Free Web NovelChapter 248: _Official Babysitter
Ambrose’s chest rose and fell with heavy breaths as he made his way to Loki’s table. The latter didn’t move, watching him with the same amusement one would give a puppy doing a trick.
And oh, did that make Ambrose even more pissed.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
Loki’s eyes flitted around with mock cluelessness. Until their eyes locked on Ambrose again.
"Oh? You’re talking to me?" They chuckled, taking a long sip from their wine. "Nothing much. Just enjoying the scenery. And waiting for my order actually."
"You’re stalking me. That’s what you’re fucking doing."
"Careful," Loki’s head tilted. "You’re talking to a member of the Pantheon. The most powerful group on the planet."
"I don’t care if you’re a freaking messenger of God himself." Ambrose palmed a hand on the table. "Stay away from me. I’ll be forced to file a report against you at the—"
"So you do know," Loki grinned. "That I’m Leon."
The question took Ambrose by surprise.
He blinked once.
Then twice before turning his head left and right. His gaze pulled back to the SSS-Rank before him.
"I–I do," he stuttered. "Of course, I do. It’s not like you tried hiding it after you practically kidnapped me."
"Fair." Loki shrugged. "Still—you sound like you’ve had a hunch far before I even kidnapped you. Which makes me wonder... how exactly?"
"Like you said... a hunch."
"No. Do you know what I think?" Loki lowered their wine glass. "I think you do have a means of finding out stuff like this. I can’t tell how, of course. But it’s slowly becoming more and more obvious. You’re far too intelligent to be someone relying only on their intelligence."
[Well this is bad.]
’You think?’ Ambrose felt cornered. ’Why didn’t you warn me that he was here?’
[The same reason I wasn’t able to gauge his aether and discover he’s not a C-Rank. Loki appears to have an intricate ability to mask himself. It might be linked to illusions... but then these seem to affect reality directly instead of just the target’s mind.]
’Am I supposed to understand what any of that means?’
[Essentially—be careful around him. Because even I can’t accurately warn you if he pulls something off.]
Sigh.
Right.
Meanwhile, back at the round table the others were at, Valentine arched a brow. The others were too preoccupied discussing something—but he felt a wave of irritation washing through him.
Irritation that wasn’t his.
Carefully, he spun his neck around.
It didn’t take long for him to find Ambrose. He wasn’t heading for the restroom as he told them. But rather talking to a person he recognised instantly.
’Loki?’ he frowned. ’What are they doing here? And why is Ambrose talking to them?’
He could easily tell that Ambrose was getting uncomfortable. Or angrier. Whatever it was he didn’t like seeing the Guide in that position.
Without a word he got on his feet, his chair scraping hard against the marble floor.
The others brought their eyes to him.
"Val?" Gabriel’s forehead creased. "Where are you going?"
"I’ll be back. Just need to take care of something." That was all he said before navigating away from them like a shadow given physical form.
"You know what?" Ambrose shook his head, easing back away from the table. "Why don’t you tell me why you’re truly here?"
Loki’s mouth fell with exaggerated shock. "You don’t believe what I said before?"
"If I’m being honest I don’t believe shit that comes out of your mouth."
"... Fair." The Esper chuckled, refilling their glass. Once they had they spoke up. "Remember what we discussed before letting you leave. You’ll still be under scrutiny."
Ambrose couldn’t believe his ears. "That’s not—"
"And I’ve been spying on you before now anyway," Loki added. "This shouldn’t be any different. Except now I’m not wearing one of my numerous forms."
Ambrose stared at them for a long second.
He eventually let out a laugh devoid of any actual amusement. "Right. Good talk. Enjoy your food or whatever."
He turned on his heels.
Or at least tried to.
"Ah, ah." Loki clicked their tongue. "Don’t leave yet. We were just getting to the interesting part."
Ambrose stopped despite himself.
His instincts screamed at him to keep walking.
Unfortunately, curiosity was a disease.
"What interesting part?"
Loki swirled the wine inside their glass lazily. "The people around you."
His stomach tightened. "What about them?"
"We’ve been watching."
Those four words instantly put him on edge while Loki’s smile widened.
"Not constantly. That would be creepy even by my standards. But enough to notice certain patterns."
Their gaze drifted past Ambrose toward the table in the distance.
"The redhead adores you."
Ambrose’s eye twitched at that but Loki wasn’t finished.
