A Magic Sword That Could Be Used Without Limit

"Ais! Come hang out with me! What's so fun about the dungeon?!"

Looking at Tiona clinging to her like an octopus, Ais's expression did not change. She simply slipped out of her seat and began shaking her body.

She was trying to fling Tiona off.

"Tiona."

Ais's voice carried a hint of helplessness, though it did not show on her face.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Tiona directly pounced on Ais with force. The two rolled into a ball on the floor, creating a rather suggestive scene for a moment.

"Um, Miss Tiona, Ais..."

Lefiya hurried forward, then for some unknown reason froze in place with flushed cheeks, as if she had been hit by a paralysis spell.

Instinctively covering her nose, Lefiya, the elven maiden, found her fingers slightly damp.

"Alright, everyone should relax together. You too, Ais. You need to rest in moderation." As Riveria spoke, she reached out and tapped Lefiya on the forehead. "It's fine if we don't spend too much money. I happen to know a good place."

"Riveria."

Ais climbed up from the floor and stared blankly at the elf royal woman who was like a Mama, voicing her silent protest.

She still wanted to seize every moment to grow stronger.

"They have fried potato balls with red bean and cream filling."

"...Alright."

After spending some time dressing up, the group of lovely young women walked out through the gates of the Loki Familia.

They crossed the bustling district on the other side of the road, wandered through the market and commercial districts for a while, then headed toward a quieter street.

Orario had eight main avenues. The massive roads radiated outward from the center of the city, extending north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, and northwest.

Since the city itself was circular, it looked from above like an enormous cake cut into eight slices.

After passing countless shops essential to adventurers—weapon shops, item shops, inns, and more—the group stopped before one particular store. They curiously examined the shop, which could not have been more than forty square meters. Tiona was the first to look up at the sign above it—

"Emiya Family's Confectionery?"

"And it's so small. Could the food be kind of bad?"

Tiona put it tactfully. Though she doubted the personal tastes of this old lady, Riveria, she did not dare say too much.

Riveria's death glare was quite frightening. It felt as though it could freeze someone's very soul.

Ever since her goddess had spoken with two peers from her own generation, Riveria had formed an idea—the true purpose of this visit. As founding members of the Familia, they would one day hand it over to their juniors, so they needed to consider many things in advance.

Such as bringing in promising new blood for the Familia...

Ignoring Tiona, Riveria pushed open the door and entered.

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

Before they saw her, they heard her. A sweet voice rang out, and a slender figure emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray of small cakes. She smiled and greeted Riveria.

Her looks were not stunning, yet she possessed an extraordinary air. Her cloudy golden eyes seemed to hold the vicissitudes of countless experiences.

It hit every fetish button. (Crossed out.)

It inspired instant fondness. (Certain.)

The beautiful girls of the Loki Familia all froze for a moment.

Lefiya reacted the most strongly. The instant she heard that voice, her eyes suddenly widened. Riveria, beside her, gave her a knowing glance.

It's her...

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

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

A sugar explosion.

Very soon, while Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya were still discussing what to eat, Ritsuka, dressed in casual everyday clothes, had already placed Riveria's order on the table.

Strawberry cake, fragrant sweet tea, and sesame crisps.

Then, beneath everyone's astonished gazes, Riveria calmly picked up a spoon and scooped a piece of cake into her mouth as though no one else were present.

Happiness practically overflowed from her face, and all the unpleasant memories related to mapo gradually faded away.

"I want fried potato balls with red bean and cream filling."

The maiden named Ais Wallenstein ordered a recently added item that had been learned by imitation.

Ritsuka smiled and nodded. "Certainly. Please wait a moment. Freshly fried potato balls are the most delicious."

After she turned around, the clear gaze of the Sword Princess fell upon her—or rather, swept over her entire body, as if appraising her.

"Her steps... are so steady."

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Chapter 60: A Magic Sword That Could Be Used Without Limit

As a top-tier adventurer and an exceptional swordswoman herself, Ais noticed a detail that even Riveria had failed to notice at first.

Then Tiona, having heard Ais's words, decisively leaned closer—

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

"..."

Ais stared blankly ahead, her mind wandering elsewhere.

The normally deserted confectionery became lively with the arrival of the Loki Familia members.

The lively Amazon maiden Tiona was always curious about everything. She looked here and touched there, only to be scolded by her older sister, Tione.

Riveria quietly ate her cake the entire time, looking as though she were deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Lefiya, the elf girl who had previously received a Golden Sword praised by Loki as incredibly powerful, kept her head lowered, continuously rubbing her fingers together. Every now and then, she raised her lowered head to sneak a glance at the busy Ritsuka.

The Sword Princess, Ais, remained adorably blank throughout, waiting for her fried potato balls.

At this moment, all her imposing dignity as a swordswoman had vanished, leaving only a female customer whose charm lay in her airheadedness.

