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

The "great achievements" accomplished by the Lv.1 adventurer left Lefia feeling both unwilling and at a loss for words, reigniting her competitive spirit.

Rafia rarely spoke to anyone, spending her time alone, unable to vent her uncontrollable emotions.

"But speaking of which... those guys were really making a scene."

"Haha, that's right."

While Lefia was feeling down, the faction's leaders gathered at the head of the table, and Finn smiled at Grace, who was stroking his long beard.

Right in front of Finn and his group, in the corner where Ais was sitting in the crowd, Bell and his companions were arguing, apparently over a piece of fruit.

The little girl, her face flushed red, screamed and kicked the blacksmith youth in the back. The youth, meanwhile, ate the cloud fruit clean, seemingly unconcerned. Bell's expression twitched, while Ais appeared incredulous, staring blankly.

Seeing this amusing scene, not only the female members, but also the members of the Loki Familia couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Hmm! Tione—! Glug! Let's hurry over to Argonaut's place too—!"

"Don't talk while you're eating! You haven't eaten enough yet, you'll be eating again soon anyway, so finish your food first! I can't stand it—hey, leader, want a drink?"

"Hmm? Ah, okay."

However, in terms of excitement, the Loki Familia is just as good as them.

Tiona was gulping down who knows how many bowls of soup while complaining, and Tione snapped at her to eat properly, then suddenly switched to a sweet, coquettish voice.

She snuggled up to Finn.

What she poured into the container was a gourd-shaped fruit called "Red Berry." By cutting off the thick skin at the top of the fruit, you could squeeze out jelly-like, bright red flesh. The greener the fruit, the more sour it was; it became sweet when ripe, and bitter when overripe. However, the bitter flesh tasted somewhat like wine; when high-level adventurers had been in the dungeons for too long and began to crave the cheap wine from the surface, they would use Red Berry to soothe their tongues and throats.

Even Riveria, who never drinks alcohol, only drinks a little bit of red berries, considering it an adventurer's hobby.

Encouraged by the girls (elf) members to drink, the royal princess smiled and drank the labyrinth fruit wine that wouldn't make her drunk.

"Wait... Miss Tsubaki! Please spare me!? I mean, this sake... it seems to be the super strong kind from the dwarves...!?"

"What's wrong with you?! You're just drinking a bottle of dwarven liquor!"

Chun didn't learn her lesson and took out the wine she had traded in town (Rivera) to drink with Raul.

Faced with her holding a bottle bearing the dwarf symbol, the human youth instantly turned red in the face and became completely drunk.

"Ugh, this is so boring. Hey, Grace, you demonstrate for him!"

"I really want to drink my fill... but I also have my reasons. I'll drink with you when we get back to the surface. —Hey, Rivera, don't glare at me! I understand!"

Tsubaki threw Raul to the ground, her cheeks slightly flushed; Grace, caught in the crossfire, was glared at by Riveria. Seeing their exchange, the lower-ranking members of the Loki Familia couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The expedition was almost over, and the team members were completely relaxed.

It was like warriors who had survived a fierce battle raising their glasses in celebration in a forest at night—a scene straight out of a tale of heroes. The white-haired youth, observing the commotion around him, smiled and excitedly surveyed the circle of adventurers.

The campsite was even more lively than it had been the night before.

"Tsubaki, I heard your faction's blacksmith is here too... Is he that young man?"

"That's right, Riveria, it's him. Hehe... Hmm, he seems much better now, it's about time to go tease him."

Rivera checked the group members standing guard around the campsite, and when her gaze inadvertently fell on the red-haired youth, Tsubaki immediately stood up, a wry smile on her face. She walked straight towards Bell and the others, accompanied by the other senior blacksmiths, carrying bottles of liquor.

"Damn!" The young man frowned deeply.

"Brother Will, what's with that expression? I was worried about you, so I came to see you."

"Don't lie to me! You reek of alcohol!"

"However, I really didn't expect that little brother Will would team up with adventurers from other factions and come to the 18th floor—"

The drunken Chun ignored the young man's offensive words.

"You...!" The younger blacksmith gritted his teeth as Chun stared at the white-haired boy beside him.

When the boy looked embarrassed by her unwavering gaze, Tsubaki said, "Oh?"

