The Strongest Eriri in History

"…That's the situation."

In the conference room, Riveria reported the events of the past days, including the details about the chat group, to Loki.

This naturally left Loki deeply shaken. Even with her hundred of millions of years of life experience, she had never imagined the existence of parallel worlds.

Upon learning about Ais's current true strength, Loki was so overjoyed that she leaped up from her chair with a wide grin and lunged toward Ais.

"Ais-tan~!"

Watching Loki approach in a strange pose, Ais, with an expressionless face, extended her right hand to block Loki's face and firmly pushed her away.

Being rebuffed didn't upset Loki in the slightest; after all, this wasn't the first time Ais had stopped her advances.

"I can't believe my Ais-tan has become so strong! And that mysterious chat group… Ais-tan, I want to join the chat group and play too!" Loki shamelessly climbed back up from the floor and began clinging to Ais, whining like a child.

"Hmm, there will be a chance in the future," Ais responded flatly, neither agreeing nor refusing. After all, she had already planned to invite some of her familia members to join the chat group, and bringing Loki in wasn't out of the question.

Once Loki returned to her seat, Riveria spoke up seriously, "By the way, Loki, we plan to invite Lady Eriri to visit here in a few days. Make sure to prepare yourself and remember not to be too rude."

"Got it, Mama," Loki replied with a nod before suddenly changing her tone. "By the way, Mama, is this Eriri cute?"

"Don't call me Mama!" Riveria snapped, her face twitching with annoyance at her mischievous god.

"To be honest with you, Lady Eriri is extraordinarily beautiful. To put it bluntly, even the 'Goddess of Beauty' Freya isn't a fraction as radiant as Lady Eriri."

"Oh? Is that so?" Loki's eyes widened with disbelief.

As Freya was one of her oldest acquaintances, Loki had always acknowledged Freya's unparalleled beauty and charm. She couldn't fathom what it would mean for someone to surpass that beauty a thousandfold.

"You'll see for yourself when the time comes. Just remember what I said earlier: don't be disrespectful. Lady Eriri isn't one of our familia members," Riveria reminded her, unwilling to elaborate further.

Riveria understood Loki's thoughts. Before meeting Eriri, no one could believe that someone could embody the concept of "beauty" to such an extent.

"Alright, I'll look forward to it," Loki said with a sly grin, her curiosity about Eriri growing stronger.

"For now, go rest. Later, we'll host a celebration banquet!"

…

Evening came quickly, and every member of the Loki Familia who participated in the expedition, along with Loki herself, gathered at the Hostess of Fertility tavern.

"Everyone, great work on the dungeon expedition! Tonight's a feast—drink to your heart's content!" Loki declared.

"Yeah!" came the collective cheer of the familia.

With Loki's declaration and the celebratory shouts of the others, the banquet officially began.

The sight of the lively celebration was nothing new to the other patrons of the tavern. It had become a routine for the Loki Familia to host such feasts at the Hostess of Fertility after each expedition. They were practically regulars.

The expedition team, numbering around twenty, occupied nearly half the tables in the tavern.

Almost everyone happily enjoyed the lavish feast spread before them, including Loki herself. However, Ais, Riveria, Lefiya, Tione, and Tiona were noticeably less enthusiastic about the food.

During the seven days they had spent in the other world, they had grown accustomed to the exquisite dishes prepared by Aoi and the others.

What once seemed like delectable cuisine now tasted rather ordinary to them.

"Ais-tan, Lefiya, why do you seem a bit down? Are these dishes not to your taste?" Loki, holding a wooden cup of alcohol, her cheeks slightly flushed from drinking, noticed the unusual demeanor of Ais and the others and curiously asked.

"They're okay, but compared to what we ate over the past few days, these fall far short," Tiona replied, her face showing a nostalgic expression as she recalled the food they had during the Martial Arts Tournament.

Lefiya quickly added with a blissful look, "Exactly! I wonder when we'll get to eat that again."

Their reactions piqued Loki's curiosity and even made her envious. "Ugh, if you'd come back just one day earlier, I could've gone with you!" Loki grumbled, slamming her wooden tankard on the table before turning toward Ais with a cheeky smile. "Ais-tan, you need to make it up to me!"

"Okay." Ais nodded lightly. Moments later, a steaming hot dish suddenly appeared in her hand as if out of thin air.

Ais handed the dish to Loki and said plainly, "Here, Loki, eat this."

"What's this?" Loki asked, startled, as she took the plate Ais offered. She grabbed a piece of meat with her hand and popped it into her mouth.

