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Chapter 16: Kin of the Jester (Loki Familia)
The night of the ambush. After successfully fending off the Freya Familia, Tsuna and the others returned to their respective homes safely.
"Three days left until the expedition..."
Inside an office within Twilight Manor, the home base of the Loki Familia, a blond Pallum muttered softly to himself.
His name was Finn Deimne. He was the Captain of the Loki Familia, a Level 6 First-Tier adventurer known by the alias Braver. He was also one of the three original founding members of the faction.
Blessed with immense charisma, unshakeable leadership, and brilliant tactical acumen, he commanded absolute trust from his subordinates. Because he specialized in standing at the vanguard to inspire his troops, he was widely hailed as a genius at raising morale.
"What is it, Finn? Mutering to yourself like that."
A woman with long, vibrant green hair responded to his quiet murmur.
Her name was Riveria Ljos Alf. She was another founding member of the Loki Familia, serving as its Vice-Captain. Known as the most powerful mage in the city, she acted as a strict but caring mother figure to the Familia, earning her the alias Nine Hell.
Riveria was royalty—a High Elf. To the Elven race, High Elves were considered practically divine, and she was revered by elves across the world. If anyone were to ever raise a hand against her, they would instantly make an enemy of every single elf on the planet.
However, Riveria herself despised being treated as royalty and was utterly exhausted by the reverent, groveling attitude other elves showed her. She constantly told her surroundings to stop treating her like a princess, but to her endless exasperation, no one ever listened.
"It's nothing..." Finn sighed. "I was just wondering if we've truly done everything in our power to prepare for this expedition. After all, our goal this time is the 59th Floor."
"I understand your anxiety, but we have gathered the absolute best members our Familia has to offer," a deep voice rumbled. "We requested Durandal-class weapons from the Hephaestus Familia, and we even hired a High Smith to accompany us for maintenance. We also bought as much medicine from the Dian Cecht Familia as we could. Even if we wanted to prepare more, there is simply nothing left to do."
The man who spoke was Gareth Landrock, a heavily muscled, middle-aged man with brown hair and a thick brown beard. He was the final founding member of the Loki Familia. Known for his boisterous personality and incredibly aggressive fighting style, his alias was Elgarm. In terms of pure physical strength, he was said to be one of the top two strongest warriors in all of Orario.
He was a Dwarf. Dwarves were naturally gifted with immense physical prowess, boasting muscular, sturdy frames. While slightly shorter than the average human, they specialized in raw, overwhelming strength far exceeding any other race.
"I just wish the Freya Familia would cooperate with us," Finn said, resting his right elbow on the desk and propping his chin on his hand with a heavy sigh.
The Freya Familia was the only faction in the city capable of rivaling the Loki Familia; together, they were recognized as the dual pillars of Orario's absolute strongest.
"That is impossible, and you know it," Riveria stated flatly. "They harbor nothing but hostility toward us. They won't lift a single finger to help unless the Goddess Freya explicitly orders them to. And that Goddess is hardly the type to assist us out of the goodness of her heart."
"Even if they did agree to cooperate, fighting alongside them would be a nightmare," Gareth agreed. "A divine order won't magically erase years of bad blood. Having them there would likely cause more harm than good. Unless a catastrophe on the scale of the Dark Age were to occur, a joint operation is a pipe dream."
"I know..."
Since Riveria and Gareth completely dismissed the idea without a second thought, Finn let out another deep sigh, knowing they were entirely correct.
"I know it's pointless to tell you not to worry," Gareth said, his tone softening. "But the younger generation is growing strong. With them at our side, we will reach the 59th Floor. Am I wrong?"
"I don't doubt them for a second..." Finn replied softly. "But as their commander, I can't help but rack my brain looking for even the slightest advantage to keep them safe..."
Gareth understood where Finn was coming from. Even though his rational mind knew they had done everything possible, Finn couldn't simply switch off his anxiety. In fact, trying to stop thinking about it only made him obsess over it more.
