PROLOGUE

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND REMINISCENCES

Winter settled over the city, bringing with it a chill that deepened alongside the lengthening nights. On the streets, people were bundled up in heavier clothing. Even the notoriously scantily clad Amazons reluctantly layered up while adventurers in taverns increasingly ordered mulled wine instead of ale, and dwarves with a sweet tooth could be seen sipping cheerfully at mugs of hot chocolate.

Another change was also visible—the smattering of students scattered among the crowds. After three years away, the seafaring School District was back in nearby Meren, and the students who had permission to do so were making daily treks into Orario.

This was the Labyrinth City, famed center of the world, and it was thrilling even for students who had traveled far and wide. It offered sights and experiences no other city could match, a stark contrast to their prim and proper school life. The students understood that even painful experiences could be valuable learning opportunities, and many sought to satisfy their intellectual curiosity in a place where minor missteps wouldn’t carry lifelong consequences. Clad in their distinctive white uniforms, the students were a welcome sight to Orario’s merchants and commercial familias—the School District boom was a valuable windfall, easily explaining why the city buzzed with even more life than it had the previous winter.

Many students flocked to the shopping district on the south side of the city, drawn in by the vibrant nightlife, but there was one group who stood in Central Park, their gazes fixed northward: Balder Class 7th Squad, the School District’s elite.

“Rook? Why did you stop? What are you looking at?” the strawberry blond mage asked the squad captain.

“…Nothing, Nano. I was just thinking…You can see Loki Familia’s home from here.”

Even at this distance, the Twilight Manor’s towers rose like a castle against the night sky, lights still blazing within.

“To think there are adventurers there even stronger than Lefiya…” the werewolf Cole murmured quietly.

“It’s hard to imagine,” added Miliria the elf, following Rook’s gaze. “Though maybe that’s unfair considering we have Professor Leon and the other faculty.” There was respect, as well as a touch of fear, in their tones. Lefiya was their benchmark for power; adventurers who surpassed her, true first-tier adventurers, remained terrifying unknowns in their eyes.

“Speaking of Loki Familia…” Nano began hesitantly, “…did you all hear the rumor?”

Cole grimaced. “I did. Almost fell on my face when I heard.”

“It’s all anyone’s talking about, even now.” Miliria sighed. “To think all three of them leveled up.”

The feat had electrified Orario just days before.

“Adventurers really are so, so, sooo incredible,” Nano murmured, a note of wistfulness creeping into her voice. “It feels like our own goals just keep getting further away…”

Only Rook’s expression remained unchanged, a steady flame burning behind his eyes.

“That’s no reason to stop pursuing them,” he stated, his voice quiet but firm.

The others looked at him—a boy driven by his desire to become a hero to help others—and were momentarily taken aback by his unwavering determination. Then, understanding dawned, and they broke into smiles. They nodded and turned back to look at their distant goal—the still-shining home of the next generation of heroes that shone even in the dark of night.

“Finn, Riveria, Gareth! ’Grats on hittin’ Level Seven!”

For what felt like the hundredth time that night, their goddess’s exuberant cheer echoed through the grand dining hall of Twilight Manor. The room was decorated splendidly, and Loki, perched precariously with one leg thrown over the table, raised her drink high.

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Her cry was met with a thunderous roar from the assembled members of the familia. Their faces flushed with alcohol and excitement, men and women alike bellowed their congratulations.

“Thank you, everyone. It truly is an honor.” Finn managed a wry smile and continued, “Though I feel the celebrations have become a little too spirited.”

“I remember specifically telling Loki not to get carried away,” Riveria said with a sigh, closing her eyes briefly as another wave of cheers washed over them. “But I suppose that was asking the impossible.”

“I’ve lost count of how many toasts we’ve had,” Gareth said as he stroked his beard with mock exasperation. “Don’t they ever get bored of it?”

As Loki’s toast indicated, the three of them—Finn, Riveria, and Gareth—were the guests of honor at a party celebrating their simultaneous ascension to Level 7.

“They’re finally Level Seven…! It’s incredible! I’m so proud!” Raul sniffled, wiping away manly tears for the umpteenth time.

“You make it sound like you raised them yourself, Raul,” teased Elfie, already a little tipsy.

“Don’t tease him, Elfie. You know Raul’s a dyed-in-the-wool Captain worshipper,” Anakity interjected, raising a glass of fruit wine to her lips with a small smile.

“Still…for all three to level up at the same time…” Cruz mused.

“Yes. Level Seven is the highest status in the world right now, and we are the only familia with three members who have reached it,” Alicia added, her eyes shining with particular pride for the high elf Riveria’s accomplishment.

Narfi slammed her mug down, shouting exultantly, “We’ve finally surpassed Freya Familia! We’re the undisputed number one now, aren’t we?!”

That very sentiment fueled much of the familia’s feverish excitement. Though Freya Familia was officially disbanded, a fierce sense of rivalry had always existed between the groups often called the twin pillars of Orario. For years, Loki Familia had endured whispers like “Freya Familia is stronger individually” and “No one can beat the Einherjar led by Warlord.” Now, the balance of power had obviously shifted. With the former Einherjar still residing in Orario, that competitive spirit remained, which only made this victory even sweeter.

The achievement was all the more intoxicating because it belonged to the three leaders the entire familia looked up to, who were respected not just for their strength but for their character. There wasn’t a soul in the familia—save perhaps one perpetually grumpy werewolf—who wouldn’t celebrate the success of their esteemed commanders.

“Captain! Congratulations on leveling up! That’s the man I set my sights on! The man who utterly crushed me! You’re so wonderful!”

The most ecstatic, however, was undoubtedly Tione. From the start of the evening, she had planted herself beside Finn, eyes misty, breath catching, cheeks flushed fiery red. It almost looked like she had hearts in her eyes—the very picture of an Amazon falling in love all over again as the object of her desire grew even stronger.

“Please, Captain, have some more!”

“Thank you, Tione,” Finn said carefully. “But you’ve been offering me food and drink nonstop, and I’ve been feeling unusually warm for a little while now. Did you happen to slip in anything…special?”

“Hee-hee-hee, whatever do you mean, Captain?” Tione cooed innocently.

“I’m getting a distinct sense of déjà vu,” Riveria murmured dryly.

“Watch yourself going to bed tonight, Finn,” Gareth advised. “Locking the door’s not enough to stop a determined Amazon.”

Finn’s colleagues remained outwardly unconcerned as Tione continued her unrelenting offensive. They trusted she hadn’t tampered with the main dishes, but couldn’t be sure about anything she might have prepared specifically for Finn.

“Tione…is even more intense than usual,” Aiz observed quietly. She was seated at a nearby table where the other first-tier adventurers sat, slightly removed from the main throng.

“It’s Tione, what can you do?” Tiona replied between mouthfuls of food. “I wonder if Argana is celebrating back in Meren, too? Oh, Aiz, can I have that bit of meat? This is amazing!”

“Bunch of small fry getting worked up over someone else’s achievement…” Bete grumbled into his ale.

Aiz half watched Tione’s antics, while Tiona enthusiastically ate her way through the feast, both smiling occasionally. The only one in the room radiating dissatisfaction was Bete.

“I wanted to celebrate right after the Knossos fight!” Tiona lamented suddenly. “Rent out Mama Mia’s place and go all out! But…the money…”

Tonight’s celebration was being held at home for once instead of at their usual tavern.

The last major expedition had ended in the red, followed swiftly by the costly battle against the Evils remnants and the subsequent clearing of Knossos. Although the Guild covered some expenses, Loki Familia had absorbed significant costs for gear and items, leaving a painful gap in their finances—one Finn and Riveria preferred not to dwell on.

After the chaos surrounding Enyo and the conclusion of the Orgia Saga, the familia, including Aiz and the other top adventurers, had immediately plunged back into the Dungeon to recoup some losses. While they were finally emerging from dire financial straits, splurging on a party at the tavern was still out of the question.

Besides, Loki had wanted this particular milestone celebrated among family. It wasn’t just about honoring Finn, Riveria, and Gareth; as the oldest members, their accomplishment felt deeply personal to her. Her constant smile was that of a parent bursting with pride at her children’s growth. That said, she didn’t mind teasing the girl who had changed more than anyone in the aftermath of the fight in Knossos.

“And with Lefiya falling into darkness, it wasn’t really the right mood to announce it earlier,” Loki said lightheartedly.

“I-I did no such thing!” Lefiya protested, her cheeks crimson as she leaped to her feet.

“No…you totally did,” Elfie mumbled, her eyes glazed over from one too many drinks. “You were super dark. I was worried sick.”

“Indeed,” Alicia chimed in, placing a hand dramatically to her cheek. “When Elfie came to me in tears, I too wondered what terrible transformation had occurred…”

“E-Elfie! You too, Alicia…!” Lefiya’s objections petered out. She couldn’t deny having worried her friends, but her visible unease brought smiles to everyone’s faces.

“That announcement out of nowhere was surprising, though!” Tiona chirped brightly.

“Yes…” Aiz nodded. “I didn’t realize they had leveled up at all…”

“’Cause Loki’s a manipulative hag, you know,” Bete spat, taking another long draft of ale.

Loki had been waiting for the perfect moment. Orario had been consumed by two big festivals, and then the Knossos aftermath had dragged on unexpectedly. The return of the School District was another major event, and she hadn’t wanted her children’s achievements overshadowed. Now that Lefiya’s situation had finally stabilized, she’d decided that now was the right time.

Still, as Bete had mentioned, keeping the news secret from everyone just to orchestrate a grand reveal had perhaps overdone it.

“But…everyone seems happy now,” Aiz noted, a soft smile touching her lips as she surveyed the room.

Tiona smiled back. Even Bete just grunted and returned to his drink without further complaint.

The grief from the losses in Knossos lingered, but this momentous news had injected Loki Familia with renewed vigor, chasing away the last shadows of sorrow. Raul and the others were loudly praising Finn’s, Riveria’s, and Gareth’s feats. Loki’s timing had allowed the entire familia to lift their heads high so that they would be ready to charge forward, united behind their leaders.

That was what Aiz thought as she watched the heartwarming scene unfold before her.

The celebration continued late into the night, fueled by unrestrained excitement and free-flowing alcohol. Just when it seemed destined to become a raging all-nighter, the party came to a surprisingly swift conclusion. The rapid pace of drinking led to familia members slipping into deep slumber one after another.

The elves, largely abstaining from heavy drinking, drew the short straw for cleanup. Alicia organized the efforts, and she and the other elves tackled the mess with resigned sighs and weary smiles. As for Lefiya, she was tasked with carefully carrying Narfi and others back to their rooms.

“Working hard right to the end, Lefiya?” Anakity remarked kindly, supporting a heavily intoxicated Raul as they passed one another in the hallway.

“…I know I’ve been preoccupied with my own business lately,” Lefiya admitted quietly, adjusting Elfie, who was slung over her shoulder. “This doesn’t really make up for that, I know, but…”

Anakity simply offered an understanding smile before they parted ways.

The lights in the great hall winked out. Room by room, Twilight Manor fell dark and silent as the inhabitants settled in for the night.

Everywhere, that is, except for one office terrace, where a single magic-stone lamp cast a warm glow.

“Now then…to all our days together.” Finn raised his glass.

““Cheers,”” Riveria and Gareth echoed, their glasses clinking softly against his.

A small, round table had been set up on the terrace. This was an after-party for the three honorees…and their goddess.

“A rip-roarin’ time with everyone’s great, but just the four of us like this hits different, y’know?” Loki declared, helping herself to another heavy pour. “There’s somethin’…adult about a cool, moody moment!”

“Keep your voice down, Loki,” Riveria chided gently. “The others are asleep. And please try to speak in a way we can all understand.”

“What happened to Tione, by the way?” Gareth asked Finn, curious.

“Aiz and the others kindly subdued her and took her back to her room,” Finn explained with a slight shrug, hinting at a struggle. It had taken the combined efforts of Aiz, Tiona, and even Bete to safely escort the overly enthusiastic Amazon to bed.

“How many times have we leveled up together now?” Gareth mused.

“When we face true challenges these days, they’re invariably perilous situations that demand our combined strength,” Riveria observed. “It makes sense the timing would overlap.”

“And here I was hopin’ to get the jump on you this time,” Gareth said, chuckling.

“Ha-ha, I admit, I was worried one of you might,” Finn confessed. “During the expedition, and especially in Knossos…it felt like I was constantly being saved.”

“But hey, with this, we’ve finally put what used to be Freya Familia (lol) in their place!” Loki crowed. “Three Level Sevens! Three! And they’ve only got Ottar!”

“I have a feeling he won’t stay Level Six for long,” Finn countered with a knowing smile.

“Aye,” Gareth said, nodding. “Soon as you think you’ve caught him, that lout takes another step forward.”

Riveria smiled faintly, sipping Alv spring water instead of alcohol. Like Narfi and the others had discussed excitedly, the three of them had technically surpassed the famed Einherjar. But Ottar, Allen, and the rest must have also emerged from the Knossos battle stronger. Surely they would be making their own waves in Orario soon enough.

After that, the conversation meandered. Despite all she’d drunk earlier, Loki produced several more bottles of impressive vintage from her private stash. Finn, Riveria, and Gareth watched with fond exasperation, enjoying the quieter intimacy as opposed to the boisterous feast downstairs. Loki occasionally grew rowdy, but the conversation remained comfortable, a true celebration among peers. They appreciated the familia’s enthusiastic revelry, but this quiet interlude allowed them all to shed their mantles of leadership and share the sides of themselves that others rarely saw.

“So,” Finn said softly, turning to his companions, “how does it feel? Reaching Level Seven.”

“What? You’re asking us that, Finn?” Gareth raised an eyebrow.

“Well said,” Riveria added, a gentle smile playing on her lips. “We should be asking you. You’re the one who always said you wanted fame. I can only imagine what you’re feeling.”

“Yes,” Gareth agreed. “With Zeus and Hera gone, Level Seven is the pinnacle. Not just among prums—the entire world will be singing your praises even louder now.”

The impact of a first-tier adventurer’s growth was immense. It signified progress toward fulfilling the mortal realm’s deepest desire: completing the Three Great Quests. Finn’s renown would inevitably surge. Though merely a step toward his ultimate ambition, ascending to Level 7 was a tangible, world-shaking milestone.

“It was a long time coming,” Finn admitted. “But also…it felt like no time at all. I had estimated it would take over thirty years to reach this point in my original plans long before I stepped foot in Orario.”

“Planning that far ahead, were you?” Gareth chuckled. “Cocky little prum.”

“The day we first arrived…” Riveria murmured. “That takes me back.”

Finn’s expression grew somber. “We’ve lost too much along the way.”

“…”

A heavy silence fell. All three understood what he was saying: they were standing upon the sacrifices of others.

“From the Age of Darkness, when the Evils ran wild, until now…” Gareth sighed. “We’ve lost so many. Those who came before us…and those who came after.”

“Yes,” Riveria said softly. “I would never call it a fair price. And it wouldn’t have been surprising if any of us had ended up on the other side of that scale.”

“It’s thanks to them…the ones who fell…” Finn’s gaze drifted toward the stars. “Perhaps it sounds arrogant after a victory, but after that battle…you can’t help but feel that way.”

Their minds turned to adventurers who had guided their younger selves, to Leene, and to all the others lost recently in Knossos. Through countless trials, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth had been saved by many comrades…and had ended up mourning many more.

“I wanted to be the best, not just do my best…” Finn confessed. “But I’ve still got a long way to go before I’m the real thing.” He spoke of his resolve to forge his own path, one different from that of the manufactured heroes of old, yet his voice was tinged with remorse for the path taken so far.

Loki didn’t comment, choosing to merely listen and quietly sip her drink while keeping her usual jests to herself. She simply floated on the sea of their shared emotion, neither judging nor absolving.

After a comfortable silence, Loki spoke, her tone surprisingly gentle.

“What do you say? How about some old stories?”

“Where is this coming from?” Gareth asked, surprised.

“Reminiscing about the good ol’ days is a must for parties like this, ain’t it?” Loki said, grinning as a flash of her usual self returned. “Laughing at embarrassing, stupid crap from the past is the perfect chaser for good booze! It’ll be like a high school reunion!”

“What in the blazes is a high school reunion?” Gareth grumbled.

Riveria, for once, sided with their goddess. “Now that you mention it, I’ve never heard much about your lives before I joined you two.”

“Fair enough,” Gareth conceded. “All right then, Finn! Make it a good one!”

“Are we really doing this?” Finn asked, hesitant.

“Don’t be shy!” Loki prodded, her grin widening. “Or d’you want me tellin’ stories ’bout what an even cockier little twerp you were back then?!”

Finn chuckled, his expression softening. “You’ve got me there.”

Loki’s playful mask slipped again, replaced by a soft, genuine smile. “Think of it as a request from me. A chance to reflect on the regrets and the joys. A chance to revisit your roots.” It was clear, though she didn’t say it explicitly, how important this was now that they had finally reached Level 7.

Finn, Riveria, and Gareth exchanged glances, a shared understanding—and shared smiles—passing between them.

“In that case, I suppose I have no choice,” Finn said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “I’ll be candid. But once I’m done, Riveria, Gareth—you have to share your stories, too.”

“Of course,” Riveria assured him, her eyes closed in a serene smile. “I shall bare my shame alongside you.”

“Not like that’s anything new for the four of us!” Gareth boomed with a hearty laugh.

Under the watchful eyes of their goddess, the prum captain smiled once more, and letting his gaze drift into the past, he began to speak.

CHAPTER 1

THE PRUM’S ADVENTURE

Deimne was an intelligent child.

He possessed memories from the moment he was born. He remembered the feeling of being cradled in his mother’s arms and the sight of his father abasing himself before the non-prum villagers. All of it.

Deimne was a prum.

Smaller and weaker than any others, the demi-human race was considered to possess the least potential and were both widely derided and often exploited.

In their quiet mountain village, prums were undeniably at the bottom of the pile. Right after his birth, Deimne observed his fellow prums constantly being forced to give in to the other villagers’ unreasonable demands.

Possessing uncommon intelligence, Deimne hated seeing his parents being belittled, keeping quiet, and sometimes even being robbed. He abhorred his parents for disparaging themselves, for smiling in resignation, as if they had given up on hoping for anything better simply because they were prums.

Why did they not rack their brains? Why did they simply give in? Was it just because they were smaller in stature? Why did they not stand and fight like the legendary Phiana?

It wasn’t just his parents, either; Deimne grew irritated by the rest of his fellow prums, all of who seemed equally as downcast. He alone refused to abase himself before the villagers of other races. He snuck into the village elder’s home to read rare books, avariciously absorbing any knowledge he could find: the history of the mortal realm and tales of the world outside their small village. That was when he first learned about the legend of Phiana and other heroic epics. Seeing him hungrily reading in a study filled with hundreds of books, the village elder once remarked that Deimne looked like a tiny sage.

There were times when he used his quick wit to get the better of the other villagers, too. His audacity provoked punches and kicks from some, but Deimne refused to cynically accept that this was simply how the world worked. He was not like his pathetic parents. He was not like his fellow prums. Pride and loathing swirled fiercely in the small boy’s heart as he rebelled against the fate of his race.

Deimne was always angry at something. That constant anger might have been why his eyes often ached terribly. Or perhaps it was the opposite. Perhaps his pure blue eyes merely reflected the fierce determination swirling within his soul.

Time slowly passed, and Deimne finally turned ten years old.

That was the year he almost lost his life.

There was an attack. The monsters that lurked in the surrounding mountains swarmed the village in the dead of night. While flames rose up here and there around the village and the adults of other races struggled against the spreading fires, Deimne ran, fighting his own instinctual fear. Ignoring his terrified parents’ warnings, he raced to help the other children escape the flames—even the brats who’d always tried to bully him—and then he threw himself into helping put out fires. He was frantic, desperate to be brave like the prum heroes of old, the ones deified in legends like Phiana.

However, for such a young prum, that wasn’t courage; it was sheer foolhardiness.

The monster’s fangs were suddenly right before his eyes. The knowledge he had painstakingly gained had made him overconfident, and overconfidence inevitably led to failure. Gripped by his trivial pride, Deimne had not truly known his place. That was the moment he learned firsthand that infinite knowledge can be easily trampled by raw violence.

Just as the creature’s jaw was about to close over him, Deimne was saved…by his father and his mother.

Fatally wounded by the monster’s fangs, his parents sacrificed themselves without hesitation in order to save their son. As they were dying, he watched as his fellow prums abandoned him and his dying parents, running away in terror.

In them, he saw the despair of the prums made manifest. But he also saw the faint light of prum hope, the hope born of true courage in his mother and father, prums who had defied a monster far larger than themselves solely to protect him.

Tears welled in his eyes as he discovered the true light of the prums shining within his parents, who both managed to smile at him even as their bodies were torn and bloody.

When the monster was finally slain by an adult of another race who’d rushed over, Deimne screamed, releasing all the emotions he had been bottling up his whole life.

Knocking away the adults’ outstretched hands, he ran from the tear-stained corpses of his parents and fled into the woods under the dark of night. Rain began falling from the night sky, but he paid it no heed as he stumbled and fell many times in the underbrush, ignoring the fresh cuts stinging his arms and legs. He burst out onto the riverbank. All alone, he looked up at the weeping sky and wept with it.

Dawn eventually broke, the rain stopped, and the tears finally dried from his beautiful blue eyes. Deimne’s expression had changed; it was almost as if he had achieved enlightenment. The first rays of sunlight stretched down from the mountain summit, dancing off the gurgling stream below as a single, determined salmon leaped into the air.

Afterward, Deimne abandoned his family name.

When he buried his parents with his own hands, he returned to them everything they had ever given him. Everything except the name Deimne itself.

After that, he began calling himself Finn. In the prum language, Finn meant light. With the fierce resolve he’d imbued in his chosen name, the boy left his village behind forever. He was determined to revive his people, to give hope to the new lives who would inevitably be born into hardship, to provide a guiding light for all prums everywhere. He dedicated his entire being, his everything, to that singular task.

That day, his right thumb began to ache inexplicably, and the first whisper it seemed to say was “You can’t do it.” It pleaded with him to face reality.

“Shut up. I decided I will.”

At just ten years old, Finn Deimne—intelligent, wise, and fiercely ambitious—had become whole. It had all happened far too fast.

In the distant future, even after he had climbed into the esteemed ranks of the first-tier adventurers in the infamous Labyrinth City, he would still, always and forever, simply be Finn.

To repay his parents for saving him and showing him the light of hope. To bring forth the light that would raise his race from the depths of despair. To change everything about what it meant to be a prum.

Though it would come much later, he only ever desired one second name: Braver.

Finn, now possessing true and hard-won courage, began his adventure on that day.

Windmills spun lazily, catching the pleasant breeze.

There was a glistening fountain in the center of a wide plaza surrounded by lines of shops selling fruits, grains, and even fresh fish caught in the nearby river. A colorful flag waved cheerfully against the bright blue sky, almost as if some sort of festival was underway.

The village hummed with activity.

“Ha-ha! The mortal realm sure is nice!”

A single deity laughed excitedly, taking in the sight of humans and demi-humans milling about the plaza.

She had vibrant vermilion hair reminiscent of a sunset, sharp eyes like a fox, and an unnaturally well-proportioned face set atop a slender body that could potentially pass for male or female depending on her attire, though she was, in fact, a full-fledged goddess.

With a sparkling fountain at her back, Loki stretched her arms out wide, embracing the lively scene that was unfolding before her eyes.

“It’s all such a chaotic, wonderful mess, unlike the borin’ ol’ heavens! And this energy! No dead-eyed gods anywhere in sight, just a swell of life! Yeaaah, now this, this is the stuff!”

The deity Loki had only just descended from the heavens. Just half a day earlier, she had unceremoniously touched down in the plains outside the village and with significant effort had made her way to this settlement where she could clearly sense the vibrant presence of people.

The mortal realm was endearing; it brimmed with things that could generally be called pointless. Its societies were formed by countless individuals connecting with one another and filled with the varied, imperfect works of mortal hands. It was a far cry from the grand, unchanging, and infinite expanse of the heavens, which often felt depressingly quiet and stagnant. Everything here was fresh and new and exciting to her.

Loki had been wanting to experience this realm for a long, long time now and had finally won the chance to do so by kicking an absurd number of other deities’ asses back in the heavens.

It was all hitting home properly now as she watched mortals living their messy, vibrant lives right in front of her eyes. The most exciting thing of all was that she was now officially a resident of this realm and would soon be a patron deity.

“Freya and Thor mighta beat me to the punch, but I’m gonna make my own ideal, strongest familia!”

Slipping into the crowd, she felt herself getting fired up, like a child about to tear into their presents.

Watching a bunch of little animal-person kids run laughing past her, she smiled broadly.

“I don’t really care about heroes or any of that kinda stuff…but if I’m doin’ this thing, I’m definitely gonna be the best.”

The noise of the bustling crowds easily drowned out her words. She took a deep breath, arched her back slightly, and then—

“Anyone wanna join my familia?!”

—her full-throated shout as she stood in the middle of the street drew stunned looks from dozens of passersby. But as soon as the onlookers registered she was a deity, they all quickly started walking again, many wearing knowing looks on their faces.

“Nothing?! Sheesh, kids down here sure are cold. But, fine! I’ll just have to try a more direct approach, then!”

Repeatedly calling out her offer a few more times didn’t yield any better results, so Loki decided to start moving. In high spirits, she began actively hitting on people she ran across the settlement, focusing exclusively on cute and beautiful girls.

“Hey there, cutie! How about you join my familia?”

“P-pardon me, ma’am.”

“You know, we could have a whole familia all to ourselves! Why not be my very first member?”

“Ah-ha-ha…I’m sorry, but no.”

“Hey, pretty elf over there! What say you and me get hitched!”

“Disgusting. Be gone from my sight.”

Human, animal person, elf, and over thirty more women besides those.

With every single one of her enthusiastic proposals soundly rejected, Loki felt squashed by the hammer of reality that was the mortal realm.

“Argh! Everyone’s so mean! Who the heck turned the difficulty up so high?!”

After all of her pickup lines had failed miserably, Loki looked up at the heavens, wondering if this was what it meant to be “left on read.”

Trudging back to the plaza with the fountain, she slumped in defeat.

“This definitely feels like all the other gods who came down first misbehaved, so now, ain’t no one wants to get involved and risk gettin’ burned! Gah, stupid gods!”

While that assessment was true in a general sense, it also completely ignored her own rather poor behavior. Loki was already proving herself no better than any other typically self-absorbed deity.

Having run around trying to pick up girls like some pervy old man, she was already the target of numerous scornful and annoyed glares from the locals.

“…But, yeah, I can see how the hardest part is probably right when you first arrive. This is just the beginning, though,” she murmured resolutely to herself.

Familia—a unique bond between deity and follower, a connection felt deep in both body and soul. Becoming a member of a familia meant essentially becoming a gofer in exchange for receiving a powerful blessing. That was the general understanding shared by most residents of the mortal realm, and it wasn’t entirely incorrect. Also, there was always the risk of conflict arising between two deities who didn’t get along. Anyone who joined up without thinking carefully about the decision—whether they were looking for thrills or simply seeking peace—was almost certainly bound to get hurt eventually.

When joining a familia, the single most important factor to consider was undoubtedly the quality of the deity’s character. That was the crucial moment when mortals held the power, the moment they were on the judging side and had to try and discern a deity’s true nature beneath the divine facade.

“Looks like a pretty tranquil village overall, too. With decent walls and guards, it don’t seem to have major monster issues, so the villagers might not even feel the need for any followers boosted with a blessing right now.”

The place Loki had stumbled into was called Preblica. It was an awkward size—too large to call a village, but not really large enough to qualify as a proper town either. It was built along a river at the base of a mountain and featured sturdy buildings made of stone and neatly paved roads. Apparently, that infrastructure was originally established for the benefit of traveling merchants skirting the mountains, and as a result of that steady traffic, the settlement boasted numerous inns.

All told, Loki generally liked the place. It certainly had a lot of cute girls wandering about, which was always a big selling point for her, but it also had a host of smiling children running freely around the fountain in the main plaza. And the large windmills dotting the outskirts really gave it that mortal-realm feel she appreciated.

“But even so… I kinda messed up right from the get-go. Though, I guess I was the one who specifically chose a starting location out in the boonies…”

Loki sighed again and looked up at the vast blue sky, thinking that her gamer desire to deliberately pick a different starting area from all the other players had perhaps come back to bite her in the ass this time. Then she heard a voice.

“I found you.”

“Hm?”

Looking back, she saw a boy through the gaps in the passing crowds—a prum boy, short like a child, but wearing a surprisingly mature smile. His hair was a gleaming shade of blond, and he wore travel clothes as he held a long spear wrapped in cloth—a weapon that seemed far too large for his small frame.

The prum cut through the foot traffic, coming straight toward Loki. Then, switching his spear to his other hand, he briefly licked his right thumb, as if checking something only he could perceive.

“It’s definitely you.”

“What are you talking about?” Loki asked, intrigued.

“You’ll do just fine.”

His beautiful blue eyes—which evoked the smooth, calm surface of a deep lake—narrowed slightly. He pointed directly at her.

“I want to join your familia.”

And just like that, his tone clear and forceful, he volunteered himself.

Even Loki was stunned. It wasn’t exactly common for a mortal child to proactively volunteer to join up with a deity before they had even managed to establish a familia. Often, a patron deity and their very first follower ended up forming a special bond, for better or for worse.

She gave the seemingly mad prum boy a second look. The faint smile playing on his lips hadn’t changed in the slightest. His expression came off as a little audacious, yet seemed to brim with quiet confidence.

Loki’s immediate first thought was that he seemed like a rather cocky little brat.

“What? Is a supposed goddess struggling to make a simple decision? I’ve observed your rather clownish performance just now, so my joining should be precisely what you want, shouldn’t it?”

Nope, scratch that. He is definitely a cocky little brat.

“And I can’t imagine a goddess who has only just descended to the mortal realm is in any real position to be overly picky about her first recruit.”

At the same time, though, he was perceptive enough to grasp her situation with barely any concrete information to go on. She took a closer, more appraising look at him.

He was a remarkably handsome boy who could probably pass for a girl depending on what he wore.

Loki primarily loved cute girls, and while he was undeniably a boy, somehow…he still fit. Not in any specific sense. But even though he was currently playing the part of a calm and tranquil prum, she could almost smell the sly craftiness lurking beneath the surface. He was definitely a sharp one. This was a child who would be a remarkably good fit for her.

