Chapter 77: Special Time

"A granola bar?"

I handed over a new delicacy to Tiona-san.

"It's different from the usual chocolates."

"Really? Then..!"

She unhesitantly tore the packaging and bit a majority of it in one go. The granola bar is one of the provisions sent over to this world. When I had a random thought of giving Tiona-san this, I couldn't help but do so. The packaging is merely a silver film. The gods wouldn't think much of it.

"Thwis ish gwood!"

"Yes, just as expected."

Granola bars are my lifesavers. When I couldn't cook properly due to some experiments, I ate them along with the custom MREs. Then again, those MREs are as good as normal food thanks to magic.

It only took a moment for Tiona-san to gobble everything up.

"What is this?!"

"Granola bars. If you are familiar with oatmeals, it is made up of them."

"Oatmeals..?!" She made a shocked face. "These are oatmeals?!"

"It seems Tiona-san does not like oatmeals."

"Yeah! I mean… they are lacking in substance. They're bland too!"

Poor Tiona-san. She must've never seen a proper oatmeal once. If you mix yogurt and fruits, it becomes more appetizing.

One of these days, I could give her a proper oatmeal.

"Hm..? You look different today, Sirius."

"...Really?"

Tiona-san's senses are really sharp.

"There's nothing wrong with me."

"Really?"

"Yes."

I apologize in advance, but it is a private matter… one that has to be dealt with by me.

******

Inside one of the rooms in Hephaestus Familia home, there existed high-end technology. They altered the room's previous look into a sci-fi one. The machines and screens attached to the room made it akin to a surveillance room. The projectors could place images within the entire room easily.

Dozens of program codes passed by the screens. They simultaneously worked with the pocket [Laplace] in order to deduce Gekai's coordinates faster. More than ten supercomputers are stuffed inside the supplies along with several other tools.

"Hey. Miku."

{Yes?}

One of the projectors formed the image of the virtual diva. She is wearing her usual diva outfit—a white sleeveless top, black tie, and a black skirt. She seems out of this world.

Meanwhile, the one who came inside the room was none other than Ein.

"I know this comes off bad. But… is something bothering Sirius?"

{Ein-san noticed it?}

"Something is really wrong..!"

Before she could misunderstand further, Miku shot it down.

{Nothing is wrong with goshujin-sama. It is an entirely different matter.}

"...I see…"

Knowing she could be intruding on Nobu's privacy, Ein didn't ask for more.

"It's not bad, but it still bothered him..?"

Ein was about to throw it outside her mind when she saw Tsubaki coming out of Hephaestus' office. Ein saw her heave a deep sigh while massaging her neck.

"Oh, Ein? How are things goin'?"

Tsubaki is one of the few who knew about Ein, Filvis, and Haruhime residing in their familia home. It is simply impossible to keep it a secret from her.

"It's alright." Ein replied.

"That's good. Anyways, I'm off."

Seeing her helpless look, Ein felt more that there was something wrong. She does not understand it properly, but it is as if anticipating a surprise you are not ready for.

'What is it..?'

*****

"Fu…"

It is already evening. The day passed just as usual. I went to the Twilight Manor, checked out the Northeast store, visited the guild for Eina-san's lessons…

I wore my usual black overcoat. It is the most formal attire I could think of—granted, my fashion sense might be distorted by the coat thing.

It doesn't remove the fact that coats are really universal.

Ba-thump.

My hands felt cold inside my black cloth gloves.

It is tension, perhaps.

During my week inside the dungeon, I came to realize one thing.

The matter with Lady Artemis… I've been pushing it off for quite some time. Both of us know that something is going on between us. Only, we didn't make it clear. I… No, rather, we understand it all too well. It's just that we are inexperienced which led to keeping the status quo.

'Should I… or shouldn't I..?'

I began contemplating as to whether or not to use a cheat to advance my romantic experiences. I have four chances to use—one being used for Filvis and Ein—so that leaves me with three.

I am planning to use one for my combat experience while the other one could be used on the prophet, Atrophos-san. Just like Cassandra-san, she could be a good indicator of incoming danger. It could save up chances and give out warnings when I don't have any chances.

If that's the case…

…

"Really…"

I stopped distracting myself from reality.

I have to man up and face reality.

"This is a date."

Yes, a date. I asked Lady Artemis for a meeting tonight precisely because of it. It is why I am waiting outside their familia home tonight.

Ba-thump.

I felt a connection with her since that day. It sparked some tension during those first few days. After that, it became more subtle. It became intense at special times, but it is more subtle than anything else. It brought us closer as we could understand each other well.

Feelings, vague thoughts… It is the reason behind our current 'relationship'.

If we didn't have that, things might be a bit different. I know we could still be like this. We wouldn't have developed this relationship if our values didn't match.

