"Finally willing to show your face?"
"Hehe~"
"That was just to avoid suspicion before~"
Loki smoothly sidled up.
"You know how it is."
"If people knew we were still thick as thieves, wouldn't those flies staring at me annoy me to death?"
"But now..."
[Race: God | Loki (CV: Yurika Kubo). The Main God of the Familia Ais belongs to. Speaks with a fake Kansai dialect; a comical God who messes with the busty Hestia in various ways.]
"Since even Ouranos was alarmed, and Ganesha hastily called us all up in the middle of the night to hold a Denatus."
"Now that the secret is out in the open, I figured there's no need for me to keep hiding, right?"
"So I came to catch up with you at the first opportunity!"
"And also..."
Loki stepped aside and grabbed the Elf girl who was hiding behind her, wishing she could shrink herself into a ball, and pulled her out.
"Let me introduce you."
"This is a kid from our family."
"She's also the most prized disciple of our Familia's Mama Riveria."
"Lefiya Viridis."
"She's a very talented Mage!"
"Though..."
"Her personality is a bit... how should I put it?"
Loki glanced at the completely flushed, flustered Lefiya and smirked.
"She's just a bit useless~"
"L-Lord Loki!!"
Caught off guard, Lefiya was dragged to the front, her entire body stiffening like a wooden board.
That head of smooth, long orange hair swayed with her movements.
Her round, cute face was currently plastered with nervousness.
She tightly hugged the magic staff in her arms, her large eyes shifting helplessly between Haimer and Loki.
"Is this Riveria's successor?"
"She does indeed look like a kid with a lot of potential."
Haimer looked at Lefiya, who was about to start smoking from embarrassment.
Although Lefiya was still immature right now and looked like an easily startled little rabbit.
However.
In terms of talent.
She was the genuine article—the 「Thousand Elf」.
Able to use over a thousand magics mastered by her fellow Elves through the Summoning Magic—[Elf Ring].
She was also training to be the successor of the 「Nine Hell」 who resided in the same [Loki Familia] and was praised as 'Orario's Strongest Mage'
—the Lv.6 Riveria.
"Eh?"
Hearing these words from Haimer, Lefiya froze for a moment.
Her initial nervousness turned into surprise.
This handsome Male God...
Actually knows Lady Riveria?
And...
Even praised her for having potential?
"Heh~"
"You've got a good eye!"
Unsurprisingly, Loki accepted this praise, casually pinching Lefiya's cheek in the process.
"That's a given!"
"Who coming out of my Loki Familia isn't brimming with potential?"
"However."
Loki glanced at their surroundings.
"There are too many eyes and ears here; it's not convenient to talk."
"Let's go, let's go!"
Loki directly reached out, hooking her arm around Haimer's and walking toward a side alley.
"I'll take you to a good place."
"We can chat over drinks."
"Lefiya! Keep up!"
"Y-Yes!"
Lefiya hurriedly hugged her magic staff tighter, jogging to keep up.
Leaving the noisy main street behind.
The surrounding clamor was gradually left in the dust.
After taking several twists and turns.
A quiet, secluded alley appeared before their eyes.
Gone were the peddlers hawking their wares along the street, as well as the crude adventurers reeking of alcohol.
The road here was paved with neat bluestone slabs.
Unnamed green plants exuding a faint fragrance were planted on both sides.
Even the air.
Was permeated with an elegant coffee aroma.
"We're here."
Loki stopped in her tracks, pointing at a shop ahead with a low-profile yet exquisite storefront.
"A cafe?"
Haimer looked up.
It was a signboard carved from premium wood.
The shop's name was not written in the Common Tongue.
Instead, a few large characters were carved in a script with graceful lines, like intertwining vines.
—Elven script.
Emitting an aloof aura that basically screamed 'unauthorized personnel keep out'.
"Exactly, exactly~"
"And let me tell you~"
Loki turned her head back, her squinted eyes blinking crazily at Haimer.
"This place is a treasure trove that I managed to find with great difficulty."
"Not only is the coffee here delicious."
"But also..."
Loki pointed to the few figures vaguely visible inside.
"The staff here are all authentic Elf girls~"
"They're all pure, natural Elves who just came out of the forest and haven't been polluted by the secular world yet!"
"My, oh my~"
"Just looking at their slender figures, and those twitching pointy ears..."
