Poking the Hornet’s Nest part 3

Syr sighed as she looked up at Apollo's mansion from a hidden corner only illuminated by the moonlight, 'Haah... What did I come here for?'

Through her connection with 'Freya', Syr had already heard what just happened. Although she had no concrete evidence, the strange sensation they both felt certainly came from Kisuke Urahara, one of the individuals that were shrouded in mystery.

Due to her intense curiosity, she ended up turning a corner and headed to this place instead of returning to the tower. But after coming here, she'd already decided against calling him out as any method to do so would attract attention, especially from Loki and Hephaestus, who were strangely protective of him.

'They are certainly aware of some of his secrets. I wonder what kind of secrets they are, to make them act this way?' Syr questioned herself as she turned on her heels and decided to meet up with 'Freya' and Ottar to directly hear from them about what just happened, as there were certain limitations with the connection they had.

After a minute of walking, Syr arrived at the small opening surrounded by trees and illuminated by shiny moonlight and abruptly stopped in her tracks. She already walked over this spot when she came to watch Apollo's mansion, but the sudden changes in it made her jumped a little as a familiar figure greeted her with a smile while setting up a table with a bottle of wine and two wine glasses, "Oh hey, fancy meeting you here, Syr-san~!"

With widened eyes, Syr muttered his name, "Kisuke Urahara..."

After being taken aback for a few seconds, she recomposed herself and rearranged her thoughts before replying with a bright smile, "Good evening, Kisuke-san, but I don't think that this is a coincidence."

Kisuke just chuckled, "Well, that's not really important. It seems that you're free, so why don't you join me for a cup of wine?"

Sighing, Syr's face was filled with regret, "I'd really like to accept your offer, but I still have to return to my work later. As you've probably noticed, Mia-san's sense of smell is fantastic and I would be instantly discovered. If she were to notice that I drank some alcohol, I wouldn't hear the end of it. I'd like you to forgive me for that."

"Ah, I'm sorry too for not considering that. Then how about a cup of hot chocolate?"

"I'd love to, but I can only see a bottle of wine on you. Should we move somewhere else?"

"There's no need. The cold wind will make the hot choco even tastier. Please sit down~."

Syr was confused at his actions and wondered where he would be getting the hot drink. He'd be incredibly rude if he were to leave her here out of nowhere and make her wait for the drink, but she also knew that Kisuke wasn´t that kind of person from the times they'd interacted.

After helping Syr sitting down on the chair, Kisuke pulled out a typical small Adventurer's bag from behind a tree. Wondering what he was about to do with it, the thought that the hot drink would be coming from such a small bag never crossed Syr's mind.

She was shocked to see that Kisuke suddenly picked up the fragile wine glasses and bottle and put it inside the bag. But when she was about to scold him for not handling the glasswares properly, Kisuke suddenly took out a steel pitcher and placed it on the table.

From the sound it made at the moment it hit the table and the smell it produced, Syr was able to figure out what was inside it and how full it was. On top of that, a little bit of steam was coming out from the top, "...Hot milk?"

But Kisuke wasn't done yet. Without resolving Syr's confusion, Kisuke kept taking things out of the small bag that was already far beyond its capacity.

Being dumbfounded, Syr asked, "...What's that?"

"It's just a bag with some tricks on it.", said Kisuke. He set the bag aside and started moving the things he just took out, asking Syr how she wanted her hot chocolate.

After a minute, Kisuke was able to finish making two cups of hot chocolate with different flavors according to their preferences.

Syr stared at her steamy cup of hot chocolate with a generous amount of marshmallows and dark chocolate shavings before looking back up to Kisuke who was now opening some boxes which contained some snacks that could pair with the hot chocolate, "Please try it~."

Picking the cup and blowing on it, Syr took a sip and her eyes immediately shone like stars, "It's sweet, but not too sweet! It's also creamy and the bitter aftertaste is delectable! No doubt, this is by far, the best hot chocolate that I've ever tried!"

"I'm honored that a Deity could praise my brew~ Please try some lightly salted snacks too. It should go well with the sweet chocolate."

Since Syr had already guessed that he was aware of her true identity, she wasn't shocked by that much and just continued to enjoy her drink and tried some snacks. Thankfully, they were now sitting in front of each other and they could slowly go over that topic as they conversed naturally.

After silently enjoying the cold breeze with the hot drink in her hands for a few minutes, Syr finally spoke up, "Kisuke-san, could you tell me more about that bag? It should be an item that has space laws rewritten inside of it."

"More specifically, space and gravity laws were slightly modified to enlarge the space inside it, not translating the weight to outside and stabilizing its contents."

"Then it's really a revolutionary item that could start all sorts of things, ranging from wars to smuggling. I didn't even know that this kind of magic item existed in the Lower World. I presume Loki and Hephaestus are already aware of this?"

After taking a sip from his cup, Kisuke answered, "I supplied a few sets to both of them."

Syr smiled brightly and asked, "I wonder if you could supply a few to my Familia, too?"

"My~ Even though I'm aware that you're a Deity, I'm still not sure which Familia you are leading~."

Syr was surprised that Kisuke was actually telling the truth, "You're still not sure? Even with all those clues?"

Chuckling, Kisuke replied, "Everything was just my guess and there's no way I'll consider something like that as being sure."

"Hmm, fair point. How were you able to confirm that I'm a Deity anyway? Is it thanks to that child?"

"I'd like to keep that to myself."

"Ehhh~? Then why did you come to meet me if you're not going to tell me anything?"

Kisuke then looked straight into her eyes and said, "Well, there are just a few things I'd like to clarify, Freya-sama."