"Your mom's personality is really... quite unique."
Loki hadn't expected Tsuna's mother to be that kind of person. Her temperament leaned toward the airheaded side—completely different from the serious, no-nonsense Riveria.
"Yeah, that's just how my mom is. She always has a smile on her face, moves at her own slow pace, and she's... not exactly quick on the uptake. Her reactions can be a little delayed."
Talking about his mother's personality, Tsuna felt like he could go on forever.
"Even though she's not young anymore, she still acts like a kid sometimes. Loves romantic stuff. Dad managed to sweep her right off her feet without much effort."
"But she really likes taking care of people. She doesn't overthink complicated things too much."
Listening to Tsuna describe his mother, Loki began to form a picture of what kind of person she was.
"Hmm... so basically, a less serious Riveria—smiles more, and doesn't give off that constant sense of pressure."
With that kind of personality, paired with a face somewhat similar to Tsuna's, Loki could more or less imagine what his mother looked like.
"Anyway, put off going home for now. Wait until after this Joint Expedition. Cross over to Level 3 first."
"The Expedition isn't far off now. You need to get your head back in the game."
Tsuna's smile faded.
"I know. I haven't forgotten."
The upcoming Joint Expedition was, without a doubt, the most important thing right now.
"I hope this Expedition becomes the chance for me to reach Level 3."
"After the Expedition, our Familia, the Astraea Familia, and the Hephaestus Familia will all enter a rest period. During that time, you and Goddess Hephaestus can quietly disappear."
"You've already prepared for the moment when both worlds start turning together?"
"Yeah. I plan to open the passage between the two worlds. Doing that will inevitably bring them closer. Maybe the flow of time won't sync right away, but it shouldn't stay completely frozen like before either."
The two worlds were like whirlpools forming on the surface of the same lake—once they drew close enough, their currents would begin to affect each other.
At first, that influence would be small. But as the connection deepened, the impact would grow stronger.
Once the passage existed, the two worlds would be linked. It would be nearly impossible for one to remain completely still relative to the other.
No matter how slow the flow of time, once it started moving again, preparation was necessary.
Tsuna, of course, didn't think he could keep traveling between worlds without considering the time difference. That was a crucial issue.
"I'll also have to explain things to my mom."
"Huh? You're seriously planning to tell your mom about something that insane?"
Loki stared at him in disbelief.
Honestly, if he could avoid it, Tsuna would rather not tell her—but that wasn't an option.
"I don't have a choice. My mom can be pretty dense about some things, but in others, she's surprisingly sharp."
"She's especially sensitive when it comes to me. I mean, she's taken care of me for thirteen years—there's no way she wouldn't notice the difference between a puppet and the real me."
"And to really keep everything under wraps, I'll need her help covering for me. Otherwise, it'd be too easy to slip up."
"...Fair point."
After her initial surprise, Loki nodded in understanding. Clearly, she agreed.
Tsuna gave a helpless smile. His father had always kept his mother in the dark about the underworld's affairs, yet here he was—the son—about to tell her something that went beyond even that, about an entirely different world.
"Fortunately, none of this otherworld business will put her in danger. Otherwise, I wouldn't tell her. I just want her to know where I'm going, so she won't panic if she ever notices the puppet instead of me."
"Yeah, safety's not really a concern here."
Separated by an entire world, Loki doubted any god could interfere on Tsuna's side.
The gap and barrier between worlds were vast and impenetrable.
If crossing between worlds were that easy, Loki wouldn't believe the gods would still be foolish enough to stay confined to the Labyrinth City.
She, for one, would've left long ago.
But after countless ages, Tsuna was the only one she'd ever met capable of something so absurd—someone who existed outside the bounds of the story itself.
Unprecedented... and probably never to be repeated.
"Since you've decided, then just go through with it. As long as your mom doesn't spread it around, it won't be a big problem. And with her personality, even if she accidentally says something, nobody's likely to take it seriously anyway."
Loki's reasoning actually made a lot of sense to Tsuna.
Given his mother's airheaded nature, even if she told the truth, people might just assume she was daydreaming.
"Alright, let's shelve that for after the Expedition. You were up all night excited about the Holy Grail yesterday, right? Surely you did more than just fuss over that thing?"
"I did make a few preparations. Remember what I said about how, in my world, most information exists as data made up of zeroes and ones? I built a tool to capture data from that digital world—something I call Pheromone."
"To test its capabilities, I also made some Mimicry Eyes for monitoring and recording. Considering how sensitive gods and certain Adventurers can be, I didn't set them up inside the Labyrinth City. I placed a layer outside the perimeter."
"Outside the Labyrinth City?"
Loki didn't sound reproachful—she just nodded slightly.
"If it's just a test, best not to draw attention to yourself. Like you said, some gods have hypersensitive senses—they'll pick up on things ordinary people can't."
"And some Adventurers are the same. Especially those kids from the Ganesha Familia. They're always maintaining order on the front lines, and their senses are sharpest of all. After years of dealing with troublemakers in the city, they've developed a knack for noticing things others miss."
"But that's only within the city. Most Familias, aside from production-based ones, aren't allowed to leave freely. So as long as your devices are outside the walls, unless you're really unlucky, they shouldn't be found easily."
Once she understood what Tsuna had been up to the night before, Loki relaxed.
It wasn't anything troublesome. Besides, Tsuna was cautious—setting everything outside the city meant there was nothing to worry about.
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200 p.s for extra chapter
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You can read up to chapter 240 on patreon.com/NiaXD.