Chapter 161: The Perfect Tool—Loki (Bonus)

"Since the order is quite large, it'll take some time to prepare everything for delivery."

Bell mentally tallied the amount. He'd already made a lot of the items on the list in advance—most of them were things he'd produced before—but the top entries still fell short of the required quantity.

Some of the items stored in his four-dimensional space could help cover it, but he'd still need time to fully prepare everything.

"No need to rush. The expedition isn't starting anytime soon."

With the departure still a ways off, Loki wasn't in a hurry to get the supplies delivered either.

"Phae, I won't need your help for this batch."

Hephaestus, who'd been listening quietly for a while, hadn't expected to be involved. But seeing how seriously Loki was preparing, it looked like she was truly planning to dive deeper into the Dungeon.

"Alright, I'll handle that part. But that Welf kid's been completely caught up in forging lately, so you'll need to come over yourselves when the time comes."

"Got it."

Off to the side, Bell was quietly thinking to himself.

'The event's been triggered ahead of schedule.'

'I arrived in Orario much earlier than I originally should have. Becoming an adventurer and reaching Lv. 2 all happened far quicker than expected. The clearest evidence is that the Monsterphilia hasn't even started yet. The man-eating plants under the beast tamers' control haven't appeared either.'

'The Sword Princess... still isn't Lv. 6.'

Bell clearly remembered that the Loki Familia's expedition only began after the Sword Princess reached Lv. 6.

'Since she hasn't hit Lv. 6 yet, it means she hasn't encountered the Corrupted Spirit's Guardian yet. Which means, unless something unexpected happens, things are about to start going off the rails.'

Maybe his arrival had subtly shifted the course of events—or maybe it was because of the two disturbances he caused in the Dungeon that led to these changes.

Either way, this was something he needed to pay close attention to.

And so, Bell thought of someone.

Cassandra Ilion.

Revered as one of Danmachi's "Three Great Glitches," her abilities were practically made for plot-breaking.

Using visions from her prophetic dreams, she could avoid danger and steer straight toward a good ending—no save-loads needed.

If he could get her out of there, it would be the ideal outcome.

On top of that, Cassandra could use healing magic. She'd only need to stay in the rear and provide support.

But Bell didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. Extracting Cassandra from Apollo Familia would be far too conspicuous.

That meant they needed another Familia to get involved and lend a hand.

Instinctively, Bell's gaze drifted toward Loki. A slight smile formed at the corner of his mouth. This was the right move.

Just as she finished her conversation with Hephaestus, Loki suddenly felt something strange. She turned and noticed the sharp look in the boy's eyes across from her—so sharp it sent a chill down even a god's spine.

"You... why are you looking at me like that?"

Bell simply smiled, unfazed by Loki's wary gaze. His eyes shifted toward Sanjouno Haruhime, quietly seated nearby.

"Loki, you've already seen her power, haven't you?"

Loki glanced in Haruhime's direction. Her stiff posture eased slightly.

"Of course I have. What do you think I was doing when I had her convert?"

At that, Loki licked her lips unconsciously. Just remembering how young and inexperienced the girl had looked during her conversion still sent a thrill through her. If she hadn't been worried about scaring her off, she might've jumped on her right then and there.

Bell, watching Loki's expression, could easily tell she was having some rather indecent thoughts.

But that wasn't the point right now.

"Loki, how strong do you think her support ability is?"

"The strongest, obviously! I've never seen magic more incredible than Haruhime's anywhere in Orario."

Bell agreed. Sanjouno Haruhime's magic was undeniably at the level of an in-world cheat. If her "Kokonoe" ability were fully developed, she could single-handedly elevate an entire Familia's upper-tier combat force.

In Loki Familia, with her support, even three Level 6 adventurers could be treated as temporary Level 7s.

If all three received a level boost and ganged up on Ottar, it was entirely possible Orario's top spot would be up for grabs.

"Yeah, her power is overwhelming. No adventurer has magic as absurdly powerful as hers. That's why I think she should be categorized as something beyond a typical Orario adventurer—a different class entirely."

Loki was quite pleased to hear that...

She'd already known during Haruhime's conversion how outlandish her magic really was. It made perfect sense to place her in a separate category.

'...A different category?'

Loki instantly caught the implication in Bell's words.

"You mean... there's a whole other group you've classified as beyond standard adventurers?"

That got her attention.

Bell didn't deny it. He hadn't come up with the classification himself, but he saw no harm in borrowing it.

"Naturally. I haven't just been wandering around the Dungeon. I've also visited plenty of Familias and gathered a good deal of intel."

'Visited the Familias? All of them?'

Aside from Sanjouno Haruhime, the other four adventurers nearby were all staring at the boy across from them.

"...Your abilities are way too broken!"

Loki's face darkened, unable to resist grumbling about this kid's ridiculous skill set.

Haruhime's magic was certainly impressive—but the power Bell wielded wasn't any less astonishing.

Not only could he remain undetected by the gods, but he could also move freely through the interiors of various Familias.

The true value of this ability lay in information gathering.

Before anyone learned what he was capable of, no god would ever believe their Familia had been infiltrated by a rookie adventurer.

And this kid wasn't just a regular scout or intel-gatherer.

He was a gifted prodigy who had reached Level 2 in under a month—and could already outmatch every adventurer in Orario.

In other words, if he wanted to cause trouble, no one could ever pin it on him.

Bell just shrugged with a casual shake of his head.

"I'm just a nobody who likes collecting intel. Wandering between Familias is just me indulging that curiosity."

'...You really think I'm buying that?'

Yeah, Loki didn't believe a single word.