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.
Syr sighed as she looked up at Apollo's mansion from a hidden corner only illuminated by the moonlight, 'Haah... What did I come here for?'
Through her connection with 'Freya', Syr had already heard what just happened. Although she had no concrete evidence, the strange sensation they both felt certainly came from Kisuke Urahara, one of the individuals that were shrouded in mystery.
Due to her intense curiosity, she ended up turning a corner and headed to this place instead of returning to the tower. But after coming here, she'd already decided against calling him out as any method to do so would attract attention, especially from Loki and Hephaestus, who were strangely protective of him.
'They are certainly aware of some of his secrets. I wonder what kind of secrets they are, to make them act this way?' Syr questioned herself as she turned on her heels and decided to meet up with 'Freya' and Ottar to directly hear from them about what just happened, as there were certain limitations with the connection they had.
After a minute of walking, Syr arrived at the small opening surrounded by trees and illuminated by shiny moonlight and abruptly stopped in her tracks. She already walked over this spot when she came to watch Apollo's mansion, but the sudden changes in it made her jumped a little as a familiar figure greeted her with a smile while setting up a table with a bottle of wine and two wine glasses, "Oh hey, fancy meeting you here, Syr-san~!"
With widened eyes, Syr muttered his name, "Kisuke Urahara..."
After being taken aback for a few seconds, she recomposed herself and rearranged her thoughts before replying with a bright smile, "Good evening, Kisuke-san, but I don't think that this is a coincidence."
Kisuke just chuckled, "Well, that's not really important. It seems that you're free, so why don't you join me for a cup of wine?"
Sighing, Syr's face was filled with regret, "I'd really like to accept your offer, but I still have to return to my work later. As you've probably noticed, Mia-san's sense of smell is fantastic and I would be instantly discovered. If she were to notice that I drank some alcohol, I wouldn't hear the end of it. I'd like you to forgive me for that."
"Ah, I'm sorry too for not considering that. Then how about a cup of hot chocolate?"
"I'd love to, but I can only see a bottle of wine on you. Should we move somewhere else?"
"There's no need. The cold wind will make the hot choco even tastier. Please sit down~."
Syr was confused at his actions and wondered where he would be getting the hot drink. He'd be incredibly rude if he were to leave her here out of nowhere and make her wait for the drink, but she also knew that Kisuke wasn´t that kind of person from the times they'd interacted.
After helping Syr sitting down on the chair, Kisuke pulled out a typical small Adventurer's bag from behind a tree. Wondering what he was about to do with it, the thought that the hot drink would be coming from such a small bag never crossed Syr's mind.
She was shocked to see that Kisuke suddenly picked up the fragile wine glasses and bottle and put it inside the bag. But when she was about to scold him for not handling the glasswares properly, Kisuke suddenly took out a steel pitcher and placed it on the table.
From the sound it made at the moment it hit the table and the smell it produced, Syr was able to figure out what was inside it and how full it was. On top of that, a little bit of steam was coming out from the top, "...Hot milk?"
But Kisuke wasn't done yet. Without resolving Syr's confusion, Kisuke kept taking things out of the small bag that was already far beyond its capacity.
Being dumbfounded, Syr asked, "...What's that?"
"It's just a bag with some tricks on it.", said Kisuke. He set the bag aside and started moving the things he just took out, asking Syr how she wanted her hot chocolate.
After a minute, Kisuke was able to finish making two cups of hot chocolate with different flavors according to their preferences.
Syr stared at her steamy cup of hot chocolate with a generous amount of marshmallows and dark chocolate shavings before looking back up to Kisuke who was now opening some boxes which contained some snacks that could pair with the hot chocolate, "Please try it~."
Picking the cup and blowing on it, Syr took a sip and her eyes immediately shone like stars, "It's sweet, but not too sweet! It's also creamy and the bitter aftertaste is delectable! No doubt, this is by far, the best hot chocolate that I've ever tried!"
"I'm honored that a Deity could praise my brew~ Please try some lightly salted snacks too. It should go well with the sweet chocolate."
Since Syr had already guessed that he was aware of her true identity, she wasn't shocked by that much and just continued to enjoy her drink and tried some snacks. Thankfully, they were now sitting in front of each other and they could slowly go over that topic as they conversed naturally.
After silently enjoying the cold breeze with the hot drink in her hands for a few minutes, Syr finally spoke up, "Kisuke-san, could you tell me more about that bag? It should be an item that has space laws rewritten inside of it."
"More specifically, space and gravity laws were slightly modified to enlarge the space inside it, not translating the weight to outside and stabilizing its contents."
"Then it's really a revolutionary item that could start all sorts of things, ranging from wars to smuggling. I didn't even know that this kind of magic item existed in the Lower World. I presume Loki and Hephaestus are already aware of this?"
After taking a sip from his cup, Kisuke answered, "I supplied a few sets to both of them."
Syr smiled brightly and asked, "I wonder if you could supply a few to my Familia, too?"
"My~ Even though I'm aware that you're a Deity, I'm still not sure which Familia you are leading~."
Syr was surprised that Kisuke was actually telling the truth, "You're still not sure? Even with all those clues?"
Chuckling, Kisuke replied, "Everything was just my guess and there's no way I'll consider something like that as being sure."
"Hmm, fair point. How were you able to confirm that I'm a Deity anyway? Is it thanks to that child?"
"I'd like to keep that to myself."
"Ehhh~? Then why did you come to meet me if you're not going to tell me anything?"
Kisuke then looked straight into her eyes and said, "Well, there are just a few things I'd like to clarify, Freya-sama."
Editors:
28th00: Truly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled out a Phis-chama from his bag one day if it’s full of snacks. Loli Dragon Carrier.
Alexander: Freya behaves like a child in this chapter, enjoying hot chocolate with marshmallows. Just my opinion, but I would never put marshmallows in my hot chocolate. Maybe cream, or an amaretto shot, or both. Dammit, now I want one, too. But wars and smuggling as the first two options for his bag, eh? Bad goddess, you.need education.