Chapter 546 - 546: Verbal Sparring

On West Street, the calls of merchants mingled with the clinking of glasses as Magic Stone lamps illuminated the passing crowds.

The scents of food and cooking fires drifted through the air, and the entire street bustled with life.

"Bell! Welcome back!"

Outside the lively tavern, Syr, dressed in her pale green uniform, threw herself into the boy's arms.

"I slipped away to come here. Goddess-sama and the others will be arriving at the tavern soon."

Bell returned her long-awaited embrace while getting straight to the point.

According to Syr, there was some conflict between her and Hestia that made it impossible for them to meet. Since everyone would be coming to the tavern for dinner, Bell needed to warn Syr beforehand.

"Now isn't the time to talk about that, idiot."

Syr wrapped her arms around the boy's neck, her gray eyes fixed firmly on his crimson ones.

The gaze she had been unable to give him for so long seemed to stretch between them like silvery threads. Following those threads, her cherry-blossom-soft lips slowly drew closer.

Within moments, a deep kiss closed the remaining distance between them.

"Syr, you're the one who shouldn't be doing this right now, nya!"

Watching their interaction, Chloe's slender black tail immediately stood on end.

She hurried over and protested, "Read the situation, nya! If I hadn't come over, how long were you two planning to keep kissing in the middle of the street, nya?!"

"Sorry. Was that too stimulating for Chloe?"

Syr reluctantly ended their intimate moment and stepped back.

Although her words sounded apologetic, the mischievous smile on her face revealed what she really thought.

"Of course not, nya?!"

Chloe glanced at Bell, then gave him a gentle smile.

"Young man, welcome back, nya."

"Syr, Chloe, hurry up and help!"

Lunoire shouted toward them while carrying plates in both hands.

"Seriously, why am I always the one covering Ryuu's work whenever she's away..."

The instant a roar came from inside the tavern, "Quit dawdling and get back to work!", the human girl's complaints stopped immediately.

"Nya... it'll be bad if Mama Mia gets angry..."

Chloe sighed softly.

Unlike before, she did not extend her tail and play some mischievous prank on the boy.

She simply raised her head and let her gaze rest on Bell for a brief moment before quickly returning inside the tavern.

"Syr, are there still enough seats inside?"

Bell brought the conversation back to the matter at hand.

Hestia Familia had quite a few members. Normally, they should have made a reservation in advance so the tavern could arrange enough space for everyone.

"It might be a little crowded, but let me think... Oh, I know. We can have Hermes Familia sit outside~ Hermes and the others will probably be late anyway because they're busy with work."

Syr smiled as she suggested the arrangement.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

Bell accepted his lover's kindness and silently offered his sympathies to the hardworking girl who had just lost her indoor seat without even knowing it.

"Mm! Leave it to me. I'll help with the cooking so everyone can have a wonderful meal together!"

Syr clenched her fist, looking full of determination.

"Please go easy on us with that..."

Before Bell could finish, Syr had already disappeared into the tavern.

Amid the noise and clinking glasses, what Syr left behind was neither the bashfulness of a girl in love nor concern about the cooking.

It was only one inexplicable murmur.

The evening breeze drifted past.

Even Bell could not understand the meaning behind the gray-haired girl's whisper, faintly touched with silver.

"Chloe?"

...

By the time the sky had turned a deep blue, the tavern had grown even livelier.

The sturdy wooden interior was steeped in the scent of alcohol, while rows of Magic Stone lamps cast warm light over the Adventurers.

Beside several round tables piled high with food, a Goddess with black twin tails and an impressive chest stood up at the same time as another Goddess with a vermilion ponytail and a painfully flat figure.

"Then, to celebrate Bell's safe return!"

"To celebrate everyone's safe return!"

"Tonight, let's drink as much as we want! Cheers!"

"OOOOOOOOOH!!!!!"

Cheers erupted alongside the clinking of glasses, and the sweet fragrance of fruit wine filled the air.

After the first round of drinks, the previously friendly atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

"Shor-ty! Don't you have any words of your own?!"

Loki drained her glass in one gulp, then spun around aggressively and glared at the Goddess at the neighboring table.

"Hah? You're obviously the one copying me!"

Hestia stood up without backing down and confronted her directly.

"You can't even tell who spoke first and who spoke second. No wonder your brain is stuffed full of potatoes."

Loki launched the first attack.

"Still better than a certain someone. Whether she eats fried potato snacks or the finest delicacies, there isn't the slightest sign of growth where it actually matters."

Hestia proudly pushed out her chest, using those overwhelming weapons to compensate for the difference in height.

"Y-you said the one thing you absolutely shouldn't have! You moron!"

"You're the idiot! Cover your face and everyone would mistake you for a man!"

"Tch... Grrr!!!"

"Pfft... Bleh, bleh, bleh!!!!"

In the middle of the tavern, the two Goddesses began the most primitive form of verbal warfare.

Loki and Hestia were enemies.

The only way to erase the hostility between them would be for Loki to somehow acquire the very thing she envied so bitterly. Only then could this divine war finally end.

But that was nothing more than fantasy.

Gods did not change.

Fortunately, both Goddesses understood the relationship between their Familias, so neither allowed the argument to escalate into an actual fight.

"Hestia-sama... please stop! This is too embarrassing?!"

Mikoto covered her face, completely unable to watch the two Goddesses hurl vulgar insults at each other.

"This is pretty entertaining~"

Artemis lifted her glass and held it to the boy's lips.

"Artemis-sama, go stop Hestia-sama! Don't use this chance to cling to Bell-sama and act all lovey-dovey with him!"

Lili frowned when she saw the Moon Goddess leaning affectionately against the boy.

"..."

Bell quietly drank the wine and ate the food Artemis offered him, making no attempt to stand up and intervene.

It was not because he had some complicated reason for refusing to stop them.

The explanation was very simple.

Hestia was winning.

A little thought made the situation obvious.

The argument between the two Goddesses had begun because of jealousy. No matter how vicious their insults became, something that existed would continue to exist, while something that did not exist could not simply appear out of nowhere.

Thanks to her natural advantage, Hestia had thoroughly overwhelmed Loki, leaving her face bright red and nearly driving her to tears.

"Loki, just because you can't beat her in an argument doesn't mean you're allowed to hit her."

Riveria gently reminded her.

Loki Familia had received an enormous amount of help from Bell during the expedition. Everyone had taken that kindness to heart.

Normally, Riveria and the others should have stepped in to stop Loki. However, Finn had warned them beforehand not to reveal how much Bell had contributed during the expedition. Leaking that information might cause unnecessary trouble for him.

The argument between the two Goddesses happened to provide an excellent distraction.

"Uuuugh..."

Loki genuinely felt like crying.

Realizing that simple insults were getting her nowhere, she immediately changed tactics.

"Tch, shorty! Do you even know what your rabbit did to my girls?!"