Her Silent Intrest

Minerva smirked at Adam's greeting, her crimson eyes lazily flickering over him as she swirled the sake dish in her hand.

The seven liquor gourds floating behind her bobbed slightly, held aloft by dark black and purplish tendrils made from miasma. With a satisfied sigh, she took another sip before setting the dish down on her thigh.

"...You sure took your time getting here, either way. Good morning to you too."

Minerva said in a soft but warm tone.

From there, she turned her gaze toward Roland, nodding in appreciation.

"And you, Roland. Good work bringing him down... As efficient as always."

Upon hearing these words, Roland just chuckled, as he said.

"I am just doing the task I was created for... Lady Minerva."

Roland said, on the other hand, Adam's focus was on something else entirely, as he switched his gaze to his favorite pair of boobs, swaying around in front of him.

Thankfully, though if it was one thing he was good at, it was looking without being noticed, after all. His eyes were closed at this moment, but he can see through his eyelids, allowing for him to see without really needing to see with his eyes open, and those giant pairs swang and stretch the Sarashi with even the slightest of movement.

However, after having his eye feast, he took advantage of his physical age to fuel his mental age desires. 

But it was what he did next that made him seem either crazy or brave, but this was routine for him.

Like a clingy child, he pounced towards Minerva, stepping between the long expanse of her legs and climbing onto her lap without the slightest embarrassment. It was something he had done many times before, to the point where it was second nature. The moment he settled, he felt the familiar weight of Minerva's ample chest resting against his head, tightly bound by her sarashi yet still undeniably soft.

Minerva chuckled, adjusting her posture slightly to accommodate him.

"As clingy as always, I see."

She said to Adam while rubbing his head.

"Not that I mind... You're rather warm for one so small."

Adam, on the other hand, just said to himself while humming in utter joy.

'Shoujo characters are the best... Umu... Umu... I can stay here all day and drown in her softness.'

After a couple more minutes of cuddling, Minerva's teasing tone came back as she said.

"Alright, alright... Enough of the morning cuddles. You're here for training, yeah?"

Adam sat up, his expression sharpening as he replied with a cute but determined look in his face.

"Of course... my dream is to become big and strong so I can marry Sister Minerva and Priscilla."

"Heh... keep dreaming, kid, keep dreaming. Now quit spouting nonsense and let's get started."

She cracked her knuckles, a smirk emerging at her lips.

"I heard from Roland you've been burying your nose in books lately. Gotta say, that's pretty impressive given how young you are...

Minerva said, praising Adam for his minor feats.

As she continued, by saying.

"Hehehe... so impressive in fact that I sometimes feel like I am talking to a grown ass man trapped in the body of a child; it is quite weird... especially since heheh... I have lived for thousands of years, and I have never seen or heard of a human who mastered reading our language in less than a week at the age of one."

"But I guess that's just thanks to your fancy little Shinso ability. Your hard work will never betray you; it must be nice knowing your training will always take you places only a few can dream of reaching."

Minerva acknowledged Adam's ability; after all, that was what made a Shinso existence so special. But in Adam's case, he was like her, a unique Shinso existence.

Normally, when a monster evolves to the rank of Shinso, their abilities are predetermined. They instinctively know what powers they will receive upon reaching that level.

However, Adam was a Shinso human. And unlike Shinso vampires or dragons, of which multiple could exist at a time, only one Shinso human could exist at any given moment. This distinction meant that while one could anticipate the ultimate abilities of a Shinso vampire or dragon from prior battles, no such knowledge applied to Adam.

He was, by all accounts, an anomaly.

Each race had its defining unique Shinso ability: for dragons, it was their miracles; for vampires, it was their Astrum understanding; for mimics, it was their near-perfect shapeshifting and transmutation. But for beings like Minerva... Mythos or Yokai, as they would call her, aberrations born from the collective belief of the living.

It was different.

She was a being forged from legend, a spiritual entity given form by faith. In simple terms, she was a being of belief itself. And because of that, upon becoming a Shinso existence, her ability was singular, just like Adam's, as a result of what she, her race was, like a subjective idea.

Something that can't be replicated, as ideas are vague in general.

But when many ideas of something come together as one, it gives rise to a collective representation, and that representation was her; for that reason, she was a singular being like every other abberation out there.

