"Hey, Loki? Can you hear me?"
Seeing Loki frozen in place, her face blank as if her mind had shut down, Riezel grew worried and waved his hand in front of her eyes, trying to snap her out of it.
"..."
Unfortunately, Loki remained motionless, completely unresponsive, as though her soul had left her body and only an empty shell was left behind.
Seeing this, Riezel narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke calmly.
"And you have the nerve to say you've been surviving long in Orario?"
Riezel's words successfully woke—or rather, provoked—the dazed goddess.
"Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You—!"
Loki, once dazed, jumped up from her seat, pointing at Riezel with a trembling hand, her voice shaking uncontrollably.
"Y-Y-You're a Level 7! Holy crap!"
"How did you even do it?!"
"How?! HOW!?"
Loki, too overwhelmed to tell whether she was excited or horrified, suddenly grabbed Riezel's shoulders and shook him hard.
"What the heck did you do these past few days? Did you beg some god to break the taboo and remake your body with Arcanum? Or did you rely on some kind of heretical ritual to reshape your damn soul?!"
As Loki spoke, the force of her shaking grew stronger and stronger, leaving Riezel dizzy.
"Stop shaking me, Loki, I didn't do anything."
"You're lying!"
"Aren't you a goddess? I thought children of the Lower World weren't supposed to be able to lie to a god."
"You must've used some trick I don't know about to fool me!"
"Duh, c'mon, I really didn't do any of the stuff you're imagining."
"Then what did you do? Tell me! Since you're my kid... I'll try to get you a reduced sentence!"
"Sentence? I didn't commit a crime!"
"I don't buy it!"
Loki had gone completely mad and utterly hysterical—she nearly drew a knife right then and there to dissect Riezel's body on the spot.
"I swear I didn't do anything that would scare you..." Riezel said helplessly, half laughing, half sighing. "Okay, I do have a few secrets and some strange encounters. If you really insist on knowing, I'll explain them to you properly."
Indeed, if Loki truly wished to know his secret, he didn't mind telling her.
Whether it was about the Dimensional Magic Cube, the existence of the Akasha Continent, or even those other worlds beyond this one, he could share all of it with her.
In the first place, he had never planned to hide those things at all costs.
For others, maybe, but if Loki truly wanted to know, he would tell her.
"You... I..."
Perhaps sensing the honesty in his eyes, Loki calmed down a little, though she still looked deeply troubled.
"I really wanna know... I really wanna know..."
As a goddess, Loki possessed the same nature as all gods in the world of Danmachi—a burning curiosity toward the unknown.
It was precisely that desire that had driven the all-knowing, all-powerful gods to abandon Heaven and descend to the Lower World.
Heaven was simply too dull because they could do everything and know everything there.
Inevitably, such omnipotence bred boredom and disgust, which was why they sealed away their divine powers and came down to the realm of mortals—to seek the joys and wonders unknown to them, to chase after the unknown they craved.
And now, what had happened to Riezel's body was exactly one of those mysteries the gods yearned for the most.
In such a situation, for Loki not to be curious, not to be excited, was impossible.
However—
"I just got this feeling… like if I learn your secret, kid, I'm gonna totally lose control…" Loki frowned, troubled by her own words. "And that… yeah, that wouldn't be good at all…"
Riezel didn't deny it.
If Loki were to learn of the existence of other worlds, then, true to her divine nature, this mischievous goddess might actually go insane with obsession, losing herself to the desire to explore the unknown.
If that truly happened, the Loki Familia might face unimaginable consequences and destruction.
"I think you're worrying too much." Riezel said while shrugging his shoulders. "At the very least, I don't believe you'd ever do anything that would harm your familia."
Loki shot him a glare without hesitation.
"I don't wanna do anything that'll betray my kids either, but you gotta understand something, Riezel." Loki said bluntly. "One thing you gotta always remember—the ones you can trust the least in this world... are gods."
Her statement left Riezel silent.
Loki continued in a calm tone, as though speaking of someone else.
