"Captain."
"As you instructed, I've already purchased all the necessary supplies—enough to cover about ten days of daily consumption for eight people in the Dungeon."
"If that's not enough…"
"We'll have to buy more at Rivira on the 18th Floor."
For the Hestia Familia's first true Dungeon expedition, Daphne naturally threw herself into the task with full focus, handling every aspect of logistics and coordination.
Perhaps…
In terms of ability values and talent, she really couldn't compare to a monster like Ron.
But not every Familia member needed to be a combatant. Especially during a Dungeon expedition, stable logistical support was just as indispensable.
Looking at the boy in front of her, as for why so many daily supplies were being prepared, it was probably because their captain had found some kind of outside support.
Which was a good thing.
They hadn't even truly encountered mutated monsters yet, but just from that powerful dragon-type creature alone, it was already clear how high the overall difficulty would be.
Ron was indeed strong…
But if he had to carry the entire Familia forward by himself, just thinking about it made it seem incredibly difficult.
"Thanks for the hard work."
This was probably the meaning behind a Familia's existence.
Not everything had to be handled personally—he just needed to coordinate things well, especially the tedious internal affairs and logistics.
As for combat…
Ron had absolutely no issues. No matter how strong the monsters in the Dungeon were, at worst, it was just a matter of how many times he'd die.
And after the War Game, they hadn't truly begun exploring yet. With the Hestia Familia's current lineup, he did need to proceed cautiously.
First, scout the floor conditions.
But with support from the Loki Familia—two Level 5 adventurers like the Hiryute sisters backing them up—there was no need for that many concerns.
Ron's gaze swept over Daphne.
After a moment, it landed on the gloomy girl standing behind her, looking timid. He spoke casually: "Plans have changed."
"We're departing tomorrow."
"Mm… just treat it like a normal Dungeon exploration. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves."
"…"
Daphne didn't respond.
But the corner of her eye twitched uncontrollably.
Maybe only someone like Ron—a captain who had been tempered by those 'abnormal situations'—had the right to say something like that so lightly.
Nervousness was unavoidable.
But more than that, she felt anticipation. The path of an adventurer was about constantly climbing higher—who wouldn't want to see the view from above?
"I'm talking to you!"
After Ron left, Daphne reached out and tugged at her friend's cheek, speaking helplessly: "Don't put so much pressure on yourself."
"Otherwise you'll start having those weird dreams again."
"But…"
Behind her, Cassandra lowered her head, her blue hair covering her face, her expression filled with an indescribable unease.
Watching Ron's departing figure, she finally lifted her head.
Her vague, elusive "prophetic dreams" had already been proven true on the 12th Floor.
But…
Back when she was in the Apollo Familia, even when her prophecies came true, other factors would still cause her companions—especially Daphne—to doubt the results.
She couldn't be sure whether Ron would end up the same.
Facing her friend's helpless gaze, Cassandra unusually didn't nod this time.
"But… the captain said that if I have dreams like this again…"
"I can tell him."
"Have you considered that he might've just been comforting you?"
Daphne waved her hand dismissively, noticing the darkening sky outside and thinking about tomorrow's expedition.
"Get some rest early."
"…Okay."
Back in her room, since the Hestia Familia had so few members, she didn't have to share a dorm with others. Cassandra didn't have as much psychological pressure.
She didn't have to worry about waking up from nightmares and disturbing her companions.
"Surely…"
"Ron will believe me… right?"
Even though she hadn't gone to sleep yet, with such a difficult expedition approaching, she still had a strong premonition… one that left her deeply unsettled.
But once she lay down, the moment her head touched that familiar pillow, she quickly drifted into sleep.
It was as if time slowed down, yet her consciousness remained unusually clear.
That familiar feeling made her slowly open her eyes.
"…"
"A dream."
Deep darkness surged like something almost tangible, as if trying to swallow Cassandra whole, making it hard to even breathe.
But her body couldn't respond at all—she could only drift along with it.
Until—
A towering blaze gradually drove away the darkness.
Even her own body began to burn away within that fire.
And just as her instincts forced her consciousness to awaken—
Cassandra finally saw the source.
It was…
A furnace that seemed capable of incinerating everything.
And a massive giant, continuously feeding fuel into its flames.
"—Hah!"
The girl shot upright from her bed.
In that brief dream, her nightclothes had been completely soaked with sweat.
The sensation of being on the brink of death lingered in her chest.
Strangely…
It wasn't fear.
But when facing that giant, she could clearly feel it—
That unmistakable taste of death.
"This…"
"It can't be real too, right?"
From her past Dungeon experience,
At least in her understanding, the Dungeon definitely didn't contain anything like the monster she saw in that dream.
As for why…
It was probably…
Because of Captain Ron's unusual nature.
"…"
This had to be told to him.
But now clearly wasn't the time.
As the team's healer, she knew she had to maintain her condition during the expedition.
She had to rest…
But every time Cassandra closed her eyes, she saw that terrifying, never-before-seen monster.
As expected—
She couldn't sleep.
...
"We're ready."
"It's just… are you really not considering buying some emergency panaceas?"
Looking at Daphne and Mikoto in full gear, even though they hadn't entered the Dungeon yet, anticipation was already visible in their eyes.
That was good news.
What Ron feared most was that after experiencing the Soulslike difficulty, they would become afraid of those hellish monsters and lose the will to move forward.
Facing Daphne's question, he smiled and shook his head.
"No need."
"More accurately, someone will prepare them for us."
Even though he hadn't said it directly to Finn of the Loki Familia, he had already hinted at their poor conditions—there was no way they wouldn't offer some form of support.
However, Ron scanned the surroundings.
When he didn't see Cassandra anywhere, he frowned slightly and was about to ask Daphne—
When he saw the gloomy girl walking into the meeting hall, heavy dark circles under her eyes.
"Cassandra."
"You're here…"
Afraid her poor condition would be noticed by the captain, Cassandra lowered her head even further and answered in a muffled voice: "Um…"
"Captain Ron, there's something I want to tell you."
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