Alfia's cool tone carried a hint of helplessness, as if recalling some headache-inducing scene.
"After that, she immediately wanted to rush into the Dungeon alone to arrest them all."
"Me… my sister's eyes lit up instantly when she heard about this!"
Alfia imitated Metria's expression at the time, her tone becoming more animated.
"'I want to catch thieves too!' she shouted then, completely fired up, and followed A Di, rushing into the Dungeon."
After speaking, she immediately returned to her expressionless demeanor.
"These two hit it off immediately; there was no stopping them."
"I… had no choice. For safety, I could only follow."
"Ais was met at the Dungeon entrance; my sister saw she was young and worried about her safety alone, so she forcibly invited her to join them."
Rod fell into a long silence after hearing this.
Good, good, good.
This thief's career was truly glorious enough.
To actually make the three strongest magic swordswomen—Gale, Sword Princess, and Silence—all come out to catch him.
To be jointly fought by such strong powerhouses, even dying would be worth the price!
Alfia didn't know what Rod was thinking and continued.
"When we came out, we ran into Amid. She saw the blood-soaked criminal next to us, probably thought he was one of our injured companions, and rushed over anxiously…"
At this point, Alfia showed a regretful expression.
"One can only say she truly is the strongest Healer; that guy was still saved…"
Riveria heard this and couldn't help but glance at Alfia, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
She asked, somewhat puzzled, "This is…"
A Di, hearing this, immediately struck a vibrant hero's entrance pose, one arm stretched straight, pointing at Alfia beside her, a radiant smile on her face.
"She's Big Sister Alfia, super amazing! Don't let what she just said mislead you; she's actually a good person!"
"You…"
Alfia's brows unconsciously furrowed, as if she wanted to refute this definition of "good person."
But when her gaze met the pure, unadulterated smile on A Di's face, all her words ultimately turned into a soft sigh and were swallowed back.
Rod noticed this scene and clicked his tongue in wonder.
At this time in the original story, Alfia, under Erebus's arrangements, was also the one who exerted the strongest pressure on everyone, virtually tormenting both Ryuu and Riveria.
It's also possible that because Chardo was held back by Ottar alone, he didn't seem to have much power.
However, in their battle, Chardo was not just going easy; he was practically letting an entire Pacific Ocean of power go.
At this point, they could by no means be called good people.
But now they had abandoned their original plans, Alfia had found her most cherished sister, and even the annoying disturbances had been eliminated.
Now, Alfia could finally re-examine this world from an ordinary person's perspective.
And A Di's pure and kind nature, almost identical to Metria's, was a sure kill for her at this moment; she simply couldn't handle it.
Rod looked at A Di, who, with Metria, was playfully teasing Alfia from left and right, making her frown deeply but helplessly, and couldn't help but say half-jokingly.
"A Di, why don't you stop staying with the Ganesha Familia? I think the Astrea Familia is the best place for you."
A Di's body stiffened abruptly at these words, and she turned her head back in surprise.
When she saw Rod's somewhat serious eyes, she didn't know what she imagined, and her pretty face instantly flushed red.
"No, no! I… I want to be with Big Sister forever!"
She waved her small hands, as if to hide her panic.
Alfia secretly glared at Metria beside her.
Silly sister, learn from her!
Metria guiltily averted her gaze.
On the other side, Ryuu, who had been listening silently, also quietly turned her head, a flicker of anticipation in her normally cool sky-blue eyes.
"A Di, don't you want to be with us? To patrol every day, punish evil and promote good, and restore justice to the city?"
Ryuu's voice was straightforward and sincere, and A Di's heart indeed wavered for a moment.
But the next second, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she pounced on Ryuu to hide her embarrassment, poking the elf's smooth, jade-like cheek with her finger.
"Even Ryuu is teasing me!"
"Ugh… Mmm! Don't, don't just hug me like that!"
Ryuu, her face flushed, symbolically pushed the girl in her arms, while nervously trying to explain something to Riveria, but the strength in her hands was as light as a feather.
"I only hug Ryuu and…" A Di paused, her peripheral vision secretly glancing at Rod, who was smiling at them, then hugged Ryuu even tighter, rubbing against her like a small animal, continuing to tease, "So, it's fine!"
"This will make Lady Riveria question my character as an elf! So it's very much *not* fine!"
Ryuu was on the verge of tears; her usual elven composure and calmness had long been thrown to the wind.
She pitifully reached out to Rod, her voice tinged with a sob and a hint of coquettishness she hadn't even realized.
