Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

"Haruhime's power gives you the qualifications to challenge a Lv. 7 enemy, while Cassandra's ability offers you the highest level of safety."

At that, Loki immediately caught on.

"Wait, you haven't mentioned Cassandra's risks yet."

Bell glanced at Loki, who clearly wanted to get this info for free, and silently held out his hand.

"What's in it for me?"

"Huh?"

"Information isn't free. Since I gathered it, I'm not handing it over without something in return."

Greedy little—

Loki cursed inwardly. Still, she knew he had a point. But with a smirk, she propped her legs up arrogantly.

"Whatever. If you won't tell me, I'll just have Finn investigate it later."

But Bell didn't even flinch. In fact, he chuckled a little.

"Loki-sama, if her information were that easy to uncover, she wouldn't be ranked first. I guarantee you—without my intel, even if Captain Finn found details on Cassandra, he wouldn't take her seriously. He might not even trust her."

That made no sense to Loki.

No one would take her seriously? Not trust someone with a special ability like that?

But Riveria instantly understood.

"Is it because of the 'Risk?"

Risk?

Loki paused for two seconds, then her eyes widened. She noticed the hooded kid across from her smiling ever so slightly, as if mocking her.

So irritating!

Loki felt her teeth grinding in frustration.

"Great power often comes with great risk. Cassandra's ability is powerful, but heavily limited. After all, the future isn't so easy to glimpse."

"But even with those limits, her power is undeniably strong."

"However, if you all treat her the same way you have until now, the result will be exactly what we're seeing with Cassandra right now."

Bell's smile didn't fade under his hood, which only made Loki even more annoyed.

Cassandra's power truly was impressive, but it came with a serious flaw:

If no one believed her, then no matter how accurate her foresight was, it was completely meaningless.

"So, what'll it be, Loki-sama?"

Loki stared at the boy in front of her, barely restraining herself. This kid had hit her weak spot for the second time—and she was furious.

"...Fine, you win!"

Loki practically growled through clenched teeth.

"Pfft~ Hahahaha~"

Seeing Loki's frustrated face, Hestia couldn't hold it in any longer.

Honestly, she had been trying not to laugh since Loki had started huffing and freezing up in front of Bell. But since they were in the middle of a serious negotiation, she'd done her best to keep it in.

Now, hearing the shorty's snickering, veins popped on Loki's forehead—and finally, she couldn't take it anymore and jumped up in anger.

"Shorty, I've had enough of you!"

Loki jumped up on a chair and lunged at Hestia, and the two goddesses ended up rolling ungracefully onto the floor.

"I've had enough of you too! You looked like you'd never seen anything like that before. My Bell probably scared you half to death."

"That's your kid being amazing. What's that got to do with you?"

"Because Bell-kun is my child! If you're so confident, why don't you show off one of your kids too?"

Hestia, the smaller of the two, was getting her cheeks pinched, but she wasn't backing down one bit.

Or rather, she could lose to anyone else—but she refused to lose to Loki. So even while getting her face squished, she snapped right back.

"Pfft!"

That invisible jab stabbed Loki right through the heart, making her eyes well up with frustration.

"My Ais isn't any worse than your kid!"

Even with her face red from the pinching, Hestia wouldn't yield.

"You've got so many kids, and that's the only one you can bring up?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Bell-kun's my only child."

"Yeah? Well, my kid just landed a 1.6 billion order—off you."

That line made Loki's blood pressure spike. Her eyes were practically swimming with tears.

This was the second time that shorty had made her feel utterly defeated.

And the second time she'd lost—outside of physical appearance—to the shorty's child.

Unable to hold it in anymore, Loki suddenly burst out crying. She let go of Hestia's cheeks and dove straight into her own "mom's" arms.

"Waaah! Mama, that damn shorty bullied me!"

As she complained, she rubbed her face shamelessly against Riveria's chest.

Riveria looked down at the pervy goddess clinging to her and the veins on the back of her hand started twitching violently.

If this weren't an official setting, she'd have punted Loki across the room by now.

Just then, Bell caught sight of the pulsing veins on the hand of the "Nine Hell".

"Loki-sama, I'd recommend you calm down. The Nine Hell's patience with you is almost at its limit."

Loki froze mid-squish, then leapt back from Riveria in a panic.

She didn't even dare glance at Riveria's face. She just straightened up and looked across at Bell with a serious expression.

"Let's hear your condition."

Given the chance, Bell didn't hold back.

"I want a favor from you, Loki-sama."

That single line hit Loki like a hammer.

'Of all things... he had to ask for the most expensive one.'

Her head throbbed.

A "favor" might seem like nothing, but it could also be worth everything.

If he'd asked for something excessive or unreasonable, Loki could've dealt with it. But a favor—that was costly.

Her favor basically equated to the entire Loki Familia's favor.

So naturally, she hesitated.

Bell noticed and calmly followed up.

"Loki-sama, for the sake of helping your three pillars reach Lv. 7—maybe even Lv. 8—all I'm asking for is a favor. That's a good deal."

"And I promise, Cassandra's intel won't disappoint."

Now Loki was cornered.

Could one person's intel really be that important?

If it had been before, she might've doubted it. But ever since acquiring Haruhime, Loki had come to understand just how crucial one person could be.

So now, it wasn't just about a favor—it was about the future of her Familia.

She glanced at the shorty across from her, still sitting there with her face in her hands.

This time... she was completely defeated.

"...Fine. I agree."

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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