Anyone could see at a glance that the combat strength of the two teams Finn had sent out wasn't balanced.
The first team had two Lv.6s, while the second team didn't have even a single Lv.6, only three Lv.5s. No matter how you looked at it, the first team's members were stronger in combat strength.
This didn't make sense.
By logic, even if one Lv.6 had to be stationed back at the camp, the most appropriate consideration would have been to assign one Lv.6 to each of the two teams sent out, so that the combat strength of the two teams could be balanced.
However, what needed to be considered for this outing to carry out an adventurer request wasn't logic and balance of combat strength, but whether the goal could be achieved.
To complete the adventurer request, you needed to obtain the water of Cadmus' Spring, and to obtain the water, you were bound to have to consider facing Cadmus. So when forming the teams, the first thing to consider should be how to guarantee taking down the dragon and carrying off the spring water it guarded.
And to take down Cadmus, whose strength could even exceed that of Floor 37's Floor Boss Udaeus, relying on just one Lv.6's combat strength was far too risky.
Udaeus' own classification level reached a full Lv.6, and even if Cadmus was merely stronger than it, it was still best to send out multiple Lv.6s for the assault to guarantee that the final result was a close call with no real danger.
So Finn's approach of assigning himself and Gareth to one team was correct.
But that meant the second team's combat strength really was somewhat worrying.
Cadmus required multiple Lv.6s to be sent out to guarantee a safe assault, yet the second team had to make the attempt relying on three Lv.5s. This was just a bit too risky.
Even with Ais on this team, taking on Cadmus without unsealing her own Skill, relying only on the power of Magic, still carried no small risk.
Beyond the combat strength being something nobody could feel easy about, the lineup itself was also worrying.
Just look at what kind of talent made up this team.
Ais, the berserk swordsman who only knew how to chop, chop, chop, and an airhead besides.
Tiona, an innocent little angel who didn't think about anything at all, who turned into a peerless berserker the moment a fight started.
Tione, who seemed steady and calm but was at her core more violent than the other two, and would lose control on the spot the moment she fell into a rage.
Three people like that making up one team, was that really okay?
Of course it was a problem!
So...
"Leo."
Finn looked at the boy sitting silently beside Ais.
"I'm leaving the second team to you."
The moment he said this, everyone was stirred.
"What, what? You're putting Leo into our team?"
Tiona's eyes lit up, her whole self visibly growing excited.
"...Why is it him you're leaving it to?"
Tione, on the other hand, got sulky, seemingly unhappy that the man she had feelings for didn't trust her and instead trusted someone else.
Ais also turned her head to look at Leo, her eyes brightening faintly.
Finn's voice carried again.
"I'm adding Leo to your team as an extra. With his firepower, it should be enough to make up the gap in combat strength between you and the first team."
This power, combined with three battle-hardened first-class adventurers, should make dealing with Cadmus no great difficulty.
At the same time, Leo would also be the decision-maker for the second team. With him there, at least Ais would follow instructions and not run wild, and Tione, as long as she didn't lose control, wouldn't go so far as to ignore the instructions of the decision-maker Finn had picked. As for the remaining Tiona, she was already full of curiosity and expectation toward Leo, and given her attitude toward him, she surely wouldn't let his words go in one ear and out the other.
"Any problem, Leo?"
Finn asked for the sake of it, and everyone's gaze began to converge on Leo.
The others had no real objection to this decision of Finn's. Even Bete only twisted his lips and said nothing.
Leo had already proven his ability, and adding him to a team of first-class adventurers was completely fine.
As long as he could unleash Lv.6 firepower, plus Ais, whose ability after activating Magic was in no way inferior to Lv.6, then the second team was equivalent to having two Lv.6 combat assets.
That way, dealing with Cadmus was foolproof.
To this, Leo met everyone's gaze and replied calmly.
"I don't have any problem."
This worked out perfectly. Taking advantage of this chance, he could go and see for himself the things that would give the whole Familia such a headache in the future.
If anything went wrong, he could also offer some advice depending on the situation, so the Familia wouldn't take too big a loss when they ended up facing that thing.
Thinking of this, Leo looked over at Riveria, mulling over whether he ought to warn her about something.
But if he did that, he wouldn't be able to explain how he knew that information in the first place.
What a headache...
"Good." Seeing Leo state his position, Finn smiled faintly and continued, "As for the second team's Supporter, let Lefiya take it on."
"Huh?" Lefiya had still been letting her thoughts run wild over the matter of Leo and Ais being put on the same team, and being suddenly called out now gave her a start. "M-me?" she said in a fluster.
