Bell chose to temporarily hide the fact that he had already reached Level 3. There was no real need to go out of his way to reveal his level.
As long as he could keep it under wraps, concealing part of the truth wasn't a problem.
Aside from his actual level, Bell hadn't hidden anything else.
He truly was working on accumulating "Status Points."
He also hoped to gather enough "Excelia" during the upcoming expedition to level up.
Soon, a series of hurried footsteps approached. Judging by the sound, it was four people—most likely the ones bringing someone over.
Setting aside the bell gimmick, that Amazoness girl really was efficient.
"Bang!"
The office door was slammed open again. Bell instinctively glanced at Finn, the captain, and saw his calm, unbothered expression. That confirmed it—everyone in this Familia had a habit of bursting in like that.
"Finn! I heard that kid… Ah! It's really you, brat!"
Hearing the voice, Bell realized it wasn't the Amazoness "Jormungand" who had just stormed in, but Loki-sama.
Seeing Loki-sama gritting her teeth at him, Bell instantly knew—she still hadn't forgotten what happened last time.
"Long time no see, Loki-sama."
"Long time my ass!"
With that, Loki-sama stepped forward and even raised a fist, aiming straight for his face.
Bell calmly lifted his hand, pressing his wrist lightly against her fist, brushing past her body, and gave a soft tap on her waist with his other hand.
Loki's body suddenly went numb, her legs giving out as she pitched forward.
Just as "Vanargand" moved to catch her, a hand slipped past Loki-sama's abdomen and lifted her off the ground in a horizontal carry—face down, of course.
"Loki-sama, you're being way too impulsive."
Bell gently placed her face-down on the sofa.
Though it was hard for her to move in that position, Loki still struggled to turn over, glaring at him viciously.
"You dared to bully my fox, and you still have the nerve to talk like that?!"
That line gave Bell a serious headache.
"I just took two steps back while we were working. Do you really have to go that far over something like that?"
"Hmph! You brat, that kind of move is just leading someone on without taking responsibility. Total scumbag behavior."
I wasn't leading anyone on!
Did Bell himself not know whether he was flirting? The thing was, he really hadn't tried to toy with Sanjouno Haruhime's feelings. He had a goddess at home, after all—there's no way he'd do something that tasteless.
But Bell clearly didn't realize that he actually had flirted.
What he said that day were some of the most charming words he could've spoken.
And then there was the life-saving rescue. The simple-hearted Renard had etched both moments into her memory forever.
It's just that Bell didn't consider it flirting.
It was simply a gap in awareness.
"Then, by your logic, does that mean I've flirted with you too? Should I take responsibility for that?"
"Tch! You're not some cute girl. If I had to take responsibility, I'd pick someone soft and sweet like Ais."
"Bang!"
A gust of wind swept through, and a fist slammed directly onto Loki-sama's head.
Bell saw the entire scene unfold. He instinctively stepped back twice, silently making it clear that punch hadn't come from him.
Glancing at the now completely silent "Loki," Bell couldn't help but admire the Sword Princess's precision. One clean hit knocked Loki out cold—without triggering the death curse that would've sent her straight back to Tenkai.
That kind of control over force probably takes years to perfect, just to knock someone out without doing permanent damage.
Bell looked over at Loki's head. A visible lump had formed.
Maybe the hit had been a bit too hard.
Finn, holding his head in exasperation, sighed.
"Ais, that was too much."
Ais only then realized what she'd done. She quickly checked Loki's pulse—it was faint but steady.
"Loki's still alive."
She gave Finn a reassuring look, but Finn didn't look reassured at all. Instead, he turned to someone more reliable.
"Bell-kun, could you take a look at Loki's condition?"
"Yeah."
Bell gave Loki a quick once-over, then nodded to Finn with a calming expression.
"Nothing serious. Just a concussion from a heavy blow to the head. But with the force Sword Princess used, if she doesn't get treated, Loki-sama might be out for a few days."
"???"
Ais looked at her fist, confused. She was sure she had held back.
"Sword Princess, you didn't forget that you leveled up, did you?"
Ais fell silent for a moment. Then it hit her—she'd acted on muscle memory. The punch had been at a Level 5 strength, but now that she was Level 6, it had landed much harder than she intended.
Like a child caught doing something wrong, Ais tucked her hands behind her back, looking lost.
Watching her, Bell couldn't help but laugh a little inside.
'If the people of Orario saw the Sword Princess acting like this, maybe no one would call her a 'doll' anymore.'
"But Sword Princess, until you've fully mastered your strength, you really shouldn't lay a hand on Loki-sama. With the power you've got, if you hit her just a bit harder, you might end up triggering the 'emergency life-saving switch' in her body."
Hearing that, Ais quickly hid both hands behind her back again and shook her head repeatedly.
"It was an accident."
Bell didn't really care whether it was or not. He simply waved his finger lightly in the air, and the lump on Loki-sama's head slowly began to shrink.
"That's why I told you to be careful. The bodies of Genkai gods are almost as fragile as glass. One wrong move, and you'll send someone straight back to Tenkai. If that happens, your Loki Familia is going to be in serious trouble."
"More importantly, if Loki-sama finds out she got sent back to Tenkai because of her own Familia, she might never live it down."
Imagine being sent back to Tenkai by your own child's subconscious punch out of anger—when word gets around, the other gods would laugh themselves silly.
'I bet Goddess-sama would tease Loki-sama for three days and nights straight.'
After hearing that, Ais froze, not daring to move a muscle.