Demeter gave up.
She released Dio’s arm and took half a step back.
For the first time, genuine weariness appeared in her amber eyes, tangled with emotions she could not easily name.
She studied the young man standing before her.
His face usually wore some shameless grin, but now there was an openness and certainty in his expression that left her with no idea how to respond.
Demeter truly had no answer for a hopeless pervert like him.
She had led him through Orario’s streets, shown him the city’s beauty and vitality, and tried to make him appreciate the warmth of ordinary life.
She had even resorted to pressing herself against him, despite how embarrassing she found the idea.
Yet Dio had spent the entire day indulging her efforts while making it perfectly clear that he would not be fooled.
Then, at the end of it all, he had casually told her that he would gladly devote himself to her if they were in her bed.
Demeter dearly wanted to punch that infuriating face.
Somehow, she restrained herself.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll use your secrets to threaten you?”
She finally laid her last card on the table, though even as she spoke, the threat sounded hollow to her own ears.
Dio merely raised an eyebrow.
His eyes looked especially clear beneath the afternoon sunlight.
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, he tilted his head and appeared to give the question serious thought.
“Of course I’m afraid.
You’re a goddess.
If you truly wanted to ruin me, what could a mere Level One adventurer possibly do to resist?”
He smiled faintly.
“All you’d have to do is tell Freya or Loki that I’m from another world and reveal the truth about [Dreamwalker].
I probably wouldn’t even make it to Orario’s gates.”
His smile became more certain.
“But Goddess…
would you really do that?”
Demeter fell silent.
Looking at Dio’s confident expression, she suddenly felt powerless.
Of course she would not.
If she had wanted to bind him through threats, she could have done so from the beginning.
Why would she have gone to all the trouble of showing him around the city, taking him sightseeing, and even attempting a form of seduction that she herself found mortifying?
She wanted him to remain here willingly, not submit because he had been left with no other choice.
Demeter understood Dio well enough to know exactly what would happen if she used his secrets against him.
On the surface, he would immediately surrender.
He would bow his head, smile obediently, and say, “Of course, Goddess.
Whatever you say.”
Then, the moment the Dimensional Gate finished cooling down, he would open it and disappear without the slightest hesitation.
Dio had never been someone who would quietly accept being controlled.
He would pretend to submit, lower the other person’s guard, and patiently wait for the perfect opportunity.
Then he would break free and run faster than anyone else.
If that happened, the relationship between them would be ruined.
They would no longer share the teasing yet strangely warm bond of a goddess and one of her children.
It would become something twisted, held together by fear and coercion.
That version of Dio would never accept this world.
He would forever see himself as a prisoner waiting for an opportunity to escape.
Demeter did not want that.
She wanted Dio to accept Orario for himself.
She wanted him to form deeper bonds with the people living here and discover something worth remaining for.
It did not have to be anything grand.
A friend, a favorite meal, or even a beautiful place would be enough.
As long as something took root in his heart, he would no longer be merely a traveler passing through.
“Goddess, we should head back.”
Dio’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.
He stood in front of her without his usual teasing smile.
His expression had become unusually serious.
There was no mockery or suspicion in his eyes, only a distant sort of gentleness.
Demeter sighed and nodded.
She said nothing more.
Turning around, she walked beside him toward the Familia home.
The afternoon sun stretched their shadows across the stone road, intertwining them beneath their feet.
It resembled a silent promise—or perhaps a conversation that had been destined to end before it ever truly began.
…
After returning to the Familia home, Dio did not immediately retreat to his room or prepare for another trip to the Dungeon.
Instead, he stopped in the courtyard and turned to face Demeter.
His expression was open and direct, as though he intended to settle the matter once and for all.
“Goddess, you don’t need to keep trying.
I can tell you plainly that I will never become the hero you’re hoping for.”
His voice was quiet, but the certainty behind it allowed no room for argument.
“I won’t be the hero who saves Orario.
That role belongs to someone else.”
Dio continued before she could answer.
“I know you want me to form a bond with this city.
You want me to choose to stay and become one of the people who protects it.”
“But I’m sorry.
I can’t do that.”
“I don’t possess that kind of selflessness or resolve.
I only want to live safely, and when the time comes, I’ll leave for another world and continue my journey.”
Demeter frowned.
Her lips parted as though she wanted to say something, but she ultimately held herself back.
Dio seemed to see through her thoughts.
“Goddess, you’ve watched the anime and read the stories stored on my phone, haven’t you?”
He abruptly changed the subject.
“Then tell me—what do you think would happen if the Dimensional Gate carried me into one of those stories?”
Demeter’s pupils contracted.
Her entire body went rigid, as though an invisible bolt of lightning had struck her.
“You mean…”
Her voice fell to a whisper, trembling slightly without her realizing it.
Dio looked at her, his expression so calm it bordered on coldness.
“This world was the same as those anime and novels before I came here.”
He spoke slowly, each word carefully chosen.
“The people in those stories, the events waiting to happen, and the destinies that had already been written…
all of them exist here.”
“Ais Wallenstein, Freya, Loki, and even the so-called promised day—I knew about all of them before I ever arrived in this world.”
“Because in another world, I had already watched your story.”
Demeter’s breathing quickened.
She instinctively stepped backward and pressed one hand against the wall to steady herself.
Countless images flashed through her mind—the anime, manga, and novels she had spent the past few days enjoying.
Stories from another world that had made her laugh aloud and brought tears to her eyes.
She had assumed they were nothing more than entertainment.
But what if those worlds were real?
What if her own world was merely another story unfolding on a stage someone else had created?
Then what did that make her?
Was she, a goddess, nothing more than a character whose every action had already been written?