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'His words rang deep in their minds… The truth, cannot be denied.'
"... What about you then?" Loki asked with a sharp gaze
"..."
'She kept pressing:'
"Does your growth has anything to do with this?" She asked as she touched Ais' neck
"..."
'Ais' expression darkened.'
"Ha… I'm joking, of course not, you just explained that wasn't possible…" She joked lightly
'She looked at him with a dark expression and asked:'
"Then how?"
'Silver remained silent, the mood was getting heavier…'
'The others wanted to intervene, but they were also curious… How? And if so, could he also tell them?'
'It may seem preposterous to ask him of his secrets, but they couldn't help it.'
'However, what each of them felt about that was different…'
'Tiona felt bad, she was between asking her Goddess to stop and remaining silent.'
'Tione was very very interested, but she was fine with either, if she felt that things were going on a bad turn, she would use everything in her ability to make amends.'
'Lefiya was interested in this subject greatly, strength… That was something she had always envisioned ever since she joined the Loki Familia after graduating from her School and became Riveria's apprentice.'
'Haruhime on the other hand was the calmer of the bunch, for her, who had never properly understood what is to reach your limits, this talk was merely novel…'
"Ha… I thought this question was coming."
'But his expression turned serious as he replied:'
"Don't you think you're straying off topic too much?"
"... Is that a refusal?" Loki asked sharply
"Yes, it's something very personal to me, so I refuse to explain this to you." Silver replied seriously
"?!"
'No one expected him to be so blunt.'
'Not even Loki… She expected a refusal, just not like this.'
/Tap…/
'Hestia used her elbow to Silver's side, but he ignored her.'
'He knew what she wanted to say, but he had to remain strong about his choices.'
"You… Do you understand just who you are talking with?" Loki asked surprised
This guy… He is so bold!
Tsk, is it a lack of trust? We don't know each other that deeply...
But I can't lose here and lose face to my precious children and…
This Boobasaurus of a woman!
"Yes, yes I do know you…"
"Loki, the trickiest prankster that loves to have fun, drink wine, especially Soma's, joke with her Familia children, laze around, touch little girls, and has a complex…"
'But Silver stopped as he looked at her chest.'
"#!!"
Where are you looking at you fucker?!
And how does he know so much about me?!
"Yup, that's Loki." Tiona said with a nod
"It's actually a bit scary how precise that is..." Tione said
'Lefiya nodded with a frown, she was thinking deeply...'
'Everyone seemed to nod to his words, he had hit the sweet spot...'
"And also… Someone who owes me a tad bit much." He said seriously
"I'll stay adamant about my choices..." Silver said unwavering as he looked at Loki
"..."
'But when things were getting tense, Ais intervened:'
"Please… Please tell me how to get stronger." She asked with a serious expression as she clutched onto her dress
"?!"
'Her eyes seemed to shine, even her expression was slightly flushed…'
'Silver knew that this must be hard for her, whatever was passing through her mind, taking the first step in requesting someone else's help…'
'It was clear that Ais had thought greatly about this, despite the circumstances.'
'It was no surprise why everyone was so surprised.'
"Did you hear what I said?" Silver asked with a frown
"Yes, that is why…"
'But Silver shook his head.'
"This was the reason why I warned you all at the start."
"I'm not explaining to you how to do things, and I told you all that this wasn't going to make sense…"
"I simply can't bring myself to tell you something that doesn't suit you."
"..."
'She looked at the ground, depressed and even a bit shammed.'
'But at the same time, she wanted to say… Perhaps she thought she wanted… She didn't know what she wanted…'
'Ais felt she needed to say: What do you even know about me?!'
'But the words never came out from her lips, she only stared at the ground, frustrated, or so she thought, she didn't know what she was feeling.'
"..."
'Silver looked at Ais and said honestly:'
"I'm not trying to shoot you down… Nor I'm I trying to make little of your efforts."
