章 185: The Loki Familia
Following behind the red-haired woman, Ais kept silent along the way. From time to time, Loki tried to initiate a conversation, but aside from exchanging their names, she didn't manage to make much progress. Eventually, they stepped out of the forest and into a partially manmade clearing that was illuminated by the flickering light of a few campfires.
"Took you quite some time, Loki. I was about to go and look for yo--- Wait, why is there a little girl with you? Did you go and abduct her from some nearby village!?"
In response to Bara's accusing gaze, Loki hurriedly raised her hands and shook her head frantically. Out of the corner of her eyes, she glanced at Ais to take note of her reaction, only to see a distinct lack of emotional fluctuation… which caused her to feel both relief as well as a painful sting in her heart.
"Of course not! There aren't even any people living around these parts! I ran into her in the forest and offered her to take shelter with us. Oh, and I promised her some food as well. Our little friend seems to be quite starved."
Deciding to stop teasing Loki any further for now, especially because it could make the young girl feel afraid, Bara squatted down in front of Ais and showed a welcoming smile. She could already vaguely guess that her goddess' express purpose in coming here was to meet this little girl, but there was no need to point out the obvious.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Bara, and you? What should I call you?"
A hint of reminiscence flashed across Ais' eyes as her gaze fell upon the blue-grey haired Amazoness. Although they looked almost nothing alike, Bara still reminded her of Evelda somehow. In other words, they gave off the same vibe. However, Ais didn't dwell on this for more than a fraction of a second. Very succinctly, she replied.
"Ais Wallenstein."
Even though she was taken aback by her decidedly unchildlike behaviour and her emotionless look, Bara didn't let it show on her face. Instead, her smile turned a bit warmer as she reached out her hand to the young girl.
"Ais. Got it. I'll bring you over to the others and get you something to eat, alright?"
Not bothering to hesitate due to the kindness that this woman showed her, Ais grabbed her hand and let her lead her further into the campsite, to the campfire in the very center. A group of five was already seated around it, with just enough space for two or three more people to join them. There was a big cooking pot hanging over the fire, the vegetable stew within bubbling and filling the air with a very inviting scent.
"Please sit down here, I'll get you a bowl in a moment. Everyone, this is Ais. Loki found her in the forest and promised her some food. Take good care of her."
Giving the golden-haired girl the spot that their goddess had claimed for herself before she had left, Bara introduced her to everyone else. They had already begun to shoot curious glances in her direction while she approached, so she intended to preemptively address the potential questions on their minds.
A look of realization appeared on everyone's faces as they looked at Loki, figuring out about as much regarding this situation as Bara had just moments prior. Right afterwards, they showed kind smiles as they refocused on their young guest, who had just been handed her bowl of stew. Her stomach had already begun to grumble loudly, complaining about the lack of sustenance.
"Wait for the stew to cool down a bit first, else you'll burn yourself. You can also try blowing on it to help it get colder faster."
Slightly worried that the potentially overeager Ais would immediately start wolfing down the still sizzling stew, Riveria chose to give her a kind reminder. She didn't know, however, that this would set into motion a chain of events that she had never even anticipated.
Snapped out of the hunger-fueled stupor which her stomach had initiated, Ais finally inspected the others that were gathered around the fire.
There was an elderly-looking human gentleman with a compassionate complexion and mostly grey hair, a dark brown-haired Dwarf who exposed quite a chunk of his bare upper body beneath his open green jacket, a brown-haired Dwarf who, despite his resplendently full beard, appeared to be a bit younger than the other Dwarf, a blonde Pallum whose gaze seemed especially intelligent… and then there was the one who had spoken to her: A jade-haired High Elf with jade coloured irises.
All of a sudden, Ais' eyes widened and her grip on the bowl in her hand loosened, causing it to drop first on her lap, then on the ground, covering her lower body in hot stew. However, she didn't feel any of it. Instead, she simply stared at the far too familiar figure in complete shock.
"Are you hurt?! Here, let me clean that up for you."
