Fate can be so merciless at times. When you seek it, it remains forever elusive. When you desire it, it throws every obstacle in your path.
At this moment, Freya desperately wanted to smash fate itself, just to see what kind of force was standing in her way. Ultimately, it was fate's wall blocking her and Bell from each other. But despite knowing this, Freya lacked the power to tear down that wall.
"Fate is truly cruel..." she muttered, her voice tinged with frustration. To stop her progress at a time like this felt especially bitter.
Bell stayed silent. Clearly, he was one favored by fate; he had no right to complain about it. He could have asked Freya, just like he did in his past life,
"Why not focus your attention on someone else?"
But such words would have been the cruelest thing he could say to a goddess. After all, for a goddess, her affection is singular—purer than any other emotion. There's no need to question its value. Even if it were utterly worthless, Freya-sama would still choose this path.
"That's exactly why I try to avoid getting too close to others," Bell thought to himself. Whether they're gods or mortals, prolonged contact inevitably leads to mutual influence. This influence could be positive or negative. Everyone has their own path. Bell knew his, and so he preferred not to engage too deeply with too many people. Of course, part of this might be due to his own awkwardness with social interactions.
Freya didn't dwell on her complaints for long. Fate truly was unreasonable, but life had to go on. Besides, they had already reached an understanding on the topic of 'sharing,' so there was little left to argue about.
"You really are a bad boy," Freya said, still holding Bell in her arms. She couldn't help but mutter the complaint under her breath.
It was because this bad boy was so irresistibly captivating. Even though he had been avoiding her all this time, he made her sense something unique about him. This sparked an overwhelming curiosity, driving her to investigate him relentlessly. In the end, she confirmed that this troublemaker was exactly the person she had been looking for—though it was a bit too late, leaving her actions completely reactive.
After a long moment, Freya finally released Bell from her embrace.
"Alright, now it's your turn to prepare."
"Mhm."
After briefly scanning the room's interior, Bell selected a relatively secluded spot as his landing point. He set up some protective barriers near the chosen area before beginning to construct the spatial coordinates.
Establishing the spatial coordinates was straightforward. By linking the specific space using Runic Letters, the task was complete. Of course, some additional safeguards were essential—better safe than sorry.
Bell had no concerns about Freya. The goddess's charm was beyond human endurance; unless she consented, who could withstand a deity's control? So, worrying about Freya was unnecessary.
Still, precautionary measures were necessary as a final resort. What needed to be arranged had to be done.
The coordinates and passageway arrangements were swiftly finalized. Once these tasks were completed, Bell turned and approached Freya-sama.
"Freya-sama, please extend your hand."
"Mhm."
Bell reached out, turned Freya's right hand palm-up, and lightly tapped several Runic Letters onto her knuckles with his fingers—a form of authorization for coordinate usage.
"I also applied a special safeguard."
"Yes. Just in case, I've taken corresponding measures with Loki-sama and Hephaestus to prevent any unintended disturbances from accidentally entering the spatial passage."
"Just in case..."
That phrase gave Freya a slight headache. It was precisely this child's excessive caution that had caused her to fall behind in reconnaissance efforts before. By the time she truly realized it, it was already far too late.
She'd assumed this kid's caution was directed solely at her, but it turned out he was this meticulous with everyone. It could only be described as a deep-seated condition.
"This condition of yours runs deep," she commented.
"Sometimes, you're just too cautious."
"Perhaps it's simply because you've been pushed to a point where caution became a necessity."
Growing up with extreme caution, acting with meticulous care. Essentially, every step of his growth had been taken with extreme caution—otherwise, gathering intelligence on this child wouldn't have been so difficult.
Freya believed Bell must have faced troubles and hardships during his upbringing, but those obstacles likely never pushed him to the point of having to fight for his life.
"Rather than facing an irreversible crisis on the spot, I prefer to possess sufficient strength to resolve any trouble before it even arises," Bell said.
This was his approach. He diligently built his strength precisely to avoid being powerless when trouble struck. In actual combat, various factors often prevented one from unleashing their full power. To prevent that, he needed to calibrate his abilities to a level where he could perform consistently.
Therefore, he only used his Authority during training or pressure-free battles. After all, Authority was truly too versatile. The moment he became dependent on it, his strength would plummet if he couldn't use it. To prevent that, Bell consciously minimized his reliance on Divine Powers in daily life.
"You, Bell. What you lack isn't strength—it's a sense of security," Freya remarked.
Over these past two days, as their interactions increased, Freya gradually began to understand Bell's character.
"You dislike group living not because you lack leadership ability, but because you refuse to lead. Because you don't trust others."
Truthfully, if Bell truly wished to, Freya believed he could have gathered all the children entrusted to Loki Familia into Hestia's Familia. But Bell hadn't done that. He'd simply pushed them all toward Loki's side.
Bell wasn't without talent; he possessed ample ability. It was just that his lack of security made him outright reject such possibilities.
"That's why you chose Hestia."
Bell paused briefly before speaking.
"...Does Freya-sama know?"
"Others might not be as sensitive as I am, but I'm quite perceptive in this regard."
Indeed, after understanding Bell's nature, Freya knew from the start that his choice of Hestia was precisely because no one in Hestia's Familia was involved. He hadn't been after Hephaestus from the start—Hestia was his primary target.
No, to be more precise, what Bell had sought from the beginning was a deity who could accept him as her follower, one who wouldn't prick his already hypersensitive nerves.