"I can tell just by looking about your achievements, at your mindset, and at the way you hold your sword… Your conviction."
"The amount of effort you put into all of this, the burden you carry."
"But it's exactly because of this that I can't say that you aren't suited for the method I used to grow stronger."
"..."
'She didn't reply.'
"The strength you seek, I can understand why you do so…"
"But if you push yourself too hard… Wasn't that the reason why they always pulled you back?" Silver asked as he looked at Loki and… At the door
'After all, a certain Elf had been standing there for a while now… Even though most had yet to realize.'
"People have limits, and breaking them was never supposed to be a simple thing, since what does it even means to break your limits?"
"You want to grow stronger so desperately, but does it really have to be at any cost?"
This is something she has to learn if I were to tell them how I grow…
Would she throw herself in a wave of minotaurs alone? Of course not… Not quite.
She would definitely consider, and it's that indecision that would make both Loki and several others hostile to me… Or at the very least, make them have dual feelings about me.
If any of them were to get hurt by my words, no matter how truthful I am or how much I warned them, they would still feel upset.
"..."
My Limit…
'Ais didn't expect to be scolded, for a moment, she felt as if she was hearing Riveria talk…'
'From the other side of the door, a certain Elf smiled slightly…'
"Besides, what I did to grow was very particular, not really something I would recommend you all to follow… And I have my own secrets to keep."
"Even if I were to do so… These two beautiful ladies would beat me up." Silver said as he pointed at the door and at Loki
"Heh?"
Trying to sweet talk me, kid?!
""Hm?""
/Creak…/
'Everyone apart from Loki looked at the door as it slowly opened, revealing a beautiful Elf with green hair…'
'It was Riveria, with her cold and serious gaze…'
"R-R-R-R-Riveria-Sama?!... OUCH!" Lefiya exclaimed in surprise as Riveria approached behind her and smacked her head with a cane
"I told you to be more composed many times before, didn't I?" She said as she closed one of her eyes
This child…
'She then looked at Silver and nodded slightly before taking a seat next to Loki's after Tiona made up some space.'
"I didn't quite expect us to meet like this again." She said with a thin smile
"Neither did I, nevertheless, it's a pleasure to meet the Nine Hell again." Silver replied with a smile
"No need to be so formal, Riveria will do. Didn't I say that last time as well?" She said with a smile
"Hm?"
'She looked around, but she seemed confused.'
"Where's Bete?"
'Everyone then smiled helplessly.'
"He left early due after he lost his patience." Loki said with a calm smile
"... That's unlike him..." Riveria said suspiciously
'But seeing that everything was under control, she simply let it be.'
'She then became serious and said:'
"Enough side talk. Firstly, my apologies for coming so late, I missed the start of the conversation and now I'm lost in what to make of all of it."
"Yet, I can't help but notice your conversation about limits… And I can't help but be skeptical about what you said."
"Limits can be broken? Even after all you said, I'm finding difficulty believing that."
'Silver nodded, he understood her point.'
'For her, it was already very hard to limit the actions of Ais and the others, she always had to limit them, after all, they work together, and not separately.'
'This is because, even with their strength, they can't act on their own in the Deep floors, else they would die.'
'She has to control their unending desire for power and impede them from throwing themselves in the army of monsters the Dungeon throws at them…'
'But it's not her fault either, since she also believes that once you hit the limit… It's that.'
'Unless you dedicate unending amounts of time to increase that limit step by step like Ottar, then your only solution is to train something else or to Level up.'
'Not that she knows how Ottar became that strong in the first place…'
(N0)
"It is not an opinion, it is a fact… Since you came in late, I do not mind going over everything again."
'Riveria nodded, saying thank you to Haruhime for pouring her tea, waiting for Silver to recount his story…'
/5 minutes later…/
'She was left shocked, her expression was that of deep confusion and disbelief.'
"Even so…"
'She tried to come with a comeback, but she was unable to.'
'The almost 100-year-old sage was unable to refute this.'
