[13] Riseria's Resolve

Chapter 13: Riseria's Resolve

"The least scared person walking late at night is someone walking with a lot of friends. With two people, the fear is halved… and if you're walking with about 100 people, you won't feel scared at all."

— The Greatest Hero

"I'm heading to the police station because I downloaded some questionable manga. Will you come with me, friend?"

— The Deranged Ruler of Nature

"I am not your friend."

— The Last Storyteller

...

Amid all the noisy chatter, Riseria finally emerged from her room. She hadn't stepped out in a while, so it was surprising to see her. It was unclear whether she'd stopped working for the moment or had finished her tasks, but it seemed like she was taking a break.

It was perfect timing for Riseria to come out just as dinner was being served.

"Can you all keep it down? If you keep being this loud, I'll kick you out of the house."

"There's a kid here, so what's a little noise?"

"Lili's never made this much noise!"

Sorry, Lili, I used you as an excuse.

"Then I'll raise your rent."

"I'm sorryyyyyyy!"

Anything but that!

Riseria chuckled at my panicked reaction as she sat down at the table.

"So, what's that? Where'd you even pick that up?"

"That 'thing' you're talking about is actually a patron deity of a familia. Maybe don't treat them like an object?"

"Well, I don't like most gods except for ours. I'm sure there are good ones out there, but from what I've seen, Susanoo is the only decent one I know."

"You're making me blush with all the compliments."

"Anyway, who is that?"

Fair enough—Susanoo is unusually kind for a god. Compared to gods like Soma or Loki, he's the most down-to-earth and caring about his familia.

"...What?"

"Loki, the patron deity of the Loki Familia."

Riseria's face twisted in visible disgust.

Right then, Loki suddenly regained consciousness, bolting upright and shouting, "A god from another world! A reincarnator!"

"...Susanoo, what on earth did you tell her?"

"Only the basics."

Basics? Revealing I'm a reincarnator is hardly "basic." What's he planning, dropping that kind of information?

Well, I couldn't blame him entirely. I was the one who brought Loki here, so I couldn't escape some responsibility myself. If things go south, I'll just have to take the heat.

"Why the hell did you whack me on the back of the head like that?! My head's still throbbing! A little harder, and I'd have been sent straight back to the heavens… Wait, what's this?"

Loki scanned the room, and her gaze naturally landed on the most striking figure—Riseria.

Since they were indoors, Riseria wasn't bothering to cover her face, and the moment her eyes met Loki's, her expression darkened even more than before.

"...Riveria? Aren't you Riveria? No, wait, your chest is much smaller than hers, isn't it?"

"What? Riseria, do you know Loki?"

"I don't know her! Never seen her! Damn it!"

Cursing under her breath, Riseria slammed the fork she'd been holding onto the table, as if the thought of food suddenly repulsed her.

"You're an elf who looks a lot like Riveria but with a smaller chest. Could you be her half-sister or something? Didn't she mention a younger sibling?"

"Why is that damned woman airing my family business everywhere?!"

"She said you had a bad temper, and it looks like she was right."

Riveria?

The name sounded familiar. I thought about it for a moment before recalling where I'd heard it—from Ais, in passing.

Riveria Ljos Alf, an elf mage of the Loki Familia. A Level 6 adventurer with the title Nine Hell, and a high elf of royal blood.

"I heard she ran away from home, but I didn't know she was in Orario. Our familias are even based nearby—talk about not noticing what's right under your nose, huh?"

Riseria bit her lip hard, her frustration visibly boiling beneath the surface.

After a moment, she seemed to come to a decision and turned to Loki with a desperate plea.

"Please, I'm begging you, don't tell her anything about me."

"Why not? Riveria's always worried about you. If I tell her you're here, it'll put her mind at ease."

"She'd come looking for me then. I don't want to see her."

"Even though she's your sister?"

"Half-sister," Riseria corrected coldly.

Her family situation sounded complicated. Was she carrying some kind of inferiority complex?

Susanoo seemed to know more than he let on, quietly observing the situation, while Lili stayed silent, sensing it wasn't her place to intervene.

"Loki, if you tell this so-called sister about Riseria's situation, I won't say anything," Susanoo declared.

"...What?!"

"Luke would probably feel the same, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure, why not," I replied, not entirely sure what was going on but backing Susanoo's lead.

