To the mortals of the Lower World, this term was, without a doubt, completely unfamiliar.
Because no matter how many ancient heroic epics one might flip through inside Orario's Grand Library, not a single passing word about this term could ever be found.
But to the gods of Heaven —
This name had always represented a terrifying symbol that absolutely could not be ignored.
It was, in fact, the exclusive Divine Weapon held in the hand of the Great Odin of Heaven.
One of its many abilities —
— was that, once thrown, it would always strike its target without fail, never once missing.
And yet Haimer had actually taken this guaranteed-hit attribute — an attribute tinted with the very colors of heavenly divine authority — and forcibly inscribed it onto a Lower World mortal's weapon, using nothing but Holy Letters!
At the very thought of it, Loki — back when she had first seen this completed long-spear — had been astonished beyond words.
Just how monstrously far had that guy gone in his analysis of the gods' authority?
Even now that he had descended to the Lower World, with his Divine Power sealed away and unusable, he could still rely on those Holy Letters of the Lower World — the very things considered no more than auxiliary means — to forcibly fabricate, out of thin air, the might of myth itself.
Well, regardless.
"Finn."
Reaching that point in her thoughts, Loki pulled her musings back, and pointed at a row of test dummies dozens of meters away, hidden behind thick obsidian cover, with multiple staggered layers of obstacles still crisscrossing in front of them.
"Go give it a try."
Finn gripped the spear's shaft, feeling that steady, razor-keen edge so unlike anything he had ever wielded before, and gave a solemn nod.
He walked to the edge of the trial grounds, both feet sinking slightly into the floor as he settled into a throwing stance.
With Finn's strength, his sheer raw power alone would have been enough to hurl this long-spear out at a velocity that produced an ear-splitting sonic boom.
But in order to test this so-called guaranteed-hit characteristic, Finn deliberately suppressed the force he put into it.
He shut his eyes, refused to so much as glance at the position of the cover up ahead, and casually hurled the long-spear with force into the empty air — into a direction completely off from the target, in other words, the spot directly above where there wasn't a single dummy.
"Swoosh —!"
The long-spear flew free of his hand, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek.
Then, when it reached mid-flight, it abruptly halted.
As though some invisible great hand had given it a sharp tug in mid-air.
And right after that —
The long-spear behaved as though it had grown eyes of its own.
"Thunk!"
A heavy, dull crash of metal rang out.
The tip of the long-spear had embedded itself, without the slightest margin of error, deep into the head of the dummy.
The spear-point had pierced clean through a skull constructed of ultra-hard metal, while the tail of the spear was still vibrating furiously in the air, releasing a humming "bzzz, bzzz" of resonance.
Inside the trial grounds —
Riveria, Gareth, Tiona, and Tione were, at this very moment, all utterly without a sound to make.
They widened their eyes, glanced at one another, and then, in perfect unison, turned their gaze toward that long-spear nailed into the dummy's head in the distance.
Truly a guaranteed hit.
As adventurers who had been through countless battles, they knew all too well — just how terrifying a weapon was that needed no aim, that required no concern for blind spots in one's field of vision, a weapon that, once tossed out with the most careless of throws, was sure to strike its target from the most lethal angle imaginable.
All too clearly, they understood.
What's more, this was a weapon whose own raw destructive power was already staggering — reforged, as it had been, from first-rate materials.
And —
Once one factored in that loyal recall ability, allowing it to be called back to the user's hand at any time...
"You see now, don't you?"
Loki strode forward, hands set on her hips. Her face — exhausted from having played pack-mule all night long — was now wearing an expression of utter self-satisfaction.
At this point, no further words from Loki were necessary.
Nor was there any need anymore to look at the effects of the other modified weapons.
Because —
The mere appearance of this one long-spear alone had already made everyone present recognize, with utter clarity, the inconceivable — even terrifying — heights to which that black-haired god's mastery in the field of smithing had risen.
"Lord Haimer... is truly fathomless."
Riveria murmured softly under her breath.
The scene shifts back to the other side.
On the streets of Orario in the early morning.
In Haimer's hand was the final grilled meat-pie, still wrapped in oil paper.
He lowered his head, his gaze resting tenderly on what lay in his arms.
Freshly bathed, Aruru's snow-white fur seemed to give off a faint glow all over her body, as she lay comfortably curled up in his arms.
