"Eh!? You confessed directly to Hephaestus? And she actually agreed?"
Loki stared at Tsuna in utter disbelief.
For a moment, she was completely speechless.
She had encouraged him to build more relationships—it would, after all, be a great motivator for his growth.
But she hadn't expected him to be this effective. In just a few months, he had managed to win over Hephaestus herself. He'd not only confessed—he'd even successfully proposed to her!
"I thought you were aiming for Tsubaki. Who would've guessed you wouldn't even spare Hephaestus?"
Loki had been the first to find out about Tsubaki.
After that first time Tsubaki had suddenly hugged Tsuna, he'd confessed everything once he got home.
And this time was no different—Loki was, once again, the first to learn that Hephaestus had accepted his proposal.
After her brief shock, Loki's eyes glinted with a mischievous sparkle as she looked him over.
"You know," she began, "back in the heavens, Hephaestus and Soma were both the type who hated leaving their homes. Total shut-ins."
"The difference was that Soma liked staying home to brew wine, while Hephaestus spent her days forging weapons."
"One honed the craft of brewing, the other perfected her forging skills."
"And now look at them—one got dragged out of his shell by you for 're-education,' and the other just got proposed to."
There was a hint of jealousy in Loki's voice, though it softened as she spoke.
She spread her hands, the gesture saying everything without words.
Tsuna stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. Loki leaned close, her lips brushing his ear as she whispered:
"So now you're bound to two goddesses. Your path forward's already been narrowed. Feeling any pressure yet?"
"You can only succeed. Otherwise, even after a million years, the grudges of those goddesses won't let your soul rest."
The love of a goddess ran deep—so deep that once it began, it would never truly fade.
But Tsuna had already prepared himself for that from the very start.
If there was a chance to gain a longer life, he would never let death take him so easily.
As for how he might attain that longer life—that was a road he would have to discover himself.
He pulled Loki tighter in return.
"Loki, I'm a greedy man."
"I want to bond with goddesses. I want to live longer. I even want my parents and friends to share that longer life."
"I'm not the type to stop just because of some obstacle."
Loki smiled, clearly pleased with that answer.
"Then I'll be looking forward to it."
This was a path no child of the lower world had ever walked before. Loki didn't know whether Tsuna could truly succeed.
But compared to countless past challenges, Tsuna possessed conditions that ordinary challengers never had—
A true qualification to walk the road to the heavens.
A power even the gods themselves did not possess.
Annihilation Maker.
"No need to be so tense," Loki said with confidence. "You've got what those before you didn't. That power even the gods lack—it can carry you continuously toward the peak. All you have to do is bring out its full potential. Once you do, everything else will fall into place."
"I know."
Tsuna nodded. He also had a plan—his own Backup Plan.
"Actually, I've always had a backup plan."
"But I think… if I manage to create that, it probably means I can obtain the immortality all past adventurers desperately sought—without even having to pursue it."
"Wait—seriously?"
Loki's eyes went wide. Whatever tension she'd had a moment ago vanished instantly.
"It's true," Tsuna admitted, "but the same problem remains—unless I reach a certain level of strength, using that thing to alter causality would just draw divine attention."
"...What the hell!?"
Changing causality? That's basically rewriting the world's laws!
In an instant, Loki understood just how that so-called "backup plan" could make a mortal transcend humanity—by directly letting them surpass the causality of their short-lived nature, by rewriting the very rule of human mortality, to achieve longevity… even immortality itself.
"Then why did you look so serious earlier?"
"Uh… Loki, you're the one who got serious first. And I did say—it's just a backup plan. If I tried to use it while I'm still weak, it'd be reckless. But once I'm strong enough, I might not even need it to live a long life."
Tsuna explained quickly.
He'd understood his situation from the start, but Loki's grave expression had prompted him to play along and act serious too.
Good grief.
Loki covered her face with her palm. She'd gone through all that only to find out Tsuna had another contingency ready.
"I really underestimated you. You can even handle something like that?"
Even Tsuna himself couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"Honestly, I didn't realize it either—until I created the Boosted Gear. That's when it hit me: if I can make something that can bring people back from the dead, then maybe I really can create things tied to immortality."
"However, since my ability can create that thing, I thought that even just relying on this power alone, I should be able to achieve it. Plus, the Holy Grail of the Netherworld would have quite a significant impact, so I figured I'd try relying on my own ability first."
When Tsuna had first realized that his Annihilation Maker could even recreate Sacred Gears, he'd understood that his path was now full of shortcuts.
But that completely cheat-like power far exceeded what he could currently control. So for now, he'd sealed away those impossible ideas.
At least until his strength could finally match them. Otherwise, it would only bring him unnecessary trouble.
"Next time," Loki groaned, "give me a warning before you drop a bomb like that."
Her face felt like it was burning.
(End of Chapter)