I love time travel the most!

"Just tell me whether I participated or not!"

"...Ah! Who would have thought that Kobayashi would resort to such opportunism, choosing to run away when faced with his savior—"

"Stop! Stop, stop, stop!"

Kobayashi covered his mouth to stop Hermes from howling.

Oh, I forgot, Hermes was not only the god of messengers but also a wandering bard, a skill unmatched by anyone.

If this continues, his reputation will be ruined.

At that moment, Hill stepped forward, grasped Kobayashi's hands, and said with a pleading look in her moist eyes, "Me too. I wanted to ask Mr. Kobayashi for your help, is that alright...?"

A 45° upward angle kill!

This has transcended the realm of cuteness and reached the level of being captivating.

The incarnation of a goddess, terrifying indeed!

Unfortunately, Kobayashi was unaffected. Instead, he rubbed his forehead and said, "I don't care, it's just that if Uranus doesn't agree..."

Hermes gave a thumbs-up and said with a hearty smile, "Don't worry, I've already made the arrangements over there!"

That was a smile that said, "I've got him cornered."

So angry!

"Hermes, the High God".

"Hmm? Is there something else you're worried about?"

"No. It's just that a close friend of mine once told me: when you encounter provocation or difficulties, don't back down, fight back fiercely."

"What do you mean?"

"That's what I mean!"

thump—

Kobayashi punched Hermes hard in the stomach, making the handsome god gag and fall to the ground like a convulsing shrimp.

With his anger released, Kobayashi breathed a sigh of relief:

"Phew, that feels so good."

Meanwhile, Hestia and Bell, who were still kneeling on the ground, showed joy while feeling a sense of sympathy.

"Could it be that……"

"Ah, let me lend a hand."

Kobayashi accepted the request.

Chapter 298 Do You Want to Dance Too?

The exciting sounds of sword dances intertwined and rang out, with silver sword lights constantly being unleashed at a dazzling speed, along with bright golden sparks scattering everywhere from the collisions.

Under the setting sun, daggers clashed several times.

The white-haired boy on the stone slab charged forward again and again, almost to the point of being naive and stubborn, but each time he was repelled and knocked away by the opponent's superior skills and strength, and was utterly defeated.

Intense training is underway on the city walls.

Kobayashi, who agreed to participate in the Kinship War, naturally also took on the task of training Bell.

After knocking him away again, Kobayashi relaxed his fighting stance, as if telling Bell to take a short rest, and commented: "Good intuition, now you can react without even looking."

"Really, really?!"

The innocent boy's face couldn't hide the joy of growing up.

Bathed in the setting sun, their sweat-drenched faces, scarred skin, and tattered clothes all testify to the rigors of their training.

It's expected to grow, but the extent of that growth within a limited timeframe is of paramount importance. It would be truly pitiful if one gained little despite undergoing such rigorous training.

"Please use it. Lord Kobayashi, Lord Bell."

"Thank you, Liu Zi."

"Thank you, Miss Ryuu!"

Seeing the two stop training, the doll girl immediately handed them towels and water bottles. After taking the supplies, Kobayashi gestured for Bell to rest for a while and digest what she had just learned.

Facing the beautiful sunset, Kobayashi leaned against the city wall, while Bell knelt on the ground, trying to recover his strength.

It wasn't just a simple rest; during this time, we also had to review the issues that had just arisen with Bell.

"It's clear from your fighting style that you rarely fight humans."

"You can tell from that?"

"Of course! Unlike monsters that always attack with full force and make large movements, humans observe the situation and try to interpret the enemy's movements. That's why you were so badly injured when you were surrounded by the Apollo Familia. Although it's related to protecting the gods, adventurers with rich combat experience against humans will only escape at the lowest cost."

"Aha……"

Hearing Kobayashi's reprimand, Bell lowered his head deeply.

He was injured quite a bit while protecting Hestia when he was harassed by the Apollo Familia.

