Following the Minotaur's trail, the members of the Loki Familia rushed upward through the Dungeon without pause.
But the deeper they went, the more branching paths appeared.
Before long, the group was inevitably scattered.
Ais, Bete, and Shirou continued chasing upward together, cutting down every Minotaur they encountered along the way. By the time they forced the final Minotaur up to the fifth floor, the three of them had split completely, each searching on their own.
Then-
A miserable scream echoed from the distance.
Shirou reacted instantly and sprinted toward the sound.
He was still too late.
What he saw was a white-haired boy, soaked in blood, running out with a grin on his face.
"Hahaha!"
"That brat-Ais actually scared him off!"
In the corner, Bete clutched his stomach, trembling as he laughed wildly, almost unable to breathe. Ais, on the other hand, had flushed cheeks and was glaring at Bete with an expression far closer to that of a normal girl than usual.
Seeing the scene, Shirou couldn't help but laugh.
Ais noticed immediately.
She puffed her cheeks slightly and snapped, "Brother, you're mean!"
Seeing such a rare expression on her face, Shirou's curiosity got the better of him. He reached out and pinched her cheek.
Ais swatted his hand away.
Shirou pinched again.
Ais slapped again.
Back and forth, the two of them went at it, completely absorbed.
At some point, Bete stopped laughing.
Watching the two of them fool around, an inexplicable sour feeling welled up in his chest.
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Bete turned and walked away with a dark expression.
Standing there any longer just made him feel like a dog.
"Finally... we're back."
Emerging from the Dungeon under the gazes of countless adventurers, the Loki Familia's expedition team successfully returned to their headquarters.
"We're back! Open the gate!"
At Finn's command, the guards on duty immediately moved, slowly opening the massive gate.
Just as everyone was about to enter-
A figure suddenly burst out from inside and leaped toward Ais.
"Welcome back-aaaaah!"
Loki flew through the air with outstretched hands, giggling wildly.
Ais, Tiona, and Tione reacted instantly, dodging with practiced ease.
Only one person failed to escape.
"Ah-no!"
Lefiya's cry of despair echoed as Loki latched onto her instead.
Without hesitation, everyone else calmly walked past the two and entered the Familia grounds, as if nothing unusual were happening.
Watching Lefiya being hugged and mercilessly toyed with by Loki, Shirou felt a brief urge to rescue her.
He resisted it.
After all, he had unintentionally turned part of Loki's harem into his own.
Not on purpose.
And certainly not with that kind of intent.
But if Loki realized that-
There was no doubt she would make his life miserable.
So, for now, avoiding her was the wisest choice.
With that decision made, Shirou quietly blended into the group and slipped inside.
As for Lefiya-
She could only pray.
Wait, the one bullying her was a god?
...Never mind.
She'd pray for her own blessings instead.
After a long, comfortable bath, Shirou returned to his room and collapsed onto his bed.
"My own room really is the best..."
He let out a satisfied sigh.
The exhaustion he'd accumulated over more than two weeks of nonstop combat finally caught up to him. As soon as he lay down, his eyelids grew heavy.
He fell asleep almost immediately.
The next thing he heard was a voice from outside his door.
"Shirou, dinner time!"
"Give me a second-I'm coming!"
After quickly tidying up, Shirou left his room and headed to the dining hall with Raul.
Due to Loki's policy, all members ate together unless they were on patrol. As a result, the dining hall was packed to the brim.
Seeing that Ais and the others were already seated, Shirou didn't bother squeezing over.
He sat down with Raul instead.
They ate.
They chatted.
"So," Raul asked casually, "any plans for tomorrow?"
"For me?" Shirou thought for a moment. "Probably equipment maintenance and forging work. Finn wouldn't let a high-level blacksmith like me stay idle."
"That makes sense," Raul nodded. "Especially since we lost so much equipment this time. If you handle the forging, it should save a lot, right?"
"Of course," Shirou replied easily. "We're all Familia. I'm not going to rip anyone off."
He glanced at Raul.
"What about you?"
"I'll probably be converting materials into Valis."
"Heh. Then you'd better be careful. I heard you lost money once."
"That was a fluke!" Raul said quickly. "It won't happen again!"
Seeing his confidence, Shirou laughed.
After every expedition, there was an overwhelming amount of work to deal with.
Converting magic stones into money.
Repairing and maintaining weapons and armor.
Replacing lost equipment.
Restocking supplies.
The workload piled up endlessly, and with the sheer quantity involved, almost everyone was mobilized.
That was why the first day back from an expedition was always the busiest.
Of course-
The Loki Familia's customary celebration banquet also happened that day.
As the two talked, more Familia members gradually joined them, mostly elites from the second group like Anqi and Alicia.
The conversation grew livelier.
Stories were shared.
Secrets came out.
Including the shocking revelation that Raul-the honest-looking Raul-had once spent all his savings on a prostitute.
The moment that came up, the surrounding table erupted in laughter.
Only Raul, the victim of the revelation, stammered desperately as he tried to explain himself.
The teasing continued relentlessly-
Until Loki finally spoke up.
That alone was enough to end the "persecution convention."
"Almost forgot," Loki said lazily. "If any of you brats want to update your abilities today, come to my room."
She waved her hand.
"Doing everything tomorrow will be exhausting. So-ten people tonight. First come, first served."
As she left, the dining hall buzzed with discussion.
"Anyone going?"
"No way."
"I just want to sleep."
Listening to the chatter, Raul turned to Shirou, who was calmly drinking water.
"What about you, Shirou?"
"I'm flexible," Shirou replied casually. "I can update anytime."
The moment those words left his mouth-
Loki, who hadn't actually left yet, froze.
Then she exploded.
"Shirou! You're coming tonight!"
She shot him a fierce glare before storming out of the dining hall.
Faced with her command, Shirou let out a long sigh.
"...What a hassle."
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter