DanMachi: The Epic of the Heroic Spirits of Emiya Shirou

Lying about her name might not be a good idea, but Little Ais couldn't find an opportunity to explain right now.

It felt really strange to be called "Rivieria" by that name.

"Yes, Shirou."

"Then let's say goodbye. The Demeter Familia's base should be over there."

"Ah? Um...yes." Ais reluctantly let go of the boy's hand.

She hasn't yet achieved her goal of learning swordsmanship from the other party, but she feels that now is not a good time.

"Shirou, will we ever meet again?" Ais asked, tilting her head slightly as her golden hair was blown by the night breeze.

“Of course, Riveria,” Shirou smiled.

“Okay, then, it’s a date—” Ais said earnestly, extending her right hand with her little finger hooked together.

This gesture is remarkably appropriate for her age, and it's also very cute.

Emiya: "Yes, it's a date."

[Riviera of the Demeter Familia], Emiya Shirou carefully memorized this somewhat strange and cute girl.

·

Hephaestus Familia

The goddess with deep red hair sat by the fireplace, drinking alone. The firelight cast her graceful figure on the opposite wall. She placed a goblet filled with amber wine on the table and stretched languidly.

"Shirou, he's not back yet..." Hephaestus murmured to herself, leaning back in the soft velvet chair.

The gods can sense the state of the family through "blessings." As long as the amount of blessings does not decrease, they can at least confirm that the family's children have not been harmed.

"Isn't it a bit impulsive to let Shirou go on an adventure alone?"

Although Hephaestus believed that, given the child's abilities and personality, no monster in the upper district could harm him, the dungeon was always an unreasonable place where anything could happen.

While worried about the child's safety, Hephaestus was also curious about how he would grow during this adventure, and thus looked forward to Emiya's return.

As if responding to the goddess's expectations, someone arrived, but it wasn't Emiya Shirou.

Chun burst through the door: "My Lord, something terrible has happened!"

Hephaestus looked at the door panel in Chun's hand and sighed, "Chun, remember to fix my door before you leave."

The goddess shifted from a casual, languid sitting posture to an upright one.

"So, what happened?" she asked.

"It's like this..." Tsubaki relayed the news she had heard from Shakti to the goddess.

Both Chun and the goddess know Shakti's character very well, so what this "Staff of Ganesha" says must be 100% true.

Shakti would never have said it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes; that's just her personality.

Hephaestus's expression turned serious: "The Loki Familia, tsk, using such tactics, how insidious..."

From the moment Hephaestus took in Shirou Emiya, she believed that this child would definitely become an extraordinary adventurer.

Not only because of his limitless potential in magic and skills, but also because of the unwavering will and strong mind that the child possessed, which even the gods would praise.

Therefore, Hephaestus was always vigilant, guarding against the possible ulterior motives of other members of the Familia.

Children with special potential will attract the attention of the gods, while some gods with twisted and wicked personalities will even do despicable things like stealing children from other clans.

For example, Apollo, the sun god and chief god of the Apollo Familia, is such a character, known among the gods as "compassionate lover." Every adventurer in the Familia, without exception, has been courted by Apollo, and those who refuse are dragged into his service through various means (including being hunted down).

However, Hephaestus wasn't worried about Apollo at all, because although the Apollo Familia was quite strong and could be considered a backbone force in the Labyrinth City, it was ultimately just a backbone force.

If anyone dares to reach out, their claws will be chopped off along with their head. This is the kind of power the top-tier clan, the Hephaestus Familia, possesses.

Therefore, compared to the open struggles, Hephaestus was more worried about the methods hidden beneath the surface.

For example, having a child of the opposite sex from the same clan seduce someone is a common tactic.

"I hoped Shirou could lure the Loki Familia's children, but instead he directly sent a Rank 1 adventurer to tempt them..."

The goddess couldn't help but frown.

“This might not necessarily be an action at the clan level. Although Loki seems unreliable, I still trust Captain Finn’s character,” Tsubaki said.

"I think it was an individual act. After all, there are two Amazons among the first-class adventurers of the Loki Familia!"

The goddess hesitated for a moment: "Hmm, the Amazon, indeed..."

Amazons are one of the races that inhabit Orario, and this race is entirely female. Amazons far surpass humans in physical abilities such as strength, stamina, and agility, placing them at the top level among many races. Consequently, their magical abilities are also inferior, and it is almost impossible for any Amazon to become a pure mage.

Compared to their racial abilities, the Amazons are more famous for their racial character and style.

To put it mildly: Amazon is generally quite "open" and has some habits that deviate slightly from social norms and customs.

For example, it is well known that Amazon has an extraordinary passion for pretty boys.

The two Amazons in Loki's Familia have rather unique personalities. One of them retains a rare childlike innocence and playfulness, while the other is innocently entangled with her captain Finn. Both of them are unconventional Amazons.

But they are, after all, Amazons; who knows if they might one day suddenly awaken?

"Speaking of which, who exactly was that female first-class adventurer from the Loki Familia who seduced Shirou?" Hephaestus noticed the crucial question.

Loki's Familia boasts four female Class 1 adventurers: a pair of Amazon sisters, the Elf "Nine Demon Princess" Riveria, and the "Sword Princess" Ais Wallenstein.

"Ah... this..." Chun paused for a moment, then scratched her head guiltily, "I was in such a hurry that I didn't hear clearly before I ran back."

"If it's [Sword Princess], then perhaps the child and Shirou are quite a good match?" Hephaestus began to consider another aspect.

