out into public. This... It's weird, right."
Instead of speculating, Hestia directly asked her when she got close enough, "Hey, Freya. What are you doing here?"
"I merely came to say hello. It's a rare chance to see so many familiar faces at once.", replied Freya with a smile.
She then panned her eyes to other people and saw how the male Gods were looking at her 'attentively' while their children were making dark faces towards their Gods, acting all smitten.
Freya continued this until her eyes landed on Kisuke, which contrary to the other Gods and children, was looking at her with curiosity, "Oh?"
Meeting her eyes, Kisuke immediately greeted her, "It's a wonderful evening, Freya-sama."
Freya then suddenly commented, "You really are different from the rest."
While Miach and Takemikazuchi were making confused expressions, Hephaestus and Hermes' eyes sharpened with the latter smiling deeply. Hestia, on the other hand, became nervous and wanted to step in, but in the end, she trusted Kisuke.
Nevertheless, the man in question just chuckled and said, "What are you talking about, Freya-sama~? I'm just your run of a mill candy shop owner and an Adventurer on the side."
Of course, they instantly caught the lie. However, they don't know which was a lie, him being an ordinary shopkeeper or that being an Adventurer was just his side job. Either way, it was a lie that couldn´t expose the lie.
Regardless of that, Freya just brushed it off, "Fufufu, is that so? How amusing. I wonder what else you are hiding. I'm really curious."
"My~ I'm really flattered, but everyone's hiding a thing or two, and no one is exempted to that. On that note, I'm also curious about something regarding Freya-sama."
"Oh? What was that?", asked Freya, just to entertain him.
Kisuke then closed his eyes and thought, 'First and foremost, Cranel-san should be in the Hostess of Fertility right now since Miach-sama asked him to treat himself because he can't go with them. If she's really interested in Cranel-san, then the real her shouldn't be the one in front of me... Alright, let's poke the beehive~!'
Editors:
28th00: Poke it! POKE IT! Let the shitshow commence!
Alexander: Don´t do it. That would only lead to her becoming even more interested in him. And interest is the first step of love, or in her case obsession. I don't want to see that.
Staz Irvine
After reaching a decision, Kisuke opened his eyes and looked towards Freya with a smile, "Well, please forget it. It's nothing significant or interesting~."
Then for the first time ever since he stepped into this world, Kisuke used his soul-scrying eyes on a Deity.
As Kisuke went through her 'avatar', Kisuke didn't see her soul, but instead, a shell made out of Freya's soul's power, covering the true owner of the body, 'As expected. But 'twisting the fate of a mortal', huh. These Deities sure have strange abilities. If not for Ophis-chan, I wouldn't have noticed it without being given a clue.'
Although nothing of note changed in Kisuke's exterior and no one had noticed what he did, his target, 'Freya' had her eyes widened in shock and shuddered, not knowing where the creepy feeling came from. She inevitably closed her arms and unconsciously tried to cover herself and tried to stop her body from shaking.
.
.
.
Today was a busy night for the employees of the Hostess of Fertility, Syr was happily serving the customers, especially Bell, who had come here tonight. However, when she was bringing empty plates back to the kitchen, her eyes widened in shock and her body started to uncontrollably shudder.
As a result, the plates she was holding dropped, creating a ruckus. Ryuu immediately went beside her and asked in worry, "Syr, what happened? Are you alright?"
However, Syr didn't respond and Ryuu could see confusion within her eyes as she blankly stared at the scattered plates on the floor, "Syr?"
Only after Ryuu's second call, was Syr finally able to react. Syr faced her with a wry smile and replied, "...I'm fine. I just tripped on my feet."
But Ryuu didn't buy any of that for a second, "If you're feeling unwell, you should rest."
"I'm fine."
From the counter, both of them heard Mia's voice, "Syr, rest up. Go take some fresh air outside."
"B-but..."
Ignoring her, Mia continued, "Ryuu, cover for her."
Ryuu nodded and answered, "Understood."
Since there was no convincing them, Syr accepted it, "Alright. I'll rest up for a bit. Thanks, Ryuu."
"Just go on your way. We'll be fine here."
After some small farewells, Syr exited the pub through the back and immediately made her way towards the Tower of Babel, 'What's happened back there? What was that feeling?'
As soon as she'd arranged her thoughts, she immediately willed 'Freya' to return, 'Was it not a wise decision to not to see him myself?'
.
.
.
Back at the gathering, Ottar and the rest immediately noticed that something was amiss with Freya and asked, "Freya-sama, what's wrong?"
Freya's expression returned to normal and smiled, "It's nothing. Well then, I'll take my leave. Enjoy your evening. Until next time." She then walked away with a wave and Ottar followed closely behind.
After she left, Hestia approached Kisuke and whispered, "Did you do something?"
Kisuke, however, made a confused expression, "Should have I done something?"
"N-no... Don't cause a ruckus here."
