"Hmm hmm~ hmm hmm~"
Strolling down the street with an extra spring in her step, Loki was in exceptionally high spirits. Even though she was a goddess, her strikingly masculine appearance made her cheerful bouncing look rather comical.
"Loki, are you really that thrilled about Alice joining us?"
Watching Loki's behavior, Tione couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.
For a familia, their patron god was their public face. Having a capable and reliable deity was a point of pride any member could boast about.
But alas, while Loki was generally dependable in most matters, her reputation took a nosedive when it came to pretty girls.
The grand bathhouse of the Loki Familia and the one in Babel were Loki's favorite spots. She frequented their own bathhouse because the girls of her familia often went there, and she visited Babel's bathhouse because other goddesses would bring their children there.
Out on the streets, Loki might exercise some self-restraint, but once in the baths, she truly let her nature run wild. Whether it was goddesses or adventurers, many had fallen victim to Loki's wandering hands.
As a result, when members of the Loki Familia like Tione encountered deities from other Familias who complained about Loki harassing their children, they had absolutely no grounds for rebuttal.
Despite being one of the most powerful familias in Orario, they often found themselves apologizing with awkward smiles even to weaker Familias. It was utterly humiliating.
As high-ranking members of the Loki Familia, Tione and the others had lectured Loki time and again, but it was all in vain. After all, as a deity who had lived for hundreds of millions of years, if a few days and nights of scolding from her children could make her abandon her passions, she wouldn't be a god at all.
"Tione~! Alice-chan is going to join the Loki Familia! Aren't you happy?" Loki didn't directly answer Tione's question, though her behavior made her feelings abundantly clear.
That said, Alice would inevitably bring new challenges to the Familia.
Alice was special—unquestionably so. Her presence was sure to stir up waves within the Loki Familia, both good and bad.
For high-ranking adventurers like Finn, Alice would be a cause for celebration. But for the lower-ranking members, it might not be such welcome news.
For starters, Alice hadn't received a Falna yet, so even after obtaining one, she would still be a Level 1 adventurer. However, her rate of leveling up would be nothing like an ordinary adventurer's—it would be incredibly fast.
Currently, the fastest record in Orario for rising from Level 1 to Level 2 was held by Ais, who achieved it in one year. Alice would undoubtedly be even faster.
She would likely reach Level 3 and Level 4 in rapid succession as well.
To others, such speed would seem abnormal—the kind of anomaly that would make every adventurer suspicious.
Other Familias weren't much of a concern, but Loki was worried about how her own children would react when faced with such a hopeless gap in talent.
A disparity that vast could easily crush someone's spirit.
That said, given Alice's looks, she probably wouldn't face much jealousy within the familia.
After all, every child in the familia had been personally approved by Loki herself. She had engraved each of their Falna, so she knew every one of them well.
Loki's question didn't really affect Tione one way or another.
She and Alice were already somewhat friends, so she was genuinely happy about Alice joining the Loki Familia.
"I'm pleased. I'm sure Lefiya feels the same. As fellow elves, Riveria wouldn't dislike Alice either. As for Finn and Ais, they've been really curious about the dolls me and Lefiya have."
"Gareth goes without saying—he's a big softie. Bete might have a nasty personality, but even he wouldn't say anything mean to Alice."
"So yeah, having Alice join us is definitely a good thing."
Tione spoke calmly.
"Is that so? Good, good~!" Loki nodded contentedly at Tione's response.
Even before officially joining, Alice had already won over the top executives of the Loki Familia. With that kind of support, the impact of her talents shouldn't be too severe.
After all, having such a prodigy as one of their own was something anyone would take pride in.
"Let's head back, let's head back~! I can't wait to share the good news with Ais and the others. Since Alice needs to pack up her shop, Tione, why don't you bring everyone along tomorrow to help her out?"
Loki led the way, practically floating with joy.
Tione could only follow behind her, sighing in resignation.
Loki had left, and Hephaestus had too.
Now that she'd decided to join the Loki Familia, Alice wasn't going to cling to her shop forever. Selling dolls had just been a way to make money, after all.
Once she joined the Loki Familia, she could earn her keep by diving into the Dungeon.
The profits from doll sales simply couldn't compare to what you could earn from expeditions and monster hunting.
According to Tione, her sister Tiona's weapon had cost millions of valis, plus a variety of rare ores obtained in the Dungeon, to forge.
And that wasn't even mentioning Ais's Desperate or Riveria's staff.
Each of those was a masterpiece weapon, costing hundreds of millions to create.
So even though Hephaestus was willing to trade equipment worth millions for Alice's dolls, those inflated prices were really just the result of hype.
Aside from Shanghai and Hourai, the dolls by Alice's side, even the Ais and Finn dolls sold to Tione and Lefiya weren't actually worth that much.
Not to mention, the materials used to make the dolls were actually very cheap.
Alice wanted to create stronger dolls—to bring to life all the different dolls in her imagination.
To do that, she needed better materials.
And the better the materials, the harder they were to obtain.
So joining the Loki Familia was actually a pretty good choice.
It's just...
'I'm going to miss this little room of mine.'
'I wonder if there's some kind of magic that could store my cottage away...'
Alice fell into deep thought, searching her mind for spatial magic.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.