Hephaestus handed her a quarterly ledger for testing. After some simple training, Lili completed the tabulation, summary, verification, and error correction in a short time, despite this being her first encounter with formal financial work.
This girl, when Soma Familia threw her into the dungeon to be an adventurer, it was a complete waste of her talent. Her true calling was 'merchant' or 'manager'.
In Orario, where warriors were everywhere, such talent was rare.
By comparison, that so-called rare special magic wasn't as important.
The transformation magic, [Cinder Ella], might be useful in special situations. But in the daily operations of a large Familia like Hephaestus', which valued honesty and openness, such loophole-exploiting magic was not very applicable.
What truly moved Hephaestus wasn't Lili's magic, but her talent in business, along with the courage, resilience, and determination she displayed in that decisive moment when she kneeled.
"The girl who left Soma Familia, I placed her in a newly established store to train as a clerk first, to see how far she can grow," Hephaestus spoke.
"Maybe, in the future, she could make a name for herself in Orario's business world?"
Orario wasn't just a city of adventurers. There were also ordinary residents and various commercial facilities.
Lili's life had suddenly shifted from "fantasy adventure" to "workplace struggle." But her ultimate goal remained unchanged.
She would climb step by step, from clerk to branch manager to headquarters—
Until she reached a position where she was qualified to assist her 'hero'.
Hearing the goddess's description, Emiya nodded, "Soma Familia... Oh, right. That happened before."
If not for Hephaestus mentioning it, he would have nearly forgotten about Soma Familia. Actually, not only him. Even Hephaestus, and even Syr, who had instigated him to go there, hadn't paid much attention to that brief incident, which lasted only a day.
His deepest impression of Soma Familia was its captain, [Wine Guardian] Zanis Lustra, who had contributed to resolving Ryuu's internal struggle.
As for Liliruca Arde, Emiya had no memory of this Pallum girl at all, even though they had met twice:
Once, when Lili offered to be his supporter and was rejected.
And another time, when he stormed Soma Familia and knocked out a few people, including Lili.
But things like that weren't significant enough to remain in Emiya's memory.
To this day, he still didn't know what Lili even looked like. Only that she was a cute Pallum girl, as described by the goddess.
Still, Emiya found himself in a good mood, 'So back then, I unintentionally saved this girl, huh?'
'Lili... Keep working hard on your own path. I look forward to meeting you again in the future.'
He offered a simple blessing for this stranger.
Emiya: "Hephaestus-sama, please update my Status. I'd like to see how much I've grown from my training."
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Emiya Shirou]
[Lv.2]
Strength: G292
Endurance: H195
Dexterity: D530
Agility: H191
Magic: D506
[Details omitted]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
———
For a period after his status update, Emiya shifted his focus to dungeon exploration.
He continued exploring alone, but unlike before, he no longer stayed in the relatively safe upper floors. Instead, he headed directly into the middle floors.
The dungeon's [Middle Floors] started from the 12th floor onward. The Guild recommended that teams venturing into this zone should have multiple upper-class adventurers who had leveled up. Furthermore, any Level 1 adventurers in the team should have core stats at B-rank or higher to ensure safe exploration.
However, Emiya was clearly an exception to the Guild's recommendations.
With his overwhelming combat power, he could roam freely through the middle floors alone. In fact, bringing other Level 2 adventurers would only slow him down.
[[Skill: Roadless Valhalla] activated.]
[Temporarily acquiring Development Abilities: [Night Battle] I [Swordsman] H]
[Temporarily acquiring Magic: [Gokou]]
[Temporarily acquiring Skill: [Bloodline of the Killing Blade]]
The sword Emiya wielded now was the strongest he had forged so far.
Goddess Astraea had named it [Tsubame Gaeshi], also called [Kaguya's Blade].
Gojouno Kaguya, formerly one of Astraea Familia's Three Heroes, though the least prominent among them.
Compared to [Red True Flower] Alise and [Gale] Ryuu Lion, who represented Astraea Familia in different eras as leaders, [Yamato Rindou] was merely a vice-captain of a justice-aligned Familia.
Her skills and magic weren't as dazzling as the others. No explosive fire magic, no storm-and-light bombardments, just the simplest [Iai Slash].
However, after experiencing their abilities firsthand, Emiya came to a conclusion:
In a life-or-death duel, same level, sword against sword, Kaguya could easily defeat, or even kill, Ryuu or Alise.
A pitch-black blade slashed through the Minotaur's chest, leaving a deep wound.
The monster's steel-like hide was as fragile as thin paper before the swords Emiya projected. Its body was cut open with ease, and the magic stone at its heart was instantly shattered by a flash of his blade.
By Emiya's usual fighting style, he could have just used a bow to take down a Minotaur effortlessly. But he wasn't here just to explore, he was here to refine his abilities.
Just like when he was Level 1, his Dexterity and Magic grew rapidly through forging and projection practice. But his other stats lagged behind.
To raise Agility and Endurance, he could train by fighting Ryuu and focusing on dodging and defense.
To raise Strength, the best method was to hunt monsters in the dungeon.
Aside from that, Emiya was also training in Gojouno Kaguya's special magic [Gokou].
After swiftly slaying a Tiger Claw monster, Emiya surveyed the passageway ahead, filled with even more creatures. His expression grew serious.
