Chapter 172 – Tione, Loki and Luan.
Chapter 172 – Tione, Loki and Luan.
Despite my efforts to maintain a conversation with Ais, Hestia kept interrupting us, making Ais a little uncomfortable. Even so, she didn't say anything and remained calm.
She regretted asking to have dinner here.
Hestia was here to interfere.
After more than an hour, everyone had eaten their fill, and Ais decided to leave. In other words, the mission was a complete failure. I treated her as well as I could, and the food I had made myself was delicious… but it wasn't enough.
Hestia's presence ruined the mission.
"You don't need to leave just yet. Stay a little longer; you haven't even had dessert," I said. I hadn't prepared any dessert but tried to make Ais reconsider.
"I'm already full. I can't eat anything else," Ais said with a smile.
"Well, that just means more dessert for me," Hestia pouted.
"Haaa~~" Ais sighed and got up.
"I'll walk you out," I said, standing as well, but Hestia grabbed my hand.
"Don't take too long," she said, looking me in the eyes.
"No promises," I replied.
I left the mansion with Ais, and when we reached the yard, she said, "I didn't know the Goddess hated me this much."
"She doesn't hate you; she's just very jealous," I said.
"She hates me because I'm so close to you."
"..."
I couldn't deny it.
"But I don't mind. I still had a lot of fun."
We reached the gate, and I opened it.
"But next time, I think I'd rather not have dinner here. Let's go to a restaurant instead," Ais said with a faint laugh.
"A restaurant sounds like a better idea for next time…" I replied with a bitter smile.
Ais returned to her usual expression and kept staring at me. She seemed about to say something, but I spoke first.
"I'll walk you to Loki Familia's house. I feel bad that dinner didn't go as planned, and I don't want to waste this moment."
"You don't have to," Ais said, surprised.
"Let's go. We can talk a bit more."
"Sure. Do you mind if I ask you about your book? I'm really curious about the fourth volume!"
"You've already read the third one? It just got published!"
"I ended up finishing it in a few hours. It's so good, I couldn't put it down."
"You're exaggerating."
"I'm not! It's amazing!" she said with conviction and passion, though her expression didn't show much. "I can't wait to read the fourth one. You need to work faster!"
"I'm doing my best."
"It's just a joke. Don't overwork yourself."
We continued our pleasant conversation, uninterrupted by Hestia until we reached Loki Familia's house.
In front of the house, two people were waiting for us: Tione and Loki.
The Goddess was staring at me fiercely as we walked up to them.
I felt every hair on my body tremble.
'Tione's presence makes it pretty clear what's happening here.'
"What's going on? Why are you two here?" Ais asked, confused.
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*Ais's POV*
It was a bit unpleasant, I admit.
I didn't expect the Goddess Hestia to act that way.
She was disrupting my conversation with Luan. She didn't want us to talk or get closer. Because of that, I decided to leave earlier than planned.
When we left the mansion, Luan made it clear he wanted another dinner and insisted on walking me home so we could talk without interruptions.
The entire walk was amazing.
The irritation and doubt I had felt toward him for "forgetting" our dinner vanished.
Once again, my heart began to accept him.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
I walked by his side with a smile until we reached my home—the Loki Familia house.
But as we got closer, I saw two people standing outside: Tione and the Goddess Loki. I didn't understand why they were there, so I asked, confused, "What's going on? Why are you two here?"
Tione looked uncomfortable, and the Goddess was visibly irritated, her gaze fixed directly on Luan.
"Ais, go inside. I need to have a word with him," Goddess Loki said annoyedly.
What on earth is happening? Is she doing this because of our relationship?
Does the Goddess not like me getting closer to him?
But why is Tione here? Did something happen?
I looked at Luan, and he nodded at me. "It's okay. I'll talk to the Goddess and then head home. You can go in and rest," he said with a smile.
But I can tell he is nervous.
"But—"
"It's okay."
"Alright," I said, walking away. As I passed by Tione, I said, "We need to talk later. I want to know what's going on here."
At my words, Tione's body trembled.
'Something happened between those two. Damn, I'm so curious. I need to know what's going on.'
As I walked away, I looked back again. Loki, Tione, and Luan were all still standing in the same place.
They weren't talking.
I kept walking slowly, trying to hear something.
I entered the house and headed to my room. It took me a few minutes to get there. Anxious and worried, I went to the window to look outside. But I didn't have a view of the entrance, so I couldn't see if Luan was still there.
Should I go back?
I swallowed hard as my concern grew.
With Luan's image in mind, I walked back toward the entrance to see if he was still outside with Tione and Goddess Loki.
But the three of them were gone.
"Luan must've gone home," I thought.
Without suspecting anything, I returned to my room, imagining our next dinner.