The clamor continued for quite a while before the atmosphere inside Twilight Manor gradually smoothed into a peaceful calm.
The members who had stayed behind at the headquarters began taking over the luggage brought back by the expedition force, moving it elsewhere, while the individuals from the expedition force headed toward the surrounding towers one by one to wash up and rest.
"Everyone go get some proper rest first. We'll talk about the rest later."
Finn gave these instructions himself, even catching Loki, who had been single-mindedly trying to take advantage of the female members.
"Stop messing around, Loki. Everyone is very tired this time. If you keep causing trouble, they won't be able to rest."
Under Finn's slightly helpless admonition, the eccentric deity stopped reluctantly.
"Fine, fine. Go get some proper rest, all of you. You too, Finn, get your energy back first. You can just tell me about the expedition report later."
With that, Loki slightly opened her always-squinted eyes, glanced at the travel-worn Leon and at Ais with her shattered equipment, and smiled with deep meaning.
"Looking at you two, this trip must have indeed been a nightmare. Think about nothing for now, just go back and have a long sleep."
Hearing this, everyone nodded one after another, parting ways in the courtyard to return to their respective quarters.
"Get some proper rest, Ais," Leon told her, since the girl was still aching all over.
"You too."
Ais indicated that they were both in the same boat.
She was aching all over from overusing magic, and Leon's mental energy was on the verge of being overdrawn due to constantly using his magic along the way. The exhaustion in his eyes could no longer be concealed, and he was holding up entirely on willpower.
A certain deity had seen right through this, which prompted her words from earlier.
Understanding this, Leon and Ais exchanged bitter smiles, then without delaying any longer, they greeted the people around them and headed toward their respective quarters.
"Want to go wash up together, Leon?"
On the way, Raul called out to Leon, inviting him to the bathhouse.
In Twilight Manor, whether it was the tower for males or the tower for females, there were only public baths and no private bathrooms. The members basically went to wash whenever they wanted, except at times like returning from an expedition, when they needed to go in batches. Although there was no explicit rule, everyone still followed the unwritten rule that the higher a person's status in the Familia, the more priority they had.
Ordinarily, with Leon's rank, he definitely wouldn't be in the first batch to enter the bathhouse. After all, he was only a Lv. 3, and there were plenty of people with higher ranks ahead of him. In the expedition force, a Lv. 3 was merely a bottom-tier member, so it wouldn't be surprising if he were in the very last batch to enter the baths.
Yet when Raul invited him, not a single person around them objected; instead, everyone had a look that took it completely for granted.
Who didn't know by now that Leon was absolutely no ordinary Lv. 3?
He could defeat a Floor Boss single-handedly, making him the only existence in Orario at the current stage capable of achieving such a feat. On that point alone, his strength was greater than most Lv. 4s. Coupled with his performance along the way during this expedition, everyone had already come to treat him as a core member of the Familia, on par with the first-class adventurers.
His magical firepower, which could rival a Lv. 5, and his outstanding command over magic control had outshone every single mage in the entire expedition force except for Riveria, including Lefiya, who was hailed as Riveria's successor. Not to mention, he had teamed up with Ais to subjugate that female-type monster that had proven troublesome for the entire expedition force.
The scene of the young man and the young girl walking slowly out together from the sea of fire remained branded in many people's hearts, impossible to forget for a long time.
Therefore, despite it being his first expedition, Leon's status within the Familia had already quietly climbed under the subtle shift of things to a height equal to that of the Familia executives, leaving even Raul, one of the leaders of the second tier, faintly eclipsed.
Under these circumstances, naturally no one objected to Raul's action of inviting Leon to go along. Even Bete, who happened to pass by, merely cast a glance, ignored everything, and walked away on his own.
"You guys go ahead," Leon did not accept directly, shaking his head. "I'll go in a bit."
Leon had never quite grown accustomed to the practice of a large group of grown men entering a public bath together. Before coming to this world, he was a standard southerner from a place where finding out that northerners would enter a public bath together was a great shock, let alone experiencing it firsthand now.
