The atmosphere in the living room remained tense, like a bowstring drawn to its limit.
Loki sat on the sofa with her arms crossed. Her lightly made-up face was full of displeasure, and her narrowed eyes looked ready to spit fire as she glared at Genichi, as though she wanted to burn two holes straight through him.
Her lips were pressed into a thin line, her chin raised slightly. She looked like an angry cat with its fur standing on end, ready to pounce over and bite him at any moment.
Genichi stood in front of her, looking at her puffed-up expression. He found it somewhat amusing, though he wisely kept himself from laughing.
He knew Loki's temper.
The more irritated she was, the less he could afford to provoke her. Otherwise, this Goddess of Mischief and Trickery really might do something that would give everyone a headache.
"Do you really want me to deny it that badly?"
Genichi's voice was calm, but there was a question hidden within it.
He met Loki's gaze without looking away or showing the slightest trace of guilt. There was only open, almost infuriating certainty in his eyes.
Loki opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Her expression shifted from anger to surprise, from surprise to hesitation, and finally from hesitation to embarrassed fury.
Of course she didn't want Genichi to deny it.
If he had really said the kiss had only been a joke, she probably would have been even more furious.
That would mean he was trying to avoid what had happened between them.
It would mean he was denying it.
It would mean he considered that kiss nothing more than a mistake that could simply be erased.
But wanting him to admit it was one thing.
Having him expose her thoughts right in front of everyone was something else entirely.
She was Loki.
The Goddess of Mischief and Trickery.
A goddess even other deities didn't casually provoke.
She could accept Genichi refusing to deny what had happened, but she couldn't accept him using that tone and that manner, in front of so many people, to drag her hidden thoughts out into the sunlight for everyone to see.
"See? You don't actually want me to deny it either, do you?"
Genichi spread his hands slightly, the corner of his mouth lifting into a faint smile.
It was a small smile, but it carried the unmistakable smugness of someone saying, I already figured you out.
There was even a hint of teasing that seemed to say, Stop pretending you don't care.
Loki's face darkened like the sky before a storm.
She glared at Genichi, her narrowed eyes so vicious that she looked ready to skin him alive.
"So what if I do? And what if I don't?"
She forced the words through clenched teeth, carrying both irritation and a childish stubbornness even she herself hadn't noticed.
Genichi looked at her and shrugged.
"Nothing."
And that was it.
He simply dropped the subject right there.
He didn't continue.
He didn't explain himself.
He didn't give Loki any opening to keep arguing.
His expression remained perfectly calm, as though none of this had anything to do with him.
That attitude infuriated Loki more than any argument could have.
She would rather Genichi fight with her.
She would rather he reason with her.
She would even rather he debate her in that irritatingly cold manner of his.
At least then she could argue back.
She could fight him on every point.
She could vent the anger building inside her.
But he simply refused to engage.
He wouldn't give her the chance.
It was like throwing a punch into cotton. No matter how much force she used, there was nowhere for it to land.
Loki's chest rose and fell with anger as she tried to think of something to say.
Her fingers tightened around the sofa's armrest until her knuckles turned white, her nails almost digging into the wood.
Watching from nearby, Demeter couldn't help rolling her eyes.
There was helplessness in the gesture, along with amusement and a clear sense of, I knew this would happen.
She understood Genichi far too well.
This man was as clever as a fox when it came to almost anything else, but when women were involved, he became as dense as a block of wood.
No.
Calling him a block of wood was almost insulting to wood.
At least wood could be burned for warmth.
Genichi couldn't even manage that.
Loki might have lived for hundreds of millions of years. She might be loud and carefree, spending her days drinking, fighting, and swearing alongside adventurers like some rough-and-tumble tomboy.
But she was still a goddess.
She was still a woman.
And despite being hundreds of millions of years old, she was still capable of becoming furious over a single sentence.
What she needed wasn't logic.
It wasn't reasoning.
It wasn't the truth.
She needed one gentle sentence.
A way out.
A ladder that would let her climb down with her dignity intact.
But Genichi stubbornly refused to give her one.
He simply stood there, watching her with those calm eyes.
Demeter sighed, rose from the sofa, and walked over to Genichi.
Her movements were gentle and natural, as though she had long since grown accustomed to playing the mediator between people.
She looked at Genichi seriously, with a hint of expectation in her eyes.
"Why don't you give Loki a Schrift too?"
Genichi froze.
His fingers stopped at his side, surprise and confusion flashing through his eyes.
He turned toward Demeter as though confirming that he hadn't misheard her.
"I don't mind."
Genichi's voice remained calm, though there was a trace of uncertainty in it.
"But would she agree?"
He had never brought the subject up with Loki before.
Not because he'd forgotten.
He simply never thought she would agree.
This was Loki, the Goddess of Mischief and Trickery.
Even getting a kiss from her had required him to push the issue before she finally agreed.
Even the Authority she had shared with him had only been given as part of a transaction.
How could someone like that willingly drink his Blood Wine and place her life and death in his hands?
That wasn't Loki's style.
It wasn't something he thought she would ever do.
That was why Genichi had never asked.
He had never even tested the waters.
He had assumed Demeter understood that as well.
He thought she would never make such a suggestion unless she was joking.
But Demeter's expression told him she was completely serious.
"Loki, what do you think?"
Demeter turned toward her, curiosity and encouragement in her eyes.
Loki frowned.
"Schrift? What's that?"
There was caution in her voice, mixed with curiosity.
Genichi had never mentioned the term to her before, nor had she ever encountered anything about it in ancient records.
It sounded like some kind of contract.
Some kind of ritual.
Something completely outside her knowledge.
