Liber followed Loki into the Twilight Manor.
The top floor of the Twilight Manor's central tower was Loki's private room, as well as the Divine Chamber of her Familia.
Loki strode eagerly toward a storage chest in the room. It was her private wine collection, filled with bottles of all shapes, sizes, and colors.
Liber paused in the doorway to take a look around.
Loki's room was a bit of a mess.
All kinds of books and papers were scattered across the spacious, high-end table in the middle of the room. A little glowing ink was splattered across its surface, and precious crystals and gemstones lay about wherever they pleased.
Rumpled bedding and all sorts of flashy clothes were piled haphazardly on the bed. A jumble of shoes and socks was heaped beside it.
The surrounding walls were adorned with all kinds of elaborate, antique decorations and paintings.
In the corner opposite the storage chest lay an assortment of small weapons, such as short swords, daggers, and finger blades.
After happily putting her wine away, Loki swept the clutter from the middle of the table to one side, brought over two chairs, and sat down without a care.
"Come on in," Loki said casually from her chair. "No need to be shy."
Liber looked uncertain. "Then... excuse me."
He entered at an unhurried pace, set his luggage beside the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Liber looked at the free-spirited, flat-chested, red-haired goddess. He had already learned a little about the gods of this world, but seeing one who seemed not to care at all about how others saw her still surprised him.
After all, she was a goddess. This was the first time he had ever seen one, in either his previous life or this one.
Most of the time, the very existence of the gods inspired reverence and awe.
As the first god he had met in this world, and one he might be spending a long time with, Loki's words and behavior had certainly made him reconsider his notions about gods.
Ever since setting down the wine, Loki had sat in her chair, watching Liber with narrowed eyes and a sly grin.
"Sorry, the other kids in my Familia just went on a short expedition a while back, so we don't have enough people around to host you. Otherwise, we could've thrown you a lively welcome party today," Loki said with a cheeky grin.
"Oh, that's fine. Whatever works." Liber stopped looking around and shook his head. "Anything is fine."
"Is that so? It's good to be independent, but we all still look out for one another."
Loki rubbed her chin and shook her head. "When we have some free time, I'll show you around and introduce you to the Familia. We usually throw welcome parties for new members. We're all Familia, so remember to talk to everyone. If you're too much of a loner, you won't fit in."
"That's fine with me." Liber nodded calmly at Loki's words and replied softly.
"As for the welcome party, we'll make it up to you later, once we have more people around. We're all family, after all, and we'll look out for one another. I'll also get to see how you grow in the Familia. I'm sure that'll be fun too. Heehee."
As she spoke, Loki leaned back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest, and propped her legs on the table. The front legs of the chair lifted off the floor and rocked with her movements.
Loki eyed Liber, her grin growing wider. "You haven't received a Falna yet, have you? You're a complete newcomer, right, kid?"
Liber forced himself to stay calm, deliberately ignoring Loki's gaze as it traveled up and down him as if she could see right through him. He nodded.
"I haven't received any Falna at all. I only arrived in Orario today. I learned a little about the city before coming here, and once I arrived, I asked where to find you and came straight here."
Liber knew people couldn't lie in front of the gods of this world. Besides, he had no reason to hide or deceive her. He was confident in his own merits.
Loki grinned. "That's what I thought. If you had any remarkable skills or a reputation, you wouldn't have been waiting for us at the door."
Liber composed himself and said, "I'm very grateful that you let me join your Familia, but don't you really need to test me? I've made a lot of preparations for that."
"Plenty of people who've received a Falna—and plenty who haven't—want to join our Familia. I've already agreed to let you in, so there's no need to grill you. The city of Orario will naturally sort out who belongs here. After all, a boy's delusions alone won't get him through the hardships of adventuring."
As she spoke, Loki stopped rocking her chair, lowered her legs, planted both hands on the table, and leaned toward Liber until her face was close to his.
Liber looked a little helpless. "As expected of a goddess. I made all those preparations for nothing. What a... dramatic turn of events."
With that, he took a thickly wrapped wine box from his luggage. When he opened it, a plain bottle of wine appeared before Loki.
"But you still have to accept my welcome gift, even if it isn't anything expensive."
"...Was this what you were counting on? If so, I might have to reconsider whether it's right to let you join," Loki said, looking a little taken aback.
"Not at all. I prepared this just as a courtesy. It's homemade fruit wine, so it's not worth much. What I'm really confident will convince you is this."
He hesitated, then reached into his waist pouch to take something out.
"Now, there's no need to show me. If I know the answer in advance, it won't be any fun."
Loki interrupted him, sat back down, and spoke as if to herself.
"I've already agreed, so the rest doesn't matter. Everyone has their secrets. The story's more interesting when you don't know everything."
As she spoke, Loki picked up the chair beside her and brought it around behind Liber, then patted him on the back.
"We can talk about everything else later. There'll be plenty of time after you join the Familia. First, take off your shirt."
Liber nodded, undid his shirt, and bared his back to Loki.
Loki rummaged out a box and sat behind Liber. "You've looked into the Falna already, right?"
Liber nodded. "I know a little about it."
The Falna was a special power based on divine script, with divine ichor as its catalyst.
The gods bestowed upon the people of the world a power called the Falna, allowing them to gain extraordinary abilities far beyond those of ordinary people. Through the Falna, the gods drew out the experiences, wishes, thoughts, and hopes of those below and turned them into nourishment, allowing mortals to grow stronger at an unimaginable pace.
The Falna usually manifested as status values and the like. Few ordinary people learned to read divine script, but anyone who could decipher it with their own eyes could check the details of their Falna. Under normal circumstances, the god would tell the recipient their status. The status was divided into four main parts: basic abilities, development abilities, magic and skills, and, most importantly, level.
Development abilities could generally only be acquired as an additional possibility upon leveling up. Basic abilities consisted of five attributes: [Strength], [Endurance], [Dexterity], [Agility], and [Magic].
Each attribute was usually represented by one of ten ranks, from (S) to (I): (S), (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (H), and (I). The closer an attribute was to S, the stronger it was.
Level was, as the name suggested, the clearest measure of strength. The higher one's level, the stronger one's abilities and overall power. There was practically no comparison between improving basic abilities at a given level and leveling up. Basic abilities were merely improvements within a level, while leveling up could be described as an evolution of the entire body and mind. That was why people often called the Falna the path to becoming a god.
As for magic and skills, the former was the most direct form of supernatural power. Before the Falna appeared, only a handful of races with exceptional magical talent could use it. But after receiving a Falna, members of every race had a chance to gain magic. Depending on their aptitude, they could acquire up to three magic slots.
Skills, meanwhile, were special abilities that produced unique effects under certain conditions. They weren't as direct or will-driven as magic, but their distinctive effects and lack of a limit on how many one could possess made them impossible to ignore.
"Good, good. It's great that you know a little about it. Looks like you did your homework," Loki said. She held the box she had found and took out a thin needle that glinted silver.
After setting the box down, she used the needle to prick a finger on her other hand. Once blood welled up, she used the injured finger to trace markings across Liber's back.
For once, the usually frivolous Loki wore a serious expression.
Before you continue