"You gotta get that the way gods think is totally different from mortals."
"Our whole nature's different from yours."
"Gods have divinity, mortals have mortality. Mortals can never see or think the way gods do—and the same goes for gods. We can't see the world the way mortals do, and we sure as hell don't share the same sense of good and evil."
Loki opened her eyes wide, divine light flickering in them as she spoke with unwavering certainty.
"Y'know, the only reason I can hang around the way I do—joking around and laughing with you kids—is 'cause I genuinely care about you."
"But if mortals can fall to temptation, what do you think happens to gods, who are literally built to be lawless and unrestrained?"
"So no, I can't promise that if I ever ran into something strong enough to shake my sense of right and wrong, I wouldn't give in."
By the time she finished, Loki had fully regained her composure.
"Kiddo, it's better if you keep your secret to yourself." Loki closed her eyes and sighed, her tone both resigned and regretful. "Don't tell anyone—not even me, got it?"
It wasn't only out of respect for Riezel's privacy but also an act of self-restraint—a sacrifice she made for the sake of her beloved children.
As long as she didn't know, she wouldn't lose control.
If she didn't lose control, she could still watch over them, protect them, and love them as always—that was the choice she made.
"Got it."
Sensing Loki's sincerity and affection, Riezel nodded firmly.
"I won't tell anyone—mortal or god—about any of this."
Since even Loki couldn't be told, Riezel had no intention of sharing it with anyone else.
"Good..." Loki let out a deep breath, as though exhaling all the thoughts she shouldn't have had, then warned him again. "And don't tell anyone you're Level 7, alright? Just keep acting like you're a Level 5, got it?"
"Got it." Riezel nodded again. "I've been consciously hiding my strength from the start. I didn't want to cause a scene."
"As long as you know what you're doing." Loki locked the completed status on his back as though sealing away a dangerous secret. "I could tell something about you had changed, but I didn't expect this kinda change. Like, damn—it's only been a few days, and you're already Level 7? My familia finally got a Level 7! I could finally outshine that nympho—if only I could actually tell someone! Ugh, this is torture!"
As she grumbled, her pair of golden eyes opened slightly again.
"Maybe… you'll end up being the first adventurer in Orario who catches up to the kids of those two gods."
Loki's words made Riezel pause just as he was about to put his shirt back on.
He knew exactly which gods Loki was referring to.
They were the ones who had once stood at the absolute summit of Orario—no, of the entire world.
Presently, when people mentioned the strongest familias, they would speak of the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia.
But the truth was, these two had only become the top familias fifteen years ago.
Before that, two other familias had reigned supreme, unmatched since the earliest days when gods first descended to the Lower World.
They had ruled Orario's peak for centuries, until they finally fell from grace after a disastrous campaign fifteen years ago.
Only then did the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia rise to take their place.
Zeus Familia.
Hera Familia.
Yes, these two familias had once held the title of the strongest for a thousand years.
Even though the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia had managed to drive them out, those who knew the truth understood well that compared to those ancient familias, the current ones were still far behind.
Why?
Simple.
At their peak, the Zeus Familia's strongest adventurer had reached Level 8, while the Hera Familia's strongest adventurer had reached Level 9.
In other words, at Orario's true peak fifteen years ago, the highest level wasn't Level 7 at all, which made Level 7s like Ottar seem like nothing special in those days.
For that reason, although the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia were now the strongest familias in Orario, everyone who knew history understood just how far they still had to climb to catch up to the children of Zeus and Hera.
"Well then, keep it up, kiddo."
Loki patted Riezel's shoulder, smiling with a mix of excitement and pride.
"Don't lose to that boaz who's obsessed with that lusty goddess. Gotta get ahead of that guy and see if you can catch up to those monsters who up and vanished from Orario."
Hearing Loki's words, Riezel lifted his gaze.
Loki looked back at him with her usual sly smile and half-opened eyes.
After a moment of silence, Riezel smiled faintly.
"I will."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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