Ais had fallen asleep. Ren couldn't resist reaching out to poke her face.
Seeing her frown slightly, he chuckled and then called out in a direction, "Lefiya, come out."
"I… I just got here." Lefiya stepped out.
"Don't bother with excuses. That expression looks worse than crying. My legs are sore. You come over." Ren glanced at Ais, signaling her to give him a lap pillow.
"Oh." Lefiya quickly moved to kneel opposite Ren, carefully settling Ais in place.
"Don't worry, Ais and I are fine. I just wanted to practice with her a little," Ren explained.
"Mm." Lefiya let out a small sigh of relief. She couldn't quite tell if he meant they were apart or if it was the reason he was explaining to her.
"What do you want to eat? I'll go buy it. Do you have any dietary restrictions?" Ren asked as he stood, remembering that she was an elf and might only eat vegetarian food.
Lefiya shook her head. Ren left to buy breakfast for the three of them.
Watching Ren's departing figure, Lefiya went into a daze.
"Lefiya, don't worry. There's nothing between him and me." Ais, though a little dazed, noticed how obvious Lefiya's reaction was. She could tell to some extent, having heard similar remarks often among their kind.
"I don't mind…" Lefiya laughed.
Ais wasn't good with words. Since Lefiya said that, she didn't feel the need to explain further. She only recalled the earlier battle. She had lost completely. Even at Level 6, she had no advantage against Ren. Was this really what she wanted to achieve?
"Lefiya, Ais, get up. Breakfast is ready." Ren returned with three bowls of porridge and some rice soup.
"Thank you." Ais propped herself up and looked at Ren. "Ren, am I too weak?"
"You should understand if you can solo the 37th floor boss," Ren replied.
"Then…"
"It's because I'm too strong." Ren stared into her eyes.
"I…"
"Impossible. You can't surpass me. Talent isn't something you can overcome just by trying harder." Ren cut her off. He had thought of saying he worked hard too, but considering what he had done recently, he decided against it.
"Talent? This is the first time I've heard someone say Ais doesn't have enough talent," Lefiya's words jolted Ais.
Ais realized the truth. She had always envied Ren's strength, longing to be as strong as him. She had lost and wanted to know how he became stronger.
Now it seemed that even if she learned his methods, she might not succeed. Their talents were simply different.
"Well, don't lose heart. At least I can teach you the sword techniques I know. It should make dealing with humanoid monsters much easier." Ren handed the porridge to the two girls.
"Okay." Ais naturally didn't refuse. She would try anything to get stronger if it was within her ability.
"I want to come too," Lefiya said instinctively. She just didn't want the two of them to be alone.
"Sure, I can teach you some magic too," Ren agreed cheerfully.
"Okay." Lefiya smiled.
Back at the Twilight Mansion, the Tiona sisters, who knew Ren, immediately started gossiping. After hearing the whole story, they were completely baffled.
"Um, Ais, Lefiya, what's the benefit for him in doing this? He's obviously after you two," Tiona guessed boldly.
"After us?"
"Huh?"
Ais was confused. What could he possibly want from them? Lefiya was surprised. His target was actually both of them. Her first thought was that this was bad, but her heart couldn't help but race.
Three days passed quickly. Originally, Ren was supposed to spar with Ais to test his own strength, but he ended up becoming the teacher instead, guiding Ais in swordsmanship and Lefiya in magic.
Lefiya couldn't learn enhancement magic, but she could manage most other elemental magic.
Ais, on the other hand, became completely obsessed with Ren's sword techniques, wanting to learn everything from him.
One day, Ren didn't teach anyone, and Bell didn't train. Bell's admiration was fully focused on him, which surprised Ren. He had assumed such admiration would only come from a beautiful girl.
"Ren, today you'll be the attacker, and the Apollo Familia will defend. War Games are simple: all members of the defending familia can participate. If you don't break through, you lose," Hestia said seriously.
"In reality, it's just me and Bell on our side," Ren said, stroking his chin.
"That's exactly the problem. Fortunately, the Apollo Familia isn't that strong. With your current attributes at level 3, careful play should let you win," Hestia analyzed in detail. At critical moments, she was always reliable.
"Bell will be responsible for drawing attention, not fighting—just distracting and running."
"Yes, Goddess. Ren-san, I'll do my best not to hold you back," Bell said earnestly.
"After this, I won't be able to stay with you. Ren, you must win," Hestia said, looking worried.
"Don't worry, Goddess Hestia. I'll drive them out of Orario," Ren said confidently. If he could defeat Ais, handling a small Apollo Familia would be easy.
"You really are reliable, Ren-san," Bell said in admiration.
Hestia arrived at the observation deck.
Most of the gods were already there.
Life as a god was too boring, and any chance for entertainment naturally drew them in.
The betting had already begun.
Although Ren was a super rookie beyond the Sword Princess, his level was a weakness, so his odds of losing were the highest—almost two to one.
The Apollo faction, on the other hand, had odds of only 0.5.
The only god betting on Ren's victory was Hestia.
She put everything she had, all her possessions, on him, leaving no way to back out.
The other gods didn't ridicule her.
After all, if she lost, she would be stuck in the divine realm forever.
Could anything be more painful than that?
"Ais, Lefiya, are you here to cheer for Ren?" Tiona asked bluntly.
"Yeah, he's helped me a lot," Lefiya admitted without hesitation.
"He's a friend," Ais replied after thinking for a moment.
"Isn't that guy just level two?" Bete scoffed.
"It's starting," Tiona said, looking at the screen.
All they could see was Ren alone.
"Is he planning to break through by himself?"
"This is going to end badly."
"That guy… his physical abilities are strong. Isn't he only level two?" Bete stared at Ren on the screen, puzzled.
Ren knew this time, his actions would make him famous throughout Oraria.
But there was no choice.
He didn't seek trouble, but trouble had come to him.
If he hesitated now, the consequences would be endless.
Ren cast a buff spell on himself and activated Gale Dash.
In an instant, he vanished from the sight of the Apollo faction.
"An enhancement spell? Impossible."
"He actually has such a unique spell."
"Didn't Loki and Freya mess up by letting a talent like this slip away?"
The two gods who were here for entertainment hadn't expected the spectacle to involve them.
From now on, they would probably be labeled as careless.
As for Ren, the attacker, every time he appeared, someone from the Apollo faction fell.
If the opponent didn't want to fight, he struck with the back of his sword.
If they were weaklings, he cut them down without mercy.
He wasn't a hero like in the stories.
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 20 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24