After Bell left, the two goddesses—until now pretending to sleep—quietly opened their eyes.
"Ahem... ahem..."
Whether it was the composed Hephaestus or the scheming Hestia, both were visibly flustered from that unexpected kiss.
Their bare faces had turned a soft shade of pink, the kind of blush that would captivate any man. But if others knew that this rare display of shyness from two goddesses was caused by another man, those same captivated onlookers would probably die of jealousy.
"Mmgh~ Bell-kun acted just like usual, so how did he figure out we were only pretending today?"
"It's your fault! You already tricked him once before—did you really think you could get away with it a second time?"
With her heart pounding, Hephaestus shot Hestia an exasperated glare.
Unfazed, Hestia puffed up in protest and snapped back.
"Didn't you do the same thing today?"
"...Which is exactly why I said this is your fault."
If Hestia hadn't been caught faking sleep last time, maybe Bell wouldn't have noticed anything today either.
Not that getting caught mattered much to Hephaestus. It wasn't like she often pretended to sleep. Still, something was bothering her.
Why did that little kiss pack such a punch?
She'd kissed Bell on the cheek before and had seen him blush. But now, she was the one with the flushed face, and her heartbeat was racing uncontrollably.
Clutching her burning cheeks, Hephaestus could feel her pulse speeding up with every breath.
...
Unlike the two blushing goddesses, Bell had already gotten up and started his day. He went straight to the bath for a hot shower, instantly shaking off any lingering drowsiness.
He splashed water on his face and muttered to himself,
"Now comes the final sprint before the expedition."
Just as he'd said, this last stretch before the expedition was crucial. From now on, he needed to be fully focused.
His life began to cycle between two fixed points.
The only way to build up his "Status" was to fight monsters in the Dungeon. So Bell locked into a routine: from the Familia to the Dungeon, then back again, day in and day out.
During the first couple of days, he would still bring those three from the Loki Familia to the Dungeon to run some tests. But once he had a grasp on their overall condition, he stopped using their time and shifted to solo training.
Still, after those cooperative exercises, Bell had grown more aware of battlefield dynamics, learning to track enemy movements and grasp the flow of combat. His field of vision began to widen.
With that expanded awareness, and heightened sensitivity in both hearing and smell, Bell could now gauge his surroundings more easily. And with that, he was starting to get a feel for the critical third strike in "Tsubame Gaeshi."
Whether or not this progress came directly from his expanded awareness, Bell wasn't sure—but what he did know was that he was moving in the right direction.
By taking a more holistic approach, he was gradually closing the small gaps in his skillset.
This wasn't the wrong path. In fact, it was exactly the right one—perfectly suited for his growth.
...
Just as Bell was making steady progress, trouble began to stir in the Guild.
"…Ouranos, the 24th floor is showing the same signs as the 30th floor."
The report caused a deep frown to form on Ouranos's face as he sat in solemn prayer.
"According to Bell Cranel's investigation, both incidents appear to be connected—attempts to siphon energy for the Corrupted Spirit's Fetus."
"The likely target is the Dungeon's naturally formed 'food stores' for monsters. They're using the crystals generated by the Dungeon to replenish the energy needed for the fetuses. Looks like they've made preparations for this."
"The Loki Familia's expedition."
Ouranos didn't hesitate to point out the core issue.
"The target must be Ais Wallenstein."
"I believe so too."
Fels wasn't surprised by the conclusion.
"According to Muddle's report, during the confrontation on the 18th floor, the enemy backed off from killing the 'Sword Princess' after witnessing her magic. There's a reason behind that."
"The Corrupted Spirit wants the Sword Princess—that much is clear from the guardian's reaction. That guardian has ties to the Evilus. It's likely the Loki Familia's expedition was leaked to the guardian by them, which is what triggered this incident."
Ouranos sighed lightly. The situation troubled him deeply. The gods who had aligned themselves with Evilus were growing increasingly unruly—otherwise, incidents like this wouldn't have become so frequent in recent years.
"What now? Do we send someone in?"
Ouranos let out another sigh. He shook his head slightly, then slowly nodded...
"It's no use. Only the 'Sword Princess' could properly confront that guardian, but she's not fit for it—not yet."
Fels took a moment to think and quickly understood the reason.
She had just leveled up.
Ais had only recently advanced from Level 5 to Level 6. She still needed time to adjust to her new strength and couldn't be dispatched to face the guardian on the 24th floor right now.
"Have other Adventurers handle it. Assign the Freya Familia to deal with the food store on the 24th floor."
"Freya Familia? You want to send the 'King' to scare them off?"
"No, to deal with the food store directly. Right now, the crystals in that food store are being used to cultivate fetus replicas of the Corrupted Spirit. The monsters spilling out from there are threatening lower-level Adventurers nearby. Freya Familia's job is to handle those overflow monsters."
"The food store on the 30th floor has already been used once to nurture a fetus. If the one on the 24th floor is destroyed, it'll delay the next one's growth."
"So this time, Ouranos-sama plans to have the 24th floor's food store destroyed."
"Yes, it will cause a surge of violent monsters on nearby floors—but even a short delay would be worth it."
This wasn't a particularly difficult mission. It didn't demand action from someone at Level 7—but sending someone of that level was the only way to make the opposing side realize they needed to back down.
"And what about Goddess Freya herself?"
Getting Freya to move wasn't going to be easy. At the very least, they'd need to offer terms she'd find worth considering.
After pondering for a while, Ouranos came up with an idea.
"Reduce the number of required expeditions this year. Lower the taxes on Freya Familia."
Both terms offered real, tangible benefits to her Familia.
Once a Familia reached a certain standard, they were required to carry out Dungeon expeditions periodically, with floor-clearance benchmarks they had to meet.
And as for taxes—that was a burden every Familia had to reckon with.
The stronger the Familia, the higher the tax rate imposed by the Guild.
Just handling the food store on the 24th floor would earn them these advantages. With that much on the table, even Freya would be unlikely to refuse.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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