Chapter 22 - Meeting Loki -2
Finally, Loki groaned, slowly sat up, and looked around with hazy eyes.
"Hmm? What happened? Riveria? When did you come back? Eh? And you, kid, who are you?"
The high elf finally reacted, quickly covering her mouth and coughing lightly to hide her embarrassment. "Um, Loki, this is the gentleman I told you about a few days ago who saved Ais in the Dungeon."
But after hearing this, Loki looked at Noah hesitantly, though Noah couldn't actually see her eyes. "Are you kidding me, Riveria? This kid doesn't have the aura of a Falna at all!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the room fell silent. In the silent air, Ais stopped stroking her hair. She looked at Loki, then at Noah, her small face full of disbelief.
Even Riveria's eyes contracted, and her lips trembled. She looked Noah up and down as if seeing him for the first time, then stared at Loki with a serious face.
"Hey! Loki! Are you sure? Don't be ridiculous!" As she spoke, Riveria found that her voice was trembling. No, her whole brain was trembling.
A person who had never received a Falna was able to rescue Ais from an enhanced Wyvern whose potential was estimated to be at least Level 3. And Loki didn't even know that Noah had just fought the Level 5 Arachnia and had the upper hand...
For a moment, Riveria couldn't help but recall the fear she felt when Orario was dominated by the two monster Familias, Hera and Zeus.
At the Guild meeting that year, the captains were all arguing, and she, still just a little girl ..in elven years, was holding her staff, standing by like a minion, not daring to say a word.
Loki, who had been a little confused, was now wide awake and understood what she had said. She jumped up and stood directly in front of Noah.
Her eyes, which had been narrowed into slits, finally opened, and her brown eyes looked at him with an irresistible majesty.
"...I can't be wrong. Although this kid's aura is a bit scary, he definitely doesn't have the Falna of other gods. It's not that the Falna has been sealed or released, but that he has never received it in the first place!"
Although the gods arcanum was sealed after they descended to the lower world, they still retained many abilities based on their respective domains.
For example, the goddess of beauty, Freya, could still exert a certain degree of "charm." More importantly, she had eyes that could see the depth of souls, allowing her to recruit adventurers with excellent potential, starting her out ahead of most other Familias.
Another example was Hephaestus, the goddess of forging. With her forging skills at a divine level, even a little guidance from her allowed her smiths to almost monopolize the manufacture of top-tier weapons.
Although Loki, the goddess of trickery, didn't have such powerful abilities, it was still easy for her to see whether an adventurer had a Falna or the aura of other gods. Because of this, Loki's usually frivolous look became solemn.
"So, boy, am I wrong? What brings you to our Familia? You can speak freely."
Noah, who had been stared at silently by all three, breathed a sigh of relief. He had been silent because he knew it was useless for him to speak.
"Goddess Loki, you are right."
Under the complex and solemn gazes of Riveria and Ais, who didn't know whether they wanted him to confirm or deny it, the silver-haired boy finally nodded. "I have never accepted the Falna of the gods. I have come here to join your Familia."
While Riveria and Ais's expressions became somewhat indescribable, Loki remained calm and just touched her chin.
"Logically speaking, we should be happy to have someone as outstanding as you, someone who even makes us wonder if he's the descendant of an ancient hero Joins our Familia. But I have to ask, what's the reason?"
"Heroes" referred to the countless mortals who fought against the monster hordes before the gods came. Even without the Falna of the gods, they still destroyed countless monsters, reclaimed the land from a world of darkness, pushed the monsters back into the Dungeon, and created a legacy that made even the gods admire them.
Even with the help of gods and spirits, their will and courage to transcend limits could not be denied. It can be said that the heroes of ancient times were themselves the embodiment of "miracles."
Noah felt a little complicated hearing Loki compare him to an ancient hero. Putting those thoughts aside, Noah looked at Loki, his expression unchanged. "I'm from outside Orario. There's not much else I can say. The only thing I can guarantee is that I have no ill will towards Orario or the Loki Familia, and I sincerely want to join."
Seeing Loki nod slowly, Riveria put aside the last bit of doubt in her heart. Again, an enemy who could hide the truth from the gods wasn't one she needed to worry about.
As for the fact that Noah did not make his identity clear, Riveria didn't think it was a big deal. In Orario, almost everyone had their own secrets and past.
"Well, fine, I accept this answer, outsider. We're friends now. First of all, thank you for saving our wayward little girl." Loki made a face at the pouting Ais, and her expression when looking at Noah changed from one of suspicion to one of intense interest, like she had just found a new and exciting toy.
But that expression looked a little...
"So, are you sure you want to join our Familia? Although I hate to admit it, Freya's Familia is probably stronger than ours."
Noah accepted the title of outsider.
After all, this was a foreign world.
"Yes, I want to join the Loki Familia. As for why I didn't choose the Freya Familia, firstly, I don't like their cutthroat atmosphere, and secondly, just because a Familia was the strongest before doesn't mean they will be the strongest in the future."
Noah stared at Loki.
"If I join, then the strongest Familia will be the Loki Familia, right?"
After a long moment of silent staring, Loki suddenly smiled.
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