"Dun-dun-dun, hm hm hm hm hm..."
A little tune hummed, mask pulled down, out of the tower and homeward bound.
Leon stood at the entrance of Babel's grand hall, gazing out at the drizzle veiling the sky.
"This rain just won't quit..."
"What, you don't like this weather? I think it's got a nice vibe. Picture it: misty rain outside, a warm welcome inside... perfect weather for a trip to the Pleasure Quarter."
"You dog!"
Not far off, adventurers freshly returned from the Dungeon had gathered in twos and threes near the doorway, chatting idly. The conversation started tame enough but drifted steadily off the rails.
Leon listened with genuine interest and half a mind to join in, but reminded himself he was a man with responsibilities now, and forced the urge back down.
He fished out his beloved old brass pocket watch. Still early.
No rush to head home. He leaned against a stone pillar by the hall entrance and pulled out his notebook and quill, sketching and scribbling.
The pages were packed with test data and diagrams for Fireball, with notes highlighting the damage variance across different floors and monster types. At his current strength, every monster he'd encountered died in a single cast, and the overkill was massive.
Quantifying that overkill was his current project.
To improve his margin for error and efficiency during exploration, and to cut down on wasted Mind, he needed to calibrate Fireball's output precisely against each target. Everyone knew that the same species of monster varied in strength by floor, and with the sheer number of species and their different traits, it took real time in live combat to gather enough data and optimize his spellwork.
"Hey! Buddy. Long time no see."
A hand clapped his shoulder, and an arm hooked around his neck from behind.
Leon's expression didn't change. He closed his notebook without hurry and glanced sideways. Who else but Luvis Lilix, the elf with zero concept of personal space.
He also noticed Luvis wasn't alone. The rest of his Modi Familia party was with him.
Leon knew them well and greeted each in turn.
"Been a while, Luvis. Chalio, Lana, Alec, good to see you all."
Like Luvis, the other three were rare elven elite adventurers. The woman with short pink hair was Lana, the one with silver hair slicked back was Alec, and the one whose hairstyle looked ripped straight off Minato Namikaze was Chalio. Together with Luvis, they formed Modi Familia's core party.
Leon had never understood this team's existence. He had no idea how a god with a face that generic had lucked into recruiting four high-potential elves at once.
They were all Level 2 upper-tier adventurers. Setting Luvis aside, the other three had spent years at Level 2, honing their technique, tactics, and Basic Abilities to the peak of their tier. Forget the rest of the Familia; this squad alone put Modi Familia solidly in Orario's mid-tier faction bracket. If they broke through to Level 3, the Familia could even push toward the city's upper ranks.
That was exactly why Leon remembered Modi Familia so clearly. Even in Orario, Level 3 adventurers weren't a dime a dozen. That rank was enough to be called a Familia's backbone, and most Familia captains topped out right there.
"Leon, what are you doing standing around here? Waiting for someone?"
Lana smiled as she asked, curious.
Leon jerked his chin toward the hall's exit.
"It's raining."
"Huh? I didn't even notice."
Lana blinked.
"You all just get back from the middle floors?"
Leon eyed the packs on their backs with a grin.
The moment he brought it up, the group's expressions soured. Luvis, never one to hold back, launched straight into it:
"Don't even get me started. The four of us were going to team up with some people from Rivira to take on the Floor Boss, Goliath. But by the time we got our party together and made it there, somebody had already killed the thing. Total waste of a trip."
Floor Boss. Now there was a word that stirred something in Leon.
He pressed his lips together, feeling a flicker of want, though not for glory or achievements or anything like that.
He wanted it because Goliath's Magic Stone and the Drop Item, Goliath Hide, were worth a fortune.
The thought came and went. He asked, curious:
"Goliath's spawn cycle is two weeks. If my count's right, it's been exactly fourteen days since the last kill, so it should've just respawned today. Who took it down that fast?"
At that, Luvis and the others exchanged complicated looks.
Before anyone could answer, a commotion echoed from deeper in the hall, from the direction of the Great Hollow.
"There. That's who."