Flustered by the young girl's reaction to seeing her, but far more concerned about her wellbeing than the exact reason behind what had just occurred, Riveria rushed to Ais' side, grabbing a towel that Bara was holding out to her. She quickly started to remove the steaming stew from Ais' body and clothing. However, when she heard the name that the young girl whispered to herself in disbelief, she abruptly froze.
"... Miss Celdia?"
It was the name of her most prestigious ancestor, the person who she had highly respected - even idolized, to an extent - for most of her early years. Even now, she still held her in extremely high regard. Of course, it was possible that Ais had simply thought of someone with the same first name. However, it was her appearance that had triggered this strong response in her. As a part of the Elves' royal family, Riveria's looks were considered to be quite unique. It was extremely unlikely for someone to look similar to her if they weren't at least part of her extended family. That said, ever since Celdia Ljos Alf had passed away, no other High Elf of her lineage had been given the first name 'Celdia', as a sign of mourning. So that could only mean…
"No, just similar. Relative?"
Whilst Riveria's mind was still trying to process what had just happened, Ais frowned slightly, then tilted her head and wondered aloud, a faint hint of intrigue displayed on her otherwise lifeless visage. It was as if she wasn't even remotely affected by the heat of the stew that had yet to be completely removed.
It didn't take long for Bara to snatch the towel from Riveria's hands and finish the job. She filled a fresh bowl for Ais, holding it in her stead this time, afraid that she might drop it again otherwise. Only after she was done with all of that did she glance at the High Elf in annoyance.
"Would you care to explain yourself?"
By this point in time, Riveria had finally managed to gather her thoughts and felt ashamed for her unseemly behaviour. What didn't make it any better was that Ais was still staring at her almost unblinkingly, as if awaiting a response.
"Cut her some slack, alright? Riveria, Ais, let's talk about this later. In private. Alright?"
Having pretty much only observed the situation up to this point, Loki felt that it was high time for her to intervene. She didn't think that there was a need to share the personal matters of little Ais as well as Riveria with everyone just like that. The two of them could be considered to have a bit of a connection, after all, so she had expected a scenario not unlike this one to take place anyway.
"That's fine with me."
Grasping the way out that her goddess had graciously provided her with, a relieved but calm expression spread on Riveria's face. She sat back down, sending Ais an apologetic glance. The young girl in question had also understood that now didn't seem to be the time to broach this topic, so she nodded in the direction of the kind red-haired lady.
"Tch, okay, I got it. Let's just eat for now."
Despite being annoyed at blatantly having been left out like that, Bara didn't want to intrude upon whatever relationship the young girl and her Elven comrade appeared to have.
Over the course of the meal, everyone introduced themselves to Ais. There was Noir, the elderly man, Dain, the almost bare-chested Dwarf, Gareth, the other Dwarf, Finn, the Captain of this group, as well as the Celdia lookalike, Riveria.
After Ais had expressionlessly eaten her fill, Loki led her and Riveria to her tent, where she had the High Elf cast a noise cancellation Magic to keep everything confidential for the time being. Riveria's chanting, however, reminded Ais even more of Celdia than before, causing her to fall into reminiscence. Only when Riveria's voice stopped did she emerge from it once more.
"I'm sure both of you have a lot of questions for each other. Please, go ahead. You first, Ais."
After giving a short nod to signal that she understood, Ais spoke up. Ever since she had returned from the darkness, she tended to express herself with the least amount of words necessary to get her point across. This was primarily due to having grown unaccustomed to conversation in general, but also because she simply couldn't be bothered to waste her energy on excessive word padding.
"Are you Celdia's relative?"
Far more composed than earlier, Riveria nodded, before making an inquiry of her own.
"How is it that you know about her?"
Completely unperturbed, Ais responded.
"She is a friend of my parents and came to visit many times."
Despite her matter-of-factly tone, her words caused Riveria to lose her composure once more, because she realized all too well what exactly Ais' words implied. How old did this little girl have to be to have known Celdia personally? According to what she had just said, she hadn't merely seen a depiction of her somewhere, but had actually met her. Even more importantly than that, however…
"And who are your parents, if I may ask?"