It was precisely because he was not good at fighting humans that he was so flustered and eventually had to accept the opponent's challenge and fall into the trap.

If he had been any stronger back then...

"Don't underestimate yourself."

Kobayashi slapped the boy on the head, waking him from his reverie.

Bell's biggest problem is his lack of confidence.

Like a rabbit, he subconsciously places himself in a subordinate position in both his interpersonal relationships and fighting style. When faced with danger, his first reaction is to run away, and he will only bite when pushed to the limit.

Therefore, to change this, we need to rebuild his confidence.

The red glow of the setting sun shone on Kobayashi's face as he asked Bell, "What do you think is your advantage compared to other adventurers? Is it agility? Strength? Or perhaps intellect?"

Before Bell could answer, Kobayashi added, "It's growth potential, or rather, growth capacity."

"……potential?"

"That's right. Combat is about gaining proficiency. Some people can only absorb a little bit each time, but others can absorb it all or even more. Bell, you are the latter. So don't be afraid, your growth will be second to none! You just need to remember one sentence!"

"What is it?!"

It's unclear whether it was his deepest inner desire or a way for him to find his own value in his incompetence.

Bell was eager to know.

Kobayashi patted him on the shoulder and said, "Anything that doesn't kill me makes me stronger."

"Anything..."

Bell pondered the sentence carefully.

This is the kind of relationship that Kobayashi is happy to teach him.

Besides deriving a sense of accomplishment from training naive newbies into experienced veterans, the most important thing is that Bell listens to advice. Unlike some arrogant werewolves who never admit defeat verbally.

However, the werewolf's body language is quite honest, which can be considered a kind of unconventional cuteness.

"Thank you, Mr. Kobayashi!"

Bell bowed deeply to him to express his gratitude to Kobayashi.

Just as Kobayashi waved his hand, indicating that Bell didn't need to be so polite, he heard another sentence:

"Also, I'm sorry, Mr. Kobayashi!"

“…Why are you apologizing?”

"Well, how should I put it... Mr. Kobayashi is actually very reluctant to get involved in the clan war, but we still forced you to join, so we feel really bad about it."

"If you feel bad about it, don't ask me for help."

Xiaolin rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.

The slightly reproachful words made Bell's face turn pale, and she closed her eyes, preparing to accept Kobayashi's harsh words.

but--

Kobayashi didn't scold him, but said, "I am not against this clan war."

"……what?"

"After all, it was a life-saving favor, so it was to be expected that that unreliable playboy would ask me to do some tricky things. What I hate is his roundabout way of trying to evoke my sympathy. If he had directly asked me to participate in the clan war, I would have agreed more readily."

"Aha……"

The naive Bell couldn't understand the difference, but seeing Kobayashi's displeased expression, he wisely chose to keep quiet and not ask.

If asked, Kobayashi would tell him it's the difference between being proactive and being passive.

Hermes asked him to attend Apollo's banquet in the hope that Kobayashi would offer to help, but Kobayashi's attempt to avoid the invitation backfired, leaving him in a passive position devoid of personal feelings.

Although he likes to take the initiative, I'm sorry, he chooses to be passive in this regard.

Otherwise, how can we let that playboy guy take advantage of us and keep making things difficult for him?

“On the contrary, Bell,” Kobayashi turned his head, frowning slightly, and asked, “you came to ask me for help because you’ve been bewitched by the god Hermes, haven’t you?”

"W-What are you saying, Mr. Kobayashi? I don't understand..."

Upon hearing this question, the rabbit stiffened all over and turned its head away, unable to look Xiaolin in the eye.

It's really difficult for him to lie.

Kobayashi tapped his forehead with her index finger and scolded, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"……sorry."

Bell bowed respectfully and apologized.

He was bound to be angry, since in his view, their actions were exploiting Kobayashi's sympathy to make him feel awkward refusing. Incidentally, this tactic was also taught to them by Hermes.

Kobayashi suddenly asked, "Why did you go to such lengths?"

"What?" Bell blinked.