'Of course, she could simply say that their knowledge about the Item was wrong, and that it had no such effect… But then, what would be the explanation for its effects?'
"Well… This is all I had to share." Silver said as he looked at them
"You now know that the item is safe, and its supposed effects, its history, how it got into my hands, what else do you need?"
"..."
/Bam!/
'Loki slammed her hand on the table, making the teacups fly, but Silver stopped them by making them float in the air.'
"I can't take this out of my head! How, just how did you grow if… MHMPH?!"
'In the middle of her talk, Riveria grabbed Loki's mouth, impeding her from talking further.'
"My apologies, Loki is a very curious person, I hope you take no offense to that."
'Silver smiled helplessly.'
"I don't… I'm used to it already."
"HA! Let me go, Revi!"
'Riveria did just that, and Loki was released.'
"Urg… I can't believe this humiliation is coming from my own child…"
"So you should behave more and stop asking about other people's personal things."
"HA?! Don't tell me you aren't curious about it?"
'Riveria's eyes twitch, and she became very very slightly flushed.'
"Perhaps just a little…"
'Everyone then looked at Silver.'
"What? I told you many times already… You're insistent, do you know that?"
'Loki smiled, she had gotten him!'
"Many say that to me."
"Sigh…"
'Silver tiredly closed his eyes.'
It's not like I need to reveal anything deep, just some of my habits in the Dungeon should be enough to show just how much I work.
However, it needs to be shocking if I want to make them believe in it, especially since Ais trained like Hell as well when she was younger, the only reason why she didn't push herself further was because of none other than Loki and the top Executives.
"Silver…" Hestia said worriedly
"No, it's okay, I know what I'm doing."
'He raised his head and got up from his seat, looking down at them as he said:'
"Fine, I'll tell you how I got this strong, but I have a few conditions…"
"YAY!" Loki exclaimed with a smile as she jumped from her seat
'She approached him and tapped his back excitedly...'
"..."
'She raised her head to look at Silver, he had one of his eyebrows raised, thinking about her actions.'
'Silver rolled his eyes.'
/Grinding…/
'It took no longer than a second for the sound of grinding to be heard, Loki looked at the side to see Hestia, her hair rising into the sky, defying gravity as she ground her teeth in anger.'
"What-Do-You-Think-You're-Doing-Loki?..." Hestia said word by word as steam came off her mouth
'It wasn't that Hestia was possessive, it's just that from the large selection of people she didn't want Silver to associate with, Loki was at the very top.'
"Me? I'm giving him my appreciation…"
Hehehe, her reaction is quite amusing...
"He doesn't need your appreciation! Now, get away!" Hestia said as she jumped after Loki
'Then it became a tug of war where one was pulled, and the other held…'
'Silver remained unmoving this entire time, looking at Riveria and the others with a blank expression.'
"Sigh…" Riveria said as she got up from her seat…
/SMACK!/
"AH!..."
'But surprisingly, it wasn't her who smacked Loki in the head, sending her face first onto the ground… It was Ais!'
/Hiss!/
'While Loki twitched on the ground, Hestia hissed to her as she clung onto Silver.'
"Can I get some time off?..." Silver requested with a frown
…
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Notes
N0
In the end, there are many holes in this explanation.
You see, Riveria is old, old enough to know many people and to have lived in the time of the Zeus and Hera Familias.
So it wouldn't have been impossible for one or several unique individuals to have appeared here and there.
It's not like she was a child when she entered the Loki Familia, she was around 50 to 60 years old, same for Finn and Gareth who were around their late 10s to early 20s.
Of course, even that is not enough, just living in that era, doesn't mean she has a great deal of information about it…
After all, perhaps not even Zeus and Hera know about the fact you can break past your limit.
Even if they knew, there is nothing forcing the two Familias in sharing the information they know, perhaps they did, and the Guild censored it, in fear of having promising adventurers kill themselves off over the prospect of breaking their own limits…