Finn looked young, but his eyes carried a quiet wisdom.
"Bell Cranel, seeing you so full of energy puts my mind at ease."
Riveria understood what he meant.
"And the gray wolf?"
"He ran toward the Dungeon. I had Tione and Lefiya follow him," Finn said with a wry smile.
"You really are ruthless."
Bete was still furious, and tackling the Dungeon with him wouldn't bother Tione at all. As the older twin, the Amazon with the title [Jormungand] would be thrilled to charge straight into a swarm of monsters.
Lefiya, however, was different. She'd most likely clutch her staff and tremble behind them the entire way. Riveria felt pity for her fellow elf.
"No choice. It's an emergency. I already told them to bring him back as soon as they can." Finn lifted his hands helplessly.
With monsters appearing inside the city, this wasn't the time for wandering around. Finn could have forced Bete to stay, but judging from Vanargand's vicious attitude, letting him cool his head in the Dungeon was better than keeping him here getting in the way.
"Haha, young people really do have fiery tempers."
The dwarf Gareth walked in, laughing.
"Where's Loki?" Riveria was surprised that the Familia Goddess was missing during such an important meeting.
"She got worked up over something. Kept muttering that she should be the one pressed skin-to-skin with Ais, then stormed into her room."
Finn repeated the Main Goddess's incomprehensible complaint, clearly exasperated.
"..."
Under everyone's gaze, Ais stayed silent for a moment before murmuring, "There wasn't… any skin-to-skin…"
She'd only followed Loki's orders to secretly escort the boy. How had she ended up being the one who upset the Familia Goddess? Ais couldn't make sense of it.
Finn gave a small smile.
"Loki put the matter in my hands. Since everyone's here, let's begin."
…
The jester's banner rippled in the wind.
Inside the highest central tower, Loki wore a faint smile matching the emblem on the flag. Being "heartbroken" was just an excuse.
She wanted to see for herself what kind of person this white-haired boy—Freya's latest fascination—really was. Gods could see through lies. Mortals all knew that.
If Loki were present, the boy would be forced to speak nothing but the truth. How dull that would be. Finn and Riveria had met countless people. They couldn't match a god's lie-detecting ability, but they came close enough.
So Loki had laid a trap for the boy. What would a rabbit do after stepping into a tiger's den?
Of course, she had promised to guarantee the boy's safety, and she had no intention of getting in Freya's way. She wouldn't devour him. She just wanted to see his true measure.
Without a god watching him, would he bluff his way through to look good? Would Finn steer him into becoming a puppet used to resolve the incident? Or would he defy everyone's expectations…
Whatever happened, Loki knew it would be a show worth watching.
She took a sip of wine. Sweet and bitter blended together, just like the goddess who called herself a jester.
...
As Finn and the others took their seats, the atmosphere around the round table grew noticeably tense.
"Cranel-san," Finn spoke first, "could you tell us if you've crossed anyone recently?"
Bell felt the other man's piercing gaze but remained silent.
Information is a weapon.
If he spilled everything, he would lose his value, becoming at the mercy of the Braver.
"Rather than that, shouldn't you first tell me the results of the investigation into the underground waterways?"
"...."
The moment he spoke, Finn sensed something unusual about the youth. This was not the mindset of a novice Adventurer. The youth understood precisely what trump cards he held in this negotiation.
Had he been too hasty...?
Finn smiled faintly, shifting his approach.
"As you surely know, those Viola are of a high rank. Our entire familia unanimously agreed that withholding the sewer information from you was in your best interest."
Riveria frowned at the phrase "unanimously agreed." It was a standard negotiation tactic—isolating the opponent from the group. Most people lacked independent thinking; once reduced to a minority or even alone, pressure would force them to compromise.
Tiona also curled her lips. What did "unanimously agreed" even mean? The captain hadn't consulted anyone about this.
Facing the collective gaze, Bell merely smiled faintly.
"Does Finn-san truly believe that revealing the sewer information would make me surge with bloodlust, charging off to avenge myself on monsters?"
"Of course not. We were merely concerned that knowing too much might draw the attention of unscrupulous elements," Finn explained.
It was pure sophistry.
The boy was already entangled in this affair. From the very beginning, he had been targeted.
Bell understood this perfectly well.
Tired of this pointless probing, he drew a deep breath and spoke coldly:
"The Loki Familia aren't unwilling to speak—they simply can't, right?"
Finn hadn't anticipated such courage from the youth. To voice such a provocative conjecture in the face of a top-tier adventurer...
"...."
In the tense, explosive silence, Bell added, "In other words, the intelligence you gathered from the sewers was practically zero."
Completely figured out.
Finn felt a pang of regret. He'd underestimated the other party simply because he was a rookie adventurer. He shouldn't have revealed their intentions from the start. One misstep, and the youth had seized upon the flaw.
Of course, Loki Familia hadn't obtained any breakthrough intelligence. Otherwise, all the core members wouldn't be sitting here discussing the matter with the youth.
"You really get me," Finn said with a bitter smile. "We combed the entire sewer system. We did defeat some monsters and found strange colored Magic Stones, but we simply couldn't trace their origin."
Unconsciously, the Braver chose compromise.
He regarded the youth as an equal collaborator in the entire affair, not merely a pawn providing intelligence.
"If that's the case, the guild hosting the Monsterphilia and handling transportation, along with the Ganesha Familia, are highly suspicious," Riveria proposed.
"Could it be like seeds—taken out of the dungeon to take root and sprout?" Bell tried to broaden their perspective.
"The dungeon has dedicated food storage for monsters to absorb and grow. That theory is highly unlikely," Finn replied truthfully.
"Then what about the possibility of other entrances to the dungeon besides the Tower of Babel?" Bell pressed.
"..."
Having lived in Orario for so many years, Finn and Riveria had long held a fixed notion.
The dungeon had only one entrance.
The thinking of new adventurers was indeed much broader.
"Though the possibility is minuscule, I'll keep this theory in mind," Finn noted silently.
"The guild remains the prime suspect, after all..." Gareth stroked his beard.
All this time, the guild had maintained order, managed the dungeon, and guided adventurers. It was hard to imagine them engaging in something so dark. Uncertainty and conflict were reflected on everyone's faces.
Bell sensed the moment was right and spoke slowly:
"I can share my intelligence with the Loki Familia, but I want you to grant me one request."
If Bete had been here, he would have kicked the table apart, enraged that the boy dared negotiate. Finn, relieved the Werewolf wasn't present, still had no intention of letting the youth have things his way.
"Are you threatening us? Do you truly believe your intelligence holds that much value?"
The Braver's pressure washed over the room, the atmosphere turning rigid at once.
"Wait—what's going on?" Tiona blinked, completely lost.
"Finn, hearing him out won't hurt," Riveria stepped in for the youth. "Bell Cranel, I hope you understand: as members of different familias, we have no obligation to help you."
Out loud, she addressed the boy; in reality, the message was for the others. Riveria knew he wasn't the type to make a reckless demand.
Ais blinked. Loki had told her to protect Bell. If a fight broke out, the new adventurer would definitely get hurt. She quietly tightened her grip on her slender sword, slipping into a ready stance.
"Hahaha! You've got guts, kid, challenging us like that," Gareth laughed, stroking his chin as if the whole matter were unrelated to him.
Around the round table sat a gathering of top-class adventurers, and every gaze was fixed squarely on the youth.
Under their crushing pressure, Bell spoke in a calm, steady voice:
"This request won't trouble the Loki Familia, because what I want—"
"Is the factual confirmation of Bell Cranel's death."
...
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