Those long, fluffy ears of hers lay smoothly against her back, and her small, three-petaled mouth twitched slightly — she looked the very picture of contentment.
Haimer swallowed his last mouthful of meat-pie, then extended a long, slender finger and gently rubbed the base of Aruru's ears two or three times.
This monster, regarded by surface-world adventurers as a nuisance, was at this moment letting out a satisfied "purr," and even nuzzling her fuzzy head up against the palm of Haimer's hand.
Off to the side —
Hestia had both her arms folded across her chest.
Her eyelids twitched madly.
Her cobalt-blue eyes were locked dead onto Aruru, her cheeks puffed high, and on either side of her face one could clearly see the unmistakable motion of her teeth grinding away.
After all —
Ever since last night, when she had been informed by Rei and Fei that this seemingly harmless rabbit, which had been forever burrowing into Haimer's embrace, was actually a female —!
Hestia had been struck with the appalling realization that she was suddenly developing immense hostility toward rabbits in general.
Of course, she knew this was a monster, and it wasn't going to actually do anything truly out of line.
But —!
She harbored, very specifically, an enormous animosity toward this one white, long-eared creature.
This shameless rabbit!!
Now even rabbits had started burrowing into Haimer's arms!!
Unforgivable!!
Hestia was silently seething with jealousy in her heart. Although she hadn't actually thrown any sort of real tantrum, the sour aura coming off her was very nearly fermenting the air around them.
As for the gaze that was constantly fixed on him —
Haimer was, of course, perfectly aware.
Helpless in his heart, he nonetheless couldn't be bothered to call it out.
He had long since grown used to her childish temper.
He simply crumpled the oil paper in his hand into a ball and tossed it offhand into the trash bin beside the street.
Then he brushed the crumbs from his hands.
"Let's go. Time to head back."
The group continued along the gradually brightening Northeast Main Street, making their way home.
On the morning streets, pedestrians were starting to grow more numerous; vendors setting up breakfast stalls were already busy at work, and rising steam diffused outward beneath the freshly-risen sun.
"From what you all were telling me — last night, you ran into a Monster Feast inside the Great Tree Labyrinth?"
Haimer, walking in the middle of the group, casually brought up the topic again.
In the Lower World, for most adventurers, running into a Monster Feast inside the Dungeon was absolutely a catastrophic disaster — the kind where one didn't even have time to leave behind one's last words.
Walking off to one side, Amou Kirukiru heard this and gave her wrist a little roll.
"Mm."
"Originally we were just planning to clean out the ordinary monsters blocking our way, but then the wooden walls all around us split open out of nowhere, the ceiling collapsed too, and several hundred more monsters came charging out with it."
"Thank goodness Lady Holy Emperor's magic played a critical role."
Onigawara Rin added, off to one side.
The Holy Emperor, walking on the other side, spoke up softly.
"It was that everyone coordinated very well together. We formed up our formation quickly, and no one was injured."
Once Haimer had finished listening, a flicker of approval passed through his eyes.
"It sounds like all of you coordinated very well together. For people who have only just recently formed a Familia, that is genuinely a rare thing to see."
"And by the look of it, your stat values are about to receive another significant boost."
"Especially since you've only just received God's Grace."
Haimer's gaze turned toward the Holy Emperor, Tendou Kisara, Aihara Enju, and the others.
"Although the few of you have only been here a handful of days, you've undergone one high-intensity baptism by battle after another over this stretch. Whether in terms of your physical capabilities or your adaptation to Grace, you should already have reached the critical threshold for a Level-Up."
At the sound of those words — "Level-Up."
Tendou Kisara, Aihara Enju, Hiruko Kohina, and the Holy Emperor — all of their gazes snapped over to Haimer in perfect unison.
Especially Tendou Kisara. In her pale-purple eyes, a flash of extremely bright anticipation passed through at that very moment.
After all —
She understood the importance of strength better than anyone, especially in this world where everything was decided by power. Only by continuously growing stronger could she better carry out the will of her god, and one day make good on that wish.
"If we could Level-Up..."
Aihara Enju ran her hand along her chin.
"Would that mean I could become even stronger than that giant mammoth?"
"Of course."
With a smile, Haimer reached out and ruffled the head of red twintails atop Aihara Enju's head.