"Ro-Rod, please save me~"
That soft, lingering tone, coupled with her tearful expression, was simply unfair!
This sudden display of affection from the usually cool-as-wind, clumsy elf made Rod's heart skip a beat.
But he still cruelly shook his head, refusing.
"I can't do it, just like I can't stop those two gods still fighting over there."
He pointed to Loki and Hestia, who were still sparring not far away.
"Besides… it's rare to see you in such an unusual state, so let me enjoy watching from the sidelines."
Rhode even chuckled, pulled out his phone, and snapped several photos of a blushing Ryu, the camera clicking away.
Unlike Alise, who served as a mentor, A Di was the closest friend this clumsy elf had.
Though she was more of a mischievous friend... always teasing Ryu despite knowing she was a clean freak.
"Rhode~~~~!"
Ryu, unable to bear it any longer, let out a cry of shame and anger.
The girls around them couldn't help but laugh, and even Ais's lips curved into a slight smile.
Riveria noticed the peculiar small rectangle in Rhode's hand. She elegantly tucked a rebellious strand of emerald hair behind her ear.
She leaned in slightly, her clear eyes sparkling with pure curiosity.
"What is that?"
"A magic tool that can record images."
"Oh, there's such a thing? Can I see it?"
"Sure... uh, wait! I'll show you later!"
Rhode instinctively reached out to hand over his phone, but an alarm immediately blared in his mind. With a jolt, his outstretched hand retracted with lightning speed.
He had just remembered.
Flipping up just a few photos in the album would reveal Riveria's embarrassing past!
Riveria found Rhode's actions a bit strange but didn't press him, only nodding with a touch of regret.
"Alright."
Ais silently observed their interaction, tilting her small head.
Riveria... it seems this is the first time she's spoken so intimately with a man.
And their interactions... felt very natural...
Rhode secretly breathed a sigh of relief, tossing his phone into the Kamui Space vault.
He didn't want the madam to get angry before he could win over this elf.
He watched Ryu and A Di still playing around, lost in thought.
His earlier suggestion that A Di was best suited to join the Justice Familia, though a tentative invitation, was not a lie.
Aside from her pure and dazzling sense of justice, her personality perfectly matched Alise's.
And the most direct proof was the incredible skill she currently possessed.
—Justice Patrol.
Its effect was simple, crude, and unreasonable.
Strength Resonance, always active.
All Familia members within a certain range of the discoverer would have their ability values increased!
The increased value and effect range were influenced by the user's level.
Chun Ji's Myriad Treasure Mallet, while having the absurd effect of directly increasing one level, and the subsequent Ninefold could affect nine people simultaneously, was ultimately limited by mental power.
But Justice Patrol had no cost, no limit on the number of people, and was even a permanent effect!
This was an absolute weapon in PVE team battles!
In the original timeline, after losing A Di and enduring a series of hardships, Ryu gained a skill called Justice Succession upon leveling up.
It was the exact opposite of A Di's skill.
Justice Succession could enhance the skill effects, magic power, and mental power of fellow divine blood Familia members, excluding ability values.
It could also grant all Familia members resistance to mental pollution.
According to his speculation, Ryu's skill would be a necessary factor in the original's black dragon subjugation.
Rhode stroked his chin, his eyes glinting.
If, in the future, his Familia could gather Amid, Heike, Chun Ji, A Di, and Ryu...
Putting everything else aside, just with this stack of buffs, the overall combat power of the Familia would probably more than double.
At that time, even with a group of rookies, he would dare to shout, "Who can kill me?" in Orario.
But then he felt a bit regretful.
With him here, A Di would certainly not die, so would Ryu still awaken that incredible skill?
Forget it, he would first copy A Di's skill, and when he had a troop later, he would make sure the generals exchanged for it.
The Astrea Familia girls had accumulated enough points; in about two or three days, their initial agreement would be fulfilled.
When they arrived in the One Piece World, it would be a good opportunity for them to test the skill's enhancement.
Thinking of this, Rhode issued a command to the system in his mind.
"Copy A Di's Justice Patrol and her two magic spells."
Although he had the assistance of the Sharingan, magic didn't necessarily need to be directly exchanged for.
However, A Di's two magic spells were excellent support magic, and Rhode couldn't find a suitable opportunity to copy them for now. Since they only cost a few hundred points, he decided to exchange for them all at once.
[1600 Prayer Points consumed.]