"It's quite a feast for the eyes~"
"It's an enjoyment you can't even get from drinking~"
Hearing her own Main God's unapologetically perverted remarks.
Lefiya, following behind, stiffened abruptly.
Poof—
If a thermometer were stuck on her head right now, the mercury column would probably have exploded outright.
Her cheeks were like shrimp tossed into boiling water.
So red they were about to drip blood.
She lowered her head, wishing she could bury her entire face into the magic staff in her arms.
She even wanted to blast a hole in the ground and crawl inside.
So embarrassing.
Truly too embarrassing!
Why could Lord Loki say such things without any scruples even in front of other Gods?!
Moreover...
The staff here...
Were all her fellow kin!
Did Lord Loki bring her here just to receive the disdainful gazes of her kin?!
That tone that seemingly carried some sort of innuendo, that way of speaking that treated noble Elves as some sort of 'exhibition animals'...
Lefiya wished she could find a crack in the ground to hide in right now, or simply blast herself with a [Magic] spell and disappear from this world entirely.
"?"
Haimer didn't have much of a reaction, only thoughtfully glancing at Lefiya, who was about to faint.
"So."
"Is this the reason you brought this child out, Loki?"
"Since it's a shop run by Elves."
"Bringing a genuine Elf along gets you a discount?"
"Hehe."
"You caught me."
Loki wasn't embarrassed at all; instead, she smugly gave a thumbs-up.
"This is the racial kinship buff!"
"This place is usually very aloof; ordinary people aren't allowed in."
"But as long as I bring Lefiya along."
"Even though the faces of those Elf girls will still be stinky, at least they won't kick me out."
After saying that.
Loki ignored Lefiya's expression of having nothing left to live for.
And directly pushed open the carved wooden door.
Ding-a-ling—
The wind chime on the door let out a crisp sound.
An even richer coffee aroma wafted into their faces.
"Yahoo~"
"I've brought an old friend over to support your business!"
Loki's voice rang out.
They saw.
Inside the shop.
It was not as bustling as imagined.
There were only a few tables scattered in the corners.
A few tall female Elves wearing green uniforms were quietly busy.
Hearing the commotion at the door.
They all turned their heads in unison.
Those pairs of cold, aloof eyes first swept over Loki's smiling, cheeky face, revealing a trace of obvious disgust.
Then.
Their gazes landed on Lefiya behind her.
The disgust retracted slightly.
Then.
All the Elves' gazes locked onto Haimer in perfect unison.
Noticing the reaction of this group of Elves.
"Hey, hey, hey!!"
"You guys give me a stinky face when I come!"
"But when this guy comes, you have this kind of reaction?!"
"There should be a limit to differential treatment!!"
"I'm clearly a regular customer too!!"
Seeing this, Loki blew her top on the spot in anger.
However.
Absolutely no one paid her any mind.
"Umm... Please come this way, you three."
The first to react was still a tall Elf who seemed to be the head waitress.
Following this.
The group was led to the second floor.
Unlike the open layout of the first floor.
The space on the second floor was cleverly divided into semi-enclosed private booths.
Green vines climbed along the wooden partitions, forming a natural screen.
The soothing sound of a harp flowed through the air.
Quiet.
Private.
It was indeed a good place for a conversation.
Once they finished ordering and the tall head Elf left.
Loki leaned back, taking the opportunity to kick both her legs up onto the polished, gleaming table.
"Heave-ho—"
However.
Loki's legs were only halfway up when she realized Haimer was sitting opposite her, staring at her calmly.
"Uh..."
Loki's movements instantly froze in mid-air.
Raising her legs wasn't right, and putting them down wasn't right either.
The scene was extremely awkward for a moment.
"Ahem!"
Finally.
Loki had to let out a heavy cough, as if to cover up something, and carefully retracted her half-raised legs.
"Well... don't mind that, just a habit, a habit."
"I'm just used to acting casually in the Lower World."
Loki laughed it off, scratching her red hair in an attempt to muddle through.
"So."
"Enough idle chatter."
"Let's talk business."
Unimpressed, Haimer interrupted Loki's clowning.
"What did you mean when you said Ganesha hastily called all the Gods up in the middle of the night for a Denatus?"
"If I remember correctly."
"The routine Denatus shouldn't be for another few days, right?"
Haimer's gaze was calm.
Hearing Haimer cut straight to the chase.
