"Yeah, I hear you the first time," Haios spoke, a dangerous glint in her golden eyes. "Now shut up while I think up a way to tactfully respond to your abhorrently idiotic request," she folded her arms, gazing at the blue haired goddess before her.
Aqua bit her lip, fidgeting nervously beneath her stare. "I'm sorry I..."
"Sorry you called me a damn loli? Sorry you turned your own believers against Eris? Sorry for the years of disrespect you've oh so kindly given me? Sorry for the very existence of your fucking cult?"
Aqua grimaced, but she didn't back down. She took a deep breath and start talking in a practiced manner, as if she's already done it plenty of times in front of the bathroom mirror at 3 AM.
"I'm sorry for everything I've done, and I formally request that you remove the lust-"
"I hear you the first time you dumb fuck!" Haios slammed the table before her, glaring at Aqua. "Don't think I don't know what's on your head right now, you want to just stop being a goddess don't you?"
"N-no... I just..." Aqua bit her lip. "I just want to... be closer... with..." her voice fades away into a faint whisper. "Kazuma..."
"I know," Haios replied simply. "And my answer is no. Because one," she held up one finger. "Taking out the lust seal will end up in the two of you fucking, and two," she held up two fingers. "Fucking will end up in you losing your divinity, and three," she held up three fingers. "You do not need to fuck Kazuma to be a good team member and finish your mission. Now fuck off..."
The words were clear cut and dry, there was no pretense. But despite all this, something else began gnawing on Aqua's heart.
"Umm... Do you..."
"I'm mad at you, yes, still am," Haios cut her off. "Do I hate you? Yes, yes I do, kicking you off into the mortal realm was the best thing to ever happen to me," she folded her arms. "Any other questions?"
Aqua blinked back the tears, her mind still hasn't processed what Haios said, it was the only reason she kept talking. "I-I'm sorry..." the gnawing feeling gets even worse now, ever painful by the second. "Umm..."
"Anything. Else?"
"N-nothing..." Aqua felt like her legs giving out below her, the pain in her chest becoming unbearable, yet she still couldn't comprehend it. "Sorry for bothering you..." she bowed, not noticing the tears dropping on to the void below her. "I'll see you later... Sensei..."
Aqua closed her eyes, feeling a soft sensation slowly growing beneath her, a soft pressure of a cotton mattress and a pillow. The soft embrace of a warm blanket slowly engulfed her as a sense of vertigo consumed her.
A wooden ceiling welcomed her the moment she opened her eye. One intricately made with carvings and runes of warmth and comfort. The mattress was soft as cloud, nothing like the rough hay she used to sleep on. The blanket was warm and as light as feather, nothing like the piece of fabric she used back in the stables.
"Heal," Aqua muttered to herself, pressing a hand on her chest. A momentary relief flooded her, but the feeling slowly returned, even worse than before.
The goddess sat up, her mind still cloudy, unsure of it all. She narrowed her eyes when the feeling still won't go away, the pain in her chest getting worse.
"Sacred Heal!" she said sternly and a bright flash of light engulfed her.
Unlike heal that only deals with physical pain, sacred heal is a spell unique only to the divines. It can heal even the deepest wound, erase the most wicked curse, mute the devil's whisper, cleanse the tumor within one's heart, heal a thousand years of trauma, and of course...
Blur out a terrible truth.
"Hmph..." Aqua narrowed her eyes. "Stupid loli," the pain in her chest is no more, a swift dismissal of her plea was the only thing she remembered. "She just doesn't understand," she folded her arms. "Guess I have to do this myself,"
The goddess sighed and plopped back on to her bed. "But still... This so unfair!" she began punching the pillow. "Why Megumin!? I mean, she's my friend but..." she rolled and look up the ceiling. "I totally got to him first, this is because of the stupid lust seal..."
Aqua's hand snaked on to her navel and traveled down, right above her womb. It's not visible, but it's there, etched deep into her being. A symbol of a hollow heart, one designed to stop anyone from falling for her for whatever reason.
"There's gotta be a way to remove this..."
---
Meanwhile, sitting on her desk, a certain loli goddess watched it all unfolds. She didn't even look remotely surprised, just disappointed.
"Well," she looked back at the paperwork piling before her. "She's already mentally challenged," she grabbed a piece of paper that seems to contain business proposal of sort. "A little hysteria shouldn't make it any worse than how it is right now..." she signed the piece of paper.
"How many times has she done that anyway?" Haios mused, a small sadistic smile grew on her face. "I hope she used it a lot... I would love to see what happened when she reached the limit... Maybe she'll finally learn her lesson..."