Over the past year or so, he had always gone to bathe in the dead of night when no one was around. Since receiving his Grace and becoming an adventurer, he spent most of his time showering inside Babel, rinsing clean before returning, and had never bathed with others.
Thus, even though he was covered in travel dust right now and felt sticky and damp all over, Leon still intended to wait until everyone else had finished before heading to the bathhouse.
"Alright, we're off then."
Raul did not force the issue, walking away arm-in-arm with the people beside him.
Leon walked all the way back to his room, closed the door, and locked all the noise outside. The quiet air finally enveloped him completely only at this moment.
"I'm back..."
Looking at the room that had not changed at all since his departure, Leon murmured softly under his breath before walking to the full-length mirror. He unequipped the Dragon Fang Sword, the Jade Staff, and the pouch containing elixirs from his body, placing them on the table nearby.
Leon also took off the Goliath Robe he was wearing. This robe truly lived up to its reputation as first-class special equipment; despite undergoing so many battles and enduring the frantic bombardment of the female-type monster's pollen bombs, it still did not show even a single tear. It was entirely intact, though it was covered in far too much dust, bloodstains, and sweat. It was incredibly dirty and would need a thorough cleaning, as well as a trip for maintenance and upkeep.
Weapons had durability, and defensive gear naturally did too. If it wasn't properly maintained, repaired, and cared for, the resistance of this robe would definitely drop significantly, and it might just break on its own one day. So when he had time later, he would have to take the robe for a proper maintenance session.
There was also the Jade Staff. Having used this staff constantly throughout the expedition, the jewel upon it was on the verge of developing cracks. It needed to be taken back to the shop where it was purchased for repairs, or have a new jewel fitted before it could be used again.
On the other hand, because the Dragon Fang Sword was rarely used during this expedition, its durability had not dropped by much. It remained extremely sharp and did not need repairs, only a bit of basic maintenance.
"A lot of elixirs were used up too, especially mind elixirs. Those things are practically a necessity for me, I need to restock in a timely manner."
Given the unique nature of his magic, if he couldn't ensure an ample supply of mental energy at all times, he wouldn't be able to unleash its full might. Thus, supplies like mind elixirs had to be kept on hand constantly; the higher the quality and the better the recovery effect, the better.
With various plans surfacing in his mind, Leon went to the bathhouse alone to rinse off. After washing his body clean, he collapsed directly onto his bed and drifted off to sleep.
Night quietly fell.
After an afternoon of rest, the members of the expedition force had finally recovered some of their energy, emerging from their rooms one after another and making the entire Twilight Manor lively once more.
"Leon! Let's go eat together!"
Raul knocked on the door to Leon's room, calling him out. Dinner was already prepared, and everyone was heading to the grand dining hall to begin their meal.
Awakened by the call, Leon hesitated for a moment but did not choose to refuse.
"Let's go then."
Before, it was because Bete found him an eyesore and quite a few people in the Familia harbored strange thoughts about him that Leon rarely went over to the grand dining hall to eat with everyone. But now, he had already gone on an expedition with the majority of the Familia. They had not only fought side by side, but had even shared a tent with others. The people in the Familia had already changed their view of him and would no longer look at him with strange eyes that made him feel uncomfortable.
Since that was the case, eating with everyone wasn't an unpleasant thing.
Thus, Leon arrived at the grand dining hall with Raul.
The space here wasn't particularly wide, containing only several long rectangular dining tables. Yet the main deity Loki heavily promoted the policy that "meals must be eaten together," so for both breakfast and dinner, collective dining wouldn't begin until all members outside of those on patrol had arrived. This caused the already narrow dining hall to always be packed to the brim, making even moving between chairs require some effort.
However, since they had just returned from an expedition, no one had the energy to be rowdy. Furthermore, Loki had likely instructed beforehand for this meal to be sumptuous to properly reward the returning expedition members, so everyone was feasting away, eating with immense delight.
Some were recounting the deeds of this expedition to those who had stayed behind, while others were chatting excitedly with relaxed expressions; overall, it was a picture of perfect harmony.
"Brats! Eat to your heart's content!"