Sensing his potential, she smiled.

“I’m more than a little curious why you came to me, kiddo, but…first off, I want to hear your name. What do you call yourself?”

The boy smiled back as he answered.

“Finn…Finn Deimne.”

She had said it herself. The hardest time for a deity in the mortal realm was right after arriving. In that sense, Loki realized suddenly, she was incredibly fortunate. She had just hit it big. Hit-the-jackpot levels of big.

And that was how Loki and Finn first met.

After their initial introduction, they found themselves in a nearby tavern.

“So, Finn, was it? How old are you exactly?”

“Fourteen. I left my home village four years ago and have been training myself as I expand my horizons. I can defeat most common monsters with only my own strength, and was just thinking it was about time I started looking for a deity.”

The two of them sat around a small table in the busy, lunchtime tavern as Finn continued introducing himself.

The table held plates of sautéed beans, fried fish wrapped in some fragrant leaf, and an entirely unreasonable amount of alcohol for a midday meal. Of course, Finn was paying, given that Loki had nothing to her name.

“Phew! This rough flavor! Mortal booze really grows on ya!”

Loki held absolutely nothing back as she savored the novel drinking experience.

“So what, kid? You just picked me out based on some gut feeling?”

“Yes. My thumb ached when I spotted you, and I’ve grown to trust that instinct these past four years.”

“You don’t say…An instinct, huh? So that means I meet your standards, then?”

“That’s exactly what it means. My thumb is telling me that with you as my patron, I can race ahead…that choosing you will ultimately be the shortest route to achieving my ambition.”

Sheesh, what a shameless little prum, Loki thought, amused. You gotta rein it in a little, kid. I’m trying to enjoy my booze.

But even so, his attitude didn’t truly bother her, primarily because she had already taken a liking to the prum sitting across from her. She appreciated his bratty fearlessness, even as he conducted himself with perfect outward composure. She also admired the way he didn’t hesitate at all to use a goddess for the sake of furthering his own ambition.

“Hey, Finny-boy.”

“Just Finn is fine. That nickname sent a chill down my spine.”

“Ah-ha-ha, okay then, Finn it is. What exactly is this grand ambition of yours?”

Finn sat up perfectly straight in his chair and, without a flicker of hesitation, announced clearly:

“The restoration of my people…of the prums.”

Despite them being in the middle of a noisy, crowded tavern, Finn’s declaration felt clear, powerful, and almost jarringly out-of-place.

“Prums need a new light, a new hope to eventually replace the memory of the goddess Phiana.”

“Hee-hee-hee-hee…And you’re saying you’ll be that light, huh? You have any idea what you’re talking about?”

“Of course. I’m going to claim the title of this generation’s hero.”

Seeing his unwavering blue eyes, Loki struggled to stifle her laughter.

Anyone else hearing this would surely think it nothing but a wild fantasy, a ludicrous dream, something to be laughed off as utter nonsense. But possessing a goddess’s discerning eye, Loki could clearly see that Finn’s resolve was undoubtedly the real deal. This prum was starting to make her think that every single mortal was as funny, stupid, and dazzlingly bright as him.

You’re carrying something pretty damn big for someone with such a small body.

Glancing briefly at the wrapped spear leaning casually against the table, Loki smiled again.

“So…what exactly are you planning to do? Anyone can talk big about becoming the hope of their people, but I’ll be damn disappointed if you don’t have any sort of actual plan worked out.”

“Obviously, I do. First, I will perform numerous great feats upon the grand stage at the center of the world.” Finn began detailing his intended path without the slightest hesitation. “I will then become a renowned first-tier adventurer operating out of the famed Labyrinth City. That will allow me to attain both far-reaching fame and an unshakable status as the leader of the strongest familia.”

“I see. So that’s what you meant by needing to race ahead.”

“Yes. I intend to use you, but it shouldn’t be a bad proposition for you, either.”

He was essentially offering her a relationship that was strictly business. Loki would gain an exceptionally capable follower, and Finn would use her familia in pursuit of his ambition.

Loki found herself taking an even bigger liking to him after he revealed his calculations without any excuses or hesitation, and she liked him all the more now that she knew his dream was so overly ambitious.

“The familia you and I lead will stand atop Orario—no, atop the entire world… What do you say? Doesn’t that get you at least a little excited?”

Even knowing full well that he was trying to provoke her, Loki couldn’t help getting drawn in by his smile.

“Aren’t you interesting…”

The goddess had just been talking moments ago about becoming number one, so if she was truly serious about making the strongest familia, then this thrilling, absurdly ambitious kid was the perfect choice to become her first follower.

If I really wanted to game the system and maximize my odds, choosing a prum as the very first member is probably a bad choice.

Humans, animal people, elves, dwarves, Amazons, and prums. Among those six races, prums were widely considered the weakest. They were smaller than humans, generally inferior to elves in raw magical potential, and no match for dwarves in sheer physical strength. The one strength they had was their superior eyesight, which often paled in comparison to that of the animal people, who typically had impressive senses in general, not just vision. And in terms of innate combat instincts, most Amazons could wipe the floor with prums backward and in high heels.

Their potential for growth was similarly lackluster even after being granted Falna. Objectively speaking, choosing a prum didn’t make much sense.

Most deities would pick a human for their first recruit—average perhaps, but humans were filled with possibility. If a deity were to shoot for the moon, then they might instead go for a dwarf as any one of them could manage most early challenges through sheer brute strength alone. If sentiment or specific need intervened, then perhaps the often difficult-to-control and notoriously fussy elves, who were widely regarded as the ultimate magic casters, would be the first choice. Animal people tended to be a bit steadier and more reliable than humans, and Amazons, if they could be properly directed, could often start off as strong as dwarves.

Almost every other divine player participating in this familia manager game would most likely call the choice Loki was currently contemplating incredibly stupid. For both the patron deity and the prospective follower, the creation of a brand-new familia represented a crucial fork in the road.

But…that sounds so incredibly boring…

Loki’s immediate response to all those other players was to laugh and stick out her tongue at them.

Abilities, affinities, optimal starting strategies? Who gives a damn. You’re the real fools here. Encounters down here in the mortal realm are unique, one-time things. There ain’t no do-overs or resets.

Show me a god who could see such an interesting kid and somehow not be intrigued, or worse, let them get away…and I’ll show you a failure.

Just look at this boy. He’s practically glittering with potential right in front of me.

Just as Loki had decided to sign him up, Finn suddenly held up his hand, stopping her before she could speak.

“Loki, if you’ll truly accept me joining your familia, then there is one more thing I need you to promise me first. Without that specific assurance, I cannot join you.”

“Hm? All right, lemme hear it, then.”

Finn held up two fingers.

“I have two conditions for becoming your follower. The first is your support me in the restoration of my people as I already mentioned. The second is that you absolutely must not obstruct me in a particular matter.”

“Obstruct you? In what?”

“Yes. I understand full well what it could potentially entail, and I will talk with you more about the specifics after officially joining, but…I intend to do whatever is necessary to achieve my ultimate wish.”

Just as Loki was about to ask him to elaborate—

“Oh, Finn! You came by again today?”

—one of the tavern waitresses stopped beside their table. She was a prum, just like Finn, standing not even 110 celches tall. Her chestnut hair was shoulder-length, and she had adorable, round eyes reminiscent of a chipmunk. Her small size and overall appearance naturally evoked a protective instinct in others. Seeing her dressed in a classic sort of server’s outfit, complete with an apron—

“So cute!”

—Loki couldn’t help but speak her mind.

Finn smiled warmly up at the waitress.

“Hi, Melissa. I took care of a boar outside town earlier. I’ll share some of the meat with you later.”

“Oooh, thank you so much, Finn! The owner will be happy to hear that…Oh? Did you finally find the goddess you’ve been looking for?”

“That’s right. A deity who seems to suit me finally appeared.”

Melissa looked slightly exasperated.

“What an unbelievable thing to say…Ms. Goddess, please don’t take offense. Finn is really confident in himself, even though he’s a prum,” Melissa explained nervously, looking up at Loki.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetie. I don’t mind at all. That’s just youth talking,” Loki said with a wave of her hand, trying to be reassuring.

The girl breathed an audible sigh of relief and smiled back gratefully. She looked somewhat like an older sister concerned for her younger brother, or perhaps a young maiden worried about the boy she had grown interested in.

“You say that now, but you’re always acting so big and important around me,” Finn teased Melissa gently. “Before you make fun of my ambition, have you fulfilled your own wish yet, Ms. Shorter-Than-Me?”

Melissa’s cheeks instantly flushed bright red at the jab regarding her height.

“Hmph! I’m still older than you!”

She pouted in annoyance while holding up her serving tray, but as far as Loki was concerned, there wasn’t much difference between the two of them. They just looked like two precocious little kids.

“A prum girl would be nice too…” Loki mused.

“Hey, Melissa! Order up!” someone called from across the room.

“Oops! Please enjoy yourselves, Finn, Ms. Goddess!”

Hearing the owner shouting from behind the counter, Melissa rushed off in a hurry.

“She’s the star attraction here at this tavern,” Finn commented quietly after she left.

Loki nodded in agreement, noting the way Finn’s gaze followed Melissa as she moved around the room.

“Hoh-hoh-hoh, got a little crush on her, do ya, Finn? Sounded like you come here pretty regularly from what she said, too. You definitely have some plans for poor little Melissa, don’t you…?!”

Loki started to tease him, grinning like a leering old man.

“I do,” Finn said matter-of-factly. “It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I believe this what people most people would call their first love.”

Loki just blinked, momentarily speechless.

Finn’s eyes still subtly following Melissa as she made her rounds in the tavern, the faint smile on his lips…His expression didn’t seem like the typical look of a young boy who had just entered puberty. It felt more like a protective father or perhaps a doting older brother’s fond gaze.

The way he had phrased it too…The way he seemed to weigh his own emotions objectively and clinically diagnose them as the feelings of falling in love for the first time…There was no sweetness to it at all, which completely sapped the teasing venom from Loki’s voice.

If he had been a normal child growing up, this might have been an adorable moment, but in Finn’s case, his statement felt more like a sign that he had already aged far beyond his years.

…Are all mortals down here really this philosophical? That’s kinda wild.

Though she felt momentarily concerned, it turned out to be for nothing. It quickly became clear to her that it was just this particular prum boy who was special.

“Getting back to the topic of you not getting in my way…That promise pertains specifically to this,” Finn clarified, gesturing subtly toward Melissa.

“Hm? Her?”

“Yes. To successfully restore the prum people, It is crucial that I find a suitable wife.”

And just like that, the conversation took a completely unexpected turn.

“…Huh?”

“There would be no point if the hard-won glory of becoming the hope of my people ended with my death. I need a successor.”

“…What?”

“Love interests are generally kept strictly within one’s own familia, at least as much as possible. Everyone makes a point to never get romantically involved with people in other factions. That’s practically an ironclad rule in Orario, yes? But…if I happen to find a prum whom I judge to be truly worthy, I fully intend to propose to her, even if she already belongs to another familia.”

“…So that’s what you meant earlier by me not getting in your way?”

“That’s right. Though, even if Melissa is suitable, I hope she eventually feels the same way about me as I currently feel about her.”

“…Are you seriously planning on having a harem of cute girls?” Loki asked incredulously.

“If I absolutely must for the sake of my people’s future. Though I realize I’m not exactly suited for that sort of arrangement.”

After processing that for a few moments…

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!”

Loki threw herself backward in uncontrollable laughter.

“Seriously?! Searching for a wife already?! That’s a riot!”

“I am being completely serious,” Finn said calmly.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, this is great!”

She banged her fist repeatedly on the table as Finn merely shrugged, unfazed.

The tavern owner, the other patrons, the waitresses, and even Melissa herself all looked over in surprise as the goddess burst out into raucous laughter, but Loki couldn’t help herself.

She twitched slightly, trying desperately to hold it in, and quickly wiped the fresh tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes.

That’s it!

I gotta have him!

I ain’t gonna let such a stupidly interesting kid get away from me!

It’d be a disgrace to the name Loki!

This prum’s gonna be my first follower.

“A cute girl definitely would have been better for my very first…but fine. I’ve made my decision!”

“So what’s your decision?” Finn prompted.

“Yeah, kid, you’re in! You’re officially Loki Familia’s first follower!”

Loki triumphantly raised her mug high, and Finn smiled, raising his own in return. They clinked their mugs together before drinking deeply.

And thus, Loki had found her first follower. It was also the beginning of their newly created familia. With just one member—a prum, at that—the fledgling Loki Familia formally came into being in a quiet, backwater little village far from the center of the world.

“All right, then! Let’s get straight to this!”

Having finished her drink in one gulp, Loki wiped her mouth casually and jumped to her feet.

“You got a room nearby, Finn?”

“I am currently using a cheap lodge while I stay here…Why?”

“We’re going there right now! We need to do the ritual to make you official!”

“Ritual?” Finn asked, cocking his head slightly.

Loki simply smirked.

“Ain’t it obvious? We gotta engrave your blessing!”

Finn’s lodging was located down a quiet back alley off the village’s main street.

It contained only a hard-looking bed, a single chair, and a small table. Definitely a cheap room, but it received passing marks for having the bare minimum furniture and, crucially, for being an individual room. That last part mattered a great deal, since an important, secret ritual was about to take place—one that no one outside the familia should ever be allowed to witness.

“All right, Finn! Hurry up and strip down!” Loki said as soon as she stepped inside the small room. “Just the top’s enough for this, but hey, I won’t stop ya if you wanna ditch it all!”

“I believe I’ll have to decline that generous offer.” Finn grimaced slightly but reached for his shirt without protest. “I’d heard the rumors, but it really does go on your back, then.”

“Heh-heh-heh, so even you can get nervous, hm?”

“I’m fine. Please proceed.”

Removing his shirt completely and sitting down with his chest to the back of the room’s only chair, Finn smiled faintly and closed his eyes. He looked almost as if he had been patiently waiting for this moment for a long time.

“Heh, you’re no fun at all sometimes,” Loki grumbled playfully as she sat down on the edge of the bed and, using the small knife she’d borrowed from Finn, carefully cut the tip of her own index finger.

The ritual to join a familia was about to occur: a sublime being would imbue a mortal with Falna.

“Ready?” she asked.

Finn simply nodded solemnly without turning. Finally, the goddess’s divine ichor dripped from her finger and onto the prum boy’s bare back. A ripple of pure light ran across his skin, and Loki’s finger began to slide smoothly across it, expertly inscribing his blessing.

“All right, you’re officially my follower now! I ain’t gonna let you slip away, got it?”

“Ha-ha, I am certainly hoping for a long and fruitful relationship as well…I look forward to our time together, Loki.”

Stringing the complex vermilion hieroglyphs together fluidly and tracing a graceful arc across the small but surprisingly well-muscled prum’s back, the goddess carefully traced out an inscription containing both her own chosen symbol and the true names of both patron deity and follower.

Loki cocked her head slightly upon seeing the boy’s given true name revealed within the blessing, but chose not to comment on it, intuitively guessing that even the name “Finn” itself was likely a deliberate expression of the heavy resolve he felt.

“…There we go! All done!”

In remarkably short order, she skillfully created the trickster’s unique symbol and finished inscribing the full blessing into Finn’s back. Loki felt momentarily speechless, looking at the sheer abundance of complex hieroglyphs carved into his skin. Then suddenly, her eyes widened, and she started chuckling softly to herself.

“Hoh-hoh…”

“Are you finished yet, Loki?”

“Whoops, sorry! Yeah, I’m done. Gimme just a tick here, and I’ll write it all down into Koine for ya.”

Scanning his back again with keen interest, Loki took out a quill-tipped pen and began scrawling rapidly across a piece of parchment she produced, noting down the detailed Status now inscribed permanently onto Finn’s back.

Two powerful skills right off the bat, huh? And a bonus magic spell too…Are other mortals usually like this, too? Nah, probably not. Finn here’s just somethin’ special. And look at what they actually do…This reeks of rare traits.

Glancing again at Finn’s newly marked back, Loki was struck once more by just how lucky she had gotten with finding this particular prum right off the bat. She also felt a surge of childish superiority at securing such an amazing pull from the great mortal “gacha.” Smirking, she was even struck by the momentary thought that gacha pulls were the real fun in making a familia.

There was no way a mirror would be available in this small-town inn, so Finn simply put his clothes back, but even he couldn’t help but be curious about his newly revealed Status. That burning curiosity about this long-awaited moment was clearly visible in his bright blue eyes.

Chuckling again, Loki finally finished writing her note.

“Here ya go, kid. This is your Status now. Don’t go forgettin’ it.”

“Thank you, Loki.”

Finn took the offered parchment and quickly scanned its contents.

His blue eyes widened noticeably at one section in particular.

“…Looks like I picked up somethin’ rather vicious here after all.”

The skills were certainly something special too, but the magic slumbering inside him…Loki’s lips curled into a knowing smirk as she recognized the true, ferocious nature of that latent power.

2

A sharp slash connected cleanly with the monster’s chest.

“Ghua?!”

The sword stag’s dying cries echoed briefly through the trees.

As soon as he recovered, Finn swiftly thrust the tip of the spear out again and again, landing another precise blow to the vitals of monsters to both his left and right.

“I see…So this is the power of Falna…”

With his blond hair swaying slightly, Finn had just single-handedly taken on a swarm of monsters. He and Loki were currently about halfway up the mountain overlooking Preblica. The trees were less dense here, allowing more space for him to take advantage of his spear’s reach.

Finn had taken on a simple request from a local merchant who had complaints about the increased monster activity nearby. The task ultimately served more as a practical test for himself, allowing him to put his new Status through its paces. His arm strength had clearly increased dramatically, letting him easily swing his spear, and his visual acuity had improved, too, which let him precisely track the movements of multiple monsters simultaneously. His body also moved noticeably faster and smoother than before, allowing him to evade all incoming enemy attacks.

“I didn’t imagine a blessing would make such a big difference… Hyah!”

Finn stepped forward, planted his foot in the ground, and swung his spear with incredible force. That single motion alone was enough to sweep aside all the remaining monsters before him; none of them rose back to their feet afterward. Finn broke into a slight smile at achieving that almost dwarflike feat of raw strength with his slender prum arms. He could feel his excitement rising as the power coursed through his body.

“Our blessings are just the catalyst,” Loki said, having watched the entire battle unfold from the sidelines. “That strength, those senses sharpened like a knife’s edge…Those are all things you already had inside you. I just smacked ’em awake for ya.”

She stood with her hands laced comfortably behind her head, grinning in obvious satisfaction.

“You’re gettin’ a reward for beatin’ up all these monsters for that merchant, right? Make sure you use it to buy me some good booze later tonight to properly celebrate your very first fight on my roster! Parents always love it when their cute little kids treat them!”

“I’ll treat you to whatever you like, but I wish you would have just waited patiently back in the village…”

Finn had grimaced earlier when he saw his new patron goddess standing precariously smack-dab in the middle of an active battlefield. She waved her arms enthusiastically and cheered him on loudly, which inevitably drew the unwanted attention of several monsters, forcing him to protect her while fighting.

While he was busy dealing with a pack of kobolds, he had easily finished off a large battle boar that had tried charging directly at Loki with a swift, spinning spear attack.

He’s strong, Loki thought, impressed again. Or more like, he’s outstanding. I ain’t exactly a goddess of war, but even I can tell he’s not relying solely on his new Status. He’s got an established fighting style already.

Loki had initially tagged along out of sheer curiosity, but even to her untrained eyes, the way he used his spear looked remarkably elegant. Even with Falna, dealing with ten or more enemies simultaneously should have been at least somewhat troublesome, yet he hadn’t struggled at all. Wielding a spear easily twice his size as if it were nothing, Finn already glowed with a warrior’s aura—proof of his own innate strength, something that didn’t rely solely on his newly received Status.

More than anything else, Finn Deimne possessed a certain daringness—the old, almost forgotten courage of the ancient prums, something thought by many to be lost.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!”

A silverback’s shrill death screech rang out, and with that final cry, the fighting was over. Finn swung his red-stained spear in a clean arc, scattering droplets of fresh blood across the ground.

“That seems to be the end of it.”

“Oh, nice work out there, kiddo! How’d your big debut match feel?”

“I believe I’ve grasped the difference in strength between the old me and the new. I never put much stock in the old wives’ tale about a single warrior blessed with a Status being able to drive off hordes of monsters alone, but…Well, now it’s much more believable.”

Taking a breath, Finn started gathering the plunder from the battle. The slain monsters’ corpses turned quickly to ash as soon as he extracted the pinky-nail-sized magic stones from their chests. The cores obtained from monsters dwelling aboveground were far smaller than those harvested from their original Dungeon-dwelling counterparts. Even collecting a couple dozen of these wouldn’t sell for much, but it was still worth doing, if only to help back up his negotiations with the merchant later. Besides, simply leaving monster corpses lying around was just asking for trouble.

With practiced ease, Finn gathered any claws, pelts, or other potentially valuable materials from the piles of dissipating ash—so-called drop items that often sold for much more than the magic stones themselves.

“Hey, Finn, mind if I ask ya somethin’?” Loki piped up.

“What is it?”

“Your big ambition is to become some kinda prum hero, right?”

“That’s a little off the mark, but it isn’t exactly wrong, either.”

“Then why didn’t you just join some established familia right away? You could’ve gotten stronger way faster with a blessing, ya know.”

Falna certainly awakened mortals to their latent potential, but its true value arguably lay in unlocking the ability to acquire excelia by enduring hardship and overcoming challenges. Updating one’s Status regularly could provide the sort of rapid growth to a person’s fundamental capacity that not even a lifetime’s worth of normal training could possibly match. Leveling up broke all natural limits. It wasn’t entirely inaccurate to say Falna granted potentially unlimited growth.

Finn stood up from kneeling in front of a monster’s body.

“First of all, I decided it was better to properly develop my mind first—to build a spirit that would not be easily confounded by suddenly improved physical capability. I reasoned that, in the long run, approaching like that was actually the faster way to reach the true heights I seek.”

“Oh?”

“Culture, education, general knowledge, specific techniques and tricks relating to actual combat…These past four years, I’ve trained under an ascetic warrior monk who secluded herself deep in the mountains. I wanted to find out just how far I could reach without relying on a blessing; I wanted to know my own limits and expand my future potential as much as possible.”

Loki’s eyes widened as she looked intently at his face.

This one really is different from all the other kids I’ve seen so far.

There was a clear line between him and most other people. There were countless mortals who became utterly intoxicated by their newfound strength when they first received a Status. To use a phrase common among adventurers in Orario, those mortals ended up being controlled by their Status instead of the other way around.

Unlike most people, who tended to put far too much faith in their suddenly unleashed latent potential, Finn had honed his mind and body first. Reining in any impatience, he had chosen the most secure method of development, always keeping an eye on long-term success. And, Loki had to admit, his reasoning seemed correct.

Finn Deimne was untroubled by the common pitfalls that often befell adventurers, especially those starting out in Orario. Rookie adventurers who gradually became overly dependent on their Status would find themselves, sooner or later, struggling due to a fundamental lack of combat skills. But when this prum eventually faced true hardship, he would possess the tools needed to overcome it—his flexible knowledge, his patiently built-up experience, and his carefully cultivated fighting techniques would serve him well.

If there were ever some super rookie who somehow achieved a turbo-boost of growth through pure luck or circumstance, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Finn would still likely be able to take on the challenges of the Dungeon with more speed, stability, and sheer tenacity in the long run. He had stifled all pride and arrogance, controlling himself in both mind and body like a seasoned, first-rate warrior all while mastering his innate capacity and his developed core skills in careful tandem.

“…This starter pull might actually be a little too good, come to think of it.”

Loki realized she was looking at an exceptionally powerful lancer who was already knowledgeable and no stranger to battle, despite being only Level 1.

On one hand, Finn was an incredibly reassuring addition to her fledgling familia. But on the other…she felt like perhaps something was missing. He seemed almost too perfect, even without Loki’s divine help. There was no sense of the explosive growth that came from starting from practically nothing. None of the feeling that often made the beginning stages of a new game, or a new familia, so inherently interesting and unpredictable.

That point…Well, it made her feel a tiny bit disappointed.

“…Well, whatever. Having a strong follower right off the bat’s definitely better than not having one. And besides, Finn’s crazy marriage plans (lol) aren’t exactly set in stone just yet.”

There was a subtle shift in the air as Loki’s expression broke into an un-goddess-like, pervy old man’s grin again.

“So, Finn, m’boy…when exactly are ya finally gonna confess to cute little Melissa?”

“This is somewhat sudden, Loki…”

“Not at all! If she’s gonna be your future partner, then there’s a high chance she’ll end up joinin’ my familia, after all! Recruiting potential members early is urgent business, ain’t it?”

Waiting for the moment he was finished with his post-battle cleanup, Loki sidled up to her one and only follower, wearing a knowing, mischievous leer.

Finn raised his hands in immediate surrender.

“You’re all for getting involved with her, aren’t you? Don’t think you can just slip one past a deity.”

“Loki…You’re not entirely wrong, but could you go a little easier on me?”

“Ah, I’m sure she’s got some kinda feelings for ya, too! If ya just got all embarrassed and red-faced like a normal kid and asked her straight up to have your children, I’m sure she’d accept!”

“C’mon, Loki, that phrasing is just…”

Muttering to himself that maybe he had been too quick to reveal his full ambitions and regretting his choices just a little bit, Finn grimaced, and after indulging his patron goddess’s relentless teasing for a bit longer, his gaze shifted.

“…Hm.”

There seemed to be nothing visibly different in the surrounding woods, just the ashen remains of slain monsters scattered all around the clearing. Seeing Finn suddenly glancing around intently, Loki cocked her head curiously.

“What is it?”

“The merchant who posted the job mentioned that the monsters on this mountain have been unusually active, descending frequently and attacking the travelers and merchants below.”

“Yeah, he did say that.”

“It’d be one thing if it was consistently one species of monster causing trouble, but multiple species attacking together in coordinated groups…That is something else altogether.”

Finn had just defeated a diverse group of creatures that included sword stags, kobolds, battle boars, silverbacks, and several others besides. Loki understood his unspoken point immediately: the monsters on this mountain were behaving strangely.

The prum boy quietly licked his right thumb again, his expression thoughtful.

“There are two possibilities that come immediately to mind. The first is some sort of major territorial dispute occurring higher up the mountain…and the other—”

A deep, thundering echo sounding from far down the mountainside interrupted him.

“—is a single, powerful monster forming a pack under its command.”

Ignoring Loki, who looked up in shock toward the source of the sound, Finn quickly ran to the nearby edge of the cliff and peered down intently toward Preblica.

His prum eyesight, superior even among most demi-humans, discovered exactly what was happening below in an instant.

The village of Preblica was spread out along the base of the mountain, and its walls had already been breached, broken in multiple locations by what looked like an army of monsters attacking the settlement.

“Hey, Finn? You mean…?”

“Yes. Precisely that.”

Loki’s mischievous attitude vanished completely as Finn’s sharp blue eyes quickly spotted a particularly large, ominous figure moving into the village.

“All the monsters active on the mountain recently…They must be obeying that beast.”

It wasn’t a true Monster Rex, but Finn’s assessment was correct. A powerful ache in his right thumb accompanied his grim statement. The throbbing pain was practically screaming warnings at him now—telling him not to fight it, telling him it was a menace that exceeded his current abilities.

“…What are you going to do now, Finn?”

Sensing Loki’s gaze fixed on the side of his face, Finn looked down briefly at his own hand, then clenched the throbbing thumb tightly into a fist. Deliberately muffling his internal alarm bells, Finn suddenly recalled the devastating attack on his home village four years ago—as well as the final, desperate moments when his parents had sacrificed themselves to protect him.

The raw emotions he’d felt back then swelled inside him anew. The voice of hard-won courage rang out resolutely in his heart, fiercely determined not to suffer that same tragic fate again.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

What Finn, what light, would he possibly be if he didn’t at least try to save the people clearly in danger right before his eyes?

With his golden hair rustling in the sudden updraft from the valley below, Finn smiled back grimly toward his patron goddess.

“Let’s go save the village.”

What should have been a peaceful village now thundered with the terrifying roar of countless monsters.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Preblica swirled with raw terror and chaos. A large swarm of monsters had appeared seemingly out of nowhere from the nearby mountain and were now launching a direct assault on the town. The relatively low stone wall encircling the settlement had proven useless against the unprecedented, overwhelming attack. The town guards who had been on duty were quickly scattered, proving little more than a momentary bump in the road as the monsters flooded into the village proper.

Inside the breached walls, utter chaos reigned: windmills lay shattered, wooden homes had been violently torn open, leaving gaping holes. The colorful flag that had been decorated with colorful adornments for the festival now lay in tatters, trampled on the ground. The terrified screams of villagers echoed without pause throughout the settlement.

The swarm, comprised of all sorts of different monster species, destroyed any buildings they encountered and attacked any people they happened to come across.

“Ah! Aaaaah…!”

Melissa suddenly slumped down helplessly in the middle of the road. The tavern’s owner had noticed something was terribly wrong and shouted at her to run, so she had rushed frantically out of the building without thinking, only to immediately see villagers she knew screaming and sobbing as the swarm of hideous monsters overwhelmed them.

Vicious claws drew blood. Desperate cries for help mixed with the thunderous sounds of buildings collapsing. So many people already lay fallen, their unmoving bodies scattered all around the village.

The young prum girl had been too slow in escaping the initial chaos near the tavern, and now she found herself rooted to the spot, paralyzed by sheer fright at the absolute horror unfolding before her.

As tears welled in her eyes, a monstrous form suddenly closed in on her.

“Graaaaah!”

“Eep?!”

Just as the creature’s fangs raced toward her face, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly—

“Grh?!”

—the ferocious howl abruptly turned into a wet, dying rasp.

“…What…?”

“Melissa! Are you all right?!”

Nervously opening her eyes again, Melissa saw the large monster lying dead at her feet, and a familiar prum boy spinning a long spear nearby. Having managed to kill the monster in the nick of time, Finn offered the stunned girl a reassuring smile.

“Finn…?”

“Yes. That was close. Loki, take care of her, please.”

“Mm, got it.”

Loki suddenly appeared right behind the dumbfounded girl.

