Deus.Ex.Machina

It didn't take long for me to clean up the battlefield.

The monsters were weak, so a single skill was enough to annihilate them all.

Though, I had to admit, the expressions on the Loki Familia's faces were incredibly satisfying to watch.

I couldn't really blame them, after all from their perspective, they had been struggling against a wave of deep-floor monsters one moment, only for everything to disappear the next.

Currently, the expedition had come to a halt.

The Loki Familia was resting and recuperating while their healers tended to the wounded. Quite a few of them had suffered injuries during the fighting, and pushing forward immediately would have been reckless.

Not that they had much choice.

The floors beyond the 60th were dangerous enough when fully prepared.

Attempting them while exhausted and injured was practically suicide.

As for me—

"Wahhh! You're so strong, Leon-chan!"

...Chan?

The corner of my eye twitched.

"Um, um. No wonder Ais joined you."

"Seriously," the other Amazon added with a grin. "If I saw that, I might've joined too."

The Amazon twins shamelessly teased me from both sides.

For some reason, they had decided that respecting personal space was completely optional.

"Please don't."

I deadpanned.

"Ehhh?"

The twins pouted in perfect synchronization.

"Please don't."

"Why?"

"Yeah, why?"

Because Ais was already enough.

Her suddenly jumping ship from the Loki Familia to join us had caused enough shock throughout Orario as it was. Honestly, it was a miracle Loki hadn't marched into our home and started a war over it.

Well, she probably wanted to.

The only reason she hadn't was because Ais herself had made the decision. Trying to force her back would only push her further away.

Still, that didn't mean Loki was happy about it.

The fact that she hadn't caused a scene already was proof of her restraint.

If more members started leaving to join the Hestia Familia?

Yeah, that would definitely start a war.

And that was something I wanted to avoid, not because I was afraid of the Loki Familia. Far from it. It would just be troublesome.

I couldn't exactly destroy their Familia if things escalated.

Ais would be furious and more importantly, the Loki Familia still had a role to play in the future.

They were one of Orario's strongest pillars.

With me leaving eventually, having them crippled or destroyed would only create problems for everyone left behind.

"Mah, mah. If you really joined the Hestia Familia, Loki-sama would definitely wage war. Hahaha."

A deep voice cut into the conversation.

I turned and saw Gareth approaching.

Now that he mentioned it, the Amazon twins immediately fell silent.

"...You are right."

"Loki-sama would go crazy."

They exchanged glances before looking back at me and kept staring.

Fortunately, before they could say anything else, another voice interrupted.

"Leon."

Finn approached us.

The commander of the Loki Familia looked calm as always, but I could see the exhaustion hidden beneath his composed expression.

The battle had clearly taken its toll on him.

"Can we talk for a moment?"

I nodded.

"Sure."

Finn took a step back then bowed.

"Thank you very much for saving us," Finn said sincerely.

The surroundings instantly became quiet, even the nearby adventurers paused.

"If not for you, who knows what could have happened."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Riveria was seated some distance away, receiving treatment for her injuries.

Though she appeared to be listening to another conversation, her eyes had been fixed on us the entire time.

"We underestimated the dangers beyond the sixtieth floor. The information we possessed was incomplete. The monsters were stronger than expected. More coordinated as well. Had you not arrived when you did, we would have paid a far greater price." Finn said solemnly.

"You don't need to thank me that much. I saved you guys because of Ais."

After a few moments, Finn let out a small sigh and smiled.

"I see…Regardless of your reason, you still have my gratitude."

Silence fell between us for a while.

"So what do you plan to do next?" I asked. "The next floors are much more dangerous compared to this one."

Finn's expression became serious.

"You are right. We really underestimated the danger level of the floors beyond this point."

His gaze drifted toward the adventurers resting around the camp.

"At the same time, we realized another weakness of ours."

Finn's voice was calm, but there was a trace of bitterness behind it.

"They–No, we are still weak. Our individual levels are still insufficient to proceed deeper into the Dungeon."

No one nearby argued because everyone knew it was true.

The battles they had experienced since entering the floors beyond the sixtieth had made that painfully clear.

"Today, we got lucky, we survived because help arrived in time."

His gaze shifted toward me.

"But the next time, there may be no one to save us…then we will die," Finn said quietly.

The atmosphere grew heavy.

No one laughed. No one objected.

Because everyone present understood that those weren't words born from pessimism.

They were simply the reality of the Deep Floors.

I nodded seriously.

"I would love to invite you in proceeding lower, but as you said, you guys are still weak."

My gaze swept across the expedition members.

"In your current state, you will just be unnecessary baggage."

The moment those words left my mouth, the atmosphere exploded.

"What?!"

"Baggage?!"

"That's going too far!"

Several members of the Loki Familia immediately glared at me.

After all, these were elites of one of Orario's strongest Familias and being called baggage was not something they could easily accept.

I didn't react, because I wasn't insulting them. I was merely stating a fact.

To my surprise, before anyone else could speak—

"He's right."

Everyone turned.

Bete stood there with his arms crossed. The werewolf's expression was as unpleasant as ever.

"The hell are you idiots getting pissed for?"

His sharp gaze swept across the adventurers.

"Did he say anything wrong?"

Nobody answered.

Bete clicked his tongue.

"We almost got wiped out today."

His words immediately silenced everyone.

"If he didn't show up, a bunch of us would've died. We couldn't even handle this floor properly, and you're getting pissed because someone pointed out the truth?"

Bete looked around one last time before snorting.

"Quit whining and get stronger."

Then I laughed.

Before they could take it as another insult, I raised a hand.

"I changed my mind," I said.

My gaze swept across the group before I pointed one by one.

"You. You. You. You. You. And you."

Finn.

Gareth.

Riveria.

The twin Amazons.

And Bete.

The six core members of the Loki Familia.

All of them froze at once.

"You guys will be coming with me."

"…What?"

"Seriously?"

Their reactions came almost simultaneously, like they had all misheard me at the same time.

Even Finn's usual composure cracked slightly.

"Are you suggesting we proceed further down with you?"

"Yeah," I replied simply.

Gareth scratched his beard.

"Oi, lad… are you serious about this?"

Bete narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell changed your mind?"

I shrugged.

"You lot are weak as a full expedition."

A pause.

"But those six are strong enough to keep up."

My gaze shifted slightly toward the deeper darkness beyond the camp.

"And I don't feel like wasting time babysitting a full group."

Then I added.

"But I have a condition."

The atmosphere changed at once.

"It's a favor," I said. "One you can't really afford to refuse."

That made Finn's eyes narrow slightly.

"Explain."

"While you're with me, you'll take full advantage of the deeper floors. You'll gain experience, fight stronger monsters, and get exposure to areas you normally wouldn't reach safely."

A brief pause.

"And in return, when this expedition ends, the Loki Familia owes me one favor."

"A favor… from us?"

I smiled.

"Yep."