Inside the main hall of the Loki Familia, Ais sat properly on the sofa, but her eyes were distant—clearly lost in thought.
She was trying to recall her memories from a month ago. Was Su Mo back then really not just an ordinary person? Could it be that she had remembered wrong?
On the other side, Lefiya watched Ais's expression and immediately guessed she was still thinking about Su Mo. A faint tinge of jealousy rose within her, but at the same time, she couldn't help but admire Ais's unwavering determination to grow stronger. No wonder Ais was able to become so powerful—with that kind of resolve, success was inevitable.
Just as Ais was deep in thought about Su Mo, and Lefiya was staring at her with complicated emotions…
A loud commotion erupted at the entrance of the hall.
"Who's the bastard who seduced my sweet Ais-chan, only to reject her in public like that?! Too much! That man went too far!"
The voice belonged to none other than the red-haired goddess Loki—head of the Loki Familia. She was crying and wailing, furious that the precious cabbage she had raised so carefully had been taken away by some random pig when she wasn't looking—
And worse, that cabbage had then been dumped!
As she stormed into the hall and spotted Ais sitting on the sofa, her eyes lit up.
"Ais-chan, don't be sad over that wild man anymore! Come, throw yourself into my loving embrace!"
With her short red hair and tomboyish air, the goddess Loki lunged toward Ais enthusiastically—
Wham!
Only to be sent flying across the floor by a punch from Ais.
"Loki. Hands off."
Ais glared coldly at her ever-unreliable goddess.
"Ack…"
Lefiya watched this scene unfold, not surprised in the slightest. It was practically routine for Ais to beat up their goddess.
Though, deep down, Lefiya thought Ais had done the right thing. Still, seeing their Familia's deity get punched wasn't something one could ignore. She hurried over and helped Loki up from the floor.
"Owww! Ais-chan's punches are getting stronger and stronger!" Loki rubbed her lower back and grumbled in a small voice.
"Seriously, when you were younger, I could still hug and cuddle you. Why are you so cold now? Could it be something wrong with Riveria's educational approach?"
"No. I'd say that's proof my methods worked just fine."
At that moment, one of the Familia's Big Three, the Level 6 mage Riveria, entered through the door. Her gaze landed on Loki, tinged with exasperation.
There was a lot to praise about their goddess— But if there was one glaring flaw, it was this: despite being a goddess herself, she had an unhealthy obsession with harassing young girls. And no matter how many times she was lectured, she just wouldn't stop.
"Teaching Ais to stay away from people with questionable intentions and to strike back without hesitation—I'd say that's solid safety awareness."
Riveria sounded quite pleased with her own educational results.
"But—but shouldn't the ones Ais-chan avoids be actual perverts with bad intentions?"
Loki argued indignantly.
"Then why is she always guarding herself from me? That makes no sense!"
"...Reflect on it yourself."
Riveria gave her a pointed, speechless look.
Lefiya, meanwhile, could only offer a stiff, awkward smile.
—Because you are one of those perverts with questionable intentions, Loki-sama.
That was what she wanted to say. But with her timid personality, it wasn't something she could bring herself to speak out loud.
Still, even someone like Lefiya had something she was genuinely concerned about.
"Loki-sama… that 'bastard man' you were talking about earlier… and Ais-sama being sad because of a man… what exactly happened?"
As Ais's number one fan, Lefiya couldn't let such statements slide.
"Huh?"
Loki, still rubbing her waist, suddenly perked up. She bounced to her feet as if nothing had happened and said:
"Weren't you with Ais-chan this afternoon? How do you not know? The news is already all over town!"
"The moment I heard, I rushed back here! I was hoping to take advantage of the situation— I mean, comfort Ais-chan and show her I care! You know, while she was emotionally vulnerable, I thought I'd seize the chance— I mean, strengthen our bond! Yeah, that!"
It was probably due to the alcohol, but Loki had accidentally blurted out her true intentions twice in a row. Thankfully, she managed to patch things up in the end—
—or at least she believed she did.
Bringing up the earlier incident, Loki suddenly became spirited again.
"Right, Lefiya! That mysterious guy—who exactly is he? You must've seen him, right?"
She slammed her hand on the table with a loud thud, eyes full of indignation.
"Whoever dares covet my dear Ais-chan, eliminate them! Eliminate them all!"
"..."
Then… maybe you should start with yourself?
Lefiya mentally retorted but didn't dare say it out loud. And at that moment, she finally realized what rumor Loki was talking about.
Once it clicked, she let out a helpless sigh and began to explain.
"Loki-sama, you've got it all wrong. Ais-sama hasn't fallen for anyone. The real story goes like this…"
Lefiya calmly recounted everything that had happened.
"So it was just a rumor," Riveria nodded, unsurprised.
"Jeez! So that's what it was," Loki let out a breath of relief, patting her own flat chest. "I thought someone was seriously trying to steal Ais-chan from me!"
Now that her worst fears were laid to rest, her attention shifted to the name that had caught Ais's interest.
"Still… this Su Mo guy. For Ais-chan to be so hung up on him… could he really have improved so fast that even she was shocked?"
That possibility genuinely surprised her.
After all, Ais had gone from Level 1 to Level 2 in a single year—a record-breaking speed even within the world of adventurers. It was almost unthinkable that anyone could have surpassed her growth rate.
"Maybe… but there's also a chance Ais-sama just remembered things wrong," Lefiya added.
"Back when they met, Ais-sama couldn't clearly judge his strength, after all."
"Ah, that makes more sense!" Loki nodded, finally at ease.
The idea of some monstrous newcomer improving faster than Ais was harder for her to swallow than Ais just having a memory lapse.
Besides, Ais did have a tendency to space out. It wasn't hard to imagine her misremembering things.
Riveria, having pieced everything together by now, turned toward Ais with a stern look.
"Ais, I remember Loki mentioning this before—but asking someone how they became stronger without invitation is extremely rude, don't you remember?"
"…Mhm."
With Riveria—who had practically raised her like a mother—chiding her like that, Ais couldn't help but lower her head in guilt.
Seeing this, Riveria chose not to press further and softened her tone.
"Since it was your mistake, even if the other party doesn't explain anything, make sure to apologize properly tomorrow."
When it came to mentoring the younger members, Riveria never believed in pampering them. Courtesy was non-negotiable.
"…Okay."
Ais gave a small nod, taking Riveria's words to heart. She knew she had acted out of line—an apology was the least she could do.
As for the mystery behind Su Mo's strength… Maybe she had remembered wrong.
That thought lingered in her mind as she made up her mind.
—Tomorrow, she would apologize properly.