The attack had only begun just a few minutes ago. Finn and Loki had raced down from the mountain at top speed, and Finn’s spear was already stained bright red from the blood of countless monsters slain on his way to the village.

“Racing to the rescue’s all well and good, but isn’t this more than you can handle? Even as strong as you are now, this whole situation ain’t somethin’ you can take on alone,” Loki commented, putting a hand to her forehead and looking around in what almost looked like genuine exasperation. “Hittin’ a major crisis event right after comin’ down to the mortal realm…This’d actually be a pretty good joke if I wasn’t the one stuck in the middle of it all.”

“I do not entirely understand what you mean by that, Loki, but…there’s nothing to do now but deal with it. We simply have to exterminate all the monsters within the walls.”

Loki lightheartedly lamented her apparent misfortune, but Finn didn’t laugh or even smile, his expression now assuming the focused air of a hardened warrior preparing for a desperate battle. Hearing what he intended to do, Melissa looked taken aback. The next instant, she leaned forward urgently, reaching out for him again.

“No, Finn! Don’t!”

“…Melissa?”

He turned back toward her as she grabbed tightly onto his arm.

“It’s too dangerous! You’ll definitely be killed!”

“…”

“I know you’re strong compared to most of us prums, Finn, but still…you can’t possibly go fight them all alone!”

“…”

“We’re so small…What could we possibly do?!”

Clinging desperately like a frightened child to him, she was behaving exactly like the current generation of prums that Finn so despised. The ones who instinctively abased themselves just for being physically small. The weaklings who shrunk back and cowered in the face of adversity. Melissa, perhaps the very embodiment of their downtrodden race in this moment, was pleading with all her heart, tears streaming down her face because she didn’t want to lose someone precious to her.

“We’re just prums, Finn!”

The intensity of her feelings came through clearly—her kindness, and how much she cared about Finn.

To that, he only had a simple reply.

“You’re wrong about that, Melissa.”

“Huh…?”

While accepting her feelings for him, he still gently but forcefully pushed back.

“It’s because we are prums that we must be brave.”

“!”

“Even though we may be small, there is something that only we can do.”

An unwavering, fierce determination sparked brightly within his shining blue eyes. Melissa’s words failed her as she took in the intensity radiating from the boy she had always assumed was younger than herself. That and his clear, resolute gaze.

The boy once called Deimne, the boy who had experienced profound loss once already—he now held an unshakeable determination firmly within his heart. Peering directly into her tear-filled eyes, Finn put what he was feeling into simple words.

“Only the prums can demonstrate the courage to not bend, no matter how great the opponent.”

Melissa remained speechless as he gently slipped from her grasp and turned his gaze forward again, toward the swarm of monsters still rampaging through the village even now.

Loki, who had remained silent throughout their exchange, broke into a smile as the small boy stepped forward, armed only with his spear.

“Ya got some kinda luck, Finn, runnin’ smack-dab into a big adventure right after joinin’ up with me.”

As if determined to meet the high expectations of his patron goddess’s casual banter, Finn shot her a fearless smile.

“What are you talking about, Loki?”

The fierce resolve lurking behind his confident smile flashed dangerously in his eyes.

“My adventure started the day I first took the name Finn.”

Looking out at the unending road stretching before him, he raised his spear.

Melissa stood awestruck, and Loki smirked.

“Mm, got it. Then get to it.”

With that push, Finn raced forward.

“Hah!!!”

“Geh?!”

Smashing through a wild ape monster about to attack a villager in the road with one strike, he raced through the main street.

In a flash, Finn struck every monster he passed on the road with a single blow, causing a shower of blood to erupt from their necks. Saving villagers by killing or immobilizing the monsters, he set his sights on a specific place to resolve this situation.

“Damn it!!!”

“Shit! Leave me alone!”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see others still fighting: the guards who hadn’t been strong enough to stop the monster attack and the mercenaries hired by a caravan that had stopped in the village. The latter were cursing their luck at being in town when the attack happened, but they were still fighting desperately to save the villagers.

However, the guards and mercenaries were just candles in the breeze, on the verge of breaking and running. If that light was snuffed out, it would signal the end for the village.

“I won’t let it happen.”

Finn cut down an orc without stopping as he raced to the plaza at the center of the village.

It was the heart of the town, the spot where he had first met Loki. That was his target. The place where he could turn this situation around.

“Hear me, brave warriors!”

Standing in the center of the main battlefield, amid the furious battle between people and monsters, Finn raised his voice. The prum’s shout reached the sky, stopping people and foolish monsters alike in their tracks, drawing their attention to him standing on the fountain.

“Do not falter against the monsters! If this village is lost, an even greater tragedy will occur! Should you run away, you’ll find that much of the blood and tears spilled here will be on your hands!”

His voice was loud and clear, but more than anything, his encouragement carried a tone of powerful determination that swayed people’s hearts. The stunned guards and mercenaries were drawn to the prum boy’s rallying cry.

“The attack stops here! Protect your loved ones! Roar like a hero! If you do, the winds of victory will blow our way!”

Finn would not make the mistake of thinking he could save the village alone. He had done that once and failed. When he was younger and naive, he had foolishly tried to handle things on his own and lost his parents in the village where he was born. Finn would never make the same mistake twice.

The guards, who were out of breath, bleeding, and covered in wounds, clenched their fists. Finn’s voice swayed the mercenaries who were struggling just as hard. The speech from a brat no one knew had lit a fire in everyone’s heart.

“Or what—”

Just then, several monsters lashed out to smash the shouting prum. The villagers and mercenaries who’d been transfixed by him started to yell out the moment his spear flashed. The tip danced wildly, faster than they could follow, transforming those monsters into a pulpy mess in an instant.

Time froze as the lancer showed his back after unleashing a fearsome display. Turning just his head back toward the others, he grinned.

“—Are you going to let a prum outdo you, fellow warriors?”

It was a cocky, impudent, daring smile, summoned from the bottom of his heart. He was setting a challenge, showing just a little bit of his talent for firing people up.

His pep talk had all the more impact because it came from a prum, a race that was always looked down on and made fun of.

The guards recoiled, and the mercenaries gritted their teeth. Then they all started shouting.

“Watch your mouth, kid!”

“We’ve always protected this village!”

“I’m not a mercenary for nothing!”

Some drove away fear with anger. Some rallied to preserve their dignity as guards. Some cried out with the pride of a mercenary.

Spirits soared across the battlefield as they drove the monsters back.

“Protect the village!!!”

And that passion transformed into a majestic song. Raising a battle cry, the warriors wielded sword and spear, cutting into the mass of monsters.

“?!”

The monsters were visibly shocked by the shifting tide of battle. Their prey had buckled under the surprise attack, but now they were holding fast, and quickly mounting a counterattack. It was something monsters that relied only on instinct could not begin to comprehend—the surge of power possible for people who would do whatever it took to protect something important to them.

Cut by swords, skewered by spears, the monsters’ howls became screams. In the blink of an eye, the attacking host fell into a panic.

“All right! Prove your courage with me! Just like the ancient hero Phiana who raced across countless battlefields!”

Finn grinned as morale skyrocketed, continuing his rousing shouts as he rejoined the fighting.

Those who understood the boy’s intent smiled as they joined his battle cries.

Resolve and determination spread across the plaza and beyond. Villagers who were not there heard the reinvigorated shouts from the guards and mercenaries, and one after another, raised a cry themselves and started to run into the fray. Ordinary people who knew nothing of combat banded together, facing off against monsters with hoes and brooms. Those who heard the boy’s voice became brave warriors themselves as they joined the battle.

“A prum’s weapon is courage, huh…What an interesting race.”

Watching the heroic figure of that small body shouldering such enormous ambitions and grand resolve, Loki offered nothing but genuine praise.

Standing next to the speechless Melissa, the goddess watched closely as Finn fought in the center of the battlefield.

Encouragement alone was not enough. His feat of smashing that monster attack in an instant gave hope to the people, making him the eye of the storm. It was all planned and calculated—even using his small size.

What Finn wielded might be artificial, but no matter how calculated it was, his prum bravery was not fake.

“…Ugh, uwaaaaaaaaah?!”

That moment, a shock rang out, as if something was sneering at the courage of the people who were on the verge of pushing back the monsters.

“Th-that’s…!”

An enormous body emerged from the swirling cloud of dust.

It was a giant, hair-raising mass of flesh, a hideous figure that evoked a blue slug crawling across the ground. At the top of the mass of flesh was an upper body, just barely discernible as female, with two arms. Finn’s eyes widened when he saw the monster, thinking that looked like it had been born from a giant’s viscera.

“Th-that’s…a-an airen…?!”

A mercenary’s voice quailed just as the airen roared. The six-meder-long body swung, sweeping like a giant’s arm.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

“Gaaaaaah?!”

Guards and mercenaries alike were swept aside. But it did not stop there. Its powerful arms shattered the roofs of houses and it even breathed fire. Simply seeing its destructive potential was enough to transform courage into terror.

“!!!”

Finn, who had crushed a crowd of monsters by himself, spun toward the sound. It was unmistakably the figure he had seen from the mountain. The giant monster had stirred the activity of the mountain monsters, driving them toward the village where countless prey awaited.

“Mercenaries, fall back!”

Finn immediately sprinted. He ran across the battlefield to hold back the airen, a worthy leader for the monster swarm, but—

“RUUUUAAAAAAAA!”

“Guh?!”

—a thin tentacle extending from its head knocked Finn back into a pile of rubble, as if it was swatting an annoying fly.

“Finn?!”

Melissa cried out, seeing him smacked aside. Seeing the leader of the battle struggling, the villagers’ morale flagged. The counterattack that had been building began to falter, and the monsters advanced again.

“Gh…!”

Finn stood up, blood dripping from his head as he looked up at the airen glaring down at him.

It possessed a potential too great for a monster that lurked aboveground. It was unmistakably an enhanced type, the ultimate example of the danger that resulted from leaving out monster corpses. Most likely, the airen had eaten dozens of monsters, absorbing their magic stones, which allowed it to grow into the leader of a pack comprising dozens of monster species.

In just one attack, it had caused a terrible amount of damage.

Finn’s hands were shaking. His body felt weak. His thumb was throbbing more than he’d ever felt before.

The old Finn would have retreated from taking on the hideous monster in front of him. That was how powerful the airen leading the mountain horde was. With just his not-even-day-old Status, this encounter would have ended in flight, no matter how much he racked his mind.

Dumb violence would easily trample infinite knowledge, just like what happened in his hometown when he lost his parents.

“…Don’t give me that. I won’t make the same mistake.”

But the current Finn had a path to victory. To borrow Loki’s words, he was awakening—awakening to his own power.

He was awakening to the spear slumbering within him—the magic waiting impatiently for its moment to be released.

“…Something vicious…You were right, Loki.”

Roughly wiping away the red droplet of blood trickling down his head, Finn stood on shaky legs.

“Ever since I caused their death—no, from the very moment I was born—I’ve had this urge to rage against the unfairness of the world.”

A confession that he could never let anyone hear was carried off by the breeze.

Even though the little creature glaring up at it looked near dead, the airen’s chest swelled, and it unleashed an eerie screech. It was a psychic attack, not unlike that of a siren or mermaid. The villagers covered their ears as the harsh, drowsiness-inducing voice rang out and fell to their knees, trying not to vomit.

But Finn alone stood against the monster. His skill granted him resistance to the monster’s song. His blue eyes, which always shone intelligently, now revealed a terrible ferocity.

Loki had already taught him the trigger, so all he had to do was say it.

Watching the airen charge angrily toward him, the impudent prey refusing to be entranced, Finn said the words:

“Spear of magic, I offer my blood! Bore within this brow.”

It was a dispassionate proclamation, a brief poem. It was an expression of unwavering bloodlust and a vow to slay every foe.

Crimson magic power gathered at his left hand as he pointed at his forehead, his finger looking like the tip of a spear.

At the same time the light was absorbed into his body, and just before his consciousness was swallowed up by the crimson fury, Finn said the name of the magic.

“Hell Finegas.”

He let out a ferocious howl that drowned out any beast’s song.

When he regained full consciousness, Finn was standing in a world of red.

“…”

None of the blood covering him was his own. Before him, he saw the airen mercilessly torn to pieces and the corpses of countless monsters. Every monster on the rubble-strewn battlefield was dead, and the ferocious roars that once filled the air had fallen silent.

He remembered what happened—vaguely.

He had let out a howl more ferocious than any monster’s, and then slaughtered every last one. Pierced them with his spear. Smashed them with the butt of his spear. Crushed them with his small hands. His eyes, crimson like spilled blood as he annihilated everything. His trusty spear, unable to withstand his true strength, losing its tip and bending under the force of his attacks.

“So this is his magic, huh…”

Loki’s vermillion eyes had watched the scene from start to finish.

The village had fallen quiet enough that her words were carried off by the breeze. Villagers, guards, and mercenaries all gazed at the sight before them in shock. It was a terror, perhaps even greater than they had felt toward the monsters.

Hell Finegas: a magic that imparted battle lust. Its effect broke through his limits, significantly increasing all of his abilities. But in exchange for that fiery battle prowess, it created a berserker without any real judgment.

The crimson light faded from his blue eyes. Finn looked around at the villagers trembling in terror and then turned away without a word. With all their eyes on him, he walked toward the plaza’s exit.

Standing there was the prum girl.

“Melissa…”

“…F-Finn…”

Meeting her gaze, Finn reached out without thinking. Melissa responded by taking a step back—in fear.

“…”

“Ah…!”

Seeing Finn’s speechless face, she realized just what she had done. She leaned forward, on the verge of tears.

“N-no, it’s not…”

“…”

“I…I…!”

“…”

“But…but…!”

Her body quivered as she desperately tried to explain herself. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at the bloodstained prum before her, struggling to understand what she was afraid of, what was making her so sad.

“…”

Finn smiled gently. It was a fragile, lonely smile.

Melissa’s eyes widened as he walked right past her without a word.

One of the things Finn wanted in a prum partner was courage.

Unfortunately, Melissa—unable to raise her own spirits, unable to accept an ambitious warrior—did not pass muster. And thus, Finn’s first love came to an end.

But even beyond that, he felt that for her sake, he should not stay by her side any longer since he terrified her.

“…Wait, Finn!”

Prioritizing the restoration of his race, the prum boy readily gave up on his first love. He did not turn back to the prum girl tearfully calling out to him. However, for the first time, the boy who called himself Finn looked his own age as he hid the heartbreak he felt behind the facade he was keeping up.

“Finn.”

Leaving the plaza, he went down the road, the thoroughfare opening as villagers moved aside and created a path for him. But one person, or rather one goddess, had gone ahead and was waiting for him, right in the middle of the road.

She opened her arms.

“I’ll lend you a shoulder.”

“…”

“So let it all out!”

Loki even flashed a pointlessly cool and handsome smile, steadying herself.

A breeze passed between them, felt but not heard. The prum looked at her with a withering gaze devoid of any lingering emotion. Sighing ever so slightly, Finn shuffled aside and walked past her.

“Whoops.” Loki had made a complete fool of herself. “And here I was, all ready to cheer up a poor, brokenhearted boy.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’ll have to decline your offer. My tears have long since dried up.”

But then…Finn suddenly stopped and turned, smiling.

“But thank you, Loki. It seems this will end without lingering attachments.”

And that’s a bit of a relief.

Loki smiled back at the prum boy.

Ironically, the goddess was the only one who could understand the hero, and her presence meant that he was not alone. They were familia.

“…”

Glancing once more at the prum girl and the other villagers watching him, Finn started walking again, and this time, the goddess walked at his side.

The two of them left the village, and no one stopped them.

The one undamaged windmill creaked in the wind.

Once they were far enough away from the village, the goddess spoke.

“So, what now? We already went and made a cool exit.”

“Just keep going to another village or perhaps a larger town. I should help with Preblica’s rebuilding, but my presence there now would just get in the way.”

The prum boy was already thinking of their next steps while he calmly addressed the fact that he was now an object of fear to the villagers.

Loki smirked at how charmless her follower was and looked at the well-kept road and the vast meadows on either side of them.

“All right, I didn’t have any luggage anyway, so let’s get to the next stage of our adventure! Yeehaw, I’ve always wanted to go on this kind of trip!”

“Deities seem to find everything fun. Must be nice.”

“Hee-hee-hee, anyone not enjoying life is just missin’ out, Finn!”

Slapping his little shoulder, the goddess stretched and shouted toward the mountains.

“All right, it’s a journey to find cute girls for our familia! Just you wait, you pretty elves, animal girls, dwarves, and Amazons!”

“I won’t comment on your interests, but…it seems there will be plenty of hardship awaiting us.”

The goddess and the prum boy started walking side by side.

With thanks and farewell to the village that was the home of their familia’s humble beginning, they set out to new lands.

It was the start of a long road that someday, in the distant future, would reach the Labyrinth City. With just the two of them, Loki Familia’s adventure had begun.

CHAPTER 2

THE HIGH ELF’S DEPARTURE

“I’ve had enough!” the elf yelled.

A furious, shameful shout echoed throughout her overly large room.

“L-Lady Riveria! If you raise your voice so, you will be reproved by the king!”

“Why can I not even shout as I please within my own room?! I will repeat it as many times as I must, Aina! I have had enough of this gilded cage!”

Riveria had long, glistening jade hair that danced through the air, and a stunning face that was a match for even some goddesses’. By the standards of humans or animal people, she appeared a young woman; however, based on her furious and childlike outburst, this incredibly beautiful woman might have been mistaken for a teenage girl.

“Why am I not allowed even a passing interest in the outside world?! Does he really think caged birds do not dream of the sky?!”

Though the natural refinement that shone through her immature behavior stemmed entirely from her birth.

Riveria Ljos Alf. As the name Alf—meaning primogenitor of elves—implied, she was a princess, a member of the proud and noble high elf royalty, and the Alf Royal Woods.

A holy land for elves on par with the Alv Mountains far to the continent’s west, the Alf Royal Woods was also the high elf home, an elven paradise. There was also a notable castle town that stretched out from the base of the royal sacred tree at the center of the forest.

The castle, built of seiros, sat squarely at the base of the tree, and Riveria’s room in it was nearly on the highest floor.

“Did you hear him?! ‘Have more discretion,’ he says! I am not my father’s puppet!”

“Lady Riveria, I ask you please, quell your anger…!”

Riveria’s ire had been provoked by an occurrence earlier in the day. She had been summoned to the throne room by her father, King Rafale, the highest of all elves, and she was rebuked for behavior unbecoming of a princess.

The specific target of his reproach was her interest in the outside world. It had come to light that she was secretly buying goods from a traveling merchant the royal family retained.

“‘The world outside is odious,’ he says. ‘A remote frontier rampant with barbarians.’ How can Father say that, having never once set foot outside the forest?!”

In vulgar parlance, Riveria might be called a tomboy of a princess. She preferred to wield a bow and hunt rather than sit in her room and read poetry. She also wished to interact with the lower elves who came on pilgrimages from outside rather than spend her time offering prayers to the royal sacred tree. Her behavior was, in some sense, a reaction to being forced to behave like royalty.

Riveria had been ensconced in these restricted ideals from birth.

The expected decorum of royalty would be one thing. She considered it her duty as one born to nobility, and she could understand said decorum must be upheld. However, she found the overly worshipful attitude of her fellow elves unbearable, and more than anything, the life inside the gilded cage her father had forced upon her was displeasing and unceasingly irritating.

Now, at this very moment, gods and goddesses—what her mortal father called deusdea—were descending to the mortal realm one after the other, reducing the duties of royalty to mere vain formality. And yet, they remained absorbed in a sense of communal superiority inside a town that was insignificant compared to the scale of the world. What was the point?

In this dawning age of the gods, why must we hide away deep in the forest?

That impulse, that question tucked away in her heart, loomed larger and larger with each passing day.

“To disdain unknown beings as insignificant and worthless. Is that not the very same ignorance that Father despises…?!”

More than anything, the decisive blow was when he tore up her treasured world map of the mortal realm. Her eyes were damp as she stared at the scattered remnants of it that she had brought back and laid atop her large bed. It had been seventy-one years since she was born into this world, and finally, her patience had run out.

“I’m leaving the village, Aina!”

“Wh-whaaaat?!”

Aina, her retainer and the one person whom she trusted, cried out in shock.

On this day, an astounding event that would shake the high elf village and elves the world over would occur.

“An elven princess…She’s gonna be refined and secluded, the sort of naive innocence that gets all red-faced at tiny little pranks, and ultra-cute, of course……”

At the same moment a certain high elf princess was making up her mind, in an inn far away, a goddess was prattling on with absentminded rapture.

“That’s why it’s gotta be an elf!” Loki slammed her empty glass down on the table.

“I’m not really following your logic,” Finn said, sipping at a mug of mead, “but shall I take that to mean you would like our next member to be an elf?”

They were currently in the southwest of the continent’s central region in a town called Karna. It was a long, narrow town stretching from north to south and filled with countless inns.

Ten days had passed since they left Preblica, and now they were at a tavern in a roadside town, just raising their mugs.

“That’s right! But not just any elf! I’m after a high elf, royalty among elven royalty!”

“Loki…you don’t just stumble across a royal elf every day. In fact, they aren’t the type to be walking about in other people’s villages at all.”

“But we can go to the high elf village from here, can’t we? I heard there’s a carriage that passes near the woods.”

“…So that’s why you’ve been chatting with merchants so much lately…”

After a healthy dose of exasperation and wry smiles from Finn, Loki let out a crude chuckle. His easily carried-away goddess had settled on her next familia member, apparently.

“I know I said I wouldn’t comment on your tastes, but…Loki, you really should give up on a high elf.”

“I don’t wanna! I wanna go to the high elf forest! I wanna get a super beautiful princess who will call me dearest Lady Loki!”

“An elf princess would never say that…”

Loki flung herself across the table, flailing and pouting as her lone follower heaved a sigh. It was a sigh betraying the deep knowledge he’d gained over the course of the trip about what sort of goddess she was.

As Loki drew all sorts of attention in the busy evening bar, Finn looked out the window at the travelers and carts passing by and carefully began to explain the situation.

“Elves are generally considered to be fussy and difficult, and high elves are exceedingly proud on top of that.”

He tried to convey to her the culture of high elves in the mortal realm, which a goddess in the heavens would not be so well-versed in. In this era of gods and goddesses—with deities descending to the mortal realm and interactions between various races increasing—there were some elves who still remained deep within their forests, and the high elf village was said to be the most insular of them all.

The root of it lay in their elitism. The scornful hearts of the elves praised their own beauty while disdaining all other races as hideous and vulgar. All other races that set foot in the enormous royal forest were eliminated without exception. The only people with permission to pass were a certain small number of traveling merchants with connections to the royal family that stretched back to ancient times. Any person who mistakenly approached was greeted with high elf magic—even deities.

“But they haven’t received a blessing from any of us, right? It might get a bit rough, but a strong familia could just force their way in…”

“There is no race with racial allegiances as strong as those among elves. Such a reckless action would only invite international conflict. It sounds like a joke in times like these, but…it really isn’t.”

Given they had no familia, the elves’ firm stance against trespassing seemed easy enough to fight. But if some incident were to occur in the high elf village, elves the world over would not remain silent. Regardless of their organization or affiliation, they would rise as one and chase the criminals to the ends of the earth.

That was why no country and no familia, no matter how powerful, would dare lay a hand on the Alf Royal Woods. That was how revered high elves were by elven society.

It was a reverence entirely incomparable to that reserved for the undignified, thrill-seeking, true deities who shattered the faith and values of all peoples before their descent.

“And regarding elves generically…I’m not particularly thrilled with the idea of adding one as a comrade.”

“Hmm? Got a problem with elves?”

“More the other way around. Other races tend to look down on prums, and we are particularly unbearable to elves…I certainly don’t think all elves feel that way, but…anyway, I can just hear the distasteful sniffs overhead.”

It was something Finn had experienced plenty of times already.

Elves scorned prums as stunted. Their scorn was not something new, and he understood it was not reserved just for prums, but he still bristled at the unconditional and dishonorable label, even if it stood to reason that his race, having lost its courage, would be thought of as nothing more than small.

“You will likely be scorned too, Loki, for accepting a prum as your first follower.”

Finn shrugged, his blond hair swaying with the movement.

He was trying to change prums, so he did not hate elves as a race or have a particular prejudice against them, but he did think there was an order to things. If he and Loki were going to scout an elf, then it would be better to do so after they had gathered a few more comrades.

He slyly thought that an elf’s difficult conceitedness could be softened and that they could be more readily convinced to join if there were non-prum members of the familia. Magic casters were a rarity, and having one would be a great help, but it was not strictly required at the moment, either.

He shared his analysis with Loki without restraint.

“I see…”

“Can you accept that?”

“All right, let’s try going to the high elf village!”

“Did you listen to what I was saying at all…?”

But Loki just beamed and continued on just as before. There was no shaking her fixation on beautiful women and cute girls. Seeing her grin with bubbles of ale at the corner of her mouth, Finn realized he wouldn’t be able to go against her divine will on this one.

Sighing one more time, he curled his lips.

“All right, I get it…Tomorrow morning, we’ll head for the Alf Royal Woods. But no complaining if you can’t recruit exactly who you were looking for, though.”

“Yahoo! You’re the best, Finn! Prums are just too easy, hee-hee-hee!”

“Your real thoughts are slipping out, Loki.”

“Ah, no way, I was just kidding!” she said, quickly trying to recover.

Either way, Loki Familia decided to set out, giving in to its patron’s willful demand.

The sun set, and night had a magical effect on the Alf Royal Woods.

The moonlight weaving through the leaves reflected off the branches and trunk of the sacred tree, granting the forest a faint light, which shimmered like the dance of fairy wings.

“Aina…are you truly accompanying me?”

Riveria tugged on her chosen mount’s reins as she snuck out of the stable in the pale light of the moon. She was leading the only tamed unicorn in the entire high elf village. Soothing the sacred beast as it approached her, Riveria addressed her attendant, who was guiding a white mare.

“Yes, Lady Riveria. I shall accompany you.”

She nodded, her tied-back jade hair swaying in the moonlight. Though she paled in comparison to Riveria, Aina was a beautiful woman in her own right. Her natural gentleness and kindness showed even in the smile on her lips.

Her full name was Aina Lindle. Though she was not allowed the name Alf, she too descended from the first Alf—though from a branch family—and served as an attendant to the princess. She was an old friend who had been with Riveria since childhood.

Three days had passed since Riveria resolved to leave the village. Aina had always held back the tomboyish princess, but recognizing her lady’s unshakable resolve, she had volunteered to leave with her.

“I have lost my parents and have no relatives. I have nothing to regret if I leave the village.”

“But…”

“In addition, you are helpless at tending to your own needs without me around, Lady Riveria…”

“I-I can handle some things. Don’t treat me like a fool.”

They were the same age, but at times, Aina acted like an older sister caring for a troublesome younger sibling. Riveria pouted when it happened, but she liked this Aina more than the retainer who revered the royal family. This was more like when they had played together as young children.

Using a secret passage known only to the royal family, they exited the palace. Looking out at the city illuminated by the faint light of the sacred tree, Riveria glanced at Aina, about to warn her she could still turn back, but—

“I still remember our youthful promise to someday see the world together.”

“Aina…”

“It is true that I have sworn fealty to the royal family…but my heart is truly sworn to you, Lady Riveria.”

In all her life, Riveria had never experienced joy like the kind that confession brought her. She could say without doubt that if there was one thing she could take pride in—out of everything in her unpleasant life in the gilded cage—it was this friendship.

Aina smiled softly, her cheeks flushing as Riveria did the same.

“Okay, then let’s go!”

Sitting astride the unicorn and the white mare respectively, they turned their backs on the village of fairies they had lived in all their lives and rode off, side by side, through the dimly shimmering forest.

“We must not encounter any other elves. It will be an animal path, but let’s take this way!”

“Yes, milady!”

The Alf Royal Woods far surpassed any country’s capital and was fittingly described as a sea of trees, but to Riveria—who had set out hunting in it countless times—it was like her backyard, even at night. The trained unicorn did not stumble on any roots, running in a way that almost reminded Riveria of a flowing dance. Aina had been forced to accompany Riveria on most of her outings and so could easily ensure that her white mare kept up.

Avoiding the official route used by the royal merchants and soldiers, the pair set out to the northwest of the great forest.

I, of course, brought a bow and some arrows, but I also have a staff. I’m not concerned about any sorts of monsters, but…

Lamentably, even this elven holy land was not free of danger. Riveria touched her back, confirming that she had her bow and arrows, as well as her royal staff.

If she were speaking plainly, both of them were weapons of self-defense to be used after they had left the forest. Outside this walled garden, there were bandits and indecent familias. Riveria fully understood that the outside world was not all beautiful. After all, she was not a foolish princess, nor an empty-headed one.

The real problem is whether we can escape the royal woods. I remember the map of the woods I snuck a peek at, but I’ve never actually been this far away from the village…

A grove of trees well over fifty meders tall…A still and cool spring…Unfamiliar scenery began to dominate. This point marked the beginning of the unknown for Riveria.

Unease, fear, and excitement at the unknown swelled inside her. Gripping her reins, she heard a sound echo in the distance, causing the birds to rise into the air as one.

“Did they notice us…?!”

Riveria’s escape had become known. She could instinctively sense the immense uproar embroiling the castle, and she could hear the faint echo of dozens of hooves—elven knights.

They would catch up in no time if they traced the two sets of tracks.

“Fly, Aina!”

“Y-yes, milady!”

Urging their mounts to accelerate, they raced through the night.

“Woooah! We’re here, high elf woods! Just wait for me, my cute little elves!”

From Karna, Finn and Loki had taken a series of carriages and then spent a day walking from the nearest town. After three days of travel, they were face-to-face with the Alf Royal Woods.

The great forest was opening its mouth right before them, and from where they stood, it looked immense beyond measure. While Loki was very excited, Finn sounded troubled as he held his remade spear.

“Mm, but what should we do now? If we try to go in, all I can see is just us getting caught by the elves.”

“C’mon, Finn! You call yourself a clever prum, but you can’t come up with even a single plan?!”

“I understood it was an impossible situation and hoped you would just give up, Loki,” he quipped, already used to bantering with the goddess. “And I never once described myself like that.”

“There’s a giant entrance right at the front, but…I wonder if there are guards.”

