To get Ayanokōji his blessing, Lioro took him and travelled back to Danmachi.
When they appeared unannounced in Hestia's familiar room, she nearly dropped the book she was reading.
Lioro didn't waste any time. He simply pointed at Ayanokōji and said in a flat tone,
"New member. Give blessing."
Seeing this scene play out yet again, Hestia's mouth twitched violently.
Why did it feel like he only ever saw her as a convenient blessing-granting tool?
Suppressing the urge to grab the nearest cushion and beat him over the head with it, she turned her gaze to Ayanokōji.
A blank expression greeted her. His face was utterly devoid of any feeling, eerily similar to another certain person she knew who was cursed with chronic facial paralysis.
Sighing in resignation, she decided she would save her complaints for later. She still trusted Lioro's judgment enough not to ask any questions and simply granted Ayanokōji her blessing.
Inside Hestia's room, Lioro immediately crouched beside the boy to check the status paper with curiosity.
----
[Status]
Level- 1
Name- Kiyotaka Ayanokōji.
Age- 16.
Race- Human.
Basic stats:-
Strength- I(0)
Endurance- I(0)
Dexterity- I(0)
Agility- I(0)
Magic- I(0)
Skills:-
-- Artificial Genius(S)
-- Analytical Mind (A)
-- Emotionless Demeanor (A)
Development Abilities:-
-- Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery
-- Physical Control
-- Battle Calm
-- Pain Suppression
----
Artificial Genius (S):- Result of intense and systematic training since early childhood. Grants extraordinary intelligence, strategic thinking, perfect memory, and accelerated learning in any subject or skill.
----
Analytical Mind (A):- Constantly analyzes surroundings, opponent behavior, and future possibilities with near-perfect accuracy. Increases effectiveness in planning, predicting enemy moves, and exploiting weaknesses.
----
Emotionless Demeanor (A):- Enables total control over emotions, grants high resistance to all mind-based negative effects.
----
It was honestly pretty impressive. Except for one thing—he didn't have any growth-type skill, which meant his stats would crawl up at a snail's pace compared to everyone else. Not unexpected, but still a bit of a letdown.
After making sure he had memorized every detail, Lioro folded the paper, grabbed Ayanokōji's arm again, and vanished under Hestia's speechless stare.
"Just what kind of behavior is this?! He comes and goes whenever he likes!" she shouted, but there was no one left to hear it.
----
Overlord World—E-Rantel.
Space shimmered before they reappeared inside Lioro's residence.
He led Ayanokōji down a dim corridor, their footsteps echoing softly. A maid appeared from a side passage—Rowena. She blinked, slightly startled by the sudden arrival but quickly bowed.
"Master Wizard," she greeted respectfully.
"Rowena, we'll be using the guest room. Don't let anyone disturb us."
"Yes, Master Wizard…" Her eyes flicked curiously over Ayanokōji's unfamiliar clothes and composed expression.
Inside the guest room, Lioro pulled out a sturdy chair and sat across from him.
"This is currently the only store of my burger empire. You're responsible for expanding it from now on. If you need anything, just tell me."
He said it all in the same blunt tone as if discussing something as mundane as grocery shopping.
Since Ayanokōji didn't have an increased growth skill, raising his stats would be painfully slow. His intelligence, however, was ideal for managing operations in this world. And above all, someone had to make sure the burger dream came true.
Ayanokōji studied the medieval furnishings and the neat shelves lined with scrolls and crystal bottles.
"I need a world map," he finally said.
Without hesitation, Lioro reached into his inventory and handed him a folded map.
"Here."
Ayanokōji took it and opened it across his knees.
"Tell me about the supernatural powers here."
"You mean magic?"
"The thing you used to summon the skeleton and your method of traveling between worlds."
"Summoning a skeleton is a magic spell. As for world travel, that's a unique skill of mine. You can't use it."
"Magic spell. Skill," Ayanokōji repeated in his usual monotone.
"Magic here is divided into tiers—tier 0 to tier 10—and beyond that is superior-tier magic…"
Lioro launched into an exhaustive explanation, describing tier magic, martial arts, races, and the entire system of this world, including the fact that a terrifying skeletal monster would likely appear within the year, bringing his demon servants and his habit of collecting people for farming experiments.
Hours passed as he talked, yet Ayanokōji didn't interrupt once, absorbing everything with the same calm look.
When he finished, there was a moment of silence.
"I want to learn magic," Ayanokōji said.
"Impossible."
"Why?"
"Your body doesn't conduct mana."
He activated his Six Eyes, checking carefully. There was nothing—no mana flow, not even the faintest trace of compatibility.
