"When you're done with their plans—what about your own?"
After hearing Finn's team's growth plan, Loki was still curious about what Tsuna intended to do next.
"My plan is much simpler—just filling out the rest of my stats," he said. "Training with the gravity bracelets works very well. I'm planning to keep using them for a while."
Sawada Tsunayoshi knew exactly where he stood.
There were almost no gaps left in his abilities; what remained was to raise his fundamental base.
"Don't overdo it with that thing—especially now that your growth has just taken off."
"Mm. Since my basic parameters are comparatively weaker, I'll have to shorten the time I spend under heavy gravity. I'm aware."
He heard the concern in Loki's voice. Tsuna paused, then added with a faint smile, "I won't go to Ais's extremes, Loki."
"…Ais really did set a bad example."
A touch of helplessness crossed Loki's face.
If anyone in her Familia gave her headaches, it was Ais. From the beginning, Ais's hunger for power had been near-fanatical. Loki understood the anxiety at the girl's core, so she hadn't tried to curb that pursuit. She'd hoped Ais would learn self-restraint along the way.
But before Ais learned it, the newcomer Tsuna already had.
His thirst for strength was clear, yet he also understood he had to control the throttle—and that power was not built in a day, but layered over time.
Looking at Tsuna, Loki couldn't help but sigh. "If only Ais understood like you do. Her longing for strength is already anxious to the point of danger. I halted expeditions for a year to keep her safe, and she still can't wait to jump into the fire."
"Level 5 is strong for a first-rate adventurer, but ambushes don't care about reason. Astraea's kids were nearly wiped by one. Ais is alone—she's worse off than they were."
Astraea had eleven children: nine at Level 4, two at Level 3. That lineup could already circle and bring down a Level 5—and among them, Alise was all but at the threshold of Level 5.
Even then, one ambush from Evilus almost annihilated them.
If Tsuna hadn't dragged them back from the edge, Astraea would have been mourning her children this morning.
Loki didn't believe Ais could weather a Dungeon ambush.
Not even Finn, Gareth, or Riveria would do more than run if they fell into one.
"A bad example indeed," Tsuna agreed.
"Ais's craving for power isn't inherently wrong," he added. "It just needs control. And blocking her off like a dam won't work. She has to see her own growth, or she'll do something excessive."
"Exactly." Loki nodded.
A child like Ais calmed only when she could witness her progress. But that was a stopgap. After Level 5, advancing another step was brutally hard.
Finn, Gareth, and Riveria had all stalled for years at Level 5. In truth, their break to Level 6 owed something to 'Silence' and 'Gluttony' easing the way; otherwise, they wouldn't have gained enough deeds to level at all.
"So that approach won't hold forever." Concern tugged at Loki's mouth. "Ais is never satisfied with power. Once her stats cap out, her first thought will be to level—and to get the 'great deeds' for that, she'll most likely try to solo the 'Lonely King of the Labyrinth.'"
Bullseye.
Tsuna almost laughed; Loki understood Ais so well she was predicting the girl's choices years ahead of time.
Which meant it was a real problem. But solving it wasn't actually that hard.
"The best way to ease Ais's anxiety is also the simplest," Tsuna said. "Give her a dream."
"…A dream? Like what?"
"The thing that makes her anxious appears in her dream. It may be false—but that consolation might be what she needs most right now."
"A dream like that… Ais, what do you think?"
Loki had a good idea what Tsuna meant—and liked it. It was a direct way to release Ais's knot of grief and, indirectly, to cool her frenzy for power.
The only problem: a dream isn't real.
So she asked the person in question.
The door handle turned.
Ais walked in. Beneath her golden fringe, her eyes burned with an even fiercer longing for strength than before.
But this time, her gaze didn't go to Loki—it locked on Sawada Tsunayoshi.
More than power, she wanted that "dream."
She'd heard him say everything inside it would be false. Even so, she couldn't stop herself. She wanted to step into it and mourn the ones in her memory.
"What do I do?"
Straight words, straight will.
"You don't need to do anything," Tsuna said softly. "Just empty your mind."
"The 'dream' isn't something I create. I'll use a special method to let you enter the dream your heart most desires. But it isn't real—you must understand that."
At Tsuna's side, an eye with strange irises opened—an eye that seemed to carry a peculiar magic. A single look tugged at a person's very soul.
Instinct warned Ais. But the moment that gaze fell on her, her body stopped obeying.
Smack.
Her eyes shut—and Ais collapsed gently to the floor.
(End of Chapter)
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