"Bang!"
The door slammed open—same as always.
"Ais-tan!"
Right after the slam, Loki charged in like a maniac, just like she always did.
Seeing Loki pounce at her like a starving tiger, Ais tilted her head slightly and casually dodged.
But because she was standing so close to the wall, Loki's leap sent her flying straight into it.
There was a solid—
"Thud!"
The whole wall seemed to shake. Loki ended up plastered against it in a full-body spread, arms and legs out like some oversized gecko or lizard stuck to the surface.
"Why'd you dodge me, Ais-tan?"
She stayed stuck to the wall for a solid thirty seconds before peeling herself off—though by then, her poor heart had already been shattered to dust.
Even so, Ais looked at her with wary eyes.
"Because Loki always tries to grope me."
"Ugh…"
That one really hit Loki where it hurt.
The worst part was, if she had actually managed to tackle Ais, she definitely would've used that chance to cop a feel of the fruit she'd been admiring grow for years now.
With that, Loki gave up on acting pitiful, coughed awkwardly, and shifted the conversation.
"Alright, let's get down to business."
Seeing Loki drop her usual antics, everyone in the room grew serious as well.
"This time, that Bell kid managed to push all the fallout onto the Evilus. But honestly, they kind of deserve it."
A glint of malice flashed in Loki's narrowed eyes.
"It's a fact those bastards helped the Spirit collect Magic Stones. We've already identified which Familia was involved. Since they were willing to throw out a scapegoat, there's no need for us to go easy on them."
Anyone who dares lay a hand on her kids has no right to stay in Genkai. They can pack their things and head back to Tenkai.
"Finn, in a few days, submit the investigation report to the Guild. But… there are some things you'll need to handle yourselves."
Meeting Loki's gaze, Finn gave a solemn nod.
"I understand."
He had already made up his mind about what needed to be done—even if it meant slaying a god.
"Loki, can you tell us about Bell-kun?"
That question instantly caught everyone's attention.
"That kid, huh…"
To be honest, Loki didn't want to talk about him at all right now.
How should she even begin? She scratched her cheek, clearly troubled.
"What do you want to know?"
Ais stepped forward and shot out a single word.
"Strength."
"Ais-tan, that's way too blunt."
Loki's face twisted into a bitter smile. The last thing she wanted was for Ais to know about that kid's strength. In fact, it wasn't something she could talk about openly at all.
She immediately crossed her arms in an "X" and made a rejecting gesture.
"I promised not to reveal anything about his strength. So even if it's you, Ais-tan, I can't say a word."
Seeing Loki's firm stance, even Ais backed down. Clearly, it was something big.
But sometimes, secrets are only secrets if even those who need to keep them don't know what they are.
Obviously, that didn't apply to Loki right now.
"Loki, so is it Bell-kun's Status that's a secret, or is it his Skill?"
"…"
"I see."
Seeing that Loki wasn't going to answer at all, Finn understood immediately.
Both his Status and Skills were classified.
"Now then, what I'm about to say isn't something Loki told us—this is just my own speculation based on the intel we've gathered."
"Bell-kun likely possesses a unique Skill that lets him grow at an extraordinary rate. Riveria and I estimate that he's currently at Lv. 4. Reaching that level in just half a year must be directly linked to that Skill."
"And there's also Bell-kun's personality. He's not the kind of person who would level up without fully developing his potential. So, before he ranked up, he must've pushed all his stats to the limit."
Finn's deduction laid out both his and Riveria's theories clearly.
He had hesitated before about Bell's Skill and stats—but now, thanks to Loki's reaction, he was certain.
"As for Bell-kun's abilities..."
Finn glanced toward Loki, but she stayed completely silent, turned her head away, and started whistling nonchalantly.
"I'd say all his stats are probably at least in the S-range."
It was an outrageous conclusion.
No adventurer in their right mind would believe a single person could possess that many "abnormal" qualities.
A Skill that allows rapid growth, maxed-out parameters across the board, and reaching Lv. 4 in under six months—anyone would call that abnormal.
And when all those abnormalities are packed into one person, it becomes a whole new level of extraordinary.
Seeing that Finn had wrapped up his analysis, Loki finally dropped the act.
"In any case, these are all your own guesses. I didn't say a word."
Some things simply couldn't be said—Loki knew that, and she wasn't about to cross that line.
So far, she hadn't revealed a single detail about that kid Bell.
"Still, even if this is all just your speculation, you'd better be careful. If word gets out, I'll be the one taking the heat—doesn't matter if I actually said anything or not."
Everyone in the room understood what she meant. No one was going to spread this around carelessly.
Besides, even if they did, who would believe it?
"Alright, now let's get to the matter of your level-ups."
With all the unnecessary talk out of the way, Loki moved on to the main topic.
"Finn, you and your group first. Riveria's group will go next."
Everyone was familiar with the status update process.
Finn and the others were already prepared, having removed their shirts.
They were all men, after all, so being seen wasn't a big deal. The girls, on the other hand, would be a different story.
But the moment Finn took his shirt off, Tione's eyes glazed over—and a little drool glistened at the corner of her mouth.
Naturally, Finn could feel her scorching gaze, so he quickly turned his back to Loki and sat down, hoping to get the update over with as fast as possible.