Busy until midnight, Bell finally emerged from the underground workshop.
"Haaah…"
He took a deep breath, letting air fill his lungs before slowly exhaling. A small moment to relax.
The workshop had proper ventilation—never dry, never stuffy, never foul—but Bell always felt the air aboveground was fresher.
Maybe it was because everything down there felt a bit… gloomy.
He muttered to himself, sniffed at his clothes, then decided he definitely needed a bath before sleeping.
Even if he only had a year left, making time to breathe fresh air was still necessary.
Bell returned to his room.
"Yo, welcome back."
Loki was already sprawled across the large bed.
She wore a plain white bathrobe—clearly without anything underneath. Her pale skin practically glowed beneath the fabric.
Lying on her side, the robe failed to hide the long legs exposed beneath it, intentional or not.
Bell had seen Loki like this countless times.
Yet somehow, every time felt different—almost like a new experience.
"Heh~ Falling for me, aren't you?"
Loki asked smugly.
"Yes."
Ever since he stopped suppressing his desire for the goddesses and allowed himself to see them as women, Bell had been captivated.
"I've been captivated for a long time, actually."
As he spoke, he sat down at the bedside. Seeing Loki reclined like a painting, he instinctively reached out to pull her robe back into place where it had slipped at her waist.
"What are you doing? Just look properly if you want to."
Loki grumbled, but still tugged the robe closed and lifted her hand—clearly signaling for Bell to pull her up.
"Sometimes it's fine. Sometimes it's not."
Bell sighed, taking her raised hand and pulling her upright. His other arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her into his embrace.
"I'm saying that all of you fascinate me—even without doing things like this."
"And Loki, don't pretend you're some kind of expert. That night, I was the one who made the first move. You were just like Hestia at the start—maybe even more… innocent."
If you hadn't personally experienced it, you'd never believe Loki was more pure than any goddess.
On the surface she was a shameless pervert, always flirting and telling dirty jokes, but in truth she was just a kid using theory to act grown-up.
Remembering how that night unfolded, Bell couldn't help but laugh.
The words hit Loki hard—her face instantly flushed bright red as she jumped to her feet.
"Ah! Don't say it, don't say it!"
That day—her most important and most embarrassing day—she had acted just like a clueless girl who'd never seen the world, completely led along by Bell from start to finish. Even now, whenever Loki remembered it, she wanted to crawl into a hole.
Mortified, Loki suddenly clamped both hands around Bell's neck, her flushed face inches from his.
"Did you do that on purpose? You knew that day was when I was at my most humiliating!"
"Did I?"
Bell wasn't trying to tease her—he genuinely meant what he said.
"I actually thought you were pretty cute that day. You showed the most 'girlish' side of yourself."
Loki went scarlet from head to toe.
"Ahh! You really are my natural enemy!"
She shook Bell's neck wildly, looking for all the world like she intended to murder her own husband.
Before Loki could commit actual homicide, Bell quickly pulled her tightly into his arms, locking her movements.
Loki couldn't move—but Bell still could.
He leaned in close to her ear, speaking softly and sincerely:
"Honestly, I really did think you were adorable that day."
The warm breath brushing her ear made Loki's entire ear flush red.
She knew Bell wasn't good with sweet talk, so every word he said was genuine.
And sometimes… sincerity was the most embarrassing thing of all.
Loki felt her whole body going strange.
So Loki wasn't an unlovable tomboy after all, huh? Bell couldn't help thinking as he looked at her.
The more he understood her, the more he saw her, the more adorable she became. It was just that sometimes, she needed a bit of… provocation for that side to show.
He glanced at the time. It was already late.
A faint wave of fatigue washed over him. He stifled a yawn. Sleep tugged at him.
But a shower came first.
Whatever came after, being clean was important for the next
steps.
With that in mind, Bell lifted Loki in his arms.
"Let's take a shower first."
"Huh? So early?"
Loki instinctively checked the time. It was only a little past nine. Definitely early for Bell to call it a night.
"You're not continuing your Authority research today?"
"No. I need to rest for a day. The workshop is still running the Time Authority—so I can't do anything else anyway."
Loki immediately understood.
"Your workshop is still running? Normally you'd never leave it unattended. And everything inside is still active."
Bell was the cautious type—he'd never leave something dangerous running without supervision.
Carrying Loki toward the bathroom, Bell didn't deny it.
"Some things just need time to condense. I can't keep staring at them the whole time. And besides, I'm still controlling the Authority from here—it's basically a trial run."
"That 'trial run' sounds a bit too big. Are you rushing things?"
Her worry wasn't baseless. Bell knew he was rushing—too much. But he had no other choice.
"I can't help it. I went to see Ais today—she's still tearing through the dungeon like a madwoman. I can tell she's on the verge of destroying herself."
"Huh?"