One month later, Lyra followed behind Elise, her entire body trembling as she walked out of the training room.
"I finally understand why Kaguya calls you the monster captain. You really are a monster! No, if it were the old me, I'd definitely be cursing you out right now, wouldn't I?"
"Doing something this excessive to your cute little members? Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?"
After sparring with Elise in the training room... or rather, after being beaten one-sidedly, Lyra was clearly no longer as reserved as before. Perhaps that was a good thing.
In response to Lyra's accusation, Elise merely smiled faintly.
"What do you mean excessive? I'm helping you raise your ability values. Besides, lightning can't strike me."
"Fine! You win!"
Compared to Alise and Kaguya, who had relatively decent childhoods, Lyra's early life had been far from pleasant. Being beaten was nothing new to her, so even after getting thrashed by Elise, she did not complain endlessly like Kaguya had.
Perhaps that was a rather tragic thing—Lyra seemed to have grown used to being beaten...
"Then let's go see Lady Astraea. Your ability values must have increased tremendously!"
Elise took Lyra's hand. Lyra did not resist, and the two of them went straight to Astraea to update her status.
"Just like Alise and Kaguya, Lyra's ability values have increased significantly... but..."
As Astraea looked at Lyra's back, her expression was joyful at first, but it quickly turned into one of disappointment.
Both Elise and Lyra noticed the goddess' change in expression.
"Lady Astraea, is something wrong?"
It was Elise who spoke first, but Astraea merely pointed at Lyra's back, signaling for her to look for herself.
After following Astraea for so long, Elise had learned some of the sacred script.
Though she was not yet proficient, she could manage to understand it.
"Let me see... Lyra's Endurance is..."
"A-899?"
Was that impressive?
To an ordinary adventurer, it was already a very respectable value. Some might never reach that level in their entire lives. Others would give up and level up when they were only at C or D.
Yet Lyra had reached this point in just one month—after being beaten senseless by Elise. That alone already surpassed over ninety percent of adventurers.
But then another problem appeared.
"Lyra's Agility is also A-899?"
Endurance and Agility were the two highest of Lyra's ability values. Her other stats were mostly at the B range.
This was clearly abnormal.
After undergoing Elise's training, both Alise and Kaguya had at least several stats reaching S. Yet Lyra's two highest stats were only 899—perfectly stuck at the upper limit of A.
It was almost as if it had been done deliberately.
"What's going on?"
As the one doing the beating, Elise knew very well that she had treated every member of the Familia the same. There was no favoritism.
After all, she was the Saintess of Scales. Balance was paramount.
But Lyra was completely different.
At that moment, a certain figure flashed through Elise's mind—a young man from the future Loki Familia.
His name was Raul, a second-string member of the Loki Familia.
You might not recognize the name, but you may remember his title.
Raul the Extraordinary Everyman.
He was the one in the Loki Familia who looked like a full-time background character.
The reading was not Extraordinary/Everyman, but Extraordinary Everyman—meaning an exceptionally ordinary person. In this world, he represented the average man.
Because aside from his Magic being zero, Raul's other ability values would not increase past C.
The blessing of the gods was not some kind of cheat. It was more like an accelerator, allowing you to reach in advance what your future self could eventually achieve.
And C was Raul's limit.
When Elise had first seen Raul's information, she had been surprised. Later, however, she came to understand.
Not everyone in the world was a genius. If some people were born with great talent, then naturally, others would have less.
Otherwise, Orario would not have so many Level 1 adventurers.
And now, Lyra's situation might be similar to Raul's.
In other words, A might be Lyra's limit. She might never reach S in her entire life.
Elise thought carefully. In the original story, Lyra's highest ability value had seemed to be B?
"No, no, no! This is just a guess!"
Unwilling to accept it, Elise dragged Lyra back into the Astraea Familia's training room, preparing to beat her for an entire night.
Lyra: ???
The next day, Lyra walked out safely. There were no visible injuries, but a dark aura of resentment seemed to be seeping from her body.
When Astraea updated her status again, Lyra's Endurance remained A-899. There was no improvement whatsoever.
Which meant that the previous speculation had been correct.
A rank was Lyra's limit. Her ability values could not reach S.
In truth, this was not strange. Lyra had grown up in the Prison City, where even staying alive had been difficult, let alone eating properly. She must have suffered from long-term malnutrition. Her talent would inevitably have been affected.
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy.
Neither Astraea nor Elise looked happy.
After all, this had happened to a member of their own family... who could possibly feel at ease?
"Lyra..." Astraea began, only to be interrupted.
"Haha, I thought it was something serious. So that's all?"
The pink-haired Pallum girl's laughter echoed through the room, completely disregarding her own image.
"I used to think I'd never even be able to level up in this lifetime. Now I've managed to get one stat to A. That's already far beyond my expectations. Thank you, Lady Astraea. Thank you, Elise."
"I'm not unhappy. I just can't reach S, that's all. It's no big deal. It's only a difference of one hundred points. I'm not unhappy..."
"I'm really not unhappy at all!"
The more she emphasized it, the more it revealed how much she cared.
Imagine joining a Familia not long ago, already feeling somewhat inferior, and then discovering during training that there was a one-hundred-point gap in potential between you and your companions...
Though it was only one hundred points, in Lyra's eyes it was a chasm between heaven and earth.
It was as if even the heavens were telling you that you could never stand on equal footing with them.
I can't stand beside them...
Lyra's sharp mind was her weapon, but it also made her prone to overthinking.
Astraea pulled the crying girl into her embrace, gently soothing her wounded heart, while Elise stood silently at the side.
After a long while, Elise finally spoke.
"I might have a way to solve this problem..."