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Oh. Then how do we get rid of it?"
Riveria drew a blank. She wasn't quite sure about it either. She'd devoted her whole life to studying and practicing magic and because of that, she'd never really gotten anywhere romantically speaking.
"We should start by talking about why you like him," she proposed. "If we know the reason, we might be able to do something about it."
"But I don't know why I like him," Loki said.
"Then let's begin from there," Riveria said. "Spend more time with Kusanagi Godou and find out why you like him in the first place."
Loki looked quite horrified at the prospect. "You want me to get even closer to Kusanagi Godou? What if this crush thing gets even worse?"
Riveria had not intended to tell Loki of that possibility. But it seemed Loki was not as dense as she'd initially assumed. In response, she smiled, almost motherly, at her God. "If that happens, then I promise you that I'll be supporting you all the way. We'll win Godou's heart together, Loki. I'll always be on Team Loki."
Loki beamed back. But then she faltered. "But he already has Lancelot."
"So?" Riveria immediately retorted. "Countless Gods have invited me into their Familias, but I've rejected every single one of them. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because I think you're the best God in Orario. Don't tell me I'm wrong now, am I?"
Loki's chest puffed out as she grinned. "Of course not! I am the best God around after all!"
"Exactly," Riveria said, patting her head. "So don't tell me you're going to give up just because some goddess who can turn into a sword took your place first. The Loki I know would never be happy with just a silver medal."
"You're right, Mama! I'm not going to lose to Lancelot! I'm going to make Godou fall in love with me!"
Inside, Riveria felt glad. It was good that Loki's spirits were high once again. And now that she'd found a goal, then-
Riveria suddenly hesitated. She'd been so focused on lifting Loki's spirits that she'd forgotten that their original intention was to rid Loki of her crush in the first place. But now, at this point, she wasn't sure what exactly she was hoping for. The initial goal of Loki getting over her crush on Godou would've been the simplest option for everyone. But the other option had the possibility of making Loki either very happy, or breaking her heart.
Well, this sudden change in Loki's attitude complicated things.
Loki hopped off the bed, and Riveria was quite pleased to see her changing out of her pajamas for the first time in a week. Then she realized Loki was wearing her going-out clothes.
"Loki, where are you going?" she asked, slightly suspicious.
Loki put on her usual blue crop-top. "Do you remember what Lancelot said? About how other Gods will come to realize that Godou's special?"
Riveria nodded.
"Well, I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to mark him as mine before any other goddesses get any funny ideas."
This time, Riveria didn't nod. "You have a plan," she stated, more than asked.
"Yep."
She could hear Loki's determination now. This wasn't the idle daydream of a maiden in love. This was the God of tricksters and mischief setting down a strategy to achieve victory through any means.
Riveria smiled. Regardless of what happened to Loki in the end, she knew one thing wouldn't change. She'd continue to support and walk beside her goddess no matter which route she went down.
Somebody had to make sure that the idiot didn't go around trying to kill her competitors, after all.
XxXxXxXxXx
The change was subtle at first, but became very obvious, very soon.
Everybody in the Hostess was staring at him, and for the life of him, Kusanagi Godou just couldn't figure out why. There were curious glances, dirty looks, and blatant stares. It seemed as if every single person in the tavern was here just to watch him.
He knew it was intentional. Many of them he didn't recognize, and for so many first-timers to show up to the Hostess just to look at him meant that something had happened.
He just didn't know what.
But he was on the clock, which meant that he had to continue to do his job, rather than dig around and unearth the reason.
So he continued washing the used mugs silently. At least this sudden development also meant that everybody appeared to be too intimidated to approach him for drinks, going through the waitresses to order instead. He didn't mind that bit.
"Godou!"
A familiar high-pitched voice called his name. He looked up, only to see Hestia bouncing into the Hostess in a rather forceful manner. Completely ignoring the looks of the other patrons, the short goddess hoisted herself onto the barstool right in front of him. Her mouth was silent, but her face was giving him an expectant look, demanding an explanation.
"Lady Hestia," Godou greeted casually. "It's rare to see you here."
It actually was. While her adventurer, Bell Cranel, visited often, no thanks to Syr, Godou rarely saw the goddess herself in the Hostess. Though Godou could understand, what with her busy schedule earning money for the Familia. Was that why she was here? Because he hadn't visited her to collect his daily fried potato for the past few days?
"Why didn't you tell me about the expedition?"
Godou blinked. "What expedition?"
"The one with the Loki Familia, of course! Why didn't you tell me you were going with them?"
Godou blinked again. He'd almost forgotten about that. But he was surprised Hestia knew about it. While it wasn't exactly a secret, Godou hadn't mentioned it to anyone except his fellow colleagues. Maybe Syr had told Bell about it, who had then told Hestia. But whatever the case, it seemed like a moot point now. He doubted Loki wanted anything to do with him at the moment.
"Ah, some stuff happened between Loki and I," he said sheepishly, "so I think that might be cancelled."
Hestia made a surprised expression. "Oh," she said softly. Then from her bag, she pulled out a paper bag and slid it across the table to him. "Here, I saved one for you."
By now, Godou could recognize Hestia's fried potatoes by scent alone. Gratefully, he accepted it. "Thanks, Lady Hestia."
"So you were considering joining the Loki Familia?" Hestia asked, sounding worried.
"Well, I'd rather not," Godou said, taking a bite of the potato. It was still hot, which was nice. She must have came right after work. "But Loki was quite forceful about the whole thing. Didn't give me much of a choice."
"She's like that," Hestia agreed.
"You're close to her?" Godou asked.
"We argued a lot in Heaven," Hestia explained. "We don't really see eye-to-eye on a lot of matters."
Godou noted Hestia's short height, trying to imagine Loki sitting next to her. He
estimated about a whole head's worth of height difference. "I can imagine that," he said, chuckling.
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Want to read more?
The next 10+ chapters are already available on my Patreon!
By joining, you'll get:
📖 Early access to future chapters
🗳️ Polls to shape the story
🎁 Exclusive content for Patrons
🔥 Bonus scenes & content you won't find anywhere else
👀 Don't fall behind—others are already ahead!
👉 patreon.com/FanfictionTakashi
(If link doesn't show, just search on Google: FanfictionTakashi Patreon)