"...That's more or less what happened." The black-haired girl briefly recounted the incident that had occurred in the Dungeon a few hours ago, not forgetting to add one last thing. "Levi Bright is the first adventurer I've ever seen who can use group barrier magic with a chantless incantation. I judged that he might be able to help our Familia's expeditions in the future, so after discussing it with the others, I gave him the Goliath leather as a token of our gratitude."
"You did well, Line."
'Braver' Finn nodded at the girl before turning his gaze to the Sword Princess standing beside her.
"Ais, what about you? What did you think of him?"
"His body is well-trained, and he probably isn't a pure rearguard. When he fell from the 16th floor just now, I saw him holding a long spear. But later, that weapon vanished into thin air and was replaced by a potion."
"Oh? So he's even mastered spatial storage magic?" 'The Stalwart' Gareth showed a surprised expression, stroking his beard as he spoke. "That boy, Levi Bright... he's like a natural-born saint of expedition support."
"You've got some nerve thinking that," 'Nine Hells' Riveria said, shaking her head. "No matter how you look at it, he's the captain of the Hestia Familia. Unless we offer him a massive reward, he won't willingly handle logistics for us."
"Says the one who forgets we used to run errands for the Zeus and Hera Familias," Gareth retorted, bringing up a sore subject.
That was considered a dark part of the triumvirate's history from when they were weak. After all, back then, the ones who reigned supreme in Orario were the Zeus Familia, with their Lv. 8 'The Hero,' and the Hera Familia, with their Lv. 9 'The Empress.' Besides them, both Familias had numerous Lv. 7 adventurers.
In contrast, Finn and the other two had only been adventurers for a few years, with their strength ranging from Lv. 2 to Lv. 3.
"How is that the same thing?" Riveria shot back.
Seeing the two about to argue, Finn quickly changed the subject. "If I remember correctly, Levi Bright arrived in Orario about a month ago, didn't he?"
"Yes." Riveria accepted the change of topic. "The fact that he went into the Dungeon without a Falna actually caused quite a stir at the time. It was just overshadowed later by the rumors of his public confession to the goddess Hestia."
"So, don't you find it strange?" Finn bit his thumb, his brow furrowed slightly. "An adventurer who received his Falna less than half a month ago can descend to the Middle Floors all by himself. Even if he awakened barrier-type magic, it's just too unreasonable."
Riveria and Gareth weren't simple brutes, either. Prompted by their captain, they understood almost immediately.
"You mean..."
Seeing their stunned, even shocked expressions, Finn nodded. "Either Levi Bright lied back then, and he had actually received a Falna before coming to Orario, hiding the real information because his former Familia had a bad reputation here, and somehow managed to evade the Ganesha Familia's inspection upon entering the city."
Riveria voiced the other possibility. "Or, in just half a month, he accumulated enough excelia to level up and also raised his ability scores to the point where he could do so."
"Ahaha," Gareth laughed twice. "If possible, I'd hope his situation is the former."
"But if it's the latter..." Finn's expression was unreadable.
As soon as he said this, several sharp gasps could be heard in the room.
"Captain, you must be joking, right?" Line asked with a dry laugh, having listened to the triumvirate's speculation.
"I wish I were." Finn sighed. "With that barrier magic, the difficulty of acquiring the excelia needed to level up would drop significantly. You should have experienced that firsthand, Line."
Seeing his familia member nod, he continued, "The truly terrifying part is that the boy has most likely awakened a skill that accelerates the growth of his ability scores!"
"But how is that possible?" Line still couldn't, or rather, refused to believe it.
If such a skill truly existed in the world, what did that make all the other adventurers who worked so hard to improve their strength?
Compared to the black-haired girl who had yet to fully mature, Finn, Gareth, and Riveria were much more open-minded.
"In Loki's words, this is the [Unknown] of the lower world."
Finn didn't dwell on the topic for too long. Unless the Hestia Familia released the information themselves, no outsider would ever know Levi's true situation besides him and Hestia.
"Now, let's discuss how we should try to win over Levi Bright."
"Win him over?" Line was a bit surprised. "Can't we just take him through a War Game?"
In response, she received three exasperated looks from her Familia's triumvirate.
"Poaching someone through a War Game is certainly the most direct method, but it also means we'd be completely burning our bridges with them."
"Don't forget, the reason the Loki Familia wants Levi Bright is because he has mastered group barrier magic and spatial storage magic. This can help us greatly with our expeditions."
"But in the Dungeon, especially in the Deep Floors, having an adventurer right beside us who harbors ill will... I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't dare bring someone like that into the party."
"It's just a War Game, it shouldn't be..." Line clearly still didn't understand Finn's point.
"Other adventurers indeed wouldn't have such a drastic change in attitude just because of a conversion. Even if they held a grudge, they'd only dare to bury it deep down. But you seem to have forgotten that Levi Bright is in love with the goddess Hestia." Since he'd started, Finn decided to spell it all out. "Let's use you as an example, Line. If you loved a god and successfully joined his Familia, but then another large Familia forcibly took you through a War Game just because you awakened a skill or magic they needed, wouldn't you resent them?"
Line fell silent at his words.
"What's more, didn't Loki mention it while drinking the other day? The goddess Hestia treasures her familia member immensely. She looks like she's completely in love." Finn paused slightly here. "Forcibly splitting up a couple who are in love with each other... putting aside the morality of it, just the hysterical retaliation from the goddess afterward would be enough to give any Familia a world of trouble."
Admittedly, gods are forbidden from using their Arcanum in the lower world. But that doesn't mean that before breaking that rule and being sent back to Tenkai, he or she couldn't land one nasty blow on someone they hate.
At this moment, Riveria suddenly spoke up. "Do you think... that Levi Bright might have considered the possibility of his information being exposed from the very beginning, which is why he confessed to the goddess Hestia in front of everyone?"
At her words, the meeting room once again fell deathly silent.
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