Before being arrested, Ais: 'I want to go to the dungeon, I go to the dungeon. I want to find Shirou, I go find Shirou... Ah, Riveria is here, I was just performing in a stage play...'
After being arrested: 'Sob, can we reconcile?'
Riveria: 'At this very moment, you're not seriously joking, are you?'
As Lefiya went to notify Ais to go to Riveria's study, a special "musical" officially began.
The main vocals, naturally, were Little Ais's wails and cries, so miserable that even the adventurers eavesdropping outside the door felt a chill in their hearts.
So that usually dumb and expressionless Ais, could actually let out such emotional screams in such a rich tone.
The sound was sometimes high-pitched, sometimes low and deep, and sometimes with a bit of a sob, as if performing a gripping play.
"Wuuu—Riveria, I was wrong!!!"
"Ah—"
Each scream was followed by a crisp "smack" sound, as if one could imagine the arc of the belt swinging through the air.
The adventurers looked at each other, strange expressions on their faces.
Outwardly appearing as the Ice Queen, yet actually a bratty child, Ais was now being strictly "educated" by the stern Lady Riveria. This rare scene brought a bizarre sense of joy over the entire Loki Familia residence.
The adventurers of Loki Familia felt mixed emotions. They found this "musical" rather funny, yet also a little fearful.
After all, getting scolded by Riveria was no joke. The sound of the belt tearing through the air alone was enough to make one's heart tremble.
Just as everyone was whispering among themselves, Tione suddenly sighed and said, "I'm so jealous of Ais. I want to be disciplined by a strong male like that too."
Her eyes actually showed a bit of longing, as if imagining something, and a silly smile slowly emerged on her lips.
As soon as these words came out, the surrounding adventurers all glanced sideways.
"Tione, that thought of yours... as expected of an Amazon."
Tiona sighed, "Sis, stop daydreaming. There's no chance."
However, thanks to Ais's sacrifice, everyone's attention was now completely drawn to the sounds coming from the study. The previously heated topic of 'Riveria and the Elf Slayer' seemed to be temporarily forgotten.
This spanking Ais received was no joke. She couldn't get out of bed for three full days.
Lying on the bed in pain, she had to be very careful even when trying to roll over.
The main area that got hit was her butt, which had been thoroughly taken care of by Riveria. It was now swollen like a bright red apple.
Besides her butt, her head hadn't escaped Riveria's staff either. As a result, ever since this beating, Ais seemed even more spaced out than before.
Her originally cold expression now appeared dazed. When staring at the ceiling in a daze, she looked like a squirrel who had its winter stash stolen, lost and dejected.
After this education, the female adventurers of Loki Familia scrambled to earn the privilege of applying ointment to Ais's swollen little butt.
After all, Ais was like the little princess of the Loki Familia. Everyone usually spoiled her. Now, seeing her get beaten so badly, everyone felt distressed and wanted to take good care of her.
Moreover, after hearing her make such cute sounds from being punished, everyone seemed to like her even more.
It was as if the cold image of the Sword Princess had suddenly become more human and relatable. This contrast made people want to get closer to her.
After a fierce competition, the final winners were the Level 4 Anki and the Level 2 Lefiya.
What was surprising was that Lefiya had suddenly burst out with unimaginable strength and squeezed past many high-level seniors to win this precious opportunity.
She stood in front of everyone with a determined look, as if accepting some kind of sacred mission.
Riveria looked at the pitiful figure of Ais lying on the bed and couldn't help but feel a bit of heartache. She thought to herself that she had acted too rashly this time and hit her a bit too hard.
With a soft sigh, Riveria's tone eased a little and she said to Ais, "Alright, I'll give you three days to recover. But after three days, you must come with me to personally apologize to the Hephaestus Familia and the Demeter Familia."
Upon hearing this, Ais's expression clearly stiffened, but she didn't object. She simply nodded obediently.
She knew she had made a serious mistake this time. Riveria was right,.she had to go and apologize personally.
