If you don’t have money, just sell yourself

What Loki suddenly said left Alexia stunned.

Undress?

"Why do I need to undress?" Alexia questioned, bewildered.

"Of course, it's to engrave sacred words on you and welcome you into our family," Loki stated matter-of-factly. "And by the way, you have no right to refuse."

Join Loki's family?

Alexia frowned. "I haven't expressed any desire to join your family, have I? Please reconsider. Right now, I'm trying to understand the general situation of this world..."

"No~~~ If you don't join us, you might become the target of some flirtatious goddess in the blink of an eye! Besides, as we mentioned earlier, you have no right to refuse. Come on, let's get started," Loki insisted, opening the window.

Alexia glanced outside and saw a courtyard with a massive crater in the center, as if it had been struck by a meteorite. Broken ice covered the ground around the crater.

"You caused this," Loki said.

"As we mentioned before, you fell from the sky and landed right in front of us. It terrified us and created this huge hole! The whole family was in shock, including me! While it was quite exhilarating, having someone fall from the sky is rather interesting, but we still need to settle the matter," Loki explained.

"Settle... So, joining your family is part of the 'settlement'?" Alexia questioned.

"Exactly! Joining our family means becoming an adventurer in the dungeon, defeating monsters, and earning money. It's how you'll repay your debts," Loki clarified.

"No, this is-" Alexia started, but was interrupted.

"By the way, there's no gradual repayment plan here," Loki added, producing a parchment. Alexia took it and found a long list of debts.

[Destroying the Loki Familia courtyard – Compensation: 400,000 Wallis]

[Causing disruption to daily activities – Compensation: 120,000 Wallis]

[Damaging vegetation – Compensation: 100,000 Wallis]

...

Entries like these filled the parchment, totaling over 1.5 million Wallis. And at the end...

[Attempted attack on God Loki – Compensation: 1.2 billion Wallis]

"Two billion!?" Alexia exclaimed.

"It's the cost of attacking a god like us," Loki sneered. "Even if it was unintentional, the damage is done. You must understand your situation and accept the consequences."

"Boom!"

Before Loki could finish, a staff struck her head. Riveria took the list from Alexia: "Did you really make this list? Although I agree Alexia needs to compensate, the last one is excessive. It's just your own desire for compensation, right?"

"It's not selfish! We're serious! Another step forward, and we could've been crushed! Our future would've been ruined! Compared to that, 1.2 billion is lenient!" Loki defended.

"Finn, let's strike out the last one," Riveria suggested.

"Agreed. Let's remove the other excessive entries as well," Finn added.

Riveria and Finn disregarded their gods, modifying the parchment themselves before handing it back to Alexia.

"Actually, you only need to compensate for this part, Alexia. Although it wasn't intentional, you caused damage to our dependents. Please accept this," Finn said.

Alexia reviewed the parchment again, stunned by the modifications. The total compensation was reduced to about 800,000 Wallis, half of the original amount.

"This seems fair... But do I really need to join the Loki Familia?" Alexia questioned.

Finn nodded. "If you want to repay the debt quickly, becoming an adventurer is the fastest way. In Orario, being an adventurer is the most lucrative profession. It's the quickest way to earn money – by delving into the dungeon, defeating monsters, and collecting magic stones and rare materials to sell."

"You said you're from another world, which means you have no access to our currency or resources. Working outside would be difficult and earning wouldn't be much," Finn explained.

"Yes, yes~~ If you're broke, your only option is to join us!" Loki chimed in.

Considering the situation, Finn's advice seemed logical. If Alexia wanted to settle the debt swiftly, becoming an adventurer was the most practical choice.

[Do you desire power?]

Those words seemed to linger in Alexia's mind once again.

Even if unintentional, Alexia ended up in this world because something responded to his desire for power. Sacred text, dungeon – these were the means to gain strength.

(Power... Can I catch up with Bianca?)

The record between Alexia and Bianca stood at three hundred and twenty-eight defeats. Alexia had never won against Bianca, not even once. Despite encouragement from instructors and Bishop Otto, Alexia felt ashamed of losing to Bianca repeatedly.

But now, the opportunity was before Alexia.

(Power... I can attain power...)

"Can I ask you something, Goddess Loki?" Alexia inquired.

"Huh? What is it?" Loki responded.

"After joining your family and receiving divine favor, can I become a powerful warrior?" Alexia asked earnestly.

"It depends on you, little guy," Loki replied with a chuckle. "Divine favor is an accelerator for unlocking your potential. Your growth ultimately depends on your own abilities – in other words, your talent!"

Talent.

God rewards hard work, but ultimately, talent plays a crucial role. Alexia recalled the family motto: "Kaslana's body contains the power to save the world."

"This makes sense," Alexia muttered, taking a deep breath. "Please allow me to join your family, Goddess Loki."

In that moment, Alexia committed to joining the Loki Familia.