The Strongest Eriri in History

Eriri couldn't help but roll her eyes at Arifureta and the others.

She had initially thought she would be tasting some unparalleled gourmet dish, but the result turned out to be only slightly better than standard street-side barbecue. It could be described as delicious, but it was far from the best.

Unfazed by Eriri's reaction, Arifureta grinned and said, "How could that be? I'm speaking from the heart! Because you made it yourself, it's the best in my eyes!"

"Same here!" Yuzuru Hanyu, sitting across from her, quickly raised her hand to express her stance, as if afraid of falling behind.

"Ah, well…" Seeing their earnest expressions, Eriri knew they were being truthful, which left her momentarily at a loss for words. All in all, she was quite moved.

"Alright, since you all enjoy my barbecue so much, I'll handle dinner for tonight," Eriri declared, her gaze sweeping over their faces with a pleased smile, volunteering to take charge of the grilling.

However, despite her words, Arifureta and the others couldn't just sit idly by and watch Eriri do all the work alone. In the end, they couldn't resist stepping in to lend a hand.

Thus, this meaningful dinner came to a close with everyone working together.

By the time dinner was over, it was already 8 p.m., having lasted nearly three hours.

At this point, the seven-day Martial Arts Tournament had officially concluded.

Without staying another night in this world, everyone used the chat group's free function to open portals to their respective worlds and returned home.

When the world portals opened, time in their respective worlds resumed, and each member, along with their friends and family, returned to their normal lives.

However, their futures were destined for earth-shaking changes.

Eriri and her group didn't linger in this world either. After the other members departed, they followed suit and returned to the Saekano world.

…

Because time in the Saekano world had been paused when Eriri and the others left for the Martial Arts Tournament, it was still just past 8 a.m. when they reappeared in the villa.

For those present, all of whom were exceptionally powerful beings, sleep was entirely optional. The transition from nighttime in the other world to morning here didn't affect them in the slightest.

Even Haruno, who had originally been an ordinary person, had received an energy seed from Eriri over the past few days, giving her strength equivalent to around mid-tier Level 2.

While that level was still relatively weak, as long as Haruno put in the effort to train herself, catching up to Yukino was not out of the question.

Seated on the sofa in the living room, Eriri accepted a cup of black tea handed to her by Aoi Kujo, taking a gentle sip.

Eriri looked across to the sofa opposite her and said, "Haruno-san, are you planning to head straight back, or will you stay here for a few more days?"

Both Yukino and Akino were staying in the Saekano world to study, leaving Haruno as the only one who needed to return to the Oregairu world.

When Yukino went to the Oregairu world the day before the Martial Arts Tournament began to pick up Haruno, she initially intended to temporarily pause time in that world. However, due to the opposition of Mrs. Yukinoshita, time in the Oregairu world had not been stopped, meaning a week had passed there already.

For Haruno, who managed part of her family's business and was also a university student, a week was not a short time.

Thus, she didn't plan to stay any longer. The seven-day vacation for the Martial Arts Tournament had been more than enough.

"Oh my, could it be that you want me to stay, Eriri? If that's the case, it's not impossible," Haruno teased with a playful tone as she accepted a cup of tea handed to her by Aoi Kujo.

"Well, that's up to you. If you want to stay, of course, you're welcome," Eriri shrugged casually.

"Ahaha, as much as I'd like to stay, I'll pass for now. But next time, I'll definitely come back to stay for a while. I hope you won't kick me out then," Haruno said with a playful wink, her demeanor lively and cute.

"Of course not," Eriri replied with a faint smile as she looked at Haruno's playful expression.

Half an hour later, Haruno returned to the Oregairu world through a portal Eriri opened for her. Before leaving, she naturally took time to offer some advice to her two younger sisters.

As for everyone else, they began to busy themselves with their respective affairs.

...

In the DanMachi world, Ais stepped through the portal with Riveria, Lefiya, Tiona, and Tione.

Before the portal behind them could close, a calm voice came from behind.

"Ais, Riveria, welcome back!" Finn, the captain of the Loki Familia, greeted them with a gentle smile.

Although only a few seconds had passed since Ais and the others had left, seeing them emerge from the portal, Finn immediately knew they had returned.

Turning around to look at the familiar faces of their Familia members, unchanged from when they had left, Riveria's face softened into a gentle smile.

"Yes, we're back, Finn. It's been a while... though, I suppose that's not quite accurate."

"Haha, I don't know how many days you spent over there, but to us, it felt like you never left," said Gareth Landrock, one of the Loki Familia's three Lv. 6 adventurers, as he laughed heartily while stroking his thick beard.

"Captain~ I missed you so much!" Tione's eyes were glued to Finn the moment she saw him. Even though it had only been seven days, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of longing for the man she adored.

Meanwhile, Tiona moved to stand in front of everyone, making exaggerated gestures as she excitedly said, "Hehe, let me tell you, that world was absolutely amazing! The people participating in the Martial Arts Tournament were incredible, and we stayed in that world for a full seven days!"

"Seven days already? Incredible. This chat group can suspend an entire world's time for so long so effortlessly," Finn said with an expression of awe.

"Tch, it's just another world. Look at how excited you've gotten," grumbled Bete, the irritable wolfman, his hands shoved into his pockets. He cast an impatient glance at Tiona before turning his gaze to Ais.

