"Eh!? You confessed to Hephaestus—directly? And she said yes, just like that?"
Loki stared at Tsunayoshi, at a rare loss for words.
She'd told him he could tie himself to more people; it would stoke his drive, keep him climbing. But she hadn't expected him to be this efficient. In just a few months he'd linked up with Hephaestus—and now, she'd not only accepted his confession, she'd accepted his proposal.
"I thought you were planning to whisk Tsubaki away. Who knew you wouldn't spare even Hephaestus."
Loki had been the first to know about Tsubaki—ever since that first impulsive hug. And now, once again, she was the first to hear about Hephaestus's answer.
After a beat of shock, mischief crept into her eyes. "You know, up there Hephaestus and Soma are the shut-ins of the bunch—don't go out, don't socialize."
"The difference is Soma locks himself away to brew, and Hephaestus locks herself away to forge."
"One hones liquor. The other hones steel."
"And you—dragged the first out for retraining, and went straight to proposing to the second."
There was a thread of vinegar in her voice, but the tease took most of it away. She opened her arms—plain invitation.
Tsuna stepped in and wrapped her up. Loki's whisper warmed his ear. "So now you're entangled with two goddesses. Your road just narrowed. Feeling the pressure yet?"
"You can only move forward. If you fail, a goddess's resentment won't forget your soul even after a hundred million years."
A goddess's love cuts deep; once it starts, it doesn't stop on a whim.
Tsuna had accepted that from the start. If a chance at a longer life existed, he wasn't about to let himself die easily. How to make that life longer—that would be a path to carve.
He squeezed her back. "Loki, I'm a greedy man."
"I want bonds with goddesses. I want a longer life. I want my parents and friends to live longer too."
"With that in my heart, I won't stop for any random reason."
"Good." Loki's smile was satisfied. This was a road no mortal had ever walked. She didn't know if Tsuna could, but he had what others hadn't.
He already held a true condition for climbing the sky.
A power even gods lacked.
Magic Beast Creation.
"Don't tense up," she said lightly. "You've got what past challengers didn't. That power even gods don't have can carry you up the peak. Your job is to mine its potential. Some things… happen once the water's high enough."
"I know." Tsuna's eyes flickered. "And I have contingencies for 'longevity,' too."
"Actually, I've always kept a 'borrowing plan' in my back pocket."
"But if I can build that thing… I might not need to seek anything else to get what every adventurer covets—immortality."
"…You're serious?" Loki's poise cracked. Her eyes went wide.
"It's true," he said. "But there's a catch. If my personal strength isn't high enough, forcing that thing to rewrite causality will draw divine attention."
"…You're kidding me."
Rewrite causality? That was changing the rules of the world. In a flash she saw how his "contingency" could let a human step out of human limits—leap past short lifespans, alter the rule of brief lives, and reach longevity—even eternity.
"Then why the funeral face?"
"Uh… Loki, you were the one who went solemn first. And like I said—it's a contingency. If I'm too weak, pulling that thing out would be a desperate move. If I'm strong enough, I might not need it to live long."
He hurried to explain. He'd had a read on his limits from the start, but Loki's look had dragged him into the mood.
"Unbelievable," she muttered, palming her face. The point she'd wanted to hammer in—and he already had a spare key in hand.
"I underestimated you a little. So even that is on your table."
"Honestly, I only realized it when I created the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet," he admitted. "If I can make something that drags a soul back from the brink, then I can make that other thing too. And if I can make that… then 'immortality' and 'undying' stop being myths."
"But since my ability can build that, I figured my ability alone might accomplish the same result anyway. Add the influence of the Netherworld's Holy Grail, and I decided to try it my way first."
When he learned that Magic Beast Creation could reproduce even god-slaying artifacts, he understood he suddenly had a dozen shortcuts in reach. But those cheats were far beyond what he could safely control. So he shelved them.
At least until he could match them. Otherwise, they were just trouble.
"Next time," Loki said, cheeks heating, "tell me these things before you drop them on me."
(End of Chapter)
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