Demeter walked over and sat beside Loki on the sofa, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched.
She reached out and gently took Loki's hand.
The gesture was natural and gentle, carrying both the intimacy of close friends and the reassuring warmth of an elder comforting someone younger.
"A Schrift is one of Genichi's unique abilities."
Demeter spoke softly, but every word was clear.
"Through Blood Wine, he can engrave a mark directly onto another person's soul and grant them his powers. Magic, abilities, anything he possesses can potentially be given to that person."
"In exchange, the life and death of whoever receives the Schrift is placed in his hands. If he wishes, he can reclaim the power he gave them at any time, and the person from whom it is reclaimed will die."
Loki's pupils contracted slightly.
Her fingers trembled faintly within Demeter's hand.
She was processing the information.
Thinking.
Weighing the consequences.
"You mean..."
Loki's voice sounded slightly dry.
"If I form a Schrift with him, my life will be completely in his hands?"
Demeter nodded.
"Yes."
"But at the same time, you'll gain access to his powers."
"Shadow King. Seven Deadly Sins. Magic Archive. The powers you've already seen, the ones you've heard about, and even powers you can't begin to imagine."
"And this isn't a one-time exchange."
"As Genichi becomes stronger, you'll also be able to receive more power from him."
"It's a kind of symbiosis."
"A bond."
Loki fell silent.
Countless thoughts raced through her mind.
Demeter.
Astraea.
Artemis.
Hephaestus.
All of them had drunk the Blood Wine.
All of them had entrusted their lives to Genichi.
They weren't fools.
They weren't naive little girls who could be tricked by a few sweet words.
They were goddesses.
Ancient beings who had lived for hundreds of millions of years.
Every serious decision they made had been carefully considered.
If all of them were willing to place their lives in Genichi's hands, then it meant he was worthy of trust.
At the very least, he had earned theirs.
"Hephaestus drank the Blood Wine too?"
There was clear surprise in Loki's voice.
Demeter nodded.
"Not long ago."
Loki turned toward Hephaestus, who was still leaning against the wall.
The Goddess of the Forge stood there with her arms crossed, a hint of anticipation in her single visible eye and the corner of her mouth slightly raised, as though she were enjoying the show.
When she noticed Loki looking at her, Hephaestus simply nodded.
She didn't say anything.
She didn't need to.
That single gesture was enough.
Loki took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
Inside her mind, one last struggle was taking place.
Reason, caution, and vigilance were screaming at her not to do it.
Meanwhile, impulse, curiosity, and her natural love of risk whispered back:
Why not try it?
She was Loki.
The Goddess of Mischief and Trickery.
She never trusted anyone easily.
She never placed her fate in someone else's hands without good reason.
But neither had she ever allowed an opportunity to become stronger, discover something more interesting, or move closer to the truth slip through her fingers.
"What if I refuse?"
Loki's voice was quiet.
There was testing in her tone, along with challenge and a strange trace of anticipation she couldn't quite explain.
Demeter smiled.
It was a gentle smile, like a spring breeze or summer rain.
"Then nothing happens."
"Genichi won't force you, and neither will I."
"You'll still be you, Loki, the patron goddess of Loki Familia."
Loki remained silent for a long time.
Her fingers lightly rubbed against Demeter's palm, as though searching for an answer, or perhaps gathering the courage to make the decision herself.
Then she raised her head and looked at Genichi.
"I agree."
Her voice was quiet but firm.
Genichi looked at her, a flash of surprise passing through his eyes before his expression quickly returned to normal.
He didn't ask why.
He didn't ask whether she had truly thought it through.
He simply nodded, walked over to the table, picked up a wineglass, and poured red wine into it.
Then he bit the tip of his finger and let his blood drip into the glass.
The drops spread through the wine like crimson lotus petals blooming beneath the surface.
Genichi carried the glass over to Loki and offered it to her.
Loki accepted it and lowered her gaze toward the wine.
The liquid gently swayed inside the glass, reflecting her face.
There was nervousness there.
Expectation.
And determination.
She took a deep breath.
Then she drained the glass in one swallow.
The instant the wine passed down her throat, Loki felt a strange power surge into her body and take root deep within her soul.
It felt warm.
Gentle.
As though something were filling an empty space within her soul.
At the same time, it felt as though something unseen was tightly binding her fate to another person's.
She could sense Genichi's existence.
Not physically.
Through her soul.
It was like an invisible thread had connected her heart to his.
No matter how far apart they were, that connection would remain.
She could almost sense his presence through it.
"Shadow King."
Genichi's voice reached her ears.
"You need this."
Loki closed her eyes and felt the newborn power flowing through her.
She could immediately tell that her shadow had changed.
It was no longer simple darkness that merely followed behind her.
It felt alive.
She could sense every minute tremor within the shadow.
She could feel every piece of ground it touched.
Every corner it covered.
Loki opened her eyes and looked down at her feet.
Her shadow rippled faintly beneath her, almost as though responding to her gaze.
With a thought, a black figure separated itself from the darkness and silently rose before her.
It had no face.
No features.
Only the vague outline of a humanoid figure standing quietly before her.
"So this is Shadow King..."
Loki murmured, amazement in her voice.
Demeter looked at her and smiled.
"Congratulations, Loki. From now on, you're one of us too."
Loki turned toward Demeter, then looked at Genichi.
The others were watching her as well.
There was kindness in their eyes.
Acceptance.
And a warmth that seemed to welcome her into their circle.
The corner of Loki's mouth slowly lifted into a relieved smile.
She didn't know what awaited her.
She didn't know where this road would eventually lead.
And she didn't know whether this decision was right or wrong.
(End of Chapter)
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