"Finn, you're back."
In the Loki Familia's private room, Riveria was the first to notice Finn's return.
"What are you holding in your hand?"
"A gift." Finn returned to his original seat: "I just made a big deal with Leo, and he was in a good mood, so he gave me a steak."
As he said this, Finn picked up his cutlery, cut a piece of meat, and popped it into his mouth: "Whoa, this taste... It's even more delicious than I imagined. Riveria, do you want a piece?"
"No, I'm not hungry yet."
Riveria shook her head and brought the topic back on track: "You just said you made a big deal. What exactly does that refer to?"
"Some supplies for the expedition."
Finn took the biscuit box out of his bosom and recounted the matter of the Compressed Biscuits and energy bars.
"Hmm... the taste is not bad."
Riveria took out a biscuit and tasted it, finding that the flavor was indeed about the same as Finn had described.
Considering the monotony during expeditions and the fatigue after prolonged battles,
bringing along some portable food that combined both taste and effect was indeed a good choice.
"By the way, how did things go with Aiz? You didn't forget the main business, did you?"
"Of course not."
Finn looked toward a spot not far away: "Tione, Tiona, Lefiya, come over here for a moment."
"Captain, what's up?"
Tione was the first to approach.
"To train his Breathing Technique, Leo will be taking Aiz to the Dungeon starting tomorrow."
"I discussed it with Leo; at that time, the three of you will head to the Dungeon together with Aiz."
Finn explained succinctly.
Although he didn't spell everything out, Tione still understood his meaning.
The original task remained unchanged—only now, instead of tailing Aiz, they would be acting together.
"Wait! Exploring the Dungeon?"
Bete's voice suddenly rang out.
The werewolf youth, who had been drinking gloomily since earlier, frowned and looked toward his captain.
"A Level 1 and a Level 5 teaming up to explore the Dungeon? Finn, you can't be joking, can you?"
"I'm not joking. By the way, Leo has already broken through to Level 2."
"So what?!"
Perhaps because he had drunk too much Divine Wine, Bete's voice gradually rose.
"Even if he's Level 2, he's still just a weak little brat!"
"How could someone like that be qualified to act together with Aiz?! Don't mess around!"
"Bete, calm down a bit."
"How could I calm down?!"
Bete stood up from his chair: "Letting that kind of trash go explore the Dungeon with Aiz—no matter how you look at it, it's just a waste of her time!"
"Hey! You're being way too loud!"
Though she had only met him once, Tiona had a fairly good impression of Leo.
Seeing Bete persistently picking a fight, she stepped forward despite having been observing from the sidelines.
"Even if it's a waste of time, it's Aiz's time to waste! What's it to you?!"
"Shut up! You noisy hag!"
A vein bulged on Bete's temple: "If it's none of your business here, just stay qui—"
Boom—!
Before the words even finished, a fist the size of a sandbag suddenly smashed over from behind.
Without even a chance to resist, Bete was punched into the ground, losing consciousness.
"Really, so noisy."
Putting down the bottle in his hand, Gareth pulled out a rope from who-knows-where and tied Bete up.
"Finn, is this alright?"
"Of course it is, or rather, you've been a huge help. Otherwise, I would've had to do it myself."
"It's nothing. I just didn't want to see this idiot ruin everyone's mood."
Tossing Bete into a corner, Gareth pulled a bottle of liquor from under the table and placed it on top.
"This is Divine Wine produced by the Soma Familia. Since it's a rare opportunity, have a couple sips too."
"Divine Wine from the Soma Familia… if I remember correctly, this is Loki's favorite alcohol, isn't it?"
Finn seemed to recall something and let out a light chuckle: "Too bad she didn't come; if you miss today, there won't be another chance to buy Divine Wine at a low price."
"Huh? Now that you mention it, why didn't Lady Loki come with us today?" Lefiya looked around and only then realized Loki wasn't present.
Finn: "She drank too much yesterday and was still sleeping in her room when we left."
"Let's bring her a bottle on the way back; otherwise, she'll make a fuss when she finds out."
Riveria's voice came from the side.
After settling the matter with Aiz, her mood had improved considerably; she even had the mind to show concern for Loki.
Lively discussion echoed within the private room. As Finn and the others drank Divine Wine, they gradually began chatting about the past.
And at that very moment, Leo, who was working in the kitchen, welcomed a new guest.
"What brings you to see me, Ryu?"
"I wanted to talk with you about… monsters."
Glancing at the Soma Familia members helping out not far away, Ryu took a letter from her beautiful bosom.
"This is all I've managed to investigate recently. See if this information is useful to you."
"You really are quite diligent."
Leo paused his work for the moment, opened the letter, and quickly skimmed through it.
Written on it were, without exception, records of Xenos smuggling.
From these records, it could be seen that Xenos smuggling had been going on for quite some time, with buyers spread all over the world.
"This information… you didn't happen to get it from the Hermes Familia, did you?"
Ryu was taken aback: "How did you know that?"
Leo shrugged: "Just a guess."
The information was too complete; it wasn't something one person could investigate in a short time.
Considering Ryu's connections, only the Hermes Familia fit the criteria.
Leo handed the letter back: "Ryu, you should still remember what I said before, right?"
Ryu nodded: "Of course I remember."
Half a month ago, she had taken on Leo's request to help investigate Charnis's smuggling of Xenos.
After obtaining the evidence, Leo stated that within half a year, he could break through to Level 5, with combat power comparable to Level 7.
At the time, Ryu, not believing him, even fought Leo, ending up utterly shaken by the result.
Facing Leo, who was still Level 1 at the time, she had to go all out just to win against him.
"Are you thinking that half a year isn't enough and you want to extend the agreed-upon time?"
Knowing that Leo had been busy with the restaurant lately and hadn't been to the Dungeon much,
Ryu assumed that Leo bringing this up now was because he wanted to extend the deadline.
However, contrary to Ryu's expectations, Leo shook his head after hearing her words.
"You've misunderstood. What I wanted to tell you is that my progress is going quite smoothly."
Leo activated Current Propulsion, golden electric light coiling around his body as his aura surged dramatically.
"As you can see, I've already broken through to Level 2 and learned a magic that suits me."
"If everything goes smoothly from now on, I should break through to Level 3 within half a month, and to Level 5 within three to four months—well within half a year."
"..."
Ryu suddenly fell silent.
Staring at the electric-light-wrapped youth before her, who gave her a strong sense of danger,
at this moment, she felt an inexplicable sense of bewilderment.
Did this person really need her help for the operation to exterminate the Remnants of the Dark Faction?
"Ryu, I need you to do me a favor."
Perhaps hearing the Elf girl's inner thoughts, Leo's voice sounded again.
"For the upcoming plan, I need you to investigate someone for me."