DIVINE ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS
Hestia grumbled to herself.
She was sitting at home shortly before bedtime, boring a hole through the back of the young boy’s head with her glare.
I want him to lie in my lap…
Bell noticed her gaze, turned, and cocked his head, but Hestia didn’t stop staring. The only thing commanding her mind was the growing realization she was losing the battle for Bell’s affections. Bell had been sneaking off daily to meet with the Sword Princess, and who knew what they got up to together under the guise of their “training”?
Hestia was steadily becoming more and more concerned she was being left behind. As for why she thought making Bell lie in her lap would solve the issue, well, that was anyone’s guess. But a goddess’s hunches were not to be dismissed lightly.
Hmm, but how can I make it happen?
Hestia’s cheeks reddened, and she cast furtive glances in his direction. Simply asking Bell directly was out of the question. A goddess had their appearances to consider, and more than anything else, it was just plain embarrassing. If only she had some excuse…
Hestia furrowed her brow for a moment, deep in thought, then her twin ponytails suddenly twitched as it hit her.
“Bell, have you heard of the game rock-paper-scissors?” she asked.
“No, I haven’t.”
“It’s very popular up in heaven. It’s simple, too. You’ll see!”
The goddess enlightened the young rabbit on the finer points of the game. In the mortal realm, disputes were often settled by tossing a coin, so Bell had never heard of anything like this before. He nodded enthusiastically as the rules were explained.
“So rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock? That’s interesting…”
“Right? I only just learned about it myself recently. Want to try a round?”
“Sure!” said Bell, and thus, the trap was set for the poor rabbit. Hestia’s eyes gleamed.
“By the way,” she said, already raising her fist. “There’s a special rule when a god plays this game with a mortal. Whoever loses has to lie down on the winner’s lap!”
“What?!”
“Okay, let’s go! Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”
“A-actually, this isn’t bad…”
Lying sidelong across the sofa, Hestia looked up at the ceiling, a relaxed smile on her face. Under Bell’s awkward gaze, she snuggled into his lap like a kitten.
In the daily rematches that followed, the goddess managed to pull off a probability-defying string of sixteen consecutive losses.
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