"Once we get back, I'll examine each of your Graces in turn, and see whether your accumulated achievements are enough yet for a Level-Up."
"Best to Level-Up as soon as possible."
"After all —"
Haimer paused, and looked up at the sky-piercing Babel Tower rising at the end of the street.
"In just a few more days, it'll be time for the Denatus to be held."
"The Denatus?"
The Holy Emperor, hearing the term for the very first time, tilted her head in slight confusion.
"The Denatus is the day when all the gods of Orario assemble together."
Haimer patiently explained for the sake of these children who had come from another world.
"Everyone gathers together, shares intelligence, and decides on certain major policies for Orario. And one important part of it is the bestowing of exclusive titles upon adventurers who have recently completed a Level-Up."
"This is an honor that all the gods grant to the people of the Lower World, and it's the beginning of you carving your names into this world."
"So —"
Having said this —
Haimer turned to look at the girls.
"Have any of you settled on a particular title you'd like for yourselves?"
"If you haven't given it any thought, then at the Denatus — among that bunch of gods who all love to come up with chuunibyou nonsense names — I could put forward something a bit more proper on your behalf."
At these words, the girls exchanged a glance with each other.
The Holy Emperor lowered her head slightly, folding her hands together at her abdomen, in a pose of elegant devotion.
"As long as it is bestowed by Kami-sama, then no matter what the title may be, I shall accept it with all my heart, and regard it as the highest honor."
"Hah, you really don't need to keep being so humble."
Hearing this, Haimer let out a wry, helpless smile.
And from that point on —
The girls debated the topic of titles with great enthusiasm, even as they made their way through the steadily livelier streets of the early morning.
Before long —
The group arrived back at that sprawling, luxurious mansion in the upper-class residential district.
They pushed open the heavy main doors.
The main hall was perfectly still, a trace of fresh fragrance still lingering in the air.
It seemed Ryu, Chloe, and Anya had already come in and finished their cleaning duties, and had since left.
Rei and several of the other Xenos were waiting in the first-floor hall; upon seeing Haimer, they all gave a respectful, courteous bow in greeting.
Haimer cast a sweeping glance around the spacious hall, his gaze brushing across each face — only to realize that one familiar little figure was missing.
"Where's Lili?"
Haimer asked.
Onigawara Rin stepped forward, undid the famed blade at her waist, and carefully set it down on the tea table in the hall.
"According to what the elf miss told me, Lili woke up right at the first light of dawn this morning, and went out on her own."
Haimer nodded, signaling that he understood.
Lili had undergone yesterday's transformation at the Soma Familia's brewery and overcome her fear of the Divine Wine; she had most likely gone out now to deal with some lingering personal matters on the Soma Familia's side.
With Haimer now backing her —
On top of which, the captain of the Soma Familia had been replaced by the deputy captain who owed Lili a favor. So her going back to handle the follow-up paperwork for leaving the Familia shouldn't run into any kind of obstruction.
And so Haimer simply walked over to the side of the sofa and sat down, not making much fuss over this issue.
"Since Mary's still out there —"
"Then when she gets back later, I'll just update hers separately."
"Next — for any of you who want a stat update, once I've washed up and changed clothes, come with me up to the master bedroom on the second floor."
Having said that —
Haimer stood up and headed off to the first-floor bathroom to wash off the day's grime.
Seeing this, Onigawara Rin, Amou Kirukiru, Inaba Tsukuyo, and the others stayed behind in the first-floor hall to wait quietly.
"Haaaah — well, in that case."
Hestia, on the other hand, let out a huge yawn, squeezing a few tears out of the corners of her eyes.
Having waited up half the night last night for Haimer, then having had to run off first thing in the morning to line up at the breakfast shop on East Main Street, now back in the warm, comfortable home environment, sleepiness surged up in her in an instant.
Hestia rubbed her eyes and made her own way to her second-floor bedroom, planning to slip in a follow-up nap.
...
And so —
A short while later, Haimer had finished washing up, and changed into a clean set of black house-clothes.
At the far end of the second-floor corridor, inside the spacious master bedroom.
The thick velvet curtains had been drawn shut.
Upon the great cloud-silk-cotton bed that occupied the center of the room — large enough to fit several people lying side by side.
The bedding was as soft as a single white cloud.
