Ryota stared blankly at the woman before him, who sported vibrant red hair, permanently narrowed eyes, and a playful smirk.
The tomoe in his Sharingan slowly faded away, and after carefully scrutinizing the intruder again, he confirmed he wasn't hallucinating.
A few seconds later, Ryota finally realized that the uninvited guest standing casually in front of him was none other than the Goddess of one of Orario's strongest Familias—Loki herself.
"Hey, hey, why the silence?"
Grinning cheerfully, Loki strode into the room without the slightest hesitation, as though it were her own, and plopped down onto the very bed Ryota had just been lying on.
She casually crossed her legs and continued:
"Mama told me you're looking for a Familia?"
"I personally came here to invite you, so what's with that dumbfounded look?"
Ryota paused for two seconds before replying:
"Uh... I'm just thinking about how I'm supposed to pay for that door."
His gaze landed on the pitiful wooden door, now hanging askew on its hinges, with a sizable chunk of its corner blasted clean off.
Wasn't there supposed to be some rule preventing gods from using their divine power down here?
Yet here was the door, practically obliterated by her kick!
Hearing this, Loki waved dismissively, eyes still squinted in amusement:
"Relax, put it on my tab! My kids back home break doors way more often than you'd think."
"Besides, I had to hurry! If another god snatched you up first, I'd be kicking myself for the next hundred years!"
Before Ryota could respond, Loki suddenly sprang up from the bed with incredible speed. She grabbed hold of his arm and began dragging him toward the door without ceremony.
"Come on, come on! Enough chit-chat!"
"You didn't refuse, so that's basically a yes!"
"Wait wait wait, where exactly are we going?"
He asked helplessly, stumbling along as Loki dragged him down the stairs.
"To celebrate, of course! Just follow me!"
Their footsteps clattered loudly against the wooden staircase, and soon they re-entered the inn's main lobby.
Standing by the counter, Lefiya saw Ryota's "am I being kidnapped?" expression and couldn't help but giggle.
Behind the counter, the formerly proud elf innkeeper's expression transformed dramatically when he saw Loki hauling Ryota along.
He immediately straightened his back, plastering an overly enthusiastic smile on his face, and even bowed deeply as Loki breezed past:
"L-Lady Loki! Your presence here honors our humble establishment! Forgive my earlier discourtesy—"
"Fix the door yourself."
Loki didn't even glance back, waving her hand casually as she marched out.
"Y-yes, of course! I'll fix it right away!"
Ryota had intended to offer an apology to the elf innkeeper.
But before he could even open his mouth, Loki seemed to anticipate it, forcefully dragging him outside without giving him a chance to speak.
The door slammed shut behind them with a loud bang.
Inside the lobby, Lefiya took out a small pouch from her pocket, counted out 2,000 Valis, and handed them to the still-stunned elf innkeeper:
"This is for repairing the door."
"Is this amount enough?"
The innkeeper, who had barely processed the reality of "Lady Loki personally visiting," was startled back to his senses. He quickly waved his hands, face filled with surprise and flattery:
"N-no, I couldn't possibly accept it! Having Lady Loki herself visit is a great honor! A broken door is nothing!"
"Lady Lefiya... if you could kindly relay to Lady Nine Hells that our humble inn is always awaiting the Loki Familia's visits, I would be truly grateful!"
Lefiya smiled gently, not saying much, simply nodding:
With that, she turned and left the inn, following in the direction Loki and Ryota had gone.
Left behind at the counter, the elf innkeeper carefully tucked the stack of Valis into a wooden box beneath the counter, his face glowing with happiness, as though today was the luckiest day of his life.
At the northernmost edge of Orario stood an imposing building whose dark copper hues seemed to blend seamlessly into the approaching twilight.
It was tall and majestic. Though not reaching the dizzying heights of Babel Tower, gazing upwards at it for long still made one's neck ache.
This was Loki Familia's home base.
But the citizens of Orario preferred to call it—Twilight Manor.
And now, Ryota was standing right before its gates.
He glanced down at his arm, nearly dislocated from Loki's merciless dragging, then up at the grand mansion looming before him, his mouth twitching slightly:
"I'm still not exactly sure how we got here."
"Feels like the next thing I know, I'll be signing registration papers and swearing allegiance or something."
Thinking back, he only remembered struggling briefly outside the inn, and then...
Then he was hauled along through countless streets and past numerous taverns by Loki, eventually arriving directly at this grand entrance.
The entire journey had been fully automated navigation—zero chance for resistance.
The gates swung open with a heavy creak.
Before him stretched a spacious courtyard paved neatly with red bricks.
As Ryota followed Loki inside, several Familia members who were training or standing guard immediately took notice of their arrival.
Their gazes converged upon Ryota, accompanied by murmurs:
"A newcomer? Brought personally by Lady Loki?"
"He looks pretty ordinary..."
"Though his aura isn't like most rookies... maybe he's some runaway noble?"
Ryota walked forward silently, his mind instinctively analyzing their positions, potential combat strength, and possible countermeasures.
It was an old habit by now.
His combat instincts were always switched on.
After passing through the courtyard and entering the main building, Loki didn't hesitate at all.
She stood confidently with hands on hips, tilted her head back, and shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Everyone get out here!!!"
"Our Familia's newest member has arrived—!"