She glanced at Ais and the boy beside her, as if she had understood something, and then clasped her hands together.

"Oh—! I understand! You must be Kron Bernie, right?!"

"You...you've mistaken me for someone else."

Tsubaki excitedly said that Bell was the "powerful adventurer she saw on the way to the 18th floor" that Tiona had told her about—the one from the rumors.

A promising adventurer; Bell, sweating profusely, denied it after being called by that strange name by her.

Ignoring the boy's reaction, the half-dwarf master smith shook hands with Bell, introduced himself with a smile, and vigorously waved his hand up and down.

As for the Amazonian girl who gave the wrong information, she had just wiped her mouth and said, "I'm done eating—!" when she shouted, "Little hero Argo—!" and led Tione to attack Bell and the others.

"...Um, Lady Riveria, Captain."

Lefia watched Ais and the others making a scene, remaining sullen and unhappy.

At this moment, she walked over to Riveria and the others and asked:

"Lady Riveria, did you see Mr. Bell Crane... fighting against the Minotaur?"

After exchanging glances, Finn and Riveria nodded and said, "Yes."

"As you know, we were both in the follow-up units. So unfortunately, I didn't see that young man's battle on the 9th floor, but..."

"Finn and I saw it with our own eyes."

"Next up are Ais, Bert, and Tiona."

Grace seemed genuinely as regretful as he said, stroking his beard as Rivera and Finn looked at Bell and answered.

"Um, he really... defeated his opponent all by himself? Without the help of Miss Ais or the captain?"

"Of course, otherwise he wouldn't be here now."

"On the contrary, Ais wanted to help, but was refused."

Upon hearing Lefia's confirmation, Finn smiled, while Riveria closed her eyes as if finding it amusing; both of them expressed their agreement.

The leaders all said it was truly wonderful, their tone full of admiration.

Rafia realized that Bell Craney's "adventure" was genuine—but at the same time, she felt "unwilling to give up".

(I was only able to defeat the Minotaur by myself at level 3...)

Forwards and defenders, adventurers and mages. Lefia knew that the two were not comparable.

However, Lefia couldn't help but compare herself to the boy, simply because both of them admired (Ais) as their teacher.

"Gurgle, gurgle!" She couldn't help but groan in front of Riveria and the others.

Stealing a glance, he realized that in the brief moment he hadn't noticed, Bell had Ais, Tiona, and Tione by his side again—or rather, surrounded and interrogated about "how to make all abilities S-rank?"—and he froze. Finn and the others sighed at the sight, but made no move to stop it.

(Again, Miss Ais and the others...!)

Seeing the boy sweating profusely for some reason, Lefia was both annoyed and angry, and decided to attack Ais and the others herself.

『——Goooooooo! ? 』

「!?」

Just a second ago.

From afar outside the campsite, came the sound of what sounded like a young girl's mournful cry.

The members on guard duty panicked. "Excuse me, let me go for a moment!" the white-haired boy said, dashing out in a flash. The little girl, the blacksmith youth, and Ais and the others followed closely behind.

The campsite suddenly became noisy.

It seems we've had another uninvited guest.

Sword Oratoria 5 Interlude: The Other Side of Reconciliation

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry for showing up uninvited! But I'm really surprised that it was you, the Loki Familia, who saved little Bell!"

The handsome god smiled broadly and spoke clearly and continuously.

His attendants, who stood behind him, sighed, while Finn and the others watched as the guests were led to the tent.

Halfway through the banquet, a person appeared from the back of the campsite—the passageway leading to the 17th floor—with a wailing sound. It turned out to be Hestia, the chief goddess of Bell Crane.

Surprisingly, she came to the dungeon specifically to rescue her family and companions trapped there, even defying the guild's explicit rule prohibiting gods from entering. Faced with this situation, even Finn and Grace, who had been adventurers in the dungeon city for years, said, "This is the first time I've seen a god go directly to a dungeon," and let out a wry smile.

Accompanying the goddess Hestia were Hermes, the god who was now standing before Finn and the others, his retinue, and other adventurers.

"Let me confirm, Hermes, you all came to this 18th floor to rescue Bell Craney and his group... is that correct?"