“Yes, elven protectors. They won’t let anyone through other than fellow elves or the very few others who have the royal family’s permission. And even if we did get through the entrance, beyond it lies a maze of trees. Apparently, it’s impossible to reach the village without a guide.”

The entrance lay some distance ahead, and there were several elves in what looked like hunter attire in formation guarding the path. With his blessing, Finn would not lose the fight, but they needed to avoid any unnecessary clashes. Even if they snuck in elsewhere, they could not actually reach the village without relying on someone who knew the way.

Honestly, Finn was absolutely against getting into a fight with high elves, and having managed to see the Alf Royal Woods, he was content to just call it quits here, but…

“…Finn, look.”

“Hm…? The elves are…?”

Loki’s expression suddenly turned serious, so he looked to where she was pointing, watching as the elves protecting the entrance suddenly began to stir. They were so frantic it was obvious even from this distance that some sort of emergency must be unfolding, and suddenly all of them disappeared into the forest.

“…Guess something happened…”

Seeing that, Loki flashed a sinister grin.

“Hey Fiiiinn…if we follow them, we might run into something interesting, right? Maybe even meet a high elf living in those woods there.”

“…Sheesh. It’s never a dull moment with you, is it?”

Finn sighed and smiled weakly.

Goaded on by Loki, who was like a fish finally back in water, Finn began tracking the elven guards.

The elves tracking them had drawn close enough to be seen.

“Lady Riveria, please return at once! Do you understand what you are doing?!” the knight commander shouted.

Riveria’s only response was to urge her unicorn to gallop even faster.

“Kh…Begin casting! Wind magic! Aim for the steed!”

They used an innate magic possible only to the race of magic casters. Formalized through repeated studies and rituals stretching back to ancient times, it was a kind of magic, cast via long-form spells, that could be used without a blessing.

The elven knights of the royal forest fought using equestrian casting, entrusting their steeds to pursue or evade as necessary while the riders unleashed barrages of magic. It was a pseudo-concurrent casting that had been developed despite the knights not being master mages.

“By ancient compact I summon you, winds of nature. Heed my call and mow down my enemies!”

“Gh…By ancient compact I summon you, inferno of earth. Heed my call and scorch all violence!”

Hearing the cannonade of casts beginning behind her, Riveria took her staff and began as well.

The two she chose were both spells requiring more than a dozen stanzas, but Riveria possessed the greatest talent of any high elf and had also taught herself equestrian casting when she was out on her hunts, so even though she started later, her swifter incantation allowed her to finish her spell first.

“Gale Blast!”

“Flare Burn!”

Taking care not to injure the princess, the knights chose wind magic, while Riveria chose fire magic.

Using the burst of heat from her flames, she avoided the gusts of wind weaving through the trees, but—

“Kyaaaaah?!”

“Aina?!”

Though she had dodged a direct hit, a swirling vortex knocked the legs out from under Aina’s white mare. It tumbled, sending her flying into the ground, and in that moment when Riveria lost focus, a single arrow struck her unicorn.

“Gh?!”

The sacred beast whinnied, and Riveria was thrown against a tree. Grimacing in pain, she looked up to see the knights surrounding her.

“A mere attendant, kidnapping Lady Riveria…Have you no shame?!”

“Ah?!”

“Stop!”

An enraged knight walked his steed over to Aina and mercilessly clubbed her with the haft of his spear. Grabbing her friend, Riveria used her own body to protect her as she glared up at the knights.

“Leaving the village was my own decision! Why are you striking Aina?!”

“You were able to slip away from the castle because of this fool’s assistance, were you not, milady?”

She could not deny that. Aina’s assistance had allowed them to reach the stable without raising anyone’s suspicions, but it would be wrong of Riveria to not take any of the responsibility herself.

While arguing, Riveria quickly scanned her surroundings. The unicorn had been struck by an arrow, and the white mare’s front legs were broken. They had no more means of escape.

“We shall not hurt Your Highness, but this one shall be taken back to the village and executed.”

“What?!”

“The king has given permission for some rougher measures.”

—“She must be raked over the coals.”

Riveria was speechless, clenching her fist as she heard the words passed on from her father, the king. She could also sense Aina turning pale in her arms.

“This is all to open your eyes. Abandon your delusions of the corrupt outside world and all other insignificant dreams.”

The way the knight commander spoke—in such a flat and calm voice—together with his handsome elven features, made it seem as if he were just a puppet.

Yes, those lifeless eyes.

It was always so. The ones keeping me in my cage always had gazes like quartz. Never considering the unknown. Never seeking to learn what is not already known. Never risking anything. Just spending their time in aimless, vegetative emptiness…

The resentment and bitterness that she had felt day in and day out, the hatred, the anger…It all swirled in Riveria’s heart.

“Lady Riveria, it does not matter. I am not—”

She lifted Aina in her arms. Silencing her friend’s brave and stouthearted words, she pressed Aina’s head to her chest.

“I…!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “I hate you! You are ensnared by customs, spending day after unchanging day in idle sloth, never seeking anything of the future!”

The anger, the craving that led her to try to leave—it might all be the selfish wish of a princess who did not know any better. She had considered that she might just be making trouble for others. But Riveria could not bear it any longer. She could not endure a life without emotion, without inspiration, a life of just waiting vacantly for nothing.

At the same time, she was sure that very fate was all that awaited them if they were left behind by the new era. The tired customs so rampant in this expansive wood would someday be the end of the high elves.

What is the value of life to a fairy kept in a cage, unable to fly?

Why do they not set out to an unknown world like Saint Seldia in the epic?!

“I despise that village!”

Tears welled in Riveria’s eyes as she spat out the feelings that lurked deep within her heart. The green forest heard her rage and grief and was silent. The tranquil night did not answer her shout.

“…Lady Riveria has been struck by madness.”

The middle-aged knight commander spoke with unchanging, cold eyes.

As elves rushed to the spot, having abandoned their posts when they heard of the princess’s escape, he gave the order.

“Take her back…and arrest that attendant.”

The circle closed in, and Riveria closed her eyes, holding Aina close as hands reached out toward her—

“Dear, oh dear.”

Just then, there was a sound of something whipping through the air…and then the sound of armor being kicked…and finally, elven shouts.

“Of all things, I wanted to avoid getting involved in any sort of high elf politics the most.”

Riveria opened her eyes when she heard that voice, astonishment washing over her.

A childlike lancer wielding a long weapon had appeared out of nowhere and had knocked the elves around him backward.

“Wh-why is a prum here?!”

“I took the opportunity to follow those guards over there. I do apologize for entering the woods without permission, though.”

The stunned knight commander’s shout was answered by the preternaturally calm prum boy.

The elves who had rushed over from the posts they’d abandoned—those very same guards—were flustered. The knight commander glared once at them, furious that they had not even noticed they were being followed, but naturally, the focus of his ire returned to the prum standing before him.

His beautiful, puppetlike visage was twisted hideously. Clenching his sword, made from a branch of the great sacred tree, he gave the order:

“Eliminate him!”

The response from the elves—infuriated that a lesser race had defiled their holy forest—was, of course, a naked murderousness as they all attacked the single prum.

“Of course it was going to end up like this…”

The boy just sighed, and in the blink of an eye, his spear clashed with all of their drawn swords.

“—!”

Riveria could not believe her eyes as she watched the furious swirl of battle.

Elven blades thrust in from all directions, but the prum—as if he had eyes in the back of his head—dodged, parried, and countered each attack with his spear. When a rearguard knight tried to unleash a spell in the middle of the melee, the prum hurled a stone he’d apparently kept hidden somewhere on his person, interrupting the cast with a dull thud and groan. His actions could only be called striking, and even in Riveria’s and Aina’s amateur eyes, the prum was clearly strong.

How much combat experience has that small body accumulated? Are prums not a fallen race devoid of courage?

Is this what the outside world is like?

Riveria was stunned by the sight of a prum not only facing so many knights, but bringing them down with his counterattacks.

“Gh…! Wh-why are you helping us?!”

Realizing she had been staring, captivated by the scene, Riveria shouted a question.

“Ask her. Unfortunately, I don’t really have time to explain right now.”

The prum glanced at Riveria just briefly before continuing his fight with the onrushing elves.

As Riveria wondered who the her he referred to was, she heard footsteps in the undergrowth.

“Well now, looks like we showed up at the perfect moment.”

Turning around, she saw a vermilion-haired woman who made no effort to hide the lascivious smirk on her lips.

“…! A goddess!”

Riveria instinctively sensed the divine majesty emanating from the woman’s body. The goddess then looked at her with a rude and intrigued gaze.

“Not happy with your life, so you ran away from the village…something like that? A tomboy princess?”

“Gh…?!”

“And right about now, you’re regrettin’ not having any strength.”

Perhaps hearing Riveria’s shout before, the goddess was using fragmentary information to guess the details. The deity before her—Loki—looked down at Riveria, lips curling as if offering a deal.

“Why not join my familia? If you do, we can help you.”

“What…?!”

“Or rather, it’ll be a problem if you don’t. Strong as Finn is, numbers are still numbers.”

Riveria and Aina were both speechless; meanwhile, just as Loki said, Finn was gradually being pushed back.

It would be much simpler if he could just kill them like he did monsters, but he could not afford to take their lives—not with the international elf problem such an action would provoke. Even if he was careful to only knock them out, their reinforcements kept showing up, so he would still be completely outnumbered.

All that, and he was at a disadvantage from the start, having to protect the three women, too. The fact that he was enduring a squall of elven spells and maintaining this situation all on his own was incredible in and of itself.

“So,” Loki said, “why not come under my umbrella? You won’t have to be holding anyone back that way.”

“Are you trying to threaten me?!”

“I’d rather you call it a negotiation. If you make a contract with me, you’ll get power, and you won’t have to get dragged back to your village. You’ll regret it if you don’t take this offer…You want to protect your friend, don’cha?”

Loki flippantly responded to Riveria’s furious reaction, her smile deepening as she said those last words.

Aina, wounded, was shaking in Riveria’s arms.

To her eyes, the goddess standing before her looked like a devil.

Crimson eyes narrowly opened, lips curled upward, right hand outstretched…

The woman was no goddess. This was the sort of deal with a devil that old wives’ tales spoke of.

Riveria experienced a simmering torrent of humiliation. She could feel the rage burning her cheeks. The manners and courtesy worked into her over decades flew away as she gritted her teeth in a furious scowl.

“…I’ll show you the outside world, too.”

But at the same time, there was a difficult-to-resist urge growing in her right hand.

“I…I will become your follower! So leave Lady Riveria—”

“Stop, Aina!” Riveria snapped, keeping Aina from leaning forward. “It was my desire to leave the village! My decision!”

She could not push responsibility for that choice onto her friend. She could not entrust it to anyone else. It was her dream.

Riveria would make a deal with a goddess she knew nothing about and had only just met. She understood just how dangerous it was, but she was more scared that her dream would die here.

Aina’s eyes widened, and the goddess’s smile disappeared as she watched Riveria howl about her feverish and as-of-yet unrealized desire to see a world.

“This is the start of my journey!” She took Loki’s hand and stood up emphatically. “I’ll be your follower! But you promise me that you will not lay a hand on Aina!”

“…Okay, I promise.”

Loki smiled, seemingly pleased.

“What’s your name?”

“Riveria! Riveria Ljos Alf!”

With that, Loki quickly started preparing to engrave her blessing.

“Ah?!” Aina covered her mouth with both hands as Riveria forcefully opened the back of her dress, revealing her royal skin.

The goddess’s ichor dripped onto the princess’s beautiful, smooth skin, creating a ripple.

“Are you still not done yet?!”

“Don’t hurry me. It’s just a little more!”

Gripping the royal staff in her right hand, Riveria’s left hand held up the ripped dress to cover her chest.

The goddess’s finger traced and danced across her back. Riveria endured the shame of such an unladylike visage as she watched Finn and the elves continuing to fight.

“All right, that’s it!…Whoa, this status…”

Riveria did not hear the last thing Loki was saying as she immediately tried to join the battle line. Seeing that, the temporarily silenced deity called out to her newest follower.

“Riveria, repeat after me.”

“…?”

“It’s a special little gift from me to you.”

Turning slightly to glance back at the boldly smiling goddess, just this once, she did not complain. She obeyed the impulse of the rampaging magic power unleashed within her.

“‘Harbinger of the end, white snow. Gust before the twilight.’”

“…Harbinger of the end, white snow. Gust before the twilight.”

Standing still, Riveria raised her staff, recognizing that it was the incantation for magic. Loki had spoken the incantation engraved in Riveria’s back, and she followed along without hesitation, her voice ringing out.

“Wh…Lady Riveria?! This magic power…You didn’t…?! How could you?! Ghaaaaaaaaaa?!”

Sensing a magic power unlike any before and seeing Riveria singing with her dress falling down ever so slightly, the knight commander erupted with fury, understanding at once that the princess had been corrupted by the goddess. Falling into a frenzy, his rage spread to the other elves around him, and they all chaotically rushed toward the trio.

“Fading light, freezing land.”

Riveria’s heart was as still as a calm sea. Subconsciously, she understood that she was about to cast magic on a scale unlike anything she’d released before. This was Riveria Ljos Alf’s true magic, unlocked by the gift of Falna. This was the potential that lay dormant within her, an ultimate spell that was hers alone. Its power far surpassed the innate magic that elves had passed down from ancient times.

“Finn! Ruuuun!!!”

Loki shouted a genuine, deadly serious warning, devoid of her usual frivolity.

Finn, who had been swinging his spear all this time, went wide-eyed at the incredible magic power emanating from Riveria and immediately retreated.

“Blow with the power of the third harsh winter, advent of the end—My name is Alf!”

As she completed the last stanza of the incantation that the goddess had spoken for her, the spell was unleashed.

“Wynn Fimbulvetr!!!”

A chilling blast blew forth.

“““”””

The elves were speechless as the chill ice burst forth and closed in, mercilessly swallowing them up.

The forest creaked as it froze over in an instant. The glacial torrent terrified the unicorn and the white mare laying on the ground and sapped the entire world of its warmth.

After that tremendous cannon blast resounded, a world shrouded in frost and ice emerged.

“This is…”

Aina, kneeling on the ground; Finn, who somehow managed to escape the line of ice; and Riveria herself were all in awe at the sight before them. The frozen night woods were filled with the screams of elves whose bodies were half encased in ice.

“Aaaaaaaarghhhhh…?!”

The most miserable of all was the cry of the knight commander, who was covered entirely in ice, save for his face.

Riveria stared, stunned as silence settled over the forest again.

“You manifested an incantation concatenation,” Loki groaned. “From the number of slots, there ain’t just three; there are nine types of magic.”

She had a sneaking suspicion that it would not just stop at the two other spells. This was probably an irregularity never seen in all the time since deities had first descended to the mortal realm.

“This moment is the birth of the ultimate mage.”

The goddess’s lips curled as she spoke aloud the hunch she was almost completely sure of.

2

A thought crossed King Rafale Ljos Alf’s mind.

Thinking back to it, he had always been at a loss for how to deal with his daughter.

She preferred to go out and hunt with a bow rather than study the holy rites. During her studies, she showed an interest in the magic woven by their distant ancestors, only to immediately test out its practical application by slaying marauding monsters in their forest. And the nadir of it all, she seemed to beckon lesser beings to her, forgetting her position and status, all in search of vulgar, common conversation.

He had too often forsaken his duties in the time after the queen passed. By the time he realized what had occurred, Riveria had already become a truly troublesome elf.

Burdened with that new headache, Rafale had admonished his daughter.

“Know your position. You are royalty.”

“Do not neglect your duty.”

“In an age such as this one, brimming with deities and the like, we must demonstrate our authority to our brethren.”

He scolded and explained, but Riveria grew still more obstinate. She had the gall to say that it was the high elves, bound as they were to this royal wood, who were pitiful. She dared even to crow that they were fossils being left behind by the times.

That was the first time that Rafale raised a hand against his daughter.

How could she not understand why this forest was revered as a holy ground? That beyond these trees there was naught but swirling malice and corruption? That the high elves who ruled over this elven home were the beings most worthy of veneration?

The high elves must remain the light standing atop their race. Without that, they would decline, much like the disgraceful prums. High elves were the pride of all elves.

Riveria must understand that pride. That had to be why she did not abandon her duty as a royal, instead becoming fed up with her race, so overly focused on themselves as they were.

She had inherited more of the temperament of Seldia than that of Salida’s younger sister, the ancient Queen Lishen. Seldia—the saint who turned her back on the destiny of high elves and left the forest.

That was why Riveria took an interest in things like the world outside.

“That troublesome tomboy…”

The Alf Royal Woods was the home of the high elves.

But the elven holy land, a forest so expansive it surpassed even the great sea of trees, was afflicted by an unnatural chill. Trees stood frozen and leaves were covered in frost alongside a group of elven knights, groaning in pain, mercilessly frozen like the wood around them.

Sitting astride a white mare, Rafale grimaced as he looked out at the frozen swath of forest. Long jade hair tied back and a golden circlet resting across his forehead, he managed not to voice his exasperation, but his brow was deeply furrowed. It was clear as day that he was holding back rage. The elves accompanying him fell silent, waiting for the inferno of wrath to die down.

He grasped immediately that it was his own flesh and blood who had performed this icy outrage.

“Commander Kanos, what is this disgrace?!”

“My, my humblest apologies, my king…!”

Some time had passed since Riveria had run away from the village. Losing his patience with the search party that had failed to return, Rafale had ridden out on his own horse only to encounter the knight commander and his force in this pathetic state—every last one of them unable to move, frozen in some way or another.

The frozen knight commander cowered at the loud shout of a king who was always so cool and collected, and his now blue lips trembled as he tried to explain.

“A-a goddess trespassed in the royal woods…and performed an oath with Lady Riveria…! The princess then wielded a magic that surpassed our ancestor’s techniques…There was nothing we could do…!”

Hearing the frozen commander’s stumbling report, the king’s boiling anger transformed into a raging conflagration.

Of all things, a vulgar, lowly goddess dares steal away the treasure of the high elves!

The elves recoiled from the wrath of their lord as Rafale looked up.

“We ride! The princess shall be returned!”

“Y-yes, milord!”

The king turned his horse, and his knights and soldiers quickly followed, leaving behind the knight commander and his band—those who’d failed to fulfill their duty—as well as a handful of other elves frantically trying to rescue the group from the ice.

The main force rode out with the king, determined not to let the princess out into the world beyond.

“Gu-hee-hee-hee!! Got me a high elf princess! You see that, Finn?!”

“To think one would actually join…”

While the elves rode forward in hot pursuit, the princess they were so concerned about and her rescuers were walking through the woods and making a riotous racket.

Loki was on cloud nine, having achieved her dream, and Finn was tipping his hat with a wry smile.

“What a foolish being…I had heard rumors, but to think this is a deity…”

“L-Lady Riveria, you should not speak so…! Though I very much understand why you say that…!”

Right beside them, Riveria had her arms crossed as her attendant Aina desperately tried to calm her.

From their terrible first encounter to now, the two elves—who’d lived in the royal woods from birth—had been experiencing tremendous culture shock.

“Don’t talk like that, Riveria, sweetie. We’re familia now, after all.”

Loki sidled up to the high elf with a leering grin…

“Away! Do not speak! Do not let my name cross your lips! Curses, why must I deal with a deity such as this…?!”

…but Riveria could not hide her disgust and kept her distance.

Her plan to escape the village had foundered and, though there was no choice, she was now this deity’s captive. At least, that was how the fallen princess perceived it, and while she was still gamely glaring back at Loki, tears were not far from the surface.

Having only just met the goddess, Riveria could not know just how much her embarrassed and ashamed expression tickled the woman’s lewd heart.

Finn’s weary grimace just grew deeper.

“Well, we’ll leave the familia introduction at that…”

“What introduction?!”

“Let’s hear the story. You kind of stumbled into joining up, but there’s more to you, right? Looked like y’all were being chased.”

Riveria looked down at her feet, feeling indignant at seeing Loki just resting her hands on the back of her head so casually. Finally, she began to speak, her tone resigned. Together with Aina, who was still nervous, she told the others about their positions and why they’d left the castle.

“I see. It sort of felt like that general angle, but…Hee-hee-hee, why don’t you join up too, Aina—”

“Do not touch her.”

With an icy glare, Riveria thrust her staff toward Loki’s neck. Seeing how serious the elf was, the goddess raised both hands and groaned like a stuck pig.

“Do not tell me you forgot your promise already, you disgusting deity. Do not lay a hand on my friend.”

“L-Lady Riveria…”

“I will not allow Aina to be your toy…Even if you rob me of my freedom, I will never let you touch Aina.”

It was an unshakable vow. Steadfast and proud, Riveria Ljos Alf was determined to protect her friend at all costs, even if she had already fallen to be a follower of a deity.

Finn sighed, seeing his patron goddess sweating up a storm and whimpering.

“You got too full of yourself, Loki. I told you before, high elves are fussier than any other race.” Tapping the haft of his spear on his shoulder, Finn stepped between Loki and Riveria and changed the subject to give Loki a way out. “From what you said, it sounded like your relationship was that of a lady and her attendant, or is that wrong?”

“It is wrong! Though all the other retainers at court might be so, we are different! Aina is my friend! Aina is the only one who did not treat me as just the princess!”

“Lady Riveria…I was merely shameless and unaware…”

“What should that matter?! You spoke the truth! That meant more to me than anything!”

“Lady Riveria…”

Riveria was tall and beautiful while Aina had more womanly curves. With a simple outfit change, they could have been a prince and princess holding hands in an emotional scene.

It was a fantasy brought to life for the goddess.

“Hoh-hoh-hoh, ahhh yuri. Reeeal yuri, and between two gorgeous elves, too. I can’t get enough of this, ah-ha-ha-ha!”

“I do not know what you are saying, but just shut up for now, Loki, please.”

Not even looking at the goddess drooling behind him, Finn smiled and shut her down.

“For now then, I suppose we should introduce ourselves as well, though Loki has done enough for herself. My name is—”

“Hmph.”

Riveria disdainfully snorted—a reaction most unbecoming of royalty.

“I know full well the nature of you prums. The merchants employed by the royal family were the same. Always simpering and trying to read the mood, and yet unable to hide your dirty avarice…a vulgar race.”

“…”

“L-Lady Riveria…”

This was the aftereffect of being forced to join Loki Familia moments after meeting them.

Riveria loathed Loki and Finn, though she was being especially prickly in order to protect Aina…Her sneering figure was a fitting embodiment of the true, overbearing nature of elves.

Of course it has come to this.

Finn’s eyes froze half-closed, but he was young.

“Well then…That’s a very ostentatious show of knowledge when your opinions are so clichéd. Or is your mind just that narrow?”

“What did you say?!”

“I recommend you look in a mirror some time. Those eyes looking down on me are uglier and more shameful than those of an adult looking down on a child.”

Finn nonchalantly and effortlessly rebuked her. As if to say that as short as he was, he was more of an adult than her. As if to say that she was smaller-minded than he. And to really drive it home, as if to assert that she was smaller than he.

Riveria exploded at that. Her cheeks turned red as she prepared to tear into him.

“C’mon, Finn, don’t provoke her.”

This time, it was Loki who interrupted, attempting to pacify the situation.

Aina was flustered and panicking, having never seen Riveria so belligerent before.

The prum smiled in contempt, and the elf’s beautiful eyebrows arched.

The first impression that Finn Deimne and Riveria Ljos Alf made on each other truly was terrible.

“Where’d that pleasant smile of yours go? You look better with that cocky, tough, know-it-all act.”

“Ngh…”

“Lady Riveria, this is not the time or place for fighting. The king’s pursuit is surely not over yet. If you really wish to go to the world outside, then we must cooperate with them.”

“Mrgh…”

Loki slipped a hand around Finn’s hunched shoulders, and Aina addressed Riveria like a soothing older sister.

Remembering the situation they were in, Finn and Riveria, after a moment’s silence, grudgingly spoke up.

“…Finn Deimne.”

“…Riveria Ljos Alf.”

They scrunched up their eyes and looked at each other in the exact same dubious way as they shared their names.

In order to escape their pursuers, they couldn’t stop moving.

Finn had left marks while following the elf guards at the entrance to the royal woods and remembered the way. Since there was effectively no guard at the moment, he retraced the path he and Loki had taken.

“But, even if we get out of this forest, once word of the high elf princess leaving the village spreads, the ‘international problem’ is still…Honestly, I think we are already looking at a dead end.”

“What can we do? Rivvy wants to leave the forest, and I wanna get it on with a high elf hotty. Our interests are aligned.”

Riveria raised her voice at that unsettling comment.

“Who are you calling Rivvy, and what are you talking about?! Your words make my skin crawl!”

Without even looking at her, Finn blandly warned, “If you don’t get used to her quickly, you aren’t going to make it in this familia,” before shifting gears. “As for me, I don’t want to be targeted by all the elves in the world, so I’d like you to do something about that.”

“…You are the ones who forced me to join your familia; what right do you have to ask that of me?”

If the high elves sent out an order around the world, elves everywhere would come to recover Riveria…and Loki and Finn would not get off easily, either. While Finn explained the points of concern, Riveria felt offended by the demands being made of her, especially given how this whole relationship had started.

“L-Lady Riveria—”

Just as Aina tried to soothe the princess’s growing ire—

“OOOOOOO!”

—a savage monster’s cry rang out.

“A monster? In these woods?!”

“Regrettably. Elf warriors periodically exterminate them, but…it is said that a dragon once lived here in the past.”

“So it isn’t just the elven pursuit we have to worry about…For now, we need to get out of the woods, and then we can have a conversation in peace.”

A pack of dread wolves approached from the front, taking Loki aback. Finn prepared to attack in order to protect them, but—

“Aina, my bow!”

“Yes!”

Taking the bow and arrows retrieved from the injured unicorn, Riveria swiftly drew the string back. It creaked at full draw, and then the arrow flew.

“Gyan?!”

A clean hit.

She fired a second, then a third arrow.

The fairy princess’s gaze took on a hunter’s focus as she landed every shot right between the monsters’ eyes.

“My visual acuity has increased. And my endurance is clearly better, too…so this is the Falna of a deity. How very vexing.”

Riveria grumbled as she experienced the effects of the Falna increasing her physical abilities, having awakened her latent potential.

Not losing sight of the swift dread wolves, she loosed arrow after arrow, each one seeming to be almost drawn into its target.

Loki let out a low whistle, and Finn slumped a little, the wind taken out of his sails just as he had been prepared to join the fray.

“…Splendid work.”

“Hmph, vulgar prum. Can you not even use a bow?”

Aina brought her hands to her cheeks in grief all while Riveria remained ready for a fight, but…

“Unfortunately not. But if you can shoot, then there’s no need for me to be able to. As Loki would say, comrades should supplement each other…That’s what a familia is about, after all.”

…Finn just brushed it off with a single scornful smile, flustering Riveria.

“And all the more so when it is such a skilled archer as yourself. Our familia will be secure as long as you lend us your strength.”

“…W-well, that much is true. I was the most skilled archer in the village. Just watch, I can finish this sort of enemy by myself.”

Riveria’s cheeks reddened slightly, and, with a cough, she nocked another arrow and picked up the pace of her shooting.

Finn walked away from her and flashed a beaming smile to Loki and Aina.

“Easy pickings.”

“Whoa, you’re scary, Finn.”

Lady Riveria, you’re completely falling for it……! Aina thought.

Finn’s gleaming smile thinly veiled the dark emotions just underneath the surface.

The sly, intelligent prum demonstrated just the sort of adaptability she would have expected and had shifted to using Riveria. Aina did not know whether to be furious on her lady’s behalf or whether to lament her being so smoothly turned around, but not wanting to cause any further rupture in relations, she sorrowfully decided to remain silent.

Riveria is the naive princess she looks. Finn’s more adult than she is, but he’s still green…or more like, he’s finally actin’ his own age. They might be an unexpectedly good combo, Loki mused.

Finn was so composed and self-sufficient, so it was easy to forget that he was still just fourteen. It did not matter whether he acted a little immature; this was just a cute bit of childish payback. He had gotten tired of constantly being looked down on.

Meanwhile, Riveria’s abuse was straight-up and full-chested. It was probably the first time Finn had been looked dead in the eye and explicitly insulted, rather than the insults being something implicit or spoken behind his back. Riveria’s straightforwardness, though abrasive, was a quality Finn wasn’t accustomed to, and perhaps it unsettled him without his realizing it.

Loki chuckled wryly at their interactions but also was looking forward to the moment when they acknowledged each other as actual comrades and joined hands. Deep in her heart, she knew they would make an incredible familia once that happened.

“All right, you got all of them! That’s my Rivvy!”

“I told you not to address me by such a repugnant name! And who are you claiming as yours?!”

Loki raised her arms to give Riveria a hug, but Riveria drew the bow one last time as a threat. Finn flicked his braided hair, and Aina smiled awkwardly, then her slender ears twitched.

“…? Wait, I heard a noise…”

“It’s…hooves? Not good!”

Aina and Finn noticed the approaching sound at almost the same time. Perhaps hearing the cries of monsters, their pursuers had begun to close in on them.

“Run!” Finn shouted.

Loki’s cheer and Riveria’s fury both changed in an instant. All four of them began running at once, racing through the pale glow of the forest to avoid the pursuers. But among their number were Loki and Aina, both functionally normal people; they could not begin to match the speed of galloping horses.

The chase ended quickly, hollowly.

“I’ve found you, Riveria!”

“Father…!”

In a small clearing in the forest, shrouded by a dome of countless branches and leaves, the four of them stood across from the war band of elves. The soldiers and knights opened a path between them, and King Rafale walked through with a mantle over his shoulders.

“So you really have taken the blessing of a deity. I wish that the report had been mistaken…This is a tragedy beyond lament!”

Though some small wrinkles from age were visible, King Rafale was still handsome and clean cut. The fairy king’s jade eyes, the same as Riveria’s, were bright with anger as he loudly rebuked her.

“You imbecile! I thought you were foolish, but I did not think you this foolish!”

The elves recoiled at his grave words. Aina and even Riveria felt overwhelmed and stepped back, but still, the princess stoutheartedly shouted back.

“Father! I wish to see what lies beyond this forest! I want to know the outside world!”

“You would abandon your duties as a member of the royal family?!”

“If my duty is clinging to the throne, then it must be abandoned!”

The eloquence of the royal family was indomitable. The forest itself murmured as the father and daughter each refused to back down.

