Chapter 17: Becoming a God in a Single Day
Shirou brought the Pallum girl back to the room he was temporarily using within the [Loki Familia] estate.
"Kami-sama... what should I do?"
Even though he was a deity, he was still a man, after all. Sharing a room with Shirou made Lili's heart beat somewhat faster.
Lili raised her face, wanting to speak several times, but quickly lowered it again each time.
As if not knowing what to say, she remained silent throughout.
At that moment, Shirou spoke up, as if confirming her resolve.
"Lili, you heard what I said to Ais earlier, didn't you? You understand what kind of preparations you need to make if you come with me, right?"
Hearing those words, Lili nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
"Kami-sama is the first person who has ever been this good to Lili. If it weren't for Kami-sama, Lili would have already died in the dungeon."
The Pallum girl's eyes brimmed with absolute reliance and trust.
"Lili also hopes to stay together with Kami-sama forever!"
"Is that so."
Shirou smiled and stroked the girl's chestnut hair, then reached toward the cloak she was wearing.
"W-Wait a minute!"
Lili's face instantly turned bright red as she tightly grabbed her clothes with both hands.
"Lili has the [Soma Familia]'s Falna seal on her. If we don't get rid of that, won't I be unable to switch familias right away?"
"Indeed. If you have a Falna seal, it should be impossible to receive another god's Falna without the assistance of your original familia's deity."
Shirou nodded. Then, seeing Lili look somewhat dejected, a smile returned to his face.
"However, I am not a deity of this world. Besides, compared to divine power, the gods of this planet are nothing more than dust in my eyes. Altering a Falna or anything of the sort is a very simple matter for me."
With those words, Shirou pressed his hand against Lili's back.
"Lili, you want to start a brand-new life, don't you?"
Hearing this, Lili's eyes flickered with a faint glimmer, and she replied in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.
"Mm... If it's possible, I'll leave it in your hands..."
If it weren't for this god, the Lili of today would likely already be dead.
Therefore, Lili's current life belonged entirely to this Kami-sama.
"Don't move, it might hurt a little. Just bear with it for a moment."
After removing the original Falna seal from Lili's back, Shirou said somewhat uncertainly.
The next moment, the sound of a girl's cry of pain echoed inside the room.
Fortunately, Shirou had cast soundproofing magic in the room beforehand, so the noise neither leaked out nor could be heard from the outside.
Once Shirou finished clearing away her original Falna, Lili put her clothes back on with trembling hands.
Traces of tears still lingered at the corners of her eyes, and her reddened eye rims and wronged expression made her look as though she had just been bullied.
"Um, Kami-sama... aren't you going to carve the Falna onto me?"
"The way I grant you a 'Falna' is a bit different from other gods," Shirou said, pointing to his lips. "Word of Sovereign... in other words, my 'Falna' is passed down right here."
"Eh...?"
Lili's cheeks instantly flushed crimson, and her eyes, widened in shyness and astonishment, misted over.
"To think... to think it's like this..."
Lili nervously clutched her somewhat tattered clothes, then, as if making up her mind, she raised her face, enduring her shyness, and closed her eyes.
"Then please go ahead, Kami-sama..."
Seeing the girl nervously lifting her head at that moment, Shirou lowered his head as well.
"Wu..."
Suddenly, golden light began to radiate from Lili's body. The sensation of surging divine power pouring into her frame made Lili feel as though her entire body was burning.
Divine power is an extremely violent force; if not for the protection of the Word of Sovereign, a girl's body would find it difficult to endure.
Because of that protection, however, Lili was now able to clearly feel divine power filling her body while feeling absolutely no pain at all.
The girl's snow-white, flawless skin emitted a faint flush under the sunlight streaming through the window, and the hands that had been unconsciously clutching Shirou's clothes out of nervousness gradually relaxed due to that increasingly comforting sensation.
When it was over, as Shirou raised his head, Lili's eyes—aside from deep-seated reliance—were filled to the brim with the tender, blooming affection of a girl experiencing love for the very first time.
"Just now... that was my first kiss, Kami-sama..." the girl said with a slightly reddened face.
"Is that so? I was just thinking it had a rather sweet taste to it."
Shirou said with a smile.
Lili bashfully covered her face with her hands.
"Wu... Kami-sama, please don't tease me..."
Seeing the girl's overwhelming shyness, Shirou didn't dwell on the topic any further, instead shifting the question.
"By the way, Lili, you probably don't have a place to stay right now, do you?"
Hearing this inquiry, the girl wore a somewhat embarrassed smile.
"Mm... It's not like it's just a day or two's problem, but I've always bounced around from one cheap inn to another."
"I see..."
Shirou nodded, then said.
"For now, let's just stay here. I'll go scout out a better place later, and we can move then."
Lili smiled upon hearing this.
"As long as I'm with Kami-sama, it doesn't matter where we live!"
Shirou stroked the girl's hair.
"No matter what, I would never let my familia member live a poor life."
"Kami-sama..."
Lili's eyes carried a hint of being deeply moved.
Immediately afterward, she looked toward her huge backpack.
That backpack was something Shirou had brought back along the way; since it was Lili's property, he hadn't thrown it away.
"Lili will work hard for the familia too!"
Inside that large backpack were numerous magic stones. To be able to carry such a heavy pack with Lili's tiny frame—from that perspective alone, she was quite admirable.
"Alright, I understand. Even though there are only the two of us in the familia right now, I'll make it grow and expand very soon."
Shirou nodded and said.
As for money, Shirou had no shortage of it whatsoever.
Even if he casually took out a Grade-B Noble Phantasm and sold it, it would be enough for him to make a massive fortune.
Still, he shouldn't pull out overly high-grade Phantasms right off the bat. If he did, not only would it completely disrupt the market, but as for Hephaestus, Shirou also wanted to go pay a visit to her side.
For Shirou, who had once acquired the authority of Hephaestus—the male version of the 'God of Fire and Blacksmithing' identical to her own—he had some preconceived notions about this female version of Hephaestus, but he still wanted to meet the person herself and see her in the flesh.
"Mm... With your current strength, Lili, even a Level 10 won't be your match."
Hearing Shirou's words, Lili widened her eyes in astonishment.
"Eh! Is Lili really that strong!?"
Lili had heard before that anyone who managed to reach Level 10 would become a god.
Although it didn't specify what level of deity, to Lili at the time, gods were already impossibly distant beings, and she had no way of knowing that there were differences in strength among the gods themselves.
Even though she could feel that her current power was immense, she still had a hard time gauging the extent of her own strength. Originally, she would have thought reaching Level 4 was already incredible, yet it had actually surpassed the level of her comprehension entirely.
Could this be considered becoming a god in a single day?
If those people who used to look down on Lili were to find out, she wondered what kind of expressions they would make.
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