Aside from Loki and Ais, there were still others from the Loki Familia who went out on the streets on this day of Monster Feria.
Facing this once-a-year grand event, many of the girls in the Loki Familia had taken a break for the day, heading out to the bustling streets—some lost in the joy of shopping, while others made their way to the stadium to watch performances, becoming part of the lively festival atmosphere.
Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya were one such group.
These three, who were quite the attention grabbers in many ways, were currently walking down East Main Street, heading toward the stadium, chatting happily along the way as though they were completely unaware of the attention they were drawing.
"Wuwu..."
Tiona, arms crossed, wore an unusually serious expression as she let out a strange noise.
"Tiona, you're being so loud!" Tione said with a frown, clearly irritated. "You've been acting like this ever since we left the manor. What's going on with you?"
"Mm, Miss Tiona..." Lefiya, who had been quietly observing Tiona's behavior, quickly jumped into the conversation after Tione began it. "Is there something bothering you?"
"Of course there is!" Tiona pouted, sounding frustrated. "I wanted to hang out with Ais."
"What the hell—seriously, that's it?" Tione stared at her, completely dumbfounded. "You've been sulking this whole time just because of that?"
"Yeah, so what?" Tiona shot back. "I really wanted Ais to, y'know, 'raise the spirits' today."
At the mention of this, Lefiya also had something to add.
"Miss Ais has indeed been a bit down lately..." Lefiya, who had always kept a close eye on her admired idol, said with concern.
"Right?" Tiona raised her hand and grumbled. "Seriously, she was the first of us to hit Level 6, caught up with Finn and the others, but she doesn't even look a little happy about it—this is so not like Ais!"
Tiona's words made Tione instinctively frown in disapproval.
"She just hit Level 6, that's all. You can't really compare her to the Captain, who's been at that level for years, right?" Tione defended her captain first, then added, "But yeah, you're right—this isn't like Ais at all. Normally, even if she's being her usual self, she'd still be happy about it."
Everyone in the Loki Familia knew how obsessed Ais was with her own strength.
Ais, who didn't care about anything else, had an almost obsessive pursuit when it came to improving her own strength.
Such a person, having achieved a great feat by reaching Level 6 and becoming the first in the Loki Familia to catch up with the top executives, should have been celebrating, yet she seemed so detached, almost downhearted.
It was behavior that seemed utterly out of character for her.
"Could she still be thinking about Riezel?" Tione, being the smarter of the two, quickly connected the dots.
"Didn't Loki say that Mr. Riezel didn't go missing but was just busy with something else?" Lefiya asked uneasily. "Could it be a lie?"
"No, that can't be it." Tione shook her head. "I mean, the Captain and the others totally bought that explanation. If Loki were lying, they'd have seen right through it."
After spending decades in the familia and being closest to Loki, the top executives of the familia knew their goddess well enough to tell when she was lying, so if even they accepted her words, then the matter was probably true.
Still...
"What's so important that he couldn't even tell us?" Tiona huffed, sounding pretty upset. "Is it really that hard to just share it with us?"
"Probably because it's some secret stuff?" Tione said, staying calm like always. "Everyone's got their own secrets, y'know? If that guy got something he can't talk about, that's totally normal. As long as Loki and the Captain don't care, we shouldn't either. Plus, he's already Level 5—he's not exactly someone who can't handle himself. If there's something even he can't deal with, we're definitely not gonna be able to either."
Tione's words made Lefiya, who had been about to speak, fall silent immediately.
As a Level 3, Lefiya had no choice but to agree.
If even a Level 5 couldn't handle the issue Riezel was dealing with, then there was no way she could either.
Tiona, upon hearing her sister's words, was somewhat taken aback, her shoulders slumping in resignation.
"Riezel's already at Level 5, and Ais hit Level 6, but we're still stuck where we are… I really can't stand it!" Tiona sighed, sounding way more frustrated than usual. "If we don't step up soon, we're seriously gonna get left behind by those two!"
"We're already doing fine..." Tione replied in a somewhat dismissive tone. "Look at the others in the familia—everyone's been around longer than Riezel, and he still passed them in just a few months. Most of them are still beating themselves up over it."
