"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. I just got a little excited seeing old friends again."
--------------------------------
"Judging by the looks of you, this is... your first time exploring the 'Middle Floors'? How did you end up in such a miserable state?"
Fron carried the huge magic stone on his back and led the three heavily injured people toward the 18th floor.
"…We ran into some accidents."
It seemed like something they didn't really want to talk about.
But Lili couldn't hold back her anger!
"It's all because of those bastards, abandoning us to save their own skins!"
"Oh, 'Monster pass tactic,' huh? I see. Things like that happen often in the dungeon. And… you should be quite familiar with that kind of tactic, shouldn't you?"
Fron cast a half-smiling glance at Lili, a look that made the pallum girl's hands and feet go cold.
"Th-that…"
"Enough, I'm not asking you to explain, nor am I interested in digging into others' private matters. Since you've run into me, come rest at our camp for now. After that, whether you follow us back to the surface or stay on the 18th floor is up to you."
...
As Fron led the trio back toward the Loki Familia's camp, another adventurer party appeared in the hall of the 17th floor's Wall of Lamentation.
"This is…"
A blonde elf in a green cloak, brown shorts, and knee-high boots walked forward a few steps, kneeling down to carefully examine the soil on the ground.
"What is it?"
"The floor boss, Goliath, was just defeated. No more than five minutes ago."
"I see. Then that roar we heard earlier must've been someone fighting the floor boss. Still, this time Goliath's roar sounded odd, not like usual…"
"There's no blood from injuries, and… the tracks on the ground belong to only one person."
"You mean…"
The speaking girl, her heroic features tinged with surprise, instinctively adjusted her glasses.
"Yes, someone defeated Goliath alone. In the entire city, the only ones capable of that would be first-class adventurers."
"Any idea which familia the adventurer belongs to?"
At that moment, a golden-haired god draped in a spirit-cloth cloak revealed a smile.
"Hehe, judging by the timing, the Loki Familia's 'expedition' should be on their way back. Since we haven't run into them along the way, the answer is obvious."
"The Loki Familia."
"If it's them, then it makes sense."
"Let's go. Since we haven't encountered the Bell's party yet, they should have already reached the 18th floor."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!!!" The small, impatient goddess was the first to dash into the passage.
"The Loki Familia… I might run into him." The blonde elf stood up, her sky-colored eyes somewhat lost, as if recalling something.
"Are you thinking about that bastard Fron? No way, Ryuu!"
"... "
Seeing her friend Asfi staring at her in shock, Ryuu's cheeks uncharacteristically reddened.
"What are you saying? I… I'm just ordinary friends with him. At most… just holding hands or something…"
"... "
"Haa. Looks like I have one more rival from now on!"
"?"
...
Carrying the magic stone, Fron suddenly shivered.
"?" What was this sudden sense of danger?
He felt a little puzzled.
"Is something wrong? Us outsiders going to your camp… will that be a problem?"
"Huh? Oh, no no, it's fine. As long as you're not members of a hostile familia, all adventurers are welcome."
"Phew, that's good. I thought it might cause trouble for you."
Leading the three through corridors, grasslands, and across a small stream, they finally saw the campsite.
"Eh? That backpack?"
"I repaired my equipment here earlier. As a smith, you can probably tell how badly worn my weapon was."
Welf had been eyeing Fron's staff the whole way. As a blacksmith, one with a perfectionist streak, he couldn't ignore such damage, and now he understood why it hadn't been maintained.
"The 'expedition' was too demanding. I couldn't spare the time, so it was delayed until now."
As he spoke, they encountered his familia companions.
"Morning, Fron!"
"Morning, Raul. Up so early?"
"Didn't sleep well at all, honestly. You skipped your watch shift last night, didn't you? Where were you?" Raul looked at Fron bitterly, frustration written all over his face.
"Hahaha, I had other things to do. Besides, I was just by the stream, which counts as being on watch too!"
"... "
"And these people are?"
Not wanting to waste more time on this slacker, the shield-bearer behind Raul asked directly.
"Ah, just some acquaintances. I went to defeat Goliath earlier, picked up some magic stones for extra income, and happened to meet them, so I brought them back."
"Tch, with wounds like that, they still made it to the 18th floor?"
"It's their first time in the 'Middle Floors'!"
"First time, and they've already reached the 18th? That's impressive."
"Exactly." Praised by Fron's companions, Bell and his friends felt embarrassed.
Dragged into the 18th floor so battered and desperate was hardly worth bragging about. If not for running into Fron by chance, they would've been annihilated by Goliath.
When Fron led the three into the main command tent, the three leaders were already at work.
"Finn, I'll leave them in your care for now."
"Of course, no problem. I'll see to them."
...
"There's a medium-sized campsite ahead. Must be an expedition team from some familia."
Yamato Mikoto and Kashima Ouka, serving as vanguard and scout for their group, were the first to spot people cooking over a fire.
"No mistake, that flag belongs to the Loki Familia's expedition team." Now calm again, both Asfi and Ryuu confirmed the group's identity.
"I can feel it, my Bell… he's up ahead!" The little goddess ignored the situation entirely and charged forward without hesitation.
"Hey, wait, Hestia! You're putting us in a tough spot!!"
Hermes reached out too late, rubbing his temples with a pained look. Just remembering Loki's terrifying glare made him break into a cold sweat.
He really didn't want to end up like his brother Apollo. Wounds could be healed, but reputations… that kind of social death was a nightmare he had no intention of experiencing!
"Stop right there, who are you people?"
As the small goddess and her two adventurers barged into the camp, the guards immediately raised a hand to block them.
"Uh, uh…?"
"Sigh… let me do the talking, Hestia."
Seeing the inexperienced goddess, Hermes shook his head again with a sigh.
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T/N: Bonus chapter for reaching 50 power stones; next bonus chapter at 100 power stones~