“Why must high elves alone hide away in this forest?! In this world where deities have descended to our realm, in these momentous times?! This is precisely when we should be venturing into the wider world! The customs of the royal wood are naught but chains now! We high elves are cursed by this forest and bound to it!”

Riveria let out all of the doubt and dissatisfaction she had felt even in her earliest years. What meaning was there in standing on a pedestal in a little walled garden?

Faced with that, King Rafale responded unwaveringly:

“The Alf Royal Woods are an elven holy land! If we high elves abandon it, our people will lose the foundation undergirding them! We will be just like that prum standing next to you right now!”

“…!”

“Have you no shame?! With whose lips do you insult this holy forest?!”

Because they were so sure of their own race’s greatness, because they were so proud, they would crumble if they lost one of the pillars of their identity. There was a kernel of truth in King Rafale’s argument.

Riveria faltered, and beside her, Finn looked on soberly. The prum closed his eyes, as if understanding the king’s concern for his race.

“We high elves are even less fruitful than our fellow elves. For the sake of our race, the royal line must not be severed…I will not allow you to be corrupted by the outside world!”

Though long-lived, elves had fewer children than humans or other demi-humans, and high elves, who were even longer-lived than elves, all the more so. King Rafale had no children other than Riveria. Because of that, he provided her a life devoid of any restraints and removed from any corrupting influences. At least, that is what he believed. His decisions were, in their own way, expressions of his love. Even if it was a twisted kind of love from his daughter’s perspective.

“What are you lacking in life?! I have given you all that you wished for! A life devoid of irrelevancies and blessed by the purest of lights! You need only fulfill your duty as princess until you give birth to an heir!”

Unbeknownst to the others, it was Aina, the person closer to the princess than anyone, the person who had always watched over her, who clenched her fist.

She looked to her side with a pained look. Riveria was shuddering. So Aina took Riveria’s right hand in her left. They did not look at one another, but the noble high elf squeezed back firmly.

“Why can you not understand that it is those pushy beliefs, that gilded cage you provided for me, that I despise?!” Riveria shouted. “I hate all of you! I loathe this village!”

“…!”

“I don’t need the gilded cage you forced me into!”

Receiving courage from Aina’s touch, Riveria unleashed feelings she had always wanted to shout out to her father.

“I am not your puppet!”

This time, it was the princess’s heartfelt voice that echoed.

The elves surrounding them were stunned, and rumbles of lament began to rise.

King Rafale’s face twisted in aggravation.

“Why do you not understand that in this time, when deities walk among our peoples, we must be idols for our fellow elves to look up to…?! We elves must not be corrupted by those depraved hedonists!”

Finally, he turned his furious gaze to the deity before him. The high elf king sensed danger in the deities, most of whom stirred up the world all for the sake of their own desires.

But Loki, who had been half listening disinterestedly to their exchange, just scratched her cheek.

“Mm, far as we’re concerned, most of your political stuff goes in one ear and out the other…or more like, we wonder why everyone doesn’t just let loose a little more, but…” Loki muttered. Then her expression became serious. “King, what I want to say is something a lot simpler than that.”

Stepping forward, she bent over at the waist.

“Please let me have your daughter! I swear I will make her happy!”

Silence fell over the forest.

Not just the elves in the search party, Riveria’s and Aina’s expressions tensed, too. Finn alone muffled a laugh while recognizing that she was becoming a bad influence on him.

And finally King Rafale, whose face had twisted into the visage of a crimson ogre, spoke.

“Capture the princess! I care not what happens to the others!”

The king was absolutely furious, raging like an uncontrollable inferno.

“Divine you may be, but forgiven you shan’t! In the name of Alf, this nefarious villain shall be punished!”

There was no father, however twisted their love, who would give their beloved daughter to some dubious stranger. Combined with all of the accumulated resentment the king felt toward deities, he snapped, signaling the beginning of the battle. Elven knights drew swords, and soldiers raised their staves. The fairy host raised a battle cry and charged the band of four.

“Huh? Why?!”

“Is it not obvious?! His Highness despises deities so much already, and you had to go and ask that……?!”

“I don’t recall becoming your property! Correct your atrocious statement!”

“Well, I guess there’s nothing to it now. It’s not as if we can just let them kill us… It’s really depressing, considering what will come of it, though.”

While the other three bickered, Finn’s sharp voice rang out.

“Let’s do this. We’re at a disadvantage in the open against so many enemies. We should fight among the trees!”

Finn’s decision was immediate.

The band of four turned down an animal trail. It limited the passage of horses and made it easier to predict enemy movements, and with obstructions blocking line of sight, the elves could not freely fire off magic for fear of injuring Riveria.

Covering Loki and Aina, Finn and Riveria entered combat the moment the enemies’ movements slowed.

Finn’s spear swiped at an elf approaching on horseback, and one of Riveria’s arrows pierced the knight who had been following close behind casting an incantation.

“Guh?!”

“Gah?!”

“…gh!”

Though she had hunted, she had never loosed an arrow at a fellow elf before. Riveria grimaced, seeing the blood and hearing the accompanying groan, but she could not allow her fellow elves to cast their spells. Scolding her fingers as they threatened to lock up in fright, she drove herself to loose more arrows…

“Lady Riveria, the arrows!”

“Curses……?!”

…until her quiver came up empty. Aina cried out, and Riveria cursed herself for not considering how many arrows remained, but it was too late.

The knight on horseback prepared to unleash his completed spell.

“Loki. Spear.”

“Catch.”

But Finn did not allow it. Taking the short spear from Loki, who was carrying their baggage, he threw it with blinding speed.

“Gaaaah?!”

The spear tip struck the elf’s staff perfectly, knocking the elf from his horse and provoking an Ignis Fatuus—an explosive eruption of out-of-control magic.

The resulting fire and burst of wind knocked a line of elven soldiers to the ground, and Riveria and the others covered their faces, hoping to avoid the splinters of wood and dust.

Unlike the magic expressed through Falna, elves’ innate magic was difficult to control.

It was far easier to provoke an Ignis Fatuus by interrupting or ruining an incantation, and that was what Finn had been aiming to do.

“You…”

“Did I forget to mention? I can’t use a bow, but I’m pretty good at this.”

Riveria was stunned by the sudden development, but Finn, unruffled, just flashed a smile.

It was revolting, but at the same time, she could not deny it was reassuring.

Riveria harrumphed unhappily and looked away.

……I don’t want to admit it, but this prum is different from the other prums I know. He was the first to show off his courage and leap in to face the enemy and protect that goddess as well as Aina and me.

…Like a prum warrior. Between that and his supreme skill with the spear, the only way Riveria could evaluate him was as a warrior.

Feeling almost chagrinned and not wanting to lose, she threw down her bow and began to cast.

“Blow with the power of the third harsh winter, advent of the end—my name is Alf!”

Wynn Fimbulvetr burst forth. Three lines of ice mercilessly froze the knights and their steeds. Those thrown from their mounts and those unable to move all created a tumult that spread throughout the forest.

The force of this magic…I had heard that those who received Falna ceased to use the inherent magic woven by our elven ancestors…and now I understand why.

With this sort of ability available, anyone would cast aside the universal magic of elves. At least that was what Riveria thought. Compared to the magic developed through Falna, elven magic was little more than a toy. There might be some that did not pale in terms of force, but those incantations were long, overwrought, and utterly lacking in variety. Especially considering the higher likelihood of an Ignis Fatuus, who would want to use them?

In comparison, the manifested magic was adjusted to the individual. The affinity and efficiency were incomparable to the innate magics, and in situations such as the one she was in right now, it surpassed them in power as well.

I got a good look at it last time too, but…that’s some real firepower. That’s not the blessing’s power, though, that’s just her natural ability, isn’t it?

Many of the magics and skills that developed in people’s statuses were often broadly similar, even if they had different names across races. But Riveria’s magic was on a different plane—her originals, her own unique knockout blows.

Internally, Finn could not help but be impressed, acknowledging that Riveria Ljos Alf had the makings of a great mage.

Without any words shared between them, they each acknowledged one another.

“What are you doing?! There are naught but four of them! Use your numbers and surround them! Climb the trees and loose arrows from above! We who know the entirety of this forest have the advantage!”

King Rafale raised his voice in annoyance as he watched the flow of the fight as it raged on.

Finn grimaced, hearing the king’s precise and well-timed orders. While he was unpleasant as an almost perfect embodiment of every elven custom, the king was not a fool.

Following their liege’s orders, the soldiers began to take advantage of the terrain, and the tide of the battle turned.

Finn’s thoughts were whirling as he searched for a way through—

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

—when a roar echoed in the forest.

Finn, Riveria, the elven soldiers, and everyone else stopped moving, speechless as the trees reverberated. Then an explosion came from part of the woods.

“Gh…?”

“Wh-what was that…?”

The knights who’d been preparing their magic in the rear were blown away by a tremendous force.

“Wh—?!”

“That’s…a dragon?!”

Riveria and Finn were taken aback as a dragon with dark emerald scales emerged from the swell of smoke.

“A green dragon?!”

Its giant form was ten meders long and well over five meders high. The membranous wings growing from its back were ragged, but its bark-like, stout scales were still solid looking. The dragon’s large jaw, capable of swallowing a person whole, was filled with twisted fangs, and its green eyes glittered with a ferocious gleam.

A green dragon…In the distant Labyrinth City, they were treasure keepers inhabiting the middle levels of the Dungeon. Monstrous enough to be called the strongest monsters of their floors, they possessed the highest potential a dragon type could have.

“Impossible. Father slayed it one hundred years ago…Did it have a child?!”

Shock filled King Rafale’s eyes, and he shuddered at the implication of that thought. A dragon that saw its parent die and almost died itself, its wings still tattered from the magic flames that scoured it, hiding away so that the elves did not notice its presence and biding its time for a hundred years while it steadily grew to this enormous size.

True to King Rafale’s conjecture, the green dragon unleashed a furious roar at the stunned and dumbfounded elves before it.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

“Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”

Its claws and fangs tore into and blew away the long-eared creatures it loathed so much. The elves’ desperate volleys of arrows and hastily cast spells were all repelled by scales sturdier than any tree.

The archers and knights paled and were brushed aside by a single swipe of the vast creature’s tail.

It was like a storm, splintering all of the trees in its path. The trees fell with pained creaks, and in an instant, the land was made flat. Seeing that, King Rafale gave the order to fall back.

“R-retreat back to the village! Join with the forces back in the capital and then drive it off! Retreat! Retreat!”

As terrified elven knights routed, King Rafale turned back and shouted:

“Riveria, you come, too! This is not the time for a father and daughter to be fighting!”

“Gh…?!”

Riveria swayed at her father’s call.

The ferocious dragon rampaging before her eyes was terror incarnate. Her heart was quivering like never before. Aina was deathly pale, too. It was true that it was not the time for a family argument. Her father was correct; turning back was the sage choice.

But…but…!

…Is mere terror enough to put an end to your dream?

…Is this all there is to your desire to see the world beyond your gilded cage?

The voice echoing in her mind told her she stood at a crossroads. If she gave into fear and returned to the capital, she would never set out on her journey. Not because she was trapped by the king, but because emotionally, she would be incapable of it.

Having given into terror once, her heart would tie her down. She would find some excuse that would keep her from crossing the line separating the forest from the world outside. Her fragile elven pride would not recover once broken. She would live out her life as a girl who knew nothing of the world, just as King Rafale had said.

A bead of sweat ran down her neck as she stood there, conflicted.

“Riveria, start casting. I’ll hold the dragon back.”

“!!!”

The prum’s voice came to her from behind. Gathering courage that could not be bent or broken, Finn stepped forward, leaving her in his wake.

“Why are you hesitating? Is this all your resolve to see the outside world amounts to?”

“…Ngh!”

“I have an ambition. A desperate wish to restore my people. I can’t let it end here. I won’t let it end here. What about you?”

The prum glanced back, his lips curled in a shameless, fearless smile.

“I’m counting on you to watch my back. You understand what that means, right?”

It was a sign of trust, but also an explosive demand. The elf clenched her fist as the prum showed her his small and yet broad back.

She discarded all doubt.

“Don’t look down on me, prum!”

How awful! How heroic! So this is what it feels like to have a familia! A comrade! I don’t want to lose!

Riveria was awash in feelings in that moment. Not wanting to humiliate herself, she scorched away the fear with spirit.

Holding out her clenched staff, she shouted with a spirit that did not yield even to the roar of the dragon.

“I will see the outside world!”

Still holding fast to the shimmering dream in her heart and making her vow, Riveria stepped shoulder to shoulder with Finn and stared down the enraged dragon.

“Spear of magic, I offer my blood! Bore within this brow.”

The prum had a smile on his lips. Hearing her determination, Finn raced ahead while casting his spell, transforming into a berserker.

“Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhh!”

“!!!”

Perhaps it had consumed magic stones from the monsters in the forest, but it was an enemy no less than the airen, and if he had to face it up close by himself, he could not hold back.

Beginning to cast his spell, Finn abandoned his senses and faced the green dragon in an all-out fight to the death. Sharp, twisted claws and a ferocious tail clashed with the prum’s spear.

“Harbinger of the end, white snow!”

Riveria began another incantation as a tremendous fight unfolded before her.

While one member of Loki Familia rampaged in the thrall of blind fighting spirit, the other focused on simply casting her spell. Though there was nothing even approximating coordination, their actions were clearly the movements of a front line and back line. Finn and Riveria were fulfilling their respective roles for both their sakes.

Loki’s eyes narrowed as she watched her two followers, both filled with the same will to defeat the enemy.

“…Why…? Why, Riveria…?”

Meanwhile, King Rafale remained frozen to the spot. Seeing the princess brushing aside his call and fighting so bravely, he felt something akin to despair. He noted her noble figure and then his own legs, which were quaking even now. He knew then that he and his daughter were polar opposites.

“Your Highness, please escape at once! Y-Your Highness?!”

The royal guard’s voice was distant, drowned out by the cry emanating from his own heart.

The dragon was symbolic of the world outside. Beyond the forest, the world was filled with terrifying and dangerous things just like it. The princess would surely be disgraced by mortal malice, which could at times be more dangerous than any monster. Why did she not understand?

No…Why did she still seek to set out even knowing that?

He was forced to confront this question—the difference between him and his daughter, even though they were both elves, even though they were related by blood.

“Why…why do you…?”

King Rafale did not finish asking why she hated the village so, why she hated him so. Because he understood now that that was not the impetus driving her forward.

In their long, long history, many high elf women had abandoned the Alf Royal Woods, seeking to journey beyond the trees. Mysteriously, they all shared an interest in the outside world. Thinking back on it, Riveria’s mother, who had passed away, had been the same. And of course, the very first high elf who left the forest was the eternal saint Seldia, who featured in the Dungeon Oratoria. Or perhaps Riveria and the others were being driven by her inherited spirit.

King Rafale had once dreamed of the world outside, but he had not actually tried to see it. The duty of the royal family was a convenient excuse, and he was unable to break free from the order and customs of the elves.

“Why do you have such interest in the outside world? Even if it is a gilded cage, why do you not understand that this place is a paradise?!”

Freed from the chains of royalty, Rafale was a coward, afraid of being left behind—left behind by noble Seldia’s blood—afraid of that proud spirit determined to step out into the wide world without any support.

The king knew of no way to live aside from his life within the forest, atop his throne. He could not rebel against the pride and cursed bonds of royalty. That was why he tried to bind Riveria to this forest as well, wanting her to drown here in the forest with him.

“Why would you cast us aside in order to travel?!”

Forgetting all royal appearances, he cried out, a father pleading with his daughter.

“…Gramps. Rafale, was it?” Loki quietly walked over to him.

“It isn’t something to get an ulcer over. Even I know that much,” she answered in Riveria’s stead, a smile on her face. “Children leave the nest. They set out into a world full of possibilities that even we can’t foresee…Those children are all adventurers on a journey, looking for the place they belong.”

Rafale was speechless.

Meanwhile, having decided to stand on her own, Riveria accelerated her incantation.

“Blow with the power of the third harsh winter, advent of the end—”

Her third spell cast.

A powerful blast tore through her mind reserves, and her knees threatened to give out. Mere hours after receiving her blessing, she was on the verge of a Mind Down.

Even for an elf, overusing magic power beyond one’s limit would sap the entire body of its strength. Her consciousness wavered, but Riveria did not allow herself to pause the incantation.

“A blaze shall soon descend. Approaching flames of war from which there is no escape. Battle horns blaring on high, all atrocities and strife shall be engulfed.”

This is what Loki had let slip in her excitement over the Status, what lay beyond the first tier: a second tier of offensive magic, an annihilation spell that could be wrestled under Riveria’s control through a concatenated incantation.

“Come crimson pyre, merciless inferno. Become hellfire!”

The princess’s voice became a shout rather than a song, a farewell to the forest that raised her.

“Purge the battlefield, end the war!”

She had many bad memories here, but she had just as many good ones, too—the rustling of leaves and the burbling of brooks. If she said that she had no lingering attachment to the home still trying to hold her back, then she would be lying. But Riveria had made her choice.

Even if frigid winter closed off everything, even if the flames of the end incinerated everything…No matter what hardship awaited, she would set her sights on a new world filled with wind and light.

“Incinerate, sword of Surtr—My name is Alf!”

The final verse. Gathering magical power impossible at Level 1, the high elf princess chose to unleash it on the forest in which she’d been born and raised.

“Rea Laevateinn!!!”

A single pillar. A pillar of fire. That was all that this Riveria could summon. But even so, the all-consuming crimson flame erupted from a magic circle that had spread across the ground.

“?!”

With a bevel that skimmed the ground, the pillar of flame enveloped the green dragon, piercing through it and charging onward. Finn reflexively leaped away, watching in wonder as the crimson gleam swallowed everything in its path.

The dragon could only endure it for an instant. The claws gripping the ground were peeled away, and then the green dragon’s enormous body itself was blown away, incinerated with a final dying cry.

“Goooooooooooooooo!”

The noble flames did not stop crackling even as Riveria raised a cry. Continuing to rise, they pierced the canopy, stabbing and burning everything, tearing an enormous hole in the Alf Royal Woods, a thundering boom accompanying the blaze.

“Lady Riveria?!”

Aina rushed over and caught the princess, who then dropped her staff and slumped limply. Having used the last of her strength, Riveria was now bathed in a healing light.

“Aaaah…”

She watched as embers danced in the forest, and beyond them, peering over the horizon created by the treetops, she saw the sun. The Alf Royal Woods was covered by such a dense canopy that the sky was not visible. The traces of both sunlight and moonlight that managed to make it through the gaps in leaves created a fantastical scene, everything illuminated from above, as they refracted through the holy woods.

This was Riveria’s first sunrise and her first glimpse of the world beyond.

“…Aaah.”

Watching together with the speechless Aina, tears welled in the princess’s eyes. A single teardrop ran from one jade eye and down her right cheek.

“…The fire…”

With his magic undone, Finn looked around at the forest, noting the trees that had not caught fire—countless drops of water soaking both the leaves of the forest ceiling and him had appeared.

Rain. While the sky was beautifully lit in the east, in the west, a sudden downpour had begun. As if the heavens were celebrating the departure of a high elf with a blessing, it had sent rain to quell the flames.

In time, the downpour slowed. The fire was extinguished, and the forest, damp with dew, fell silent.

“Father…” Leaving Aina’s embrace, Riveria turned to face her father, who was frozen to the spot. “I am going out into the world.”

The trail of tears still visible on her cheek, she declared her intentions.

“…Aaaah.”

It was Rafale’s first sunrise as well, and the beginning of a new day in the world. It was a glorious scene. His daughter standing there in the light, without need for the protection of her people, was, simply, a beautiful sight.

The elf king, silent and lit by the sunrise, narrowed his eyes.

“Do as you please…foolish girl.”

No reconciliation was needed. This was a perfect farewell. Arguments between a parent and their child ended the same regardless of race. Sealing away the swirl of emotions he felt in his heart, Rafale just smiled.

Riveria did not say anything more, either, and simply turned away from her father.

The king watched his daughter and her companions leave the holy forest and disappear into the outside world.

“Y-Your Highness…is this for the best?”

The royal guard nervously addressed the king who had been left behind.

Was this for the best?

Of course not. But it was correct.

With a tranquil voice, he declared:

“It matters not. More importantly, ready a swift steed. I am sending a missive.”

“T-to whom, Your Highness?”

The high elf king smiled serenely.

“To our fellow elves around the world.”

“The sky! Plains! Look Aina, the outside world!”

“Y-yes, milady!”

Riveria excitedly spread her arms, her dress swelling slightly as she spun. Aina smiled tearfully as she watched her lady act like a young child now that she was freed from the yoke of being a princess.

Finn shrugged, and Loki smiled happily.

“Sheesh, even a willful princess can seem like a child.”

“It’s fine, she fulfilled her dream. Elf or prum—race has got nothing to do with childlike joy.”

“…That’s true.”

Finn smiled just a little at that.

The fairies dancing on the plains were innocent, like figures in a painting brought to life.

After watching the heartwarming scene for a bit, Loki spoke up, as if suddenly curious about something.

“I never got to ask, but…how old are you two?”

“…? Lady Riveria and I are both over seventy…”

“Ehhh?! You’re grannies, then?!”

“Don’t call me that!”

Riveria spun at Loki’s wild shout, her childlike joy immediately quelled.

“H-high elves are long-lived! Though it may be many years from the perspective of other races, we are both still in our prime…! Why are you laughing, prum?!”

Riveria turned red all the way to her ears, bickering in a loud, unladylike voice as Finn burst into laughter.

Loki was holding her stomach as she laughed, too. Aina was blushing slightly in embarrassment, but even so, she smiled.

The princess’s angry voice rang out across the plains as the sun continued to rise.

The familia that had increased to four people continued on their journey after that first sunrise, chattering pleasantly along the way.

The next day, an official notice from King Rafale was delivered to all elves around the world.

“The princess Riveria has set out from the village. I ask that you bless her on her journey.”

The report shook the elven world, but it also set their hearts aflutter. All welcomed the journey of the princess, anticipating glory and a grand future for all elves.

Of course, no one was foolish enough to lay a hand upon the familia that the princess had joined.

Some said the young princess had set out in order to broaden her knowledge.

Some rejoiced, believing she was determined to bring light to the world.

Some trembled, believing she had risen to slay an ancient monster as the great Saint Seldia had done before her.

But Riveria cared nothing for any of that.

The sun peeked over the horizon, illuminating the glittering golden plains as a refreshing, unrestricted breeze blew past.

With excitement and anticipation in her breast, Riveria broke into a smile, experiencing the world around her.

“To a world as yet unseen.”

On that day, the high elf departed.

CHAPTER 3

THE DWARF’S EMBARKING

“Diiiggiiing a hooole! Diiiggiiing a hooole! ’Cause we’re dwarves, the children of the earth!”

Passing yet another day playing in the dirt, listening to the youngsters’ bad singing while digging a hole in a musty mine.

Where is the ore? Are there any jewels? Will we find a vein of silver? Swinging the pick up and down, breaking the rock, face covered in sweat and dirt, searching for treasure.

Doing all that, for the sake of the town, to support my destitute family.

Selling what little blessings of the land there were to be had to the greedy merchants, even as they gouge us.

Like it always was. Like it always will be.

“A monster!”

There was a sudden swell of tension—easily resolved by howling fists—rocking the damn goblins living down here and sending them running. I got my hopes up just a little, but no. I sigh as I find myself even thinking that before peeling away the drops from their corpses to sell them for what little extra money I can get.

It’s never enough to swell the purse.

“Whoooa! That’s our big bro! Our town’ll be fine as long as we’ve got you!”

All I have is a hollow “Aye” for the excited youngsters. Turning away from the cheering youths, I swing my pickax in silence.

Clang, clang…

A dull thud echoes in my heart.

When was it that I stopped feeling anything? When did I stop enjoying the booze I used to love so much? What was it that I wanted to do?

“Hot-blooded battles…”

I think that was it.

“So this is a foreign town! Look, Aina!”

Riveria raised her voice excitedly at the rush of horse-drawn carts and crowds of people in front of them.

“Yes, it is extraordinarily disorganized and terribly noisy, but overflowing with fervor…It is certainly nothing at all like the village…”

Though Aina remembered she needed to keep an eye on how the princess conducted herself, the attendant was also fascinated by the scene.

Watching them, Finn smiled slightly as Loki laughed.

“This town’s name is Karna, an inn town where many travelers and merchants come and go on most days. It’s a key transit hub.”

The cramped row of inns along the roads really set the tone, and as Finn pointed out, it was noticeable how many of the demi-humans were wearing travel clothes as they came and went. Located in the heart of the continent, Karna was bisected by a number of roads and was used by countless people traveling to neighboring countries and cities.

“All right! Shall we treat ourselves to a quick little party to celebrate Rivvy entering the familia?”

It had been three days since they had left the Alf Royal Woods.

In high spirits, Loki raised a fist at having made it back from the forest with the high elf follower she had wanted so much, but…

“Humans and prums…and is that an Amazon?! And over there is one of the rumored animal people! Are they a dog, no, a wolf?!”

“P-please calm yourself, Lady Riveria! Even though this is no longer the village, remember you are still royalty…a-and I’ve never seen food like that. What a marvelous smell…”

“They aren’t listening to you, Loki.”

“…”

Riveria and Aina were completely captivated by the spectacle of the main street. Eyes wide with excitement at the passing carts and crowds, they constantly looked this way and that in curiosity at the food stalls lining the street and all the handicrafts on display.

Sparing a glance at his patron goddess, who was frozen over in hollow disappointment, the prum watched Riveria as she said:

“I have never seen another race aside from the royal merchants… So these are different cultures? I am sure Seldia, the first to ever leave the royal woods, experienced the same feelings I’m having now!”

So she can look like this, too.

Even Finn was struck, seeing her wide smile and how flushed her pure white cheeks had become.

Excited by everything, she was like a country bumpkin visiting the big city—or perhaps just an excited child—unable to stop looking all around. Maybe if he had been brought from his town in the mountains to a capital, he might have looked just like her in that moment.

But, unlike a normal villager like me…a noble like her really sticks out.

Riveria and Aina were completely starstruck by the sights of the town, but their awe was drawing a lot of attention. People passing them in the street kept doing double takes and running into other pedestrians, and they nearly caused a terrible accident because a carriage driver forgot he was supposed to be controlling his horses for a moment.

The two elves had already changed into more pedestrian travel clothes, but Riveria’s beauty was conspicuous. Quite simply, she was just more lovely than anyone in this town—more so than some goddesses even. And Aina, too, was a peerless beauty, even among her own kind.

Even in their merry excitement, Riveria’s and Aina’s movements and gestures were plainly different and distinct from lower-born people, for better and for worse. High elf blood overcame the barrier between races, and fully demonstrated its force even here.

“Khhh! Ogling my precious Rivvy! Hey, you no-name garbage god! You tryin’ to scout my follower? I’ll kick your ass!”

Loki exploding at someone who tried to approach the two elves only served to increase the attention.

Not good, Finn thought. It’s already bad enough with just other races. If we run into any elves…

“…U-um! Perchance…?”

A group of long-eared fellows on the side of the road seemed to have made up their mind and were working their way through the crowd. A young adult elf approached Riveria and lowered himself, almost kneeling in the street.

“P-pardon my discourtesy, but that jade hair and those eyes… Might you be a noble…?”

“Mm? I…”

Riveria’s words trailed off, and that was a fatal mistake.

“Lady Riveria! You are Lady Riveria, are you not?!”

“We once journeyed to the royal sacred tree on pilgrimage! We met you while we were there! Do you remember us?!”

“If the princess is here, then—”

“If our lady has left the forest, then the report must be true!”

“Oooh, what an honor it is…!”

“Lady Riveria!”

“Please, may I lay mine eyes upon your glorious face?!”

In the blink of an eye, Riveria was surrounded. Overhearing the first question, beautiful elves, male and female, swarmed around her. Travelers, hunters, bards, and even a knight of a kingdom. Though they were in the middle of the road, elves of every walk of life quickly formed a crowd.

Meanwhile, Riveria was flustered standing in the middle of the circle that had formed. Ironically, it had happened just as King Rafale had said it would when he was often explaining what it meant for the royal family to leave the forest.

The traveling merchants who had used Karna as their base for many years watched from a distance, in shock at the unfolding scene unlike any they had ever seen before.

“W-wait, I have already severed all bonds with the royal woods…! Do not crowd…! Argh?!”

“L-Lady Riveria?!”

“Aina?!”

Not understanding her own status as a high elf, Riveria disappeared into the swell of elves, and Aina let out a cry as they were separated.

Loki watched the brewing chaos from a few steps away with mild shock—as if she had nothing at all to do with it.

Finn covered his face with a small hand.

“…Let’s move to some place a little quieter,” the prum boy said with a sigh.

His patron goddess did not raise any argument.

“I underestimated the devotion of the elves…” Riveria said, exhausted by the event.

Finally managing to escape the elven encirclement, the group had arrived at the most run-down bar in town. The princess was about ready to collapse atop the four-person table.

She finally understood just how shocking a feat it was for a high elf to leave the seclusion of the great and holy royal woods to set out on a journey into the world outside.

“It was a deplorable failure on my part…I should be supporting you, and yet…”

“No, it isn’t your fault…This is my own…”

Aina’s eyes were haggard, too; she, like the princess, regretted underestimating the elves as well.

Loki rocked back in her chair, smirking at the two elves who were still reeling from receiving an unexpected trial by fire in the outside world.

“I was surprised, too. Y’all elves really are intense about this stuff.”

“I think all of that could qualify as well beyond normal. We were fortunate to be able to shake them off for now, though.”

“Yes, regarding that, I have to thank you.”

Riveria expressed her genuine gratitude to Loki and Finn.

They had only just met, but Finn felt a little moved. He knew how rare it was for a high elf, the very embodiment of pride and haughtiness, to show any gratitude.

“Nonetheless…was there nothing else to be done about our destination? Until you called it a tavern, I had mistaken it for a barn. The stables in the royal wood would surely be more comfortable than this.”

Riveria was right back to being Her Royal Highness, complete with a scathing review of their choice of lodging accompanied by an elegantly furrowed brow.

“This unsanitary interior…this is merely a dilapidated old building, is it not?”

“In a town filled with people of all different races, there are not many places without a single elf. Not unless they are particularly unsanitary—unsanitary enough to provoke just that sort of reaction.”

