"A gift?"
The word "gift" stirred Ais's curiosity. Even though her teacher had already left, she still stood there blankly, unable to recover from her daze.
"Riveria, what do you think the teacher wants to give me?"
"..."
Riveria snapped out of her own stunned state at Ais's voice. She looked at the girl before her, her expression complicated—more like that of a mother gazing at her daughter.
Riveria understood well that this expedition was essentially meant for Ais to draw attention away from Bell. But she hadn't expected Bell to throw out such a vague promise.
With what she knew of Bell, he wouldn't casually say something like that. But if he did say it, and said it under these circumstances, then she honestly couldn't imagine just how immense the value of that "empty check" might be.
Yet this child had absolutely no idea. No—perhaps it was because she had no idea of the value behind it that Bell chose to give it to her.
Riveria didn't voice any of her speculation. Some things were better left unknown to this child—better left that way.
"Bell already said it, didn't he? He'll come find you when his promotion is complete. So after we get back from the expedition, don't keep running off to the Dungeon."
"Okay."
Even though Ais knew her teacher could find her anywhere in the Dungeon, she still wanted to see him as soon as possible. So she decided she would behave for now—at least until he came to find her.
...
Meanwhile, Bell had already returned home.
"I'm back!"
The loud announcement immediately drew the household's goddesses to him.
"Bell!"
Filled with long-suppressed affection, the goddesses all hurried toward him in less-than-graceful steps. Bell dropped to one knee before Hestia, who stood at the center of the group, and gently took her hand.
"I've reached a critical point. From here, I'll be moving toward true evolution."
"Perhaps next time, I'll be able to stand before you as an equal. And when that moment comes, I will finally have the chance to say the words I've wanted to tell you."
The sudden confession sent shockwaves through the room. Hestia felt it most intensely.
This time, Bell had completely released his desires—opened his ambition without restraint.
From the moment he entered Orario, Bell had already set his sights on Hestia. His first goal was to find her—that had been his best choice, his optimal choice.
Hephaestus came second.
In the beginning, Bell didn't hold romantic affection toward Hestia. That simply wasn't the sort of person he was. But as time went on, he gradually grew fond of her innocence and that ever-present smile.
From that moment, he had already chosen his goal.
But at the time he had still been just a normal human, with no eternal life. To say "I like you" back then would have sounded ridiculous.
It was then that Bell found his true motivation to keep pushing forward. He needed a better identity—one equal to Hestia's. Only then would his feelings be acknowledged.
No… more accurately, only then would he feel worthy of telling Hestia "I love you."
But along the way, Bell had changed as well.
The single "you" he once yearned for had naturally grown into the "you all" he treasured now.
But that ambition of his had never wavered.
"I refuse to have only a few decades with you. Decades are far too short for gods—and for me as well."
"I love all of you. I want you to stay by my side forever."
For the first time, Bell voiced that ambition openly. He longed for their eternity.
All the goddesses froze at his sudden declaration.
After a long moment, they finally processed what had just happened. And then they realized—Bell had just said something utterly astonishing.
Loki was the first to react. Being confessed to by the man she liked—and with such possessiveness, starting right away with "forever"—sent her blood pressure skyrocketing. Her heartbeat quickened.
"You—you—you're being way too direct!"
Bell could only stare at her, speechless.
Their relationship was already close enough that a confession—practically a proposal—felt almost late. But then he remembered how in his previous world, couples proposed even after living together. A sudden surprise like this would still overwhelm a woman.
Seeing Loki's flustered reaction, Bell began to understand.
"The situation now finally allows me to say it outright."
"As I said, I've reached the final stage. I need to dissolve the Falna System and ascend through another channel. If I succeed, I'll rise to an even greater height."
"And now—I finally have the qualification to say these things."
Qualification. Of course he would fixate on something like that. Loki gradually calmed down. She had known all along that Bell cared deeply about this issue.
"You really…"
She sighed, though she couldn't voice the rest. She was a god, and her status naturally differed from that of adventurers. Her lifespan alone made Bell's hesitation understandable.
...
Boys really did care about these things—status, standing, worthiness.
"Honestly."
Loki wrapped her arms around Bell, who still knelt on one knee.
"So, you felt unqualified to say this before?"
"No. I know I've always been qualified."
Bell knew how Hestia and Hephaestus had treated him from the start. He knew Freya and Loki's feelings as well. Qualification? He had been acknowledged by them long ago.
"But I still worried. Worried I wouldn't make it this far. Worried I'd fail at the last step."
"So it wasn't that I lacked qualification—it was that I felt unworthy. That sense of inferiority came from within."
When Bell said the words "sense of inferiority," Loki finally understood how this idiot had managed to hold everything in for so long.
"That's exactly why I said you take certain things way too seriously."
She then stepped aside and looked at Hestia, making room for her.
"Shorty, you say something."
Hestia snapped back to awareness, puffing her adorable cheeks as she glared at Bell.
"Bell, you idiot!"
Yet she still stepped forward and pulled him tightly into her embrace.
"A super big idiot!"
...
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