Loki and the others had come as guests.
So Shanghai and Hourai flew over with tea and a pot, since Alice had a particular fondness for black tea. In fact, their skill at brewing tea far surpassed their cooking abilities.
When Shanghai and Hourai came flying over with the teacups and teapot, Lefiya's eyes went wide with shock as she stared at the two little figures.
"Oh, thank you," Lefiya said, quickly standing up to help, taking the cups and teapot from them.
Having met Shanghai and Hourai before, she wasn't as startled.
Of course, in Lefiya's mind, Alice's dolls were mostly controlled by her magic. It hadn't occurred to her that Shanghai and Hourai might have their own consciousness.
And that's exactly how Alice had explained it to her before.
Loki picked up her teacup, took a sip of the black tea brewed by Shanghai and Hourai, and a look of pure bliss spread across her face.
"Mmm~~~ delicious!!" Loki gave Shanghai and Hourai a thumbs-up, then turned to Alice. "I'm so jealous of you, Alice-chan. To have two such capable little ones."
"Thank you for the compliment," Alice replied with a soft smile.
"So, since you're not planning to join my Familia, how about handing these two over to me instead?" Loki continued, not giving up on her recruiting efforts.
"Obviously, that's not happening." At Loki's words, Shanghai and Hourai immediately hid behind Alice, peeking over her shoulders with just their little heads visible, watching Loki cautiously.
"Guh!" Loki quickly covered her nose at the sight.
Both Shanghai and Hourai were modeled after Alice herself.
Although Alice had made a few changes here and there—like her own short, wavy hair compared to their long, straight locks—
their cuteness was in no way diminished.
For Loki, it was a lethal dose of adorable.
"Such incredible craftsmanship…" Unlike Loki, Riveria was genuinely astonished by the structure and make of Shanghai and Hourai.
In this world, learning magic was no easy feat.
Even for elves born with exceptional talent, mastering a single spell could take years. And if the magic was particularly profound, the learning process could stretch for decades.
Here, innate talent was crucial when it came to magic.
The Falna of the gods granted a Magic Slot—no matter the race, everyone could have up to three. That in itself was a tremendous opportunity, offering people a chance to learn magic.
Without it, for all races aside from elves, learning even one spell would be considered a remarkable achievement.
Riveria herself had only three spells.
But she had delved deep into each of them, developing three distinct forms for every spell:
Offensive, Support, and Defensive.
Through her efforts, each of her three spells had evolved beyond their original form into two additional variations.
Without the aid of any special skills, Riveria's sheer talent had allowed her to achieve what amounted to mastering nine different spells. Among the mages of this world, she was undoubtedly second to none.
Her title, "Nine Hell," came from the fact that her magic could be regarded as nine separate spells.
With Riveria's discerning eye and profound understanding of magic, she could clearly tell whether Alice's dolls were being controlled by her magic or not.
And it was precisely because she could tell that she found Alice's dolls so astonishing.
Fully autonomous dolls, not controlled by any magic—these two were moving and acting entirely on their own will.
As for the material they were made of, Riveria couldn't identify it.
As one of the top adventurers in Orario, even if she wasn't a blacksmith or crafter by trade, and though her knowledge of materials wasn't exhaustive, Riveria's learning was still vast and extensive.
Yet even so, she couldn't figure out what Shanghai and Hourai were made of. They looked like they might be crafted from cloth, but Riveria was certain that wasn't the case.
The material of these dolls had to be some kind of magical substance, and undoubtedly expensive.
Beyond that, the magical knowledge embedded within them left Riveria deeply impressed.
By elven standards, Riveria wasn't particularly old—barely an adult. But from a human perspective, she had lived long enough to witness an entire lifetime from birth to death.
Years upon years of accumulated time had given her an immensely profound understanding of magic.
She could sense that there was some exquisitely crafted magic woven into Shanghai and Hourai, but its underlying principles eluded her.
For Riveria, this was truly unexpected.
Until now, she had been able to discern the principles behind every spell she had encountered.
But the magic in Alice's dolls was beyond her comprehension.
'Could these two dolls be considered a completely new race?' Riveria wondered, a thought both startling and incredible crossing her mind.
Their bodies were made of some special material, small and delicate, with a magic crystal at their core. Without magic, they would lose the ability to move.
But from the moment she had first seen them, up to now, watching Shanghai and Hourai act on their own will—it really did seem like they could be classified as a new form of life.
Originally, Riveria had felt that Loki's intense reaction to finding Alice after Bete drove her away was a bit over the top.
After all, the Loki Familia wasn't lacking in promising newcomers.
Not to mention Ais, even Lefiya—right by her side—had a tremendously powerful future ahead of her.
But now, Riveria felt that Loki's response hadn't been strong enough.
Someone capable of creating an entirely new race had wanted to join their Familia, only to be driven away by one of their own members…
What a tremendous loss that was.
'It's decided. Even if Loki doesn't punish Bete, I'll make sure to teach him a lesson myself when we get back…'
Riveria's eyes gleamed as she gazed at Shanghai and Hourai. She lifted her teacup, took a delicate sip of the black tea, and praised,
"The flavor is excellent."
Setting down her cup, she looked at Alice with earnest sincerity.
"My name is Riveria. I don't know if you've heard of me, but I am a mage. If it's alright with you, might I come by with Lefiya in the future to discuss magic with you, Miss Alice?"
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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