Ais's appearance drew a lot of attention, and everyone greeted her with smiles.
They were equally curious about Ritsuka beside Ais.
Perhaps because they understood Ais's personality, no one minded that she did not respond. After all, this airhead rarely noticed such things, and there was very little she cared about.
For example, Loki and Riveria's requests.
Deep inside the hall, Ritsuka saw Riveria. Ais headed straight toward her.
Noticing their arrival, Riveria smiled gently. "You're here. Go sit over there. Loki will take a while longer."
"The clothes in the room were prepared by you, Riveria, weren't they? Thank you so much. You really helped me out."
Ritsuka bowed to Riveria.
Riveria stopped what she was doing and studied Ritsuka with interest, looking at the girl who became so refined with only a little dressing up.
"How did Loki rope you in? Tell me about it."
After her invitation had been refused, Riveria had guessed that Ritsuka was someone with a story.
Perhaps she had once protected something, and whether she had failed or succeeded, she no longer saw any point in continuing to strive for strength. Such people were difficult to recruit.
Riveria was very curious about Loki's methods.
"Huh, do you really want to know? Actually, it was mapo tof—"
"Stop!"
Riveria's face instantly turned a little pale.
PS: 1. I got the previous chapter wrong. My mentality exploded in the middle of the night...
This is an extra chapter as compensation for my promise. I nearly forgot about it and only posted it after eleven.
2. Ais really is beautiful. The novel illustrations have more flavor than the anime's. Besides being beautiful, she has the dignified presence of a warrior, while in the anime she just feels like a pure airhead.
Honestly, I prefer the novel illustrations. (The picture in this chapter is probably an illustration.)
The First Night in the Familia
Late at night, most of the lights in the Loki Familia had gone out, and everyone had fallen asleep.
This really was a nice place, Ritsuka thought as she sat atop the tower, gazing up at the sparse starry sky.
During the banquet, Loki had formally introduced her before all her future companions, saying it was a tradition of the Loki Familia. Everyone had enthusiastically responded, expressing their expectations for the new member.
Aside from one smug werewolf, she had met many wonderful people on her first night in the Loki Familia.
Her loosened hair fluttered in the night wind. Ritsuka hugged her knees and buried her face against them, her eyes still fixed on the sky above.
What had Kiritsugu been thinking about when he looked at the stars that day?
Ritsuka pondered.
Honestly, joining the Familia felt pretty nice. All the seniors had a parental sort of generosity that made her instinctively feel safe. She had not experienced that feeling in a long time.
Even during those five years of wandering the world, she had never felt the pressure that came flooding in after Kiritsugu died.
"If I become strong enough, can I change Father's fate?"
Turning back time and rewriting destiny...
It sounded far too fantastical. Even the gods of Orario probably could not accomplish something so outrageous. At least Loki, that individually powerful evil god, could not.
Ritsuka clenched her fist toward the sky.
At that moment, the Crystal Dice reacted, leaving her slightly stunned.
... Ais Wallenstein (Sword Princess) Synchronization Value (15%) ...
What was going on?
Ritsuka's brain stalled for a moment, then she instinctively laughed, having guessed at one regrettable possibility.
For an instant, that beautiful, slender figure flashed through her mind.
"So even Ais Wallenstein, the Sword Princess, is searching."
"Searching for what?"
"Wah!!"
The sudden voice behind her gave Ritsuka such a fright that she nearly slipped off the tower roof.
Someone grabbed her and pulled her back onto the tower.
"Riveria—"
Ritsuka turned around with dead-fish eyes and glared at Riveria, who was covering her mouth and snickering. This woman had deliberately sneaked over to scare her. How wicked.
Riveria raised her right fist to her mouth and coughed, then put on a serious expression. "I saw you staying up here alone instead of sleeping in the middle of the night. Is something troubling you?"
"If you don't mind, I'd like to be a listener for once."
As an old senior of the Familia, and the "mama Riveria" Loki always spoke of, Riveria did not really agree with that label in her heart, yet she always unconsciously spoke to the Familia's younger members like a mother.
Ritsuka scratched her head, suddenly feeling too embarrassed to speak. She felt a little ashamed inside.
The way she had raised one fist toward the sky just now must have looked incredibly stupid...
"Do you really want to hear it? My story might be boring."
"Mm-hm, I'm very interested. Your heart and will are strong. You must have gone through unimaginable hardships, right?"
Riveria grinned and poked Ritsuka's puffed cheeks with a finger. Her bun-like cheeks were wonderfully springy.
"My story starts with a certain man..."
The Crystal Dice flickered faintly. Ritsuka took out the exquisite case, and when she opened it, a handgun appeared before Riveria. It looked somewhat similar to the magic stone firearms she remembered.
Ritsuka gently took out the Noble Phantasm. This was considered one of Kiritsugu Emiya's relics.
"My homeland didn't use the magic they have here in Orario, but something called magecraft. Magical energy was supplied by special pseudo-organs." Ritsuka took a deep breath, and azure markings slowly surfaced on her cheeks. "You consume life force and convert it into the magical energy you need, then you can use magecraft."
"Those who can use magecraft are called Magi and magecraft users. My adoptive father, Kiritsugu Emiya, was a 'world-famous' Magus Killer."
