*Luan's POV*
When Ais, Tiona, and Tione left the mansion, I returned to the table with tea and sat down with Hestia and Lili. As soon as I sat down, Hestia asked, "What do you think you're doing? Accepting a dinner invitation from those girls!"
She was upset.
And I could understand why. I had promised to spend the evening with Hestia.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't refuse her invitation."
"Why not? Because you like her?!"
"Don't start, Hestia. You know you're my number one."
"If I were your number one, you wouldn't have accepted her invitation. Now you'll abandon me to go out with them!"
"You're overreacting! I won't be home that late. When I get back, we can spend the rest of the night together."
"Tsk!" Hestia clicked her tongue and looked at Lili. "Lili, isn't Luan being an idiot for doing this?"
"..." Lili looked at me and shrugged. "Yeah, he's being an idiot," she said, holding back a laugh.
"See! Even Lili agrees with me."
"Lili…" I smiled bitterly. "Goddess, please don't act like this."
"Act like what? Like someone whose promise was broken, and now you're spending the night with three other women? Idiot!" Hestia slammed her hands on the table and stood up.
"Don't get so angry, it's bad for the baby."
"Hmph!" Hestia turned away and left the dining room.
Lili looked at me and couldn't hold back anymore. "Hahaha, you really are an idiot. What made you think accepting their invitation was a good idea?"
"I just didn't want to refuse…"
"Well, now you'll have to deal with the consequences~~" Lili teased. "Why don't you buy the Goddess a gift? Maybe then she'll forgive you."
"That's a great idea!"
####
Night fell, and as promised, I headed to the Loki Familia's home. Before leaving, I made sure to dress well and put on a perfume I had bought in this world. It wasn't as good as the ones from my old world, but it still smelled great.
At the entrance of the Loki Familia's house, Ais, Tiona, and Tione were waiting for me.
As soon as they saw me approaching, smiles appeared on all their faces.
"Sorry for the wait," I said.
"Don't worry, you actually arrived earlier than expected," Ais smiled at me and stepped closer.
Tiona and Tione also took a step forward.
All three were wearing casual yet beautiful outfits.
I couldn't help but compliment them.
"You three look stunning," I said, brushing my hair away from my eyes. I hadn't cut it in a while, and it kept growing. I should probably trim it later—it was starting to bother me.
"Thank you," Ais replied.
Unlike her, Tiona and Tione just smiled shyly, not saying anything.
After chatting for a bit, we decided to go to the Hostess of Fertility.
When we arrived at the restaurant, we were warmly greeted by Syr.
She led us to a large empty table.
Contrary to my expectations, the restaurant was quite empty, so Syr quickly took our orders. We each got a plate of food and a large amount of beer.
Tonight, I decided to drink quite a bit.
Since I don't get drunk easily, there was no problem.
After long minutes of conversation, our food was finally served.
Before I even realized it, I was already on my fifth large mug of beer.
Since the girls didn't want to "lose" to me, they were drinking a lot too. And just like me, they didn't get drunk easily. In the end, we drank way more than expected!
By the time the restaurant was about to close, we finally stopped drinking at Syr's request. She approached us with a wry smile.
"Sorry to interrupt your fun," she said.
Her eyes were focused on me.
"Don't worry, it's fine. It's already pretty late, and I need to head home anyway," I said, remembering my promise to Hestia.
And so, we left the restaurant.
As soon as we stepped outside, a cold wind hit my body.
Tiona and Tione, who were wearing light clothing, shivered from the cold.
I hadn't expected that.
"You should head home before you catch a cold," I suggested.
"Do you really think we'd get sick from something like this? Hahaha," Tiona laughed.
"Don't worry, we're fine. We can walk around a bit more," Tione wanted to keep having fun, but Ais didn't like the idea.
"I think we should go back now. We didn't tell the Goddess where we were going—she might be worried."
"Worried? About what? There's no one here who could cause us trouble," Tiona, who seemed a little tipsy, said cheerfully.
"Don't say that, you might jinx it."
"Alright, alright~~" Tiona replied before stepping closer to me. "I'm cold… Can I stay like this until we get home?" she asked, hugging my arm against her soft chest.
"Of course," I replied.
Seeing this, Tione, feeling jealous, grabbed my other arm and hugged it as well.
As for Ais… she kept walking beside us, visibly annoyed.
####
The closer we got to the Loki Familia's house, the drunker Tiona seemed to get. It was as if the alcohol was only now starting to take effect. But I didn't think it was just the alcohol—she was also getting sleepy.
And she wasn't the only one.
Tione and Ais also looked tired.
When we finally reached the mansion's entrance, Tiona and Tione quickly said their goodbyes and went inside. But Ais stayed outside with me.
She seemed like she wanted to say something.
That's when I finally noticed her cheeks were slightly flushed.
"Luan…"
"Hm?"
I waited for Ais to say something for several seconds.
"…Sorry, I'm going inside now."
"..."
Ais went into the house.
I stood there for a moment, trying to understand what had just happened.
"What was she trying to say? Did she get embarrassed?"
I scratched my head and sighed.
"I should head back now—Hestia's going to be mad if I take too long."
####
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Next chapters: Chapter 215 - Investments? / Chapter 216 - I want to explore the dungeon a bit more. / Chapter 217 - Playing with an Infant Dragon. / Chapter 218 - Xenos. / Chapter 219 - Something sweet. / Chapter 220 - Should I tell her? / Chapter 221 - The most sincere "I love you" you've ever said to me. / Chapter 222 - The taste is always incredible. +18