Chapter 77: The Second Expedition!
The clear, cloudless sky let sunlight spill over Twilight Manor.
At this moment, the manor was already packed with people moving busily in every direction.
Several days had passed since Liliruca joined the Loki Familia, and now everyone was preparing for the second expedition that was about to begin.
"Why does Lily have to join the expedition too...?"
Liliruca Arde complained to Torajirou Shiro.
It was not because Lily hated entering the Dungeon. She was just genuinely afraid of a certain someone.
That day, after Shiro brought Liliruca back to the Loki Familia, Finn was shocked when he learned what she had done.
He even proposed her live on the spot, only to be fiercely rejected by Lily.
Since then, to avoid the awkwardness, Lily had been hiding from Finn whenever she was in the Loki Familia.
But because of this expedition, she had no choice but to stay in the same group as him again, which left her rather troubled.
"Well, who told you to reach Level 2 too?" Shiro said with a shrug.
When Loki activated Lily's Falna, she discovered that Lily had already gained more than enough achievement to level up.
After all, she had personally killed a god.
So after getting Lily's permission, Loki helped her level up.
"If I knew this would happen, I never would've leveled up..." Lily had never imagined that leveling up would bring her this much trouble.
"If you really don't want to see Finn, just hide behind me when he shows up."
As Shiro said that, he looked at the supplies the Loki Familia members had just carried over, then took out the Gift Card and stored them inside.
"Shiro-sama, you said that yourself."
Somewhere Shiro could not see, Lily revealed a sly little smile.
Not far from them, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth were performing a small ritual.
Back when they had first joined the Familia, Loki had forced them to do this ritual.
At that time, one of them was a proud and stubborn princess. Another was a rough dwarf who somehow disliked Riveria, while the last was a young boy who spent every day sighing over how badly the two got along.
Now, just like in the past, the three placed their hands together and spoke their wishes.
"May I find a burning battle."
"May my people be restored."
"May I witness an unknown world."
After sharing their wishes, the three soon returned to the expressions expected of the Familia's leaders and walked toward the rest of the group.
"By the way, Finn, how is your other goal going?" Gareth suddenly asked.
Riveria immediately joined in as well.
"Our dreams are mostly on their way to being fulfilled. Finn, what about your wish to find a wife and have children?"
"That new girl who recently joined us seemed like a good choice."
Finn smiled lightly.
"Sadly, she already seems to like someone. She rejected me on the first day, so I gave up. If either of you knows any good Pallum girls, please introduce them to me."
"Tione would kill me, so I'll have to refuse."
"Same here."
The three joked like that as they arrived where the Familia members had gathered.
After finishing their packing, the Loki Familia's adventurers went to the northern entrance of Tower of Babel and waited there.
"Yo! It's been a while, everyone from the Loki Familia. Everything going well?"
The Loki Familia did not have to wait long before a girl's voice came from behind them.
Shiro turned around and saw someone dressed in Dungeon gear.
She wore loose crimson trousers from the Far East that reached down to her calves. A black katana hung at her waist, and her black hair was tied into a ponytail that fell to her waist.
Her crimson eyes stood out, though one of them was covered by an eyepatch, just like Hephaestus.
At this moment, she was waving at the Loki Familia with a childlike smile. Behind her were around twenty adventurers carrying bags of all sizes.
They were the support Finn had specially called over.
To prevent the same thing that happened during the last expedition, where their weapons were nearly worn out halfway through, Finn and Loki had gone to the Hephaestus Familia.
They asked Hephaestus Familia adventurers to join the expedition and help the Loki Familia maintain their weapons along the way.
In exchange, any materials found during the expedition that could be used to forge weapons would be handed over to them.
The one who had greeted them was the Level 5 captain of the Hephaestus Familia—"Cyclops," Tsubaki Collbrande.
The moment she saw Shiro, she showed great interest.
She walked over in a few large strides, grabbed his hand, and said, "You're that famous rookie from the Loki Familia, right?"
"Famous?" Shiro raised an eyebrow.
Since when had he become famous?
Tsubaki ignored his question and continued on her own.
"I have long heard of your achievements. I heard you have a sword made through magic. Please—no, I beg you, please let me see it!"
"Calm down, Tsubaki. If you want to see Shiro's weapon, you can do it later."
Under Tsubaki's disappointed "Come on, seriously?" gaze, Finn pulled her away from Shiro.
"Sword Princess."
While Ais was staring blankly in Shiro's direction, the sudden appearance of a chienthrope made her pause.
"Lulune-san... why are you here?"
Ais asked the person who had arrived.
"I'm here to see you all off, I guess. Your Familia has helped me many times, after all."
As she spoke, Lulune took a wrapped package from the pouch at her waist.
"I also brought this for you. It's the ration I use most often when exploring the Dungeon. Just eating one can keep you full for several days."
When she handed the food to Ais, Lulune secretly hid a crystal beneath the bag and passed it over as well.
"This is from that black-robed person."
She moved closer to Ais and whispered into her ear.
"He hopes you can wear this when you go to the 59th floor. I asked Asfi to check it, and it isn't anything strange. You can throw it away if you want, so I'll leave the judgment to you."
Ais silently looked at her.
Lulune said, "I'll be going first," then disappeared into the crowd.
"Eh? Amid-san?"
Lefiya's sudden voice drew Ais's attention.
The Loki Familia seemed to have especially good relationships with others.
Even Amid had come with precious potions to see them off.
Similar scenes were happening all around the Familia's expedition force.
People familiar with the Loki Familia came one after another to encourage them, and even Lily, who usually disliked adventurers, could not help smiling when she saw it.
"All members, the expedition begins now!"
Finn stood at the front of the group and shouted loudly.
"You are warriors no less than the heroes of old! You are adventurers! You will challenge the great unknown and return with wealth and fame!"
On the main road, in the corners of the plaza, and even from the windows of nearby buildings, many people leaned out to watch this scene.
Finn took a deep breath, then shouted.
"Expedition force! Move out!"
"Ooooooh!!!" ×N
The war cry of the Loki Familia rang through the sky.
Shiro glanced at the adventurers around him, all of them filled with rising spirit, and unconsciously gripped the sword he had summoned.
The Loki Familia had begun their expedition.
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