"Fron"
A few girls walked in, their faces filled not only with unease but also worry.
Fron set down the tools in his hands; even if they didn't say anything, he could already guess why they had come.
"Is that girl Lefiya still… crying?"
Everyone: "..."
Anakitty's lips twitched, and after a long "Emmmm," she carefully picked her words.
"Uh… Lefiya is indeed still… 'crying.' But Fron, don't get angry. Lefiya is, after all, still too young. And her background is different from us normal adventurers."
"She's from the 'Academy District,', you know this. She's never experienced losing a companion, and suddenly being confronted with a friend's death… Ending up like this is honestly within expectations."
Fron stood up, revealing his tall, lean, muscular build right in front of the ladies, making their cheeks redden.
He himself didn't react at all, expression unchanged, as if he was used to this.
"Ahh... if delicate-minded people like you can't fix it, what can a thick-skinned guy like me even do?"
Ais grabbed Fron's arm, still expressionless as usual.
"Help, Fron. Think of something…"
"…"
Facing the girls' earnest plea, Fron felt a headache coming on. To be honest, he wasn't good at dealing with this sort of thing at all.
"I think… maybe you should divert her attention. Like… take her to investigate clues about the mastermind behind all this. Something that could stimulate her motivation."
Noon, in the courtyard dining hall. Fron sat in an inconspicuous corner, chewing on his food in big bites.
"Everyone... looks like they're turning into this..." Fron glanced up at the long table not far away, seeing Raul standing frozen, muttering to himself.
Seeing the state of the entire dining hall before him, Raul realized there was nothing he could do.
The base's mess hall was filled with a kind of gloomy, decadent atmosphere.
Except for Fron, the members of the Loki Familia were silent, all immersed in grief.
It felt practically like a funeral. The usually noisy cafeteria had been robbed of all sound, so eerily quiet that it made one's body grow cold.
"…"
Among them was the black-haired cat person, Anakitty.
This break time is really hateful, her expression seemed to say. As if when doing something she was supposed to, she could instead turn her brain off and think of nothing.
Her troubled profile even carried a sort of beauty. Raul wanted to talk to her, but… he still couldn't bring himself to do it.
Others didn't know the reason.
But Fron and the usually emotionless Raul knew exactly what caused everyone to end up like this, the defeat in the artificial dungeon a few days ago.
No matter how they dressed up the explanation for the outside world, the truth couldn't be hidden.
This wasn't just "losing" or "getting pushed back a bit." Even the god of their familia, Loki herself, had suffered a devastating blow.
After exhaustive planning, meticulous preparation, and massive investment of personnel and resources…
Their grand march for victory, supported by the powerful "Faction Alliance" that included the Loki Familia,
All of it was turned into wasted effort by the opponent overturning the board and mocking them from the shadows.
Even for Orario's largest faction, the Loki Familia, after countless battles, this kind of outcome had never happened before.
For people full of confidence in themselves and their familia, this was a heavy hammer indeed, no wonder their mentalities exploded.
Fron drank juice, deep in thought.
These guys were protected too well by Finn, Riveria, and Gareth.
Like being power-levelled in an RPG, gaining EXP effortlessly and levelling up naturally… Unlike the small familias where every expedition is a gamble with their lives.
They've never experienced such a massive failure and humiliation.
He sighed quietly.
Compared to them, the even younger Lefiya,
Not only from the Academy District but also joining the top-tier Loki Familia, being personally taught by the city's strongest mage, and acknowledged as Riveria's successor, to her, was gone, Lefiya's mentality collapsing under such a massive emotional blow was inevitable.
This is what someone untouched by society's cruel beatings looks like.
Sigh…
Fron sighed, shaking his head and stopping himself from thinking about annoying matters.
Better to use the time to repair his equipment, if they ran into a sudden battle, his combat strength would drop.
This period of time really kept people on edge. Who knew when that Enyo would pull another stunt?
"I'm done eating."
In an atmosphere like this, Fron's quiet voice sounded especially clear to everyone.
Still wearing his faint, usual smile, he placed his dishes in the washing area, showing no sign of sadness or negativity at all.
"F-Fron…" Raul opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
"I mean, seriously, you guys… is this necessary? What's the point of flopping around here? Reflect on yourselves if you want, but losing your fighting spirit over this kind of setback? Isn't that way too glass-hearted? Boring."
Finishing, Fron struck a bored, dismissive pose, grabbed a juice bottle, and swaggered out.
"Tch. Keep lying around if you haven't had enough."
Following Fron's departure, Bete suddenly popped out from some random corner, walking past Raul and the others with an extremely annoyed expression, grabbing an apple and stuffing it into his pocket before also leaving.
Compared to Fron, who at least said a few words, Bete couldn't even be bothered to talk.
Usually he would look down on and insult the weak, but this time he didn't snort coldly or mock them.
To the others, it meant one thing: they had disappointed him so much he couldn't even be bothered to insult them.
"Bete…"
"Cut the crap. I need time to cool my head too. Tch."
"Eh??"
"Until that moment comes, you can go whine all the pathetic stuff you want."
"That moment?"
"Idiot. You haven't figured out Fron's intention yet?"