Similar Eyes

Riezel had one trait that was somewhat similar to Ais.

It was the faint, translucent gleam hidden within his eyes.

Even though Riezel's eyes were pure black, completely unlike Ais's dazzling gold, and no outsider would be able to see any similarity, if a third person saw them looking at each other like this, they would be surprised to discover that their eyes were remarkably alike.

Both held a faintly translucent gleam.

Both were somewhat detached.

And both carried a resolve that outsiders found difficult to notice.

As the people involved, Riezel and Ais both froze the instant their eyes met.

They had discovered that the other's gaze resembled their own. For a moment, they felt as though they were seeing another version of themselves, seeing their own eyes reflected in a mirror.

That strange sense of familiarity made them continue staring at each other, as if they had forgotten the people around them and forgotten to look away. Neither spoke for a long while.

In the end, Riezel was the first to break free from that peculiar state. Under Ais's gaze, he nodded to her in greeting before turning around and joining the Familia members who had remained at headquarters, helping carry the spoils brought back by the expedition party.

Ais watched Riezel, her translucent golden eyes flickering slightly.

"Miss Ais?"

A voice suddenly snapped Ais out of it.

It belonged to an elf girl standing behind Ais. Rather than a companion, she seemed more like a follower.

The elf girl had long camellia-brown hair tied into a ponytail that hung down her back. Leaf-shaped pointed ears emerged from the locks of hair at either side of her face. She looked younger than Ais, yet already possessed a beauty worthy of being called breathtaking.

"Lefiya."

Ais instinctively called out the elf girl's name as she came back to herself.

"Yes." The elf girl nodded repeatedly, then asked with a mixture of confusion and timidity, "What were you looking at?"

"I..." Ais had just begun to answer when another girl pounced onto her back and interrupted her.

"I saw it!"

That energetic voice belonged to Tiona, an Amazon girl who was the same age as Ais, a First Class Adventurer of Lv.5, and one of the Loki Familia's executives alongside Ais.

"Ais was looking at little brother just now! Hehe!" Tiona teased her first, then looked toward Riezel with confusion. "Who is that guy? I don't think I've seen him before."

"Idiot." Tione seemed to have been drawn over by the conversation as well. With her arms folded, she glanced at the busy Riezel and said without much interest, "Since he's someone we haven't seen before, then either he's a newcomer who just joined, or he isn't part of our Familia at all."

"B-but he's helping carry things." Lefiya clutched a staff and could not help glancing at Riezel several times. She said softly, "Since he's helping out and he's inside our base, he must be a newcomer, right?"

"I see!" Tiona looked enlightened. "A newcomer, and a boy too. Loki hasn't recruited a male newcomer into the Familia in who knows how long."

"Have you forgotten what Loki's like? She likes cute and pretty girls the most, okay?" Tione curled her lip. "Still, Ais, it's rare for you to pay attention to a new member—especially a male one."

Lefiya immediately nodded vigorously. For some reason, her gaze fixed on Riezel with a hint of ferocity.

Ais did not notice this. She merely remained silent under everyone's nonstop verbal barrage, her eyes following Riezel's back as though she were lost in thought.

That sight made the Amazon twins exchange glances.

"This is really the first time I've seen Ais like this." Tione sounded both surprised and amused. "Could it be that our Puppet Princess has finally reached that age?"

"If everyone found out, it would definitely be fun, right?" Tiona said innocently. "Especially Loki and Bete. Hehe."

Tiona's voice successfully caught the attention of someone who cared.

"Hey, idiot Amazon, what are you making up about me this time?"

The Werewolf Youth, Bete, glared at Tiona.

"Bleh!" Tiona stuck out her tongue at Bete. "I'm not telling you. You can stew over it yourself, hmph!"

"This idiot Amazon." Bete's face immediately darkened with displeasure.

Just as the two were about to start arguing, Gareth, the Dwarf warrior, broke away from Finn and Loki's conversation and shouted at everyone.

"Stop playing around and get inside to wash up and sleep! There are people waiting in line to use the baths behind you!"

The rebuke from one of the Familia's leaders finally quieted everyone down. They hurried into the tower to clean themselves up and rest.

Only Ais remained where she was, prompting Riveria to slowly approach her.

"What is it, Ais?"

The elf royalty still spoke with dignity, but the way she looked at Ais was gentler than the way she looked at anyone else. It was not like she was looking at a younger member of the Familia, but more like her own daughter.

".It's nothing."