The moment the command was completed, Alfia's body trembled slightly.
She clearly felt an extremely subtle but definite enhancement in her various ability values.
Her sharp gaze immediately turned to Rhode.
Seeing him nod imperceptibly, Alfia's inner doubts instantly vanished, but she couldn't help but feel a little speechless.
This guy's ability was truly unreasonable.
He got stronger just by chatting...
A Di's two magic spells also transformed into a flood of information, pouring into Rhode's mind.
[Obsessive Gana]: A rare binding magic. It can lower the target's full ability values and has a high probability of forcing the target into a stopped state.
[Dia Komodi]: Appears to be common healing magic, but unlike others, this magic can significantly increase the target's ability values for a certain period.
Feeling the information about these two magic spells in his mind, Rhode couldn't help but want to complain.
A Di seemed like such an innocent and pure energetic girl, yet she was completely a stats-focused character.
Even her Guardian Bloodline, aside from Justice Patrol, was a skill that boosted her own ability values.
However, because this skill came with Ganesha's blessing, Rhode didn't want an extra god's blessing on him, so he didn't copy it.
He decided to go all out and copied the skills he could use from Amid, Riveria, and Ais.
A total of 4800 Prayer Points were consumed.
Two magic spells from Amid.
[Dia Frater]: High-level universal healing magic.
It possesses composite properties of healing wounds, restoring stamina, removing poisons, and dispelling curses, and can even split its effects to act on multiple people simultaneously.
[Stairway Well]: An extremely rare domain-setting magic.
Although it doesn't have an immediate effect, it can slowly restore stamina and mental power to those immersed in the spring water.
Not only that, but by allowing the target to ingest the holy water, it can directly remove potent poisons or foreign objects from their body with a holy eradication effect.
This must have been a skill she recently acquired after leveling up, and now Rhode had effectively obtained it for free.
Rhode strongly suspected that Chardo didn't even know Amid possessed this magic.
Because even if this couldn't completely eliminate Behemoth's potent venom, it would absolutely provide significant relief.
From Riveria, Rhode copied a skill called [Elven King's Chant].
Its effect was to enhance magic effects, increase attack range, and significantly boost the power of magic based on the length of the chant.
Rhode had personally experienced the effect of this skill before.
If not for magic immunity completely countering it, Chardo wouldn't have been able to withstand it if she had fully unleashed it.
The skill Rhode valued most from Ais was naturally [Revenge Princess], stemming from her desire for revenge.
It greatly enhances attack power against all monster-type enemies, and super-greatly enhances attack power against dragon-type monsters, with the enhancement effect changing based on the degree of hatred.
As for the Black Wind that would erode one's heart, it was naturally optimized away by Perfect Synchronization.
This skill would come in handy when dealing with the Dragon Emperor.
Just as Rhode completed all of this, a cool snowflake lightly drifted onto Metria's delicate nose, melting instantly.
She joyfully looked up, spread her arms, and gazed at the sky, which had become gray at some point.
"Oh... it's snowing!"
Like fairy feathers, or the whispers of gods, soft, pure white snowflakes drifted down from the sky.
Metria pouted her lips, blowing upwards, sending the snowflakes that fell before her eyes and her bangs flying up together, enjoying herself immensely.
"Rhode, look, look, it's snowing~"
Metria pulled Alfia's hand, happily twirling around like a child, her bell-like laughter echoing in the deepening twilight.
"Oh oh oh! Ryu, let's dance together too!"
"W-wait! A Di!"
A Di cheered, happily jumping beside Metria and Alfia, and without a word, grabbed the still-surprised Ryu's hand, beginning an impromptu dance.
She took the lead as the initiator, while the flustered Ryu was forced to become her dance partner.
A Di's face bloomed with the purest smile, her steps so light they seemed to fly.
This lively and peculiar scene at the entrance of Babel immediately drew the attention of adventurers returning from the Dungeon, their bodies weary.
"What's going on? What's happening over there?"
"In the middle of the street... girls suddenly started dancing?"
"It's the adventurers! They're dancing!"
Rough dwarf laborers, seemingly un-heroic human men, and beast-girl maidens with shining eyes all stopped, expressing their opinions.
Before long, the place became bustling with noise as passersby stopped, forming a large circle.
Despite the mask, Ryu's face could be seen to be beet red, almost dripping blood, due to the growing crowd.
"A-A Di! Wait! Why is it like this?!"
"A hero from long ago seemed to say this! It's written in the fairy tale 'Argo'!"