As Finn finished speaking, the atmosphere of the evening banquet visibly warmed.
Nearby, Bete and Tiona were already bickering again.
Shirou glanced sideways at Ais, who was sitting next to him, and chuckled.
"Ais, I heard you got scolded by Finn today."
Lefiya, sitting on Shirou's other side, couldn't help but laugh as well.
"Brother, you're mean."
Ais's dissatisfaction was obvious.
Although her expression barely changed, the slight pout on her lips was unmistakable.
And undeniably cute.
"Hahaha, you can't blame me for that," Shirou replied casually. "You were the one who didn't follow orders. I went to a lot of trouble covering for you back then."
He said it lightly, but Ais still lowered her head a little.
"I'm sorry for making you worry."
Having been lectured by both Finn and Shirou, regret had finally settled in.
"Then be careful next time," Shirou said gently. "Don't make people worry about you again."
He reached out and lightly stroked Ais's golden hair.
"Mm."
Ais nodded and closed her eyes, quietly enjoying the touch.
Lefiya, watching from the side, felt a strange mix of emotions well up inside her.
She envied Shirou-for being able to comfort Ais so naturally.
And she envied Ais-for being the one receiving that comfort.
Looking at the warm scene between the two, Lefiya had an absurd impulse flash through her mind.
I want both of them.
She even imagined herself pouncing forward and hugging them.
Unfortunately-
Although her confidence had grown a lot thanks to Shirou's training, such thoughts could still only stay in her head.
Actually doing it?
Sorry.
She still didn't have the courage.
After the lively banquet ended, everyone gathered around the fire and listened to Finn's arrangements.
"Our objective of exploring and opening up uncharted territory remains unchanged," Finn said. "But before that, we have a request to fulfill."
"A request?" Tione asked, recalling something. "Wasn't it from the Dian Cecht Familia?"
"That's right," Finn nodded. "They're requesting a certain quantity of water from the Cadmus Spring on the fifty-first floor."
Cadmus Spring water was one of the core ingredients for top-grade elixirs.
For Orario's most famous healing Familia, this kind of request was perfectly normal.
"Cadmus Spring?" Tiona grimaced. "That's a seriously annoying mission. Why did we even accept it?"
She clearly had unpleasant memories associated with that place.
"Because the reward is substantial," Riveria replied calmly. "And it involves inter-faction relations. We can't just refuse."
"Tch," Bete clicked his tongue. "Those guys always dump troublesome jobs on us."
"Enough," Finn said. "No matter how unhappy you are, the request has already been accepted."
"Next, we'll assign the personnel heading to the fifty-first floor."
From the fifty-first floor onward, strength requirements rose sharply.
Even the Loki Familia would only dispatch elite teams.
"During the water retrieval, avoid unnecessary combat," Finn continued. "Because of the quantity needed, we'll split into two groups and collect water from different locations."
As soon as Finn finished explaining, Tiona and the others began discussing loudly among themselves.
After a short while, Finn finalized the arrangements.
Group One: Ais, Tiona, Tione, Shirou, Lefiya
Group Two: Finn, Bete, Gareth, Raul
Riveria would remain behind, managing enemies and recovering her magic power in preparation for the later exploration of the fifty-ninth floor.
Lefiya and Raul would serve as supporters for their respective teams.
Notably, Lefiya was going at Riveria's request, taking her place.
In Riveria's eyes, Lefiya was someone who could inherit her position in the future.
"...But seriously," Bete said bluntly, "is Group One really okay?"
"Uh..."
Even Finn fell silent for a moment.
To be honest, in terms of pure firepower, Group One wasn't inferior at all.
Even without a LV.6, their output exceeded Group Two's.
Ais might only be LV.5, but with her skill Princess of Vengeance, her combat power against monsters rivaled a LV.6.
Against dragon-type enemies, she was even stronger.
Tiona and Tione were also top-tier LV.5 adventurers.
And then there were Shirou and Lefiya-both effectively over-leveled, with magical output reaching LV.5 standards.
From a strength perspective, there was nothing to worry about.
The problem lay elsewhere.
Their personalities.
Ais, Tiona, and Tione were all infamous "problem children" within the Loki Familia.
Finn had considered giving command to Shirou.
But setting aside whether Shirou could rein in berserk-mode Tiona and Tione-
This was also Shirou's first time entering the fifty-first floor.
With no prior experience, Finn couldn't place much hope in his command ability.
After a brief silence, Finn looked up and smiled.
"Tione, I'm leaving them to you."
"Don't betray my trust."
"Leave it to me, Captain!"
Tione's face flushed slightly as she answered without hesitation.
Watching the exchange, Shirou and the others all had the same thought.
So that's your beauty trap, Finn. You really know what you're doing.
After finalizing the plan for the next day, everyone dispersed and returned to their tents.
Even inside the Dungeon, the Loki Familia maintained a regular routine.
Lying on his sleeping mat, Shirou stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
The evening's developments felt... off.
Something wasn't lining up.
What about the monster attack?
Wasn't it supposed to happen during the day?
Or is it just not this time?
That didn't seem right.
Finn wouldn't allow Ais to make the same mistake twice.
Unless-
Shirou's expression darkened.
His knowledge of the DanMachi world came from anime and fan fiction.
He hadn't read the original light novels.
As for the Loki Familia specifically, his understanding came almost entirely from the main series and the single anime season of Sword Oratoria.
"...Don't tell me the damn anime production team changed the plot again."
The thought wasn't far-fetched.
As a veteran otaku, Shirou had seen this kind of thing countless times.
He liked watching bullet comments.
He'd seen endless arguments between anime-only viewers and original readers.
Plot deviations were nothing new.
"If that's the case, then my grasp of future events just got a lot weaker."
He exhaled slowly.
"Still... even if the process changes, the result probably won't."
"In any case, we'll be facing new bug-type monsters tomorrow."
"Looks like it'll be another hard fight."
With that realization, Shirou's expression hardened.
He knew how dangerous that new species could be.
Tomorrow-
No matter what-
He had to ensure Lefiya's safety.
As for Ais?
To be honest, Ais's survival ability was far stronger than his.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter