Seeing Leon clumsily change the subject, Riveria let out a silent, cold laugh but didn't press further. It wasn't Loki Familia's internal business, after all. She'd just need to have someone keep an eye on Raul afterward, make sure Leon didn't lead him astray.
As she was thinking this, Finn's expression turned serious, recognizing that Leon was getting down to business.
"We did come here with a favor to ask."
Leon extended a hand in a "go ahead" gesture, tilting his head slightly into an attentive listening posture.
Finn paused to collect his thoughts, then began, his tone noticeably heavier than before.
"Leon, since your group was also involved in that battle against Evilus, I'll skip the pleasantries."
"You've probably already guessed, but yes, that surprise attack on our base cost Loki Familia dearly."
"The supply shortfall can be patched up with loans. We've been around Orario long enough to have connections. But the personnel losses... those aren't something you can fix with a few words."
"That's exactly why this Expedition had to be delayed until now."
He paused briefly, and seeing Leon's focused expression, continued.
"But the situation won't let us wait any longer. Ironic as it sounds, if I could, I'd postpone the Expedition indefinitely until we were fully prepared. Unfortunately, circumstances have forced our hand. We had no choice but to set out underprepared."
Leon nodded in understanding and cut straight to the point.
"So you want to borrow our Monster Hunter Special to boost your success rate on this Expedition. Am I right?"
Finn nodded without hesitation.
"That's right. I know it's a lot to ask, since a Familia with your level of strength camping out at the Under Resort clearly isn't just some casual outing. If I had to guess, you're running an Expedition too, and your destination is... the Water City?"
Leon gave nothing away, just waited quietly for Finn to continue.
Their eyes met. Neither spoke.
Leon even unhurriedly raised his flask and took a sip.
After a long silence, under Riveria's cool, watchful gaze, Finn was the one who cracked first. He spread his hands with a wry smile.
"You win. Name your terms."
"Within reason, of course. Nothing that compromises our Expedition."
Leon's eyes lit up.
This was the first time he'd ever held the upper hand in negotiations with a major Familia without Demeter stepping in personally.
And he had to say, the feeling...
Was pretty damn good.
...
...
Half an hour later.
Everyone gathered around the campfire again, enjoying a rare hot dinner.
"All settled?"
Jeanne set down her wooden bowl, dabbed her lips with a napkin, and leaned in close to Leon, asking in a low voice.
This time around, the women had been too busy playing with Aki to bother with the boring negotiations.
Between sitting in on Finn and Leon's tedious haggling and spending time with an adorable cat girl, the choice was obvious.
Especially for Jeanne, who had zero resistance to anything cute and fluffy.
It had been a while since she'd visited the Hostess of Fertility to hang out with Anya Fromel, and she'd gone far too long without petting a cat girl's ears and tail.
Now that Aki had been "delivered to her doorstep," she'd finally gotten her fix.
Leon held a piece of whole wheat bread in one hand and spooned stew with the other, eating heartily.
When Jeanne asked, he answered with his mouth half full but his tone upbeat.
"Done deal. We're lending them two-thirds of our Monster Hunter Special to handle the high-intensity combat in unexplored territory. In exchange, we get to travel with their main force for a fast route to the Safety Point on Floor 28 of the Water City."
He quickly added, still chewing:
"Obviously, the Monster Hunter Special isn't free. They're paying us back after the Expedition."
Everyone looked mildly surprised at the result.
Rose's eyes gleamed, the corner of her mouth curling up.
"Bodyguards?"
"So... we basically scored a free escort from a top-tier Familia the whole way?"
"And through the Lower Floors to the Water City's Safety Point, no less. That's one of the most dangerous stretches there is."
Kureha drew a deep breath, her expression serious.
"We were trying to figure out what we'd do if we ran into a Monster Rex on the Lower Floors. With Loki Familia protecting us, the danger drops significantly."
Jeanne nodded, agreeing with Kureha.
"Right. We're strong, but if we actually ran into the Amphisbaena, that'd still be a real problem. And... we might not even be able to win."
Persephone studied Leon thoughtfully. She had a feeling his plans weren't nearly that simple.
As everyone knew, after over a thousand years of exploration, data collection, and analysis by the Guild and major Familias, basic knowledge about the Dungeon had long been common. The most fundamental principle was this: the Dungeon was shaped like a pyramid. The deeper you went, the wider, more dangerous, more mysterious, and more unknown the floors became.
And across all those countless floors stretching downward, monster strength and danger didn't increase linearly.
At certain key thresholds, the difficulty spiked an entire dimension. The Guild had clearly designated these regions: Upper Floors, Middle Floors, Lower Floors, Deep Floors, Ultra-Deep Floors, and the Unexplored Region.
Leon and his party's Expedition target was the Water City, spanning Floors 25 through 27, right at the entrance to the Lower Floors.
Adventurers referred to this area with a mix of affection and dread as the New World.
On paper, Floors 24 and 25 were separated by a single level. In practice, the gap in danger was staggering, utterly incomparable. The labyrinthine environmental shifts, the sudden leap in monster strength, all of it was a world apart from the floors above.
That jump in difficulty far exceeded even the transition between Floor 12 in the Upper Floors and Floor 13 in the Middle Floors.
...
The rest of the evening slipped away amid lively discussion about the New World.
After dinner, once the pots and dishes were cleaned up, Leon started assigning the night watch rotation.
"For the watch, same order as always. Persephone takes first shift, then Kureha, then the rest of us in order after that. Any objections?"
The women all nodded. Leon then turned to the two young elves.
"As for you two, Laurier, I don't care how hard you glare at me, I'm not putting you or Aura on watch duty. You're the juniors here. Your top priority is to sleep well, recover your energy, and be ready for tomorrow's fighting."
"And a heads-up: tomorrow we'll be moving with Loki Familia. If you lose your composure in front of outsiders, don't go making a scene. Oh, and Riveria's been paying attention to you two."
Without waiting for Laurier or Aura to respond, he turned to his superior and said earnestly:
"I'm counting on you, Persephone."
She gave a steady nod.
"Leave it to me. Whatever else you might say... I am a Level 3 veteran Adventurer."
...
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