Ais did not choose to reveal what was in her heart, nor did she look at the busy Riezel again. After giving a brief reply, she turned and left.

Riveria watched Ais's retreating figure, a trace of tenderness appearing in her eyes before she shifted her gaze to Riezel.

"A newcomer...?"

Riveria fell into thought.

No one knew that the chief goddess who had been watching with interest had seen everything that had happened here.

"They noticed that boy's existence so quickly?"

Loki observed without changing her expression, but she felt inexplicably pleased inside.

"Loki?"

Finn, who had been speaking with Loki, called out to the suddenly silent goddess.

"Sorry, sorry. My mind wandered for a moment." Loki came back to herself and laughed heartily. "You all go take care of your own business and get some proper rest first. We can talk about anything later tonight."

"Alright." Finn nodded. "Then I'll head inside first. We'll deal with the spoils tomorrow."

"Go on, go on." Loki waved a hand, dismissing the captain of her Familia and her first child.

Only after the expedition members had all entered the base did Loki grin and call toward Riezel.

"Kid, come back early tonight. Don't stay out too late!"

The shout from behind made Riezel pause slightly.

He knew Loki was preparing to fulfill her promise from last night and introduce him to a "teacher."

"Got it."

Riezel could only suppress the restless thoughts in his heart and abandon his plan to push several more floors deeper into the Dungeon today.

Time always passed especially quickly.

When night fell once more that day, Orario again welcomed back the adventurers who had safely returned from the Dungeon and the ordinary citizens who had finished a day of work.

Only at times like this did people seem to mingle together regardless of status or race, filling every street with a lively, relaxed atmosphere.

And today, that atmosphere was undoubtedly at its strongest in Twilight Manor.

Perhaps because the expedition members had all returned, the Loki Familia was far livelier than it had been over the past two days, and the mood was especially vibrant.

After getting enough rest, the many members who had returned from the expedition had finally cast off the fatigue of days of continuous fighting. They removed their equipment and immersed themselves in the relaxed, comfortable atmosphere of the Familia.

Normally, this would have been the time for the Familia to begin settling the gains from the expedition.

Even though Finn, as captain, had considered the hardship of the expedition and sympathized with the Familia members, deciding to deal with the spoils tomorrow, it was only natural to handle matters unrelated to the spoils now.

For example, quite a few Familia members could not wait to have Loki update their Ability Values, to see how much they had grown during this expedition and whether they had accumulated enough precious Experience Points to Level Up.

Unfortunately, Loki did not seem to be in the mood to handle that today. Exercising the willfulness of a goddess, she postponed all Ability Value updates.

"We'll talk about it in a couple of days!"

Loki left the Familia members with only those words, leaving them helpless yet with no choice but to obey.

Fortunately, after an expedition, the Familia's main task was dealing with the spoils. There was rarely any other work that needed to be done, allowing everyone to enjoy a rare period of leisure before the next expedition. Thus, many were not in a hurry.

Under those circumstances, the Familia's leaders and executives gathered in Loki's God's Chamber.

"Looks like everyone rested well. That puts me at ease."

Loki looked over the condition of the Familia's First Class Adventurers and nodded in satisfaction.

Bete, the werewolf, seemed somewhat displeased by this.

"What is this about? Why did you suddenly call all of us here?"

Bete seemed to be complaining that the goddess had disrupted his plans, but his eyes kept drifting toward Ais at the side, and his wagging tail revealed how insincere he was.

"It really is rare for you to call all of us here together."

Tiona held one of Ais's arms in an intimate manner, making the Werewolf Youth secretly burn with envy.

"I thought you would only call the captain and the others over to talk." As Tione spoke, her tone suddenly shifted. "I don't mind, though. Wherever the captain is, I'll be there."

Faced with the Amazon elder sister's bold declaration, Finn could only wear a helpless expression.

Riveria also shook her head. Sitting beside Ais, she quietly waited for Loki to speak.

"What exactly is it that made you call all the executives here together?"

Gareth stroked his long beard and looked at Loki as he asked.

Only Ais had not made a single move from beginning to end, sitting there in silence.

With that, Loki put her hands on her hips and spoke with a smug, proud look on her face.

"Don't be in such a rush." Loki said, "I just want to introduce a troublesome brat to everyone so you can recognize his face."

The moment those words came out, everyone froze.

"Introduce someone?"

Everyone became even more puzzled.

What kind of person could make their usually unserious chief goddess treat the matter so solemnly, even gathering all the executives and leaders?

They looked at one another, and in the end, they all became curious.