"Why worry about him threatening you? You could've just pretended it wasn't about you," Asfi said.
"Now look at what's happening. The entire familia is involved," she added.
Even the other members of the familia mocked her. After all, this mission was truly suspicious.
"Forgive me, Asfi!" Lulune begged.
"Dealing with Hermes-sama's whims is already hard enough, and now I'm being dragged into this sort of thing."
After a while, Asfi finally calmed down.
She approached Ais and Shirou and spoke seriously:
"Let me confirm the mission. The destination is a storage facility on the 24th floor. We need to investigate the cause of the monster outbreak and eliminate it, correct?"
"Yes," Ais replied.
"I see. We have a total of fifteen people, most of them Level 3. This is all the fighting power we can provide."
Looking at the adventurers behind Asfi, Shirou couldn't help but click his tongue.
The Hermes Familia had more strong adventurers than he had imagined.
After Ais and Asfi's brief conversation, everyone came to an agreement. Shirou and Ais would temporarily join the Hermes Familia's team.
"Please take care of us," Asfi smiled as she extended her hand to Ais.
She was more than happy to have Ais with her. After all, Ais was one of the strongest adventurers in Orario.
Still holding Ais's hand, Asfi looked at Shirou, who was chatting with Lulune, and couldn't help but sigh.
The boy who had come to be known among the gods as the Destroyer.
That would certainly prove incredibly useful against a large number of enemies.
The thought immediately lifted Asfi's mood.
---
At the same time, elsewhere.
Lefiya, on her way to the dungeon with Bete and Filvis Challia of the Dionysus Familia to support Ais, was in a dilemma.
When Ais's letter had been delivered to Loki, she had been discussing the events on the 24th floor with Dionysus.
He was investigating the sudden death of one of his familia members, and thus he and Loki had joined forces.
However, it seemed more like he had approached Loki with the intention of implicating Loki's familia in the matter.
Therefore, upon learning that the incident on the 24th floor had been suppressed by the Guild and not made public, he went to Twilight Manor to speak with Loki.
By chance, he found Loki receiving a letter from Ais.
Anxious, Loki quickly ordered Lefiya to summon Bete, sending them to support Ais and Shirou.
To gain Loki's trust, Dionysus ordered Filvis to accompany Lefiya and Bete.
However, this proved difficult for Lefiya.
Both Bete and Filvis were extremely quiet.
This left the usually talkative Lefiya constantly frustrated.
A bitter expression settled on her face.
Looking at the Tower of Babel looming before her, Lefiya sighed helplessly:
"What should I do, Brother?"
---
On the 24th floor of the dungeon.
Shirou wielded Kanshou and Bakuya as he cut down every monster that came his way.
With agile footwork, he easily dodged enemy attacks, then spun and struck them down.
Against Shirou's relentless assault, the nearby monsters were powerless to resist and were slaughtered one-sidedly.
"Amazing! So he's not only skilled with a bow."
The members of the Hermes Familia, who hadn't even had the chance to attack, marveled at Shirou's continuous strikes.
"But the Sword Princess is even stronger!"
Looking to the other side, where Ais's agile figure was relentlessly slaying monsters, Lulune praised her excitedly.
Shocked by the strength of the two before her, Asfi adjusted her glasses and feigned composure.
At that moment, more monsters appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Let's show the Sword Princess and the Archer the power of the Hermes Familia!!" Asfi declared, and the excited members of the Hermes Familia charged forward.
Soon, all the surrounding monsters were wiped out, and the group set off again.
Walking in the middle of the group, Shirou watched Lulune chatting happily with Ais and marveled at Ais's charm.
It seemed Ais could captivate both men and women alike.
Not only men were drawn to her; even women were easily enchanted by her presence.
Take Lefiya, Lulune, and Loki, for example.
Of course, Loki, who already liked girls, was a special case.
Sharp as ever, Shirou quickly noticed that up ahead, the Hermes Familia's captain was constantly watching Lulune and Ais.
Could it be that Asfi was also captivated by Ais's charm?
No, that couldn't be it.
Her gaze was clearly different from Lulune's. Was she perhaps looking at…?
The thought made Shirou's lips curl slightly.
Looking at Lulune's back, Shirou smiled inwardly:
"You're really spiteful, Asfi."
"Hey, Lulune. I just noticed that the members of your Familia are all very capable, especially when it comes to teamwork. Of course, the one who stands out the most is Miss Asfi. By the way, what's her current level?" Shirou asked.
"Asfi? She's already Level 4. Impressive, right?" Lulune replied.
"Indeed, very impressive. As expected of the captain of the Hermes Familia," Shirou praised Asfi, glancing from the corner of his eye at the trembling girl walking ahead.
"So, what's the deepest floor your Familia has ever reached?" Shirou asked.
"The thirty-seventh floor! But the monsters there are incredibly strong, so we haven't made much progress," Lulune answered.
Thirty-seventh floor? That was already quite deep. Shirou recalled that the Hermes Familia's official record registered with the Guild was only the nineteenth floor.
Wow, you really hid that well. As expected of you, Hermes, Shirou thought.
While praising the strength of the Hermes Familia, Shirou kept an eye on Asfi's movements.
The woman's fists were already trembling.
She probably couldn't take much more!
So, how about throwing a little more fuel onto the fire?
Shirou smirked slightly and continued asking:
"You managed to enter such a deep floor without being discovered by other adventurers?"
"Our captain is the famous Perseus! She has many powerful accessories. Among them is one that makes her invisible," Lulune answered.
"Lulune, I have something to tell you."
Before Lulune could finish speaking, Asfi grabbed her by the neck with her arm and dragged her away.
Watching the scene, Shirou couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
(End of this chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."