The next second, Loki's half-closed eyes snapped wide open as an indescribable sensation overwhelmed her.

"This… this is incredible! How is it even possible for food to taste this good?!" Loki exclaimed, her voice so loud it drew everyone's attention.

"Hey, Loki, what are you eating? Is it really that good? Let me try some," Bete said as he approached, puzzled by Loki's reaction. He reached out toward the plate in her hands.

But before Bete could grab anything, Loki quickly snapped out of her daze.

"Not a chance! This is Ais-tan's love-filled compensation for me!" Loki hugged the plate to her chest and scooted away protectively.

Then, to prevent anyone else from trying to take the food, Loki hurriedly devoured the entire plate of meat in mere seconds.

"Phew… that hit the spot!" Loki sighed contentedly, grabbing her tankard and gulping down several large mouthfuls of ale.

Meanwhile, Bete stood frozen, his outstretched hand hovering mid-air as he stared, dumbfounded, at Loki, who had just polished off the entire dish in under ten seconds.

"Ais, where did you get that food?" Tiona asked curiously, her gaze full of anticipation. Loki and Bete also fixed their eyes on Ais, eager for answers.

Riveria, however, calmly took a sip of her drink and confidently answered for her, "It's from the chat group, isn't it?"

"Yes, I asked Eriri for it. They're also having dinner right now," Ais replied with a nod.

"Ais, could you ask Lady Eriri for some more? I really want to try it too," Tiona pleaded, grabbing Ais's arm and gently shaking it.

But Ais didn't grant Tiona's request this time. While she knew Eriri wouldn't refuse if she asked again, her instincts told her that it wouldn't be appropriate to ask twice, so she decided not to.

Seeing Tiona continue to plead with Ais, Riveria stepped in to put an end to it.

"Enough, Tiona. Lady Eriri and the others need to eat dinner too. Let's make do with the food here."

Fortunately, they were surrounded by Loki Familia members. If Riveria's words had been overheard by the Hostess of Fertility's staff, it could have caused some awkward misunderstandings.

"Alright," Tiona reluctantly agreed, abandoning her hopes of tasting more of Eriri's food. Bete, too, sulked back to his seat with a dissatisfied expression.

After experiencing the dish brought by Ais, Loki finally understood Tiona and the others' feelings.

But since the main purpose of the feast was to celebrate and enjoy the atmosphere, Loki didn't dwell on it for long. She raised her drink and joined the others in a lively drinking contest.

The banquet lasted for two full hours. By the time the Loki Familia members were preparing to leave the Hostess of Fertility, the tavern was nearly empty of other patrons.

...

Time passed quickly, and two days had gone by since the end of the Martial Arts Tournament.

Under Miss Sayuri's arrangement, Yukino enrolled in Yumenosaki Academy as a first-year high school student. However, she wasn't in the same class as Eriri and the others; instead, she was placed in the same class as Yuzuru Hanyu.

Yukino's arrival caused quite a stir. Her identical appearance to Akino alone was enough to draw significant attention.

But Yukino wasn't the only one transferring to Yumenosaki Academy. Lala, who had been staying at home for a long time, also transferred on the same day. Unlike Yukino, Lala joined Eriri and the others in the same class.

Due to the addition of Arifureta and others, Eriri's class, Year 1 Class E, had become the most populous class in the entire school.

Lala didn't hide her tail, but to the other students at Yumenosaki Academy, it wasn't an unusual sight anymore. The diversity of superpowers meant there were people who had awakened abilities resembling beast transformations.

Thus, even if Shia disabled the concealment measures on her body, revealing her bunny ears and tail, it wouldn't cause much surprise. At most, people might glance admiringly at the cute beast-eared girl.

Speaking of superpowers, there was one matter that had to be mentioned.

Some time ago, Miss Sayuri purchased Yumenosaki Academy and registered it under Eriri's name. The academy was now Eriri's private property.

Subsequently, Eriri established a superpower curriculum at Yumenosaki Academy.

Students who had awakened superpowers could choose to participate in this course to learn how to use and develop their abilities.

The superpower course consisted of two classes per week, but unlike ordinary cultural courses, each session lasted significantly longer.

The superpower classes were scheduled for Wednesday and Friday afternoons. To support this, the Sawamura Conglomerate specially constructed a closed-off facility at Yumenosaki Academy called the Superpower Zone.

Although enclosed, the Superpower Zone was massive, covering an area equivalent to half of Yumenosaki Academy.

The facility included areas for superpower testing, superpower combat, and theoretical knowledge instruction.