To put it bluntly, the place was a dive bar even among dive bars. Its wooden walls and floors were worm-eaten and timeworn, and the tables and chairs creaked constantly. The other patrons, mostly prums and dwarves, were dressed shabbily, and the human at the counter looked like a thug. For a high elf who’d been raised in a clean and elegant castle, it was a tremendous culture shock.

Riveria covered her mouth.

“I love these sorts of dive bars, personally,” Loki commented lightheartedly.

“It would be better not to stay too long in Karna. You draw too much attention.”

“I suppose it cannot be helped…” Riveria said, sullenly acceding to Finn’s proposition. “I am reluctant to endure even more lingering gazes here than I did back in the village.”

“Lady Riveria, please do not harden your heart and push away our fellow elves. Simply meeting you is an honor to them.”

Aina smiled gently, trying to soothe the princess, who was already fed up with the reactions of her fellow elves.

The four of them ordered food. With a simple little celebration for the newest familia member, they discussed their plans going forward.

“I have not yet asked what is the goal of your journey.”

“Hm? I’ve got my own thoughts, and Finn’s got his, but…well, to be frank, it’s somethin’ like becomin’ number one under the sun with my ideal, strongest familia, I guess?”

Finn laughed at how simply Loki put it before supplying a more detailed response for Riveria, who looked ready to snap at the goddess’s vague explanation.

He talked about all of it: his and Loki’s selfish motives and his own ambition to restore the prums.

Riveria marveled at the determination in his voice again. There was no longer any trace of the scornful disdain she’d previously had for “a mere prum.”

“You wanna travel the world, right, Rivvy? I’m plannin’ on wandering all over, so you’ll get to see all sorts of things.”

“I told you not to address me by that repulsive name…I ended up accompanying you through various vagaries, but the moment I repay the debt I incurred during my escape from the forest, I will leave. It is possible to change familias or withdraw once a year passes.”

“What?! What happened to our vows of love?!”

“What vows of love?!”

“Please calm down, Lady Riveria!”

Finn smiled, thinking how she was getting the full Loki experience, and then…

“Riveria, have you heard of the Dungeon?” he asked.

“Of course. It’s the underground labyrinth at the edge of the continent, one of the three great unexplored regions of the world, so it’s still filled with the unknown. It is the reason why Orario is called the center of the world.”

“That’s right. If you want to see a world not yet seen, then the Dungeon is the best place to search, isn’t it?”

“…”

Riveria was silent when he made his point. Taking it as a yes, Finn continued:

“Orario is the endpoint for my and Loki’s journey. You can just use us to fulfill your own intellectual curiosity. And if you can’t put up with us, then you can just leave when it comes to that. What do you say?”

“…Very well. It is true our interests are aligned. I will go along with you until then.”

Considering the current situation, Riveria decided to accept Finn’s proposal. She had two reasons: she knew that she was not used to the outside world as of yet, and she already trusted that, so long as they were with Finn and Loki, Aina would not be exposed to danger.

Of course, Finn had offered that compromise knowing Riveria would make those very calculations.

Given her talent as a mage, he was reluctant to let her slip away. She was necessary to creating a familia whose fame would sweep the world. Though he had been resistant to a high elf joining at first, he’d easily shifted to doing what needed to be done to keep Riveria. For now, this would be enough to delay her leaving. Over the course of their struggles together, they would develop the roots of a fellowship.

Not that he allowed any of those ulterior considerations to surface. Though he was still young, he was an impossibly greedy prum.

Watching the two others agree to share the same boat, Loki and Aina exchanged hushed whispers.

“There it is, that sly silver tongue hiding behind his nice little smile. I don’t even know how many kids he’s gonna bowl over with that. That savage prum will do anything to get closer to his ambition!”

“He…Sir Deimne…though a prum, he is so confident and incredible.”

“By the way…this ain’t exactly timely, but you okay with this, Aina? You’re Riveria’s escort and all, but we haven’t really asked your opinion.”

“Yes. I will accompany Lady Riveria wherever she decides to go. And I have a feeling that it would be better for her to travel with you.”

As it happened, Aina felt the same as her princess.

Her cheerful smile was warm with both friendship and love for Riveria.

She’s a good elf. Got big boobs, and they look soft, too. Riveria’s a bit of a tomboy, but Aina’s courtesy and mild-mannered nature really are like that of a sheltered princess.

Loki’s smile started to get coarser.

“Hey, you sure you won’t join my familia? I won’t treat you bad. When we eventually get to flirting in the bath—”

“I told you not to lay a hand on Aina!”

“—Gah?!”

“L-Lady Riveria?!”

Drawing her staff in an instant, Riveria cracked Loki right in the forehead.

“You unfaithful goddess! If you try to tempt Aina again, I will have nothing to do with you ever again!”

“Ahh, sorry, sorry, sorry, my princess! I won’t cheat on you again! I’m Rivvy all the way now!”

“What cheating, you fool?! Disgusting! You really are repulsive!”

Loki’s earnest apologies just provoked Riveria’s ire. As the table got even noisier, Finn took a sip of his cheap ale.

……So this is a familia. Fellow travelers on the same road, huh.

He smiled, his reaction absent of any ulterior calculations.

Ignoring Riveria’s exasperation at Loki’s dream of catching all the pretty women and girls, Finn steered the discussion to how they were going to get more members for their familia.

“Getting back to the subject at hand…for the time being, I guess the plan is strengthening our familia and gathering new members?”

“I want a furry kid next! A cute girl with some kind of fluffy ears! Can’t go wrong!”

“Are we, as a familia, really going to be okay with a goddess like this…?” Riveria wondered aloud.

With Riveria in the back lines and Finn, who was solidly middle-line oriented, they just needed a powerful vanguard to complete an ideal three-person cell. Even more than raising the fame of Loki Familia, Finn wanted to finish out the three-person cell as quickly as possible.

“Tch, what strongest familia…?”

“Getting all snooty ’cause they have some ignorant high elf with ’em…”

People at a nearby table started bad-mouthing them loud enough to be overheard.

“…I can hear you. Just wastrels spending precious time on cheap ale.”

A human and prum, both regulars at the bar, had reacted to the group’s conversation. Since they’d spent day and night drinking away in this run-down bar, the way the Loki Familia was talking so loudly about ambitions and dreams had likely rubbed them the wrong way. They had bitten their tongues thus far, but after their very first hurled barb, Riveria immediately overreacted.

Finn and Aina both tried to pacify the princess as she shot back at all the other patrons glaring at her, their looks seemingly asking what a high elf was doing in a cesspool like this one. Loki paid the tab quickly, not liking the taste of the drink here any, it seemed. Shuffling the irritated elf princess along, the familia were at the door…

“Aaah?! What’s an elf doing on our turf?!”

…when they came face-to-face with a group of people just trying to come into the bar.

Finn’s brow furrowed as he looked at the band of dwarves trying to enter.

“…What should it matter what establishment I choose to patronize? And what of you? Such a sweltering stench! Have dwarves not learned the custom of washing themselves?”

“What’d you say?!”

Finn’s prediction came true as Riveria immediately flew into a rage. Part of it was that she’d already been in a bad mood inside the bar, but mostly it was the latent loathing that elves and dwarves seemed to have for one another.

“You damn elves and your doll-like faces! Don’t get cocky with us!”

“Well, look at you. Flailing those stubby arms around and making such a racket.”

“L-Lady Riveria, even if they are dwarves, such words are…!”

Finn wanted to ask the heavens for help with this elf, this princess who did not know how to just let some things slide.

Aina hurried to try to persuade Riveria to stop, while Loki just looked on with interest, wanting to know how this argument would end.

Judging by their sooty clothes and gear…they’re probably miners just coming off shift? Finn observed the dwarves, deducing their line of work from their appearances, but his blue eyes stopped on one dwarf in particular.

He’s……

He had a big pickax on his shoulder, a full beard befitting a dwarf, and his was a chiseled stone body, larger than any of the other dwarves’ in the group. He wore a single plain, sleeveless shirt, while a small lantern and various holsters hung from the thick leather belt around his waist. He watched his comrade argue with Riveria with disinterested, earthen-colored eyes.

Standing in the center of the group, that dwarf was clearly the leader. Finn could not say why his gaze was drawn to him, but if he had to put it into words, it would be that something felt off about him. It was like a single warrior had stumbled into a group of miners.

“Always looking down on us miners…! Damn elf!”

The next instant, the dwarf who’d started the argument took some ore out of his pack and threw it.

“Kyah?!”

The clump of ore scattered, some of it scratching Aina’s skin. That was the spark that truly set Riveria off. Rage flared in her eyes, and she swung her staff.

“Gh?!”

Before Finn could stop her, she had knocked the dwarf over.

“Have some shame, barbarous dwarf!”

“Th-the hell?!”

“Get her!”

A fight immediately erupted.

“L-Lady Riveria?!”

There was a clatter at the entrance to the bar.

Neither the owner shouting to take it somewhere else nor Aina holding her lady’s arm and pleading could be heard over the din.

Furious, the high elf quickly dealt with the three miners.

“Hah!”

“Whoa?!”

Having received Falna, Riveria could stand toe to toe with dwarves, the strongest of all demi-humans. Using the reach of her long staff, she jabbed them in the chest as they tried to grab her but otherwise just swept them aside. In addition to her bow, she had also learned to fight with a staff. In her hatred and anger, she hadn’t a whit of the restraint she might have once had. The brawny dwarves, knocked out of the bar and onto the ground, groaned in pain.

Not expecting anything from Loki, who was just cheering her on, Finn fought back a headache as he went to intervene.

“Nasty elf.”

But the dwarf leader who had been watching from off to the side acted first.

Falna served to release the latent potential of mortals. There was no denying that those who received it tended to let down their guard and put too much trust in those increased abilities. Riveria was no exception.

Even so, the dwarf’s intervention could only be called daring.

“What?!”

Grabbing the elf’s staff with his bare hand, the dwarf slammed it—along with Riveria’s body—into the floor. And he did it all with just one arm, the very same arm the princess had called stubby moments ago.

“Riveria?!”

Finn could not believe his eyes, but the dwarf did not stop. The elf gritted her teeth and tried to stand up as he wound up for a punch aimed right at her.

Dropping his spear, Finn swiftly moved, covering Riveria with his body to block the oncoming fist.

“”

The dwarf’s fist connected with Finn’s shoulder. He had braced himself but it wasn’t enough to hold his ground, and he was driven backward along with Riveria. Together they slammed into the wall of the bar, dragging tables and chairs along with them in a thunderous crash.

“Finn?!”

“Lady Riveria?!”

Loki and Aina both shouted, and an uproar filled the bar.

“Ga-hah…Kah-hah…?!” Riveria coughed.

“Gh…Apologies, Riveria…”

The elf had slammed back into the wall while catching Finn. The prum’s face was twisted in pain as he held his right shoulder and looked at the dwarf who had sent them both flying.

The bearded dwarf man was looking disinterestedly at them.

“Not again, you damn Lonza dwarves! How many times have I told you not to cause trouble?! Git! Git!”

Immediately, the man behind the bar started roaring at them. Looking over at the barkeep, who was furious at his furniture being broken, the dwarf sighed.

“…We raised our hands first. I acknowledge we were in the wrong. But you should teach that elf some restraint—in both her words and actions.”

Finn’s blue eyes widened as he realized the dwarf’s eyes were saying If we turned back without at least that much, we wouldn’t be able to face our own people.

With that, the dwarf glanced at the teary youngsters, noting a few bloody noses.

“Y-you…!”

“Stop it. They got a little taste too…We’re goin’ back.”

Her face bright red, Riveria tried to argue with him, but her aching body did not let her; she could only manage a groan. As Loki and Aina hurried over, the dwarf man dusted off the youngsters with him and stood them back up.

“Th-that’s our big bro Gareth! That cocky elf ain’t nothing!”

“Yorger, you twit, you got us kicked out of the bar.”

“Oww?!”

Smacking the young dwarf who had started the fight with Riveria on the head, the dwarf called Gareth began to walk away.

Finn stood up and called out to him.

“Please wait!”

“What?”

“…We were also at fault, so I would like to apologize. Could you tell me what familia you belong to?”

The dwarf—Gareth—snorted as if Finn had said something absurd.

“We ain’t in any familia. Anyone can see we’re miners, you prum runt.”

Finn had half expected that answer, but he still could not restrain the smile that started to creep across his lips.

Gareth arched his eyebrow dubiously, seeing the prum boy’s bold smile, but he quickly lost interest. Dragging the youngsters with him, he left the bar.

“Lady Riveria, are you all right?!”

“Y-yes…I am sorry.”

“That was some dwarf. Y’all ain’t injured, are you?”

Aina lent a shoulder to Riveria, who clutched her chest as she stood up.

“We should recruit that dwarf,” Finn declared.

There was a moment’s pause. Riveria paused, only halfway to her feet. Aina’s eyes narrowed, too. And Loki, who was sneakily trying to cop a feel of Riveria’s bottom, froze in a ridiculous pose.

““Hah?!””

Riveria and Loki both erupted.

“Don’t be absurd! An uncivilized dwarf like him!”

“I want cute girls for my team! I’m against anyone who isn’t a cute girl!”

Riveria and Loki immediately argued against Finn’s bombshell statement. While Aina watched her red-faced princess, swaying and flustered, Finn calmly began picking apart their complaints.

“Riveria, if we’re talking about uncivilized, then we will have to address your own behavior just now.”

“Gh…?!”

“And Loki, I won’t comment about your proclivities, but you said you wouldn’t get in the way of my ambition. That was the deal, wasn’t it?”

“Ugh…?!”

Riveria and Loki were silenced by the objective facts of the situation and the deal made when he signed on, respectively.

“You both saw that absurd strength. He is definitely strong. The highest caliber, even.”

“Isn’t that just because he’s a dwarf?”

“No. When I was with the ascetic monk, I had the opportunity to spar with a dwarf, but his strength was nowhere near that absurd. Look at this.”

Finn rolled up his sleeve. A bright bruise was already forming, and his slender prum arm was still twitching. Riveria, Aina, and Loki were all stunned.

“And also…that punch. He was planning to stop right at the last moment. I only got this bruise because I stepped in the way, and his punch was this strong even without his full force behind it.”

The most frightening thing was that he had that strength without having received Falna from any deity. The dwarf was a pure warrior. It would be a waste for him to live out his days as a simple miner.

“The way he caught your staff was stunning, too. I want him.”

The prum—who did not hesitate to state his intentions and ambition—was like a child thrilled by a heroic epic. They argued loudly for some time, drawing annoyed gazes from the other bar patrons, but no one was able to change the captain’s unshakable will.

All because of a chance encounter, Loki Familia was setting out to scout a certain dwarf.

“Gareth the dwarf…”

Saying the name, Finn broke into a smile.

Once they’d made the decision to recruit Gareth, the familia acted quickly. More specifically, Finn acted with blinding speed. Leaving Loki and Riveria in his wake, neither of whom were at all interested, he gathered information from the man behind the counter and other customers at the bar. They were in no mood to chat with him, but after slipping them a couple pieces of convincing coins, they cheerfully began to share, and he was able to pin down where he could find the dwarves.

They lived in a small village built in a space belowground and located at the base of a mountain in a range due south from Karna—in the exact opposite direction of the Alf Royal Woods. Their base was the village of Lonza.

“Whoa?! It’s all dwarves!”

“An underground city…well, not quite, but it is larger than a village. This is impressive.”

Going down a long, bare tunnel, both Loki and Finn were not expecting the scene that greeted them. Riveria, who was reluctantly accompanying them, and Aina were just as surprised.

“To think dwarves can construct a community like this…”

“How was a place such as this built…?”

The underground cavern was large enough to entirely contain the town. The ceiling was over ten meders high, so Loki Familia did not feel the usual stuffiness that often came with being underground. All the buildings had been built with a special sort of rock, which brought to mind the image of an earthen spirit village. Interestingly, this made the cavern just as evocative as the elven forest.

As they walked, they were passed by women holding baskets of laundry, bearded men who looked to be craftsmen, and children running around and playing cheerfully—every last one a dwarf. While the poverty of the town was obvious, everyone in it was lively and wore cheerful expressions.

“The village itself is by no means affluent, but…they seem to be living resolutely.”

There were certainly many in clothes that were not exactly clean, but the dwarves—known for their craftsman nature—were self-sufficient: repairing tools and equipment by the side of the road, making shoes from all sorts of materials, and any number of other things.

The balls of light embedded in the high stone ceiling—older models of large magic-stone lamps—were clearly the most expensive thing in the settlement, and they had surely been bought secondhand from a merchant. There was a dwarf hanging from the ceiling on a rope repairing one of the lamps, and it was apparent they had been preciously used for a long time already.

It was a dwarf community, surrounded by rock and earth.

Finn smiled, seeing a community entirely different from elves or prums, and Riveria was doing her best to hide the fact that she was excited, her ears twitching as she looked around a scene unlike any she had experienced before.

“Hey…Mister.” “Mister.”

“Hm?”

“Are you travelers?” “Travelers?”

As they walked along the street filled with housewives busy with laundry and childrearing while craftsmen were hard at work, a pair of what looked like twins came over to them. They were two small dwarf sisters, a little shorter than Finn. With their short stature and acorn-like shape, they were terribly adorable.

“Wh-what is this hamster-like cuteness…?! I honestly thought dwarf girls were kinda weird, but this is starting to change my mind…! The mortal realm is incredible!” Loki gasped.

“Umm, Lady Loki’s condition is…”

“It is like a spasm of sorts, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Loki was holding her chest and breathing heavily. A bead of sweat formed on Aina’s brow, but Finn just ignored the goddess. He was completely used to her by now. Instead, he crouched down a little to meet dwarf girls’ eyes and smiled.

“We came to meet a dwarf named Gareth. Do you know him?”

“Big Brother!” “Brother.”

“If you don’t mind, could you take us to meet him?”

“Mhm, okay!” “Okay.”

The twins’ light brown hair bounced as they happily led the way.

The one who gave more complete answers was Naruru, while the less eloquent one was apparently called Noruru.

With their big round eyes, cute cheeks, and ponchos over their dwarven clothes, the two girls were completely adorable and sweet.

Following behind them, Riveria’s eyes grew distant.

“Will such adorable children really grow into such squalid dwarves…Life is mysterious. Or rather, deities are horrid to force such a cruel fate upon them.”

“There is no reason to assume that female dwarves will end up the same as male dwarves! It is not as if everyone grows a beard!”

Aina had settled neatly into the straight-man role over the course of their travels, and she was back at it again, trying to talk down her race’s princess when the group finally found the person they’d been searching for.

The dwarf called Gareth was in front of a desolate stone house, cleaning and maintaining his tools.

“…You’re…”

His earthen-colored eyes widened when he saw them.

“Hey. Sorry about the other day.”

“…Why are you here? Did that elf make a fuss and want revenge?”

Riveria cocked an eyebrow in annoyance, but Finn just smiled.

“What if I said we came to invite you to join our familia?”

Gareth had started to look back down at his work, but those words got his attention again. He took a long, hard look at the prum standing before him, still smiling.

And then he snorted.

“Are you thick, lad? Who’d join you? And before you go inviting someone, do something about that elf—or should I say that naive, high-handed princess—who’s grimacing so angrily behind you.”

Riveria made no effort to hide her dissatisfaction, and the dwarf did not hesitate to mock her with information he’d probably heard around Karna.

Her face reddened—being called a slave to status and pride was the insult she most could not stand—and she erupted.

“I did not wish to see the uncouth and uncivilized face of a dwarf! Barbarians who immediately resort to violence rather than using their words!”

Riveria was still smarting over being sent flying in the bar the other day, so the blood rushed to her head, and her prejudices began pouring from her mouth.

“I did not wish to come to such a gloomy little hole in the ground! It is the den of a race devoid of even the barest hint of character!”

“…Then leave. It’s no place for a haughty elf to blight,” Gareth spat back, eyes narrowed dangerously at the uppity princess insulting his home.

Riveria prepared to fire back with another round, but—

“…Do you hate this village?” “Village?”

—the young sisters tugged at her hem, looking sadly up at her.

“Ugh…no, I-I…”

While Loki said, “Now, now,” and Aina tried to calm Riveria, too, Finn rejoined the conversation.

“If I can do something about her, will you at least consider it?”

“Hmph. No thanks. I’m living for this village, and I’ll die for it. I already made up my mind. Just leave.”

With that, Gareth went back into his house. Riveria stubbornly glared at the door he’d so coldly shut in their faces.

“Rejected. So what now, Finn?”

“Well, given how we met, I didn’t expect things to go smoothly,” Finn said. “But it seems this is going to be tougher than I imagined…”

Remembering how utterly unapproachable the dwarf’s back had looked, the prum sank into thought.

His hunch was right on the money.

They decided to stay in Lonza and keep going by Gareth’s home to talk to him, but he refused to listen to them at all. At best, he just ignored them, but sometimes he would disappear into the mines even when there was no job for him to do.

With their leader treating the familia the way he was, of course the youngsters following him were harsh on them as well. Considering their first meeting, the dwarven youths despised Riveria and made a fuss whenever they saw Finn and the others; they were determined to keep them away from Gareth. Finn and the others could not afford to settle things violently, either.

Restraining Riveria, whose resentment was building by the day, Finn began sighing a lot more often.

“You’re so enthusiastic, Loki dear! It’s so nice to see!”

“Thanks, Granny!”

Lonza’s only inn, the Mole Inn, had lodging on the second floor and a bar on the first. The band of four were staying there under the care of the generous dwarf couple who ran the inn.

Other than the miners, Loki Familia had been, to their surprise, broadly welcomed in the village. Located at the base of an impassable range of mountains and far from any established trading routes, it was not often anyone other than dwarves came to town. There were curious gazes, of course, as well as a sharp desire to sell something to them and make some money, but beyond that, the dwarves had been welcoming and generous.

“Rivvy, isn’t it about time you change your mind some? The grannies and gramps here in this village are really nice, ya know.”

““Ya know.””

Thoroughly soaked in alcohol, Loki grinned, and the tavern couple’s daughters, Naruru and Noruru, smiled and continued the chorus.

Since she was not nearly as passionate as Finn or Loki and was exasperated at making no progress whatsoever with their recruiting visits, the high elf had practiced the magics she developed when she received her blessing several times, training while confirming both the incantations and effects. But for better and for worse, the dwarves of Lonza were too friendly. Seeing her leave the village alone for training, they seemed to think she was being left out by the others and felt bad about it, so they did everything they could to take care of her.

Riveria was dumbfounded, turning bright red in indignation, but—

“Don’t ye worry about it!”

“Everyone here helps each other!”

“You’ve got long arms, so give us a hand!”

—they gently, but forcefully, gave her a job and brought her around the village. At first, she had been huffy about it, but after a while, she fell silent around those dwarves who paid no heed at all to whether she was royalty or not. They did not discriminate or differentiate, they did not worship her, and they were not in awe of her.

This was not the palace she’d found so suffocating; this was real friendship, offered to her from another people of another race.

“…I will admit I was prejudiced. That uncivilized miner Gareth aside, there are dwarves who can be reasoned with.”

With Naruru and Noruru sharing her lap, Riveria smiled and confessed a certain level of understanding. Then the high elf princess’s well-proportioned brow furrowed. “However, is there nothing that can be done about their appearance? They would look so much better if they just shaved their beards…!”

“That’s just a cultural difference. I once read that the more impressive a dwarf’s beard, the more they’re respected.”

Finn smiled wryly as he took a bite of the appetizer that had come with their drinks. Next to him, Aina gingerly picked up a piece of salty, fried catfish, her eyes alight with anticipation. Though she had grimaced at foods so different from the elven fare she was familiar with, she had become hooked on the new flavors.

Glancing at her attendant and friend, Riveria, who so wanted to understand dwarven culture but just could not bring herself to accept it, put a hand to her forehead in anguish.

Meanwhile, the room filled with the laughter of the twin girls who did not understand any of the exchange going on above them.

“Still, though…this is the fifth day. That dwarf is really stubborn.”

Loki put her hands behind her head and looked up at the ceiling.

They had passed five days in this village, failing countless times in their attempts to convince Gareth to join their familia.

“But, at this point, I wanna get him in the familia, too. He might not be a cute girl, but I don’t like losin’ all the time.”

Loki suddenly opened her vermilion eyes. Her expression was that of a goddess who enjoyed dating-sim games. She flashed a bold smirk as she decided to get serious about winning over Gareth.

“All right, planning time. Let’s figure out how to crack that dwarf.”

“I am against this.”

“He has bluntly rejected everything we have tried. Where do we even begin when he tells us to leave before we can even get a word in edgewise…?”

“I am against this.”

“If we could just talk candidly, it would be better…if we could just understand what he is thinking.”

“““Hmmm.”””

“I! Am! Against! This!”

While Loki, Aina, and Finn were thinking, Riveria vented her frustrations at having her opinion be completely ignored. When even her own attendant did not indulge her, her face turned a bright red, but the two dwarf sisters who had taken such a liking to her just kept laughing on her lap.

“Gareth Landrock…We’ve gotten a general grasp of his nature from asking around town, but…”

Finn’s gaze went to the girls in Riveria’s lap and the couple behind the counter.

“Big Bro Gareth is reeeally strong!” “Strong!”

“He was a hooligan when he was young. No matter how many times we warned him, he’d still go out alone to take down monsters stirrin’ up trouble on the mountains. Even won a fightin’ tournament held in a nearby country!”

“But now he’s the top foreman of the village! He rounded up the younger hooligans, took ’em under his wing, and leads them in the mines for the village. Even the folks in Karna acknowledge him. He’s the pride of the town!”

While the girls laughed, the wife and husband shared stories of Gareth’s feats as they brought out more drinks and food. Seeing how splendidly they were smiling, Aina grimaced a little.

“Incredibly strong, stubborn but with a strong sense of duty, upright…” Finn reflected.

“And he cares enough about his pals to take care of the youngsters he gathered…Reeks of old man,” Loki summarized. “…Hah. I can see it, Finn. I know the angle to get that dwarf.”

“Oh? And what angle is that?” Finn asked, intrigued by Loki’s smirk.

Aina watched them, thinking that they had a good connection, as the goddess stood up energetically.

“There’s only one way to convince a troublesome old-man character! Three visits, or rather, three misses!”

And so, the dwarf conquest plan that would go down in Loki Familia history began.

Having an incredibly bad feeling about what was coming, Riveria scowled distastefully.

2

The group was at the one bar in the underground town of Lonza.

“Sheesh, what’s with them?!”

Gareth’s band of young dwarves were all drinking and making a ruckus.

“I’ve seen a bunch of familias, but never any as stubborn as them!”

“The balls on those assholes, tryin’ to nab our bro!”

The target of their grumbling was, of course, Loki Familia. Even though Gareth had bluntly rejected them every single time, that familia never stopped trying.

While the youngsters were making a fuss, Gareth himself quietly raised his drink…

“Heh-heh-heh…did you call?”

““Whoa?!””

…only to see the vermilion-haired goddess appear out of nowhere.

“Wh-what did you come here for?!”

“Ain’t but one reason to come to a bar, is there?! To drink!”

“You just walked right up in here and…?!”

Loki immediately ordered herself a drink—a quick jab as if to say they had no right to complain about a paying customer. Veins popped in the dwarves’ foreheads as the goddess just ambled straight up to their table.

“Hey, wanna have a little drinkin’ contest? Losing dwarves have to do one thing the winner asks.”

“Watch yourself, asshole!”

“And don’t go assumin’ we’d lose!”

“Just ’cause you’re a goddess doesn’t mean you can do anything you want!”

“Oh, so y’all are scared, then? Don’t think you can take me? Well, fair enough, I guess.”

“““What’d you say?!”””

“Bring it on!”

“We’ll show you!”

The simpleminded dwarves fell for her obvious provocation. Gareth looked Loki carefully in the eye as she smiled, his own dubious at the sudden, strange direction things had taken. But he and the other dwarves were big drinkers, and none of them doubted in the slightest that they would win.

The contest began, and a few hours passed.

Gareth was the last dwarf standing.

“Done already? You kiddos were all bark and no bite!”

“…You’re not a goddess, you’re a damn fish.”

Loki laughed as the dwarves all lay across the table, groaning. The dwarf behind the bar who had served up the drinks was shuddering in terror.

Gareth raised his drink while staring at the goddess who had shifted to sit right in front of him. His eyes were steady but they showed hints of the alcohol’s effects.

“You’re something for keepin’ up with me this long.”

“Hmph, you think this is enough to drink me under?”

As the two of them continued drinking, their faces naturally grew red, and as the alcohol started to hit, their judgment began to dull. Gareth had left no openings at all, but suddenly, his firmly closed mouth started to work again, and he found himself talking with Loki.

“I figure, if I’m makin’ a familia, there’s no point if we ain’t the best. If I’m doin’ it, then I’m gonna win!”

“Of course. I’d do the same.”

Loki was telling a good story, or maybe she was just a good storyteller. She was laid-back, ridiculous, and easily got carried away, but she was good at going along and getting along and did not miss whenever Gareth showed an interest in anything—like just now, she’d stirred his fighting spirit with all that big talk.

Not good.

At some point, he had gotten caught up in her flow, though he ordinarily never said a word. Regardless of whether he was aware of it, he was just tipsy enough that he could not stand up from the table. His face red from the booze, Gareth was playing with fire.

More than anything, though, no matter how much he hated to admit it, she was a good drinking partner for him. The younger Gareth would have laughed heartily with the goddess sitting in front of him, adding to the cacophony with his own riotous laughter.

“Our goal is to be at the center of the world, reigning over Orario!” Loki pointed her finger up to the ceiling.

“…Orario, huh,” Gareth murmured.

Her vermilion eyes caught a faint trace of envy in those words. Gareth’s gaze briefly grew distant, a flash that passed in an instant, before immediately reverting to his lionhearted expression.

“Hmph, what do I care about your wild dreams? More importantly, you done already? Because I can still go another round.”

It was half bluff, but Gareth had started to get just a little bit interested. They weren’t in a real fight, but it had been a really long time since there had been someone he could really compete with to his heart’s content. Without realizing it, he found himself smiling as he raised his glass.

“Nah…I’m leaving for today.”

“What…? You givin’ up already?”

He was completely caught off guard.

“I got a nice buzz…and me winning here won’t mean a thing if you aren’t actually convinced to join up.”

“…”

“Looks like you still aren’t gonna let your guard down, even as drunk as you are now.”

