After reminding Ais of everything she needed to keep in mind, Bell headed home.
"I'm back."
The moment he called out, a figure suddenly leapt at him.
Instinctively, Bell caught the person by the underarms and, out of habit, spoke. "Artemis, what are you—… Loki?"
He looked down at the person in his arms, and instead of the familiar Artemis, it was Loki.
Bell froze for a moment, silently staring before his gaze drifted toward the side. There, he spotted Artemis and a few other goddesses who hadn't even started running yet.
His eyes returned to Loki.
"Loki, when did you start copying Artemis's tricks?"
"It's all your fault!"
"Huh? How is this my fault?"
Bell genuinely couldn't understand how Loki managed to pin the blame on him—let alone what exactly he had supposedly done wrong.
"Hands. Put me down first."
Annoyed, Loki pointed at the hands holding her up. Right now she looked no different from a sulking child.
Bell paused, then gently lowered her back onto the ground.
Still confused by her sudden pounce, he asked, "Loki, when did you start learning from Artemis?"
"Like hell I did!"
Loki rolled her eyes at him, expression full of irritation as she stepped closer and slammed her forehead against his chest.
"Explain. Now."
"I wasn't even gone for a full week, and you managed to make such a huge scene at home. And over there I didn't hear a damn thing about it. What were you thinking?"
"Ah…"
"'Ah' my ass!"
Only then did Bell truly realize why Loki was this worked up.
But his reaction was far too calm for her liking, and she snapped out another sharp insult.
Feeling awkward, Bell scratched his cheek.
"Honestly… once I realized how many gods had their eyes on you, I figured it'd be better not to tell you right away."
"You had enough problems on your end, and you were already standing in front of all of it for my sake. If I told you back then, you would've come rushing back instantly…"
"Of course I would've!"
Bell sighed. He had known she'd react like this—exactly why he chose not to notify her too soon.
"Because you were standing in front of all the gods, every reaction you made was being watched. You absolutely couldn't afford to show that kind of intense emotion."
"So you think what you did wasn't excessive?"
Loki paused for a moment before asking, her voice loaded with displeasure.
She was truly angry this time—if Bell didn't give her a flawless answer, she would absolutely storm off back home in a fury.
"Yes… I think I went too far."
Loki nearly laughed from sheer irritation. So this bastard knew he was being excessive.
If he knew, then why didn't he tell her anything?
Did he forget she was the "Goddess of Deception"? Did he really think it was so hard for her to fool a bunch of gods still stuck in the guessing stage?
"But I think if you reveal our relationship now, you probably won't know peace ever again."
"..."
Loki wanted to snap back with 'Do you think I care about that?' but the thought of her familia stopped her. She could bluff her way through anything as a god, but her children definitely couldn't.
If her relationship with Bell were exposed, her entire familia would be hounded endlessly by the gods taking interest.
At that thought, Loki deflated like a popped balloon, her rage vanishing all at once.
"Arghhh! This is driving me insane!"
Unable to vent her anger at Bell, all that frustration just churned inside her with nowhere to go.
If logic wouldn't work, she'd use her authority instead.
"Bell. Lower your head."
Bell thought she was about to headbutt him again, so he leaned down without thinking.
But what came wasn't a headbutt — it was a kiss.
A kiss that wasn't gentle at all, carrying the faint taste of blood.
Loki grabbed him by the collar, yanking him close.
"Listen carefully. From now on, anything important about you — I hear it first."
"It has nothing to do with complicated reasons. It's simply because you're mine, and I have the right to know immediately."
"Understood?"
Loki didn't bother hiding her attitude in the slightest.
Even though secrecy would be the better choice for her, Loki didn't want the "better" option. What she wanted was to know everything at once — especially anything involving Bell.
Bell could feel her resolve clearly, the sting on his lips still reminding him of it.
That was his punishment for not telling her this time.
"I understand."
The punishment had made things very clear. Bell also accepted that this time the fault was his.
And he definitely didn't want to taste that metallic, bloody flavor again.
Next time, he was certain Loki wouldn't settle for "just a light bite."
"Good."
...
After the punishment, Loki's mood visibly lifted.
Feeling better, she immediately wanted to know why Bell had come back so suddenly.
"You and Ais were only gone for a week. Why are you back so soon?"
Bell instinctively brushed his tongue over the wound on his lip; the faint sting reminded him to choose his words very carefully.
"This time… I came back mainly to level up."
"Level up? After just a week? And you're in that much of a hurry?"
Loki instantly picked up something strange in his wording. Her eyebrow lifted, and her body — which had just started to turn away — whipped back around. Her sharp eyes locked onto him.
Those crimson pupils clearly said: 'You're not lying to me again.'
Having already been punished once, Bell had no intention of hiding anything further.
Some things caused more harm the longer they were concealed.
His lips were proof enough of that.
"Actually… the time I originally expected has gotten shorter."
"What!?"
This time, it wasn't only Loki who shot to her feet.
Every single goddess in the house stood up at once.
Countless eyes bore straight into Bell, demanding a flawless explanation.
But for once, Bell really was innocent.
"This honestly isn't something I caused. It's telling me to finish everything before it completes its process."
"I have no choice but to move the original timeline forward."