The moment Loki ran out of things to say, Hestia visibly perked up.
"Oh? Ohhh? You're always my Ais this, my Ais that. Well my Takumi is already Level 3—and he only received a blessing two days ago! And his combat power is way above his level—didn't you see Zald get beaten by my Takumi? Could your Ais do that?"
Hestia lifted her chin higher and higher, talking like she wanted to slap Loki twice with every sentence.
"And my Takumi was raised by Alfia and Meteria—"
Every word stabbed Loki right in the chest… and the worst part was, Loki couldn't even refute it.
Even Freya, who'd been about to leave, made a face like she was struggling not to choke.
Hephaistos, as an unwilling audience member, looked like her fist was about to clench itself into violence.
Loki bent forward, dropping her face close to the much shorter Hestia's.
"Enough, you little runt. At the end of the day, the only thing you can brag about is that one brat!"
Her voice turned sharp and nasty.
"You're a useless goddess who only survives because of your Familia member. You don't do anything, you're good for nothing, and all you do is eat, eat, eat!!!"
"You bastard!!!"
Hestia's head nearly exploded from the personal attack.
But she'd already loaded her counterattack.
She put on a scornful expression and flicked her eyes down at Loki's flat dress.
"Heh heh heh~ I eat because I actually grow. That's way better than some goddess with nothing up top."
She leaned in, smiling like a demon.
"Honestly, you're wearing that dress like you're not wearing anything at all. Takumi's chest is bigger than yours."
As she spoke, Hestia deliberately lifted her own breasts a little.
Boing—boing.
Those two bounces weren't just shaking the air—each one felt like it slapped Loki across the face.
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
Loki's face flushed bright red at a speed you could practically see.
Her dress was actually a little revealing tonight.
The tragedy was… there was nothing to reveal. Her body was a dead-flat plain.
And Hestia wasn't done. She crossed her arms on purpose and the squeeze made her cleavage swell up even more, full and overflowing, the kind of view that made people's brains go stupid.
"Loki, I have to ask—are you only so loud about liking women because your totally unsexy, unmotherly body can't attract men?"
Hestia tilted her head, voice dripping venom.
"I don't think you even like women. You're just jealous they're more womanly than you are. You're so flat it's tragic—no wonder you're hopeless, idiot!"
She smiled brightly, like she'd just delivered a masterpiece.
"Hey. That line was pretty good, right?"
Standing there among goddesses, Takumi realized for the first time just how vicious Hestia could be.
Normally she'd just get a little jealous and pout.
But the moment she clashed with Loki, her damage output skyrocketed.
Loki, hit over and over, finally snapped.
She looked exactly like Takumi back when he'd lost twenty ranked matches in a row—twitching, mentally fried, barely holding on.
"Good my ass, you moron!"
And then—
"Hng… ugh… w-wahhh…!"
Loki actually started crying.
She lunged forward and grabbed Hestia, pinching her cheeks with both hands and yanking them outward.
Hestia's eyes watered instantly, eyebrows shooting up in fury as she tried to fight back—but her short arms and legs couldn't reach Loki's long, flexible limbs. Every swing whiffed completely.
When the other gods saw two goddesses throwing hands, they immediately started crowding in to watch.
They didn't get far.
Takumi stepped in first.
He tapped both Loki and Hestia on the forehead and forcibly separated them.
"You're both gods. Stop acting like kids."
He sighed.
"Hestia, ease up with the mouth. Goddess Loki, don't start swinging."
He hooked an arm around each of their waists, holding them apart so they couldn't rush each other again.
They clawed at the air for a few seconds, then finally calmed down—still glaring.
Hestia, still pissed, suddenly thought of something.
She hugged Takumi's arm from the side—and her heavy breasts pressed into him, squishing hard enough it almost made him stumble.
"Hey~ Takumi-kun," she cooed, smug as hell. "Be honest—do you like a woman like me… or a flat board like Loki?"
"Uh…"
Takumi hesitated for half a second, just about to answer—and Loki suddenly grabbed onto him too.
She pressed her petite body against him. Sure, she didn't have Hestia's huge tits, but she shoved in close enough that Takumi could still feel the faint outline of her chest.
Loki forced a flattering smile that looked like it physically hurt.
"Obviously mine is better, right? Small and cute. Not like that heavy pile of fat that makes you sick."
And she even rubbed against him extra hard, trying her absolute best.
Hestia—who normally couldn't stand any woman getting close to Takumi—looked at Loki's pathetic attempt and didn't get jealous at all.
Instead, she burst out laughing.
"HAHAHA! Stop it. You're just gonna hurt him. You're bony—your chest will just poke him."
CRACK.
Loki's face froze.
It was like something shattered in midair.
She looked up at Takumi with watery eyes, meeting his helpless expression.
"Say it. Say it right now!!"
She shook his arm, basically climbing into his chest.
Even without obvious curves, that slender body pressed against him still had a punchy, feminine feel.
Takumi took a deep breath, then spoke in a low, steady voice.
"Goddess Loki… small has its advantages."
Loki's face brightened—
"But I like big."
Her smile died instantly.
BOOM.
Everyone there—gods and mortals alike—swore they heard something crack and collapse for real.
"WAAAHHHHH!!!"
Loki broke down on the spot.
"You—just you wait! And you too, you idiot! I'm not letting this go!!!"
Tears flying, Loki turned and sprinted out of the hall.
Ais had just arrived and blinked, looking over at Takumi with a blank, innocent expression, like she had no idea what she'd missed.
After hesitating for a moment, she chose to ignore her own goddess completely and walked straight up to Takumi.
"Takumi. Your training helped me a lot. I'm already Level 6 now. Thank you."
Her eyes burned with intensity.
"I want the next training session to start as soon as possible. Can we do it soon?"
Having tasted the benefits, Ais was completely hooked—she couldn't get away from Takumi anymore.
With Hestia still right there, Takumi only chatted with Ais briefly. Anything deeper could be handled in private.
And honestly, the best part of coming to this banquet for Takumi was meeting a whole crowd of goddesses.
One after another, they came up to talk to him—so close it was basically one step away from groping.
Watching the once-cool, untouchable goddesses gather around Takumi, a group of male gods stood off to the side wearing gloomy faces.
And some of those male gods weren't gloomy at all.
Some were staring at Takumi with a hungry, heated look.
Leading them was the sun god, Apollo.
"What a dazzling boy. Hestia doesn't deserve to have him."
"And those goddesses too—cheap, flashy decorations. All they know is dressing up to lure men."
"Men with men—that's the true harmony, the true glory. That's real love~~"
…
"…Jesus, those male gods…"
Takumi got full-body goosebumps from being stared at like that—especially because he could clearly hear what they were saying.
With a stiff expression, he subtly pulled his hand out from where it had ended up wedged between Demeter's warm breasts, made up an excuse, and slipped out of the banquet.