Loki, the red-haired goddess, stared at Emiya without speaking.
She neither agreed nor refused. The light in her eyes grew sharper, brighter, pressing down on him without any visible force.
She wasn't intentionally exerting pressure, yet Emiya felt as if her gaze pierced straight through his heart. It was sharp enough that he almost couldn't endure it.
Then, suddenly, Loki broke into a wide grin.
She stepped forward, patted Emiya on the shoulder, and said, "Deal. From now on, you're my child."
Of course, "child" referred to a member of her Familia. To most gods, their Familia members were treated as their own children.
Riveria smiled gently. "Welcome to the Loki Familia, Emiya."
Emiya was momentarily dazed by her smile.
It was simply too beautiful.
Compared to Riveria, even those celebrities praised on television as once-in-three-thousand-year beauties looked like country girls.
As a member of the royal Elf lineage, Riveria possessed a beauty comparable to that of a goddess herself, one that drew envy wherever she went.
Seeing Emiya's reaction, Loki's smile slowly turned mischievous.
"I see, I see. So you like Riveria's type, huh, Emiya boy. Too bad she's an Elf. Elves can't have relationships with humans, so you should give up early."
Loki's teasing snapped Emiya out of it.
"I was just admiring beauty," he said calmly. "It's not as dirty as you're imagining, Lady Loki."
"Is that so?" Loki replied, clearly unconvinced.
Riveria knew Loki well enough to know she was just stirring trouble. She didn't argue and instead shifted the topic.
"Since Loki has agreed, we should bestow the Grace first. I'll step outside."
With that, she turned and left the room.
A god's Grace was not something meant to be seen by anyone other than the god and the recipient.
Everyone had their own trump cards. If someone else saw your Grace, they could learn all of your secrets.
Riveria's departure was simply discretion.
Loki clicked her tongue but didn't stop her. She pointed at the sofa.
"Lie down. Take off your shirt."
Emiya nodded and complied.
He knew exactly what a god's Grace was. The DanMachi setting had explained it clearly.
Also known as Ability Scores, it was a blessing that allowed the gods to enhance a person's abilities based on the "experience points" they accumulated from various actions and events, allowing hidden potential to surface.
To the people of the lower world, a god's Grace was essentially a growth accelerator.
They still had to gain experience through real actions-such as fighting monsters-to alter the structure of their ability scores and strengthen themselves.
In other words, the blessing was a seed.
Once planted, it allowed the people of the lower world to grow.
Put simply, once you received a god's Grace, you could level up by fighting monsters.
This growth was visible.
Your daily progress could be directly read through your ability scores.
Ability scores were divided into multiple categories.
As Loki bestowed her Grace upon Emiya, divine text appeared on his back.
These were the characters used by the gods, like engraved inscriptions. Their combination formed the "Grace" granted to their children.
When Loki saw Emiya's Grace, her eyes widened.
She sucked in a sharp breath, genuinely shocked.
"I knew you were special," she said slowly, "but I didn't expect you to be this special. I really hit the jackpot this time."
Hearing that, Emiya asked, "It seems you already know my origin, Lady Loki. May I see my ability scores?"
"Of course."
Loki imprinted the information and handed it to him.
Emiya stood up, put his shirt back on, took the sheet, and began reading.
Emiya
Lv. 1
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
Magic: None
Skills:
[Traverse]: Allows free entry and exit between different worlds.
[Language Comprehension]: No language can hinder communication. Enables understanding of all intelligent beings.
[Telekinesis]: An invisible force with terrifying destructive potential. Its effect depends on the user's application.
Emiya nodded.
It was exactly what he expected.
After receiving Loki's Grace, his three supernatural abilities had manifested as skills.
After all, there was no concept of "superpowers" in this world.
As for why all of his basic stats were at zero, the reason was simple.
He had just received the Grace.
Naturally, everything started at zero.
With dungeon training, those values would rise quickly.
According to the DanMachi system, each basic ability ranged from 0 to 999, represented by letter ranks.
I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A, S.
Ten ranks in total.
0 to 99 was I. Once you passed 99 and reached 100, you entered H.
By that logic, 800 to 899 was A, and 900 to 999 was S.
Under normal circumstances, 999 was the upper limit.
But that limit wasn't absolute.
For example, Bell, the protagonist of this world, had once broken through it.
Emiya wasn't sure if anyone else had ever done the same.
Probably not.
After all, Bell was the protagonist. Expecting a non-protagonist to break that limit was unrealistic.
"Emiya boy," Loki said seriously, "I've locked your Grace. Don't show it to anyone besides me. Understand?"
"If others learn about your abilities, all of Orario will be turned upside down."
She warned him carefully.
"Most gods would try to snatch you away. Even my Familia might not be able to protect you."
Loki understood this better than anyone.
If the other gods found out what kind of child she had obtained, they would do anything to take him.
After all, why had the gods descended to the lower world in the first place?
Because the heavens were far too boring.