Loki stood straight up at the head table, holding a large cup of alcohol with one foot planted on the table, shouting loudly, drawing a burst of cheers from the surrounding members.
Finn, Riveria, and Gareth sat right beside Loki, ignoring the overly excited deity and chatting among themselves. Not far off was Bete, eating entirely alone; clearly, this aloof werewolf youth had no desire to join in such revelry.
As for Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya's group, they were seated at another long table.
"Leon! Over here!"
The moment Tiona saw Leon walk through the door, her eyes lit up instantly and she waved to call him over. Ais also looked toward Leon as he entered; there was an empty seat right beside her, which was clearly reserved specially for him.
Seeing this scene, the people around them silently withdrew their gazes.
"Coming."
Leon naturally would not refuse, giving a response before looking at Raul.
"I'm heading over there!"
Raul quickly spoke up first, running away as if fleeing toward the long table where the core members of the second tier—such as the cat-girl Anakitty, the elf beauty Alicia, and Line—were seated. That was where he belonged; his heart wasn't large enough to dare run over and sit with the Familia executives like Leon did. Leon certainly had the qualifications now, but he was far from it. At least, that was what he believed himself.
Seeing this kid act so cowardly, Leon found it somewhat amusing but said nothing, weaving through the crowd to arrive at the long table where Ais and the others were.
"How did everyone rest?"
After sitting down beside Ais, Leon picked up his fork while asking everyone a question.
"Perfectly resurrected!"
Tiona was still chewing on food, shouting while accidentally spraying a few food crumbs, making the nearby Tione look thoroughly disgusted.
"Don't speak so loudly when you're eating! So dirty!" Tione complained with extreme dissatisfaction.
"Hehehe... sitting and eating together with Miss Ais..."
Lefiya ignored Leon entirely, looking as though she were floating in pink bubbles with a face full of bliss. She was the one sitting on the other side of Ais, which caused this lily-elf to maintain this exact state since the meal began.
"I'm fine now too."
Seeing Leon staring at her, Ais replied softly. She knew Leon was primarily worried about her; after all, she had indeed been aching terribly all over before, essentially pushing through on sheer grit during the return journey, and was only finally able to rest with peace of mind after returning to Twilight Manor. Although she wasn't completely recovered now, the soreness in her body had faded considerably.
Ais also observed Leon, noting that the bloodshot lines in his eyes were gone and his whole person had become much more energetic, which brought her peace of mind.
"That's good."
Leon felt the same way. Seeing that Ais was in a good state, his mind eased slightly, and he began his meal.
The group chatted idly, mostly with Tiona and Tione doing the talking, Lefiya chiming in timidly from time to time, while Leon and Ais spoke very little, quietly eating their food.
At this point, Loki, who had finished her light drinking, stood up and spoke.
"I'm heading back to my room now. Anyone who wants to update their Status can come over, but don't bunch up together. Coming tomorrow or the day after is fine too."
With that, Loki left on her own.
Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya began a conversation.
"Are you guys going?"
"Forget it, going tomorrow is fine too."
"Then, then I'll—"
The three girls didn't seem to have any intention of updating their Status immediately. Only Leon and Ais put down their utensils simultaneously and looked at each other.
"Are you going?" Leon asked the girl. He was definitely going.
"Yes." Ais also nodded emphatically.
No one desired to become stronger more than she did, so every time they returned from an expedition, Ais would absolutely go to update her Status at the very first opportunity.
"Let's go together then."
Not surprised in the slightest, Leon extended an invitation to the girl.
"Okay."
Ais didn't seem to have even thought about refusing, answering with exceptional readiness.
The two stood up together and walked out of the dining hall under the gaze of everyone.
"Do you think Leon will this time...?"
"Probably not..."
"I think it's highly possible..."
"It's him after all, and this was his first expedition, the gains must be huge..."
"I'm starting to look forward to it..."
Faint conversations echoed behind them, but Leon did not hear them. Carrying a shred of anticipation, he and Ais headed toward the central tower together, walking toward the divine chamber on the top floor.
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