"Speaking of which, Raul and Aki haven't been around lately. I think they went into the Dungeon?" Tiona said, like she just remembered something. "Too bad they're picking up bad habits. Always running off to the Dungeon—it's just like that stinky wolf!"
"Excuse me? You don't have any right to talk like that!" Tione shot her sister a look. "Aren't you the same? Always sneaking into the Dungeon?"
"Oh, right!" Tiona blinked as if she had just realized, then puffed her cheeks. "But it's not really helping anyway..."
At this point, there was nothing they could do.
Because the Dungeon they could access during the day had limited depth, given that it wasn't possible to go too far, all the monsters on the shallower floors were nothing more than small fry, easily slaughtered by a single Level 5 Adventurer.
In other words, no matter how many of these monsters they killed, it wouldn't do much good.
If Tiona and the others had only recently advanced to Level 5, then it might have been useful, but sadly, they weren't.
Neither Tiona, Tione, nor Bete had much room left for growth at Level 5—they had pretty much reached the limits of their status.
Tiona's STR, END, and AGI had all reached A, with DEX at B, and her MAG was I0 due to her lack of magic.
Tione had STR at A, with END, DEX, and AGI at B, and MAG at G.
Bete had AGI at S, with STR and DEX at B, END at C, and MAG at I0, just like Tiona.
Each of them had reached their peak in their respective fields, and beyond this, there was almost no more room for growth. Much like when Ais first reached Level 5, no matter how hard they worked or how many monsters they killed, they wouldn't gain much more power.
Now, the only way for the three of them to experience significant growth was one—it was to achieve something great, as Ais did, and move on to the next stage.
Otherwise, they would remain stagnant forever.
"At this rate, with how fast Riezel's growing, we're totally gonna get left behind!" Tiona threw her hands up and yelled. "Alright! Next expedition, we're leveling up for sure! No way we're letting Riezel catch up! We gotta surpass Ais!"
"Having such energy's great and all, but could you keep your voice down? You're making a scene." Tione sighed, covering her face. "Lefiya, you should talk some sense into her."
"Ah... Ahahaha..." Lefiya chuckled awkwardly.
However, no one noticed that while she laughed, this elf clenched her small fist tightly.
'I also have to work hard…'
Remembering the girl she had always admired, then thinking of the boy she had recently come to look up to, Lefiya felt a rush of determination.
She was, after all, Riezel's teammate.
When he was Level 1, she was at Level 3, and Loki had assigned her to his side to help him explore the Dungeon, hoping for some growth.
Now, he was at Level 5, and she was still Level 3.
And without realizing it, even the swordswoman she had admired had leveled up, becoming the first in the familia to reach Level 6, matching the top executives.
Both of her idols were moving forward, growing and progressing.
If she stayed in the same spot, she might not even have the right to follow them, to walk behind them in their shadows.
It was unacceptable.
Even if her legs got broken, she had to catch up to them.
Not to match their steps, at least not be left behind.
'Next expedition, I will also try to reach the next level.'
Lefiya had secretly made a vow to herself.
"Hmm?"
Just then, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and tilted her head, confused.
"What's wrong, Lefiya?"
"Did you see someone you know? Could it be Ais?"
Tione and Tiona immediately stopped and turned to look at Lefiya.
"No, it's not…" Lefiya said, a little confused and hesitant. "Did you two feel the ground shake just now?"
Hearing this, the twin sisters froze.
"Shake?"
"Did it?"
They looked down at the ground, and then—
*BOOM!*
A loud explosion rang out, and a building by the street was smashed apart, turning into a pile of rubble.
"Kyaaa!"
Lefiya was knocked to the ground by the shockwave, crying out in surprise.
"Lefiya!"
"Wh-What the hell is that?!"
Tiona and Tione immediately reacted—one rushed to Lefiya, and the other stared in shock at the shattered building, where a huge black shadow emerged from the rubble.
===
In a dark and deserted alley, Riezel suddenly opened his eyes.
"Found you."
In the next instant, he vanished from his spot.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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