Riveria secretly sighed. She had worked so hard to maintain a good relationship with Shirou Emiya from the Hephaestus Familia. She had even made considerable "sacrifices."
Of course, in her heart, she believed it was all worth it, for the Loki Familia and for Ais.
So now, if their relationship soured because of Ais's lie, it would be a huge problem.
However, Riveria didn't realize that by giving Ais these three days of rest out of sudden compassion, she had missed the only chance to prevent a coming disaster.
At this moment, the special materials Hephaestus had personally procured from the Sword-Making City had already been delivered. She had completed her masterpiece and was now about to inscribe the final engraving.
On that piece, the name "Riveria Ljos Alf" was about to be carved. Right now, Riveria had missed the last chance to clear the misunderstanding and stop the goddess of fire.
———
[Hephaestus Familia Residence, the Etna Volcano]
The tiara carefully crafted by the fire goddess was complete.
It was not an official [Crown], but a decorative [Tiara].
A crown was suited only for solemn occasions, while a tiara could be used as a daily accessory.
The goddess Hephaestus had clearly put much thought into choosing this gift. What she created, in a sense, was the most fitting present for Riveria's status.
Although in the lower world, godly powers couldn't be used and a goddess's body was equivalent to that of an ordinary person without divine blessing, her divine craftsmanship and the power of the God of Smithing remained completely intact.
Of course, without being able to ignite divine fire or use divine materials in the lower world, even Hephaestus herself couldn't forge a true divine artifact under these conditions.
However, even so, with Hephaestus's skills and the finest materials of the lower world, the level of this tiara still reached, or even surpassed, a certain limit.
[Tiara of Avalon]
That was the name the goddess gave it. At this moment, she looked at the ring on Shirou Emiya's left hand, her gaze filled with comfort and emotion.
———
When Shirou Emiya returned to the labyrinth city, Hephaestus had already been waiting for some time. Seeing him return safely, the goddess didn't say much, simply stepped forward and gave him a warm hug.
However, after returning to the residence with him, Hephaestus didn't immediately ask about his adventures, nor did she update his status right away.
Her gaze quickly fell on the ring on Shirou's left middle finger.
As the God of Smithing, Hephaestus had extremely sharp eyesight. With just one glance, she saw through the ring's nature, a spirit-blessed item.
The goddess's expression shifted from concern to curiosity. She directly asked, "Shirou, what's with the ring on your left hand?"
Shirou answered truthfully, "Riveria lent it to me. Originally I just wore it temporarily, but later... later I couldn't take it off. She had no choice but to give it to me."
Hephaestus listened to Shirou's words, maintaining a calm expression, but inside she couldn't help wanting to laugh.
She knew Shirou wasn't lying, but the details in his explanation amused her.
No matter how smart the children of the lower world were, their lies were transparent before the gods.
However, there was one exception. That was when the child himself didn't realize what he said was wrong.
Hephaestus immediately understood. Shirou had clearly been tricked by Riveria. That ring wasn't "loaned" to him. From the start, it was a gift.
"Loaned?", Hephaestus chuckled to herself. Something as precious as a spirit-blessed item, how could it be casually loaned and returned?
'Riveria is obviously hiding her feelings. She's quite reserved,' the goddess concluded.
As for whether Riveria knew the ring carried spirit blessings, Hephaestus didn't even consider it, 'It is impossible, right?'
Hephaestus smiled and said, "Such a precious gift can't go without a return gift."
Shirou immediately nodded in agreement, "Yes, you're right. I was thinking about how to repay her. I plan to forge a first-tier weapon myself as a return gift for Riveria."
His idea was to craft a sword for the [Sword Princess] Ais, who was close to Riveria.
However, Hephaestus shook her head and said mysteriously, "Shirou, actually I already have something ready that can serve as a return gift."
As she spoke, Hephaestus turned to a cabinet nearby and took out a gleaming tiara.
"This is the best return gift," Hephaestus handed the tiara to Shirou.