Unlike humans from Overlord, humans from a world like his simply didn't have the right genetics.
Ayanokōji considered this with no change in his expression.
"Then what about martial arts?"
"That should work?"
Lioro nodded and reached into his inventory again, pulling out a pile of scrolls wrapped in leather.
"These are different-tier scrolls I made—tier 5 major recovery, tier 9 undead summon, tier 7 skeletal dragon…"
He laid them out on the table.
"You don't need mana to use them. Just tear one, and the spell activates."
"With these, there shouldn't be many people able to threaten you."
"I will need money," Ayanokōji said.
"Not a problem."
He produced a plain silver ring, concentrated for a few seconds, and imbued it with storage magic, creating a small pocket dimension.
After transferring the scrolls and several pouches of gold into it, he passed the ring across the table.
"You can also make use of the dwarves in the city. Compared to the local humans, all of them are high-level."
Ayanokōji turned the ring in his fingers, studying it without any visible interest.
"Anything else?" Lioro asked.
"It will be enough for now."
Lioro nodded. After briefly informing his relatives that the guest was not to be disturbed, he teleported away.
----
Re-Estize Kingdom.
Space flickered as Lioro appeared in an empty alley. Producing a long black arrow, he infused it with an effect to track its target.
He activated Perfect Unknowable and followed as the arrow slowly turned, guiding him to an old inn.
Inside, the Blue Rose party was seated around a table, enjoying a late lunch.
Without warning, Lioro walked up behind Lakyus and placed a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened, eyes widening in shock.
Before anyone could react, the space around them warped and vanished.
"What the hell?!"
"Lakyus!"
"Teleportation! Someone took her!"
----
In a clearing outside the city, Lakyus stumbled back and stared at him with a mixture of fear and confusion.
"Show me your resurrection magic," Lioro said simply.
"Huh? W-Wait, who are you?!"
She took another step back, wishing she'd brought her gear.
"Just use the spell. I'll send you back when you're done."
"What…?"
She stared, searching his face for any hint of motive. He looked almost bored. Worse, he was annoyingly handsome in a cold, distant way.
'Focus, Lakyus. He's dangerous…'
Seeing her hesitate, Lioro calmly raised a hand. Hollow Purple began swirling above his palm, distorting the air with violent mana.
Lakyus's eyes almost fell out of their sockets.
"Are you ready now?"
"…y-yes…"
"Then go ahead."
She lifted a shaking hand.
"5th tier magic: Raise Dead."
A green glow formed around her palm and hovered in the air for a moment before flickering out.
[Tier 5 spell 'Raise Dead' detected… Genius class has taken effect… Would you like to learn this spell by spending 1 skill point?]
'Yes.'
Knowledge flowed instantly into his mind, filling in every nuance of the spell.
"Um…can you let me go now?" she asked in a small voice.
Without answering, he touched her shoulder again.
They reappeared in the inn.
Before she could speak, two daggers slashed at his neck from opposite sides.
Tia and Tina struck simultaneously, aiming to kill.
Their blades froze in place an inch from his skin.
"What?!"
They strained to push forward, but the weapons refused to move.
"Lakyus is back!" Gagaran shouted, raising her massive hammer.
Evileye threw out her hand.
"4th tier magic: Shard Buckshot."
Crystals streaked through the air—only to stop dead, suspended around his body. He calmly glanced at them and absorbed the spell knowledge.
Then he let go of Lakyus and took a single step forward.
He vanished, reappearing in front of Evileye with one hand closing around her throat before she could react.
"Teleportation!" she shrieked, casting a high-tier escape spell.
She appeared behind Gagaran, coughing.
Tia and Tina closed in again.
Civilians screamed and bolted from the inn.
"Evileye! Gagaran! Everyone stop!"
Lakyus's shout rang out, startling them all.
"Lakyus, are you alright? Did this bastard hurt you?!" Gagaran demanded.
"He didn't do anything! Put your weapons down!"
They looked from her to Lioro and, slowly, lowered their weapons, though none relaxed.
"You're not going to attack? That saves time," he said calmly.
He glanced at his hand. He'd held back so as to avoid breaking her neck.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Evileye rasped.
"I'm interested in your magic. Show me everything you know."
"Hah! As if we—"
Evileye's voice caught in her throat as Hollow Purple flared again, casting a deep purple glow across the inn.
"…I'll show you. Just don't hurt my friends and let them go…"
"Evileye!"
"We won't leave you!"
Lioro gave them a weird look.
"I'm not here to kill you. I just want to see your spells."
Some time later, he sat with the entire Blue Rose party, calmly watching as Evileye demonstrated her magic