The Journey Begins in DanMachi

"Good evening! My lovely family! Welcome home! Ais-tan! Come here for a hug! You must have missed me after a whole day apart, right?! Oof!!!"

Loki launches!

Loki unleashes a fierce assault!

Loki successfully face-plants into the floor!

Despite carrying an oversized backpack, Ais easily dodges Loki's face-hugging pounce, her small face filled with disdain as she looks down at the lump of biological matter on the ground.

Riveria, meanwhile, has long since learned to ignore Loki to avoid wasting time.

After shrugging off her own pack, she helps Ais unbuckle hers before turning her gaze toward Noah.

"Noah, go take a bath first, then head to Loki's room to update your status."

Noah also unloads his pack, which is primarily filled with the massive magic stone from the Goliath and other various drops.

"Eh? We only fought for one day, is that really necessary? I wanted to grab something to eat first; I'm starving."

Noah recalls that status updates are usually performed every ten days or half a month, or when embarking on major adventures like expeditions.

After all, a large group like Loki Familia has over forty members; if everyone came by every day, Loki's fingers would be worn to the bone.

"Noah! I want to see!"

Before Riveria can respond, Ais, who had been silent ever since Noah defeated the Goliath, suddenly speaks up.

Though her delicate face is etched with fatigue, it still holds a hard, sword-like brilliance.

In those golden, shimmering eyes, Noah senses a plea and an expectation, much like a kitten clawing at his leg, begging to be fed.

Upon hearing this, Riveria immediately arches her brows and grips Ais by the shoulders.

"Ais! A status is a secret for every adventurer! Your request is far too inappropriate!"

But Ais displays her stubborn nature, puffing out her cheeks and ignoring Riveria entirely, her gaze locked firmly on Noah.

"I know, but I promise I won't leak it! Besides, I can let Noah see my status too!"

"Is that the point?"

"Then what is the point? Didn't you and the others see it? You saw mine, but you won't let me see his—that's unfair!"

Noah feels that Riveria is so incensed her face has actually flushed a deeper shade of red.

"You! I am Noah's teacher and the vice-captain of the Familia! What are you to Noah? What standing do you have to look?"

This stumps Ais for a moment, but only for a moment.

Her eyes widen, her hands clench into fists, and she puffs out her cheeks, seemingly having made a major decision—

"I, I can be Noah's wife too!! That should be enough, right!!"

The moment the words leave her lips, the entire room is stunned!

Ais! I saved you, and this is how you repay me by dragging me into this mess!!

Noah's eyes widen, but before he can speak, Loki leaps into mid-air, limbs splayed like a giant spider, flying straight at him.

"You beast, Noah! What have you done to my Ais-tan!!"

Caught off guard, Noah scrambles in a panic, grabbing Loki's wrists to pull them back and pinning her with his knee to finally subdue the crazed goddess.

Yet, even while restrained, Loki continues to roar.

"You ungrateful beast, Noah! Ais-tan is so young! How could you lay a hand on her! You've betrayed me! You've betrayed all the cultivation Mama-san has poured into you these past few days! I'm sending you to Astraea Familia to face the judgment of justice!"

The once-quiet Twilight Manor begins to stir as Loki's roars echo through the halls.

"What, what? Did I hear Loki say Noah made a move on Ais?"

"Eh? I thought it was Lady Riveria who made a move on the newcomer? Look at how attentive she's been for the last half-month! We didn't see them all day today; I thought they'd eloped."

"Then why is Loki so angry? Ah! Could the newcomer be trying to take both Riveria and Ais at once... Wow! How bold!!"

Although the members of Loki Familia seem to be "whispering," with dozens of voices "discussing" it at once, it sounds no different to Noah than if they were shouting right in his ear.

Even Noah, who can remain expressionless while having his bones broken, finds himself wanting to cry.

I'm a Level 1 rookie who soloed a Goliath on my first day in the Dungeon; surely that's an achievement worth Orario discussing for a while?

But as it stands, it seems the reputation of being a beast who wants to take both mother and daughter might spread first!

To avoid making things worse, Noah loops Loki's wrists around her own face, gags her, and hoists her onto his shoulder.

Before he can even catch his breath, he looks up to see Riveria's expression growing darker, a surge of Alf power threatening to boil over.

Clearly, Riveria can hear those discussions just as well as Noah can.

Even the previously stubborn Ais shrinks her neck like a pigeon, trembling as she looks at Riveria, as if trying to summon the maternal instincts of the elven royalty.

"Alright! Riveria! Just let her see it!"

Noah stops Riveria not just to avoid a tragic scene of mother-daughter conflict, but more importantly, to prevent the rumors from spiraling further.

Though it is already night, there are still many pedestrians outside Twilight Manor, and both Riveria and Ais are celebrities in Orario.

If someone hears Ais's screams, and then some loose-lipped member of Loki Familia spreads the news...

By then, rumors would breed more rumors; how far they might spread and how wild the apocryphal tales would become was no longer something Noah Cipher could control.

For instance, a mother and daughter fighting for affection...

Huh!!

Meeting Noah's gaze was enough for Riveria to understand his thoughts. She narrowed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and suppressed the surging Alf power within her heart.