Loki, however, looked utterly distraught, as if sealing her lips was the worst possible punishment. She dramatically promised not to say anything, almost looking ready to stitch her mouth shut as proof.

"For today, let's leave it at this. Go back to your familia, Loki. We can continue the conversation tomorrow. For now, we'll have dinner."

"I'm so excited I probably won't be able to sleep tonight. But fine, staying here might make things awkward, so I'll coolly take my leave!"

Like a whirlwind, Loki came and went, leaving the room as dramatically as she had entered.

Even her parting shot felt like something straight out of a Speedwagon speech—unexpectedly impressive.

Once Loki left, the remaining group quietly finished dinner. Lili was sent off to bed early—not just because she was tired, but because the conversation wasn't something for her ears.

Now, only three of us remained: myself, Susanoo, and Riseria, the homeowner.

"Thanks for earlier, Susanoo. You really saved me. If that person had found out about me… I don't even want to think about what would've happened."

"You really don't like her, huh? This Riveria."

"It's not that I dislike her as a person."

Riseria, Riveria… even their names were similar. From the beginning, Riseria had never revealed her last name. If I had to guess, her full name was likely Riseria Ljos Alf, just like her sister.

"That person—my sister—is, as you now know, Riveria Ljos Alf. A Level 6 adventurer," she said, her tone flat but heavy.

"Interesting," Susanoo replied, clearly intrigued.

"I was always being compared to her. My damn father's mistake, a child born out of his 'flames of passion,' so even being acknowledged as his kid wasn't exactly pleasant," Riseria said bitterly.

"Elves go through things like that too?"

"Do you think all elves are pure and perfect? Hell no. There are plenty of crappy ones, too."

I'd always thought of elves as noble and pure… but wait, here was one right in front of me who completely shattered that image.

A foul-mouthed, short-tempered elf wearing a knit sweater.

"And then there was my sister. She started looking out for me, saying it was her responsibility as my older sister. At first, it wasn't so bad."

But the more they stayed together, the more the comparisons came.

One was a legitimate heir with noble blood. The other was the child of an affair, at best considered the offspring of a mistress.

On top of that, Riveria's talent for magic had been evident since she was young, and people often brought it up when comparing them.

"Eventually, I snapped. The damn elves in that kingdom, my sister who kept apologizing to me—it all pissed me off. So, I left home."

She had been through a lot since then.

Because of her looks, she had nearly been sold off.

She had almost been killed by monsters.

She had gone days without food because she had no money.

Eventually, she found her way to Orario.

"I came to Orario before my sister. While living here, I met someone named Fels, learned magic properly, and started crafting and selling simple magic items. It was… fun, at least for a while."

But then, Riveria came to Orario, too. She became a first-class adventurer and achieved global fame.

"And once again, I was being compared to her."

A first-class adventurer versus an elf who could barely use magic. The gap was enormous.

"That's why I decided to create a Grimoire. It's stupid, but if I could make a Grimoire without using a blessing (Falna), it'd be an achievement greater than that of a first-class adventurer."

Without a god's blessing (Falna), even an ordinary human would struggle to make it past the 10th floor of the Dungeon.

Similarly, for magic, reaching its pinnacle without actually fighting would require the creation of insanely powerful magic items—something Riseria had set her sights on.

But in the end, it was impossible.

Despite her continued efforts, Riseria hadn't made any progress.

While techniques like potion refinement could improve with development abilities like Mixing, potions could still be created with basic skills alone.

Magic items followed a similar principle, but for anything more complex than simple creations, it was a different story—it was beyond her reach.

"If that's the case, why not join another familia, get a blessing (Falna), and become an adventurer? You could catch up as an adventurer and prove, 'I'm not any less than you!' That should've worked, right?"

"When I first heard about it, my sister was already Level 4. I'd been living a normal life, disconnected from adventuring, and by the time I learned about it, it was already too late."

"You could've tried anyway."

"It was too late to catch up by then."

What nonsense.

If you truly want something, you throw yourself into it, give it everything you have—your time, your resources, and even your life—to make it happen.

"If you push yourself to the brink of death, you can accomplish anything. So, why give up on yourself?"

"...Are you stupid? There are things in this world that you can't achieve, no matter how much effort you put in. If I tried, I'd probably die before I even reached Level 6!"