The cheeky smile on Loki's face also retracted slightly.
She leaned forward, lowered her voice, and a sharp glint flashed in those long, squinted eyes.
"What else could it be?"
"To deal with you, of course, Haimer."
"Just look at how huge of a commotion you caused yesterday."
"A group of newly registered rookies slaughtering their way straight through the first 12 floors on their very first day."
"Even if we set that aside."
"Add to that the fact that you were parading through the streets last night holding a long spear prominently engraved with the emblem of Hephaestus's weapon shop."
"And then there's Hephaestus herself."
Speaking of this, Loki curled her lips.
"She locked herself in her workshop, refusing to see guests. Even the people Ganesha sent were turned away at the door."
"With you guys making such a massive fuss..."
"It'd be weird if the already hypersensitive Gods could sleep."
Loki spread her hands.
"And so."
"Ganesha convened a gathering of the Gods, and they discussed you for an entire night."
As soon as these words came out.
Lefiya felt her ears buzzing.
Not just because of this information that was enough to make any adventurer tremble with fear.
But more so because...
Lefiya secretly peeked at Haimer.
This kind of highest-level emergency meeting that would only occur when Orario encountered a major crisis...
Was actually because of this seemingly harmless young Male God?!
Could this Male God... be some Evil God who secretly slipped down from the Heavens?!
Thinking of this, Lefiya began to feel somewhat terrified and uneasy inside.
"And so?"
Haimer raised an eyebrow, continuing to ask.
"What was the final conclusion?"
"The final conclusion was—the Gods got tired of arguing, and then realized that no one dared to stick their neck out."
"Consequently."
"The Gods collectively stated their position."
"They'll let Ganesha, who convened the Gods to discuss this topic, handle it as he sees fit."
"???"
At this point, Lefiya truly almost couldn't hold it in.
Let the Ganesha Familia handle it as they see fit?
This was the conclusion the Gods came to after holding a meeting for an entire night?
"Don't be so surprised, Lefiya-chan."
Loki reached out and patted Lefiya's head.
"This is the world of the Gods, you know."
"So."
"Is this what you wanted to tell me?"
Haimer raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly~"
Loki leaned forward, resting both arms on the table, those squinted eyes staring fixedly at Haimer.
"Since that bunch of guys are all slacking off and playing dead, I'm happy to enjoy the free time."
"Taking advantage of this opening, I came to see an old friend."
"Tell me, wasn't I being a good friend this time?"
"I treated you as an old friend, risking being discovered to run over and tip you off."
"If it were anyone else, I wouldn't even bother."
"So..."
"Haimer..."
A sharp glint flashed in Loki's squinted eyes.
"Since I've been such a good friend."
"Shouldn't you also give me the bottom line?"
"Do you..."
"Have some kind of plan going forward?"
"After all."
"It's not just us; those guys hiding in the gutters will also be keeping their eyes on you constantly."
"If you don't want to be surrounded by those annoying flies buzzing around you every day from now on."
"It might be better to give an answer that can put people's minds at ease."
"Did someone ask you to come inquire about this?"
As soon as these words came out.
Haimer glanced at Loki and suddenly threw a question back.
The smile on Loki's face clearly stiffened, then rapidly returned to normal.
"Well..."
"As expected, I can't hide it from you."
"After all, even though some guys say they don't care, their hearts are still panicking immensely."
"Is that so."
Haimer was not surprised by this.
As expected, someone really had entrusted this fellow to ask.
As for who it was.
Aside from Ouranos, who resided year-round in the underground altar of the Guild, there was probably no one else in the Lower World who could boss this fellow around.
"Actually, I have no special plans."
"You saw it too."
"Having been in the Lower World for a month, I finally recruited a batch of rookies. Right now, they are nothing more than a group of children who haven't fully grown up yet."
"So I just want to quietly raise and train them."
"Whether it's making money or gaining fame."
"Those are their own choices."
"As for me."
"As long as no one comes to provoke me."
"I can't be bothered to pay any mind to them either."
Hearing this answer.
Loki stared at Haimer for a long time.
Seemingly wanting to spot some flaw in those deep eyes.
But.
She failed.
Ultimately, Loki sighed and leaned back against the sofa.
"Alright."
"This answer..."
"Although it sounds very normal."
"But..."
"Getting the other Gods to believe it probably won't be that easy."
