Not only Alice, but even Tione was staring at Loki in shock.
"Loki, I always knew you had a terrible personality, but I never thought your character could be this rotten." Tione didn't care that Loki was her patron god, openly taunting her for trying to force Alice to join the Familia.
"Hah??? What are you talking about, Tione!" Loki looked at Tione with utter disbelief, pointing at Alice and exclaiming, "How could I possibly let a cute and beautiful girl like this slip away!"
"She's the complete opposite of Ais!"
"Instead of Ais's smooth, long golden hair, she has wavy, short golden hair!"
"Instead of Ais's refreshing warrior type, she's a gentle, ladylike ojōu-sama type!"
"Those adorable flustered reactions she makes because of me!"
"And that passionate, loving heart she has for beautiful dolls, something only a young maiden could possess!"
"On top of that, beauty that rivals a goddess!! And that dazzling soul!!"
"How could you expect me to give up on a child this adorable!"
Loki was practically screaming in a frenzy.
Hearing Loki's words, which were essentially lavish praise directed at her, Alice's face grew redder with each sentence, her head involuntarily dipping lower.
Alice, who didn't interact with people often, was hearing such blunt, unabashed praise for the first time—especially from a god, no less.
It made her all the more shy.
Seeing Alice's shy expression, Loki felt a rush of blood surge to her head, so intense it made her dizzy. A warm flow began to trickle from her nose.
And so.
Loki, unable to control herself, started to collapse to the side.
Seeing this, Alice quickly manipulated several dolls to support her.
Five dolls in total: two supporting Loki's shoulders, and the other three bracing her back and waist, allowing Loki to lean against them.
It wouldn't have been a big deal if Loki had just fallen to the floor, but the direction she was falling in happened to contain Alice's materials cabinet. If Loki had crashed into her doll materials cabinet, it would have been trouble.
The materials for her dolls were all painstakingly gathered by Alice from the Dungeon. If Loki had damaged them, it would have been heartbreaking.
Although Alice considered her own strength decent—probably around Level 2, not quite Level 3—if she had enough dolls prepared, even a Level 3 adventurer wouldn't be able to defeat her.
But many of the materials were extremely rare and not easy to come by.
Speaking of materials, that custom [Freya Doll] Hermes ordered had used up quite a lot of them. She should really find some time soon to restock.
"Aahhhhh~ Alice-chan actually saved me! Aahhh~ I'm so touched!!"
Supported by the dolls, Loki stood up, nose still bleeding, with an utterly enraptured expression on her face.
Seeing Loki like this, Alice looked pleadingly toward Tione.
Catching Alice's glance, Tione sighed helplessly. "Loki, you're going to scare Alice away. Try to control yourself a little, or if you really do scare her off, no one's going to care when you start crying."
"Uh..." Loki looked embarrassed, then extricated herself from the dolls and stood seriously before Alice.
"Alice-chan!"
"Yes…?" Hearing Loki call her name loudly and earnestly, Alice felt inexplicably nervous.
Loki wore a serious expression, her usually narrowed eyes slightly open, giving her a very imposing air—if not for the two trails of red blood under her nose, which rather ruined the effect.
Alice couldn't help it; her fingers twitched slightly, and two dolls sprang into action. One cute doll flew over carrying a pack of tissues, while another brought a mirror.
"Would you like to clean up first?" Alice said softly.
"Ah." A mirror suddenly appeared in front of her. Looking at her reflection, Loki realized that seeing such a beautiful girl had actually made her nose bleed. It really was killing the mood.
"Thank you, Alice-chan." She took a couple tissues and wiped the blood away.
Then, Loki looked at Alice again with utmost seriousness.
"Alice-chan, I am formally and sincerely asking you to join our Loki Familia." Loki's tone was completely serious, devoid of any trace of her earlier lecherous behavior.
Faced with Loki's invitation, Alice replied somewhat uncomfortably.
"Um, to be honest, I'm not particularly interested in joining a familia, so... I'm sorry..."
She apologetically refused.
All she wanted was a quiet life, with Hourai and Shanghai by her side. If she joined a familia, Alice had a feeling she'd end up with all sorts of inexplicable bonds and connections, which seemed rather troublesome.
She was... a little afraid.
Her little shop didn't get many customers, but the ones who did come were usually quite generous. Plus, with her own strength, she could venture into the Dungeon to collect magic stones and exchange them for valis.
She had no problems supporting herself.
So, wanting a peaceful life, Alice had no desire to join a familia.
Loki's narrowed eyes opened slightly, a sharp glint visible in the thin slits. Under Loki's gaze, Alice's heart began to beat faster for some unknown reason. She had no idea why she was reacting this way.
Seeing Alice like this, Loki called out to Tione, "Tione, step outside for a bit. There's something I need to discuss with Alice-chan."
"Something to discuss? You're not planning to harass her, are you?" Tione frowned. She honestly didn't believe Loki had any self-restraint when it came to someone as pretty and adorable as Alice.
Seeing Tione's attitude, Loki knew exactly what she was thinking.
But Loki didn't mind. Instead, she said earnestly, "Just go. It's something serious. And keep an eye out for me—make sure no one comes in."
Seeing Loki like this, Tione understood: her patron god was in a dead serious state. "Understood. Though I doubt Alice's little shop will get a second wave of customers in one day, since you're asking, I'll go play doorman."
With that, Tione turned and walked out of the shop.
"Oh, and Alice," she added, "if whatever Loki wants to talk about isn't proper and she tries to harass you, don't worry about me. Feel free to teach her a lesson."
Hearing Tione's words, Loki immediately bristled. "Hey! Tione! Do you all really think that little of me?"
"Heh, before you say that, maybe take a good look at your usual behavior."
And with that, Tione left Alice's shop.
"Dammit... Lately, these guys have been getting a bit too disrespectful. Tione's like this, and so are Ais and Riveria."
Loki muttered her grievances under her breath.
Then, she turned her gaze back to Alice, simply watching her quietly.
Faced with this version of Loki, Alice didn't dare speak or move.
After a long moment, Loki said something that made Alice's heart skip a beat.
"Alice-chan, you're not human, are you."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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