The introduction of the superpower curriculum wasn't kept secret. On the contrary, with the Sawamura Conglomerate's promotion, it garnered widespread attention from society.

If Yumenosaki Academy's superpower course proved effective in enhancing students' abilities, it was certain to spark a trend of superpower curricula worldwide.

Today, being Friday, marked the inaugural session of the superpower course.

In light of this event, the school held a full assembly in the morning to formally introduce the superpower course to all students, though most had already learned about it online.

By the time the afternoon arrived, students who had awakened superpowers were abuzz with excitement, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to showcase their abilities.

However, for those who hadn't awakened superpowers, the day felt far less pleasant. There was little they could do but envy those who had.

As time passed, the proportion of people awakening superpowers in the Saekano world continued to increase daily.

Currently, approximately 20% of the global population had awakened superpowers. Among them, teenagers aged sixteen to seventeen made up nearly half of the awakened individuals, making high schoolers the largest demographic with superpowers.

For example, at Yumenosaki Academy, over 40% of students had awakened superpowers, while the remainder were ordinary people unchanged from before.

...

It was now 12:30 PM, and all the students who had awakened superpowers had already finished their lunch and were seated in their classrooms, waiting for the afternoon classes to begin.

As for the students who hadn't awakened superpowers, they had already been dismissed for the day. They could either go home and enjoy a two-and-a-half-day break or stay at school to participate in club activities.

In a way, this seemed like a good deal—having at least one more afternoon off per week compared to other schools. However, those without superpowers didn't share this enthusiasm.

In Class 1-E, out of curiosity and a sense of fun, Eriri had chosen to stay at school and participate in the inaugural superpower course, pretending to be a superpowered student.

Since Eriri stayed, Arifureta and the others decided to keep her company as well.

Including Eriri, Arifureta, Shea, Megumi Kato, Kanae, Akino, Lilianna, and Lala, a total of 23 students remained in Class 1-E.

This meant that among the class's 28 "ordinary" students, 15 had awakened superpowers—almost half, which was a surprisingly high proportion.

This group also included Kiyo Ishimaki and Azusa Satomi, who had managed to awaken their superpowers on their own rather than relying on Eriri's help.

At the moment, the two were gathered with Eriri and the others, chatting animatedly about the upcoming class.

Although Eriri often traveled to other worlds, she maintained a good friendship with Kiyo and Azusa, frequently hanging out with them at school. They would even meet up on weekends to go shopping together.

Kiyo and Azusa had also visited Eriri's home. While they had only been there twice, the experience left a lasting impression on them.

When they first arrived at Eriri's villa, their reactions were nearly identical to those of Reina's elementary school classmates: completely awestruck. If described with a phrase, it would be "stunned beyond belief."

Whether it was the drastically different climate and scenery inside the estate compared to the outside world or the sheer number of beautiful young girls living there, everything made them feel as if they had stepped into another dimension.

As a generous friend, Eriri didn't hold back. After learning that Kiyo and Azusa had awakened their superpowers, she placed a small energy seed within each of them to enhance their abilities.

She hadn't directly helped them become superpowered before because she wanted them to ask for her help willingly—or step in only if they were unable to awaken their powers on their own.

The two were ecstatic about receiving the energy seeds. Although their current abilities couldn't compare to someone like Yuzuru Hanyu, they had reached Lv.5, equivalent to the peak of Level 2 strength.

Once they reached Lv.6, they would possess power on par with national-level superhumans.

For now, being at Lv.5 already made them among the top superhumans in the world—excluding the Sawamura Conglomerate, which boasted numerous Level 10 superhumans created by Eriri.

Another half hour passed, bringing the time to 1:00 PM.

At this moment, their homeroom teacher, Kanoko Hasumi, walked into the classroom.

"Everyone, the school's superpower course will begin at 1:15 PM. There are still about fifteen minutes left, so please tidy up your desks and then follow me to the Superpower Zone," Kanoko said with a gentle smile as she stood at the podium.

Internally, she was quite excited. She had recently awakened a superpower herself. Although she was still a Lv.1 novice, this gave her the opportunity to participate in the superpower course.

Both students and teachers who had awakened superpowers were eligible to attend the course in the designated Superpower Zone.

"Participation in the superpower course is entirely voluntary, so if anyone doesn't want to join, please don't feel obligated," Kanoko added, scanning the students seated before her. "But judging by your expressions, I don't think anyone plans to miss out!"

"Of course not!" The room erupted in cheerful laughter.

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