"They were left with psychological trauma by those few times you stirred things up in the Heavens last time."
"However..."
Loki abruptly changed the subject.
That signature smirk appeared on her face once again.
"Since you've put it that way."
"As an old friend, of course I believe you."
"And."
"I've essentially passed on the message according to that guy's instructions."
"As for whether he believes it or not, that has nothing to do with me."
"However..." "Haimer."
"Since you already knew about Lefiya beforehand."
"Then..."
"Are you interested in..."
"Getting to know her more deeply?"
Loki narrowed her eyes, her words full of implications.
She firmly pushed Lefiya, whose worldview was currently in the midst of being rebuilt, directly in front of Haimer.
"???"
Lefiya slightly blanked out.
Her whole person was dumbfounded.
What did Lord Loki mean by this?!!
Was she going to sell her?!!
And sell her to this Male God whom all the Gods feared?!!
"L-Lord Loki?!"
Lefiya turned her head in terror, wanting to get an answer from her own Main God.
However.
Loki merely blinked at Lefiya.
Completely ignoring her protests.
And instead kept waiting for Haimer's reply.
Exactly.
Loki, on one hand.
Had accepted Ouranos's request to probe Haimer's bottom line.
On the other hand.
Loki didn't want to completely ruin the relationship between her and Haimer, making things too rigid.
She even wanted to leave a backdoor open with Haimer.
After all.
If Haimer really did have some kind of plan in the future.
Then doing him a favor in advance was an absolutely surefire, profitable deal.
Precisely because of this.
—Lefiya Viridis.
Was the first great gift she presented.
And the true value of this great gift was not Lefiya's Elven body.
Rather, it was the massive system of magical knowledge hidden in Lefiya's little brain that could be called a mobile library.
As well as that foul-play magic called—[Elf Ring].
This was an ultra-rare Summoning Magic that even the Elf royalty might not necessarily be able to master.
Its effect was simple and brutal:
Any magic learned by the Elf race, regardless of attribute, regardless of school.
As long as Lefiya could grasp the effect structure of the magic and the corresponding incantation text.
She could forcibly replicate and use it through the [Elf Ring].
Moreover.
Because the Magic Slots of the Lower World residents were fixed, with a maximum cap of three slots.
Therefore.
Lefiya's [Elf Ring] was an extremely bugged magic.
In other words.
Lefiya could be proficient in many kinds of magics learned by her kin.
This was precisely the reason why Loki brought Lefiya along.
—A backdoor prepared for Haimer.
—When Gods descended to the Lower World, they were bound by the rules and unable to use Divine Power.
This was an insurmountable red line.
But.
This did not mean that a God one hundred percent turned into a mortal.
Because Gods were fundamentally different.
Just like how even if a giant dragon's wings were broken, the hardness of its scales and the majesty of its power would still remain something that ants could never hope to reach.
Especially Haimer.
—He possessed a natural, ultimate understanding of all skills in the world.
Even if Lefiya only demonstrated a magic spell in front of Haimer once.
Even if it was just once.
Relying on Haimer's ultimate understanding of all skills in the world.
He could instantly analyze and completely master it, from its principles and structure, down to the rhythm of its incantation.
Therefore, Loki, in a roundabout way, wanted to package all the magic Lefiya knew and gift it to Haimer.
As for Lefiya.
If Haimer was in a good mood, and was able to give her a little bit of guidance in the process.
For Lefiya, it would absolutely be a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of good fortune.
It could be described as killing three birds with one stone.
It was just a pity.
These convoluted schemes.
Were clearly way over the head of the pure-hearted Elf girl whose face was currently blushing red and whose mind was full of wild imaginations.
Although she didn't know the exact operational details, this didn't stop Lefiya's rich imagination from running wild like a runaway train in her mind.
Could it be...
That in order to curry favor with this seemingly dangerous Male God, Lord Loki was going to sacrifice her as a tribute?
Just like the tropes in those myths where innocent maidens were offered to evil dragons?
Waaah...
I don't want this!
She was a noble Elf who had resolved to follow Miss Ais!
How could her entire life be decided so vaguely inside a small private booth of this cafe?!
Thinking of this.
That string named 'reason' in Lefiya's mind completely snapped.
Her entire face was as red as a fully ripe tomato, ready to drip juice at any moment.
Those originally clear, vivid deep-blue eyes were even spinning in a panic.
____
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