"That's right." Loki answered Emiya without hesitation. "That little one hasn't established a Familia yet, and she won't in the future either."
"No way." Emiya frowned. "You've read the story. You know she'll meet Bell later."
"Hah?" Loki's expression twisted the moment Bell was mentioned. "Like hell I'd let that rabbit meet her."
Emiya sucked in a breath. "I remember Hestia didn't steal your boyfriend, did she? What kind of grudge do you two have that you'd even cut off her only hope?"
That was too cruel.
If Hestia never met Bell, the establishment of her Familia would be pushed indefinitely.
Who knew if another Bell would ever appear?
Loki waved her hand impatiently. "I don't really care that much about that little one. But that rabbit absolutely has to die. Ahhh!"
Her face distorted as killing intent poured out without restraint.
Fortunately, it wasn't directed at anyone present.
Even so, everyone felt their minds go blank. Their limbs trembled. Their chests felt as if an invisible boulder was pressing down, making it hard to breathe.
Other than that-
No, nothing about this was normal.
"Hold it in, Loki." Emiya spoke quickly.
Loki snapped back to herself and reined it in. "Anyway, the rabbit must die."
"That won't work," Emiya said. "He's Zeus's grandson."
Bell Cranel's grandfather was Zeus. That much was established.
"Adopted grandson." Loki scoffed. "Do you think that old pervert would start a war with me over an adopted grandson?"
Originally, the strongest Familias in Orario weren't Loki Familia or Freya Familia.
They were Zeus Familia and Hera Familia.
From the moment the gods descended, those two had ruled Orario.
At their peak, even Loki Familia and Freya Familia didn't dare challenge them head-on.
After ruling Orario, Zeus and Hera aimed for absolute victory.
They defeated the King of the Land, Behemoth.
They defeated the Tyrant of the Sea, Leviathan.
Then they turned their sights on the strongest calamity of all.
The Black Dragon.
If they succeeded, their prestige would rise to unprecedented heights.
They failed.
Their main forces were annihilated by the last Black Dragon-the One-Eyed Dragon.
With their core power destroyed, both Familias rapidly declined.
That was when Loki and Freya joined hands and drove Zeus Familia and Hera Familia out of Orario.
Since then, the strongest Familias became Loki Familia and Freya Familia.
That was why Loki didn't care about a Zeus with no Familia left.
"I know you don't like Bell because of Ais," Emiya said patiently. "But you can't kill him over something that hasn't happened. He hasn't done anything yet. Killing him now is unfair."
"And even if you kill Bell today, another Thor or Hall will appear tomorrow."
"You can't expect Ais to never fall in love, never get married, and stay by your side forever."
Emiya tried his best to reason with her.
Loki didn't care.
"I don't care," she said coldly. "Ais-tan is mine. Anyone who dares touch my Ais-tan dies."
"Even you won't be an exception."
Emiya fell silent.
After a moment, he sighed. "If you're that worried, just hand Bell over to Freya."
"With Freya's methods, she'll charm him until he can't think straight. Then he won't have time to chase after Ais."
Loki's eyes lit up.
She stroked her chin. "That's not bad. Two birds with one stone. I get on Freya's good side and deal with the rabbit."
"I agree."
The conversation left everyone else completely lost.
Only Erina Nakiri, Takashi Natsume, Nyanko-sensei, and Haruhi Suzumiya vaguely understood.
They were familiar with the concept of a story's plot.
They also realized that Loki was likely a character who had seen the story and was deliberately severing the relationship between Bell and Ais.
Erina Nakiri guessed those two were probably the male and female leads.
That realization stirred a strange sense of resonance in her.
She had read the plot of Shokugeki no Soma.
If she hadn't met Emiya, she would have fallen in love with Soma Yukihira.
They would have ended up together.
But after meeting Emiya and seeing a much broader world, she knew she would never love Soma Yukihira.
And she didn't regret it.
From the beginning, she had looked down on Soma, a boy from a small diner.
Later, after learning he was Saiba Joichiro's son, her opinion changed.
But love still never came.
Even knowing who his father was, she couldn't bring herself to fall for him.
Perhaps if her father had driven her to despair and Soma had saved her, things might have been different.
But that future would never happen.
She was already Emiya's private chef.
And after reading the plot, she understood why her father had fallen into darkness.
She no longer feared him.
Compared to Emiya, her father was nothing.
So in this lifetime, she would never fall in love with Soma Yukihira.
That was why Loki and Emiya's conversation gave her a strange sense of shared experience.
She, too, was someone who had been separated from her destined love.
At that moment, Takashi Natsume spoke hesitantly. "Is this really okay? Separating people who were supposed to fall in love... for this reason?"
"Shut up," Loki snapped. "That dead rabbit isn't worthy of my Ais."
Hinoe and Nyanko-sensei both tugged at Natsume, telling him to stop talking.
Offending a goddess wasn't something to joke about.
"Don't worry," Emiya said. "Even without Ais, Bell still has Lili, Haruhime, and even Freya."
"Missing one Ais doesn't matter."
"Huh?" Natsume froze. "Is this Bell guy some kind of playboy?"
"If that's the case," Emiya replied, "your concern was unnecessary."
"He's not a playboy," Emiya added. "He's just very good at attracting girls. If nothing unexpected happens, he'll end up a winner in life-with a whole group of wives."
Takashi Natsume fell silent.
What could he say?
Bell didn't need sympathy from someone who didn't even have a girlfriend.
Seeing his reaction, Emiya cleared his throat and changed the topic.
"Alright. Let's stop here."
"Now, about the rewards."
"Megumi Tadokoro and Kojiro Shinomiya both presented excellent dishes. I think they deserve something as a prize. What do you all think?"
"My reward," Loki said bluntly, "is for Megumi-chan to join my Familia."
Emiya rolled his eyes. "You didn't even ask if she wants to."
Loki turned to Megumi. "Megumi-chan, I'll ask you again. Do you want to join my Familia and become my child?"
Megumi was still in a forced calm state.
She didn't panic.
"I'm sorry," she answered immediately. "I want to go to Totsuki."
After speaking, she deliberately looked at Soma Yukihira.
Emiya could almost smell love in the air.
Soma, completely oblivious, didn't understand why she looked at him. He simply returned her gaze with a smile.
Loki was disappointed.
She genuinely liked Megumi.
Her cooking was perfect for Loki Familia.
After dungeon expeditions, being able to eat Megumi's food would restore both body and spirit.
Unfortunately, Megumi still refused.
It was a pity.
Still, Loki raised her hand and tapped Megumi's forehead, granting her a small reward.
"You're too shy," Loki said. "So I'll give you the ability to enter a calm state whenever you want."
"But don't rely on it."
"When you no longer need this, you'll be a truly outstanding chef."
Under normal circumstances, Megumi would have fainted from happiness.
But she was still forcibly calm.
She only nodded and thanked Loki.
Tomorrow, when she returned to normal, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep.
A goddess's reward wasn't something you could easily digest.
Emiya looked away and turned to Haruhi Suzumiya.
"Since Loki has already rewarded Megumi, you should handle Shinomiya."
"No problem." Haruhi nodded. "Leave it to me."
Ever since learning her identity, she had been actively trying to use her wish-granting power.
She lacked practice and couldn't do anything complex yet.
But something simple was fine.
After thinking for a moment, she pointed at Kojiro Shinomiya.
"Then your reward is this."
"You'll never get sick for the rest of your life."
A faint light instantly spread across Kojiro Shinomiya's body.
~~~~~
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