"Would you train me?"
Ais bowed respectfully, golden hair slipping from behind her ear.
Despite the calm she showed, she was actually feeling quite nervous.
No matter how you looked at it, the new adventurer's rapid growth had something to do with the "natural phenomenon" before her—the one who even made Loki afraid.
"Huh!?"
Bell and Lefiya both gasped almost simultaneously.
Neither had expected the Level 5 Sword Princess to ask Thor for special training.
"Oh?"
Thor himself merely gave a curious little hum.
A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by deeper curiosity.
What surprised him wasn't Ais's status as a powerful adventurer, but the trust and willingness she showed.
He knew full well that his current strength could only be described as feeble.
He was no longer someone the top adventurers would flock to for instruction.
"I want to become stronger." Ais remained bowed, her voice tinged with nervousness. "I'm willing to pay whatever it costs."
She knew how abrupt and unreasonable it was to make such a request amid the ruins left by their fierce battle in the Dungeon.
But she had a reason she had to become stronger.
She had a feeling that if she let this opportunity slip by, she might never find such a good moment again.
This might be her only chance to break through her limits and reach greater heights.
Thor regarded the respectfully bowed Sword Princess with interest.
He habitually rubbed his chin, falling into brief thought.
A moment later, he raised his hand without touching Ais and simply shifted his will.
Whoosh—
A gentle breeze sprang up from nowhere, stirring the dust on the ground. It settled beneath Ais's arms and gently straightened her bent body.
"Raise your head, Miss Ais." Thor's voice was calm, his tone appreciative. "You don't have to bow to me for this."
"You saved us yesterday and even generously gave us the precious Minotaur Magic Stone. We haven't thanked you for your kindness yet."
He paused, weighing some invisible debt between them.
"Good deeds bring good fortune. Since this is what you want, helping you become stronger is no trouble for me."
Ais couldn't hide her surprise.
She hadn't expected yesterday's small act of kindness to earn her such a reward.
She had thought she would need to pay a huge price, perhaps even plead repeatedly just to get a chance. Instead, he had agreed so readily.
"Is that really all right?" A rare hesitation and uncertainty crept into Ais's voice. She almost thought she'd misheard him and couldn't help confirming it.
The opportunity had come so suddenly and so easily that she hardly knew what to do.
"Of course." Thor nodded slightly. "But I can only train you for seven days."
Even if it was only seven days, Ais was already deeply grateful to have Thor's help.
Just then, Lefiya, who had been anxiously following the situation, felt her heart clutched by an invisible hand.
Lord Thor was someone even Loki, the main deity of the Loki Familia, revered. If Miss Ais received his guidance, her strength would surely improve by leaps and bounds.
She might even reach Level 6, something she hadn't managed in three years.
Lefiya should have been happy for Ais.
But the thought that she might fall even farther behind the senior she admired filled her with anxiety!
I have to become stronger too. Only then can I catch up with Miss Ais and become a partner who can fight alongside her! I can't hesitate any longer!
She took a deep breath and abruptly stepped forward, her clear voice trembling with urgency.
"P-please wait!" Lefiya gripped the straps of her backpack tightly. Mustering all the courage she had, she called toward Thor. "C-could you train me too? Please!"
At the sound of her voice, Thor turned to the elf girl who had suddenly spoken up.
He shook his head with graceful but unmistakable regret. "I'm sorry. I agreed to help Ais because of her kindness yesterday. As for helping anyone else... I have no plans to take on a large number of students."
This wasn't an open class where anyone could just show up and ask him for lessons.
Teaching Bell was his responsibility, and agreeing to help Ais was repayment of a debt.
If he took on another student, would he ever get back to his plan to gather Stardust and restore his strength?
"I... I can pay you!" Lefiya practically shouted. "One million Valis! Just like Senior Ais, you'd only have to train me for seven days!"
"One million Valis?"
The figure reached Thor's ears clearly.
His normally unruffled expression faltered almost imperceptibly.
One million Valis wasn't a staggering sum in Orario, the Labyrinth City known for the vast wealth that flowed through it.
Ais's Sword of Despair, after all, was worth as much as 99 million Valis.
However, for Thor, who urgently needed Magic Stones to gather Stardust and restore his strength, that one million Valis was worth something entirely different.
One million... How many Magic Stones would that buy?
Thor quickly calculated. It would be enough for him to gather about twenty Stardust!
His progress would improve considerably...
The money was no exaggeration: it would be a lifeline in his hour of need.
One million for seven days... Since he'd be teaching Ais anyway, keeping an eye on one more elf girl didn't seem... entirely out of the question.
After all, resources were what mattered most.
The scales in his mind had already begun to tip, and the detachment in his eyes quietly faded.
However, just as Thor was about to nod and seal the deal—
Seeing Thor remain silent, Lefiya grew even more uneasy.
She mistakenly thought he considered her offer too low. The immense pressure nearly made her choke.
Oh no! He must think one million is too little! A great being like him could probably get ten million Valis a day just to serve as an instructor!
I'm only offering one million a day. Will he think I'm insulting him?
But I... I only have this much...
She thought of her pitiful savings. They were everything she had managed to scrape together after leaving the School District and joining the Loki Familia—a grand total of only eight million Valis.
Overcome with panic, she hurriedly added, "I-I can pay 3.5 million up front! Then, as soon as the seven days of training are over, I'll pay the remaining... 3.5 million Valis!"
"Hm?"
This time, even Thor was visibly taken aback.
Not one million for seven days, but... one million a day? A total of seven million Valis?!
Before Thor could respond to this astonishingly generous offer,
Lefiya was so nervous she was about to faint. Clutching her backpack straps, she trembled slightly and wailed in despair inside.
He must think I'm insulting him... Oh no, he's coming over!
As Lefiya watched in terror, Thor strode toward her with an expressionless face.
Each step seemed to land right on her heart.
She instinctively tried to bow and apologize. "I-I'm sorry, I'll—"
But the rest of her words caught in her throat.
Thor stopped in front of her and raised his right hand. The anger or scolding she'd imagined never came.
Smack—
Thor patted Lefiya on the shoulder, his face instantly brightening with an appreciative smile.
Not many girls understood the ways of the world so well.
One million Valis a day—what was there to hesitate about?
"Then, Miss Elf, tell me: what would you like to learn? How about the wide-area spell Requiem, which can sweep across an entire battlefield in an instant?"
He opened one hand, displaying the magical ingenuity of the Deathsinger.
"Or the domain spell Glacial Storm, which blankets the land and freezes everything in its path?"
His other hand swept through the air, trailing an invisible chill. It was the magic of a Freljord demigod who commanded blizzards.
"Or perhaps... the pursuit of absolute destruction? The void ability Disintegration Ray, which blasts an enemy down to its fundamental particles?"
"Huh???"
Lefiya was utterly dumbfounded, her mind completely blank. She couldn't keep up with the stunning reversal in Thor's attitude.
Those spells—Requiem and Disintegration Ray—could she really learn them for seven million Valis?
The staggering contrast left her unable to react. All she could manage was a brief gasp.
Ais watched the scene quietly from the side.
A hint of surprise crossed her golden eyes.
Did this great being seem to be short on money?
Before you continue