The Loki Familia was formidable.
No one could infiltrate the Loki Familia, so the only people who could take anything out of it were members of the Loki Familia themselves.
And aside from Loki, no one knew where Loki's picture book was hidden.
In fact, one could say Loki was the only person in the world who even knew such a picture book existed.
So, Riveria only needed a moment's thought to figure out who had lost the book, allowing it to end up in the Soma Familia's hands.
It was safe to say that aside from Loki herself, no one else could have possibly lost it.
"But!" Loki looked utterly incredulous upon hearing Riveria pin the loss on her. "Why me?! After I finished drawing it, I hid that comic away! How could it possibly get lost?!"
"Let's set aside how it was lost for now. Loki, think carefully. After you finished drawing it, where did you go?"
Riveria admitted that Loki had a meticulous side.
But what Riveria had seen far more often was Loki's careless, scatterbrained side. To be honest, as far as Riveria was concerned, no strange thing Loki did would ever surprise her.
"Where I went after finishing it?"
Loki furrowed her brow upon hearing this, thinking seriously.
"This comic, even though it's only eighteen pages long, took me three days and three nights to draw. After Alice left, since I couldn't read any comics, I decided to draw one myself. After finishing, I went straight to bed. I didn't go anywhere! Then you all were preparing for the expedition, and the next day the kids were lining up to update their statuses."
"You could say I never left the Familia after finishing the comic."
"Wait..." Riveria caught an important detail. "Loki, are you saying you only started drawing this comic after Alice left last time?"
"Yep." Loki nodded.
"And you drew for three days and three nights straight from that day?"
"Right, it was exhausting. I was so dizzy from drawing."
"You slept, updated our statuses the next day, and now three more days have passed since then?" Riveria looked at Loki with a hint of helplessness.
"Yeah." Loki nodded again.
"Haaah..." Riveria let out a long sigh and looked at Loki with resignation. "Alright. Then, what about you telling Finn to contact the production-type Familias about that money-making plan? Did you forget?"
"Eh? Money? What money-making?"
Loki was taken aback. If it involved production-type Familias and money, the only thing Loki could think of was the comic.
"Don't tell me...!?" Loki's face instantly paled.
"Three days drawing the comic, three days updating our statuses, plus the day Alice left. In your mind, Loki, has it been seven days?" Riveria asked.
Loki nodded dumbly.
"Eight days. Counting the day Alice left, eight days have passed. That means, in your perception, Loki, one whole day has vanished."
Riveria explained.
"Vanished? A whole day?" Loki's face was a picture of disbelief.
"Mhm."
"Could it be that missing day...?"
"No, it should be the night you finished the comic." Riveria said. "Four nights ago, you excitedly dragged us out for drinks. You got completely wasted, climbed onto the table shouting about having a foolproof money-making plan, and told Finn to contact the production-type Familias."
"Then the next day, you slept the entire day. The 'missing' day was the one you slept through. And the picture book must have been lost on that drinking night. That night, when you were drunk and vomiting, you pulled a stack of paper from your clothes to wipe your mouth, then crumpled it up and threw it away."
"At the time, I found it strange why you were carrying cardstock. Thinking about it now, that stack of paper was probably your picture book."
The more Riveria spoke, the more it was like a dam breaking in Loki's mind, memories flooding out violently.
"Ah..."
Loki remembered.
"It seems... that night, after I finished the comic, I was so happy I dragged you all out drinking. I was even planning to tell you about my collaboration with Alice, about selling comics in Orario together to make a fortune."
Suddenly, Loki frowned.
"But that's not right! That stack of paper should have been the business plan, not the comic!"
"Whether it was the business plan or not, why don't you just check where you hid the comic now?" Riveria suggested.
"Yeah..." Loki sighed. "Sigh... Whether it is or not, I'm still the one who drew this comic. I just hope Alice-chan won't be angry when she finds out."
--+--
Would Alice be angry?
Well, she was quite angry at first. But her anger wasn't directed at Loki for drawing it; she was angry that Loki had sold the book without her permission.
However, after hearing from Hephaestus that the Loki Familia might have been kept in the dark too, the fire in Alice's heart died down.
An eighteen-page book, with a story about a prince saving a princess.
This 'level' of story was much 'milder' compared to the books Patchouli secretly hoarded or the anime Houraisan Kaguya owned.
Though Loki's story made Alice blush a little, that was only because she was the protagonist, so she couldn't help but feel a bit imaginative.
If it were about someone else, Alice wouldn't have cared in the slightest.
As for Patchouli's books and Kaguya's anime, Alice didn't even dare look at them. Those images and words were far too stimulating; she couldn't handle them at all.
Loki's story was only eighteen pages, and the content was quite sparse.
At first, Alice was too shy about the content, so she just skimmed through it.
But now, having calmed down, Alice looked at the book Loki had drawn and felt a little surprised.
"Who would have thought that sloppy Loki could have such good artistic skills? If that's the case, for future collaborations with Loki, we can just have her do the drawing herself."
Walking back home, Hestia, who heard Alice's words, had a clearer idea.
"That Loki, don't be fooled by her appearance, but she does hold the title of Goddess of Wisdom, after all. As much as it annoys me to admit it, that tomboy is very clever. Her skill level in the arts, while it can't compare to other gods who hold titles like God of Arts, is still quite impressive compared to your average deity."
"Speaking for myself, I can't draw, but I'm pretty good at weaving tales. Since this comic can sell for so much, I wonder if the stories I come up with could be big sellers too."
With that, Hestia began contemplating her own path to riches by writing novels.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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