Departure

Stepping out of the Gods' Chamber, the first thing that greeted my eyes was the exquisite face of the blonde girl.

Her golden hair fluttered in the evening breeze as she stood by the window, silently staring at me.

Our eyes met.

"Ais, what are you doing here? I remember you updated yesterday, didn't you?"

"I saw you enter the Gods' Chamber, so I've been waiting here for you."

Ais smoothed her long hair and said calmly. It was difficult to discern any normal emotions on her face.

"Waiting for me? Is there something you need?"

"Merely curiosity."

"Curiosity about your current stats."

Ais walked gently from the window, her expression showing a hint of a request, wanting to know Shirou Emiya's current base stats.

She wanted to know how fast Shirou Emiya was growing.

"Base stats?"

Shirou Emiya chuckled lightly, appearing as if it was just the right timing.

"As it happens, I have something to ask of you too."

"?"

The girl, her face full of confusion, tilted her head slightly, expressing her bewilderment.

"My stats have reached their limit, and I'm preparing to surpass my Great Deed and embark on an Adventure."

"Will you accompany me and act as my guardian?"

"Reached your limit?"

Hearing Shirou Emiya's words, even the girl, who wasn't good at expressing herself, couldn't help but widen her eyes.

It's only been a month, and he's already reached the peak of LV.2?

Even though she knew his progress speed was astonishing, this was still too fast.

But she quickly snapped out of her surprise and nodded heavily.

"I understand."

"Alright, then it's a deal. Meet me at the Familia's main entrance tomorrow morning."

With that, Shirou Emiya bid farewell to Ais and returned to his dormitory to make his final preparations.

In the Loki Familia's women's bath.

Ais, with almost her entire body submerged in the water, only her mouth and above floating on the surface, stared blankly ahead.

Around her, the voices of Tiona and Tione echoed in the bathroom.

"Hey, hey, Tione. Do you know how much my stats have increased recently? By dozens of points! Usually, even a long expedition only yields about that much growth."

The excited Tiona constantly slapped the water's surface, causing water droplets to splash everywhere.

"My growth is about the same as yours. This method Shirou came up with is really good."

In terms of stat increases, Tione was no worse than Tiona, so she was also exceptionally happy.

"Right? Shirou is truly a genius."

"Right, Ais!"

"."

"Ais?"

"."

Seeing no response, Tiona and Tione finally noticed Ais, who was lost in thought.

Tione quietly walked up to Ais, pulled her into a hug, and while measuring Ais's proportions, smirked, "Could it be love sickness?"

Meanwhile, Tiona, who had also come closer, smirked and said, "Tell us, who is our Sword Princess Ais Wallenstein thinking about?"

"Thinking about who?"

Ais pushed away Tione, who had ill intentions towards her, and looked at Tiona with a confused expression. Then, she said seriously, "Thinking about Shirou."

"What? Don't tell me Ais, you've fallen for Shirou? To be thinking about him all the time."

Seeing that Ais was indeed thinking about someone else, Tiona was so surprised that she stood up in the water and exclaimed loudly.

Attracted by Tiona's voice, the other women in the bathroom couldn't help but perk up their ears, quietly eavesdropping on their conversation.

As a result, the previously somewhat chaotic bathroom instantly fell silent.

"I met Shirou outside the Gods' Chamber today. He said his stats have reached their limit and asked me to accompany him on an Adventure tomorrow."

"..."

The women, whose faces were previously full of gossipy smiles and who were listening intently, instantly turned as stiff as stone.

"Ah!!!"

The next day, early morning.

As dawn was just breaking, Shirou Emiya had already woken up and packed his belongings.

According to the information from the Guild, the Floor Master on the seventeenth floor was supposed to revive today. To prevent the target from being hunted by others beforehand, Shirou Emiya naturally had to get up early and head to the Dungeon.

After putting on his light armor, Shirou Emiya slung his backpack over his shoulders and did a spin in front of the mirror.

"Hmm, not bad. As expected of me, I'm so handsome!"

After indulging in some narcissism, Shirou Emiya left his room to meet Ais at the Familia's main entrance.

He had already started preparing for today's Adventure when his Blessing was last updated.

By now, he had replaced all his equipment.

His current gear was the pinnacle of Level 2 equipment.

Even the spare short sword he carried on his back was an extremely exquisite weapon. If it were sold at Hephaestus's specialty store, it would cost at least ten million Valis.

However, Shirou Emiya hadn't been short on money recently.

Ever since he could craft Level 2 weapons, orders from within the Familia had been non-stop.

As one of the two strongest Familias in Orario, the Loki Familia had an extremely high consumption of weapons.

Under these circumstances, Shirou Emiya's orders were naturally endless. After all, Shirou Emiya's creations of the same quality were much cheaper than those from outside.

Since they were all members of the same Familia, these were internal prices.

This was also one of the reasons for Shirou Emiya's rapid progress in forging.

Walking out of the dormitory building and strolling through the quiet courtyard, Shirou Emiya couldn't help but recall Ais's figure.

"I wonder if Ais has arrived yet."

After turning the corner ahead, Shirou Emiya suddenly saw that almost all the elites of the Loki Familia were gathered at the entrance.

"Is there some event going on? I had no idea."

Finding the "three giants" in the crowd, Shirou Emiya quickly approached them.

"Senior Finn, Senior Riveria, Senior Gareth, is there any special event today?"

Hearing Shirou Emiya's question, the other Loki Familia members surrounding him burst into laughter.

These hearty laughs made Shirou Emiya sense that something was amiss.

Could it be?

Looking at Shirou Emiya's surprised and uncertain expression, Finn patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't worry, everyone isn't isolating you. We're here to cheer you on today."

Cheer him on?

Shirou Emiya felt a dizzy spell.

At this moment, he couldn't comprehend how the news had spread so quickly that the entire Familia knew within just one night.

He quickly cast a questioning glance at Ais, who was standing nearby.

Seeing this, Ais, standing beside him, said apologetically, "I accidentally told Tiona in the bathroom yesterday, and then the whole Familia knew."

So it was that big-mouthed Tiona, no wonder it spread so fast.

Shaking his head helplessly, Shirou Emiya snapped out of his sudden confusion and said with a wry smile, "Then I'll have to ask for everyone's support."

"Ooh!"

Listening to everyone's cheers, Shirou Emiya's smile became even more bitter.

It was supposed to be just his own Adventure, but it had turned into a large-scale event for the entire Familia. Shirou Emiya casually glanced around and saw that almost everyone had come.

"If everyone goes, what about the Familia? Won't we be robbed?"

Hearing Shirou Emiya's question, Riveria smiled and said, "It's fine, we are the Loki Familia. Who would dare to try and steal from us? Besides, Lord Loki is still in the Familia!"

Seeing that Loki hadn't come to join the excitement, Shirou Emiya couldn't help but sigh, "Lord Loki is still reliable."

Hearing Shirou Emiya's exclamation, everyone around him chuckled softly.

Lefia walked up to Shirou Emiya and whispered in his ear, "Lord Loki actually insisted on coming at first, but then Senior Riveria tied her up and left her to guard the entrance hall."

Good heavens, as expected of the 'mother' of the Loki Familia!

She really dares to do that.

Seeing that everyone around was ready, Finn announced loudly, "Everyone, today is the Adventure of our Familia's genius member, Shirou Emiya, who will challenge the Level 4 Floor Master, Goliath, as a Level 2 Adventurer."

"This is an epic myth, like that of legendary heroes."

"It is an unparalleled legend!"

"Let us witness this Great Deed with our own eyes!"

"Loki Familia, let's go!"

"Ooh!"