After nearly a month of rest, the excitement within Loki Familia from all the level-ups finally began to settle down.
Indeed, after that campaign against Evilus, many members of Loki Familia had gained enough Excelia to advance in level, injecting new strength and vitality into the familia.
But precisely because so many had leveled up, the atmosphere inside Loki Familia grew increasingly heated.
The impact of so many people leveling was simply too great.
Many of those who advanced had been stuck at their previous level for half a year, or even several years.
This wave of promotions brought an entirely new burst of energy to Loki Familia.
Even more remarkable was that several members had now stepped into the realm of Lv.5—true first-tier adventurers who could be called "powerhouses" in any familia in Orario.
This shift ignited an extraordinary vigor within the group.
Motivation surged, their fighting spirit soared, and the desire to grow only intensified. To the point that, in all of Orario, they could practically be called "outliers."
Why?
Because Bell's statements had cast an extremely negative shadow over the adventurers at the bottom of Orario.
Especially after Bell brought up the topic of a "world reboot." For the entire adventurer community, it was the greatest mockery imaginable. And for those who still clung to the hope of rising higher, it felt like being struck square in the head.
"If the world resets, won't all my effort be wasted?"
Almost every lower-tier adventurer found themselves thinking this.
Once that idea took root, the feeling of "sloth" crept into their hearts.
"If the world is going to reset sooner or later, why should I work so hard now?"
Right now, the entire lower layer of Orario's adventurers was drowning in pessimism about the world's future.
And if this feeling continued to spread, it might affect even more of them.
Of course, this kind of thinking only occurred among the lowest-tier adventurers.
Not a single one who had broken the Lv.2 shackles—let alone anyone at Lv.3—would ever think like this.
Their mindset was far simpler: "I don't know when the world will reset, but if I want a good life now, I have to work for it."
They didn't bother thinking about a "world reset." Why should ordinary adventurers worry about that? Clearly, they didn't need to.
They didn't need to ponder the future. Only the present mattered.
Right now, the only ones in Orario seriously contemplating the "world reset" were the gods.
After all, gods—who possessed infinite time—couldn't help but confront questions about "the future."
Now that they knew the world reset was real, and even that beings capable of creating gods existed, how could they not feel the urge to investigate?
But the topic of a "world reset" wasn't brought up by any known god, nor by any known child of the Genkai. It came from a child completely unknown to all.
And so all the gods in Orario wanted to find the child who first raised the topic.
Only the one who asked the question would know where to look for evidence.
And naturally, only that child could attract the favor of the "World."
Perhaps the child who discovered everything was the key to changing the fate of the "world reset."
With this understanding, the gods were sparing no effort in searching for clues throughout Orario.
Loki sat in Finn's office, looking over the reports with a helpless expression.
"Those guys really won't give up."
Even though Loki knew they wouldn't let things go so easily, it had already been a full month. This was probably the most persistent they'd ever been.
Finn, however, didn't find it strange at all.
"Loki, you should think about just how enormous Bell's impact is. He proposed the execution of two gods, brought up the topic of a world restart, and even dragged in an existence of higher standing. Of course the gods won't give up."
Loki let out a helpless sigh, tossed the stack of reports aside, and flopped horizontally onto the sofa.
"Ugh... Those idiots really are a pain. Don't they realize how useless they are? With their level, what good would it do even if they found him? Bell has to grow by himself. Their enthusiasm is nothing but dead weight."
All of that was true. But just because they knew it didn't mean the gods would stop.
Obviously not.
Finn watched Loki's exasperated expression, wondering why Loki was suddenly so concerned about Bell. In the past, Loki would bad-mouth Bell and even joked about teaching him a lesson. So why was he acting like this now?
So Finn tested the waters:
"Loki, why are you suddenly so invested in Bell?"
"Hah?"
Loki sat straight up on the sofa, staring at Finn with dead-fish eyes that practically said, "Are you stupid?"
"Finn, who do you think benefits the most right now from that kid staying hidden?"
"Us."
Finn answered instantly.
And that was exactly why Loki's entire face now radiated a mixture of annoyance and disbelief.
"So you do know we're the biggest beneficiaries. Then do you think we'd still be the biggest beneficiaries if that kid got exposed right now?"
"...Probably not."
Finn thought about the current frenzy among the gods in Orario. They definitely wouldn't remain the biggest beneficiaries. Once certain secrets came to light, many old advantages would vanish—terrible news for the familia.
But even if their familia stood to lose, was that enough to justify Loki caring this much about Bell?
Before Finn could sort out his thoughts, Loki continued:
"If that kid gets exposed, that shorty's gonna be in trouble too. And I absolutely don't want that shorty running over here to dump her problems on me."
Hestia!?
Finn suddenly understood—the issue wasn't Bell at all. It was Hestia.
He was well aware of the complicated relationship between Loki and Hestia.
If asked which god Loki got along with best in all of Orario, surprisingly, the answer would undoubtedly be Hestia—the one god Loki argued with the most.
Even though the two constantly bickered whenever they appeared together, and Loki bullied Hestia more often than not, back when Hestia needed help, Loki—after tossing out a few sarcastic jabs—still gave her support.
Their relationship wasn't nearly as bad as it looked.
If Loki was doing this for Hestia, then it made perfect sense why she cared about Bell's situation.
But Finn, having finally understood, failed to notice the faint trace of lingering fear on Loki's face as she lay back down.