For a moment, hints of yearning, despair and hatred burned in Ais' eyes, but they quickly abated again. With a dull, monotone voice that lacked even more emotion than earlier, she gave her answer.
"Albert and Aria Wallenstein."
At first, Riveria was confused, but then she nodded in realization.
"Do you mean Albert Waldstein?"
Staring at her blankly, Ais shook her head.
"No, Wallenstein."
Furrowing her brows because she thought that the girl was just being stubborn and misremembering something, Riveria made a further inquiry, just to make absolutely certain that she didn't think of the wrong person.
"Are you sure that you're not mistaken about that?"
Before Ais could double down yet again, Loki interjected from the sidelines. She didn't want the two of them to become displeased with each other over a mess that was very simple for her to untangle.
"Riveria, she isn't wrong. Back in her day, Albert was indeed known by the last name of Wallenstein, and she is his daughter. However, after his death, his surviving companions chose to let him be known as 'Waldstein' from that point forward. As you might already be able to guess, that is because they didn't want his daughter to attract undue attention or even ill will whenever she reappeared in the future. They chose a similar name because their task would be far easier to accomplish this way."
At this revelation, Riveria fell silent. She couldn't help but be shocked at the lengths that her ancestor and the others had gone to to ensure Ais' safety. Every single historical record that she was aware of had been influenced! It had to have taken excruciating efforts to make sure that no mentions of him being known by the name of Wallenstein survived in the Lower World. Well, there might be some that she just didn't know about, but still, her point stood. As for doubting her goddess? Of course, she couldn't be entirely certain that Loki wasn't just messing with her, but considering the current situation and her present behaviour, it was extremely unlikely for that to be the case.
The High Elf wasn't the only one who found herself lost for words - Ais was the same. She had valued Evelda, Celdia, Oren, Selwyn and Alden very highly ever since she had gotten to know them. After all, they had always been nice to her. To hear that they went so far as to change the name by which history remembered her father just to protect her… even in her current state, she felt a certain warmth in her heart. Still, there was one other thing that stuck out to her and caused her great anxiety.
"How long has it been since Daddy died?"
A helpless smile stole itself on Loki's lips, but before she could respond, Riveria stole her thunder.
"It's been close to 1,000 years. 992, to be exact. Celdia Ljos Alf is one of my ancestors, or rather, the elder sister of my direct ancestor, Rishena Ljos Alf. On average, there is a new High Elf generation every 200 years, so you could consider her my great-great-great-grand-aunt."
After remaining shell-shocked for a while, the slight spark of hope within Ais' heart got almost entirely extinguished. For so long, she had tried to tell herself that her mother might still be alive. But now… even if she hadn't gotten killed by that black dragon, then wouldn't she have already died of old age?
Before she could fully give up on this remaining ray of light, however, Loki's voice resounded in her ears.
"I know what you're worried about, Ais, but your mother is a Spirit. A mere millennium won't even make much of a dent in her lifespan."
With her expectations rekindled, Ais lifted her head to look directly into the red-haired lady's eyes. In her gaze, there was anticipation and fear, but also puzzlement.
"What happened to Mama? How do you know about all of this?"
Shrugging out of sheer helplessness, Loki shook her head, an apologetic smile on her face.
"I unfortunately don't know what became of her. Back when all these events transpired, I exhausted myself before getting to witness their ultimate end. When I finally recovered, I couldn't find your mother anywhere. And as for how I know… well, I'm a goddess."
Amidst her returning, ever-increasing worry over Aria's safety, Ais suddenly froze, then she glared at Loki with tangible hostility. If it hadn't been for the kindness that the red-haired goddess had shown her, then she would have already attempted to attack her.
Riveria had only just managed to swallow down the shocking revelation of Ais being half Spirit, but then she was already getting confronted by the sight of the young girl looking at her goddess as if she wanted to rip her apart from head to toe, giving her yet another scare. Hurriedly, she intervened.
"What's wrong? Did I miss something? Did Loki do something bad to you!?"