Hermes, meanwhile, became suspicious regarding Freya's weird reaction and creased his brows, 'What happened? I know Freya wouldn't make a face like that without any good reason,' his sights then landed on Kisuke, 'Did he do something? But knowing Freya, she would have confronted him..., even if she's a fake one.'
While Freya left in an awkward fashion, the newcomer immediately broke that atmosphere, "Not even here for two seconds, and that vixen's already showing me up..."
Hestia turned towards the source of the familiar voice, "Loki?"
In a white suit, Loki 'greeted' Hestia, "Yo! Chibi! I see that ya learned how to wear a dress. You're acting so grown-up I could bust a gut!"
However, Hestia wasn't affected and snickered at her, "Just when did you get here? You're not the type to sneak around."
"Shut up! Two floppin' boobies stole my entrance, got that!?"
As usual, from the very moment they saw each other, they started arguing. One could say that they really got along very well.
While they were busy with each other, Kisuke approached Loki's companion, Ais.
"Good evening, Wallenstein-san~ You look absolutely gorgeous today~!"
Suddenly being complimented on a type of attire that she wore for the first time in her life, Ais was taken aback and became strangely embarrassed, resulting in her blushing fiercely, "...Thank you."
But before Kisuke could speak further, he felt a movement behind him and stepped to the side to dodge a hand chop aimed at his head, "You damned shady hat! Stop flirting with my Ais-tan!"
Of course, Kisuke immediately denied her accusation, "You misunderstand me, Loki-sama. It's a gentleman's obligation to compliment a lady~! Besides, I wasn't lying, was I?"
Despite that, Loki growled at him to defend her precious child from his poisonous claws, "I don't care! Don't use your gigolo skills on my Ais-tan!"
Due to the commotion they were causing, they attracted others' attention yet again, but this time, they couldn't turn away due to the individuals involved, "H-hey... Look, it seems that the Gigolo Master is making a move on the Sword Princess!"
"What!? Even the Sword Princess!? Does he have a death wish or something?"
"Kukuku~! I can't wait to see Loki stomp that kid!"
"You idiot! Look closely! Loki seems to be... desperately protecting the Sword Princess?"
"Hmmm... Wait... What!? What does this mean!?"
"C-could he perhaps have a chance?"
That question from one Deity raised even more ruckus from the surroundings and various groups started talking about the topic until someone raised Riveria's name and discussed her suspicious relationship with the Hestia Familia's Captain.
At this point, not just jealousy but also a bit of admiration came emanating from both male Deities and their children. Though their resentment hadn't changed at all.
Meanwhile, Loki and Kisuke could only stare at each other with stiff expressions.
After a few seconds of awkward silence between them, Kisuke finally spoke up, "This isn't what I had in mind."
"Then you clearly underestimated how infamous you are. Damn you... You can take Riveria, but I won't allow you to take Ais-tan!"
"I'm not taking anyone!"
"Looks like he's even worse than you... by a lot.", whispered Hermes to Takemikazuchi.
"Stop implying that I'm a womanizer."
At that point, both of them noticed that Freya and Ottar left for good. They thought that they'd stay for a few more moments but it seemed that they were wrong.
Kisuke had also noticed this as he had been taking note of their movements, but this wasn´t the one that caught his attention. It was actually a familiar person who had just arrived in a hidden corner of Apollo's mansion, 'Syr?... Hmm... Looks like I shook the hornet's nest too strongly. I didn't think that she'd come over here. I wonder if I should confront her?'
Loki noticed that Kisuke had lost track of their conversation and started thinking about something else. Being curious, she asked, "What's up? Planning something nasty yet again?"
Ever since Kisuke revealed his true abilities to her Familia, Loki already guessed that he was the one behind the nightmare that she'd been experiencing. She also guessed that he was one of those who proclaimed themselves as the 'Crimson Apocalypse Thieving Group.'
She wanted to ask him about it and their goal that night, until a certain possibility crossed her mind. As it was at the same time as the 'nightmare' happened, the ridiculous thought of them wreaking havoc throughout the whole city because Kisuke didn't like his Alias came to her.
She wanted to brush that possibility off, but after seeing the connection and timing, she became scared and chose not to say anything regarding that. After all, she was the one who approved of his Alias.
"Nah, I just thought of something." Kisuke then turned to Hestia and said, "Hestia-sama, I'll be exiting for a moment to do something. I'll be back later."
"What are you going to do?"
"Sort out some things."
Editors:
28th00: Ah, doesn’t feel so good to be on the receiving end of that perverted soul-scry, huh? HUH!? DON’T FEEL SO GOOD NOW, DOES IT!? I expected this to be the Apollo incident, but so far, we’re messing with Loki and Freya. Weird.
Alexander: All fine and well, but I was hoping for some dancing with Kisuke and Hestia. Maybe Hephaestus, too. Would´ve been a good opportunity for some romance progression.