'I should've asked Suimei…'

That guy could handle a harem out of all things. I am in doubt when I received those memories for the first few times. Real life is not like a love comedy. Girls have their thoughts and feelings. They are not simply cardboard cutouts.

Being able to deal with that and create a harmonious atmosphere to all his wives… I have to give Suimei that. He is well-versed in romance… it should be.

Think, think…

'Dense? Hum..? That reminded me of bad things.'

'Well… I don't know what to say. It just happened…'

'They could say incomprehensible things, but keep in mind it means something. I learned it the hard way.'

My good brother…

Looks like I will owe him one again.

It didn't take long before someone opened the gate. They partially opened it and sneaked a peak outside.

Ah.

'How cute.'

It was Lady Artemis. She wore her usual garb for fighting. She sported a serious expression as she sneaked a look outside.

Our eyes met.

A brief silence occurred before the atmosphere changed. I noticed how swiftly her expression changed—it turned into an embarrassment. It is just as infectious.

I swallowed the words I was about to let out, being changed to nearly a stutter.

Lady Artemis wordlessly looked away as she went past the gate. She closed it silently with her nimble hands.

I didn't know where to look at. My sight wandered around her before our gazes coincidentally met.

"N-nobu…"

"Uhm…"

Damn it..!

Should I use it once or not! Nope, it'll be useless. Turning into an experienced romanticist wouldn't do me good when there are far more practical uses for it. That's far too dumb!

In that case…

Goodluck, my present self.

"Lady Artemis… Remember that time when we visited your brother?"

"...Yes…"

"I'm fulfilling my promise."

"Yes…"

Lady Artemis' dignified appearance was long gone. Just like me, she acted tensely. She wanted to utter something several times but chose not to. Her gaze lingered on the ground in a desperate attempt to mask her embarrassment.

Worse, I could see every bit of it.

My mind inadvertently wandered to her usual calm demeanor. It is a far cry from her previous self..!

'Gap moe…'

At this moment, I am enlightened. No wonder people found it captivating.

"So… Let me take care of you tonight."

"..!"

Her blush deepened—

'What did I just say..?!'

—while I realized how 'bad' it sounded.

*****

Orario is the city where the gods' ideals condensed the most. They have the modern and convenient concepts from Tenkai. Olympus has the medieval atmosphere, Nine Realms has a modern atmosphere, and so on.

The place where these cultures condensed was none other than Babel. It is a skyscraper built purely by the gods, which explains why it defies some principles. It does not follow the conventional structural design of a modern skyscraper, yet it could hold out with the same height as them. It has more than fifty floors and extends to four thousand meters.

It is split into several districts. The weapon shops could be found on the lower floors while the recreations are located in the higher floors.

The fine dining restaurants are found in that place. Their prices are naturally exorbitant but it does not faze a certain white-haired boy.

He didn't show the bill to the goddess and kept a calm look as he checked out. By the time they left the restaurant, the goddess absent-mindedly looked at him.

"Lady Artemis..?"

"Y-yes?"

"Is there something wrong?"

"...There's none."

Inwardly, she felt more 'tense'. Her heart couldn't stop beating rapidly since Nobu arrived. He isn't aware of it, but the way he led Artemis through the entire thing made him look captivating. His attempts to reduce the awkwardness between them were seen as 'cute' by her.

'Is… Is she right..? No…'

She recalled the words uttered by the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, who she acted as a 'seal' back in Tenkai. Artemis viewed her as her polar opposite.

Artemis kept her chastity tightly, not falling in love with a man.

Meanwhile, Aphrodite did all sorts of things with men—from dating them to the deeds done inside the bed room.

It is the reason why Aphrodite stated how Artemis is 'missing out' on good things.

Only if she knew that the same goddess is currently bashful on her first date…

"Lady Artemis… How about we stroll in the store department?"

"Hm… Ah..?" Artemis was pulled back from her deep thoughts. "Yes…"

'There's something wrong. It's not her usual nervousness… What could it be..?'

Nobu realized something was quite off since their entry to the fine dining restaurant. His sharp senses—sixth sense—helped at this moment.

'I see… Lady Artemis doesn't prefer luxurious places…'

As the goddess of hunting, Artemis never went on dates or ate on fancy restaurants. She prefered more to be on the battlefield—to her home ground.

Although she appreciates Nobu's invitation to the dinner, she unconsciously felt more 'tense'. It stacked up to the jitters in her heart, thus forming the current scenario.

Immediately, he thought of several places.

'I'll deal with it later.'

Nobu focused on the situation at hand. He led Artemis to the store department—a place similar to malls in his world. They passed by many shops. From accessories to clothing, it has everything.

However, tension existed between the two. They couldn't bring themselves to 'suggest' something to the other. That is, until, Nobu stepped up.

"Is Lady Artemis interested in this one?"

"Hum..?!"

Artemis thought for a while.

"...Yes."