"That's why I'm telling you—push yourself to the brink of death and make it happen."

"What the hell are you even talking about?"

It's a simple paradoxical theory.

"If you truly push yourself to the limit, it's one of two outcomes: you either reach Level 6, or you die and rot into the ground."

In my life, I've come to understand one thing: there's no such thing as impossible.

For every challenge in life, there's always a possibility—it's just that some paths are so difficult and improbable that they seem unreachable. But the method always exists.

When I say, "push yourself to the brink of death," I mean it literally.

Die trying, or just die.

Die trying, or achieve your goal.

Die trying, or succeed.

If you don't even have the guts to try, curling up and crying about how "it's impossible," then what's the point?

It's laughable.

"If you really want something, stop whining and either go die trying or work so hard you feel like dying. Complaining here won't change anything."

"And you think that's even possible? Do you really believe that if I start now, I can catch up to my sister?"

"Of course. If you go all in, sacrificing everything like your life depends on it, you can do it."

"What makes you so sure…?"

"I'm a Record Holder. I hit Level 2 in just two months."

Even without my skill, I probably wouldn't have needed more than a year to rank up.

"So quit making excuses and push yourself to the brink, idiot. Stop wallowing in self-pity and hiding in your room."

I couldn't stand it anymore, so I left her with those words and stormed back to my room.

…Then it hit me.

Riseria owns this house. I just hurled insults at my landlord.

…Crap. I need to start writing and earn money fast! If she kicks me out, I've got nowhere to go!

...

After Luke's harsh words, Riseria found herself crying before she even realized it.

He was right.

The truth was, she had given up because she didn't have the courage to walk that path. She told herself she was trying, but in reality, it was all just excuses for her own satisfaction. She'd never truly risked her life for anything.

She was scared.

Having faced death before, she knew exactly how terrifying it was. That fear made her choose the safer, easier road every time.

Riseria had once asked the person who taught her magic to obtain a Grimoire for her. She planned to use it as a reference to create her own, but the more she tried, the more she realized it was impossible.

"I knew a guy who once said something interesting," Susanoo quietly began.

"When walking late at night, do you know what's the most important thing to keep someone from feeling afraid in the darkness?"

"…Light? Like sunlight or something?"

"Even if there's light, the feeling of being in an unfamiliar place doesn't go away. The answer isn't light—it's another person."

Having someone else with you significantly reduces fear.

If you're surrounded by several people, no matter how dark the night is, you can forget your fears and press on confidently.

That's why, if friends gather to support someone walking through the darkest paths, they truly deserve to be called a lord of the night.

Not just a small group, but everyone—even including the few.

"If it's Luke, he'd probably walk the path to death alongside you."

"…Him?"

"He's the kind of guy who's so familiar with the underworld that he's on first-name terms with the ferryman at the River Styx. He's been there so often it's practically his second home."

Luke Blade knew how to die—and how to kill.

"Go with him. If you want, I'll even grant you a blessing (Falna). Forget about what others think. Focus only on what you want to do."

"If you've hit rock bottom, then bet your life as your wager. I'll open the path, and he'll guide you. All you need to do is stand up and start walking."

At Susanoo's words, Riseria wiped away her tears.

Then, in silence, she took off her top and revealed her flawless, snow-white back to Susanoo—a silent request to be granted a blessing.

Susanoo pricked his finger with his Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, drawing blood, and began inscribing the divine Hieroglyphs of a Falna onto her back.

Riseria Ljos Alf

Level: 1

Strength: 10

Endurance: 10

Dexterity: 10

Agility: 10

Magic: 10

Skills

[Magus Scholar (Geniewhiz)]

•Enables research on magic.

•Increases Magic stat growth.

•Ignores magic slot limitations.

•Reduces Mind consumption.

•Allows the crafting of magic items.

[Archmage (Overmind)]

•Specializes in elemental magic.

•Guarantees activation of used magic.

•Shortens chant time.

•Amplifies magic.

[Battle Mage (Ashtarte)]

•Increases Strength, Agility, and Endurance growth.

•Boosts stats when equipped with a spear.

•Enables transformation.

When Susanoo saw Riseria's status, he froze, utterly speechless.

For a moment, he didn't know what to say, before blurting out, "Were you an adventurer in Arad in your past life?!"

Somehow, it all made sense now—especially why her chest was so small!

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