Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

A short-haired man with blond hair, who was from the same clan as Lily, raised a hand in greeting and walked in.

"Lord Finn!?"

"Is all of this information about the Freya Familia? I'm amazed you managed to collect so much."

Finn ignored Lily's surprised reaction and leisurely picked up the parchment scattered on the ground.

Lily looked at her own god with a questioning gaze, but only received a strong shake of the head in response. It seemed that the other party had truly come unexpectedly and had not informed her in advance.

"Well, you two can chat all you want~" Hestia, feeling a bit lost, said this and then hurried out of the room.

Despite being the main goddess, she shifts all the blame for trouble onto others; such a useless goddess is simply unforgivable.

"Gathering intelligence on the enemy day and night is a very correct action for the person in command."

"...Thank you for the compliment..."

Finn glanced at Lily, who was so tired she had dark circles under her eyes, and smiled slightly as he said this.

Since Lily still doesn't understand the situation, she can only nod in response with a forced smile.

"That being said, there is no need for it."

"Huh...!"

As Lily watched Finn toss the parchment he was holding into the air, her chestnut eyes widened.

"I will provide you with all the information you need. As a first-class adventurer, I have fought against the Freya Familia countless times, so I am naturally very familiar with their tactics and the various 'magic' and 'skills' they possess."

Lily couldn't help but gasp.

Insights based on actual encounters.

This is completely different from rumors that are difficult to verify, and it can definitely become a powerful tool for our side.

Moreover, the source of this information is a first-class adventurer with exceptional insight, so this information must have value far exceeding the facts. In addition, the Loki Familia must have conducted detailed research and investigation on this group of long-time rivals (the Freya Familia).

In this way, they might be able to formulate a strategy based solely on the cards Lily and the others currently hold.

"I will mold you into an unprecedented 'commander,' and a top commander qualified to lead the faction alliance."

These resolute words, which could inspire courage, struck Lily right in the heart.

She felt an overwhelming urge to pounce on him, drooling and oblivious to her own image—but she ultimately restrained herself.

Lily, with an iron will, maintained her composure and asked the question of her fellow tribesman before her.

"What exactly are you planning to do by lending us this helping hand...?"

"Oh, does that even need explaining?"

Compared to Lily, who was desperately trying to maintain her rationality, Finn narrowed his eyes as if he were looking at something he desired.

At the same time, he shrugged his shoulders in a slightly affected manner.

"【Freya Familia】...No, the goddess Freya dared to violate the taboo, forcibly distorting our personalities with what is arbitrarily the most shameless means, and wantonly trampling on the dignity of the lower realm."

"Regarding this..."

"This is an act that must be condemned. Even if the guild insists that no harm was caused to the public, it will still leave a 'grudge.' For those of you who greatly admire Bell Craney, I believe your anger is even greater than others'. Am I right?"

“…………”

"To be honest, I'm also very angry about this."

Indeed, as Finn said.

Moreover, there is not a single falsehood in this statement.

"The guild only forbids us from participating in war games. In that case, I am willing to share my knowledge with you all until the war begins... no, let me just be frank, I actually hope you can make Goddess Freya and Otto suffer."

Finn ended with this sentence, looking mischievous like a child.

He should now be "appealing to the greater good" and frankly revealing "some of his true feelings." The clan's heroes, both outwardly and emotionally, want to lend a helping hand in this matter.

However, Lily couldn't accept it right away.

The reason is that there is no such thing as one-sided benefit between [families]. Even if the other party is not from the deceitful god faction (Hermes Families), one must always be wary of overly attractive deals.

After grasping the outstretched hand, what price will be demanded?

Shouldn't we seek the opinion of the chief god (Hestia) at this time?

Seeing his compatriots hesitating as advisors to their clan, Finn—

"...70 points."

Say it softly.

At the same time, he had a smile that looked almost like a wry smile on his face.

"Lilyluka Erd, your cautious attitude is indeed commendable, but what you should be doing now is not trying to figure out my true intentions."

“Eh…?”

"Instead, we should use everything we can, no matter the cost, for this desperate battle that even heroes would give up on."

"!!"

Upon hearing this cruel description, Lily's heart began to pound.

"At least from your perspective, I would do the same thing: to get information from the person who is hailed as the hero of the clan, no matter what."

"...!"

"It seems you, like Bell Craney, have a very cowardly side. This isn't meant to belittle you; it's actually a good quality. However, what you need to fear most right now is—"

If this continues, the person you cherish will leave you.

This last sentence made Lily make a decision.

She loosened her tightly clenched fist and extended her palm towards Finn.

"I'm so sorry to have shown you such an embarrassing side of Lily."

"Heh...and then?"

"—I beg you, Lord Finn! Please bestow your wisdom upon Lily!"

Seeing that Lily had made up her mind, Finn grasped the outstretched hand.

The young goddess, who peeked at the scene through the crack in the door, clenched her fist with satisfaction.

From this moment forward, the Hestia Familia will join forces with the Hero.

"...Well...Lily and the others really have no way to repay this...so please be lenient...and don't expect to gain anything from it..."

"You don't need to take it to heart. As I just said, as long as I can make Ota and the others suffer, I can save face and maintain my insignificant pride."

