Chapter 64: Longing for girls? The expedition is gathering and setting sail!
Bang!
Arthur hadn't gone far from the restaurant when a force struck him from behind.
He paused, turned his head, and saw a white-haired young man clutching his forehead, falling clumsily to the ground.
"Hey, are you alright?"
The young man, having recovered, scrambled to his feet and bowed repeatedly to Arthur.
"I am so sorry! I was distracted and didn't notice you!"
Arthur waved his hand dismissively: "Don't say that, I was walking too fast myself."
The young man's reddened eyes were full of gratitude, and he bowed again, shouting.
"Thank you for your magnanimity!"
Arthur was a bit uncomfortable with the young man's jumpy attitude, and he raised a hand to scratch his hair.
"Relax a bit, I'm not a senior from your Familia, there's no need to reply so deferentially."
Saying this, he looked over the young man's attire.
Simple black clothes, a brown jacket, and a general guild handbook in his hand.
"Sure enough, you're a newcomer who just joined a Familia, right?"
"Yes! My name is Bell Cranel, and I'm an adventurer who just joined the Hestia Familia, please guide me!"
Bell, as if by reflex, started bowing to Arthur again, looking timid as if afraid of getting into trouble outside.
Arthur raised a hand to his forehead: "What do you mean, 'please guide me'? I already said we're not from the same Familia; you should say that to your seniors."
Bell gave an awkward, silly laugh, seemingly finally realizing he was being overly cautious, but, being simple, he didn't forget to explain first.
"Um—actually, I'm the first member Lady Hestia has taken in; there are no seniors in the Familia."
Arthur looked at the honest child in front of him, carefully recalling the Familia information he had seen before; there was indeed no record of the Hestia Familia.
"If that's the case, then you should act more confidently, after all, you are the leader of the Hestia Familia."
Bell pointed to himself, hesitating: "Leader? Me?"
Arthur watched Bell, who looked as if he could be startled at any moment, with an amused expression, teasing him.
"Otherwise? As the first member of the Familia in name and in fact, you need to set a good example to attract talent to join."
Bell shook his head repeatedly: "I can't do it! It's impossible! I've never even considered such a thing!"
Arthur noticed Bell's severe lack of confidence and frowned slightly.
He opened his mouth to remind the other party of something, then considered that since it was their first meeting, it would be better to be as subtle as possible.
"Think back to why you chose to become an adventurer; that's the driving force that will push you to constantly grow stronger."
Arthur turned and walked towards the Twilight Manor. Bell stood rooted to the spot, deep in thought.
Soon, the fledgling adventurer's eyes lit up, and he waved and shouted at Arthur's retreating back.
"Thank you for your guidance! I will definitely continue to work hard and strive to find an encounter in the Dungeon soon!"
Arthur: (°□°;)?
No.
You're fighting monsters in the Dungeon every day, and you're doing it just to pick up girls?
Arthur waved his hand without looking back, as a slight encouragement to Bell's determination, and thought to himself.
"A naive teenager, indeed, this is the age to yearn for such things."
...
The lingering sunset cast a warm glow over the Twilight Manor. As Arthur reached the main entrance, several familiar figures came into view—
Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, all fully armed and looking heroic and spirited.
Tiona, who was walking in front, saw him and enthusiastically raised her hand to greet him.
"Young Arthur? You're back from your Guild quest?"
"Yes, I returned last night. This morning, Finn and I went to the Hephaestus Familia again, so I haven't run into you all until now."
Arthur subtly shifted his feet, gracefully dodging Tiona's pounce.
He looked at Ais and the others' battle attire and asked.
"Are you all preparing to go to the Dungeon?"
Ais nodded slightly: "I plan to use actual combat to familiarize myself with my improved ability values."
Hearing this, Arthur smiled: "You need to specifically use actual combat to get familiar with it? It seems your improvement is indeed significant."
Ais's Magic Conduction value was already among the best of the executives, and she didn't have to deal with various Familia affairs like Riveria.
Her rapid improvement was evident from two weeks of continuous Dungeon exploration and Magic Conduction training.
Even if most of the values only strengthened her weaknesses, it could still be called a huge improvement.
Tiona and Tione, standing nearby, had different expressions upon hearing this.
One of them had mediocre magic talent, and the other was not good at chanting, so their Magic Conduction value increased slowly.
They, along with Old Man Gareth, who also wasn't accustomed to casting magic, could be called the 'steady trio'.
However, that guy Bete, thanks to his high compatibility, had made rapid progress in strength, showing no less vigor than Ais.
Recently, he had been acting like a madman, diving into the Dungeon before dawn, even eating in a hurry, his face full of excitement.
As the young women were lost in their thoughts, Arthur turned to look at Lefiya, who was following slightly behind Ais.
"Why are you here too? Didn't Raul and the others notify you to gather at the training ground?"
His sudden question completely stunned Lefiya, who asked with a puzzled expression.
"Gather at the training ground? No one told me about this!"
Arthur looked at Lefiya, who seemed completely out of the loop, and after a moment of thought, vaguely guessed what was going on.
When he and Finn left in the morning, besides telling Raul not to wait for them for breakfast, he also arranged for Raul to gather the second-string members for afternoon training.
Now it seemed there had been a slight issue with the command's transmission.
As Riveria's disciple, Lefiya, although only Level 3, usually followed the main executives to gain experience.
She was neither a member of the main executives nor a member of the second-string.
Thinking this way, it made sense that she hadn't been notified.
Having figured out the key, Arthur looked up at Ais and the other two, explaining.
"You all hurry to the Dungeon. Lefiya, you need to come with me for training."
Ais and the other two understood, looked down at Lefiya's distressed face, and comforted her:
"Keep it up, Lefiya."
"Mhm, for someone with strong Magic Conduction like you, this is a great opportunity."
"Work hard, we're leaving now."
Lefiya, instantly abandoned by her teammates, looked up at Arthur and quietly asked.
"Um—Mr. Arthur, can you tell me what kind of training it is first?"
"I'm just a Mage, a very weak one."
Arthur teased: "You'll know when we get there. Hurry up, there aren't many days left until the expedition."
In the following days, the Loki Familia operated at full capacity.
Arthur took on the task of instructing the second-string members, while Finn and the others each performed their duties, preparing for the new round of expeditions.
Five days passed in a flash.
On this day, as dawn broke, all the main members of the Loki Familia gathered in front of the Twilight Manor, and the atmosphere unconsciously became somewhat solemn.
Finn's gaze swept over everyone, his voice clear and firm.
"Target, Dungeon Floor 59! This journey is fraught with both danger and opportunity, everyone, be extremely cautious!"
The horn of the expedition had already sounded!