"Ais!"
Ais, who had been quietly drinking, froze for a moment before vanishing from her seat and reappearing at Riveria's side in an instant.
She'd learned her lesson. With her strength unstable these past couple of days, she absolutely couldn't let Loki get near her. Either Loki would take the chance to grope her, or she'd accidentally strike too hard and kill her.
Neither outcome was something Ais wanted to deal with. So, the moment she heard Loki's voice, she instinctively moved closer to Riveria.
Others might hesitate to hit Loki—but Riveria definitely wouldn't hold back.
Riveria flinched slightly from the sudden closeness and looked coldly at Loki, who was clearly preparing to pounce.
"Uwah! Ais, you're actually using this kind of tactic!"
Even as she marveled at how Ais was finally starting to rely on others, Loki's heart ached with disappointment.
Because now that Ais had taken refuge beside Riveria, she'd lost her chance to cop a feel.
"You brought this on yourself."
Riveria shot Loki a glare, unamused by her feigned innocence. She didn't have the patience for games—if Loki really tried something, she'd have her tied up and hanging from the ceiling in no time.
"Weren't you the one who kept harassing her while her powers were unstable?"
"But you're the one who caught me, Mama!"
"How can you say that with a straight face?"
Riveria looked like she wanted to jab a finger right into that smug face of hers.
Seeing that Riveria was truly angry, Loki backed away several steps in fear—only to bump into Bete and quickly hide behind him.
"Of course I said it—because I'm the Familia God!"
A vein bulged on Riveria's forehead.
Not just Riveria—Bete, being used as a human shield, also felt a heavy wave of pressure in the air.
Making a smart choice, Bete immediately moved at a speed well beyond a Level 5's, switching places with Loki and shoving her forward.
"Wha—?"
Still caught off guard, Loki stumbled—and was just about to fall when a pair of hands caught her, keeping her from hitting the floor.
"Ah, thanks... wait—aaaaagh!"
"No need to thank me, Loki~~"
Riveria smiled sweetly as she accepted Loki's thanks—and then grabbed her by the head with one hand, hoisting her into the air.
"For the next few days, keep your hands off Ais. Got it?"
"Aaaaagh! I get it, I get it, just let me down!"
Feeling the crushing grip on her skull, Loki swore she could hear her bones creaking. That was enough to make her finally give up on ambushing Ais.
With a small snort, Riveria let go of the squirming Loki.
Loki landed hard on her backside, then scrambled to her feet and darted behind Bete again, clutching his clothes tightly with both hands—like she was making sure he couldn't run off a second time.
"Bete, you traitor!"
The veins on Bete's forehead bulged in fury.
"What the hell does your fight with that Elf have to do with me?!"
"You were supposed to be my shield!"
The way she said it—so matter-of-fact—nearly made Bete explode.
"You shoved me forward just so I'd be your shield? Do you think my werewolf fur is enough to block that Elf's magic?!"
"Don't you always call Riveria an old woman?"
A chill shot down Bete's spine, cold sweat trickling down his back. He shouted in panic, completely losing his cool.
"When the hell did I ever call that Elf an old woman?! Wasn't that you?!"
"Huh? When did I say that?"
"This morning! Finn and the old man heard it too!"
Finn and Gareth, who were suddenly dragged into the argument, exchanged helpless glances. Why did things always get so chaotic whenever drinks were involved?
That said, they had to admit Bete wasn't lying.
Even drunk, Bete would never be reckless enough to call Riveria an "old woman" to her face. That wasn't guts—that was suicide.
Just because Riveria was a rear-guard didn't mean you could underestimate her. In Orario, the most dangerous ones often stood in the back—the turrets weren't just spellcasters.
"Bang!"
Riveria slammed her hand on the table and stood up, face dark. Without a word, she marched over, grabbed Loki and Bete by the arms, and started dragging them away.
"Wait! I'm innocent, Riveria! I didn't call you an old woman—Riveria, Riveria... aaahhh!"
Bete, unsurprisingly, was the first victim.
No one else dared to look.
One by one, everyone turned their eyes elsewhere. But in the otherwise quiet cafeteria, the only sounds were punches landing and the screams of Bete and Loki—testament to Riveria's fearsome authority in the Loki Familia.
...
Not long after, the cafeteria doors opened.
Given the atmosphere, everyone instinctively turned toward the entrance.
The one who walked in surprised quite a few people.
"Raul!"
Finn, who had just been fed by Tione, seized the chance to jump up and escape his awkward situation.
"Raul, Daphne, Cassandra—is Bell-kun's test over?"
Finn was eager to know what kind of test they'd just completed and what results they'd gotten from it.
His question immediately drew the attention of nearly everyone present.
Among them were Haruhime, who had been quietly eating, Ais—still trying to avoid Loki—and Riveria, who had just finished giving Bete and Loki a lesson.
Raul, caught off guard by the stares, felt a bit overwhelmed, but answered properly nonetheless.
"Yeah, Bell-kun said today's test is done."
"There'll probably be more tests later, but Bell-kun will let us know when. From the way he looked, I think he went back to prepare more magic."
If anyone else had said that, it might have sounded like a vague excuse—but coming from Raul, it carried weight.
Finn was immediately intrigued. If the test wasn't so private, he would've loved to watch it himself.
Ais's eyes also lit up with curiosity. Anyone strong enough to sever that woman's arm... naturally caught her attention. She found herself increasingly curious about this "Bell Cranel."
"How did the test go?"
"I think it went really well, though Bell-kun didn't seem too satisfied."
That only made Finn more interested. If Raul thought it went well but Bell-kun wasn't happy with it, then something about it must be worth seeing.
Before Finn could ask more, Raul took out a rune stone.
"Captain, it's hard to explain everything, so Bell-kun asked me to bring this back. It contains the recorded data. Should I play it?"
"Go ahead."
After a moment's thought, Finn nodded. The rest of the Familia would see it sooner or later—might as well let them be ready for what's coming.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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