A faint sinking-wood fragrance from high-grade incense permeated the room — the kind of scent that, upon being breathed in, brought a sense of perfect peace to the mind and spirit.
Haimer walked over to the side of the bed.
He turned to look at the girls who had walked into the room one after another, and had softly shut the door behind them.
"Whenever you're ready, we can begin."
At those words —
Although they had already gone through the Grace-update procedure several times before now —
Although Onigawara Rin, Tendou Kisara, and the rest had gradually grown used to baring their backs in the presence of a god —
Even so, at the moment of loosening their robes and undoing their sashes, the girls couldn't help the faint, thin blush that rose upon their cheeks.
Inside the master bedroom, a slightly alluring silence settled in.
The faint sound of fabric rustling against fabric was rendered all the more vivid in the quiet of the room, carrying just the faintest hint of something stirring.
"I'll go first."
With brisk efficiency, Amou Kirukiru undid the close-fitting black breast-binding cloth.
She tossed the garment offhand onto a chair to one side.
Then —
Striding forward on long, tightly toned legs, she walked straight to the center of the great bed.
And lay face-down upon the soft cloud-silk-cotton mattress.
Haimer sat down at the side of the bed.
His gaze settled naturally upon Amou Kirukiru's wholly exposed back.
He drew out a specially-crafted silver needle and pricked his fingertip with it.
A single drop of dark-red Divine Blood slid free from his fingertip and fell upon the dead center of Amou Kirukiru's pale-white back.
"Plop."
As the Divine Blood made contact with the skin, it was like a single drop of ink falling into a basin of clear water.
The Grace pattern and complex script originally hidden beneath the skin, drawn forth by the Divine Power, swiftly surfaced upon her back, giving off a red glow.
Haimer extended his hand.
He pressed it against those glowing characters, guiding and converting the achievements and experience values she had accumulated of late.
A moment later —
A sheet of parchment, filled with concrete numerical values, was imprinted; and as the light faded, the Grace upon Amou Kirukiru's back sank back beneath her skin once more.
Haimer picked up the parchment, his gaze sweeping over the data upon it.
[Name]: Amou Kirukiru
[Level]: Lv.2
Strength → A899
Endurance → A896
Dexterity → A892
Agility → A895
Magic → I0
Since her most recent extreme Level-Up, not even a full week's worth of time had passed.
But after having gone through several high-intensity Dungeon expeditions in succession, along with that massive Monster Feast last night down in the middle-tier zone —
With the boost from 『Battle Frenzy』 — that rare-grade skill that made her grow ever more ferocious the deeper into adversity and the stronger the enemy in front of her became —
Every single one of Amou Kirukiru's base attributes — apart from Magic, which she did not possess at all —
Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility — the four core indices — had, without a single exception, broken straight through the A-tier barrier across the board!!
And every single one of them had reached the very peak of A-rank!!
All that was missing was that one final push.
To bring her hand into contact with the S-tier threshold that ordinary mortals found nearly impossible to reach.
By the common-sense standards of the vast majority of Orario's adventurers —
This kind of exaggerated all-A spread across four stats had already comfortably met — indeed, far overflowed — the hard-line standard for an immediate Level-Up.
"Kirukiru's pace of proficiency growth is still ridiculously fast, as ever."
Haimer laid the parchment along the edge of Amou Kirukiru's back, and tapped his fingertip lightly against the paper twice.
"With the data you've got now, plus the achievements you accumulated in last night's Monster Feast —"
"All you have to do is nod, and I can reset your stats to zero right now, and have you step directly into the realm of Lv.3."
However —
"But this still isn't enough."
Amou Kirukiru braced both hands against the mattress, slightly raising her upper body.
The perfect curve of her waist, with not a single stitch of clothing on it, tensed faintly as a result.
Amou Kirukiru turned her head back, her long black hair sliding away, and those eyes of hers, brimming with battle-mad fervor, fixed themselves upon Haimer.
"I want to reach SS — even SSS, like last time."
"Until I've encountered prey truly worthy of me throwing everything I have at it, until I've squeezed this body of mine to its absolute limit —"
"To Level-Up before reaching that boundary — for me, that would be a kind of failure I couldn't bear."
"I would rather get stuck at this level."
Listening to Amou Kirukiru's words — still saturated with that battle-junkie's obsessive coloring —
Haimer looked into those eyes of hers, burning with raging fire, and withdrew his hand.
