I, Ritsuka, Siscon Grand Hero

"Ais! Come shopping with me! What's so fun about the Dungeon anyway?!"

Looking at Tiona, who was clinging to her like an octopus, Ais's expression remained unchanged. She lightly got up from her seat and began to shake her body.

She seemed to be trying to shake Tiona off.

"Tiona."

Ais's voice held a hint of trouble, though it wasn't visible on her face.

Seizing the opportunity, Tiona forcefully tackled Ais, and the two rolled around on the floor, creating a somewhat sensual scene for a moment.

"Um, Miss Tiona, Ais..."

Lefiya hurried forward, then, for some unknown reason, stood frozen with her cheeks flushed, as if petrified.

Instinctively covering her nose, Lefiya, an Elf Girl, found her fingers were slightly damp.

"Alright, let's all go relax for a bit. Ais, you too, you need to rest properly." Riveria said, reaching out to tap Lefiya's forehead. "It's okay if you don't spend too much money; I actually have a good place in mind."

"Riveria."

Ais got up from the floor, staring blankly at the Elven royal, who acted like a mother. She silently protested.

She still wanted to seize the time to become stronger.

"They have red bean cream flavored fried potato balls there."

"...Okay."

After spending some time getting dressed, the group of beauties walked out of the Loki Familia's gates.

They crossed the bustling district on one side of the road, browsed the sales and commercial areas for a while, and then headed towards a quieter street.

Orario had eight main streets, with massive roads radiating from the city center in eight directions: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, and northwest.

Since the city was circular, it looked like a giant cake cut into eight pieces when viewed from above.

Passing numerous weapon shops, item shops, hotels, and other essential stores for adventurers, the group stopped in front of a particular shop. Their eyes were filled with curiosity as they looked at the storefront, which was no more than forty square meters. Tiona was the first to look up at the sign above the shop—

"Emiya Family's Confectionery?"

"And it's so small. Will the taste be bad?"

Tiona said tactfully. Although she doubted Riveria's personal preference, an old woman like her, she didn't dare say too much.

Riveria's death glare was quite terrifying, giving one the feeling of being frozen at a soul level.

Ever since their Sovereign had a discussion with two of her peers, Riveria had an idea, which was also the ultimate goal of this trip. As elders of the Familia, they would one day hand over the Familia to their juniors, so they had to consider many things in advance.

For example, the Familia's excellent new blood...

Ignoring Tiona, Riveria pushed the door open and entered.

"Welcome... Yo, Riveria, you're here. Are you alright now?"

Before she could be seen, her voice was heard. A sweet voice rang out, and a slender figure emerged from the back kitchen, still holding a plate of small cakes. She smiled and greeted Riveria.

Her appearance wasn't breathtakingly beautiful, but she had an extraordinary aura. Her cloudy golden eyes seemed to have experienced much hardship.

Probing my weakness (delete)

Felt a good impression (confirmed)

The beautiful girls of the Loki Familia were stunned for a moment.

Among them, Lefiya reacted the most intensely. The moment she heard the voice, her eyes widened abruptly. Riveria, standing beside her, gave her a knowing glance.

It's her...

"Mhm, I'll have my usual. They can order for themselves."

The five beautiful girls (?) sat at the only large table, looking at the menu hanging inside the shop, which was filled with all sorts of pastries, snacks, and desserts.

Sugar explosion.

Soon, while Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya were still discussing what to eat, Ritsuka, in her casual wear, placed Riveria's order on the table.

Strawberry cake, fragrant sweet tea, and sesame flatbread.

Then, under the astonished gaze of everyone, Riveria, ignoring them, picked up a spoon and took a bite of the cake.

Her face was overflowing with happiness, and all the bad memories of Mapo Tofu in her mind faded away.

"I'll have the red bean cream flavored fried potato balls."

The girl named Ais Wallenstein ordered a recently added item from Ritsuka, which she had learned to make by secretly observing.

Ritsuka smiled and nodded, "Okay, please wait a moment. The freshly fried potato balls are the most delicious."

As she turned around, the clear gaze of the Sword Princess fell upon her, or rather, scanned her entire body as if appraising her.

"Her steps are so steady."

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Chapter 60: The Infinitely Usable Magic Sword

As a top-tier adventurer and a master swordswoman, Ais noticed a detail that even Riveria had initially missed.

Hearing Ais's voice, Tiona immediately leaned in.

"Huh? Ais, what were you muttering about just now?"

"..."

Ais's gaze was vacant, her mind wandering.

The sparsely populated confectionery shop became lively with the arrival of the Loki Familia members.

The energetic Amazonian girl, Tiona, always curious about everything, was looking around and touching things, only to be scolded by her older sister, Tione.

Riveria quietly ate her cake throughout, looking lost in thought.

And Lefiya, the Elf Girl (no doubt about it) who had recently received a Golden Sword praised by Loki as extremely powerful, lowered her head, her fingers rubbing together incessantly. She would occasionally look up to steal glances at the busy Ritsuka.

