The matter of equipment had already been settled.
When he left Hephaestus's weapon shop, it was already around noon. Ron didn't linger and immediately began heading back, returning to the new familia residence.
Hearth Mansion.
This was the new name chosen by Hestia.
He had no objections. After all, the deity of the familia symbolized "hearth and home." However, when he arrived outside the familia mansion—Ron saw a familiar elven girl.
She seemed to be hesitating, unsure how to approach, since she represented the Loki Familia. Even if they knew each other privately, visiting like this wasn't exactly appropriate.
She hadn't even noticed the footsteps behind her.
"Um…"
"Lefiya, are you looking for me?"
The sudden greeting made the already nervous golden-haired elf stiffen. She straightened up abruptly and turned around.
When she saw it was Ron, the tension in Lefiya's eyes finally faded. She let out a long breath. "Yeah…"
"I was looking for you."
"After all, I'm a member of the Loki Familia. Dropping by the Hestia Familia out of nowhere—especially to see the captain—just feels… a bit inappropriate."
"… "
After explaining her purpose briefly,
the golden-haired elf blinked her sapphire-like eyes and stared at the clean-cut young man with disbelief.
Their first meeting—that adventurer who had been willing to risk his own safety to save her—had already left a deep impression in Lefiya's heart.
Especially after learning—that during the time she had gone on a familia expedition and left Orario, Ron had accomplished such feats… she felt a strange sense of shared pride.
'Ron is amazing, right?'
He's my friend!
"Ron."
"Congratulations on reaching Level 3~ I really didn't expect it—you caught up to me so quickly in terms of adventurer level."
"Thanks."
"I've just been through a bit of hardship, that's all."
After becoming an adventurer, Ron had never chased after anyone. He simply followed his own pace—training his abilities, raising his stats, and steadily leveling up. So even after leveling up, he didn't feel much.
He knew very clearly—he wasn't at a point where he could afford to slack off.
Compared to casual congratulations between friends, Ron was more curious about the real reason this elven girl had come to the Hestia Familia.
"Miss Lefiya."
"You didn't come here just to congratulate me, did you?"
"Mm!"
Lefiya nodded firmly.
When alone, she didn't feel the pressure she did around Captain Finn or her mentor Riveria. With her hands clasped behind her back, she glanced around—then tilted her head and smiled mischievously: "Then… how about we talk somewhere else?"
"…Sure."
The golden-haired elf in front of him was undoubtedly a beautiful girl.
Unlike other elves, she wasn't arrogant, nor did she look down equally on all adventurers. She was approachable, yet still had the kind of romantic charm expected at her age.
Faced with Lefiya's invitation, Ron nodded readily. "You pick the place."
"Then… the garden."
"Going to a café or something—it feels like it'd make you spend money." Lefiya looked toward the flowerbeds blooming inside the familia grounds.
As the breeze passed, she could even catch the faint fragrance of flowers.
'I'm actually pretty well-off…'
Ron watched the energetic girl ahead—her pink skirt fluttering, her golden ponytail swaying lightly—and suddenly felt his mood lift.
Her white thigh-high stockings perfectly outlined her legs.
As an adventurer, her muscles weren't bulky at all, nor were they thin like sticks—just perfectly balanced.
A beautiful girl.
'Let's just treat this… as a rare moment of normal life?'
With that thought, Ron stepped forward, following Lefiya. As for her real reason for coming—it was probably their encounter earlier in the dungeon.
Ancient dragon Lansseax.
Dungeon anomaly.
Given their friendship, if Finn or Riveria pressed her a bit and connected the two encounters, they could reach the truth.
That was indeed troublesome.
But fortunately, the Loki Familia wasn't as despicable as Apollo's. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent Lefiya to test his attitude like this.
"Lefiya."
"Can you tell me now why you came?"
At that moment, Lefiya was crouching on the ground, carefully observing a flower stubbornly growing from a crack between stones. When she heard Ron's question—in the end… she didn't reach out to pick it.
"Mm."
"It's about the 'Great Sacred Tree Branch.' I've already written back to the Elven homeland… but whether I can secure it for you…"
"I can't guarantee it yet."
By the end, her voice carried hesitation. But when she raised her head, she looked straight at Ron.
"And also… my mentor…"
"Lady Riveria… she wants to meet you."
"… "
The development of events didn't surprise Ron.
As the source of the dungeon's "abnormal phenomenon"—something capable of continuously producing mutated monsters, even incubating powerful floor bosses—for ordinary adventurers, it would be a huge problem.
But—for Orario's top-tier faction, the Loki Familia, it was practically a machine for boosting their members' ability values—a walking source of great achievements.
Having roughly guessed the truth, they wanted to make contact.
What truly surprised him, was the so-called "Great Sacred Tree Branch." That matter had been handled by Hephaestus—perhaps she had reached some agreement with Loki?
Ron frowned slightly.
But when facing the girl's guilty gaze, he didn't blame her.
As his familia developed and explored further, his secret would never remain perfectly hidden.
After all, there were countless adventurers in Orario. It was impossible to clear out every floor before entering the dungeon—that simply wasn't realistic.
"This has nothing to do with you."
"As for…"
"Lady Riveria's invitation—once I have time, I can go. The only condition is that your goddess won't mind me visiting the Loki Familia's base."
Hearing his answer, the elven girl looked up in surprise. She had thought Ron would be angry about the information leak—but instead, he agreed so easily.
Her voice softened as she explained: "Sorry…"
"At the time, I didn't think much about it. When Lady Riveria asked me, I told her… about what happened when we first met."
As a core member being cultivated by her familia, Lefiya's social circle was naturally monitored.
Moreover—in Ron's view, this might not be such a bad outcome.
Even if the "dungeon anomaly" became known through other channels, forming some kind of cooperation with the Loki Familia—as long as he gained the backing of Orario's strongest faction, he wouldn't have to worry about being blacklisted by the Guild after his secret was exposed.
Looking at the surprised girl, Ron shook his head lightly, smiling with ease.
"Lefiya, you're one of the few friends I have."
"There's something I need you to pass along for me."
"That is—"
"As for the meeting… let's discuss the timing after Lady Riveria has prepared the Great Sacred Tree Branch."
"I believe… she definitely won't leak this kind of information."
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