The grand dinner feast lasted nearly an hour and a half.
During the meal, they discussed the fierce battle against the Juggernaut, the change in affiliation, and the return to Orario.
After everyone had finished bathing—
Since Raven Eltharion hadn't logged out any of the summoned members like Alise, Kaguya, Lila, Niz… etc., the number of rooms was limited.
As a result, Raven was assigned to share a room with Cecil.
Astraea, meanwhile, was placed in a room with Ryuu and Alise, all three sleeping together.
The other members also squeezed into rooms two or three at a time.
"Hey, hey, hey. I'm not sleeping on the floor."
Raven looked at the futon Cecil had laid out and couldn't help but twitch his lips.
"Then I'll sleep on the floor," Cecil replied.
"You can have the bed."
Wearing only a thin pajama gown, Cecil let down her tied-up hair.
Her silky, blue hair flowed down gracefully.
Under the light of the magic lamp, it was clear she wasn't wearing any undergarments.
"Isn't the floor a little hard?"
"Why don't we just sleep together?"
Sitting naturally on the soft bed, Raven suggested this casually.
"Eeehh?!"
Sleeping… together?
Cecil's pretty face turned bright red, and her mind began to spin.
She stammered, "W-What about Ryuu? Won't she say something?"
Raven shook his head and glanced at her:
"Nope. She's probably deep in a heart-to-heart with Astraea."
"You-you-you… You're not planning to do weird things, are you?"
Her lower half tensed up instantly as her mind went into panic mode.
He's not a pervert… right?
Although he was handsome and fit her ideal "rational type," this was still the first day they met. Wasn't it a bit too soon?
As her thoughts spiraled—
Her face flushed a deeper red.
Raven thought for a moment and calmly explained:
"Yeah, sort of."
"What you're thinking—doing that kind of thing—would actually let us quickly increase our stats."
"It's one of my rare skill effects."
Cecil froze.
"Whaaat?!"
"But… isn't that something couples do?"
Then, hesitating slightly, she asked in a smaller voice:
"But… is what you said about the skill… really true?"
"Yes. There's no reason for me to lie."
Seeing her hesitate, Raven didn't try to force the issue with more talk.
If she refused?
He'd just summon Metelia instead.
"…Alright, then let's do it."
Unlike elves, human-born Cecil didn't have overly conservative values.
"But how… how exactly do we do it?"
She whispered like a mosquito.
Raven smiled slightly and gently pulled her onto the bed.
"…Ah—?!"
"Don't be so loud. What if the people in the next room hear?"
…
The next morning, deep in a forest on the outskirts of Zollingen:
"—Roar, surge forth from the root source."
"—Open the gate, eliminate the obstruction, deep flames with fangs."
"[—Mark of Infernal Flame]"
Liana's spell wiped out all the monsters ambushing them from the jungle.
"Ryuu, try simultaneous fast chanting."
"Got it."
Ryuu nodded.
"—O distant forest vault of stars, infinite constellations embedded in the eternal night…"
…
Elsewhere, Alise, Kaguya, Lila, and others were giving one-on-one special training to their juniors.
Ryuu was among them.
Meanwhile, back in the forge, Cecil was hard at work crafting Ryuu's new weapon.
She wasn't alone—
Helping her was none other than Astraea, or more precisely, her wind spirit avatar.
In the original timeline—
To rush to the War Game, this spirit had transformed into a horse.
Carrying the goddess of justice, she galloped straight into battle.
…
"Man, I slept like a log…"
Back at the Astraea Familia headquarters, Raven lazily woke up.
"Huh?"
"Astraea-sama?"
"What are you doing here?"
He blinked, finding the goddess seated at the edge of his bed.
"Because the children all went out."
"I'm just a bored housewife left behind."
Astraea's elegant face wore a mischievous smile.
Housewife…?
Raven blinked, confused.
"Thank you, Raven."
"It's been a long time since I felt this happy."
She spoke gently as she leaned in and softly cradled his head.
Then—
She gave him a gentle thank-you kiss on the cheek.
It was like a mother tenderly comforting her child, stroking his hair with deep affection.
The soft touch and gentle caresses filled Raven with a powerful sense of happiness.
The first time, it had been from the goddess Demeter.
Now, it was Astraea.
"Ryuu has leveled up, by the way."
"She reached Level 6?"
Raven's eyes brightened slightly.
Astraea responded with a warm voice:
"No, not yet. Still Level 5."
"Alise and the others are currently training her."
…
Ryuu Lion
Level: 5
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
Development Abilities:
Hunter: G
Abnormal Resistance: G
Magic Resistance: I
Magecraft: I
Magic:
[Wind of Light]
[Noah's Healing]
[Stellar Memory]
Skills:
[Elven Star Song]
[Spirit Charge]
[Swift Gale]
[Justice Inheritance]
…
This was Ryuu's updated Falna panel after leveling to 5.
In other words—
Her "cheat" magic and skills had now been fully activated.
It was good news.
"Raven, could you stay a few more days?"
Astraea asked softly.
"Sure."
Raven nodded.
Cecil's forging would take a few days, and Ryuu needed time to train before reaching Level 6.
There was no rush.
The duel against Finn and Freya was still a few days away.
If he returned without Ryuu, that spirit might transform back into the spirit horse again.
"Thank you."
"Last night, when you said you wanted my strength… was there something you wanted me to do?"
Astraea loosened her embrace and looked him in the eye.
For a moment—
Raven hesitated to speak.
After a brief pause, he finally explained:
"It's just that…"
---
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