"Only one's own strength is the true way out of any predicament."
When they heard Ron say this—the blond youth, whose expression had been somewhat gloomy, couldn't hide the trace of surprise deep in his eyes as he exchanged a glance with Vice-Captain Riveria.
Without truly exploring it themselves, they had no way of imagining just how much trouble the Dungeon's "abnormal situation" had brought Ron. All they could do was rely on today's encounter—and that brief glimpse of the Lv.4 ancient dragon Lansseax—to form a rough impression.
Even though there was clearly a faster way to proceed with the exploration right in front of him, Ron still chose—to only have Lefiya assist in the expedition.
His reasoning wasn't hard to guess.
He simply wanted to use the high-pressure environment of the Dungeon to more thoroughly temper his ability values!
"That's really…"
Finn didn't know how to evaluate it.
But looking straight into the calm eyes of the boy before him, perhaps it was precisely this kind of resolve—walking toward death to be reborn—that allowed his strength to grow so quickly!
Maybe… this was the kind of determination a "hero seed" needed?
At the very least, if Finn were in Ron's position, he would absolutely choose the safer option. The overall risk was simply far too high!
One misstep, and Lefiya—the magic caster they had nurtured for so long as Riveria's successor—might very well be lost in the Dungeon.
Still, he didn't reject the proposal.
More accurately, he had no right to reject it. If he missed this opportunity, there would be no chance of cooperating with Ron again in the future.
Besides—
Finn strongly suspected that even if he refused, Ron—the guy who could stab himself without hesitation when facing an ancient dragon floor boss he could hardly defeat, someone who would gamble his life against life—wouldn't change his mind!
"I… don't have any objections."
"I think Lefiya won't refuse this expedition either. As one of the core members we've trained, her safety is something you should understand…"
"You know exactly what I mean."
At this point, the blond youth offered a compromise: "How about letting Tiona and Tione accompany you on the expedition?"
"They're both Lv.5 adventurers."
"As long as you're not facing a life-or-death crisis, they won't interfere with your exploration. You can treat them as a kind of safety guarantee."
And there was an unexpected bonus!
The adventurers Finn mentioned were basically the same ones who had fought during the subjugation of the ancient dragon Lansseax—their strength was beyond question.
As a final safeguard, they could also go all out in battle without hesitation when facing those mutated special monsters.
Ron didn't agree immediately.
Instead, he turned his gaze toward the distance, where a dark-skinned, tomboyish Tiona—leaning against the wall and completely giving up on thinking—stood.
When their eyes met, he could even see the anticipation in the girl's deep brown eyes.
"…"
"No problem."
Decisive, as always!
Without any bargaining, he allowed the Hiryute sisters to join the expedition team, which would also give them a more direct understanding of the Dungeon's abnormal developments.
And then—
Finn heard his follow-up condition: "However, for this expedition, I hope the Loki Familia can… provide some support in terms of supplies. Captain Finn, you know how it is."
"The Hestia Familia hasn't been established for long."
"…"
"Our conditions are really quite poor. We can probably only guarantee basic food, clothing, and shelter. As for everything else… it's honestly hard to provide."
"…"
The blond youth decided to take back his earlier evaluation.
While loosening the restrictions on expedition members, this guy didn't forget to make demands. As for the claim that the Hestia Familia had poor conditions—
Finn couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.
After inheriting all of Apollo Familia's assets and liquid funds, and with so few members—saying something like that was absurd!
More importantly, after that gambling event hosted by the goddess Hephaestus, which bankrupted countless gods—if Ron hadn't been involved, Finn absolutely didn't believe it.
He had already made concessions.
If he maintained a hard stance now, it might cause their first cooperation to fall apart. Finn felt like he had swallowed a fly—utterly disgusted.
"…Fine!"
"If you need anything, just say it!"
"I won't stand on ceremony. And also—about the Great Sacred Tree branch, I hope Lady Riveria can get it done as soon as possible."
A full harvest.
At least, that was how Ron saw it.
Not only had he secured powerful fire support like Lefiya for the upcoming Familia expedition, but also—the Hiryute sisters, two Lv.5 adventurers, as safety guarantees, and part of the expedition costs would be shared by the Loki Familia.
A win-win!
Which, of course, meant he kept winning!
"Then I won't disturb you any further, Captain Finn. There's still a lot I need to coordinate carefully for this Dungeon expedition."
"…"
Watching the black-haired boy's departing figure, Finn collapsed onto the sofa, feeling utterly drained. This was, in a real sense, his first proper interaction with Ron.
Troublesome!
But the reason was clear—this guy understood the uniqueness of his own talent. After all, supply and demand were plainly laid out.
Even without the Loki Familia, Ron could still develop in the Dungeon.
But without Ron… if they wanted to pursue a broader future, it would be extremely difficult for them!
"Forget it…"
"At least he's relatively easy to communicate with. He didn't ask for outrageous terms. And negotiations are always like this—you make a demand…"
"He adjusts the conditions…"
As someone directly involved,
Riveria smiled lightly. After truly interacting with him, Ron had actually left a very good impression on her.
She didn't feel any arrogance from him.
An extremely steady personality, clear-minded, and calm in judgment—if he were someone who could be easily fooled into cooperation, then with Ron's talent… perhaps, it would be the Loki Familia who would have a headache in future Dungeon explorations!
After all, just the fact that he could trigger the Dungeon's "abnormal situation"—the later this was exposed to Orario, the more of an advantage he could seize.
He had come to terms with it.
Finn naturally had his pride—after all, he carried the burden of restoring the glory of the Pallum race, and that responsibility forced him to judge things calmly.
As he carefully reflected, the most direct impression was the sense of contradiction surrounding Ron.
In Dungeon exploration, he was willing to take extremely high risks.
But in other aspects… he possessed a level of caution that people his age absolutely didn't have!
"This guy…"
"Can he really become a hero?"
The blond youth couldn't help but murmur.
The failure of the Hera and Zeus Familias had already proven that that path could never reach the end.
A seed with the potential of a "hero"… how exactly one becomes a hero—no one knew the answer.
Meanwhile, the green-haired elf of royal lineage, her gaze deep, gently shook her head and sighed: "Perhaps the path he's chosen…was never about becoming a hero in the first place."
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