It was a set of clothing including a sleeveless white blouse, a black skirt, and a black coat. It also has a blue ribbon that could be worn with the blouse.

He went to the salesperson. No such thing as a coincidental meeting between acquaintances occurred. The female salesperson, a werewolf, helped pick out the clothes on the set.

She then led Artemis to the dressing room.

It took 'quite' some time to get dressed. Nobu patiently waited outside, reminiscent to a boyfriend.

When Artemis got out, his mind blanked out.

"How is it..?"

Nobu couldn't respond for a while. Her usual braid is undone, leaving her long aqua-blue hair to freely sway. Coupled with her new outfit, Nobu's mind overloaded.

(A/N: Straight-haired Artemis plus these clothes.)

"...It's good."

Before Artemis could revel in his compliment, he dropped another bombshell.

"You are beautiful in those clothes, Lady Artemis. Cute too."

"..!"

Just like that, the inexperienced 'couple' became embarrassed once again. Nobu couldn't bother hiding his blush as he went straight to the cashier and bought everything in cash. He even added a fifty percent bonus.

In that manner, the two continued their 'date'.

Sometimes, it was calm.

At other times, they became tense.

It is a rollercoaster of emotions.

Fortunately, Nobu could enact his plan after leaving Babel.

"It's tiring, isn't it?"

"No… It is fulfilling."

"..."

Their tension rose again. This time, he has a valid reason to 'defuse' it.

"Let's buy some drink first. Then, we'll visit a special place I have in mind."

"A special place…" Artemis went silent before continuing, "Alright."

They stopped by one of the Jagamarukun stalls. It has a wide range of selections—from croquettes to drinks.

Different from before, she felt more at ease. It didn't involve any fancy restaurants but rather a simple stall. It is similar to the ones in the villages she passed by.

Seeing her relaxed smile, Nobu gave himself a virtual thumbs-up. He might not be able to provide a perfect date, but he could make it good enough.

Just as they were in the stall, they came across several acquaintances.

"Sirius..?"

The party from Meren—Loki Familia's Nine Hells, Thousand Elf, Jormungand, and Kenki—barged into their alone time.

The first thing they noticed was his unusual look. Nobu was usually stoic and calm inside Twilight Manor. The blush beneath his ears couldn't be hidden due to how it contrasted with his white hair.

"Lady Riveria, Lefiya-san, Aiz-san, and Hiryute-san… Greetings."

Fortunately, he could adapt well. He showed a formal greeting despite his flustered self.

"She is..?"

Aiz was the first one to notice the presence of a blue-haired woman beside him. An aura of a deusdea emitted from her, proving she is a goddess. She is beautiful enough to be easily noticed on the street, yet she couldn't recognize her.

"Good evening, Sirius and Goddess Artemis."

Riveria was the one who got her back.

'Artemis..?'

No matter how much of an airhead Aiz was, she recognized that name. She even saw Artemis during the Knossos raid. Only, her current self is a sharp contrast to the dignified goddess she saw.

"Let's go. We need to report to Loki-sama." Riveria declared.

Lefiya and Tione understood her subtle intent. They took a look at the pair before having different thoughts.

'Just like the captain, huh.'

'Akasaka-san has a girlfriend?!'

Sadly, there was someone who remained oblivious to it.

"Aren't we buyi—"

Riveria and Tione pulled Aiz away with them. The latter frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Riveria. What is going on..? Why did you pull me?" She asked with grievance.

"We might be interfering with their date."

"A date..?"

Tione and Lefiya spoke out their inner thoughts from before.

"You really are innocent, Aiz."

"Date… Akasaka-san and Artemis-sama is dating…"

"It's not surprising. Haven't you heard yet? Sirius is close to Artemis Familia." Tione commented. "I wonder how Tiona would react… It's impossible for her to give up."

Amazons are all resilient to their 'mates'. Tione persistently chased after Finn since the day she fell in love to him. The same went for Argana Kalif when she was once defeated—thrashed—by Finn in the future iteration.

"Date… She's a special person to him..?"

Aiz felt something complex brewing within her. She should be happy that her friend found his special partner, but her feelings contradicted it.

The brilliance he had shown remained in her mind. To her, Nobu is someone to chase after—a blinding light she wanted to be with.

Just then, the words of her mother came to her mind.

'You will find your own hero one day.'

'Mother… What should I do…'

Riveria silently looked at Aiz. She sighed at the thought of things turning more complex due to this coincidental meeting.

*****

A/N: Uni won't stop me from writing a new chapter, more so when we are about to come to the exciting parts here. The only thing I could say is "Yes, it's finally happening. The romance tag finally found its meaning from its minimal existence."

I guess I took my time for these stuff to happen. Although, I planned for these built-up progress to occur continuously. Y'all might already know who's next after Artemis. As to how everything would work out, do stay tuned for it~!