"Yes, that's right, [Hero]. Hestia commissioned me, and there's a formal letter of commission."

At this moment, the faction leaders, including Finn, Riveria, and Grace, are meeting with Hermes.

Besides them, all the other officers except Bert, such as Ais, Tiona, and Tione, were present in the tent. Raul also joined the meeting at the end of the list of officers, so as to convey the other party's situation to Lefia and the other members of the group who were cleaning up the banquet outside.

Under the watchful eyes of Ais and the others, Hermes took out the adventurer's commission letter from his pocket.

The parchment bears the guild's seal and states a reward of 400,000 falies.

(Hello.)

(……Hello.)

Asphi, a female attendant standing behind the chief god (Hermes), greeted her with a faint smile that only Ais understood.

Ais and Asphi Al Andromeda, the female leader of the Hermes Familia, formed a united front during the incident at the 24th floor food warehouse. The two had a brief encounter while temporarily teaming up, a bond that, in industry jargon, was "sharing the experience of adventuring on the same floor."

Looking at her swaying, light blue hair, Ais smiled and moved her lips in response.

"While I'm curious why you're on this floor... let me state my requirements first."

Hermes visited the area as a representative of the search team.

The goddess and the others went to the tent lent to Bell. Ais sensed that they had a dispute with the adventurers wearing Far Eastern-style combat suits. Although she was concerned, as a faction leader, she still participated in the meeting when the god came and said, "I want to explain the situation and make some negotiations."

"We would like to request permission to stay at this campsite, and if possible, when you depart from the 18th floor, we would like to accompany the troops."

"For a safe return to the surface?"

"I'm glad you understand."

Hermes nodded with a smile upon hearing Finn's confirmation.

Bell and the others originally came to this safe floor to take refuge in order to travel with the high-level adventurer team that was on its way back, so as to break through the dangerous "middle layer" and return to the surface.

Hermes' second request was for the same purpose. Although the search team was well-equipped, there was no need to take unnecessary risks, especially since the floor master (Oria) was still on the 17th floor.

If the powerful spear of the Loki Familia can carve a path for you, following behind is the safest option.

"We came here to rescue Bell and the others, without any camping gear. That being said, it's not a good idea to stay in Rivera, that infamous rogue town."

The younger sister (Tiona) put her hands behind her head and said, "Argonauts are going to have a really tough time~", only to be nudged by the older sister (Tione) with her elbow.

"Shut up."

"We'll figure out how to get food ourselves. If there are any expenses, my [Family] will cover them when we return to the surface. You can also give me a thank-you gift if you want."

"You're being quite generous, even though you're just doing this for someone else."

"Haha, because Hephaestus asked me to take care of little Welf before we left."

What a shrewd negotiator!

Ais felt this way after officially meeting the main god of Asphi.

He first spoke his true feelings and made polite remarks, then showed some sincerity, making it difficult for the other party to refuse his request. He also subtly mentioned the blacksmiths of the Hephaestus faction, an ally that the Loki Familia couldn't afford to ignore. He was truly shrewd; even Grace sighed upon hearing it.

"I feel really bad for you all, coming back exhausted from the 'expedition,' but... how about it?"

Hermes, the god of the sky... He is known not only for helping strangers and travelers, but also for aiding merchants.

He is also the chief deity of the [Familia], who falsely claims to be an official Lv. and positions himself as a neutral faction. His conversational skills are of a different kind of superiority compared to Loki's.

Observing the male god, who had just returned from a journey more than ten days ago after the gathering of the gods, Ais thought: This god is not to be underestimated.

"Hermies, God, let's skip the unnecessary scheming. As long as you promise us not to cause a disturbance, we will allow you to stay and return together. I will not abandon those I once protected."

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry. Thank you so much, I'm very grateful."

Finn agreed to Hermes's request with a wry smile, admitting that his options were already limited.

Finn then explained the current situation of the troops, and Hermes, upon hearing about the Poisonous Maggots' attack, suddenly realized and said, "Oh, so that's how it is."

Both sides shared information such as tent allocation and scheduled departure dates for each floor, and the discussion proceeded smoothly.

"Oh, right. Forgive me for being late... 'Expedition,' you've had a tough time. Judging from your appearance, you must have achieved some results, right?"