"Good morning, young Takatsuki!"
Time flew by, and the time for the joint expedition with the Loki Familia quickly arrived. Both sides agreed to meet at the entrance of the Dungeon. As soon as they met, Tiona dashed over.
"Hello, everyone from the Hestia Familia!"
Tiona was very familiar and greeted everyone warmly. Although it made some people a little uncomfortable, it didn't cause any ill will.
This was somewhat similar to Kiana, but perhaps due to her childhood travel experiences, Kiana only showed her 'bug' side to those who needed help or whom she knew. In reality, she was still wary of strangers.
"Good morning. But is the number of people on this expedition fewer than the last one?"
Takatsuki glanced at the Loki Familia members. Although he hadn't counted carefully last time, there were clearly less than half the people now.
"Because a few people joined this expedition, we didn't prepare too many supplies."
Finn walked over from a distance, leaning on his spear, and spoke to the Hestia Familia members.
"Welcome. This expedition is basically only for adventurers of Level 4 and above, so the marching speed will be much faster than before. We will trouble Mister Takatsuki with this expedition."
Takatsuki knew what Finn was referring to, and naturally didn't refuse, replying to Finn's words gracefully.
There wasn't much small talk, as the adventurers here were the upper echelon of the Loki Familia, and most of them already knew Takatsuki, such as Raul and Lefiya.
Speaking of which, Lefiya seemed to have joined this expedition as a Level 3 due to being Riveria's apprentice.
After another symbolic round of introductions for everyone, the expedition officially began.
The Loki Familia's expedition rules have always been that adventurers of a certain level deal with monsters of a certain level, which is actually similar to Takatsuki and his group. Monsters on the lower floors are handled by lower-level adventurers, while others provide support, or offer guidance and observe from the side.
"Kiana, do you want to warm up?"
The monsters on the first few floors were not even a warm-up for their group of adventurers, whose lowest level was Level 3. However, the Hestia Familia members seemed to have no intention of making a move. Kiana also protected Nana the whole way, not even bothering Lefiya. So, facing Takatsuki's question, she just shook her head, staring intently at the Loki Familia members, preventing anyone from seeing through Nana's true form.
At this moment, Nana was naturally disguised. After the group advanced for a distance, the lower-level adventurers of the Loki Familia led the way, while the three Level 6s, Finn, Riveria, and the newly promoted Level 6 Ais, came closer.
"Actually, we have another task on this expedition. It's a secret task issued by the Guild. Here."
Finn handed a parchment scroll to Takatsuki.
Opening the parchment, Takatsuki saw that its content was actually a mandatory quest issued by the Guild, and this quest related to them was not given to the Hestia Familia, but to the Loki Familia.
"Take the Hestia Familia and the Dragon Girl to the 20th floor."
Takatsuki recognized at a glance that this was the quest the Guild had given Bell in the original work, but this time, for some reason, it wasn't given to them.
"Actually, this quest seems to have been set by our Goddess when she returned from Lord Ouranos. It was issued as a mandatory quest just to get your cooperation."
Finn explained to Takatsuki, but Takatsuki didn't need him to explain to know what was going on. If it were someone else, they would definitely be confused or even suspect a trap, but Takatsuki knew.
"I know, and I also know the purpose of this quest. In fact, this is also my purpose this time."
Finn stared at Takatsuki for a while before shaking his head helplessly: "It seems you know much more than I imagined, and your methods…"
Finn tilted his head slightly and looked at Nana, who was holding Kiana's waist and following the main group. He said, "That must be the Xenos, right?"
Takatsuki wasn't surprised that Finn could discern Nana's identity. If he couldn't, he wouldn't be called a wise man.
"Yes."
No longer looking at Nana, Finn looked at Takatsuki and smiled kindly: "Then can you enlighten me? Our Goddess has always kept this a secret, and it seems she originally intended to keep it from you too, but it looks like you already know their plan?"
"More or less."
Takatsuki thought for a moment, then looked at the few people around him, who were basically all aware of the Xenos. Tiona in front seemed to want to come closer, but Tione forcefully held her by the neck, not allowing her to approach. It seemed this was also Finn's instruction, to avoid suspicion.
"The Xenos have a base on the 20th floor. This quest is to send this child back to her kin. Although cruel, she cannot appear on the surface, otherwise Orario would face a huge upheaval, right?"
After Takatsuki finished speaking, Finn wasn't overly surprised; it seemed he had already guessed such a possibility. Riveria, however, suddenly understood.
"I want to meet them."
Ais suddenly said to Takatsuki.
"Meet who?" Ais's sudden remark made Takatsuki not react for a moment. After subconsciously replying, he realized who Ais was talking about: "The Xenos?"
Ais nodded.
Takatsuki looked at Finn and Riveria. Neither of them showed any obvious reaction to Ais's sudden request, whether they had known it beforehand or simply trusted Ais.
"Why? You're not thinking of cutting them down, are you?"
Ais shook her head at Takatsuki's words.
"I want to see with my own eyes, monsters that desire communication."
Takatsuki didn't know why Ais wanted to see the Xenos. In the original work, Ais was mostly described as Bell's object of admiration, so Takatsuki's understanding of her was more from their time together.
However, her behavior was too natural, and she often didn't like to speak her mind, so Takatsuki often couldn't figure out what she was thinking.
"Don't worry, Takatsuki, I don't think Ais has any ill intentions."
At this moment, Fu Hua spoke to Takatsuki. Like the others, she had been listening to their conversation from the side and now saw Takatsuki's dilemma.
Takatsuki thought for a moment and agreed to Ais's request. And incidentally, not only Ais but also her adoptive mother, Riveria, would be going.
"This is, after all, a quest issued to our Familia by the Guild, but it's not good for too many people to know about it, so we're using the expedition as an excuse to cover it up. I won't go; I'll stay here to stabilize the others. Let Riveria and Ais go together."
Finn said.