The two are very similar in age and talent. The main difference between them is the time they became adventurers. [Sword Princess] started her adventures too early. This girl started going on expeditions to the dungeons with Loki's Familia when she was only seven years old, which seems crazy to outsiders.

"I am back."

Finally, the goddess heard the voice she had been waiting for.

"Goddess Hephaestus, and Sister Tsubaki, you're both here, Goddess. Why is your door broken?" Shirou said.

"Shirou-kun, I'd like to ask about your adventure today. Did you encounter any interesting people or things?" Hephaestus asked gently, her expression softening.

"Ah, I did meet a rather special girl today." Emiya Shirou didn't seem to notice anything amiss. "I just took her home, so I got back a little late."

"What's her name?" Hephaestus narrowed her eyes, thinking, "I want to see which wicked woman is seducing my child."

Emiya replied, "Her name is Riveria."

......

Hephaestus and Chun exchanged a glance, and they could clearly see extremely complex emotions in each other's eyes.

Surprise, doubt, confusion, bewilderment, and fear.

"What is her name?" Hephaestus asked. Children of the lower realms are not allowed to lie before the gods; any lie will be easily exposed.

But it was precisely because Hephaestus knew that neither Shirou nor Tsubaki had lied that she became increasingly suspicious of herself, even wondering if there was something wrong with the gods' ability to detect lies.

“Her name is Riveria.” Shirou repeated it as the goddess had asked, though he was a little confused.

Could there be other people named Riveria in Orario? The goddess and Tsubaki couldn't help but wonder, and then they came to the same conclusion.

No, other names might be duplicated, but "Riviria" will never be, because it is the name of an elven royal family respected by all elves. Anyone who dares to use this name will be torn to pieces by the elves.

Therefore, it can only be that Riveria, the vice-captain of the Loki Familia, the [Nine Demon Princesses] Riveria Leos Alfre!

Chun recalls Shakti's description again:

"Holding hands, walking intimately down the street."

"The way they're secretly staring at your kid from behind... tsk tsk, it's like they want to eat him alive, it's kind of scary."

Riveria, what are you doing?!

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Goddess: I don't understand, but I respect and bless her.

Reminded by Shirou, the goddess Hephaestus, who had been shocked, finally remembered that she still needed to update Shirou's stats.

Although Chun had countless things she wanted to say, she consciously left the room at this moment. Even as the leader, she should not presume to pry into the divine grace of her members.

She could sense that Shirou had some special abilities besides the magic [Unlimited Blade Works], but since neither the goddess nor Shirou had mentioned it, she wouldn't ask.

Chun left, turning back every three steps, which surprised even the boy.

"Shirou, what do you think of Riveria?" the goddess couldn't help but ask.

"Well, I think she's quite cute," Shirou said. "She's probably the cutest girl I've ever met."

Because so far, "Riviera" is the only girl Emiya has met in this world who is younger than him.

Therefore, Shirou felt that the other girls, whether it was Ryu or Anya, were more pretty than cute, while only "Riveria" was more cute than pretty.

"Cute?!" The goddess was shocked, and unintentionally, her gaze towards Shirou had already carried a hint of "respect".

At first, I thought it was a problem with Riveria, that old elf, but now it seems my own child is no ordinary child either.

Gods can clearly see through the lies of those in the mortal realm. Goddess Hephaestus is now certain that Emiya's words came from the heart; he genuinely thought Riveria was "cute"!

"Shirou," the goddess softly called the boy's name.

"My Goddess, what's wrong?"

"No matter what kind of person you like, as long as you both love each other, I will support you!"

The goddess Hephaestus didn't quite understand, but chose to respect and offer her blessings.

Emiya: "Huh? Um... thank you?"

At least this way, I won't have to worry about Shirou being deceived by a bad woman. Although Riveria has some quirks that shouldn't be judged by appearances, her noble character should make her trustworthy... I guess so.

Thinking about it carefully, humans and elves are the most common couple to interspecies. A mere age difference of less than a hundred years is probably not a big problem for elves.

"Should I prepare to make some jewelry? What kind of gift would an elf like..." The goddess's thoughts drifted away again.

"My Goddess, I'm ready." The boy had already taken off his shirt, revealing his strong back.

"Oh, um, okay." Coming to her senses, Hephaestus pressed her cut fingers against Shirou's back.

The emblems of a volcano and a forging hammer appeared, followed by ability value data composed of sacred text.

Emiya Shirou

Lv.1

Strength: H139-H180

Endurance: G246-G278

Dexterity: E447-D507

Agility: H128-H162

Magic: F311-E410

Development capabilities:

magic

Unlimited Blade Works

skill

【Oath Under the Snow】

【? ? ? ? ? ? (Roadless Valhalla)]

Hephaestus rubbed her eyes, somewhat taken aback by the boy's sudden surge in ability.

"Shirou, these are your stats. Tell me the truth, what exactly did you do?" Hephaestus asked seriously.

Emiya Shirou thought for a moment: "Maybe it's because I killed a Minotaur?"

“What, Minotaur? You’ve ventured deep into the middle layer?” Hephaestus’s tone turned serious. “We agreed that we’d only go up to the twelfth layer at most.”

If this child underestimates the dungeon because of his abilities and runs amok in the labyrinth, then Hephaestus will really be angry.

“No, it was a Minotaur that somehow ended up on the twelfth floor,” Shirou explained. “I also met Riveria on the twelfth floor; she got separated from her teammates.”

“I see.” Hephaestus’s brows relaxed.

It is indeed rare for monsters from the fifteenth floor to appear on the twelfth floor, but it is not impossible.