Between clenched teeth, Ais finally squeezed out one of the grievances that she had been carrying with her all this time.
"... Mama told me that the gods will help us if we pray to them. But they never did."
Feeling yet another wave of guilt washing over her, Loki's expression became downcast, while her smile turned into one of self-mockery. She was well aware that her brethren had often indulged themselves in the worship of the Lower World's inhabitants, playing a game in which they attempted to gather more believers than their peers. Every now and then, they would let 'miracles' happen by utilizing some of their Divine Energy to keep the charade intact. Over time, the mortals inevitably began to think of them as far larger than life. She had also made use of this accumulated reputation in the past herself - many, many times.
"We gods, we aren't actually omnipotent, you know? Many times, we find ourselves restricted in what we can do or think. We want to help, but we can't. We want to interfere, but we're too weak. But that explanation probably sounds like an excuse, doesn't it? … I'm sorry. Honestly, I really am."
All of a sudden, Loki dropped to her knees and lowered her head, almost causing Riveria to lose her cool yet again. A deity prostrating herself before a mortal?! She was aware that her goddess was quite shameless, but she hadn't known that she would go this far. Maybe… it was because Loki simply felt extremely bad about not having been able to take action, just as she had claimed?
Ais had also never expected for something like this to happen. Although she still had a belly full of rage, it felt oddly uncomfortable to have this lady kneel before her as if awaiting her punishment. Also… she had already apologized. It wasn't as if she had directly hurt her or her family, right? While she wouldn't forgive her just like that, when considering what she had said, it became hard for Ais to continue being stubborn. Ultimately, the deities weren't her enemies - the monsters were!
"... okay."
Sheathing her bloodlust within her loneliness once more, Ais' gaze returned to being a lifeless one. As if her sins had just been pardoned, Loki raised her head with a bright smile on her lips.
"While I couldn't help back then, ever since having descended to the Lower World, we deities have begun to bestow our blessings upon select mortals. Would you like one? I know it won't be able to make up for my lack of action, but it should be a start, right?"
Weighing her options carefully, Ais began to grow a bit intrigued. What would a deity's blessing be like? It should be useful, right?
"Explain. Please."
The fact that she still remembered to be courteous now that the hatchet had been buried almost melted both Loki's and Riveria's hearts. The smile on the usually mischievous goddess' lips mellowed slightly, turning a shade less intense but more gentle.
"Our blessings are called 'Falna' and once someone has been bestowed with one of them, they'll join our 'Familia'. Most of us deities see the mortals within our familias as our own children, our family, so that is why we chose that name. What do you say? Would you like to get my Falna?"
Hearing her explanation, Ais fell into contemplation. The people that she had met after her return to the light had all been very kind to her, so she wouldn't mind spending more time with them. Due to Riveria's presence, she felt significantly closer to this group than she would have if they had been complete strangers. She couldn't help but see the shadow of her parents' friends within them to a greater degree than she probably should. But… all of this sounded like a really important decision, so she really shouldn't rush it.
"I should probably tell you what my familia does, so that you'll know what you might get yourself into. Well, we explore the dungeon and hunt monsters! And my Falna is what allows everyone to grow stronger!"
Loki's words, which would have scared a fair amount of other children, almost felt like the sweet whispers of the devil in Ais' case.
'Fighting monsters… and growing stronger…!'
The inextinguishable hatred within her flared up yet again, but this time, it wasn't directed at the goddess in front of her. All of her doubts and worries removed themselves from her mind, leaving only a single-minded devotion to the eradication of monsterkind. Before Loki could even attempt to entice her, she had already given her response.
"I'll join. I want to get stronger!"
Positively surprised at everything having gone this smoothly despite the hostility that Ais had shown her just moments prior, Loki froze for a few seconds, then she excitedly rose to her feet and nodded.
"Alright, perfect! Let's get on with it immediately, then! I'll need to drip a drop of my blood on your back and inscribe my Falna. Is that okay?"