A god did not force their own children.
"Since you've decided to keep honing yourself further, then have it as you wish."
Amou Kirukiru wasted no further words on it; the corner of her mouth curved upward into a satisfied arc.
She rolled over and sat up, then with the most natural ease reached out and grabbed the garments she had tossed aside just earlier, dressing herself swiftly right in front of the others. Then she walked over to the window, crossed her arms, and quietly leaned against the wall, closing her eyes to rest her spirit.
The first one was done.
Up next —
It was the petite figure with a head of waist-length silver hair who slowly walked forward.
— Inaba Tsukuyo.
The blind girl groped along the edge, and slowly removed that iconic red-and-white miko outfit of hers.
Even after all the growth of these many days —
Compared to Amou Kirukiru's physique, Inaba Tsukuyo's body still looked far too frail — like a fragile porcelain doll, just shy of shattering.
Because both her eyes were blind, Inaba Tsukuyo carefully and meticulously folded the garment neatly, then placed it at the foot of the bed.
Then she felt her way up onto the great bed, and per Haimer's guidance, lay down face-first in the same manner.
Her closed eyes trembled faintly. Although she could not see, with her senses amplified to the infinite, she could feel Haimer's approach with perfect clarity, and could even hear the slightly quickening beat of her own heart.
Haimer once more pricked his fingertip.
A single drop of Divine Blood fell upon Inaba Tsukuyo's slender back.
The red light lit up again, and her Grace surfaced.
Palm pressed against it, the light coursed through.
The parchment was imprinted.
The data was clear at a single glance.
[Name]: Inaba Tsukuyo
[Level]: Lv.2
[Stats]:
Strength → B765
Endurance → D521
Dexterity → A847
Agility → A831
Magic → I0
Looking at this sheet of parchment —
It was the same as it had always been.
『Tragic-Fated Sword Demon』.
This extraordinarily extreme skill, while granting Inaba Tsukuyo a tremendous acceleration in her Agility and Dexterity growth rates —
Also brought with it an extraordinarily harsh negative effect.
[Endurance] growth rate is dramatically reduced; extremely difficult to improve.
After likewise undergoing this period of high-intensity exertion, and likewise surviving that life-and-death Monster Feast last night —
The facts had proved that this skill's negative effect was even more stubborn than imagined.
And after reaching Lv.2, with the difficulty of acquiring proficiency now sharply increased —
The negative effect had grown all the more pronounced.
Inaba Tsukuyo's Endurance had just barely managed to scrape its way up to the lower portion of D-rank.
But —
Even so, Inaba Tsukuyo's overall numbers were still beyond imagination.
Haimer recited the contents written on the parchment back to her in a gentle, soft voice.
Inaba Tsukuyo listened quietly, her exquisite features buried in the crook of her arms.
"Kami-sama..."
"Although Tsukuyo's body has begun to disappoint her..."
"Even so, Tsukuyo wishes — just like Amou — to keep on tempering this body of hers up to the very highest limit it can bear."
"May I?"
...
The girl's voice was as thin as a strand of gossamer.
Inaba Tsukuyo buried her cheeks deep into the crook of her crossed arms, her waterfall of long silver hair cascading down across her snow-white shoulders, hiding that overly slight body from view.
The incense permeating the room —
Haimer simply, quietly, gazed at Inaba Tsukuyo, lying right there on the cloud-silk-cotton bed before him.
The girl's pale, delicate body was on display before his eyes, utterly undefended.
When all was said and done —
The fleeting flesh of mortals was, in the end, no more than a fragile vessel.
What truly drew a god was the soul within the vessel.
Just as a sculptor examines an uncut piece of raw stone, the true value was never in whether the surface was smooth or not.
But rather in the astonishing potential contained within — in how many tempers by furnace-fire it could withstand.
Haimer extended his hand.
His fingertips brushed lightly across the loose strands of Inaba Tsukuyo's silver hair, gathering them off to one side.
"You don't need to ask me whether you may or may not."
Haimer's fingerpads wove their way among the silver strands, his palm sliding upward along with them.
"The very moment you said you wished to — that was the moment I agreed."
At these words —
Inaba Tsukuyo's body shuddered, ever so faintly.