It was this uniqueness that made her one of the most feared beings in the monster realm. But it was also what made her feel so distant from the others. She had always known what to expect from those around her and always understood the rules of their evolution. Yet, when she heard from Priscilla what Adam's Shinso ability was, something sparked within her...a rare flicker of joy.

The loneliness of being special, of standing apart from all others... for a brief moment, it faded.

To see another unique being before her, someone unpredictable, someone who wasn't bound by the same expectations as the rest, it was a rare and exciting feeling.

For the first time in a long time, Minerva found herself intrigued.

Finally, someone who couldn't be predicted. Another wild card. She didn't quite know what this feeling was, but she knew one thing for certain as she took in the sight of the determined boy before her.

'How will he turn out... after being trained by her and the other Shinso?'

For that reason, Minerva had taken great interest in Adam.

And for the first time in a long time, she didn't set off on some random adventure to stave off her unending boredom. More than anything else, she wanted a challenge.

She was a being of legend...a warrior, a force of nature, an immovable wall, and an unstoppable force. For eons, she had traveled across countless worlds, all in pursuit of one dream.

'I want to know the taste of defeat.'

As one of the Thirteen Crowns, she was an existence beyond the reach of any other monster, an opponent no creature could even dream of facing, unless it was another Crown. But those ancient beings did not fight among themselves, nor did they concern themselves with the affairs of lesser creatures. Like gods gazing down upon mortal struggles, they merely watched from their thrones, untouched and indifferent.

They had grown so powerful that if even two of them were to clash in a true battle, no matter how small the dispute, it would be enough to put many worlds in danger, especially in a prolonged fight.

For that reason, Minerva had to find other ways to entertain herself.

Hence her drinking addiction was born, because in this boring world, it was the only thing that made her feel something worthy of her time.

That aside, for now, more than anything else, she had never wanted to see a human grow more than she does now.

But as she looked at the naive boy, a portal suddenly opened in front of them, and from that portal came Priscilla.

"Ugh... No matter the realm, I'll never like the daytime. Hmph... I see everyone's already here. Good. That saves me the trouble. Alright then, no point wasting any more time. I've already prepared the ritual to summon some spirits. Let me just teleport the altar here, then we can begin."

Said Priscilla.

"Hehehe... it would seem you will be able to use magic soon... how do you feel about that boy?"

Minerva asked; however, Adam did not answer; rather, he looked shocked.

"Hmmm... boy... are you there?"

Minerva asks once more, this time tugging him with her feet, causing him to snap out of his stupor.

"Ahh, yes, big sister?"

"Hmmm...you seem out of it there more a minute... What happened? Are you suddenly sick or something, kid?"

Minerva asked, to which Adam just shook his head.

"Ohh nothing, I was just wondering what type of attribute I have an affinity for... Hehehe!!"

Adam said, laughing nervously, causing Priscilla to squint her eyes at Adams nervousness, but quickly drop the case anyways, as she said.

"Is that so... well, let's hope it is a strong one."

"Hehehe... Yeah."

Said Adam; however, Adam was acting nervous, or rather, surprised, for a reason, given that the system took him off guard.

『Congratulations! You have successfully entered Shinso Minerva Romance Route!』

『Notice! As a result of entering a route, you have accomplished a System Feat!』

『Due to the extreme difficulty of this route being classified as Lord-Class, you are granted a spin for a Lord-Rank Lore Ability!』

『Now activating the System's unique ability: Beatrice's Blessing: The Wheel of Fantasy... Initiating spin in 3… 2… 1… 0… Spin successful!』

『Notice: You have acquired the Unique Lore Ability: Box of Worth』

『Box of Worth: Grants the user the ability to steal one's worth. But what is worth? Simply put, it is the very essence of importance, the measure by which significance is determined, whether for a person, object, or fate itself. By stealing one's worth, the user seizes their destiny, stripping them of their rightful path. This ability activates when the user harbors genuine aggravation toward a target, marking them as prey. However, to successfully claim another's worth, the user must either publicly humiliate their target to the point of no fixing their reputation, or manipulate them into believing they are unworthy of their own destiny by tricking them into thinking they are worthless. If the victim's will shatters, their destiny becomes yours to wield, or you may bestow it upon another』