"The ice prince is somehow worse about his feelings for you."
Another twitch.
"The space God one treats you with far more patience than he gives most people."
His fingers curled.
"And the necromancer," Loki’s grin turned knowing. "Oh, the necromancer is fascinating."
Ambrose felt his pulse hammering. "You’re imagining things."
"Am I?" Loki rested their chin against a palm. "Because from where I’m sitting it feels like the four of them orbit you."
Their voice softened slightly.
"Almost unnaturally."
A cold feeling slid down Ambrose’s spine.
And yet again the self-acclaimed lord of chaos wasn’t done.
"Then there’s the boy."
The moment those words left their mouth Ambrose’s entire body stiffened.
Orion.
His fist clenched so hard his nails dug into his palm.
Loki noticed that immediately.
"There it is," they hummed. "That reaction."
Before Ambrose could respond another voice cut through the tension:
"Am I interrupting something?"
Relief nearly knocked the breath out of him.
Valentine.
The Necromancer stopped beside him without bothering to sit. He didn’t even look remotely interested in doing so.
His attention remained fixed entirely on Loki.
Ambrose immediately shook his head. "No."
"Yes," Loki answered at the same time.
Then, because apparently they woke up and chose violence today, they reached out and grabbed Ambrose’s hand.
The action was so sudden that Ambrose froze.
Valentine’s expression on the other hand didn’t change.
Which somehow made it worse.
Loki blinked first before raising a brow. "Oh."
"What?" Valentine asked flatly.
Loki looked genuinely intrigued now. "You care."
Valentine’s eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"Not lust." Loki waved a hand dismissively. "That’s easy. Pretty common with most of you—humans, I mean."
Their gaze sharpened. "No. This is different."
Ambrose immediately tried pulling his hand free but Loki refused to let go.
"Interesting." Their eyes drifted toward the others at the table. "Actually, all of them feel this way."
That made Ambrose’s anxiety skyrocket.
Loki leaned back. "I don’t understand it."
For the first time since meeting them, they sounded genuinely puzzled.
"The attachment is too strong." Their fingers tightened slightly around Ambrose’s hand. "Far stronger than it should be."
Valentine’s jaw flexed. "Let him go."
"See?" Loki laughed. "There it is again."
The amusement slowly faded from their face.
"Whatever is happening beneath the surface, I know it’s there."
Ambrose felt sweat gathering at the back of his neck.
’Please stop talking... Please stop digging.’ he thought to himself, already regretting coming out at all this evening.
Luckily, Loki finally released his hand.
Unfortunately though... they weren’t done.
"Kali’s projections picked up something strange."
That got both Ambrose and Valentine paying attention.
The SSS-Rank’s playful demeanour dimmed. "Unusual activity from the Void Entity."
The restaurant suddenly felt colder when those words dropped.
"We don’t know what it means yet." Their eyes settled on Ambrose. "But we decided it’d be better to be safe than sorry."
Understanding dawned on both Ambrose and Valentine.
"You were sent to watch me."
"Correct." Loki raised their glass. "Congratulations. You’re officially important enough to warrant a Pantheon babysitter."
Valentine’s patience finally snapped. He slipped one arm around Ambrose’s waist without warning.
"Wonderful," His voice remained pleasant. "Now if you’ll excuse us, our food is getting cold."
Before Loki could reply, Valentine smoothly guided Ambrose away from the table.
Ambrose didn’t resist. Not even a little.
Behind them, Loki watched their retreating figures.
Their smile returned slowly as though they had just stumbled across a puzzle they couldn’t wait to solve.
★★★★★
Valentine guided Ambrose through the hotel’s dimly lit corridor without a word, his grip firm yet careful around his waist. The Necromancer pushed open the door to a private restroom, ushering him inside before shutting it firmly behind them. The lock clicked.
He turned to face Ambrose, shadows playing across his sharp features under the warm lights.
Ambrose’s breath hitched. The small space suddenly felt too tight, the air thick and suffocating. Valentine’s presence filled every inch, pressing against his chest like invisible chains.
"What the hell was that?" Valentine asked quietly, eyes searching his.
Ambrose swallowed, backing up until the sink pressed into his spine. "I... I don’t know. Loki just—"
He couldn’t finish.
The suffocation deepened, a mix of panic and something hotter heightening as Valentine moved closer until there was barely any space between them.
Dear lord, what now?
