The morning after the incident, Bell sat up in bed.
'Ah… There are already two at home, so why are there two more outside?'
Glancing at Hestia and Hephaestus still sound asleep beside him, Bell felt his mood calm somewhat.
But yesterday hadn't exactly gone smoothly.
After he returned home, both Hestia and Hephaestus learned that Loki and Freya had confessed their love for him—and those two goddesses were nothing if not jealous.
Thankfully, his body was fairly sturdy; otherwise, he might not have survived their alternating "assaults."
Still, his return hadn't been without its price.
Today, he'd need to have a serious talk with those two goddesses—and this time, he intended to include Hestia and Hephaestus in the discussion.
After all, Loki's and Freya's intentions were now completely out in the open. One way or another, Hestia and Hephaestus needed to be aware of them.
'Seven Deadly Sins… you've really done me dirty this time.'
Having goddesses express affection might sound exciting, but once the number exceeded two, it was no longer thrilling—it became a question of survival amid divine competition.
The real problem was that the sins he needed to collect—Sloth and Lust—happened to belong to Loki and Freya. That was the worst part of it all.
"Mmm~"
"Damn flat board… even you're trying to steal him..."
Hestia's murmured dream-talk made Bell break out in a cold sweat.
'Sorry, Hestia.'
He'd chosen Hestia from the start and had no intention of forming deep bonds with other women. But somehow, he'd ended up entangled with multiple goddesses.
Even Bell himself found that unbelievable.
To be honest, aside from his fast-developing relationship with Hephaestus, his interactions with Loki had mostly been filled with arguments, and Freya was someone he had always gone out of his way to avoid.
Yet somehow, two of them had taken a liking to him. It was absurd.
'Yesterday's status update confirmed there's no sign of any "Charm" ability. So I definitely don't have the potential to become some kind of male succubus.'
At least, according to the data, he lacked any trait that could naturally attract goddesses.
'Could it be that Loki's tomboyish personality made us click after too much contact?'
That possibility couldn't be dismissed outright.
After all, he'd done quite a bit of business with Loki. Because of their frequent dealings, he'd even opened a passage from his home to hers.
If that were truly the reason, then maybe relationships between boys and tomboyish goddesses weren't all that innocent after all.
'From now on, no matter what kind of goddess I meet, I should keep my distance.'
But as Bell thought about the two goddesses by his side and the two harboring feelings for him—together, the four most influential goddesses in all of Orario—it seemed nearly impossible for him to avoid them altogether.
Besides, it wasn't as if he had any reason to get close to other goddesses anyway.
He'd approached Hephaestus to earn his first fortune in Orario.
He'd worked with Loki to secure a forward position and a goal to strive toward.
As for Freya... he'd never once tried to approach her. She was the one who had fixated on him.
...
At that same moment, the Grand Casino was completely surrounded by the Ganesha Familia.
All of its operators had been arrested, along with the thugs who'd helped them run their gray-market operations. It was clear the Familia intended to settle the casino's debts once and for all.
Outside, beyond the Ganesha Familia and the detained casino staff, stood envoys from various nations outside Orario. They had been dispatched overnight after hearing rumors of the casino's internal chaos.
But none of them felt like investigating now—because the moment they arrived, they were greeted by the booming voice of the Ganesha Familia Captain delivering a stern address.
"Round up every attendant, waiter, and hostess here—there may be undercover members of Evilus or Spirit-modified humans among them!"
That single command left everyone completely stunned.
They all knew that something serious had happened at the Grand Casino, but they hadn't expected it to involve both Evilus and the Spirits.
These were people who always kept a close watch on Orario's affairs—after all, their business interests were deeply tied to the city. How could they possibly ignore even surface-level information from Orario?
Besides, whatever happened in Orario directly affected the casino's operations. That was a matter of pure profit—nothing to take lightly.
So they understood perfectly well what kind of relationship existed between Orario, Evilus, and the Spirits.
And because they understood, they were even more shocked.
They exchanged nervous glances, and one of them was reluctantly pushed forward.
Under the anxious stares of his companions, the chosen envoy stepped ahead, his voice trembling as he carefully asked,
"Ankusha, are you saying… there are Evilus and Spirit-modified human infiltrators inside the Grand Casino?"
Shakti's beautiful eyes turned cold, her gaze carrying a chill that made the man's blood run cold.
"This is an investigation."
Without another unnecessary word, Shakti turned away to issue further orders, her tone firm and audible to all around her.
"Continue investigating the connections between Evilus, the Spirits, and those nations."
That statement left the envoys completely dumbfounded.
As the situation spiraled further out of control, panic set in—they were just short of dropping to their knees before Shakti.
"Ankusha! This has nothing to do with our country!"
"Nothing to do with you?"
Hearing their protests, Shakti turned back, her expression frosty.
"The operators your nation endorsed were modified by the Spirits, and you claim you didn't know?"
"The same operators had dealings with Evilus, and you still claim ignorance?"
Each word sent cold sweat running down the envoys' backs.
In truth, they really didn't know anything about this.
None of their past communications or intelligence reports had mentioned anything like it—this was the first time they'd ever heard of such a connection.
"Just yesterday, your operators devoured countless nobles from various nations in plain sight and even started fighting inside the Grand Casino."
"Do you think a simple 'we didn't know' is enough to wash your hands of it?"
Gulp...
All the envoys swallowed hard. They knew that, even if they truly hadn't known, there was no escaping responsibility now.
There was no way this would be brushed aside.
They had really torn open a disaster of monumental proportions.
...
For more chapters, feel free to follow me on P@treon.
(100 Chapters Ahead)
[email protected]/PinkSnake
...
New Fic: Danmachi: There's Absolutely Nothing Wrong With Seeking a Harem