"What? Do you need something?"
Turning his head, Yuki raised his eyebrows beneath his mask, looking at the person who had stopped him.
"You're strong... Very strong."
Ais, who gathered courage to speak these words, had a hand on her chest and a determined look on her face.
"I suppose I am? Well, that depends on who's saying it. For you, I might be very strong, but for the Gods, not so much."
Sighing wearily, Yuki didn't know what this girl wanted, although he could see that she was special.
"No... You are strong."
Despite her words, Ais refused to back down. Yuki was a boy, someone younger than her, but much stronger. Even though she knew it was because he was a Champion, Ais also knew that Champions aren't born; they are made. Only someone who saved the world could bear that title, so she wanted to know.
She wanted to know the secret of his strength.
"Well, if you say so."
Shrugging his shoulders, Yuki no longer denied her words.
"I... I want to know, I want to know more about you."
Saying words that could easily be misunderstood, Yuki didn't respond. He simply squinted his eyes, as he knew Ais wasn't saying it romantically.
On the other hand, Loki's family was agape. Since the Champion appeared, Ais had been acting strangely.
Attacking him and now saying such words. Although many of them didn't understand, Finn, Gareth, Riveria, and Loki knew what Ais meant.
Hestia and Inori exchanged glances, as they didn't like where this was going.
"That's why... I want you to accept me as your disciple."
Bowing her head as much as she could, Ais clenched her fists. She was very nervous and a bit embarrassed, as she was asking a boy four years younger than her for teachings.
However, this didn't stop her determination. In order to become stronger, she wouldn't be deterred by such trivial matters.
Closing his eyes, Yuki was impressed. This girl didn't waste any time, but...
"No."
With just that word, Yuki turned around, refusing to look at the girl anymore. Although he had trained Sasuke and Naruto, Yuki considered both of them as family, so he had no problem teaching them. But Ais was different. She was just a stranger who attacked him the moment they met. Whatever her reason was, Yuki didn't want to get involved with her. He had no reason to help her, so without saying more, Yuki took Inori and Hestia with him, leaving the bar. But before leaving, he didn't forget to wink at Chloe; after all, she was a cat girl, and Yuki still wanted to feel her ears.
"Come back soon, Nya!"
Chloe, of course, returned the wink while waving her hand.
(How sad...)
Hephaestus, who observed this, sighed sadly for Ais, who was left petrified. But she could understand Yuki's decision. He had just arrived in this city, getting to know all of them. Ais couldn't just expect Yuki to accept her as a disciple. So, bidding a final farewell to Loki, Hephaestus followed the trio.
(I...)
On the other hand, Ais couldn't move. She didn't expect to be rejected; she didn't know what she had done wrong. If it were her being asked to be a teacher, she wouldn't refuse, no matter who that person was, as long as they had potential.
(Do I not have potential?... Am I too weak?)
Thinking about this, Ais clenched her fists tighter, and her eyes became teary.
"Don't be sad, Ais. You still have a chance."
However, just as her tears were about to fall, someone put a hand on her shoulder.
It was Loki.
"Loki..."
Raising her head, Ais looked at her goddess, who had her mischievous smile as always.
"You know, Ais... Today, I discovered several things that I couldn't understand in the past, and I still believe I have many more things to discover. But let me tell you something, Ais... If you want to be stronger, much stronger, then don't give up."
Opening her eyes in surprise, Ais was speechless at her goddess's comment.
"Loki... You, even after this, still want her to pursue him?"
Even Riveria couldn't help but ask, as Loki was giving Ais permission to pursue the Champion.
This was unheard of. Everyone knew how much Loki loved Ais; she was her favorite.
So hearing this made Riveria's mind go into chaos, even Finn couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at this.
"What's wrong with that? Even you can pursue him if you want. The Champion is from a different world, so you could learn a lot from magic or other things."
Still not losing her smile, Loki raised both hands, as her words were true.
"... "
This, of course, caught Riveria's attention, who immediately fell silent, as it was too good to be true.
And she was right. Loki had several reasons why she pushed her daughters towards Yuki.
One, she could see that inviting him to her family was impossible at the moment. She needed more time to lower his defenses.
Two, she didn't want to be on the bad side of Yuki. So forming a friendly relationship through her daughters would benefit her family.
Three, Ais was a troublesome girl. Loki could see that she wouldn't just sit idly by, so instead of waiting for the inevitable, she wanted Ais to change her fate through the Champion, just like Inori did.
Four, Yuki was kind, so he would soon yield to her daughters. Loki was sure of this.
"So... Can I too?"
Pointing at herself with her finger, Tiona didn't want to be left behind and miss out on the fun. Chaos was certain, so she also wanted to contribute her bit to make it bigger.
"You can, but I warn you, you have to be quick. Otherwise, those fox Goddesses won't hesitate to mate with the Champion and hopefully have a child."
"Eh?"
Doubting her ears, Tiona shook her head very quickly. After all, if she heard correctly, then...
"Wait, Loki! What do you mean by Goddesses mating? Children?! Can Gods have children?!"
Exclaiming, even Riveria couldn't stay silent, and the same went for the rest of the present, as it was well known that it was impossible for Gods to have children.
They and the Spirits were the same, beings that couldn't have children.
"No, we Gods cannot have children. The world and our divine power deny the possibility of a child."
Shrugging, Loki denied with sadness, as her existence was eternal. If an eternal being had children, then over millions of years, the race of the Gods would be millions. To avoid something like that, the world denies their nature.
"But Champions are different. The world loves Champions, so it will welcome the Champion's children with open arms, no matter which race they reproduce with, and that includes us Gods."
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TN: Baka yuki how dare you reject my cute kudere waifu