Magus Killer was hardly a flattering title. Ritsuka smiled awkwardly, only to find Riveria listening very seriously.
Right, this world was not the same as hers.
It was perfectly normal for her not to know about the Magus Killer.
"The Noble Phantasm, Thompson/Center Arms Contender. You can think of it as a staff used by mages to assist with magic. Their functions are similar."
"They are both tools that work through magical energy."
The exquisite storage case opened, revealing a second layer of bullets engraved with intricate patterns.
Origin Bullets. At the sight of them, Ritsuka could not help sighing. In her original world, these things were ridiculously overpowered, practically tailor-made to counter Magi.
"Severance and binding. Those are the properties of these bullets. I think I mentioned that Magic Circuits are virtual organ structures."
Rather than telling her own story, this had, in a sense, turned into an introductory lecture on magecraft. Ritsuka could not help feeling a little embarrassed.
But once she began talking about Kiritsugu, she found it difficult to stop.
"A Magus who is hit will have the Magic Circuits in their body severed, then violently fused back together. Trying to circulate magical energy in that state results in unbearable pain."
"In a sense, it's a very cruel weapon."
Riveria picked up the thread of the conversation, lightly tapping an Origin Bullet in the case with her fingertip, her eyes sparkling.
If something like this could be used against Orario's mages, she would be in danger. One hidden shot would be enough to take half her life.
"Yeah. Kiritsugu was pretty cold toward everyone except me."
"He was always weighing the value of people and making all kinds of cruel choices. He kept moving forward for the sake of Human History, even though I never understood him."
Time quietly passed, and when the latter half of the night arrived, Ritsuka finally closed her eyes under the influence of drowsiness.
Resting her head on Riveria's lap, she slowly fell asleep.
Of course, Divine Power had played a part as well. Loki had discovered them halfway through and run over, then at Riveria's signal, used Divine Power to do something that would absolutely have gotten her beaten in the past.
After all, everyone in the Familia acknowledged that she was a pervert. Whether they respected her and whether they acknowledged her as a pervert were two separate matters.
"Riveria, what do you think of this child?"
The two sat side by side, enjoying the cool night air. Riveria's fingers gently brushed across Ritsuka's forehead.
Loki narrowed her eyes, seeming to be lost in thought.
But her question made Riveria chuckle. The elf, whose age and experience were both considerable, wore an exceptionally gentle expression in her emerald eyes—
"Having a father with such a cold personality, yet one who strove for the continuation of all humanity, it's actually surprising that this child didn't grow into an obstinate, cold-hearted champion of justice."
"Could it be because she was too adorable, so that father unconsciously didn't force his ideals onto her?"
Kiritsugu Emiya's reputation suffered undeserved damage.
Justice's Partner?
Riveria narrowed her eyes as a phrase Ritsuka had been particularly fixated on echoed through her mind.
"She fought heroes and brave warriors from throughout history for her younger sister, endured Hydra's poison in her body, bore partings in her heart, and kept her soul burning..."
"Unlike other children, the child named Emiya Ritsuka has already grown up. Loki, what do you think she resembles?"
"A hero."
Loki swung her legs, her narrowed eyes shaped like crescents, though her expression had grown much more serious.
"A hero or a brave warrior. Not the kind of brave warrior people once sang praises of, one who fought for humanity, but a hero who belongs to only one person."
The Goal of Training Ability Values
After joining the Familia, her goals for the future had suddenly become very important.
Adventure, trade, entertainment, conflict... Fully embracing the life of an adventurer, Ritsuka headed to the Adventurers' Guild under Loki's lead.
"It's only Level 1. You can just find anyone to take you once," Ritsuka had said, but Loki dragged her along to the Guild without allowing any argument. The obvious importance Loki placed on this also reflected Ritsuka's unusual nature.
The Blessing expanded the vessel, while combat was the quickest way to improve. She had already settled on a training plan in her heart.
Sure enough, elite Level 2 monsters like Minotaurs were the most suitable...
The Guild was Orario's management center for adventurers. If one wanted to become an adventurer, receiving the Blessing alone was not enough. They had to register at the Guild before they could be granted the qualifications to enter the dangerous Dungeon.
Therefore, Ritsuka's previous habit of occasionally sneaking into the Dungeon was entirely against the rules.
The Guild headquarters was an imposing, towering building.
Following behind Loki, Ritsuka entered the Guild hall and instinctively began observing her surroundings.
The staff did not seem particularly strong. They wore uniform white shirts and black vests, with professional smiles on their faces, giving the place something of the feel of a high-end bar.
As Loki led Ritsuka into the Guild, everyone unconsciously turned curious gazes toward them.
Loki, the chief deity of the Familia, was extremely famous, so she naturally drew everyone's attention. And an adventurer personally brought in by her to register at the Guild... might possess terrifying potential...
Striding forward, Loki led Ritsuka to a registration counter.
The girl responsible for registration was an attendant named Eina. She had pointed ears like an elf, but she did not give Ritsuka the same feeling as Riveria, that sense of being a beloved child of magic.
Maybe because her bloodline was impure?
"Register my child for me. She wants to become an adventurer."
Before you continue