Her cheek, pressed against the pure-white cloud-silk-cotton sheet, slowly flushed with a striking crimson, and the corners of her mouth, without her even noticing, drew up into a small, satisfied curve.
Haimer withdrew his hand.
He picked up the miko outfit from beside her.
"Put it on."
Haimer shook out the garment and draped it over Inaba Tsukuyo's shoulders.
For a skill bearing this kind of extreme soul-trait, the negative price was a shackle that came with the gift from the moment of its birth.
To break through such a natural-born flaw, ordinary methods were meaningless.
Haimer was in no hurry.
Slowly, gradually, with steady honing — one day, the moment of breaking free of the cocoon would come.
And so —
Next —
At Haimer's signal —
It was now Onigawara Rin's turn to step forward.
Onigawara Rin walked over to the side of the bed.
She lifted her hands and undid the sash of her dark outer garment.
The fabric slid down off her shoulders and pooled on the carpet.
Unlike Inaba Tsukuyo's outwardly frail body —
Onigawara Rin's back had taut, tight lines to it; with every breath you could see the faint pull of the muscles across her back.
There was no excess flesh on her at all, and in the dim amber light, the dip at the small of her back outlined a curve overflowing with explosive power.
The foundation laid down by years of swordsmanship practice manifested upon this young body as a beauty that was at once razor-sharp and intensely resilient.
She lay face-down on the bed.
Haimer pricked his fingertip with the silver needle, let the Divine Blood drip, and pressed his palm down upon it.
The red light flickered.
Complex black characters drifted across her pale-white spine.
The parchment was imprinted in short order.
— Strength → A887
— Endurance → A882
The numbers were rock-solid.
"Very steady."
Haimer handed the parchment to Onigawara Rin, who had just sat up and turned around.
Onigawara Rin received it in both hands, and gave the values written on it a single glance.
"You too are just a touch short of reaching S."
"You can tell that during this stretch you've been working every bit as hard."
"But remember to keep polishing your foundations well — it will be of even greater benefit to your 『Clear-Mirror Sword Heart』."
Haimer spoke up to remind her.
"I understand, Kami-sama!"
Upon hearing this, Onigawara Rin nodded firmly, tucked the parchment safely away, and withdrew to one side to put her outer garment back on.
Next —
Hanasaka Warabi, her little face flushed red, came dragging her feet out from the back of the line.
As the smallest of the group in physical build, her body — comparable to that of an underdeveloped elementary-schooler — always made her feel an inexplicable sort of shyness whenever this kind of back-baring section came around.
"Hurry up."
Amou Kirukiru, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, urged her along.
Hanasaka Warabi gritted her teeth and shot Amou Kirukiru a glare. Then, both hands seizing the crossed hem of her clothing, she gave a sudden upward yank and pulled her top right off.
Immediately after, she flung herself onto the mattress and buried her burning face firmly into the pillow.
Her small back was now fully on display.
Haimer looked at Hanasaka Warabi's ostrich-like posture of trying to hide herself, and could only sigh helplessly.
The Divine Blood dripped down.
The red light lit up.
In a brief instant, the parchment took its shape.
— Strength → A856
— Endurance → A812
— Agility → B780
"Mm — Agility is a touch behind, but both Strength and Endurance have reached A-rank."
Haimer placed the parchment beside Hanasaka Warabi's cheek.
Hanasaka Warabi raised her head and shot the data a sidelong glance.
She puffed out her cheeks and sat up.
"Why is my Agility only B?! I clearly run super fast!"
"Most of the time, you fight while riding on Kyoubou's back — naturally there's going to be a shortfall in the legwork you put in on your own."
Onigawara Rin, having heard this, pointed out the issue from off to one side.
Hanasaka Warabi turned her face away with a 'hmph,' but couldn't help admitting that what Onigawara Rin had said was the simple truth.
Haimer, on the other hand, looked at Hanasaka Warabi's somewhat displeased appearance, and spoke in a gentle tone.
"After all, your fighting style is special."
"Both you and Kyoubou have the skill 『Coordinated Fang』 — coordinated combat is the core advantage of the two of you together."
"The boosts to Strength and Endurance are already enough to ensure your stability and striking power while mounted."
"Playing out perfect coordination together with your partner is just as crucial, so there's no need to fixate on a single value being slightly behind."
"Each person has their own path to walk."
"As for whether that path goes through to the end — well, that depends on each individual."