Blake blinked. "And you are?"
The half-elf girl smiled politely. "Eina. I'm a receptionist at the guild, and I'll be your supervisor from now on."
Her voice was calm and composed, but Blake could tell she had stepped in to de-escalate the chaos before it spiraled even further.
Hestia, sensing an opportunity, crossed her arms with a smug grin. "Heh! Loki, what do you have to say now? I've got a witness! Or are you actually trying to convince me that my ordinary Blake somehow fought a Level 5 Sword Princess to a standstill?"
Loki didn't answer. She was too busy staring at Blake like he was a newly discovered treasure.
Her mind raced. Ais never lied, and she'd clearly confirmed that Blake had clashed with her. Not to mention, there had been physical evidence in the form of battle damage at the scene. If all of that was true, then Blake wasn't just good—he was something else entirely.
And that meant one thing.
No way in hell was she letting that tiny brat keep him!
Loki narrowed her eyes and suddenly smirked. "Blake, after everything that happened yesterday, don't you think it's time to take responsibility?"
The entire guild fell silent.
The Amazon twins, who had been watching from the sidelines, perked up, now even more intrigued.
Even Eina was caught off guard. "Take responsibility? For what?"
The surrounding adventurers were struggling to keep up. A supposedly normal guy had fought Ais? And now Loki was demanding he take responsibility? What exactly had happened between them?!
"Wait… Blake, is this true?"
Hestia, her confidence wavering, turned to look at him with wide, teary eyes. If Loki was pushing this hard, it wasn't just a baseless accusation.
Blake exhaled slowly. He'd tried to explain earlier, but things had escalated too quickly for him to get a word in.
"Yeah," he admitted reluctantly. "It happened."
"Ssss~!"
The room collectively gasped.
Blake wasn't sure what was more uncomfortable—the stunned expressions or the sheer envy radiating from every male adventurer in the room. The idea of anyone standing toe-to-toe with Ais was almost blasphemous.
Hestia's lip quivered. "B-Blake…!"
Meanwhile, Loki's grin widened like she had just won a prize. "So, you admit it? Well, then. Spying on Ais while she was bathing is a serious crime, my friend. So tell me, what's your plan for fixing this?"
Blake pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, I'm sorry. How do you want to settle this?"
Loki's smirk turned devious.
"Simple. Leave that tiny Familia and join mine!"
Hestia stiffened. The smugness drained from her face, replaced with pure, unfiltered rage.
"You—YOU CAN'T JUST TRY TO STEAL MY BLAKE IN PUBLIC LIKE THIS!!"
The temperature in the guild seemed to drop ten degrees.
The crowd, which had been waiting for some kind of punishment, was now completely thrown off.
"Wait… aren't they supposed to be punishing him?"
"Why does this feel more like a goddess love triangle?"
"Is Loki… trying to seduce him away?!"
Hestia grabbed Blake's arm and yanked him protectively toward her. "Back off, Loki! Blake is MY family!"
Loki, undeterred, shrugged. "Oh, come on, I'm doing this for his own good. He's obviously wasted on you."
The smug look on her face was infuriating. She was enjoying every second of this.
The bystanders, meanwhile, were witnessing something truly historic.
A public goddess catfight.
Over a man.
Even Ais seemed mildly interested, her golden eyes shifting between the two goddesses and Blake, as if trying to piece together what exactly was happening.
Blake sighed. "Sorry, I refuse."
The bickering stopped instantly.
Hestia looked up at him, eyes shimmering with emotion. "Blake…!"
Loki, on the other hand, frowned. "You sure about that, silver-haired brat? Do you really understand the consequences of what you're saying?"
Blake's expression didn't waver. "Yeah. Yesterday's… accident aside, I won't leave Hestia. I owe her."
Hestia clung to his arm like he had just saved her life. "Blake, you're the best!" she sobbed dramatically.
Loki, however, wasn't done. "Owe her, huh? That's cute and all, but you still haven't explained how you ended up in our bathhouse."
Blake sighed. "You think I wanted that to happen?"
Loki's eyes narrowed. "…Then how did it happen?"
Before Blake could answer, Ais suddenly spoke.
"Loki, stop threatening him."
The room tensed.
Ais' voice was calm, but something about the way she said it silenced any further arguments.
Blake blinked. Did she just… defend me?
Loki visibly twitched. Ais never spoke up like this. Not for anyone.
The other adventurers were just as dumbfounded.
"Wait, hold on."
"Why is Ais defending him?"
"Did something happen between them?!"
The way Ais said Blake's name so casually only made things more suspicious.
Loki turned to her prized adventurer, still visibly thrown. "…Ais?"
Ais, completely unfazed, simply looked back at Blake, as if waiting for his answer.
The silence stretched on, filled only by the unspoken questions hanging in the air.
For once, even Loki didn't have a comeback.