The Vouivre glanced behind Bell, eyeing the strange spatial distortions. Uncertain of what was happening, she followed closely.
Bell stepped through the space and arrived at the center of the group, completely unnoticed by anyone around him.
The dragon girl, still on edge, scanned the people nearby. She remembered how a group had surrounded and hunted her not long after she was born.
Luckily, a swarm of monsters had shown up at the time, allowing her to escape. Otherwise, she might've been killed then and there.
Now there were just as many people in front of her—but for some reason, none of them seemed to see her.
Even so, she kept her distance and carefully followed behind, doing her best not to bump into anyone.
Bell, aware of her cautious tailing, made his way directly to Finn and the others.
"Captain Finn."
Finn blinked in surprise at Bell's sudden appearance.
"Bell-kun, how did you...?"
"There's something a bit troublesome I need to talk to you about. Also, it's a request from Loki-sama."
Loki's request?
Finn nodded slightly. He wasn't surprised Bell was in contact with Loki. After all, it made sense.
A lot of the Rune Stones they used were made by Bell.
And with his ability to move through space, it was likely Loki had reached out to him more than once—maybe even without anyone knowing.
After finding a quiet spot with Bell, Finn asked,
"Bell-kun, what did Loki want you to tell me?"
Bell let out a small sigh.
"There's no doubt—it's a serious problem. But Loki-sama had no choice. With Goddess-sama and Hephaestus-sama watching, even she couldn't go too far."
Hestia and Hephaestus were watching too?
He didn't know exactly what Loki wanted to communicate, but with those two goddesses keeping an eye on things, Loki's usual way of handling problems probably wouldn't fly.
Ever since Bell had raised the ceiling of Hestia's Familia, Loki always seemed to have to back down in front of Hestia. Even in negotiations, she often got the short end of the stick. Finn could easily imagine how frustrated Loki must've been with Hestia.
Of course, Finn suspected most of that resentment stemmed from personal grievances.
Still, if Loki had gone so far as to send Bell to deliver a message, it couldn't be good news.
"It's about Haruhime..."
"...A problem with the Guild?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
Damn it!
Finn covered his face with a hand. He had a feeling Loki was about to rope them into something big, but he didn't expect it to be this big.
From what Bell had uncovered, the so-called Guild forces were monsters in the Dungeon who had developed self-awareness. If they were now entangled with the Guild, then wasn't that the same as getting involved with those conscious monsters?
They were in the middle of an expedition—this was the worst time for complications.
And yet, trouble still found them. What terrible luck.
Still, Finn was a seasoned veteran—he had faced plenty of unexpected situations before, so he was mentally prepared to some extent.
"Where is she?"
Bell stepped aside and pointed toward what looked like an empty space. A moment later, a figure appeared before Finn's eyes.
"A Vouivre… huh?"
As soon as he saw the cloaked girl, Finn immediately recognized what she was. The moment the dragon girl met Finn's gaze, her body trembled slightly, and she instinctively hid behind the person who brought her.
That reaction gave Finn a headache.
Now he fully understood—the Guild forces were real. There truly were monsters with self-awareness. And this Vouivre wasn't just afraid; she was actively trying to avoid him. These were emotions monsters simply shouldn't have.
"She really does have self-awareness."
It was rare enough for a monster to react like that—to show fear, to behave in such a clearly human way.
"Bell-kun, does Loki mean we're not allowed to harm her?"
"Yes."
Finn now understood Loki's stance. This wasn't a matter where they could act freely.
Right now, their Familia owed the Guild a favor—one that couldn't be repaid easily.
After all, that favor involved sending Ishtar back to Tenkai. It had been worth it for Haruhime's sake, but now the debt loomed large.
Finn also saw it clearly: the Guild's goal in recruiting these self-aware Dungeon monsters was to gradually foster them into a new kind of race—creatures who looked like monsters on the outside, but had minds of their own. Something like demi-humans.
Since Orario couldn't accept that yet, the Guild was providing them shelter, enlisting their help, and using them to expand its influence in the Dungeon.
Finn suspected that when Ouranos-sama eventually made their existence public, he would also credit them with major accomplishments. That way, Adventurers' prejudices might be softened.
Which meant the Loki Familia absolutely couldn't turn their backs on this Vouivre now.
"...I understand. But Bell-kun, can I trouble you to look after this dragon girl for now? I need to give the others a heads-up."
"Of course."
"Thanks."
Finn felt the weight of it all bearing down on him, but this was something that had to be done.
After leaving the dragon girl in Bell's care for the time being, he turned and headed off to talk things over with Riveria and the others. After all, if a dragon girl was going to join their expedition team, they couldn't just drop the news on everyone without warning. If someone acted on instinct and injured her, it could turn into a disaster.
Truthfully, Finn didn't need to focus too much on the frontlines right now. The teams led by Daphne and Liliruca were handling the 21st floor well enough.
After eliminating two monster nests, the path to the 22nd floor was fully cleared. With a bit of rest and reconnaissance, the main force had begun their advance.
"Tione, keep an eye on Daphne and Liliruca's safety. The rest of the team, continue moving forward with them."
"Yes, Captain!"
Tione didn't need to be told twice—when Finn gave an order, she carried it out without hesitation.
With those instructions given, Finn turned his attention to Riveria, Ais, and the others.
"Riveria, Ais, Bete, Tiona—over here."