"This involves Ais too!?"
Loki's voice rose uncontrollably, and even fragments of her divine might spilled out.
Directly facing that divine might, Finn went completely rigid. Before such overwhelming pressure, even a Level 7 first-tier adventurer couldn't move a muscle.
Realizing she had reacted too strongly, Loki quickly pulled back her divine might. Only then did Finn regain control of his body.
'Divine might… as expected, no god is easily killed.'
Any adventurer facing divine might would understand what true "helpless despair" meant.
That crushing force, like a mountain collapsing onto one's body—no adventurer could withstand it.
It lasted only a moment, yet to Finn it felt like years. Even now that Loki had withdrawn her divine might, some lingering effects remained in his body.
'At that time, the god Thanatos must have used divine might on Bell as well.'
That was all Finn could think of.
And then he remembered how Bell had stood unaffected under that same power, killing Thanatos in mere moments. It must be because of this that Bell could slay a god at all—otherwise he wouldn't even have had the qualification to attempt it.
Finn took a deep breath, trying to restore movement to his limbs, but the lingering pressure still hadn't fully faded. His body refused to respond.
"Ahem!"
Realizing just how badly she'd affected Finn, Loki coughed with clear embarrassment.
"An accident, an accident. No—this is because you suddenly mentioned something involving Ais-tan. Of course I lost control."
After giving the bare minimum of explanation, Loki promptly shoved the responsibility onto Finn.
And to be fair, the blame did fall on him. Loki had already handed over management of the familia to him, so Finn was responsible for the familia's affairs. Being scapegoated, he could only accept it helplessly—there was nothing he could argue.
"This is indeed my mistake."
Only after the pressure gradually faded from his body did Finn speak again, though his expression still looked somewhat strained.
"Even a just-finished expedition requires a great deal of follow-up work—especially arranging matters for those who've gained Excelia for a level-up."
In truth, this operation against Evilus had been overwhelmingly beneficial for Loki Familia. Nearly everyone who participated gained something from it.
The Level 6 members gained massive combat experience. The sheer number of 'Spirit Elite Soldiers' had caused them major trouble, but also significantly boosted their stats.
A few Level 5 members even earned the qualification to advance to Level 6.
And that select few included Raul.
The guy had personally taken down seven or eight 'Spirit Elite Soldiers' during the campaign, and even teamed up with some Lv.4s to kill a rare Lv.6 'Spirit Elite Soldier.' That achievement alone secured Raul's step toward Lv.6.
The one who pushed himself the hardest during the entire operation had undoubtedly been Raul—the same Raul who was usually far from serious. But because he fought so recklessly, he ended up being the one who gained the most.
The facts proved one thing clearly: as long as an adventurer is willing to risk everything—truly fight with their life on the line—the rewards that follow will never be lacking.
Aside from Raul, many other Lv.4 adventurers had also earned the qualifications to rise to Lv.5.
Take Lefiya, for example. She had already broken through to Lv.4 during the previous expedition. In this campaign, she displayed astonishing individual strength, single-handedly facing multiple Lv.5 Spirit Elite Soldiers—and killing every one of them.
Plenty of others gained advancement experience as well.
Daphne and Cassandra both earned their tickets to Lv.4. Liliruca and Sanjouno Haruhime also secured their qualifications for Lv.3.
One could say that this time, Loki Familia practically underwent a full-scale level-up.
But because so many members leveled up at once, the amount of follow-up work Finn needed to handle also increased dramatically. And the most important issue among them was Raul.
Raul's temperament wasn't the most stable, and he had personal issues to work through. Compared to others, he tended to be a bit insecure. Perhaps because he knew full well that his strength was still lacking—and that he didn't even possess talent for Magic. That sense of inadequacy had long fed into his lack of confidence.
During the campaign, however, when Raul confronted the Spirit Elite Soldiers, he fought with confidence and even dictated the entire battle's rhythm. His self-assurance had clearly returned. Which meant Finn now had to worry about something else: pride and arrogance.
And this was indeed another of Raul's long-standing problems.
In the past, because his strength was low, this issue never became severe.
But recently, as his efficiency in gaining Excelia soared, his mindset was more prone to shift. Especially for someone like Raul, who had been insecure for so long—if that insecurity flipped into arrogance and overconfidence because of rapid progress, it would be dangerous.
Which was why Finn had been keeping a close eye on Raul these days.
Listening to Finn's explanation, Loki gradually began to calm down.
"Well~ That kid Raul really is prone to that kind of issue."
Arrogance was something that could easily sprout, so Finn's worries were far from unnecessary.
"Riveria is looking after Lefiya."
"Gareth is keeping watch over the men advancing from Lv.2 to Lv.3."
"And I'm handling Raul."
Finn couldn't help letting out a sigh at that. The higher ranks of the familia all had their hands full with their respective responsibilities, leaving everyone busy with internal matters. Which, in turn, gave the overly excited bunch plenty of opportunity to act out.
"We actually considered Ais's situation earlier. But since she'd been behaving for a while, we thought we could put it aside first. Who would've thought—even Ais got provoked this time."
Loki didn't even know how to describe what she was feeling anymore—it was just complicated.
Ais had only just calmed down recently, yet she'd been stirred up again.
But it wasn't surprising. With so many achieving great feats, with even Raul earning the right to approach Lv.6, it was inevitable that Ais would be affected.
Loki glanced at Finn, considered Riveria and Gareth for a moment, then shook her head.
"This time, there's no way you can keep Ais under control. Looks like it's time to make that kid take action."
...
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