'This isn't just my imagination. The number of monsters in the dungeon really is increasing.'
Compared to a month ago, both the spawn rate and the number of monsters appearing at once had risen. [Monster Feasts] had also become more frequent.
For Emiya, this was a good thing.
At this level, no matter how many monsters appeared, they weren't a real threat to him. Meanwhile, the increase in enemies made his training more efficient.
'However, the changes in the dungeon might be a sign of something ominous.'
That thought left a faint sense of unease.
Suppressing the ripple in his heart, Emiya projected another crimson long sword and charged toward the monsters.
———
"Did Loki suddenly gather everyone together for something important?"
"Could it be that our expedition is finally restarting?"
In Twilight Manor, the base of the Loki Familia, it was a rare occasion for the goddess Loki to call for a full assembly. Every member of the Familia was present, and even the [Sword Princess] and the [Ferocious Wolf] had to cancel their training plans for this.
"Well… it is indeed something important. Everyone, come try pulling out this spear. Ais-tan, you start~"
"Loki, what is this about?", Little Ais was confused.
"Don't ask so many questions for now, just give it a try~"
At Loki's urging, Ais could only step forward, reaching out to grasp the shaft of the silver spear.
It was a dull silver spear, its tip sealed within a crystalline cluster. Ais slowly exerted force, but even with the strength of an Lv.5 adventurer, she couldn't move the spear at all.
Little Ais switched to both hands, putting in all her strength, yet the spear remained completely motionless.
"As expected, it's not possible. Next! Bete, you're up!", Loki pointed to the next candidate.
"Huh? Why the hell do I have to do this stupid—Oof! Damn Amazon, don't push me," Bete was forcibly shoved forward by Tiona. He grabbed the spear and gave it a tug—no reaction.
"Bete doesn't work either. Next, next~ Finn, want to give it a try?", Finn had no objections, but even as the strongest spearman in the city, he couldn't pull out the spear.
"So, Loki, what exactly is this?", Finn asked.
"It's the Spear of the Goddess. The one who pulls it out will receive the blessing of the Pure Goddess and an invitation to embark on a luxurious world tour~", Loki said with a smile.
The Spear of the Goddess… Thinking that it might be a powerful weapon, Ais felt a momentary surge of excitement. But then she realized it was a spear, not a sword, and quickly lost interest.
Finn gazed at Loki's profile. A moment later, he chuckled softly, "I see. Looks like I'm not lucky enough."
"Everyone, come give it a try," At Finn's call, the adventurers of the Loki Familia stepped forward one by one to attempt pulling out the spear.
Not everyone was as skeptical as Finn about Loki's perfunctory lie. Quite a few adventurers eagerly stepped up, hoping to claim the Spear of the Goddess, receive the Pure Goddess's blessing, and embark on a world tour.
However, without exception, they all failed. Even the Lv.6 powerhouse, Gareth, couldn't budge the spear in the slightest.
The only one with a slightly different result was Riveria. When she grasped the dark silver Spear of the Goddess, it trembled ever so slightly.
'As expected, our Elven Princess could at least make it waver a little. But even Riveria can't pull it out… I originally thought she had the best chance,' Loki mused inwardly.
"Let's wait a while and have Hermes take this thing away later."
Loki studied the Spear of the Goddess and then spoke, "Riveria, come with me first."
———
"So, this spear can only be pulled out by someone with a completely pure soul?"
Inside the study, Loki revealed the truth to Riveria, not "Goddess's blessing" or "world tour," but the real deal.
"Yes. You're one of the very few who could make it move slightly. As for the one who can actually pull it out, we haven't found them yet."
"Are there others? Who are they?"
Riveria asked.
Loki replied, "The [Black and White Knights] of the Freya Familia, and [Gale]."
Riveria murmured, "All of them are Lv.5 and above elves..."
"That's right. Elves are indeed a noble race. The magic of first-tier elves seems to resonate faintly with the Pure Goddess's spear."
Loki paused, her tone becoming subtly odd, "But for some reason, Alicia doesn't qualify."
The Spear of the Goddess didn't react at all in Alicia's hands, despite her also being a first-tier elf.
Riveria: "..."
'Probably because Alicia's soul is already completely impure.'
Riveria inquired, "If no one can pull out the Spear of the Goddess, will there be any serious consequences?"
"Yes, very serious."
Loki continued, "Serious enough that we now need to cooperate with Freya, that troublesome goddess."
Riveria asked, "Is there anyone in the city who can pull out that spear?"
"That's the biggest problem right now. I'm not great at soul divination, but a professional has already given their answer—", Loki sighed.
"No one. Not a single person... In this entire labyrinth city, not a single soul is pure enough to pull out Artemis's Spear."
———
At dusk, Emiya returned to the pub. With Haruhime's assistance, he changed into attire suited for the festival. Stepping out of his room, he descended the stairs to the first floor of the pub.
"Shirou, that outfit looks really good on you," Seeing the boy appear before her, Syr's eyes lit up.
Emiya responded with a smile, "Is that so? Haruhime picked it out for me."
"Mm… Master looks very handsome in this outfit," Behind Emiya, the fox-eared girl blushed slightly, lowering her head as she murmured softly.
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