"You just wait," she signaled to Ais with her eyes before turning to leave.

Watching Riveria's retreating back, Ais couldn't help but shiver.

Noah sighed, feeling more exhausted than he had after a full day of slaying monsters in the Dungeon.

Half an hour later, inside the Divine Chamber of the Central Tower.

Noah Cipher

Lv.1

Strength: I-0 → G-234

Endurance: I-0 → H-150

Dexterity: I-0 → G-270

Agility: I-0 → G-245

Magic: I-0 → H-198

Development Abilities: ---

Magic: ---

Skills: ---

"Alright, you can look at it yourselves. I'm going to have a huge meal and then head back to sleep. If there's anything else, wait until tomorrow to find me!"

Finn! You schemed against me!

The one god and four members in the Divine Chamber stared at Noah's retreating back as he yawned, unable to snap out of their daze for a long time.

Loki was the first to break the silence.

Opening her eyes, she scanned the data on the paper with her brown pupils, revealing a complex smile that could be called either astonishment or excitement.

"That guy Noah doesn't care at all. I feel like he could level up in half a month at most... A monster has joined our Loki Familia! I can finally experience the joy those two old geezers Zeus and Hera felt! Ahahahaha!"

As her smile grew twisted and manic, Loki's face blurred completely, and she began rolling wildly on the bed like a maggot.

To avoid being accidentally struck by her flailing legs, the three executives of the Loki Familia and Ais silently exited the Divine Chamber and pulled the door shut.

The one who left again was Ais, who had been keeping her head down in silence.

"...I'm heading back first."

Riveria watched her small, thin figure drift away under the light of the Magic Stone Lamp, her emerald eyes overflowing with worry and sorrow.

"What's this? You were just about to lecture Ais, and now you're worried again? Elves really aren't straightforward, are they? Don't you agree, Finn!"

To the prompt from Gareth, Finn offered a formulaic smile—flawless and impossible to tell if it was agreement or denial.

If Gareth annoyed Riveria, he would at most get beaten up by Magna Aivis.

If he annoyed Riveria himself, there would be no one to share his workload.

With the Guild recently issuing a mandatory expedition mission, Finn was already swamped and didn't dare touch Riveria's bad side.

Moreover, Finn saw things more deeply and in greater detail than the boisterous dwarf; he could tell that Riveria's current worry was different from before.

Once Ais's figure disappeared into the corridor, Finn lowered his voice.

"Riveria, while Noah's growth rate exceeds expectations, it's still within an acceptable range, isn't it? Why are you wearing such an expression?"

Riveria glanced at Gareth with disdain, a cold smirk curling the corner of her lips.

"Acceptable? Do you think Noah's growth today was limited to just this?"

Regardless of how many conflicts they had, both men trusted Riveria's character implicitly, knowing she would never speak nonsense or be alarmist.

Thus, not only did Finn frown, but the smile on Gareth's face also vanished.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

With a sense of inexplicable pride and smugness that came from holding first-hand information, Riveria slightly raised her fair chin.

Though it vanished quickly, a faint curve had indeed touched her lips.

"Today, Noah went and defeated the floor boss of the seventeenth floor, Goliath!"

Her clear voice cut through the air like a cold wind, causing the atmosphere in the corridor to freeze into silence.

For a moment, Finn thought he was suffering from auditory hallucinations due to extreme exhaustion.

But after seeing the frozen expression on Gareth's face, his mouth agape and teeth bared, he abandoned that last shred of fantasy.

He opened his mouth, closed it, and swallowed his words.

After repeating this three or four times, Finn finally spoke, his voice dry.

"Fine, Riveria, then I can roughly understand your concern—are you worried that Ais won't be able to keep up?"

Although her inner anxieties had been guessed correctly, Riveria did not feel relieved.

In this world, if there is anything more desperate than pure despair, it is perhaps the despair that follows a glimmer of hope.

Riveria hoped that Noah could attract Ais; even if it were just admiration and pursuit, as long as she could step out of a world of hatred, it would be enough.

But what if, after all her efforts, she felt despair at the distance between herself and Noah?

For an ordinary person, being surpassed by a step would ignite the heart to chase, and being surpassed to the point of losing sight of the other's back would lead to peace of mind and anticipation.

Yet Ais would not give up; she would chase the limit until she collapsed—this was completely different from Riveria's plan.

Sigh, who would have thought that one day, she would be troubled because a junior was growing too fast and was too ambitious?

Although Finn had been somewhat worried at first, he rubbed his right thumb, and after sensing nothing amiss, he gave up on thinking about it.

After all, with Riveria around, it didn't seem like it was his place to worry.

"This matter can only be left to you, Riveria. As for what I can think about now, hmm, since Noah can already solo Goliath, he should be able to participate in the next expedition, right? With such a powerful vanguard, the pressure on the expedition team will be reduced significantly. Of course, it might be better if he could level up before joining the expedition."

Just after voicing his thoughts, Finn saw Riveria's expression change repeatedly, until she finally covered her head.

"Riveria?"

"...Why did you have to bring up the issue of Noah leveling up to me?"

Even as wise as Finn was, this time he revealed a pair of confused, dot-like eyes.