The tiara crafted by the goddess was a finely detailed and elegant piece. It was made from delicate silver metal, adorned with intricate swirling patterns like vines from nature, graceful and full of life.
In the center of the tiara was a large sapphire, its blue glow dazzling under the light, mysterious and noble.
Around the main gem were leaf-shaped metal inlays, finely crafted with exquisite detail, showcasing unparalleled craftsmanship.
At the base of the tiara were several small blue gems, complementing the central gem and enhancing the overall harmony and grandeur of the piece.
Shirou looked at the tiara in Hephaestus's hands and hesitated slightly, "I feel like... using your item as a return gift doesn't seem right. After all, this is my responsibility."
Hephaestus chuckled lightly, gently patted the boy's shoulder, and said softly, "Don't worry about it. This tiara is of no use to me anyway. When your forging skills improve in the future, you can find a chance to repay me then."
The goddess was quite insistent, and in the end, Emiya nodded and agreed.
Hephaestus smiled in satisfaction, then handed the exquisite crown to his hands.
The goddess pointed to the blue gemstone set in the center and said, "Come, drop a bit of your blood on this gemstone."
Although Emiya was a little confused, he still followed the goddess's instructions, projected a small knife, and lightly cut his fingertip. A drop of bright red blood dripped from his fingertip, landing precisely on the gemstone of the crown.
The blood quickly seeped into the sapphire, as if merging with it. The sapphire flickered slightly, emitting a faint dark red glow, making it look even more luxurious and mysterious.
Next, Hephaestus picked up a carving knife and engraved the names of Riveria and Emiya on the inside of the crown.
"All done."
Hephaestus looked at her finished work with satisfaction and handed it to Emiya, "Now, you can give it to Riveria. She will definitely like it."
"However, before delivering the return gift, there is one more important matter."
The tone of Goddess Hephaestus shifted, "The update of your status… and the level-up."
The goddess's tone carried certainty. Even though the status hadn't been updated yet, Goddess Hephaestus was already convinced that this adventure was enough to let the boy level up. In fact, Emiya had a similar premonition in his heart.
Emiya nodded, took off his shirt, revealing his firm back. The goddess's gaze lingered on his back for a moment, and her fingers gently traced the solid lines of his muscles, sighing, 'This child has really grown up fast.'
She gently cut her own finger, and divine blood slowly flowed out. She smeared it on Emiya's back, and skillfully activated his status.
"As expected, you can level up."
Goddess Hephaestus spoke softly and asked, "Next is the choice of development ability. You can choose one from [Swordsman], [Archer], [Forging], [Magic Guidance], [Mental Recovery], [Breaking], [Defense]."
Emiya thought for a moment. This was undoubtedly the most important decision after every level-up. Each development ability was crucial to future battles, and this time, his hesitation mainly focused on [Forging] and [Mental Recovery].
[Forging] clearly matched well with his current abilities and goals. For a blacksmith, the importance of forging was self-evident; and as a projection user, improving forging skills would also greatly enhance his combat power and weapon control.
As for [Mental Recovery], it was another direction worth considering. Emiya's fighting style mainly relied on projection magic, and the ability to recover mental power through [Mental Recovery] would undoubtedly greatly enhance his endurance in prolonged battles.
After thinking for a while, Emiya finally made up his mind. He looked up and said to Hephaestus, "I choose [Forging]."
Hephaestus nodded, didn't ask further, and respected Emiya's choice.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Emiya Shirou]
[Lvl.2→Lvl.3]
Strength: SS1001→I0
Endurance: SSS1449→I0
Dexterity: SS1280→I0
Agility: SS1001→I0
Magic Power: SSS1573→I0
—: Development Abilities :—
[Mystery] I→H, [Forging] I.
—: Magic :—
[Unlimited Blade Works]
—: Skills :—
[Oath Under The Snow]
[Knight Of Goddess]
[Roadless Valhalla]
[Innocent Monster]
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