"So, you don't regret it?"
"Lady Loki, we don't regret it."
"Although we didn't exactly like your... expression just now, the fact that you were willing to tell us the truth makes us willing to trust you!"
Ouranos had deceived them, and many Deities also treated them as the Messiah, shouting slogans loudly enough, but if they had truly intended to join those other Familias, probably not a single Deity would have agreed.
While part of this was due to Hyacine and Barbara's own circumstances, those Deities had clearly failed to earn the girls' favor.
Only the Loki before them...
Though she was a bit lecherous and unreliable, compared to those hypocritical fellows, Loki truly cared for her own children.
That alone was enough; Loki was far more trustworthy than those sanctimonious Deities!
Don't be fooled by the fact that Hyacine and Barbara were Healers; when the moment called for it, they didn't hesitate.
"Excellent, you've got quite the spirit!"
"However, there's no need to call me Lady, or use any other honorifics!"
When mentioning this point, Loki was particularly proud.
In other places, as long as mortals spoke to Deities, they had to use honorifics or respectful titles.
But there was one exception, and that was the Loki Familia!
Not using 'You' or other formal addresses, and not needing to add 'God' or 'Lord' as a suffix—it was a Familia where the Deity and humans truly mingled as equals.
"Then hurry up and come home with me! The big beds in my Familia have been hungry and thirsty for a long time, ow!"
Finn, Gareth, and Riveria had already spoken with Loki yesterday about whether or not to recruit those two into the Familia.
The answer was 'yes'.
Finn needed prestige, and a Messiah could bring him unprecedented fame!
Gareth didn't mind either; the fact that they had insta-killed Hyakinthos was enough to prove their strength, and they surely had room for growth in the future.
Riveria also expressed that Hyacine and Barbara, having saved so many Adventurers, were indeed 'good people'.
As a result, there wasn't a single voice in the entire Loki Familia opposing Hyacine and Barbara's joining.
"Hurry and follow me back!"
"I need to carve your Falna immediately. Otherwise, if those people with ulterior motives find out I'm the one who did it, they'll definitely come looking for trouble!"
Now that both sides had confirmed their intentions, Loki had no reason to hesitate. She grabbed the two girls' hands and ran toward the Familia headquarters, even forgetting about Ais beside her for a moment...
"Just me left?"
Ais was a bit dazed, but in the next second, she realized she seemed to have been abandoned. She could only pout and follow the three running ahead, all her emotions written on her face.
On the way to the Loki Familia, the four of them intentionally avoided crowded areas, seemingly not wanting outsiders to know about this in advance.
However, just after the four had left, a transparent ripple suddenly appeared at a vacant corner, as if the space itself were fluctuating.
"So it's Loki?"
As if peeling the surrounding space off his body, a blonde male god appeared under the sunlight. He watched the departing silhouettes of Hyacine and Barbara from a distance, lost in thought.
"If it's Loki, it seems acceptable?"
"Given her and her Familia's strength and connections, she can indeed provide the Messiah with early protection, but this also means the things I plan to do next will become more troublesome..."
"If Loki finds out I'm the one pulling the strings, she'll probably kill me outright, right? Haha!"
Despite the terrifying words, not a shred of fear could be seen on this male god's face; instead, he had an expression of eager anticipation.
"This feels quite challenging. Then let me test your mettle. I hope you haven't regressed over the years, Loki..."
The man's voice and figure vanished into the sunlight once more at almost the same time, leaving no trace for anyone to see.
—
"Hey, hey, hey! What on earth is going on here?"
As the primary god of the Loki Familia, Loki was quite well-versed in carving Falna. Over the years, she had carved Falna for many Adventurers, and it was virtually impossible for her to make a mistake.
Some people were very powerful, able to awaken Skills and Magic as soon as they received their Falna—true chosen ones.
Others were mediocre; not only did they fail to awaken Skills or Magic, but even their Status was difficult to raise.
Whether good or bad, Loki was a Deity with plenty of experience, but even so, she had never seen the situation before her eyes.
[■■■■■]
Including the name, basically all the values within the Falna were stained by strange black squares. There was simply no way to see Hyacine's Status, and there was no way to level her up through normal means.
This method was simply...
"It's like it's been infected by a virus!"
As an omniscient Deity, Loki naturally had a basic understanding of things like computers and viruses; it was just that computers and viruses didn't currently exist in this world.
But was this normal?
Even for the Children of God, this kind of situation shouldn't occur, right?
Carrying these thoughts, Loki immediately turned her gaze toward the other girl in the room, Barbara.
"Let me see!"
If this situation only happened to Hyacine, Loki would have accepted it, given she was a Child of God, but there was another Child of God present!
When Loki's divine blood dripped onto Barbara's back, an abnormal situation appeared almost simultaneously, and even Loki couldn't quite keep it together.
Barbara's situation was somewhat different from Hyacine's. Although her Status was equally unreadable, it wasn't the same pitch-black squares as before; instead, it had become...
Something like a water-soaked state?
To describe it, it was as if a breeze had blown past, accidentally soaking the writing with wine stains, which were then stored for an eternity, eventually evolving into an unspeakable script.
To be able to describe such an unspeakable thing, Loki felt she was already quite impressive.
"What is all this supposed to be?"
"That Deity who created the Children of God—what exactly did you do!"
The only thing capable of obstructing a Deity was another Deity; Loki immediately made the connection.
Except, even having thought of it, there was no way to handle it!
For Children of God created by a Deity burning their own life, if Loki wanted to interfere, she would have to pay an equivalent price.
But if she also burned her life, wouldn't her trip to the Lower World be in vain?
"Forget it, forget it. Since it's already like this, there's nothing I can do. I'll just have you try killing some monsters first..."
Loki appeared a bit dejected. She hadn't expected that just when she wanted to show off in front of the two Messiahs, she would run into such a mess. She could only helplessly hand the two of them over to Finn and go get some much-needed rest.
However, compared to the clueless Loki, Hyacine and Barbara looked at their 'unspeakable' Status and fell into thought.
'To think even the Status can be tampered?'
'Truly impressive!'