Luvis spotted the group walking toward the exit and jerked his chin their way with a resigned grimace.
Leon followed his gaze. When he made out the faces and insignia, his eyebrows rose and understanding clicked into place.
He looked back at Luvis and his party with something close to pity, patted him on the shoulder, and grinned.
"Goliath spawns and walks right into Loki Familia's expedition coming home. Hard to say if that's your lucky day or your worst one."
Lucky, in that trailing behind Loki Familia meant zero danger on the way back, and you could pick up scraps and make a bit of coin. Unlucky, in that the Goliath kill was gone, and so was all that high-quality Excelia.
From where Leon stood, Luvis and his crew were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Especially Alec, Lana, and Chalio, whose Basic Abilities had already hit the threshold. All they needed was one big feat to level up.
"Yeah, don't remind me." Luvis shook it off fast, his grin bouncing back as he nudged Leon with an elbow. "So how about it? Drinks tonight?"
Drinks?
Leon thought of the three women back home waiting to be fed and shook his head.
"Can't. Things have been hectic lately. Rain check."
"You're a solo player. What's keeping you so busy?"
Luvis looked genuinely confused.
Before Leon could explain, a pair of golden eyes in the Loki Familia procession locked onto him through the crowd with the precision of a hawk spotting a mouse. The Sword Princess's gaze lit up, and she broke from the formation, striding toward him with the intensity of someone about to pick a fight.
As one of Orario's rising stars, paired with Gale as the so-called Twin Stars, everything Ais did drew attention. Her sudden detour didn't go unnoticed by Loki Familia or the bystanders milling about, least of all Riveria, whose eyes narrowed as she traced Ais's trajectory.
"That young man from the Hostess of Fertility?"
She paused to recall, said a few words to the pallum beside her, and hurried after Ais.
These past two years, Riveria had been run ragged by Ais. Especially recently, when something had set the girl off and her fighting style turned even more reckless: all offense, no defense, trading blows head-on with monsters in a way that nearly gave Riveria and the rest of the Familia a collective heart attack.
Keeping up with that girl was exhausting enough. But she couldn't afford to take her eyes off her for a second, because who knew what Ais would pull next.
Every gaze in the hall drifted with Ais as she moved.
Then, as Alec, Luvis, Lana, and the rest stared slack-jawed, and every onlooker settled in for a show, Ais stopped in front of Leon, tilted her small face up to meet his eyes, jaw set, expression fierce and stubborn.
"The Black Dragon. I have to be the one to kill it!!"
"..."
Silence. The onlookers looked at each other in blank confusion. Even the members of Loki Familia seemed lost.
Leon, one half of this little spectacle, shifted uncomfortably despite his hood, cloak, and mask. Eyes from every direction crawled over him.
I'm a Level 1 nobody. Is this really necessary?
Left with no choice, he turned his twitching gaze to the royal elf behind her.
"I'm sorry. I should have kept a better eye on Ais. I apologize for the trouble."
Riveria stepped forward with a look of genuine regret, pulling the bristling Ais behind her.
"..."
And while Leon hadn't reacted much to the elven princess's arrival, Luvis and his party stiffened immediately, snapping into the most formal elven bow.
"Lady Riveria." All four, in unison.
"You're from Modi Familia, aren't you? Hello, all of you, and please, there's no need for the formality. I'm just an adventurer now, not elven royalty." Riveria smiled faintly at them, though her exasperation was plain.
"We couldn't possibly, my lady. No matter what role you take on, you are still our princess."
Riveria: "..."
Leon watched the exchange and one word floated through his mind: loyalty.
He raised an eyebrow, stayed where he was, and let them have their moment.
Once the pleasantries wound down, he finally addressed Riveria.
"You're too kind, Lady Riveria. After all, Miss Ais is at that age where she's a menace to everyone around her. I can only imagine what you deal with. You have my sympathies."
Ais: "?!?!"
A menace to everyone? Who?
Her expression twisted as she glared daggers at him, eyes blazing, looking ready to go ten rounds on the spot.
Even Riveria nearly lost her composure and laughed.
"Riveria!"
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