"That's right." Finn looked straight at Lefiya. "Your Magic ability isn't much worse than Leo's, and in number of spells you far exceed him. Just going as the second team's Supporter, you're more than qualified."
"This is a good opportunity. Sooner or later you'll have to inherit Riveria's position, so go along with Ais and the others and see the world a little."
Hearing this, Lefiya was somewhat flustered, but seeing Leo look over at her, she gritted her teeth and agreed.
"I-I understand! I'll do my best!"
Although Lefiya felt she wasn't remotely qualified to take over from Riveria, and the thought of accompanying Ais and the others to Floor 51 to deal with Cadmus made her terribly nervous, the moment she thought of Leo's performance all along the way, and the scene of him soloing the Floor Boss Goliath, a stubborn, unwilling-to-lose courage welled up in her heart.
She didn't want to admit she was inferior to Leo, and even less did she want to be left behind by this man.
So even though she was a little flustered, a little nervous, Lefiya decided to be brave this once.
"All right then. Once both teams have brought along enough supplies, set out separately."
Finn clapped his hands and gave the final word.
"Everyone else, remember to follow Riveria's instructions and guard the base well."
"Yes, Captain!"
At the unanimous response, everyone dispersed on the spot.
Leo watched Riveria's retreating back depart, and in the end followed after her.
"Riveria."
Calling out to her, Leo this time, unusually, didn't use polite speech, which made Riveria turn her head with some surprise.
"What is it? Is something the matter?"
Riveria seemed to sense something from Leo's rarely serious face, and asked.
"It's nothing." Leo weighed it in his heart, then said, "I just wanted to remind you, after we leave, it'd be best to tighten security a bit, send more people to keep watch on the surroundings."
"I've got a bad feeling. I keep thinking something's going to happen over here."
Hearing this, Riveria's eyes narrowed, and her gaze at Leo took on a meaningful quality.
A bad feeling... that kind of phrasing didn't sound very reliable, and anyone else would absolutely think Leo was worrying over nothing.
But Riveria wouldn't think that.
There was no helping it. This Familia's captain was also a man with very strong intuition, and whenever something big was about to happen, that Pallum captain would feel a throbbing ache in his thumb, and from it a bad feeling would arise.
Having spent years at the side of a captain like that, Riveria had grown used to this kind of phrasing and attitude.
So she thought it over and, without asking further, nodded.
"Since you put it that way, then let's do as you say."
In any case, tightening security wasn't a bad thing; at most it just meant arranging the lookout, patrol, and night-watch personnel more densely.
Better to believe it's there than to assume it isn't. In Riveria's view, someone like Leo always had a few extraordinary aspects to him, and perhaps he really could foresee something.
She wasn't some savage princess who wouldn't listen to advice, and since someone had advised her this way, then she'd do it.
As the temporary teacher who had instructed Leo for a stretch of time, Riveria did trust him when it came to this.
And so, under Riveria's arrangements, the camp's security visibly grew tighter, while Leo and Finn's group, one after the other, took up their supplies and set off toward Floor 51.
They walked down the giant boulder, advanced a stretch through the gray great forest, then headed to the western side of Floor 50.
At the end of that, on the wall face at the western edge, there was a pitch-black great hole.
This great hole was the passage connecting Floor 50 and Floor 51, its interior forming a steep slope as sheer as a cliff. An ordinary person jumping down would of course find only death, but everyone present was a body that had received a blessing, and the lowest in level was a Lv.3 second-class adventurer, so this much height naturally couldn't stump them.
"Well then, let's head down too."
Not long after Finn's group jumped down, Leo drew the Emerald Staff worn at his left hip and spoke.
"All right! Let's go all out!"
"What a shame, I couldn't let the captain see me fighting valiantly."
Tiona and Tione both drew their weapons, one breaking into a brilliant smile, the other sighing over there.
"It's fine... I can do this..."
Lefiya, carrying the Supporter's backpack, was still muttering to herself over there, steeling her resolve.
Ais looked at Leo, gave him a nod, and was the first to jump down.
The second team's members jumped into the great hole one after another, arriving in the Deep Floors region, Floor 51.
Floor 51's structure was like a maze. Whether the walls, the floor, or the ceiling, they all looked as flat as if carefully designed. The square, regular natural underground passages formed several turns and crossroads, and one glance told you they would make those who stepped inside lose their sense of direction. The overall material was neither stone nor earth, but presented a deep graphite color, intricate and oppressive.
The five-person squad that arrived here was immediately met with a challenger.
"Garururaaaaaaaah...!"
Along with the low monster roar, a huge black shadow came charging.
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