Seeing that Lily's attitude had changed from its previous tough stance, and that she seemed quite frightened for fear of owing a "favor," Finn gave a wry smile and said:

"Besides, you have a lot of 'popularity.' There must be many other people besides us who would be willing to lend a helping hand, wouldn't there?"

*

"Why can't we fight alongside Argo and the other little heroes?!"

Tiona's loud voice resonated throughout the venue.

The Loki Familia's headquarters, "Twilight Mansion".

The Amazonian girl angrily raised her hands and shouted loudly in the meeting room.

"Many factions are going to fight the Freya Familia! Why are we the only ones not allowed to participate!?"

"How many times do you need to hear this explanation before you understand? This is a guild order; think of it as a mandatory quest, and you should get the idea, right?"

The dwarf Griss spoke words of comfort to Tiona.

Even the most seasoned warrior was now like an exhausted father, driven to despair by a spoiled child. No matter how many times he tried to reason with her, Tiona continued to shout like a child, "I just don't understand!!" and stomping her feet incessantly.

"I want to help Argo and the other little heroes too!! Besides, I said such hurtful things to him before, so I have to go and help him to make it up to him!"

"No way, you better behave yourself."

"Why?! You stingy person!!"

Faced with the girl shouting and yelling inside the museum, Grace looked utterly helpless, as if she had used up all the sighs she could muster in her life.

"Seriously, you guys are faction leaders... If you keep acting so unreasonably, we'll have to beat you down like we did with Bert, okay?"

Grace's face and thick arms were covered in scars.

This was actually the result of the werewolf Bert's outburst. He openly declared that he would absolutely kill all of Freya's Familia in the War Game, and even ignored warnings and started a battle on the spot, only to be defeated by Grace through sheer strength. However, the werewolf still couldn't swallow his anger, and after uttering "Bastard!!", he is currently wreaking havoc in the dungeon.

"If defeating Grace allows me to participate in the War Game, I'm willing to fight you!"

"Don't spout nonsense like you're okay with whatever I become... Besides, even if you really manage to take care of me, the guild won't agree. If any member ignores the rules and goes to participate in the war game, the [Hestia Familia] will be directly defeated for violating the rules. Then you won't be there to make amends, you'll be the one harming the young man."

"Ughh ...

After hearing Grace's undeniably correct statement, Tiona, who was scratching her hair with both hands, became so angry that she seemed to start dancing strangely, looking up at the ceiling and spinning in place.

Her twin sister, seemingly unable to bear it any longer, interjected:

"Grace, I will obey the leader's order for now... but I still find it hard to accept. The other members (Raul and the others) haven't said anything, but they probably feel the same way. Even if it's a matter between Bell Crane and the Hestia Familia, their memories have still been altered without their consent."

After Tione leaned back on the sofa and said this, Grace silently closed her eyes.

Lao Tzu thought the same thing—just as he was about to blurt out his true feelings—

"Stop talking. And you all know perfectly well that Grace isn't responsible for this, right?"

"Rivia..."

"Tiona, stop making a scene. You should be more aware of your role as a faction leader."

"Ugh...ugh..."

With her tied-up emerald-green hair swaying gently, the elven royal Riveria appeared in the reception room.

She reprimanded the twin sisters in the guise of a faction's deputy leader, then immediately lowered her gaze.

"If you still have any complaints, just come and talk to me... This is what I have to bear."

"Rivia...?"

Tiona and Tione looked at the elves because of this strange attitude, while she slowly walked to the dwarf's side.

"I'm sorry, Grace... It's all my fault for being so willful."

"...This is not something that can be decided by your own thoughts. Since the guild is willing to reveal the coordinates of 'Ice Garden,' we naturally cannot sit idly by."

The two spoke in hushed tones.

This was a "deal" between Finn and Lloydman—or more precisely, a "price" that couldn't be ignored—and Riveria Leos Alver couldn't let this intelligence slip through her fingers under any circumstances.

Grace and the others could only convince Tiona and her sisters with one-sided accounts; it was not yet time to reveal the truth to the sisters.

"When I tried to win Ais over, all she said was 'sorry'... Hmm... Hmm!"

After groaning for a while, Tiona suddenly stopped being bothered.

"Let's go, Tione!"

"Where do you want to go, Tiona?"

"I'm going to find the little hero Argo!"

Tiona answered Riveria's question while running.

As her twin sister followed along with a helpless expression, Tiona stuck her tongue out at Riveria.

"Even if I can't participate in the war games, I'll still stand on the side of the little hero Argo!"

Tiona, who rushed out of the Twilight Pavilion in one go, coincidentally came to the same conclusion as Finn.

Loki's Familia – does not participate in the war.

"So, our entire [Family] will go and help little Will and the others, right?"

Inside the giant forge, Tsubaki Corbrand asked this question.

This is the "Walka Red House," located in the northeastern part of the city, standing tall in the "industrial zone."

Unlike the branches located in "Adventurer's Street" and "Tower of Babel", this is the headquarters of the great forging faction (Hephaestus Familia). The half-dwarf, who had just forged a brand new "magic sword", wiped the large beads of sweat from his forehead and turned to look at his own god.

"That's right. It's now confirmed that Loki and the others can't participate in the War Games, so we can only rely on our full support for Hestia and the others."