Zeus and Hera, who had also been watching the spectacle from the back row, wore peculiar expressions—Zeus's especially.
"Never thought Loki would be the one to speak up for that kid."
He had originally assumed it would be Freya or Hephaestus. Yet, the very last person who should have defended Bell was the first to stand up.
"And she's openly backing that brat with her full strength. That kid must be holding something over her, right?"
"More likely a favor."
Hera agreed with Zeus's reasoning. Blackmail was unlikely. A debt of gratitude, however, was very possible.
"For someone in Loki Familia to break into Level 8 so quickly… I'd wager that kid had a hand in it. He probably warned Loki beforehand to prepare for today's situation."
"But even then, a favor like that is only good once."
That was the nature of favors—once used, the help you could expect was limited to a single instance.
Loki was a god who honored her agreements, but she could only extend her goodwill once. Unless Loki had a personal, direct connection with the boy, there would almost certainly not be a second time.
Zeus felt the same, though he wasn't too concerned about what came next.
"With what we know of that kid's personality, he wouldn't burn a favor lightly. He must be at a critical moment."
Hera thought so too.
If Loki was the final card they used to buy time, then using her now meant Bell had reached the decisive stage. But it also meant that after this… the boy would have no remaining safety nets.
That boy… Hera's brows furrowed deeply.
"Zeus, it seems that when this Denatus ends, we need to speak with Loki."
No matter what happened, they had to protect him. Whatever price Loki demanded.
"Are you sure about that?"
Zeus glanced at Hera, surprised she'd make such a firm decision.
"You bullied Loki almost as much as you bullied Freya. You think she'll just agree to your request so easily now?"
"What do you think? That child is our last hope. No matter the sacrifice, we have to secure his safety."
Hera clearly understood the price she would have to pay. Loki would not miss the chance to carry out all sorts of revenge. But Hera didn't care. Protecting that child came first—everything else was secondary.
Of course, Loki and the others had no idea what Zeus and Hera were plotting at that moment.
Apollo, meanwhile, was beginning to piece together what these fools were thinking. In some sense, their reasoning wasn't entirely wrong. The only flaw was that they had run into Loki—the least reasonable god in Orario.
"You really are unbelievably stupid…"
Even if he thought with his heel, Apollo could tell there was a massive secret behind all this.
"Do you actually think Loki is easy to target? Her Familia is already surpassing Freya's. How do you expect to deal with Loki using petty tricks? You think she'll play by your rules?"
Apollo understood this dynamic all too well.
Once someone's power stood above the rest of Orario, that was when they truly became free to do whatever they pleased.
Even he had thought like that. So how could Loki not?
"At first we thought she'd toe the line…"
Truthfully, none of them were idiots—they just assumed Loki would behave like before and continue respecting the rules of the game. Who would've thought she'd suddenly drop all restraint, openly preparing to strike?
Even so, many of them felt a strange sense of relief.
Because the more Loki acted like this, the less likely she truly intended to go that far. If she really meant to act, she wouldn't have announced it at the Denatus.
Her foul mood probably came from being pushed too hard beforehand. This explosion was nothing more than emotional backlash.
Understanding that, none of them dared speak. Arguing now would be suicide.
Listening to them, Apollo thought these idiots were practically playing with fire.
"Damn! Maybe pulling this stunt on Hestia or Hephaestus might've worked—they're not that bad. But using it on Loki? You're begging to die!"
"Loki isn't some herbivorous rabbit—she's a carnivorous dragon!"
"And you're using tactics meant for herbivores to deal with a predator? Do you really think Loki's an idiot?"
The gods Apollo scolded looked aggrieved.
"But Loki used to…"
"Used to? That was when Loki Familia didn't have a Level 8!"
Apollo snapped back irritably. But now that his mind had cooled a bit, he felt something was off.
'If Loki used to abide by Genkai's rules… why suddenly abandon them now?'
"Apollo."
Loki's voice cut through the room. Apollo shuddered violently before turning to see Loki's amused gaze fixed on him.
"!"
Stop. Don't think. Don't ask.
Apollo felt his divine core sounding alarm after alarm. If he pried further, death suddenly didn't feel far away at all.
Loki smiled at him, her tone light and playful. But her eyes… held not a trace of humor—only the kind of malice that made Apollo's spine go cold.
"Have you finished gathering your information, Apollo?"
"Yes!"
Loki seemed pleased with the crisp reply. She lowered her feet from the table, rested her chin on her hands, and regarded Apollo with interest.
"Then tell me. For that kid's sake, these idiots bothered me for half a year. I ignored them for six months—did they really think this was fun?"
Apollo's mouth twitched. He agreed: these guys really were idiots. Betting that Loki would continue obeying the rules? How stupid could they be?
And now look what happened—they'd actually made her angry.
"Ahem… well, they did it because they wanted to bet that you'd keep following the rules."
…Yes. They were idiots. Loki could confirm she had not misjudged them—those causing her trouble were truly morons.
"All gods, yet they still don't understand my temperament and dare to gamble on how I act?"
"Heh~ You people… really are something."