Giving a nod and taking off her mother's handmade white blousette in the same motion, Ais sat down on the ground and leaned forward. She brushed her hair out of the way to give Loki a clear view of her back, waiting patiently.
Riveria almost got a heart attack at the fact that this young girl had simply taken her clothes off just like that! If someone with bad intentions asked her to do so… or if Loki did so in a few years… Yes, she definitely had to educate her in regards to basic etiquette to protect her!
"This might take a few minutes, so please be patient. It won't hurt, though, so don't worry."
Sitting down behind the little girl, Loki took out a needle from her luggage and poked the tip of her right index finger. A small drop of golden Ichor soon accumulated on it, which she then used to make contact with Ais' small back.
A few minutes passed in silence, with Riveria watching over the scene, somewhat guarding against her goddess' usual shenanigans. Fortunately, Loki didn't seem to harbour any such intentions towards this newest member of their familia. It was unknown whether this was due to Ais' age or for any other reasons. Maybe Loki was just currying favour and playing the wolf in sheep's clothing?
Ignoring the cold shiver that ran down her spine as a result of Riveria's excessively frosty, doubtful gaze, Loki focused fully on giving Ais a proper Falna. While she had done this procedure far too many times already and was therefore very adept at it, she wanted to get it done especially perfectly this time.
As if she had been interrupted out of nowhere, her finger abruptly halted in its tracks. Astonishment, tenderness and guilt flashed past her eyes, then, with a deep sigh, she continued.
'Aria… I see. So that's what you decided to do. Very well, I'll respect your choice. I'll tell her about it once she is ready.'
It didn't take much longer for her to finish giving her blessing. By the time that she removed her finger from the young girl's back, Ais had already felt a strange yet somewhat familiar warmth permeate her entire body. Because she thought that this was what was supposed to happen, she didn't question this sensation and immersed herself in it for a while. By the time that she opened her eyes again, a sheet of paper was being dangled in front of her.
"That's your Status. Congratulations! In contrast to most other people, you're starting out with both a Magic, as well as a Skill! They're pretty much unique as well."
While she was reading, Ais only paid the bare minimum of attention to Loki's explanation.
[ Name: Ais Wallenstein ]
[ Familia: Loki Familia ]
[ Race: Human, Spirit ]
[ Level: 1 ]
[ Stats ]
[ Strength: I-25 ]
[ Endurance: I-32 ]
[ Dexterity: I-51 ]
[ Agility: I-24 ]
[ Magic: I-80 ]
[ Magic ]
[ Ariel ]
[ Skills ]
[ Avenger ]
[ Development Abilities ]
[ None ]
'Ariel… Mama…'
Only one word caught her attention, making her feel inexplicably safe and secure. The fact that a Magic with a name so similar to her mother's had appeared in her Status… it made her think that Aria, in some shape or form, was definitely still watching over her. Somehow.
'I promise, Mama. I'll find you and I'll save you!'
When her mind finally returned to reality, a certain goddess was sitting in front of her. She was smiling ever so affectionately, but with a hint of mischievousness playing around the corners of her lips.
"Welcome to the Loki Familia, Ais!"
クリエイターの想い 
Shiro_the_Hero
Shiro_the_Hero I wonder if any of you can figure out what exactly happened to Aria. I think I've dropped enough hints to make an educated quite possible.
Also, I just found out that Ais' past will take me a couple more chapters to write than I originally planned... I underestimated how much I want to explore certain parts. We're talking about SEVERE underestimation here. "Having eyes but cannot see Mount Tai"-levels xD
So you're in for lots of Ais goodness o7
Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! \o/
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I'm terribly sorry for posting this chapter a day late! As I stated on Discord, I felt absolutely horrible yesterday and didn't manage to finish the chapter TT - TT
So yeah, I hope you can deal with a one day delay. I also hope that it didn't terrify some of you ^^'
That aside, some good news: I'll post a bonus chapter on Christmas Eve again! So that means two chapters this weekend! :D
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As always, stay safe, stay healthy, and - most importantly - stay alive so you can continue reading this story for years to come~ o/
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