The goddess stood up from her seat. In that moment, Gareth felt both a little annoyed and a little disappointed with the goddess. She had gotten him all fired up and ready to go, only to pull out so easily. As Gareth fell silent, Loki laughed eerily.

“Heh-heh-heh…This is just round one.”

“…?”

Dubious, Gareth wondered what she meant for just a brief moment before she suddenly jabbed her finger at his nose.

“Wash your neck and wait, you stubborn dwarf. I’m gonna conquer you.”

Wobbling like an old drunkard, she struck a fancy pose and declared:

“The three misses will make you mine!”

The next day.

The younger dwarves she’d drunk under the table had a terrible hangover. The agony of going past their limits was hellacious, bad enough that they had to take off work for the day. It was a giant pain in the ass for Gareth, having all the other miners out of commission, but it had been a long while since he’d been able to spend some time alone. When night came, he left the village and walked partway up the mountain, making his way to a cliff that had a commanding overlook.

“Surprisingly, I at least got to enjoy some rest because of them…”

The still woods were lit by the faint glow of moonlight. Looking out at the dim night scenery, he sipped at a moon-viewing drink. In that moment, though, as he looked up at the moon, someone approached.

“To think a dwarf can enjoy the scenery.”

It was Riveria. Shooting a nasty barb, the high elf emerged from the shadow of the trees and walked over to Gareth.

“…Did you come to ruin my drink, you arrogant bastard?” Gareth said with a scowl.

“What did you say! Who would waste their time to interrupt a d—”

Riveria raised her voice like always, but unlike previous times, she stopped herself partway and took a deep breath.

“……I only came because that goddess pushed me.”

“…?”

He looked at her dubiously. Her supple skin reddened slightly, and she awkwardly looked all around for a moment before finally continuing.

“…I came to take back what I said when I…insulted your home.”

Gareth’s eyes widened.

“That town is a good place. At the very least, it is far warmer than the forest I lived in.”

“You…”

“Dwarves are not just savages…I learned that for the first time after I left my gilded cage.”

Unable to look him in the eye, Riveria turned her jade eyes instead to the night sky. Even Gareth could tell she was sinking into memory.

By interacting with the residents of Lonza, Riveria had come to understand that her perspective had been wrong. She was maybe even ashamed—ashamed of her shallow pride and opinions, ashamed of making assumptions based on her prejudices rather than trying to see individuals for who they were.

“I felt such antipathy toward my father, who assumed everything without even knowing anything about the outside world. And yet, I too was becoming a thrall to my preconceptions.”

“…”

“Dwarves are exasperatingly rough. But that may just be because elves are sensitive and fussy. With a change in perspective and values, the world can seem so different in so many ways…This town taught me that.”

She talked about how she’d been forced on more than one occasion to help the dwarf housewives with their laundry. And about the times when she’d been shown the construction process of a delicate adornment the likes of which an elf could never begin to match. And also how, when she had nothing to do, Naruru and Noruru would badger her until she played tag with them.

Riveria rambled on about many things, some that seemed related and others that seemed utterly disconnected, going through everything she had experienced so far like a stubborn child. Gareth had listened earnestly at first, but he was starting to get exasperated at being made to sit through all this.

“I have not forgiven you for Aina’s injury…If anything, that is what made me assume all dwarves really were barbarous…though I acknowledge I was not without fault either, but…”

That bitter comment was, in her own way, the final excuse she could muster. It was exceedingly clear she was reluctant to do this, but after falling silent for a moment, Riveria looked down at the ground, her ears turning red as she forced out:

“…but…………I am sorry.”

Gareth’s eyes widened.

An elf apologizing to a dwarf. It was something so meaningful that it exceeded any description. Dwarves and elves were so fundamentally incapable of getting along that the very idea was incomprehensible. It was the first time Gareth had ever had an elf apologize to him, and the first elf to do so was high elf royalty, of all things. It was safe to say he was experiencing a uniquely incredible event.

He could not help staring at the high elf, who was still fidgeting awkwardly.

“Curses…even if that deity provoked me, doing something like this is…but to call me an inflexible elf…!”

Her grumbles probably came from a wealth of pent-up resentment directed at Loki. She had apparently come to Gareth in reaction to Loki’s provocation. But even so, she apologized because she felt guilty and was honest enough not to let herself ignore it.

The princess in front of him was naive, yes, but she was only naive. She was not pigheaded or obstinate. If anything, she was far more flexible than other elves and was capable of acknowledging her faults. That was Gareth’s assessment.

And in thinking that, he mentally berated himself.

That goddess tricked me, too.

Gareth had reevaluated the elf in front of him and felt a spark of interest. The goddess had gotten him to drink the night before and tricked him. She had peeled back the layer of armor he had around his heart. If this were two nights ago, he would have just gruffly turned his back, not bothering to listen to Riveria’s story at all. The goddess had swept away the walls around his heart with a chuckle.

The elf had just come out of a sense of duty. Unlike the others, she still had no desire to invite him into their familia. But because she was an elf, because she was the polar opposite of a dwarf, he had been caught up in her words.

“…I heard that high elves never step foot outside their village.”

“?”

“Why did you leave?”

The elves he knew were biased and intolerant, prizing status and standing above all else. So why was a princess of that race here?

The question left his lips before he realized it was happening.

“To see a world as yet unseen with my own eyes,” Riveria answered without hesitation. “I could not lie to myself, so I broke with conventions and left the village.”

“…!”

“It may well be irresponsible for a member of the royal family, but a life spent tied down by lies, enforced by others, and pretending to be something I’m not…Such a life would be no different from being a bird in a cage.”

Riveria’s jade eyes were earnest and bright, as bright as the moonlight.

……Damn it……

Gareth felt inferior. Compared to such a dazzling fairy, what was he? Entirely contrary to the image of dwarves as hearty and heroic, he was lying to others—and to himself—and bottling up his true feelings deep inside.

Seeing an elf so dazzling for the first time, Gareth felt ashamed of himself and frustrated that he could not even get angry about it.

“I had a dream. And I have finally begun to walk toward it.”

Riveria’s eyes narrowed as she looked out at the majestic view, her profile looking inspiring.

His drink had lost all flavor.

“Dreams…”

“…?”

This time, it was Gareth who hesitated. He started to say something several times, stopping himself each time before finally, he slowly murmured:

“Do you think it is ever too late to chase after a dream?”

He was unable to meet her gaze as he asked that question. Riveria’s long jade hair rustled in the wind, and her beautiful elven voice rang in the night.

“There’s no ‘too soon’ or ‘too late’ when it comes to chasing a dream.” After a short pause, she added, “And I’m older than you are, you know.”

The high elf princess was infuriating…and amazing.

“Damn, my head still hurts…”

“Ugh…”

It was the day after Riveria’s visit.

Finishing up the day’s work with his team, all of whom were still recovering from terrible hangovers, Gareth went to the one sauna in town. It was a small wooden room surrounded by volcanic rock that had been raised by local dwarves.

It was a place for dwarves to sit together, naked as the day they were born, their chiseled and hairy bodies wet with sweat. It was an imposing scene, and one that would surely sicken a certain goddess intent on building a familia of beautiful and cute girls.

“We were leaving, but what about you, Big Bro?” Yorger asked.

“…I’m staying,” Gareth answered with closed eyes.

Sitting with a towel wrapped around his waist, alone in the sauna, Gareth crossed his arms and sank into thought.

She’s made a damn fine mess of things…and sending that elf yesterday to rave like she’d lost her mind. How pathetic can I be?

Ashamed of his reaction, he steeled himself for the enemy’s movements, determined not to show such weakness again.

That goddess said three misses…Not visits but misses…? Did she mean sending three lasses to convince me…?

He thought back to that night. If Loki was the first, then Riveria made two, which meant there would be one more coming.

There was that high elf’s attendant…Aina was her name…

Gareth expected her to be the third, but for some reason, the guess just rang hollow, so he kept racking his brain.

“…Pardon me.”

An adorable young blond girl entered the sauna.

“Gwah?!”

Even Gareth sputtered at that sight.

She had long golden hair reaching down to the waist and a sweet face. There was already a faint sheen of sweat on her supple skin. With a long towel covering her entire body, the girl walked gently past the wide-eyed Gareth and sat on the bench right across from him.

“Mr. Dwarf, will you listen to my request?”

“A-aye…? Wh-what is it…?”

This was a male-only sauna, a place soaked with the sweat of countless dwarf men.

Was this a strange custom in other cultures?

Gareth’s thoughts became tangled, completely at a loss as the girl in front of him smiled sweetly.

“Would you please join Loki Familia?”

He was staggered by the adorable little girl—or rather, prum.

“You…are you…?”

“Yes, I am Finn Deimne.”

So that’s what’s going on?

Gareth’s cheek twitched.

“…Why are you dressed up like a girl?”

“Patron goddess’s orders. The three misses…in other words, you will fall to three unmarried women, all with very different personalities, striking in quick succession.”

“You’re a guy, though! Forget falling for anyone, I’m completely shriveled up now! Stop talking like that, it’s weird.”

Forgetting the situation entirely, the dwarf shouted, his voice thundering like the wild and free-spirited Gareth of old.

“I don’t want to join your crazy familia!”

“Then let’s be frank.”

Seeing that Gareth was genuinely annoyed, Finn removed his long wig and shifted back to his usual voice without hesitation. Removing the longer cloth wrapped around his body as well, he revealed a single towel wrapped around his waist.

Seeing that, Gareth was absolutely sure Finn had gone along with Loki’s plan despite knowing things would turn out like this.

“Allow me to say it again. I would like you to join our familia.”

After he moved back to his seat, Finn sat with a straight back as he earnestly voiced his request. Looking into the intense blue of his eyes, Gareth could clearly see that this was not some drunken outburst or prank.

Though, the past few days, he had already realized that.

Gareth sighed.

“Why are you so hung up on me? There are any number of other dwarves.”

“But there are not many of your caliber. Let alone ones without any familia association already.”

My caliber, huh?

Gareth closed his eyes and chuckled at those words.

“It may sound like fantasy, but we have our sights set on becoming the sort of familia whose fame resonates throughout the world. For that sake—”

“I’ve already heard that from your goddess. What I want to hear is your goal.”

Gareth’s eyes were telling Finn to speak in his own words, and seeing that, Finn began to speak quietly after a moment’s pause.

“I have a wish that is dear to me: the restoration of my people.”

“Your people?”

“Every faceless, nameless prum living in this world.”

Gareth’s eyes widened.

“Prums need a light. And I will become that light.”

“…Do you understand what it is you are saying?”

“Of course. It means recreating the glory that Phiana once embodied and holding it aloft with my own two hands. I will become a hero for all of my fellow prums.”

Finn did not hesitate in the slightest as he said that word: hero. Such overwhelming resolve emanated from his small body that even Gareth balked.

“In order to become the light of my people, I will need an outrageous level of fame and number of accomplishments to my name. Not just individual accomplishments, either. I will have to demonstrate the capacity to lead a deity’s familia.”

“That’s why Orario?”

“Yes. Standing atop the summit known as the center of the world. That is the fastest route.”

“…”

“That’s why I need capable people. Comrades worthy of leading. Or even fellow familia members even stronger than me.”

His ambition was far beyond what Gareth could have imagined. It was too grand. It was fit only for the laughable fantasies of children, but the boy in front of him was shameless in his declarations. So Gareth did not laugh. If anything, he felt impressed.

Speaking first and then backing up words with actions…Simply acting without speaking in the first place…Though the results for both might be the same, the former was the one that had the greater impact. There was a courage required to say something that could just as easily stayed tucked away in the back of someone’s mind. It was a way of burning one’s own bridges.

The prum sitting there before him had a hero’s courage and a monstrous resolve. He was backing himself into a corner while wholeheartedly chasing the realization of his ambition.

“I want to use you for the sake of my ambition. I won’t deny it. But I can promise you proper compensation. If you have a wish or any personal goals, I will support you.”

“…No mincing words, huh?”

“It wouldn’t be worth your time otherwise.”

There was not a trace of guilt in the prum’s blue eyes as he confessed the calculations he was making. His expression and words were so earnest, though, that Gareth could not say that he did not believe them.

That wild and reckless ambition was like a poison to Gareth. Just like Riveria last night, it infected him with a sense of inferiority as well as jealousy. Compared to this prum, who did not hesitate to voice his ambition, how could he be such a small man?

“…I can’t leave this town.”

Perhaps he was being influenced by Finn’s resolve, but Gareth gave voice to what lay in his heart to reward the prum’s willingness to share his ambition.

“What did you feel when first came here?”

“The residents are living resolutely, but the town is poor.”

“Aye. The veins of ore around here have been mined dry. In order to support the people of the village, me and the youngsters have to go far away and do whatever the merchants tell us.”

In such a far-flung location, there were no traveling merchants or anyone passing through at all. Without Gareth and his boys working themselves to the bone for the sake of Naruru, Noruru, and all the other children, Lonza would not be able to hold on.

“This town raised me, and I caused all sorts of trouble as a lad. It all came to a head ten years ago when I got cocky and picked a fight with another country and robbed the town of its income.”

Back then, a great number of familias had come to recruit Gareth, just like Loki Familia was doing now. They had heard the rumors about a powerful, unaffiliated dwarf. And one of the recruiters was a foreign minister of a certain national familia—a devious and crafty prum, in fact. The foreign minister had insulted Gareth’s poor home, and completely confident in his own overwhelming strength, the dwarf had kicked his ass.

The familia chose not to raise arms against Lonza, but suddenly, all of the jobs the village had before suddenly dried up.

“The older generation went out into the mines, working day and night for the town…and then one day, they died in an accident.”

“…”

“The current state of this town…it’s my fault.”

Waves of heat rolled over Gareth, tormenting his face. Finn seemed to want to say something, but listening to the end, he suddenly relaxed and then smiled.

“I’ve heard stories of some of your feats since I’ve been here. What was it that you wanted?”

He thought back to the days he spent running around the mountains slaying monsters. To his teenage years, winning tournament after tournament in the country he had eventually defied. And finally, to how he had climbed to the mountain’s summit, looking out far to the west to see what waited at the edge of the world, before giving up his dream and closing the book on his youth.

Thinking back through all of it, Gareth smiled.

“Hot-blooded battles.”

Compared to the prum’s ambition, it was far simpler and more straightforward.

“I want to throw myself into that blood-boiling heat…I want to meet someone stronger than me. That’s all.”

They fell silent with that for a moment.

“You really should come with us, then.”

“Maybe. But I can’t.”

Gareth firmly shut the door on it, as if severing all lingering desires.

There was a period of silence. Sweat dripped down Finn’s chin. Watching the prum wipe it away with his slender arm, Gareth smirked as if to clear the heavy mood that was so unlike him.

“Besides, I’ll die before I join the familia of a reedy little runt who can’t take a sauna.”

Finn’s blue eyes narrowed slowly.

“…I see. Then, if I win, I’ll have the standing to get you to join. Simple really,” he answered with a cool face.

For the first time, Gareth flashed a fierce grin.

Without anyone knowing it, a bell had rung in the hot, steamy stone room.

“Get out already.”

“You first.”

“You look like ye might shrivel up.”

“You look like you’re getting thinner. All that muscle you have is just melting away, isn’t it?”

“Leave.”

“You first.”

Gareth and Finn argued back and forth, eyes flashing intensely. Two people who fundamentally hated to lose stared at one another with bold smiles, sweating up a storm as they did.

Turning up the steam, a swelling heat enveloped the bloodshot duo.

Several hours later, the two of them were found unconscious by an exasperated Riveria, a cackling Loki, a red-faced Aina, and a group of panicked dwarf miners. The match naturally ended in a draw.

The day after his competition with Finn ended without Gareth making a decision.

Feeling just a little woozy and sluggish, the dwarf carried his gear with him as he headed due west from Lonza to the Celcebo mines.

Damned prum…My head is still spinning.

Gareth grumbled to himself as he led his team into the mines. Even with magic-stone lamps set here and there, it was still dim. The bare stone walls were cold and seemed to loom heavily on both sides.

Grimacing at the support timbers that were still being used despite being visibly rotten, he and his team relieved the last shift. The plan was to continue expanding the mine along what looked to be a mineral deposit. They could manage with dwarven muscle and pickaxes, but the old craftsmen in Lonza had given them a powerful explosive powder, too. Blasting the rock was just less work mining it by hand. If a gnome happened to live in this mountain, it would be upset, but if it came down to it, they would just have to offer some dwarven whiskey and apologize as hard as they could.

With one glance around the pointlessly wide area, Gareth confirmed everyone was getting to their job and then turned to his own digging, but…

“…? What is it, Yorger?”

…he noticed the young dwarf standing behind him and staring.

Yorger was one of the youngsters he had taken under his wing, a noisy troublemaker who never thought about the consequences of what he was doing. Of course he was the one who’d lost his temper and injured Aina, earning Riveria’s wrath and leading to Gareth’s strange and messed-up relationship with Loki Familia.

He was annoyingly stupid and short-tempered, but when it came to his friends, he cared more than anyone. Oddly, perhaps because he was still just fifteen, most people were fond of him, and even Gareth kept an eye on him, too.

Something felt terribly out of place seeing Yorger, who was always so boisterous and loud, standing there quietly.

“Big Bro…last night with the prum……No, it’s nothing.”

He looked like he wanted to say something, but it sputtered out partway and he fell silent again, but only for a moment before slapping his face with both hands, getting himself fired up again.

“All right! I’m gonna hit the mother lode today! I won’t even need your help, Big Bro!”

Gareth was bewildered as he watched the young dwarf head deeper into the tunnel with lantern and pickax, but he could not help wondering.

Yorger…did he hear me talking to that prum last night?

It was entirely possible that he had come back, worried about Gareth not coming out of the sauna after so long, and listened in. It was something he would not want another dwarf to overhear, but he could not press Yorger about it either since it would not change anything.

Gareth stifled a sigh he felt building.

“Still, though, you think this is a good idea? There’ve been a lot of cave-ins around here lately.”

“What? Really…?”

“Yeah. Word is a bunch of guys didn’t make it back. I heard we got called in here because they didn’t have enough hands to work.”

Gareth paused, hearing the rumors his youngsters were talking about. The merchant who had come to them with the job hadn’t mentioned any of that.

That furry bastard.

Gareth’s expression turned serious.

“Yorger went up ahead. Bring him back for now to be safe. Stick together.”

“Aye.”

As one of the boys headed off to Yorger, Gareth raised his old, worn lantern and looked all around. There were no obvious abnormalities in the walls or ceiling.

Nothing feels off. I doubt this area would collapse, but…

It was just a fact that a miner worrying about every little collapse that might or might not happen would be out of a job before long. Using his years of experience to discern that this was not likely to be a dangerous location, Gareth decided to keep working, albeit carefully.

Giving the order for caution, he let the youngsters do the demolition prep work while he started swinging his pickax.

…Damn it. I can’t focus. This is all their fault…

The pickax that he always swung without thought was just a little bit out of rhythm. He could not calm his heart, which had been so dry and desiccated before. This was their fault. Their talk of dreams and ambitions had lit a fire in his heart again.

A red flame had ignited in him, as if trying to reclaim something. Scoffing to himself, Gareth roughly swung his pickax a few times, trying to brush aside the idle distractions.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa?!”

All of a sudden, Yorger and the dwarf sent to get him suddenly came running.

“What?!”

Something enormous was writhing in the darkness behind them. Gareth’s eyes widened as blaring alarm bells rang in his head.

He raised his voice, telling everyone to evacuate the frozen tunnel, but it was too late.

A terrific roar thundered through the tunnel, and the next moment, it collapsed.

“I understand the situation. And, if we set our minds to it, it should be possible to resolve it.”

Back in Lonza…

Standing on the side of the road and watching Naruru and Noruru laugh and run around, Finn addressed Loki, Riveria, and Aina.

“I think it will probably come down to getting some help from Loki, though.”

“Hm? Me?…Ahhh, that’s what you mean.”

“Yes, that. It will take some time and effort, but judging from the mine activity in the region, it’s not such a bad gamble.”

Riveria listened dubiously, and Aina cocked her head as Loki, the deity among them, immediately grasped what Finn was thinking.

Her strategy had brought results—particularly in getting to understand Gareth’s thoughts—but at the same time, Finn was not overly enthusiastic.

“It should be possible. But…”

“In the end, it comes down to that dwarf’s mind. That’s what you’re thinking, ain’t it?”

Finn nodded.

“No matter how well we set the stage, it comes down to whether he snaps or not.”

Ultimately, it was just an invitation. If Gareth said he was not interested, then that would be that. Even if they settled up the bonds currently holding him back, Gareth would have to make peace with his own guilt and remorse—he would have to forgive himself.

Aina looked concerned, and Riveria, though she was not participating in the conversation, immediately pursed her lips as if thinking of something.

“…Wait, really?!”

“A-aye! I heard from a dwarf from another town!”

Suddenly, there was a commotion near the entrance to the town.

“What…?”

“A returning dwarf seems to be shouting about something…”

Riveria and Aina looked on in surprise, but Loki moved immediately.

“Hey, Gramps! Did something happen?!”

Walking over with Finn and the others, the goddess called out, and hearing her, an elderly dwarf snapped up and rushed over in a fluster.

“It’s terrible, goddess! They’re saying the mine Gareth and his boys were working in collapsed…!”

““!!!””

The group immediately looked at each other. After getting more detailed information, they set out straight for the Celcebo mines.

“Ghh…?!”

Gareth groaned as falling rocks clattered around him, the tunnel he was in shuddering. A drop of crimson blood dripped from his head.

“B-Big Bro…?!”

Yorger was shouting from beneath him.

Gareth had leaped forward, covering himself and the other dwarf with his body at the last possible second and saving them from the falling rubble—though he had suffered a nontrivial injury in the process. He shrugged off the rocks that had landed on his back, large and small alike.

There was no time to celebrate their narrow escape from death, though. With every light in the tunnel busted, Gareth forced himself to his feet.

The next moment, there was a loud, resounding thud. A section of the tunnel blasted open as the youngsters shouted.

Gareth slowly turned around toward the source, the thing even now silencing his team of miners, strong and sturdy dwarves all.

“Wait, that’s…?!”

The light revealed countless eerily gleaming scales. It had a terrible long, large body. A lengthy tongue slipped in and out between its fangs, and all six of its eyes glared at the dwarves.

“A snake monster?!”

Yorger and the others all shouted in terror.

A giant snake. Its six amber eyes darted in the darkness, setting the dwarves’ skin crawling. It had several pits on either side of its mouth, which was large enough to swallow an adult whole.

Gareth’s bloody face twisted when he saw the extra-large monster that had burst through the wall.

“This monster’s been causing collapses in other mines, too…?!”

It was a true monster, one that he had never seen or heard of before.

A lambton was what adventurers in distant Orario called it. Its official name was wormwell because of the massive passages it created in its wake. Ignoring the Dungeon’s rules, it freely passed between floors, becoming a symbol of fear for its unreasonable ability to cause trouble without warning. The rumble of its movement through rock was the lone telltale sign of an impending lambton attack, the signal of an incoming wipeout.

The recent spate of cave-ins had been because the lambton had turned the local mines into its den. The nearby mountains were nothing more than this massive monster’s backyard. The monster had made this place its territory and Gareth and his team were nothing more than prey that had conveniently wandered right into its lair.

“Hsssssssss…!”

“Doesn’t look like it’ll let us go…! Damned snake!”

Gareth cursed at the monster slithering its long body up the walls and ceiling as it glared down at them.

After he peered up at the snake’s long body for a moment, he glanced around the surroundings. Only a small part of the ceiling had fallen. The wide tunnel had not completely caved in. But it was only a matter of time until this place became a stone tomb. If they tried to run away, they would not be able to clear the path before the monster ate them. Not even dwarves could dig that fast. And if they did manage to escape from this place, an attack could come at any time from any angle. Gareth hanging back to cover the youngsters’ escape would not be any use, either.

But above all, any time the lambton moved, it created a gaping hole in its wake. If this kept up for much longer, the entire mine might lose its structural integrity and completely collapse.

Having lost his dad and so many others in a mine collapse, Gareth could not just let a monster that could cause such a disaster go.

I have to do it…! Stop it here and now…!

Gareth’s bloody eyes squinted, and he clenched his hands into fists. Then, as if reacting to the dwarf’s fighting spirit, the lambton roared.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

The scaled body slithered, hitting him with a simple body slam, but even just that knocked Gareth back.

“Nrghhhhh?!”

That terrible, long body was like a dragon’s tail, sweeping away everything in its path.

Gareth, his thick arms crossed, was hit with the force of a giant river and pushed just in front of Yorger and the others and then into the wall. He could not even grab the creature’s body and slow its movements.

His arm bones were cracked from the force of the impact, and a terrible pain seared his nerves.

“Big Broooo!”

The younger dwarves all shouted, aghast, as Gareth spit out bloody saliva and swung his pickax overhead to attack the lambton.

But it bounced off. The giant snake monster, which could shake a mine shaft with its movements, created an impossible, underground twister. Gareth was slammed repeatedly into the wall before rolling to the ground in a spray of blood.

As an extra-large monster capable of leaving a trail of destruction using just its enormous body, the lambton was stronger, sturdier, and more vicious than any of the monsters Gareth had routed before.

“Ghhhhh…?!”

On the verge of failing, Gareth’s lantern blinked, illuminating his bloodied and battered body.

“This is terrible…”

That was Finn’s first comment upon reaching the Celcebo mines.

The enormous mining area before him looked like a gorge. Everywhere were wooden structures where dirt was removed and ore was held. It was almost like a small town.

The area was usually bustling with miners hard at work, but today it was panic stricken and chaotic.

A tremendous dust cloud had erupted from the entrance, and bloody miners were being helped out of the tunnel. There were goblins and rock lizards running away in terror, too. The side of the mountain had seemingly been shattered by the collapse and had swallowed up wooden ladders and bridges and mine cart tracks in the rubble. Not a single area was spared.

Shouts flew back and forth as miners evacuated the wounded from the mines, and merchants cried out, fearing a full loss of their investment.

“There’s smoke comin’ from all the entrances…Is every route down? This ain’t normal.”

Loki grimaced, concluding this accident was not natural or manmade. It was the work of something more ferocious and unreasonable.

“More importantly, are those dwarves still in the mines?!”

Riveria could not help but lose her composure seeing the menace of a mountain; it was unlike anything she had experienced in her home. Gareth and his boys were not among the badly injured escapees lying on the ground. Grabbing a miner who was running past, Finn asked about the dwarves from Lonza, but…

“They’re not out yet! Gareth’s a first-rate miner ’round these parts, so I’m sure he went deep and got trapped!”

Even Riveria, who had been so antagonistic toward the dwarves, was stunned. Then she felt a tug at her hem.

“Are they…are they going to die?” “…Die?”

“Gh…!”

Naruru and Noruru, who had become so close to Riveria and the others these past few days, had tears welling in their eyes. They had come here along with a bunch of other Lonza residents. Many of the dwarves were kneeling down in despair at the sight before them.

Seeing the wives who had misunderstood and done so much to take care of her these few days holding their mouths and moaning in grief, Riveria clenched her fists without thinking.

“…Aina. I really do struggle with dwarves.”

“Lady Riveria…?”

“They are so loud, rough, and utterly unconcerned with others’ situations. I suppose I am just like other elves in that I inherently just don’t get along with them.”

Riveria looked around without facing Aina, observing the terrible disaster, and then the high elf princess’s eyebrows flared, and she shouted:

“But! Something as trivial as that isn’t reason enough to abandon them! How can I turn a blind eye to the suffering of those who were so welcoming and impartial to a fussy and troublesome high elf like me?!”

Her shout drew the attention of nearby despairing dwarves.

Naruru and Noruru and the residents of Lonza watched with tear-filled eyes. And Aina, though she recognized it was out of place, felt her heart stir seeing the princess display the authority of her line, not for the sake of her fellow elves but for dwarves.

“Do something, prum! I cannot think of a way to overcome this situation myself!”

“Riveria…”

Walking with long strides, Riveria came to a stop in front of Finn.

“For just this moment, I’ll allow you to use me however you need! So save those dwarves!”

It was the first demand she’d made since leaving the royal woods. She was casting aside her pride, acknowledging her inability, and asking another for help. Despite how stubborn, inflexible, and naive as she was, she was changing. Wielding her nobility, Riveria would lead many people to safety.

For just a moment, Finn squinted at the glow of a real hero, envious that something similar did not innately reside within him. And then he nodded dauntlessly.

“Understood. I will do just that, then. The effects of the magic you’ve been practicing…Is what you told me about it before accurate?”

“Yes!”

“Then it will take a bit of brute force, but you will be the key to rescuing them. Get your gear ready and bring every last potion you have! We’re also going to need help from dwarves to clear the blocked passages!”

Ripping off the white cloth wrapped around his spear, Finn explained the crux of their plan for clearing the mine, and Riveria accepted his orders without hesitation. Not only did she take every item from the pouch Aina was carrying, she even grabbed a merchant and half demanded he give every potion he had while promising to pay later. As the trembling merchants rushed to fill the high elf’s order, the dwarves of Lonza began hurriedly preparing, too.

“The problem is, even relying on Riveria, there’s too much ground to cover. But…”

If we could at least narrow down the area where Gareth and his team were trapped…

As that thought began to cross Finn’s lips, Loki—who’d been carefully looking all around—suddenly shifted her gaze back to a certain point.

“Hm?! Stop, stop right there, shrimp!”

“Fugo?!”

As miners and monsters burst out of one of the dusty entrances, she’d noticed a particular shadow in the cloud of dust and dashed over to snatch it.

What she caught looked at her with wide, stunned eyes.

“What do you know, the solution just fell into our lap. Saves me the trouble of lookin’ around myself!”

The captured spirit cowered in the clutches of a goddess wearing an evil grin.

Drops of blood steadily splashed against the rock floor.

“Big Bro…!”

No part of Gareth’s body had been left unscathed. With each exhausted breath, blood welled from the tears in his skin, which was stretched taut over his proud muscles. His pickax, hardly a weapon for fighting monsters in the first place, had broken long ago. He was completely covered in wounds. There was no other way to describe him.

“Hsssssssss…!”

Meanwhile, there was a rage in the lambton’s six eyes. Hammering with the now useless pickax, Gareth had broken several of its scales.