Then, he asked bluntly, "So, Ais, did you win the Martial Arts Tournament?"

Hearing Bete's question, Finn and the others immediately directed their curious gazes toward Ais, who stood quietly next to Riveria.

"I lost." Facing so many gazes, Ais simply uttered the two words lightly, her face showing no expression whatsoever.

"Lost?" At this, Bete furrowed his brows deeply. "Wasn't it supposed to be battles between people of the same level? How could you lose? You're the Sword Princess!"

"Everyone was very strong. I wasn't their match," Ais replied in her usual calm tone, leaving Bete without a retort.

"What place did you get?"

"No ranking. I lost in the second match."

Seeing Bete's displeased expression, Ais remained indifferent, but Tiona shot him a dissatisfied glare.

"Hey, Bete, what's your problem? Ais is already amazing, okay? She just had the bad luck of encountering one of the top three from this Martial Arts Tournament in the third round. Otherwise, she'd have at least made it into the top six."

Tiona refrained from claiming Ais could make it into the top three. She knew very well that the current Ais stood no chance against top contenders like Jibril.

"Hmph, I didn't say anything," Bete grumbled, casting a frustrated glance at Tiona before moving off to the side, saying nothing more.

"Alright, Tiona, Bete was just concerned about Ais," Finn said, looking helplessly between Tiona and Bete.

Tiona didn't take Bete's remarks to heart. Knowing his tsundere personality, she had just felt like taking a jab at him. Soon, her usual cheerful energy returned.

Finn turned his attention back to Riveria and asked, "By the way, Riveria, how did you fare in the free-for-all matches?"

"Not bad. Tione and I both won, and we successfully obtained the rewards Ais mentioned. It won't be long before my strength reaches Lv. 7, or even Lv. 8," Riveria said, a satisfied smile appearing on her face as she felt the energy enhancing her body.

"So, Lefiya and Tiona lost..." Finn nodded, not disappointed in the result. Having two winners was already good news.

"Since you're all back, let's pack up and prepare to head back to the surface. On the way, you can tell us more details about everything that happened over the past seven days."

When Ais and the others had departed, the expedition team had already been resting on the 50th floor for some time, so setting off now posed no issues.

The Loki Familia expedition team made swift progress on their return. The monsters on the lower floors posed no threat to them whatsoever.

By evening, Ais and the others had returned to the surface.

During the journey, Tiona recounted everything that had happened over the past seven days to Finn and the others, drawing numerous exclamations of amazement. It also stirred a sense of longing in them for the world that had hosted the Martial Arts Tournament.

Unfortunately, men could never enter that world, so Finn and the others' longing would forever remain unfulfilled.

At the same time, Ais realized that the current timeline was not the same as the opening of the memory projection of Sword Oratoria uploaded by Eriri.

They did not encounter the strange monsters on the 50th floor, nor did they face the group of Minotaurs in the middle levels. Naturally, they also did not come across the original male protagonist, who was attacked by a stray Minotaur.

As usual, the returning expedition of the Loki Familia received the attention of every adventurer along the way. The onlookers' eyes were filled with awe and admiration.

As one of the two strongest familias in Orario, the overall strength of the Loki Familia needed no explanation.

They boasted three Lv.6 adventurers, numerous Lv.5 adventurers, and even more powerful lower-level members. In short, every member of the Loki Familia was an elite.

Compared to Freya Familia, the other strongest faction in Orario, the Loki Familia was considered slightly weaker because Freya Familia had Ottar, an Lv.7 adventurer.

However, with Ais, whose power rivaled or even surpassed the gods, the Loki Familia's actual strength had long surpassed that of Freya Familia, making them the strongest in the world.

Ais and her companions were well accustomed to the gazes of the adventurers around them and paid them no mind. They continued chatting and laughing with their fellow familia members.

After some time, the group finally arrived at the gates of a massive castle.

As the gatekeeper opened the doors, a red-haired, flat-chested woman dressed in a blue crop top, black shorts, and thigh-high black stockings ran out.

It was none other than Loki Familia's goddess, Loki.

"Welcome back! Everyone's okay, right?"

Seeing Ais, Loki excitedly spread her arms and leaped toward her.

However, Ais easily sidestepped her. Following her, Tiona and Tione also swiftly dodged Loki's embrace, leaving Lefiya bewildered and consequently pinned under Loki, who took full advantage of the situation.

No one in the Loki Familia stepped in to pull Loki off Lefiya. They were all too familiar with their goddess's habit of teasing beautiful girls and had long grown used to such antics.

"Loki, this expedition was a success. No one was lost, and we managed to explore two more floors than before," Finn reported to Loki from the side.

In truth, if Ais had gone exploring alone, she could have swept through the entire dungeon without issue.

However, considering her fellow familia members, she refrained from doing so, deciding instead to postpone her search for the mysterious creature mentioned in the memory projection, who knew about her mother.

"Two more floors? That's excellent," Loki said happily, looking up.

However, she still didn't let go of Lefiya. Her mischievous hands continued to grope Lefiya's chest, leaving the latter helplessly struggling in her grasp.

Just then, a single sentence from Riveria made Loki freeze mid-action.

"Loki, let's head to the conference room. There's something regarding Ais that we need to report to you."

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