'Finn really is getting more sensitive about certain things lately.'
'Is it because things have been going so well between him and Tione recently?'
Loki thought with a small flicker of malice.
It was her way of punishing her own child for almost exposing her lie earlier—an unspoken, quiet sort of malicious payback.
'Still, at least I managed to bluff my way through.'
'But I'll need to tighten things up. Some things really shouldn't be known by too many people this early.'
Loki didn't mind the idea of their relationship with Bell being made public, but not now—not during a period as critical as this.
Bell was already the target of everyone's attention. If anything between him and them became public, even more gods would zero in on him. That was absolutely unacceptable to Loki.
And she wasn't the only one who felt this way. All of them did.
They absolutely could not increase the amount of divine attention Bell was already receiving.
So the relationship between Bell and them could not be revealed.
Although, truth be told, this wasn't much different from their previous stance. They'd never planned to reveal this anyway; this incident only strengthened that resolve.
'Mmm… Our relationship with Bell probably won't arouse suspicion. From now on I'll just have to restrain myself a bit around Finn, let him think I'm only paying attention to Bell because of Hestia.'
The reasoning annoyed Loki, but practicality took priority. Even if she disliked the excuse, she wasn't about to change it.
Loki took a moment to settle her mood—the feeling of nearly slipping up had to stay hidden from everyone.
Then she deliberately shifted the subject.
"Finn, nothing happening in the familia lately, right?"
At that question, recent events inside the familia flashed through Finn's mind.
He tried to think of something pleasant, but he couldn't suppress the way his lips drooped.
Drooped low.
Just recalling everything that had happened in the familia lately gave him a pounding headache.
"Quite a lot of trouble, actually."
Loki froze for a moment, then sat up straight on the sofa. She changed her posture and looked directly at Finn, confusion written across her face.
"Hm? Trouble? And quite a lot of it?"
"Finn, I'm talking about our familia. Has something happened recently?"
Faced with Loki's question, Finn forced himself to breathe and calm down before giving a slow explanation:
"In truth, the familia has been undergoing internal adjustments lately, mainly due to the Evilus expedition. Thanks to Bell's arrangements, seven or eight of our companions who were stuck at Lv.4 finally advanced to Lv.5."
Loki nodded lightly. She had overseen their level-up ceremonies herself, so she understood that part. But where was the trouble?
"The problem is that after stepping into Lv.5, they've become a little… excited."
Finn struggled to choose the right word to describe their current condition. Perhaps "excited" really was the best choice.
"Oh, that's normal. They'd been stuck at Lv.4 for a long time. And if I recall correctly, their talents didn't really allow them to break through on their own, so of course they'd be thrilled. It's understandable."
For most ordinary people, Lv.4 was the limit.
While Lv.4 adventurers counted as high-level in many familia, that "high level" was only the upper limit of normal people in the eyes of true first-class adventurers.
Being able to use rare items and opportunities to break through that barrier was absolutely something worth celebrating. Loki could understand why those kids were so "excited"—simply put, they were elated they finally crossed that line.
Loki understood those kids' feelings well enough. But when she looked at Finn's utterly pained expression, she couldn't help becoming curious—just what kind of "excitement" could drive Finn to that level of headache?
"So, what exactly did they do?"
"...They accepted a bunch of Deep Floor–related missions. Formed their own little team and headed straight for the Deep Floors."
"Pfft!"
Loki nearly sprayed air out of her nose.
Finn's mouth twitched. He knew Loki would absolutely lose it when she heard this. In truth, he himself had been scared senseless by their stunt.
"Those idiots actually went to the Deep Floors with just seven or eight people? Do they not understand what kind of place that is? If they run into a Deep Floor 'Monster Feast,' how exactly are they planning to come back alive?"
This time, Loki couldn't stay lounging on the sofa. She felt like those fools were deliberately trying to destroy her sanity.
But after panicking for a moment, she suddenly froze and slowly turned to look at Finn, still seated at his desk.
"So, how did you deal with it?"
"I sent Bete to hurry over and drag those idiots back."
"—Haaah… good."
Loki finally let out a breath of relief. The tsundere wolf was still dependable. His mouth was foul, sure, but he was a good wolf underneath it all.
"Letting Bete go is for the best. Those idiots will get chewed out, but being scolded by one of our own is much better than getting themselves killed because their brains turned to mush."
These last couple of days she'd been focused entirely on Bell, barely paying attention to what was happening inside the familia.
And somehow, in just a few days, those idiots had still managed to create this much trouble.
Loki narrowed her eyes at Finn.
"Finn, I remember leaving all these internal affairs to you. And you said you could handle it, right? This is what you call handling it?"
Finn knew the blame rested squarely on him, so he didn't argue.
"It was indeed a failure on my part—I overlooked how they'd react after breaking through a level."
Since he admitted fault, Loki didn't press further. But she would be intervening in the next steps.
"Once Bete brings those idiots back, restrict their activities."
"What a bunch of fools. They just broke through a level, haven't even passed their adaptation period, and already want to wander the Deep Floors? Do they really think Deep Floor monsters are vegetables?"
Loki could understand their excitement at advancing, she could understand their enthusiasm—but that didn't mean she could accept their suicidal impulses.
After venting her irritation, Loki felt most of her frustration bleed away. But this time, instead of immediately getting up to leave, she grew more cautious.
"The rest haven't caused trouble too, right?"
Finn's expression stiffened instantly. But there was no hiding this forever, so he lowered his voice.
"There's also... Ais."
"…"
At the mention of "Ais," Loki—who had just stood up—slowly sat back down again.