It was just a small bit of payback, but it had only added oil to the flames. Furious at Gareth’s assault, the lambton had begun attacking more viciously and steadily growing fed up with the prey that refused to accept its fate. The reason it had not yet swallowed anybody was solely due to Gareth’s efforts. The younger dwarves cowered, watching the monster and dwarf stare each other down in a contest that had raged for hours now.

“What are you doing?! Get to digging! Hurry up and call for help!”

Gareth shouted back at his frozen team without taking his eyes off the lambton. With the handicap he had after the first surprise attack, Gareth had made a decision to keep the monster’s focus on him.

He drew the aggro with a reckless head-on attack, all to make sure the youngsters at least could escape. He had already made up his mind to take the lambton down with him. He planned to use the explosive that the craftsman from Lonza had given them for excavation to deliver the finishing blow.

Gareth was the shield protecting the dwarves and the wall keeping the monster away.

But it’s getting rough here…! Things are going blurry…!

But even so, he was reaching his limit. He was losing too much blood, and there was an annoying ringing in his ears. Gareth did not know how many more fists his quivering fingers could make. His enemy was on a different level compared to the monsters aboveground—completely different from those goblins and the like. If someone were here to tell him this snake was a monster that came from the deep levels of the Dungeon, he would not have understood what they meant, but it would be for the best. The numbers in the Dungeon were an index for measuring differences in strength more absolute than any other.

Gareth was the crazy one, continuing to fight despite not even having a blessing.

This is where I die…

His heart pounded loudly in his ears, telling him his fate. But his lips just curled into a smile.

This is a far cry from a hot-blooded battle…but it’s not too bad.

Falling in battle and being reduced to ashes…That seemed like such a luxury to him. It was why he smiled—a smile of resignation, brimming with the attachment to life he did not even realize he still had.

“Big Bro…”

And Yorger saw his face.

“…You’re smiling…?”

Through the flickering of the dying lantern, Yorger saw Gareth’s true feelings—the feelings he had never allowed himself to show. He realized that it was them, that they were the ones making Gareth look like that, and that lit a fire in the young dwarf.

“…Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Flames raced along the detonating cord and exploded.

Running forward and leaving the other miners behind, Yorger clenched his pickax in his hands and leaped at the lambton.

“Wh…?! Yorger?! Stop! Get away!”

Ignoring Gareth’s warning, he swung with all his might. Sparks flew as the pick struck the monster’s scales, and Yorger was repelled all too easily. But he stood back up immediately and began his attacks anew.

“We’re—! We’re not just burdens who have to be protected by you!” the youngster shouted, loud enough to be heard over the monster’s irritated growl. “How am I gonna live with myself if I’m just dragging you down, Big Bro?!”

Yorger howled with all his might…for himself and for his fellow young men.

“What kind of family are we if we don’t support you, too?!”

He roared even as tears welled from the pain of his easily broken nails spurting blood.

““Gh!!!””

His shouts filled the cavern and shook the hearts of the other dwarves, rallying them.

“““Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”””

With a hearty battle cry, they rushed the monster with raised pickaxes, shovels, and makeshift wooden clubs. Gareth was stunned as all the miners ran past him and charged the lambton.

“You…”

Gareth forgot for a moment that this was a battlefield, struck dumb where he stood.

He’d thought he had to protect them, that he had to do something for them. But that was a terrible misconception. They were dwarves, just like him.

“You idiots…!”

His expression twisted into something between tears and a smile.

I don’t want to let them die.

What else can I do with this battered body?

What do I have to do to kill that monster?

What do I have to do to get out of here alive with them?

Roaring at his body, Gareth charged as well, but the giant snake was merciless. With a flick of its tail, it knocked Yorger’s group backward, snuffing the flames Yorger had lit.

“Ugggh?!”

“Gh! Yorger!”

The snake’s angry eyes fixed on Yorger, who was rolling across the ground. Gareth cracked the proverbial whip, but he could not make it in time. He shouted as the lambton opened its mouth to swallow the young dwarf.

“gh?!”

Suddenly, a jade glow rose from his feet.

Feeling the magic power emanating from it, Gareth recognized what it was. It was a complex pattern of light—a magic circle.

It seemed to extend from the pile of rubble caused by the collapse, but then it suddenly surrounded Yorger and the others, too. The lambton recoiled at the blinding light, stopping in its tracks.

The next moment, just as it seemed to grasp their location, the sigil expanded dramatically. A roar of magic power filled the space, driving back the darkness. The magic circle extended all the way to the surprised snake. And just as the wall sealing the tomb of stone fell…

Rea Laevateinn.

…with the ring of an elf’s voice he could not possibly hear, two tremendous pillars of flame erupted directly beneath the monster.

“AAAAAAAAAA?!”

Gareth and the dwarves watched in shock as the crimson inferno struck home, swallowing the monster in sparks. It was immediately followed by the sound of rock being smashed.

Spinning to see what was happening now, Gareth saw a dozen or more people piling into the space.

“Gareth! Brats! Are you alive?!”

“The old men…and…”

The elderly dwarves, who had retired from the mines, were standing at the front of the line, pickaxes and shovels in hand.

And after them:

“It seems we made it in time.”

“…The prum…”

The prum held a spear in his hand while the high elf wielded a beautiful staff. Gareth stared, dumbfounded at Finn as Aina and Loki stepped out from the rubble, too. The prum just smiled at him.

“Save your thanks for Riveria. It was her magic that found you.”

Glancing over, he saw Riveria, who seemed more out of breath than he could ever have imagined.

The second tier of her offensive magic, Rea Laevateinn, was an annihilation spell that covered a wide area with a tremendous range. Even without the mage ability, she was able to distinguish targets within the radius of its magic circle. By repeatedly using her magic, she had searched for Gareth and the dwarves, eventually pinning down the exact place where they had run into trouble.

“Ordinarily, it would be impossible to search something as large as an entire mining complex. At least at our current levels…but we got a little help from him.”

As if to say it was a bit uncool, Finn joked a little as Loki smirked and showed off the creature in her grips.

“If you’re searchin’ for treasure in the dirt, ya gotta have a gnome!”

“Fugo, fugo?!”

Seeing the goddess holding up a spirit even smaller than a prum, Gareth was stupefied, but at the same time, he understood what had happened. Spirits of various elements like salamanders and undines and such existed, but gnomes were the spirits of the earth. They loved jewels and rare metals, so they naturally took to living in underground tunnels and mines. They were part of the reason why Gareth had hesitated to use explosives for excavation. A gnome’s den was a natural treasure trove, and put another way, there was nothing in the world that knew more about building a treasure trove.

They had captured a gnome fleeing the mine and asked it what had happened and where. Using that information, they had hurried to the tunnel where Gareth and his team were last seen and used Riveria’s magic to scour the ground. But thanks were also due to Yorger and the others. The digging they’d done brought the passage that much closer to being cleared.

“Haaah, haaaah…Hmph, you look pitiful, dwarf.”

“Elf…you…”

Riveria was sweating profusely as she walked right up to Gareth. She had used her mind to its limits, and her slender elven limbs looked like they might collapse at any moment, but even as exhausted as she was, she still had an insult at the ready for him.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not doing this to save you…!”

“…”

“This is…to repay the dwarves…who broadened my horizons…!”

With wheezing breath and flushed cheeks, she glared down at him.

Which one of us looks pathetic now?

Are you really a high elf?

She did not balk, even though she was covered in dirt and dust like a dwarf, and so Gareth could not bring himself to mock her.

“L-Lady Riveria! If you push yourself any further…!”

“Who would reveal such a shameful sight before a dwarf?! Aina, tend to the dwarves!”

Not heeding the warning from Aina, who was deeply concerned, Riveria stepped forward, as if to protect Gareth with her own body. Together with Finn, who stood with spear in hand, she stared down the enormous snake as it continued to writhe and roar in pain from within the flames.

“You’re the one who told me to use you, Riveria. Sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to stick with me to the end! Give me a hand!”

“I know!”

Finn could not take any chances facing an enemy that was more than a match for the airen and the green dragon. According to the gnome, the enemy had the advantage of the terrain. If it managed to escape into the ground, it could turn the tables on them in any number of ways. Hell Finegas was not an option as the terrain required him to keep a clear mind. Directing Riveria’s casting, he cut to the head of the battle, drawing the lambton away from the dwarves.

A furious racket comprised of spear strikes and a ringing voice spinning incantations filled the cavern.

“…What are you…?”

Gareth vividly saw the stout figures of Finn and Riveria, who had come all the way to such a dangerous place and were even now fighting to save his fellow dwarves.

Prums—who were always superficial and were, often as not, slavish cowards.

Elves—who were always intolerable and looked down their noses at everyone else.

But neither the prum nor the elf before him fit the stereotype of their race. He did not understand what was going on. His mind couldn’t keep up.

What are they?

But even as that question reared its head, Gareth felt a heat in his chest, burning uncontrollably.

“That’s my Finn and Riveria. Kids with a passionate heart as fiery as any dwarf’s.”

Leaving the gnome with Aina, Loki had slipped away to stand by Gareth.

“At this rate, you’re gonna be left standing on the outside. Sucks, don’t it? But it ain’t like you can fight with that beat-up body.”

Aina’s face twitched; watching as Loki flashily spread her arms, the elf felt as if a skin-crawlingly annoying merchant had slipped into the mix.

“Buuuut! With a blessing engraved in your back, you’ll have oodles of power, and the battle can rage on! Whaddaya say? Right now, you can become my follower for the low, low price—”

Loki tried to nab Gareth with the same nasty sales-goddess spiel she had used on Riveria, but—

“—I don’t need it.”

“Huh?”

Gareth’s eyes narrowed to points.

“I said I don’t need it!”

The goddess recoiled at his loud shout.

“There’s no time! Outta my way!”

“Huh? Wait, what? Are you serious?!”

For once, Loki could only shout in surprise as Gareth ran past her.

At some point, a grin had sprung to his lips. Paying no heed to the spurt of blood spilling from his wounds, he clenched his fists and looked at the scene unfolding before his eyes. At Finn boldly and bravely thrusting his spear at the smoldering snake. At Riveria, arms quivering as she raised her staff and spun a spell with her beautiful voice.

It scorched Gareth’s heart.

Hot……

His body was hot. His chest was burning. His body shuddered uncontrollably. It was the first time he had seen anyone of another race be so strong in body and spirit. It was the first time he had met anyone he wanted to stand beside and fight shoulder to shoulder with.

The wish that Gareth had locked away in the depths of his heart roared back to life again.

“…Hot-blooded battle.”

A fire lit in the blood flowing beneath his skin.

“Urrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaa!!!”

With a bloody grin, he leaped into the scorching fray. Passing a stunned Riveria and a wide-eyed Finn, he bodily tackled the burning snake.

“Ghhhhhhhhh?!”

The long body blew backward and sent a tremor through the entire cavern. With goddess, spirit, and everyone between dumbstruck, Gareth’s battle cry filled the air.

“You think I’m gonna let a nasty elf and a cocky prum beat me?! Let me in on the fun!”

The dwarf was grinning. It was the smile of a warrior. For a brief moment, he could forget everything else.

“…What a barbaric dwarf.”

The elf looked coldly at him, genuinely astonished at his utterly absurd strength.

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! All right, let’s fight! The three of us together!”

The prum laughed, his heart ringing in exaltation as they formed a party for the first time.

The three stood in perfect array to face down the furiously howling monster.

“Wh-whoa…”

“They’re in perfect sync with Big Bro…”

The miners who’d been lying on the ground could not tear their eyes away from the scene even as the older dwarves of Lonza carried them to safety.

A prum, standing shoulder to shoulder with the strongest dwarf in Lonza, and an elf supporting them both. Roaring strength, courageous shouts, and a ringing song intertwined and blended together. Their battle was fierce and heroic, almost like a passage out of a fairy tale.

Any way you cut it, they looked like a familia joining forces.

“…Aaaah.”

Body battered and nose bleeding, Yorger teared up.

“I knew it. That is where Big Bro should be.”

He teared up because Gareth was smiling. Not that reluctant smile earlier, but a bracing, refreshing smile. The gruff and taciturn miner was nowhere to be found. This fiery, hot-blooded dwarf was the true Gareth Landrock.

“…Go, Big Brooooo!”

Clenching his eyes shut, Yorger started cheering him on. With a blend of passion and loneliness, he reached out and gave his compatriot’s broad shoulders a firm push. And as if answering his cheer, Gareth swung his right fist.

“Rrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaa!!!”

“Gaaaa?!”

The impact of the dwarf’s punch with all his weight behind it cracked the lambton’s scales and warped its long body. Its three pairs of eyes were bloodshot, burning with rage and from the flames, as its instinct cried out a warning about the prey that was so much smaller than it. As if recognizing it was being pushed back, the monster made as if to flee into the wall.

“I won’t allow it!”

But Riveria resolutely sealed its escape. Wringing out the last of her mind, she hit it with a final barrage.

“Wynn Fimbulvetr!!!”

The intense blizzard pierced the lambton, freezing the ground and wall. Riveria was far from being in top form, so the creature avoided being completely frozen, but the spell’s power was enough to seal its movements for a brief moment. By then, Gareth and Finn were already in motion.

“Run it through, prum!”

“!!!”

The dwarf’s loud voice battered the side of Finn’s face. Seeing the tool in his hands, the prum immediately guessed his aim. Not even looking each other in the eye, they synced on a plan, and Finn sprinted ahead, driving his spear straight into the middle of the snake’s long body.

“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~?!”

The lambton writhed as the spear’s tip punched through its scales and stabbed deep into its flesh. Its rampage shattered the restraining ice, sending shards flying. Mystical diamond-like dust filled the air as Gareth leaped.

He activated the device at the same moment he lit the fuse, and switching places with Finn, he shoved his hardened fist into the hole made by the spear, driving the dwarven explosive deep inside.

“Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!!!”

The next instant, a crimson flare shot up, quickly followed by a blast.

“aaaaaaa?!”

Finn immediately grabbed Gareth’s hand, both making their escape in the nick of time as the lambton’s body exploded from its the center.

A thunderclap and tremor rocked the world around them. The snake, which had been enveloped in frost and ice, was swallowed up by flames. No matter how hardy the monster was, it could not withstand an explosion ripping its body in two. Freezing and burning at the same time, the lambton writhed for a moment before finally being crushed by the rubble.

Unable to withstand the repeated impacts, the ceiling had collapsed. The dying monster disappeared in a hail of falling rocks, and finally, the fiery battle came to an end.

Gareth sat down, unable to move another step, but he closed his eyes and smiled in satisfaction, together with Finn at his side and Riveria behind them both as she lowered her staff.

The trio had safely slain the lambton that had been causing the cave-ins. But the problem came after that.

The collapsing cavern did not stop at crushing the monster; it threatened to bury everyone else alive, too.

Loki immediately shouted directions to Riveria, who somehow managed to wring out one last spell. She activated Wynn Fimbulvetr and froze the surroundings in ice to form a cave around the group, protecting them from the collapse and maintaining it until the rescue team could reach them. In later days, the city’s strongest mage would speak with a distant gaze of being truly on the verge of running out of strength and how their adventure had almost come to an early end at that very moment.

Holding her staff, eyes bloodshot in a way unbefitting royalty, continually forced to drink magic potions Aina had been supplying her, Riveria passed out the moment she stepped into the sunlight, to the surprise of no one. She had blown through Mind Down and all the way to absolute empty.

Having been pushed quite literally past her limits, the high elf slept for three days and three nights, with Aina in a panic the entire time. Even Gareth and the miners felt awkward and guilty.

“If the elves find out about this, they’ll chase us to the ends of the earth,” Finn said with a hollow laugh. “You, me, Loki, all of us.”

In the end, the exhausted miners were rescued, and everyone made it through alive. For three days and nights, the residents of Lonza held a celebration for the benefactors who’d saved their comrades (and when Riveria woke up, they extended it even longer).

Even though they were poor, they threw a hearty dwarven party, opening up several barrels of the good booze they had set aside for special occasions. Loki followed the lead of the short, bearded old men and tipped back drinks; Riveria and Aina enjoyed themselves, even if they were taken aback by the sight; and Finn laughed.

After struggling over it for a while, Gareth thanked both Finn and Riveria, saying:

“Thanks to the two of ye, me and the lads were saved.”

And:

“I have a better opinion of elves and prums.”

And finally:

“…Thank you…”

Riveria looked away, unable to just accept his awkward gratitude, and Finn just raised a hand in easy acknowledgment. Afterward, Gareth was completely quiet, drinking off to the side by himself and lost in thought.

And after so much drinking and celebration, the morning after the party…

“Are you all leaving?” “Leaving?”

“Sorry, but I have a dream to fulfill.”

Loki Familia was at the entrance to the tunnel leading aboveground.

All of Lonza was out to see them off. Riveria smiled gently as she reluctantly brushed the dwarf sisters’ hair.

“Gareth…”

Gareth was among the group seeing them off, rather than in the group being seen off. With everyone’s gaze on him, Gareth opened his pursed lips.

“I’m…not going…I can’t.”

He made his statement, unable to look Finn or Riveria in the eye. His answer was far more inarticulate than when they’d first met.

“For the sake of this town, I…”

Seeing the dwarf who was like an older brother to him like that, Yorger leaned forward, as if he had intended this all along.

“Big Bro, go with them! Please start your journey!”

Gareth’s eyes widened. His surprise lasted only a moment before Yorger pressed a bag, already packed for the road, into his hands, as if he had prepared it beforehand with the other youngsters Gareth had taken under his wing.

“I heard what you said in the sauna! I’m just a dumbass, so I never realized you felt that way!”

“Yorger…you…”

“We’ll make something of this ourselves, even without you. So live your dream!”

Speechless, Gareth started to shout back, to scold the youngsters who were not even full-fledged miners or dwarves, but Yorger interrupted him first, as if knowing what he would say.

“Didn’t you see how we stood up to that snake monster?”

“!!!”

“We can get by, even without you, Big Bro! We’ll get strong enough to make it work! You don’t have to hold yourself back for us anymore!”

The young dwarf raised his voice, even as he awkwardly rubbed his nose and tears welled in his eyes.

“You’re our pride, so become even bigger than that elf and prum!”

Yorger’s encouragement was the trigger for all the other people of Lonza.

“That’s right! Just go!”

“Don’t go feeling responsible for the youngsters!”

“We’re cheering you on!”

“You can do it, Big Brother!” “Brother!”

The dwarves older than him, and even the youngest children like Naruru and Noruru, were all giving him a firm push. The sight caused Gareth’s lips to quiver behind his bushy beard. He did not get teary like Yorger, but he had to hold on tight against the emotions welling in his heart.

“…You idiots, look around you. The problems here aren’t something you can solve with spirit alone. How are you going to make do without me…?!”

“Well, about that…” Loki piped up.

Finn had elbowed his patron goddess, who had been watching with a smirk throughout, murmuring, “Have some class” as she finally revealed the secret.

“With this gnome here, pretty much all of the town’s problems are solved, aren’t they?”

“…What?!”

Gareth’s shout echoed all around.

“After his stint as mine guide, I dragged him back here with me. He was none too happy about it at first, but he says the food’s good and the people are nice, so it wouldn’t be such a bad place to live.”

“Fugo, fugo!!!”

Seeing the gnome that had suddenly appeared next to the dwarves holding up two fingers, Gareth was dumbstruck.

Gnomes were spirits of the earth. They liked rare metals, ores, and jewels and were capable of locating veins of minerals and ores. It was said that a gnome’s blessing was as good as finding a massive fortune.

Of course, they were spirits, and so they were incredibly difficult to understand and deal with, so it was usually nigh impossible to actually earn their blessing, but…

“I had Loki use all her tricks to convince him. She seemed good at that sort of thing, and I imagine he’ll lend an ear to a higher being.”

“Prum…”

“There are mines all around this area. I guessed that there was almost certainly a gnome living nearby. At first, I had thought to use Loki to get a gnome’s help with finding a vein of precious ore, but…”

Finn explained the plan he had come up with for doing something about the town’s condition so that they could recruit Gareth. He had intended to search for a gnome from the start, but as it happened, had one fall into their hands without having to spend any extra time or effort on it.

“This gnome’ll do something about the income to feed this town, but the biggest breadwinner’s leaving, and in terms of defense, too, y’all should find yourselves a god. Either hire a familia or form one.”

“Aye, got it!”

“There hasn’t been one looking to make a far-off place like this their base yet, but I’m sure there’s at least one with an interest in a city management game. Don’t just assume no one will come; let ’em know how interesting y’all are.”

Yorger nodded for everyone at Loki’s advice.

Standing frozen between everyone, Gareth looked around. The other dwarves had to have already heard the story from Loki and her group. They were all looking at him with smiles on their faces. He must have been the only one who did not know because he had been off drinking alone during the party, trying to work through his troubles.

Knowing just how much he had worked himself to the bone for Lonza’s sake, the dwarves who all looked up to him released the chains that were tying him down to his hometown.

He just had to make the choice for himself.

“I’ll ask again. Gareth of Lonza, will you join our familia?”

Finn stepped forward and looked up at him.

Together with Loki and everyone behind him, he waited for Gareth’s reply.

It was an irritatingly clean setup. It was annoying how cleanly they had cut off every line of retreat.

And so, Gareth was honest with the feeling bubbling up in his heart.

“Ah…Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!”

For the first time in a very long time, he laughed out loud in a way that surprised everyone. It was the epitome of a hearty dwarf’s guffaw.

“You got me, you got me!”

“Gareth…then that means…”

“Aye! I’ll join your familia! I’ll go anywhere you go!”

The residents of Lonza broke into cheers, celebrating their comrade setting out into the world. While their voices were still ringing in the air, Finn reached out his hand…but Gareth did not take it.

“But I have one condition.”

Crossing his arms, he straightened up and puffed his chest out arrogantly.

Riveria, who had not voiced her grievances or annoyances thus far, glared at that.

“You! You have another demand after all th—”

Ignoring the elf’s reproach, Gareth looked into Finn’s eyes and said:

“Fight me.”

Riveria, Finn, and everyone else looked at him in shock.

“You set everything up with Yorger and the rest already, so I’m going to be true to my desires. But that doesn’t mean I’ll let myself be used for the sake of all of your ambitions!”

“Gareth…”

“If you want to make me listen, then beat me!”

Don’t think I’ll take this all lying down.

His earthen-colored eyes glowed with a nasty, vengeful light.

Finn, who had frozen at first, broke into a smile. Having reclaimed his natural boldness, the dwarf’s first wish was a blood-boiling fight.

“I should warn you: I’m not going to hold back.”

“Damn straight! If you do, I’ll kick your ass all the way over the horizon!”

“You got this, Big Bro!!!”

“You can do it, Big Brother!” “Brother!”

“Fugo, fugo!!!”

In the blink of an eye, the sendoff ceremony turned into a fighting ring.

The fired-up dwarves pumped their fists excitedly, and Loki got in on the action, too.

Riveria felt exasperated, and Aina watched with a wry smile as Gareth and Finn grinned at each other.

Falna had nothing to do with it.

Staying true to their racing hearts, they gave the sendoff a manly highlight. Finn with his spear and Gareth with the pickax given to him by Yorger and the others. They raised their weapons and clashed.

“Now, to a hot-blooded battle!”

The long years biding his time were at an end.

Just in that moment, the dwarf embarked on a journey into a world where countless hot-blooded battles were awaiting him.

EPILOGUE

THREE UNCHANGING VOWS

Stories continued deep into the night, one person nostalgically chiming in, another’s eyes widening in surprise at parts they had not known, all of them stifling laughs at the mistakes their younger selves had made.

There was no point in feigning ignorance between the three mortals and their deity. This was the story the goddess and her followers had written together.

“Looking back on it now…Gareth was the most difficult one,” Finn said with a laugh. “Getting him to join the familia was a real struggle.”

“This dwarf was far more twisted than he seems now.” Riveria sighed.

“Those are strong words, coming from the tomboy princess,” Gareth quipped. “You were completely conned by Loki and even got Aina wrapped up in everything too, didn’t you?”

“Sh-shush. There was no helping that at the time.”

In the end, Riveria’s cheeks flushed slightly as she tried to defend herself. Perhaps because they had spent so long reminiscing, their spirits and tones of voice had slipped back toward how they had been before. Unchanging being that she was, Loki smirked playfully, watching them go over the scenes from right after they first met.

“I miss that younger Finn. You were so much cockier as well as sickeningly sweet. Always getting competitive with Riveria or Gareth over the smallest things.”

“Give me a break, Loki…” Finn grimaced and just threw in the towel right away.

With age, he was able to be more objective about his past self’s mistakes. Finn was adult enough now to be able to accept that he’d been a rascal at the time.

“We’re not gods. We’ve changed from how we were when we were still green.”

“Well now, I dunno if this fellow’s really changed at all.”

“Agreed.”

But at the same time, many things had not changed.

“Oh, you’re really going to do this to me, too?”

“’Tis the truth. That know-it-all look, your competitive streak, and your habit of talking big…they’re the same as they ever were.”

“Hey, you’re just as competitive as I am, Gareth. Don’t you remember how frustrated you were losing to me when we left Lonza?”

“What are you saying? You’re the one who lost to me!”

“Unbelievable. In the end, you are two peas in a pod—”

““Oh right, Riveria rushed in and lost,”” Finn and Gareth said in almost perfect unison.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Who would lose to you?”

Riveria sighed at their rivalry, but drawing unexpected fire, she raised her voice like a high elf princess of old. Loki guffawed while clutching her stomach as they started glaring at each other and a dangerous mood filled the air.

But it passed as soon as it came, and everyone broke into laughter again.

“…Not just because we’ve been talking about the past, but since we’re here, let’s do that.”

Wiping away the tears of laughter that had welled in his eyes, Finn stood up.

“To celebrate reaching Level Seven as well.”

Riveria and Gareth knew exactly what he meant without asking. With an awkward smile, they stood with Finn, not fighting his suggestion.

“It was not that long ago we did it, I think, though.”

“Right before our attack on the fifty-ninth floor. You suggested it, Gareth.”

“And? It was a fitting moment.”

The three of them had overcome all sorts of troubles. They had fallen out plenty of times along the way. It was a cliché, but they had experienced heaven and hell at each other’s sides, and in the process, they had forged an irreplaceable bond.

No matter what might happen in the future, their bond would never break.

With Loki looking on with a kindly smile on her face, the three of them stood in a circle.

Each sticking a hand out together in the center, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth said the same things they said that first time.

On that day, the skies were clear. They were standing atop a smallish hill overlooking their surroundings. In one direction, the blue sea extended off into the horizon, and in the other lay a field of flowers.

“I said west! I want to see Telskyura, where the Amazons’ unending battles unfold.”

“Why?! What would the likes of a dwarf do in a holy land of female warriors closed off from the world! We should go south to the ocean nation of Dizara! What’s better than seeing a scenic island country?”

“I’d like to go north to Maelstra, though. Their famed opera is apparently putting on a performance about the Phiana knights.”

““Who cares about the story of some prums?!””

“Hah? What did you say?”

West. South. No, north.

The newly formed Loki Familia was getting into a sprawling argument about where to go next. At first, it had just been Gareth and Riveria, but when Finn’s attempts to soothe things over ended with an insult to his people, his eyes flared, and he joined the fray, too.

A debate over where to head next quickly devolved into insults—high elf haughtiness, dwarven scoffing, and prum sarcasm. The argument showed no signs of dying down as Aina watched in a fluster.

“Sh-should we not stop them, Lady Loki?!”

“This feels like familia to me, and I can’t say I’m getting bored of it…but at this rate, they’ll keep going ’til the cows come home.”

Loki cheerfully smiled, watching her strong-willed followers bicker, but she could not just watch forever, so she decided to intervene.

“Finn, hold out your hand.”

“…What are you going to do, Loki?”

“Hee-hee-hee, that’s my little secret. Riveria, Gareth…y’all too!”

“…I have a terrible feeling about this.”

“Aye, me too.”

“Quit grumblin’ and just do it!”

Loki called in her patron goddess sway. Her followers were suspicious as she took their hands and then pushed them on top of each other.

“““Wh—”””

“There. Don’t pull ’em away. Y’all are about to do a ritual!”

Loki sandwiched their hands between hers, stopping them before they could pull away. Gareth and Riveria in particular glared at her reproachfully, but she just breezily continued:

“This is a vow.”

“Vow…?” Gareth asked dubiously.

“What are we vowing?” Riveria asked for clarification.

“That’s up to you to decide,” Loki flippantly answered. “Every time you do this ritual, I want you to remember why it is you’re here and why you joined this familia. What it is you all came together to do.”

“““…”””

“Whenever you get into fights, whenever you stand at a crossroads, I want y’all to remember your original spirit…Whenever something happens, just put your hands together like this and go back to the start of it all.” Then Loki smirked. “Bad as y’all get along, can you even respect each other’s vows?”

The three of them looked at a loss as their patron slipped away. They were left behind in a little circle with their hands atop each other’s.

Finally, as if giving up…

“…We should declare our ambitions and wishes,” Finn said. “Right now, there’s no chance of us holding hands in harmony, so let’s give each other a something to hold over one another—a shared vow.”

As if sensing his selfish goddess’s intent, Finn smiled wryly and looked up at the other two.

“If one of us can’t achieve their goal or falls behind, the other two can laugh and make fun of them as much as they want. With that, we can make it clear where each of us stand…What do you say?”

“Hah,” Gareth snorted. “Aye, I’ll agree to that.”

“No complaints from me,” Riveria agreed as well, confident in her future victory. “I will gladly watch both of your downfalls.”

The three of them put their hands together again.

“What about you, Aina? You going to join them?”

“I…no, I will refrain.”

Loki piped up lightheartedly, but the princess’s attendant shook her head with a smile.

“This is the starting point for Lady Riveria…no, for all three of them. I should not get in the way.”

Aina’s cheeks flushed as she smiled.

“That’s right.” Loki smiled too. “I’m gonna see just how far their stories go.”

As she watched, her followers looked at each other.

The proud and inflexible high elf. The dwarf who scorned that haughtiness. And the prum who would surely be exasperated dealing with their inevitable discord going forward.

A breeze blew past, and their hair fluttered as colorful flower petals danced in the air. They broke into smiles, all speaking at the same moment.

“To hot-blooded battles.”

“To a world as yet unseen.”

“To the restoration of my people.”

Wishes, aspirations, and ambitions that would never fade.

The three of them exchanged vows that linked their pasts to their futures.