'Sword Princess' Ais, meanwhile, was adorably cute the entire time, waiting for her fried potato balls.

In this moment, her stern demeanor as a swordswoman vanished, replaced by that of a female diner whose natural ditziness was her charm.

"Hey, hey, Lefiya, why have you been staring at the shop owner?"

Suddenly, after Ritsuka went into the kitchen, a devilish voice sounded behind Lefiya, and Tiona pounced onto her back.

Lefiya's cheeks flushed as she felt hands unceremoniously placed on her waist.

"Tiona!"

Sensing the hands moving upwards again, Lefiya quickly grabbed Tiona's restless hands.

"Hehehe, don't be shy, tell me what you're looking at. Don't tell me you've taken a liking to the shop owner of this confectionery?"

"N-no way!"

"No? Then why are you keep sneaking glances? You're not telling the truth..."

Tiona and Lefiya struggled, losing their balance. They then fell off the chair, with Tiona, who had an absolute advantage in terms of stats, pinning Lefiya to the ground.

Just then, Ritsuka, hearing the commotion, peeked out from the kitchen. "What's going on? I just heard a 'thump'?"

"We are terribly sorry, they were just playing around."

Tione stood up and bowed her head, apologizing to Ritsuka.

After all, they were in someone else's shop, and causing a ruckus was indeed wrong. Moreover, she was much more perceptive than her sister and had already sensed something was amiss.

Lefiya's attitude was off, and Riveria's intentions were impure.

These two elves must have eaten something strange today, Tione thought to herself.

"As long as no one's hurt, be careful."

Ritsuka smiled slightly and returned to the kitchen.

Lefiya and Tiona got up from the ground and, under Riveria's helpless (and serious) gaze, sat back down.

Leaning forward, Tiona rested her arms on the table and asked persistently, "So, what's the deal?"

"You guys should have seen it, the Golden Sword I brought back earlier."

Lefiya scratched her face with her fair fingers, looking a bit hesitant. The mention of the 'Golden Sword' made everyone, including Ais, look solemn.

Ais, with her naturally innocent personality, also reined in her thoughts.

She yearned to become stronger. Although the Golden Sword was an external object that didn't enhance her inherent abilities, it could boost her strength.

That sword was special, so special that Loki called it an immensely powerful Magic Sword that could be released infinitely as long as the user didn't exceed its limits and had sufficient energy. Each release was comparable to Area Annihilation Magic.

This was an incredibly terrifying concept; if it were exposed, it would surely cause a sensation in Orario.

Magic Sword.

A sword possessing magical abilities, allowing its user to cast magic attached to the sword without incantations. Most adventurers, even if they possessed magic, found it difficult to cast during battles due to the lengthy incantations required.

A Magic Sword offered those who couldn't use magic the possibility of doing so, characterized by its convenience and power.

Its drawback was a limited number of uses, typically in the single digits.

Furthermore, magic spells varied in power. Take Riveria, Orario's strongest magic caster, for example; her Area Annihilation Magic was a particularly terrifying type of spell.

Even the highest-ranked adventurers currently found it difficult to withstand a single blast of Area Annihilation Magic!

The incantations for such spells were invariably extremely complex, and without the protection of companions, it was difficult to cast them within the Dungeon. Monsters that sensed the magic would swarm in all at once.

"Could it be that this shop owner is the one who forged that sword?"

Meanwhile, Ritsuka, the subject of their discussion, was working at full throttle, handling the girls' orders.

Potatoes, cream, red beans, cream, low-gluten flour...

In a short while, supported by his exceptional physical abilities, Ritsuka, working non-stop, placed the first batch of freshly baked goods on a tray.

Then, all the drinks were prepared.

Ais's fried potato balls and fragrant sweet tea.

Tiona's foil-baked fish.

Tione's soy sauce ramen and lemonade.

Lefiya's strawberry cake and pineapple-pear juice.

"Thank you for waiting, and please excuse the humble fare."

The Amazon sisters were chatting at the dining table, Lefiya was looking down, seemingly preoccupied with something, and Ais finally snapped back to reality thanks to the fried potato balls.

"Thank you for the meal!"

"Thanks..."

The girls began to enjoy their food, finally replenishing the energy they had expended while shopping.

However, what none of them noticed was the change in Riveria's expression. She looked at Tione's soy sauce ramen, her face turning a little pale.

Some unpleasant memories flashed before her eyes.

In truth, it was Ritsuka's fault. If Riveria had been served authentic Japanese soy sauce ramen, she certainly wouldn't have reacted so dramatically, as if she had been instantly killed.

That bowl was actually a soy sauce ramen that only Ritsuka could tolerate, or more accurately, a soy sauce ramen mixed with mapo tofu ramen.

In a way, it was equivalent to a 1+1 mixture in equal proportions.

Yet, even at that seemingly ordinary level, it had managed to bring down the pale-faced Elven royal.

Just then, Tiona, excitedly eating her own foil-baked fish, shed tears of emotion. "Wuwuwu... it's so delicious, what is this flavor!?"

Everyone looked at her strangely.