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

The situation had completely flipped.

The side that once held the advantage had been caught off guard and now found itself at a disadvantage.

Still, this outcome wasn't all that surprising.

That Loki would seize on this weakness was entirely expected.

She might not be the most powerful god in Tenkai, but when it came to crises and unexpected situations, she was one of the quickest thinkers among the gods.

Accepting defeat obediently just wasn't in Loki's nature.

Of course she would try to turn things around and put herself back in the most favorable position.

On the surface, she acted relaxed, but inwardly, she was on high alert.

'The shorty's kid must have predicted this shift... so what kind of plan did he come up with to make me agree to his terms?'

Now that she knew about the hidden list of Rune Stones, Loki's greed had grown. She wanted even more.

'But that kid definitely knew this.'

Loki was sure that shorty's child had taken that into account—and yet, he was still confident she'd accept his conditions.

That could only mean one thing: the boy had something truly extraordinary up his sleeve.

And that uncertainty, that sense of the unknown, was making Loki's heart race.

She was genuinely curious to see what kind of leverage the kid had that could force her hand.

"Shorty, bring your kid over already."

With her legs crossed, Loki couldn't help but look forward to meeting that white-haired boy again.

Just then, she suddenly felt the sofa behind her shift slightly.

"I apologize, Loki-sama. Actually, I've been here the whole time."

The voice from behind made Loki freeze.

She stiffly turned her neck to look back—and only now did she realize she had been sitting on shorty's kid's lap this entire time.

She couldn't wrap her head around it.

She'd felt something was off when she sat down, even turned to check, but everything had seemed normal. So how...?

That confusion kept her frozen in place—she didn't even think to stand up.

"Ugh! Loki, aren't you going to get up!?"

While Loki still hadn't reacted, Bell had already moved.

With his cheeks puffed out in mild irritation, he grabbed Loki and pulled her off his lap.

Dragged up by force, Loki finally snapped out of it. She stared stiffly at the white-haired boy sitting calmly on the sofa.

"You... since when were you sitting there?"

"Loki-sama, I've actually been here since the very beginning."

"So when I sat down and felt something off... that wasn't my imagination?"

Now it made sense.

No wonder the sofa had felt warm when she first sat down.

Of course it had—she'd been sitting on shorty's kid. Of course there'd be warmth.

But she'd checked! She was sure she had!

"You... how did you do that?"

Bell didn't answer. He simply activated the same technique again, masking his presence.

And right before the eyes of three gods, Bell vanished into thin air.

The sofa appeared completely empty, and an eerie sensation made their minds subconsciously gloss over that spot.

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would have truly believed there was no one there.

Even though the sensation was clouding their perception, they still remembered someone had just been sitting there.

"!?"

Loki, who had been watching the entire time, couldn't hide the shock on her face.

She had seen shorty's kid vanish right before her.

No—more accurately, she couldn't feel his presence at all.

Her vision was obscured, her senses blocked. Even when she tried to focus, some inexplicable force disrupted her concentration entirely.

"Is that also the power of those magical scripts?"

A living, breathing person had vanished right before her eyes—and now, she couldn't sense a single trace of him.

...

A moment later, Bell released the concealment and reappeared before the three goddesses.

Originally, this state would have been forcibly dispelled upon contact with another person.

But just now, Bell had completed his promotion ceremony and chosen "Stealth" as his initial Development Ability, which had further enhanced the function of "Presence Concealment."

So yes—his choice had been the right one.

'Stealth' truly suited his current needs better than any other ability.

"I guess you could say that."

Bell rose from the sofa. He knew he owed an apology for startling Loki with that kind of entrance.

"My apologies, Loki-sama. I didn't mean to meet you under such circumstances."

Loki took a moment to steady herself. Her curiosity toward the power of those magical characters deepened—and her surprise at the boy's abilities grew even more.

That move alone was impressive enough.

While the power of the gods in Genkai was restricted, that didn't mean they were powerless.

Just as children in the lower world couldn't lie before a god, it was also said to be impossible for them to completely hide their presence—especially in such close proximity—and still go unnoticed by a deity.

And yet, he'd done exactly that.

If he could remain hidden even from gods, didn't that mean he could pull off the same trick in front of other dangerous entities?

Loki couldn't say for sure.

But even the possibility was enough for her to raise her internal evaluation of the boy dramatically.

"Forget it. Let's just put that earlier thing behind us."

Loki wasn't the type to hold grudges—not unless it involved that shorty who always annoyed her.

"Since you're here, I assume you heard everything I was just saying to Shorty and Phae-Phae."

"Of course."

"Then let's get straight to it."

Loki didn't bother sugarcoating anything—she got right to the point.

"I know you and Shorty need a strong backer."

"What you've made has already stirred up a storm in Orario. If you want to keep living in peace amid all this chaos, Phae-Phae's deterrence alone won't be enough—you'll need real, tangible power to back you up."

"And in Orario, the only Familia that can offer that are mine and Freya's."

"But it seems Shorty doesn't want to team up with Freya. That leaves you with just one option—my Familia."

"So, tell me—what can you offer that would convince me?"

"And just so we're clear—those Rune Stones of yours alone won't cut it."