"Well, speaking of the younger generation," Riveria sighed, crossing her arms. "I'm having a rather difficult time dealing with them right now. They're far too fired up for this expedition, and many of them are pushing themselves dangerously hard in their training."
"We can't really blame them. They're just desperate to make sure the expedition is a success."
"I know that... But I worry their excessive enthusiasm will cause them to burn out or make a fatal mistake..."
"Tione and Tiona have been going at it non-stop. And it seems Bete has been secretly sneaking off to train on his own as well..."
"Good grief... I wish they would act with a bit more self-awareness as executives..."
Discussing the recent state of the Familia, Gareth and Riveria rubbed their temples, clearly nursing incoming headaches. Watching the two of them stress over their subordinates, Finn couldn't help but chuckle.
"Now that you mention it," Gareth started, scratching his beard. "I've been hearing rumors that Ais has been acting rather strange lately..."
"Strange?"
"Aye. Word is, she's been leaving the manor incredibly early every morning."
"So Ais has been secretly training away from the rest of us as well..." Riveria sighed, pressing her hand to her forehead. "I suppose that is very like her..."
Hearing Gareth's report, Riveria immediately deduced what Ais was doing and slumped her shoulders in exasperation.
"Like you said, she's definitely training," Gareth continued. "But the strange part is, she comes back every single day looking completely exhausted. And according to the other kids, she's constantly muttering to herself."
"Muttering? About what?"
"I don't know the exact details... but apparently, she keeps repeating, 'Tomorrow I'll definitely win.' The other members are so terrified by her intensity that no one dares to approach her, let alone ask her what she means."
"She says she'll win tomorrow...?" Riveria frowned in deep thought. "Is she sparring with one of our own? No... if that were the case, someone would have noticed. Then she must be going to the Dungeon... But if she's diving into the Dungeon, she wouldn't be returning so quickly. And even if it was the Dungeon, what kind of monster could possibly exhaust her to that extent without leaving severe injuries...?"
Riveria rested a hand on her chin, analyzing the variables, but nothing seemed to add up.
"There's one other possibility," Finn interjected quietly. "She's fighting someone from another faction."
"...!?" x2
Riveria and Gareth paled the moment Finn voiced his theory.
"That... would certainly explain the circumstances," Riveria admitted, her voice tight. "But there are very few people in this city capable of fighting Ais on equal footing... The only logical candidates would be the executives of the Freya Familia, and there's no way they would agree to friendly sparring matches..."
"And even if they did, there's no way Ais would walk away from a fight with them completely uninjured," Gareth added, his brow furrowed. "So just who in blazes is she fighting...?"
Unable to identify a viable opponent, Riveria and Gareth were completely stumped.
"The answer is simple," Finn said, standing up from his desk. "We just need to figure out where she's going every morning."
"That's true, but... if she really is associating with another faction, she won't tell us willingly," Gareth grumbled. "Loki could see through her lies, but if Loki finds out she's sneaking off with another Familia, who knows what that crazy Goddess will do."
"Then our only option is to tail her and investigate," Riveria concluded. "But the list of people capable of trailing Ais without her noticing is incredibly short. Furthermore, if Ais really is involved with another faction, some of our members might be quite... heartbroken to learn the truth."
Investigating Ais came with a multitude of risks and potential fallout, leaving Gareth and Riveria agonizing over how to proceed.
"I'll go," Finn offered, stretching his left shoulder with his right hand and cracking his neck. "I haven't moved around much lately, and my body is feeling a bit stiff."
"You're certainly the most qualified for the job," Gareth nodded approvingly. "Good grief... to think you'd end up making extra work for Finn... that foolish girl..."
"It's vastly preferable to how she was when she was younger," Finn smiled softly. "But please, keep this strictly between us. Especially from Loki."
"Good grief... that's going to be a headache in and of itself..."
"Ain't that the truth..."
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