Heart-to-Heart

"So that's how it is?"

"Building your confidence through actual combat against monsters—what an unexpected approach."

Looking at Shirou Emiya seated before her, Riveria's eyes were filled with satisfaction.

Though Lefiya's condition was indeed a bit rough, the method was practical. For an adventurer, as long as you weren't dead, it was a victory.

"As I thought, entrusting Lefiya's training to you was an extremely correct decision, Shirou."

"That's because you were willing to trust me, Senior Riveria."

In response to Riveria's gratitude, Shirou Emiya was very humble. After all, he would have a favor to ask of her in the future.

Though they were comrades in the same Familia, and Riveria would certainly teach him if he requested it, the efficiency of a willing teacher versus a reluctant one was bound to differ.

Clatter.

With the sound of a door opening and closing, Lefiya, having finished washing up, reappeared before everyone.

"Lefiya!"

Seeing Lefiya fresh from the bath, her face flushed and her body still damp with moisture, Loki—ever the lecher—immediately pounced.

"Eek!"

Caught off guard by Loki's sudden assault, the flustered Lefiya let out a loud shriek.

But unfortunately, against Loki, whose strength surged from her unleashed lecherous power, the weak-willed girl Lefiya had no means of resistance. She was tackled onto the sofa, where Loki proceeded to toy with her to her heart's content.

Watching this scene, Riveria let out a soft sigh. She was powerless against her own goddess's peculiar hobby, especially since she herself had once been a target of such attacks.

Hearing Lefiya's cries in her ears, Riveria lost all patience to continue the conversation.

"I fully support your idea. Lefiya's matters are in your hands! If you need anything, just tell me. Consider this a favor I owe you."

With that, Riveria stood up, intending to leave the room.

But just as she was about to step out, she suddenly turned to the Amazon Sisters, who wore expressions of 'we survived,' and said coldly, "What are you two still sitting there for? Aren't you coming along?"

"You didn't think this was over, did you?"

As expected, Shirou Emiya knew Tiona and Tione wouldn't get off so easily.

Bullying an elf right in front of Elf Royalty, and one who was Riveria's cherished junior at that—did they think they could just laugh it off? No chance.

Hearing this, Tiona and Tione's faces immediately fell.

They had guessed this outcome on the way back, but everyone clung to a sliver of hope. In the end, they couldn't escape.

As if drained of all strength, the two shuffled out the door in a daze. Riveria's authority really was formidable.

No wonder she was known as the 'mother' of the Familia.

"Loki-sama, please stop!"

Hearing Lefiya's moans, Shirou Emiya glanced over, then decided to leave.

Now only four people remained in the room: Shirou Emiya, Ais, Lefiya, and Loki.

Despite Lefiya's pitiful cries under Loki's harassment, nothing was actually exposed—truly no fun to watch.

"Lefiya, take tomorrow off. I need to craft some equipment based on today's situation. But even though I'm still a rookie smith, you'll have to cover the material costs."

"I-I understand, M-Mr. Shirou."

Stammering under Loki's torment, Lefiya managed to reply.

Shirou Emiya nodded at that, then stood up to leave.

Seeing this, Ais, who had been sitting silently nearby, followed suit.

In the corridor of Twilight Manor, Shirou glanced at Ais, who had been trailing him the whole time, and said with a smile, "Up ahead is my room. I recall the girls' dormitory isn't in this direction, is it?"

"There's something I want to talk to you about."

Hearing Ais's flat, unchanging voice, Shirou Emiya wore an expression that said 'I knew it' and smiled. "Alright, since we're already at my room, come in and sit down. We can talk slowly."

Opening his door, Ais walked straight in without any concern for gender boundaries. Shirou Emiya then closed the door behind them.

What he didn't know was that from the moment Ais stepped into the boys' dormitory, many eyes had been secretly watching. Now that she had entered his room, the entire Familia erupted into a frenzy.

"I don't usually have visitors, so I don't have extra chairs. Just sit on the bed. The sheets and covers are all freshly changed."

As he guided Ais to sit, Shirou Emiya took out his stash of snacks and drinks. The snacks were dried goods he made himself, and the juice was also his own blend.

As a master of household skills, Shirou Emiya hadn't been in Orario long before he conducted some research on the local food ingredients.

Compared to his previous world, the ingredients here were far more abundant—truly a world blessed by gods.

And so, never one to let his taste buds down, Shirou Emiya naturally had to thoroughly explore the culinary arts.

These snacks and drinks were the fruits of his labor.

"Please, have a taste. This is my masterpiece."

He arranged the snacks on a plate and handed it to Ais, inviting her to try them.

She gently picked one up, placed it in her mouth, and chewed slowly. A wonderful flavor blossomed within her.

"Delicious!"

"Very delicious!"

"Extremely delicious!"

Moved by the tasty food, Ais's eyes narrowed with joy as she repeatedly praised its flavor.

Then Ais picked up the drink cup, took a light sip, and another irresistible taste filled her mouth, making her deeply reluctant to part with it.

"Incredible. Both the food and the drink are so delicious."

Hearing Ais's praise, Shirou Emiya's eyes brimmed with delight.

For a chef, sharing delicious food is the greatest joy. Hearing someone compliment his cooking filled Shirou Emiya's heart with satisfaction.

If it weren't for the fear that his own goddess would get addicted and constantly order him to cook, delaying his dungeon exploration, Shirou Emiya would have long since shown off his full culinary prowess.

But now, hearing Ais's praise, his chef's heart was finally content.

"I'm glad you like it."

"But right now, I'm more curious about why you came to see me."

Hearing Shirou Emiya's question, Ais's continuous chewing and swallowing instantly stopped.

After a moment, snapping back to reality, she quickly swallowed the snack in her mouth and took the drink Shirou Emiya handed her to wash it down, lest she choke.

Once she set the cup down, she looked at him with hopeful eyes and asked, "How can I become stronger?"

"Become stronger, huh..."

Shirou Emiya had already guessed Ais would ask this question. After all, when they were training Lefia, Ais had been watching him with an unusual gaze.

Facing Ais's question, Shirou Emiya turned serious.

"The essence of a Divine Blessing is a catalyst, used to stimulate a person's potential. So whether your base stats increase or not has no fundamental connection to fighting monsters."

"I've had many thoughts about Divine Blessings lately. For example, take you, Ais. It took you one year to go from LV.1 to LV.2."

"But now you've been at LV.5 for three years and still haven't reached LV.6. Why do you think that is?"

"Why?"

Perplexed, Ais stared intently at Shirou Emiya, hoping to hear the correct answer from him.

"I think it's because the level of external pressure has changed."

"In the past, you were weak. No magic, no skills, not even proficient in martial arts, and you had no combat experience. Even facing an LV.1 monster, you could be in great danger if you weren't careful."

"But now, you're strong. Even against the deepest monsters our Familia has explored, except for the Floor Masters, you can easily handle them. This means you're no longer under any external pressure."

"Why is fighting monsters faster than training on your own? Because between life and death lies great terror. In the face of a life-or-death crisis, a person's potential is stimulated to the utmost, so their abilities rise quickly."

"So the reason you can't get stronger fast isn't that you're too weak—it's that you're too strong."