"I'll head back first."
After fooling around with Tiona and Tione for a bit, Tsuna pulled his hood lower, planning to slip away quietly. His only goal today was to let his puppet make an appearance—just enough for people to know that the Loki Familia had a new recruit being specially trained.
"Hold it."
It wasn't Tiona or Tione who stopped him this time, but Bete.
The werewolf had been confused for most of the earlier conversation, and now that he'd finally caught up, he couldn't help feeling like he'd missed way too much. Since when had so many things happened without him knowing? Seizing the moment, he blurted out the question that had been gnawing at him.
"You guys sure keep a lotta secrets between you, huh? Just a few days and somehow I'm completely outta the loop?"
Everyone looked at him with the exact same expression—one that practically said you don't say.
"Hmm. Maybe it's not that you're out of the loop," Finn said with a knowing smile. "It's more that everyone's been avoiding telling you certain things. You should know by now that your behavior when you're drunk isn't exactly… ideal. Sort of like Raul's issue with women—he doesn't handle himself well around them, so he's not told much either."
"Damn it…"
Bete almost smacked himself across the face. Drinking really was his downfall.
When he got drunk, his instincts kicked in hard—the wolf in him got rowdy, impulsive, and worst of all, loose-lipped. More than once, he'd ended up regretting things the next morning after realizing he'd said way too much.
"So basically… everyone else knows, huh?"
"Not exactly," Riveria said calmly. "Within the First Squad, you're the only one who doesn't. As for the Second Squad, it's fine if Raul doesn't know yet—but I suspect Loki intends to tell him soon."
"What? I thought it didn't matter if he didn't know?"
"Yeah, normally it wouldn't," Tsuna said with a shrug. "But Miss Loki wants to keep me under wraps. So she needs someone with a big mouth to leak a few details when necessary. That's where Raul comes in."
Bete blinked. "And Loki's not worried that Raul'll get tricked by someone?"
Hearing that, Bete couldn't help thinking—yep, that sounded exactly like something Loki would do. Tsuna's existence was definitely something worth keeping secret; if any other god caught wind of him, the Familia would be in serious trouble. Still… using Raul as a deliberate leak point? That seemed risky as hell.
Tsuna chuckled softly. "Actually, I think it's pretty safe. Because if Raul screws this up, Miss Loki's promised to take away half of his future happiness."
"Future happiness?"
Bete frowned, confused. He wasn't the only one—Finn and Gareth both looked puzzled.
Tsuna didn't explain. Instead, he lowered his head, pointed toward a certain… vital area on the male anatomy, and mimed a cutting motion with the side of his hand.
"Hsss—!!"
All three men instinctively took a step back, faces twisting in shared pain.
"Loki's not pulling her punches this time," Gareth muttered. "Let's hope Raul doesn't mess up, or she'll actually go through with it."
"Yeah," Finn agreed, wiping sweat from his forehead. "If that virgin realizes he'll get castrated before ever losing it, Raul'll do anything to avoid that fate."
Even the unflappable Finn was sweating bullets now. The punishment was so severe that any man would lose his mind just thinking about it. No wonder Loki could trust Raul not to screw up—failure wasn't an option.
Too damn brutal, Bete thought, wincing.
As a werewolf, even he felt a chill crawl down his spine. He couldn't imagine what Raul must've felt hearing that threat. But strangely enough… the thought comforted him.
Good thing I've got bad drinking habits.
Yeah, that had probably saved his life. Loki would never assign something like that to a guy who couldn't keep his mouth shut when drunk. The moment he heard about the "consequences," Bete silently thanked his own terrible self-control.
"Alright, explanation's over," Tsuna said lightly. "Can I go now?"
"Wait a sec." Bete crossed his arms. "Everyone knows about your ability, but not many know about the tools you make. Besides those two women with the crazy defensive gear, you've gotta have other stuff, right?"
"There is," Tsuna admitted. "For example, the Gravity Bracelets I made for Tiona, Tione, and Ais. Basically, they increase overall body weight—force you to carry extra load all the time. That way, your everyday movements train your body and boost your Status faster."
A training artifact.
Bete's eyes went wide. He immediately glanced toward Riveria, recalling that one morning when Ais's scream had echoed through the entire home base. Now he finally understood what had happened that day—and why Riveria had been so furious.
"Riveria… that morning Ais got chewed out—was it because of that thing?"
Riveria sighed and nodded slightly.
"That thing's really that effective?"
"Of course it is!"
Tiona couldn't hold back anymore.
"Tione and I can totally vouch for how amazing Tsuna's inventions are! If you use them right, they can push you past your limits!"
Bete's ears twitched. Past their limits?
He immediately picked up on the hint. Status values were supposed to be private—even within the Familia—but judging from Tiona's tone, it was obvious that Tsuna's devices had genuinely boosted them beyond their usual growth rate.
No wonder Ais had stayed quiet and focused lately. If her training results were that good, she'd naturally want to keep it going.
The realization hit Bete hard—this wasn't something he could ignore. Anything that could enhance Status that much was worth chasing after.
"Hey, rookie," he said finally. "Let's talk later when we're on the eighteenth floor."
"Sure, I don't mind," Tsuna replied easily. "But no alcohol. Miss Loki's orders."
He didn't reject Bete's offer. He understood exactly what the werewolf wanted—but honestly, Bete wasn't a bad guy. Aside from his lousy drinking habits and prickly attitude, he was fine to be around.
If only he'd drop that damn tsundere act, Tsuna thought wryly, things would be even better.