"Hey, Lefiya, why do you keep staring at the shop owner?"

Suddenly, after Ritsuka entered the kitchen, a devilish voice sounded behind Lefiya. Tiona immediately threw herself onto her back.

Lefiya's cheeks turned bright red. She felt a pair of hands behaving very improperly at her waist.

"Tiona!"

As those hands began moving upward, Lefiya hurriedly pressed down Tiona's restless hands.

"Hehehe, don't be shy. Tell me what you're looking at. Don't tell me you've fallen for the owner of this confectionery?"

"N-No, I haven't!"

"No? Then why do you keep sneaking looks at her? And you still won't tell the truth..."

Tiona and Lefiya became tangled together, lost their balance, and fell from their chairs. With her overwhelming advantage in attributes, Tiona pinned Lefiya to the floor.

Just then, Ritsuka poked her head out from the kitchen after hearing the commotion. "What happened? I just heard a loud thump."

"My apologies. They were merely fooling around."

Tione stood up, lowered her head, and apologized to Ritsuka.

After all, they were in someone else's shop. Making such a scene was indeed wrong. Besides, she was far wiser than her younger sister and had already caught a whiff of something unusual.

Lefiya's attitude was strange, and Riveria's motives were impure.

Maybe these two elves had taken the wrong medicine today, Tione thought to herself.

"It's fine as long as no one got hurt. Be careful."

Ritsuka gave a slight smile and returned to the kitchen.

Lefiya and Tiona climbed up from the floor and, beneath Riveria's helplessly serious gaze, sat back down.

Leaning forward with her head resting on her arms atop the table, Tiona stubbornly asked, "So what exactly is going on?"

"You should have seen it, right? That Golden Sword I brought back before."

Scratching her cheek with a fair finger, Lefiya hesitated. At the mention of the words "Golden Sword," everyone, including Ais, grew solemn.

Even the naturally innocent Ais gathered her thoughts.

She longed to become stronger. Though the Golden Sword was an external tool rather than her own strength, it could still enhance her power.

That sword was special—so special that Loki had called it an immensely powerful Magic Sword that could be unleashed infinitely, as long as it did not exceed its limits and had sufficient energy. Every release was comparable to Area Annihilation Magic.

That was an incomparably terrifying concept. If it were exposed, it would undoubtedly cause a sensation throughout Orario.

A Magic Sword.

A sword imbued with magical abilities. It allowed the wielder to use the magic attached to the sword without chanting. Since most adventurers, even if they possessed magic, found it difficult to use in battle due to the lengthy incantations required.

Magic Swords gave those without magic the possibility of using magic. Their defining characteristics were convenience and power.

Their flaw was that they had limited uses, usually only a single-digit number.

Furthermore, magic varied in strength. Take Riveria, Orario's strongest mage, for example. The Area Annihilation Magic she had mastered was one of the most terrifying kinds of magic.

Even adventurers at the current highest level would find it difficult to directly withstand a single Area Annihilation Magic spell!

And spells of that kind all required extremely complex incantations. Without the protection of companions, they were difficult to cast inside the dungeon.

Monsters that sensed magical energy would swarm over all at once.

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

Elsewhere, Ritsuka, who was being discussed, went full power as she handled the girls' orders.

Potatoes, cream, red beans, cream, cake flour...

In only a short while, supported by her exceptional physical abilities, Ritsuka worked nonstop and placed the first batch of freshly prepared food onto a tray.

Then she prepared all the drinks as well.

Ais's fried potato balls and fragrant sweet tea.

Tiona's foil-baked fish.

Tione's soy sauce ramen and lemon juice.

Lefiya's strawberry cake and pineapple pear juice.

"Sorry for the wait. I hope everything is to your liking."

At the dining table, the Amazon sisters were chatting while Lefiya had her head down, seemingly busy with something. Ais finally snapped back to attention because of the fried potato balls.

"Thank you for the meal!"

"Thank you..."

The girls began enjoying their food, finally replenishing the strength they had spent while shopping.

What they did not notice, however, was the change in Riveria's expression. Looking at Tione's soy sauce ramen, her face turned somewhat pale.

Some unpleasant memories flashed before her eyes.

In truth, this was Ritsuka's fault. If Riveria had been served authentic Japanese soy sauce ramen, she definitely would not have reacted so dramatically, as though she had been struck by an instant-death attack.

That bowl was actually soy sauce ramen only Ritsuka herself could handle. More precisely, it was soy sauce ramen mixed with Mapo Tofu Ramen.

In a sense, it was roughly a one-to-one mixture.

Yet even that merely average level of intensity still took down the pale-faced elf royal.

Just then, Tiona excitedly ate her foil-baked fish and shed tears of emotion. "Waaah... It's so delicious! What kind of flavor is this?!"

Everyone looked at her strangely.