The couple went around the festival for an hour more and were almost done visiting all the shops and games. However, instead of toys, the prizes for the games were just more food or coupons for their establishments.
Kisuke and Yoruichi sat down on a bench, slightly away from the hustle and bustle to rest. It was also around this moment that Kuroka, Medusa, and Hestia, who were similarly going around the festival, found them.
"Yo! Kisuke-kun, Yoruichi-kun! Having fun?" Hestia happily greeted them and ran towards them.
"Yup, we're having a great time~!" Kisuke answered happily, "How about you three? Enjoying the festival?"
"Yup! I'm stuffed!" Hestia answered with a big grin.
Kuroka looked around before answering, "We're almost done going around, nya. And frankly speaking, there wasn't much to see."
Medusa, on the other hand, excitedly declared, "I've learned a lot, master."
Kisuke could only smile wryly at Medusa's response, "This is the time to take a break, you know."
"I'm fine, master! I'm happy about this."
Seeing a little girl calling Kisuke as 'master', made him the focus of attention yet again. The attention soon grew as people recognized the other girls who just became Level 2 from the Guild's announcement.
"Hey... Is that the Gigolo Master?" One of the bystanders pointed out.
"Yeah... He should be the one. As expected of the Gigolo Master, he has the looks." One of them replied.
"Looks like it wasn't just a rumor. Look at those beautiful women around him. A little girl even calls him her master! How envia--- Ehem! I mean preposterous! I hope a bolt of lightning drops on him from a clear sky!"
Even though they were far away, everyone from their group, except for Hestia, heard their words and the girls couldn't help but chuckle.
"Eh? Eh? What's going on?" Hestia asked in confusion.
"It looks like the effect of the actions he took that day are slowly losing their effects," Yoruichi answered while looking at Kisuke.
"Should I bomb the Freya and Loki Familia next? That should last longer, right?" Kisuke muttered under his breath.
But before he could put his plan into fruition, a few people came approaching and two of them gave Kisuke an intense gaze, "Ah~, Riveria-san, Wallenstein-san and Viridis-san. Good evening and it's been a while~."
"Good evening, and it's really been a while. I knew, if I just followed the murmurs around about 'the Gigolo Master', then I could find you." Riveria replied with a smirk.
"...Good evening." Ais nodded at him and greeted him back.
"G-good evening!" Although Lefiya wanted to glare at Kisuke, due to the rumors about his relationship with Ais, she actually got scared at the pressure which Riveria and Ais were emitting.
"We finally meet again. I already fulfilled my side of the deal, so you should have a proper reason for why you kept refusing our visit?" Riveria went straight to the point.
Without beating around the bush, Kisuke explained, "I'm sorry about that. I was too busy with some of the important stuff, so I couldn't entertain you."
"Yet Line can make it to your schedule, huh..." Riveria grumbled.
"Well, unlike the two of you, Line-san's lesson can't be easily self-studied, due to many unknown terms and new concepts that may be hard for her to accept." Kisuke then looked straight into Riveria's eyes, "And frankly speaking, I technically have Line-san's life, so it's pretty obvious who I should prioritize."
Riveria and Ais reeled back at his words and the intensity of their gazes weakened.
"But worry not, I plan to make amends to the deal. I'll be sure that you two will be satisfied."
Riveria immediately shook her head, "No. I trust that you'll fulfill your end of the deal. I just didn't like being delayed for some vague reason like 'you're busy'. I'm sorry about that."
"Please don't apologize. It's me who didn't meet my end and ramped up my schedule for other things."
Riveria ended up smiling wryly, "This won't end if we keep going like this. Let's put this behind and enjoy the festival. It's a rare rest, after all." She then gave Kisuke a cheeky smile, "And it seems you got all prepared for tonight. I could never have imagined you could look this way."
Kisuke turned to Yoruichi and the rest and asked them, "Do I really look that bad?"
"Nah, your shaggy hair is really striking," Yoruichi answered.
"Not to mention your hat always obscures your face, nya.", added Kuroka.
"Master also generally doesn't really take care of his appearance. The gap is just too much.", Medusa followed up.
"Kisuke-kun... Why don't you tie your hair and ditch that hat once in a while? I'm sure you'll be popular!", Hestia finished it.
However, Kisuke just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Nope. Too much effort. And I don't really like the idea of getting popular. Sounds like a pain. Besides, I like my hat! It's my favorite!"
Yoruichi, Kuroka, Medusa, and Hestia looked at each other before giggling at him, "Well, that's just how he is. Even in formal situations, he'll just dress up for the occasion and that's about it." Yoruichi commented.
"By the way, how is Loki-sama?" Kisuke suddenly changed the subject.
"She's not going out these days due to security reasons. We don't know how the remnants of Evilus will move at this point, nor the Familias backing them. Aside from that, she also has some fear of coming across a 'buff magical girl'... I don't know what that means, though." She then narrowed her eyes at Kisuke, "Do you know anything about it?"
Once again, Kisuke just shrugged his shoulders, "Who knows~?"
Riveria wanted to ask further since this concerned an infiltrator in their base. But before she could continue, she and others heard Hermes' voice ringing out from a distance.
All of them simultaneously looked towards the people who were gathering and Hermes speaking on a stage.
"Friends, lend me your ears~!" Hermes started. "Listen if you stand far. Watch if you stand close!"
"This voice... I haven't seen Hermes-sama since the 18th floor. I wonder what he's up to?" Kisuke muttered.
"Let's go take a look. It might be something interesting." Yoruichi dragged Kisuke towards the crowd. Those who were left behind looked at each other before following them.
"Call out your name if you think you have what it takes!" Hermes continued, "Now! Which intrepid hero will pull this spear free!"
"What is he up to?" Yoruichi muttered in question. But as the two of them got close and saw a spear which was encased in ice, their eyes widened, "Kisuke... What is that?" She whispered.
Kisuke stared at it before answering, "I don't know... But as you might have guessed, it's a very strong weapon. And the ice covering it is derived from Divine power. So it's probably a Deity's weapon? But why?"
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Editors:
Alexander: Hoho, so Artemis is next? That's bound to be interesting.
28th00: I kinda like how Bestia is just wandering around and having fun while giving a completely innocent opinion/advice. Time to fix the plot! Honestly, Artemis got done SUPER DIRTY in that movie, and she's one of Hestia's only friends, right? Hell no! WE DO NOT LET OUR BESTIA CRY! Also, Antares is messing with souls, that's a big NO NO, like, seriously. Isn't like a really big Menos Grande with super regen?