Inside Twilight Manor, a flag marked with a jester fluttered in the wind.
While Bell sorted through his new equipment, Loki Familia was discussing matters related to the expedition.
Considering the boy's status, only Loki, Riveria, and a few others were present for the discussion.
The formations for the smiths, supporters, and the others had already been arranged. Only the boy's position remained undecided.
"From a safety standpoint, the safest choice would be to have Bell Cranel join Raul's team as a supporter."
Finn deliberately gave the completely wrong answer to guide everyone's thinking.
The goal of this expedition was the Dungeon's 59th Floor. Broadly speaking, it would be divided into two stages. First, the main force would advance together, and after reaching the Safe Zone on the 50th Floor, a second-tier team would accompany the smiths and set up camp.
Once they had rested and finished maintaining their weapons, they would reorganize the party around the first-tier Adventurers and continue exploring the floors beyond.
Everyone had already agreed that Bell Cranel, like Lefiya, would take part in the 59th Floor conquest as a supporter.
The tricky part was deciding where to place the boy before they reached the 50th Floor.
After all, this was different from the rushed faked-death incident back then. Loki Familia had far more people participating in this expedition.
On top of that, the deeper they went into the Dungeon, the wider each floor became. At their usual pace, it would take roughly a week to reach the 50th Floor. Over those days and nights, it was inevitable that sparks might fly between certain men and women. Bell had deep ties with many members of Loki Familia, and the slightest misstep could lead to an "accident."
Of course, those so-called accidents were mostly romantic in nature, which was exactly what Loki wanted to avoid.
"No. If Bell Cranel stays at the rear as a supporter, he won't be able to see how the Lower Floors and Deep Floors are cleared."
Riveria calmly rejected Finn's proposal.
"So what if he can't see it? Less fighting and killing sounds just fine, doesn't it?"
Loki replied without much concern.
"Loki."
Riveria softly called the Familia Goddess's name.
She did not say anything more, but her calm expression made her stance clear.
"Don't look at me like that… I was just saying it offhand. I haven't forgotten what the boy did for us."
Loki's tone became a little more sincere.
All four people present had heard about what happened at the 24th Floor Pantry. There was no question that Ais and Lefiya had made it back safely entirely because of Bell Cranel.
Both his courage and his wisdom had been indispensable.
Loki Familia had invited the boy to join the expedition because they valued the heroic deed he had performed in breaking through that crisis. No matter how they looked at it, they owed him every courtesy and had to take proper care of him.
Letting Bell witness information about the Dungeon firsthand during the expedition was one part of that.
"In that case, wouldn't it be enough to have a first-tier Adventurer look after the boy?"
Gareth reached a conclusion.
An expedition was not like an outing where everyone walked side by side. Most of the time, they advanced in fixed formations. Sometimes, when they encountered obstacles or special circumstances, they would split into smaller teams and regroup on later floors. Having the boy follow a designated first-tier Adventurer was the most reasonable approach.
"Hiss…"
Loki sucked in a sharp breath.
The thought of that rabbit spending more than two weeks with her "harem" gave her nothing but a bad feeling.
"Why not leave him to Finn?"
Loki asked.
"No. I need to stay in the center of the formation to give orders. If the boy follows me, he'll only hear tedious reports and won't get to see the monsters being defeated."
Finn rejected the suggestion rationally.
If they wanted to repay his past kindness and let the boy gain something from this expedition, then placing him in a frontline team was the only way to achieve that goal.
"What about Gareth?"
Loki turned her gaze toward the other man.
"I have to hold the reins. I don't have time to look after the boy."
Gareth stated his role.
"Bete, huh… Don't you think he's gotten a little cuter?"
Loki recalled the Werewolf's appearance, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
In Bete's eyes, Ais had risen to Level 6 and left him far behind, while the boy he had once mocked was rapidly catching up and had protected everyone with the bearing of a [Male].
Combined with his defeat in the battle against Ais, the fuse in Bete's heart had been completely lit. He had also been spending more and more time fighting in the Dungeon.
Because of the Evilus incident, Gareth and Bete had formed a team and acted together. This expedition would be no exception. Although there was no need to worry too much about Bete causing trouble, they still had to prepare properly and prevent any accidents.
"No matter what you think, I'm staying with Bete. If we let the boy join our team, the Dungeon is going to be turned upside down."
Gareth restrained his hot-blooded nature.
Being full of fighting spirit was one thing. Purely making trouble was another. He had no desire to see the expedition affected.
"If neither of you will work, then we can only leave him to Tione."
Loki sighed lightly.
The male members had been ruled out completely. From within her "harem," Loki picked out the Amazoness girl whose connection to the boy was the weakest.
"I don't mean to speak ill of her, but when Tione fights, she becomes… like that."
Riveria's voice trailed off.
She did not describe Tione in detail, but everyone present immediately pictured the Amazoness losing all reason and slaughtering monsters with her scimitar in a berserk frenzy.
[Jormungand]'s elegance was only a façade. No one knew when her true nature might surface.
It was hard to even imagine what might happen if Tione were asked to look after the boy.
"O-On second thought, forget it. I'm not that heartless."
Loki withdrew her suggestion.
If anything happened to the boy because of a mistake by Loki Familia, she would never be able to hold her head up in front of Hestia again.
"Hmm. In that case, Tiona should be ruled out as well."
Finn nodded thoughtfully.
He glanced at the silent Riveria, then continued, "How about leaving him to Ais?"
"No! I object!"
Loki's voice shot up at once.
"Hmm? Did something happen?"
Finn asked in confusion.
"…"
Loki's eyebrow twitched.
She had noticed Ais blushing for no clear reason before and had sensed that something was wrong. After putting in a great deal of effort, she had finally managed to get the truth out of her.
And the result was that Ais and the boy had made a promise to have a child, and Ais had blushed after realizing how absurd that was?!
Naturally, Loki had no intention of sharing that.
She gritted her teeth and said, "No means no. I absolutely will not leave this to Ais-tan!"
"Is that so…"
Finn saw straight through the Familia God's jealousy and changed the question. "Then what about Lefiya? She's in the frontline team too, isn't she?"
Loki shook her head and looked out the window.
"No. This is just my guess… but Lefiya probably won't be talking to that boy for a while."
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