With Tsubaki's reminder, the craftsmen who'd fallen into despair at their anvils were pulled back one by one.
At least the repair window had been extended from a single night to a full extra day. With one more day, even gear battered to junk could be salvaged. It wasn't the same helpless abyss of "we'll never finish" as before.
Thanks to that extra day, the smiths didn't need to stay up through the night either. They could turn in early, rest properly, and hit tomorrow's full-day repair shift in their best condition.
"Everyone's starting to work so hard," Alise murmured. Through this expedition, she had felt the grit and drive of every adventurer in the Loki Familia. That collective effort was rubbing off on her too.
"Kaguya, let's get some training in, seriously!"
"Cool your head."
Hearing Alise blurt out without thinking, Kaguya let out a helpless sigh. When Alise's blood ran hot, someone had to rein her in—or she'd stir up a whole storm.
"Don't get swept along by the mood around you. Remember, we're on a Joint Expedition right now. This isn't like when you're in the Training Space or the Challenge Space where you can do whatever you want."
"And you're the captain of Astraea Familia now. You remember what we ran into in the Dungeon last time, right? You don't want a repeat of that, do you?"
"—!"
Alise's face shifted. The Dark Faction's ambush still cast a long shadow. They had been on expedition then too, and her decision had put the whole Familia at risk.
"Kaguya, last time wasn't all Alise's fault," Lyra said softly, stepping in when she saw Alise's expression.
"I didn't say it was," Kaguya replied. "I'm reminding her: we tasted death and walked into an ambush. If we hadn't been lucky, we would have stayed in the Dungeon forever. And it wasn't just luck—don't forget, Astraea-sama gave up her autonomy to save us."
Kaguya wasn't blaming Alise. That expedition hadn't been any one person's mistake; they had acted by the book, not by reckless whim. Every choice had been the right one—and they still fell into a trap. Which meant they had to be even more careful.
Lyra fell silent. She knew Kaguya was right. They were on expedition. They had to be vigilant.
"Also… you all heard what happened to Sawada outside, right?" Kaguya glanced at Alise and brought up their benefactor.
"Mm."
They had all heard about Tsunayoshi running into an Enhanced Species.
"His luck really was rotten," Kaguya said, her tone hard to read. "He went alone to look for a promotion opportunity and ran into a rarely seen Enhanced Species in the Dungeon."
"Are you saying someone set him up?" Alise asked, pulling herself out of the gloom, her face clouding again.
"Yeah. Enhanced Species are more aggressive than normal Deep-Floor monsters. Given how spread out the parties were, it shouldn't have fixated on Sawada alone."
Kaguya had heard the heated retellings of Tsunayoshi's fight all over the camp. Something about it didn't add up.
"The only way it plays out like that is if someone marked him."
"Dark Faction," Alise spat, her teeth almost grinding.
Anger surged in her chest—hot as the magic she'd awakened. The same faction had nearly wiped them out.
A red glint flashed in Kaguya's eyes as well. They'd been targeted once already; those scum had even unleashed the Dungeon's "cleaners" and nearly annihilated them. No one remembered that debt more clearly than Kaguya.
And precisely because she remembered so clearly, she knew how short they still were.
"Alise, I told you to calm down because we're on expedition. What we need now is to adjust our condition for tomorrow's push, not burn energy on extra training. Training is prep you do before the expedition."
"What we need now is to tune up and then achieve the reason we joined this expedition in the first place."
"Our… reason?" Alise blinked, then looked at Kaguya in surprise. "Isn't it to see deeper floors?"
"That's the expedition's objective. Our reason is to break past the awkward wall that is Level 4."
Kaguya put weight on our reason.
Alise stood stunned for a few seconds before the meaning sank in. She lowered her gaze to the ring on her finger—an unconscious habit—and realized: they weren't without a path forward.
Her head snapped up to meet Kaguya's eyes.
"It's not a hopeless call."
"If we seize the right moment, we really do have a chance to defeat Udaeus. But it won't be possible with just us."
"Mm."
Seeing Alise understand—and even say aloud what Kaguya had been thinking—Kaguya nodded. They'd both arrived at the same conclusion: on their own, it wouldn't be enough. They would need timing, allies, and a plan tailored for the floor boss.
(End of Chapter)
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