บท 60: Return!

On the next day, Sirius paid extra attention to the movements of Loki Familia because he heard from some adventurers in the town that Goliath was reborn on the 17th floor.

Since he was going to return to the surface with Ryuu, they would inevitably encounter this giant monster with a potential of level 4 and a defense value comparable to level 5.

Thus, Sirius felt it would be better to wait until Loki Familia opened the way. That way, he wouldn't waste too much time and energy.

'Anyway, they're my familia. So, it makes sense for me to depend on them for things like this…' Sirius thought righteously.

Ryuu had no objection to this kind of 'hitchhike' behavior. Since Sirius is a member of Loki Familia, it would make sense for him to rely on his seniors.

Fortunately, Loki Familia was packing up today, seemingly ready to leave the 18th floor and return to the surface.

When Sirius saw this, he could not help but feel sad for Goliath.

Goliath may be the only monster rex killed so frequently. It won't survive for very long before some adventurer slays it again. Therefore, It was by far the most miserable floor boss.

It is often killed by a team of strong adventurers or some expedition teams from big familias.

All in all, Goliath is in an awkward position.

After all, if adventurers can't kill it, they won't be able to reach the safe floor. It's a sad fate for the Goliath to block the entrance to the 18th floor. Otherwise, it won't be so miserable.

…

The sun was shining brightly in the sky. The time was about noon.

At this time, when many adventurers were busy inside the dungeon, ordinary people lingered on the shopping streets in the northern part of the city, adding a bit of vitality.

"Finally home…"

In the north of Orario, next to the bustling northern street and in front of the Twilight Manor, a large team of adventurers crossed the roadway and arrived in front of the Loki Familia headquarters.

"Ah—, The air outside of the dungeon—, I feel alive again…."

"I want to eat some meat!"

"I want to sleep…."

There were some chatters among the members of the expedition team of Loki Familia.

Finn and the others returned to the surface and came before their familia's residence. Many supporters from Loki Familia were carrying supplies and loots from the dungeon.

There were two guards in front of the entrance of Twilight Manor, and they hurriedly greeted Finn and the others after seeing them.

"We are back. Please open the door for us." Finn gently ordered the guards.

"Yes, sir!" The two guards nodded and complied. Soon, they opened the door.

"Yeah!! Finn, Gareth, Riveria!! You guys are finally back. Ouch!" After the door opened, a scream sounded, followed by a goddess who flew down from the mansion at full speed.

The red-haired goddess shook her hair, ignored the men, and rushed straight toward the girls.

"Is everyone safe? I miss you girls so much!!" Loki pounced on the female adventurers of her familia with her arms outstretched. Ais, Tiona, and Tione dodged her subconsciously, while Lefiya, who was at the end of the line, was tragically affected.

"Hey, wait, yaah~" She was hugged and molested by the perverted goddess. Lefiya fell to the ground with Loki sticking to her.

Finn looked at this scene without any extra thoughts and calmly reported their situation, "Loki, the expedition was a success. The harvest is good, and we lost no one. We went a bit deeper this time. I will report the details to you later…."

"Mhmm… I see. Anyway, welcome back, Finn." Loki kept molesting the shy elf and replied.

"Right. We're back, Loki." Finn smiled and said.

After some time, Loki, who had recharged enough female energy from Lefiya, raised her head and grinned at the rest of the expedition team.

She was happy for her children's safe return from the dungeon.

"Speaking of which, did you guys see Sirius when you were returning to the surface from the dungeon?" Suddenly, Loki, playing with Lefiya's hands, thought of something and asked Finn.

"Sirius?" After hearing this name, an image of blond-haired youth appeared in Finn's mind.

But soon, he shook his head.

"No, we didn't see him on the way back to the surface. What's the matter, Loki?" Finn asked suspiciously.

"Is that so…" Loki's expression became distressed and hesitant. The surrounding familia members quickly noticed her expression, and they had a bad feeling.

"Loki, don't tell me…." Lefiya, held in Loki's arms, thought of a terrible possibility.

"The newcomer has an accident in the dungeon!?" Tiona completed Lefiya's sentence with a shocked expression.

"No, I'm not sure about that. Sirius went to the 15th floor three days ago to attack an irregular monster. The guild has already announced that someone has successfully crusaded the black wyvern." Loki explained.

"...But, he has not returned yet. I am a little worried about him…." Loki ended her words with some worry.

According to the words and descriptions of adventurers who returned from the middle floors yesterday, a powerful adventurer defeated the irregular monster alone.

The monster slayer looked young with golden hair and had a silver-white spear.

After hearing this, Loki confirmed that Sirius was successful in his endeavor.

However, Sirius has not yet returned to the surface, which worried her.

When the expedition team of her familia returned, she immediately asked them about his whereabouts.

Loki thought that Sirius would meet and reunite with the expedition team of her familia and return to the surface with them. She was previously hoping to surprise others with his progress.

But, after finding his absence, Loki was disappointed and worried. There is always a gap between reality and expectations.

"What!? How many floors??"

"1-15th floor!?"

"I-Irregular M-Monster!?"

"Are you kidding, Loki? Are you sure you're not exaggerating?"

The werewolf, Bete, reacted the most to Loki's words. Although others were also surprised after hearing this, they were not affected as much as Bete.

"Aki, pinch me. I feel like I'm hallucinating…." After hearing Loki's words, Raul asked his cat-eared friend in a daze.

"What??" Anakitty, who was beside him, looked at him like a fool.

"Is there something wrong with your brain?" She complained.

The situation of others was not much better. Their first reaction was that Loki was joking with them?

After all, what she said was too unbelievable.

"Can you tell me the specific details, Loki?" Finn was the first one to calm down and asked Loki seriously.

"Okay, but first, let's go inside." Loki agreed to this. After all, this place was not suitable for such talks.

…

Twilight Manor,

Inside the Central Tower, Conference Room,

The three de-facto leaders, the core members, and the goddess in charge of Loki's familia gathered in this room.

In the past, the leaders would report details of the expedition to the goddess and discuss future planning in the conference room.

But today is a bit different. Another matter was more worthy of their attention.

Everyone was staring at Loki, waiting for her explanation.

"Well… don't stare at me so much. I will be shy too~" Loki was uncomfortable by so many gazes and said awkwardly. She chuckled and tried to distract them.

"Hmmm…" The others ignored her attempts to divert the topic and continued staring at her. Riviera was even ready to raise her wand to discipline the goddess.

"Woah, Woah… don't worry, don't worry, I will say it. Mama-san, please put down your weapon…." When Loki saw Riveria's actions, she hurriedly compromised and requested.

Riviera felt better after hearing this and lowered her weapon. Loki felt relieved after seeing this.

"Ahem, first of all, I didn't lie when I said that Sirius went to the 15th floor three days ago to crusade the irregular black wyvern." Loki cleared their doubts and continued.

"Just remember that Sirius is not weak. You can even say that he is very strong compared to new adventurers. Even ordinary level 2 adventurers are no match for him." Loki revealed some secrets about Sirius.

"What!?" Just these words made the wolf-man unable to stand still.

"Loki, do you mean to say that the blond kid has grown to a level comparable to level 2 in just half a month? What happened while we were on the expedition?" Bete asked the things everyone wanted to know.

The big three knew the secrets of Sirius, so they were not that surprised. After seeing Sirius's stats, skills, and magic, they were psychologically prepared for such results.

…