The bark-like walls gradually gave way.
At the foot of the long slope from the twenty-fourth floor, a deep blue glow lit the path ahead.
"So this is the twenty-fifth floor..."
The moment Bell stepped off the slope, his view suddenly opened wide.
Before him lay a vast blue waterfall and countless beautiful crystals shining with brilliant light.
The [Great Fall], which began on the twenty-fifth floor, stretched downward like a staircase.
That immense, rushing current continued all the way to the region of the twenty-seventh floor.
"You probably don't need the warning, but let me act like your senpai for once, Bell Cranel. Don't let this fantastical scenery steal your attention."
Riveria looked toward the roaring torrent as she warned him.
That beautiful waterfall hid deadly danger. If someone fell into it, they would inevitably be swept away by the violent current all the way down to the twenty-seventh floor, only to die at the hands of monsters.
More importantly, the height difference of three full floors alone was already enough to kill.
"Yeah, thanks for the warning. I was just thinking about something else."
Bell looked toward the bottom of the waterfall, deep in thought.
"Another entrance to the Dungeon?"
Riveria spoke his thoughts aloud with perfect timing.
Aside from Babel Tower, there was another route monsters could use to invade the surface.
Aquatic monsters could ride this massive current to a port somewhere outside Orario.
Fifteen years ago, Zeus Familia and Hera Familia worked together with Poseidon Familia to seal that entrance completely.
"Exactly."
Bell narrowed his eyes and looked deep into the waterfall.
The Red-Haired Woman had controlled a huge number of Violas, yet she had stayed hidden the whole time and even infiltrated Orario without making a sound.
If the monsters had been transported through that entrance, then every suspicious point made sense.
"Finn and I came to the same conclusion. But if we want to investigate it properly, we would have to go to the port outside Orario. That is not something the two of us can deal with right now."
Riveria answered honestly.
The fact that the boy had thought of it immediately, that level of careful thinking, made Riveria's lips curl into a faint smile.
"You're right. Let's keep moving."
Bell stopped dwelling on it.
Putting aside the route used to transport the Violas, the Red-Haired Woman herself was the real key.
Monsters alone could never accomplish a plan like [Destroy Orario].
Loki Familia would surely prioritize an expedition and dig up the truth about the enemy.
"The real reason I invited you this time was to express my gratitude."
Riveria started walking again, steering the conversation in a lighter direction.
With elegant ease, she swung her wand and knocked down an attacking monster in a single blow, then continued,
"The reason Ais went to the pantry on the twenty-fourth floor was because she accepted a request from a mysterious black-robed person. Not only did that person know about the [Jewel Fetus], they had also asked Lulune Louie of Hermes Familia to transport the luggage."
Riveria told him the cause of everything without hiding anything. "In the end, Ais completed the request, and because of that, she received a large sum of money."
Rare jewels, gold, silver, treasure...
Using the key she received as payment, Ais opened the goblin vault, and inside was a fortune shining with golden light.
She handed all of it over to Riveria and the others and had it converted into money.
"Bell Cranel, to be honest, we should have shared that reward with you. But the cost of the expedition is simply too high, so we had no choice but to put that wealth toward it."
Riveria's voice carried sincere apology.
"I already got plenty of monster Drop Items. What matters more to me than anything is that Ais-san and the others made it back safely."
Bell answered brightly.
Encounters and help went both ways.
All the way up to now, the girls of Loki Familia had helped him many times.
Compared to money, bonds tangled together like that were far more precious.
"Thank you for being so understanding."
Riveria thanked him openly.
Faced with the boy's sincere feelings, she could not help recalling the conversation she had with Finn and the others.
After Ais and Lefiya explained everything that had happened and received that large reward, Finn, Gareth, and Riveria gathered together to discuss how the money should be divided.
"Our Familia funds are already stretched thin from forging the indestructible weapon. We can only use this money for preparations for the expedition."
Finn made the decision first.
"I disagree. You heard what Ais said. Their safe return was all thanks to Bell Cranel. A large part of that reward rightfully belongs to him."
Riveria argued back without hesitation.
"I do not particularly care either way. One of you has reason, the other has sentiment. You can settle that between yourselves."
Gareth noticed that Riveria had a bit of personal bias mixed in and decided to stay out of the muddy water.
"Riveria, have you fallen for that boy? We are supposed to put everyone in the Familia first in all things. That should be our rule."
Finn did not beat around the bush and went straight to the heart of it.
As one of Loki Familia's original members, Riveria had always looked after everyone in the Familia.
Caught between reason and emotion, it was hard to imagine her thoughts leaning toward the boy's side.
"Finn, if you really count it up, Bell Cranel has saved Ais four times."
Riveria avoided answering whether she had fallen for him.
The incident with the [Jewel Fetus], the life-risking rescue at the cliffside, then the rescue at the pantry, and finally his solo battle against the pitch-black giant.
In every one of those events, Bell had nearly died.
Bell and Ais were not lovers. If their relationship had to be defined, they were only friends who had each saved the other.
But Bell, carrying his admiration and passion in his heart, had stepped forward again and again like a hero.
That was why Riveria simply could not accept the idea of their side taking the reward for themselves.
"Riveria, we do not have the luxury of being willful anymore. The Red-Haired Woman is weakened right now. If we keep delaying the expedition just to gather money, it will become much harder to uncover the truth behind the [Jewel Fetus] and the [Creature]."
Finn calmly weighed the pros and cons.
"But..."
Riveria had barely spoken before Finn immediately cut her off.
"As for Bell Cranel's kindness, we can show our gratitude in some other way."
"....."
Riveria fell silent for a moment and waited for Finn to continue.
"It is actually simple."
Finn smiled lightly and explained,
"From what I can see, Lefiya and Bell Cranel are quite close. Why not turn the act into reality and betroth her to that boy?"
"...."
Riveria was completely dumbfounded.
If those two were officially made into a couple, then Bell Cranel would naturally become one of their own.
The debt Loki Familia owed him could then be cleanly settled as well.
"No. I do not agree."
Riveria rejected it on instinct.
"I... I was only joking. Lefiya is not some tool for a political marriage, right? Riveria, put your wand down first..."
Finn had not expected such a strong reaction from her.
Was Riveria thinking like a guardian worried about her student?
Or was there some other selfish motive behind it?
Finn smiled in quiet understanding and said nothing of what he was thinking.
Most likely, the latter weighed more heavily...