A few minutes later, Leon left Loki's divine chamber.
Loki had ultimately relented. However, she had put forward a single condition.
"Let Ais-tan go together with you."
She wasn't telling Ais to help Leon subjugate the Floor Boss, but rather letting Ais act as Leon's insurance policy. Once Leon encountered true mortal danger and became unable to defeat the Floor Boss, with Ais's strength, she would be fully capable of rescuing Leon from under the claws of the Floor Boss and bringing him back to the surface, ensuring he remained safe and sound.
Regarding this, Leon naturally had no reason to refuse, nor would he. He truly wanted to challenge Goliath once, but he wasn't genuinely fearless of death, much less seeking to die. Challenging a Level 4 Floor Boss with Level 2 status values carried an immense risk, to the point that even he himself wasn't completely confident in his success. Even if his current magical firepower could rival a Level 4, or even rise to a point comparable to a Level 5, so what?
In the original story, Lefiya, who had already risen to Level 4 and possessed a magical firepower exceeding Level 5, was similarly almost pushed to self-destruction when dealing with Goliath. She only succeeded in taking down the opponent by relying on the assistance of several juniors. Leon right now wasn't even a match for that version of Lefiya, so what would his success rate be in a solo battle against Goliath? It would likely be terrifyingly low.
Therefore, his original intention had also been to invite Ais to accompany him. There was no need for Ais to make a move; as long as she sat holding the line to save his life when he failed, that would be enough. That way, even if he failed, he would at most just suffer some minor setbacks. Aside from that, there would be no loss whatsoever, and he could completely start over—either continuing the challenge or shifting his target, both would be fine.
Loki's request could only be said to align perfectly with Leon's intentions.
Thus, Leon left the Central Tower, crossed the courtyard, and walked toward one of the four tower buildings dedicated exclusively to female members. He walked up the spiral staircase, arriving at one of the residential floors, and headed into the corridor shrouded in dim light. Outside the corridor, light and the faint, indistinct sounds of talking and laughing spilled from the windows of the various towers, causing Leon to pause briefly before continuing forward.
To be honest, walking through the female-exclusive tower building like this in the middle of the night was somewhat conspicuous. However, perhaps due to the impending expedition, the members had either not finished their preparations yet, or had already collapsed into bed and fallen asleep upon returning to their rooms, resulting in Leon not encountering a single person along the way. Leon felt slightly relieved by this; at least he wouldn't have to explain anything unnecessary.
In this manner, following the memories in his mind, Leon arrived in front of a room. He had been here a few times before, so while he wasn't intimately familiar with the layout, he wouldn't mistake the room.
"She should be in, right?"
Muttering a low word under his breath, Leon reached out his hand and knocked on the door. He didn't speak, and no sound emerged from inside the room either. Yet in the next second, the room door swung open.
"Leon?"
A familiar, detached voice rang out, carrying a subtle hint of confusion and surprise that was difficult for ordinary people to detect.
The owner of the room appeared silently, wearing a casual indoor dress. The length of the safety shorts beneath her skirt extended half a section longer than the dress itself, covering her thighs and concealing any hint of allure. The blonde-haired, golden-eyed young girl looked at Leon outside the door. As if she hadn't expected him to come looking for her at this hour, a trace of astonishment lingered within her translucent eyes.
"I didn't disturb you, did I?"
Leon smiled at the girl, his tone unnoticeably softening.
Ais shook her head. She had just been sitting on her bed staring blankly, so how could she be disturbed?
"Do you have something to discuss with me?" Ais asked, tilting her head.
The movement was quite cute, and given that the girl had shed her usual armor equipment and was dressed in casual indoor attire, no one would think of her as a swordswoman who could relentlessly slaughter countless monsters with a casual swing of her blade. They would only view her as a princess of a secluded palace out for a night walk.
"Yes, I have something to ask of you."
Leon never beat around the bush when speaking to Ais; he spoke straightforwardly, saying exactly what needed to be said. Ais was the same; she didn't understand the concept of beating around the bush, and even the content of her words was always as brief as could be.
"Come in first."
Ais looked at Leon thoughtfully, then stepped aside to invite Leon into her room. Leon didn't feel embarrassed either, walking right inside.
In truth, he still harbored some curiosity regarding Ais's room. Although he had been here a few times before, those instances were merely to look for Ais to call her out, so he had never had the opportunity to enter her room. Rather, within the entire Loki Familia, not a single male member had ever had the chance to step into this princess's room. Therefore, Leon could be considered to have accomplished another grand feat. If word of this leaked out, whether the male members would riot was one thing, but a certain lesbian elf would definitely explode.
But who cared about her? A mere defeated elf would only have the option to hide in a corner and bite her handkerchief.
Walking into Ais's room, Leon took a casual look around, finally learning what the living quarters of this doll-like princess actually looked like. This was an exceptionally spartan room containing only a desk, a bed, and curtains. The furniture was scarce, lacking even a single piece of decoration, making it look less like a young girl's room and more like the bleak chamber of an ascetic monk.
A sword leaned against the window of the room, and the light armor Ais usually wore on her body lay scattered in a corner. A few scattered articles of clothing were folded at the foot of the bed, while several spiritual medicines and a pouch containing coins rested on the desk. Aside from these items, there was nothing else.
"Sorry, there's nothing here."
Ais herself seemed to belatedly feel embarrassed, her lovely face rarely showing a slight blush. Being unable to even move a chair for Leon to sit on made her look somewhat at a loss, showing at a glance that she rarely entertained guests in her room.
"It's fine, my room isn't necessarily any better than yours."
Leon smiled as he spoke to Ais, though this was clearly meant to comfort her. His room indeed wasn't luxurious; after all, during the year before becoming an adventurer, he basically had no income stream and couldn't afford to buy any proper furniture or decorations. However, working in the logistics area allowed him to scavenge some replaced furniture in addition to inheriting some discarded equipment from his seniors.
Inside his room, aside from a desk, a bed, and curtains, there was also a wardrobe, a full-length mirror, two chairs, and some miscellaneous decorations. There was even a carpet on the floor that Loki had thrown away half a year ago, covering the entire floor. The arrangement wasn't luxurious, but it was absolutely much better than Ais's spartan room.
However, he wouldn't point this out. After all, he knew better than anyone that the seemingly cold-hearted blonde girl actually possessed a rich inner world. If he showed even the slightest hint of distaste, the other party might still maintain an expressionless look on her face, but her heart would definitely plummet to the absolute depths of depression.
Therefore, Leon could only act as if nothing was amiss, sitting down directly on the edge of Ais's bed. Well, being able to sit on the bed of the Sword Princess was yet another great achievement.
Seeing this, Ais appeared a bit hesitant, but she still sat down beside Leon. The distance between the two wasn't far—in fact, it could be described as very close, to the point that their arms were almost touching. It was evident that in Ais's heart, Leon was someone she could be close to. This was an subconscious behavior that the person herself might not have even noticed.
Naturally, Leon wouldn't expose this, simply bringing up the reason he had come to find her.
"You want to challenge Goliath?" Ais fell silent for a long moment before speaking.
"Yes." Leon nodded, his expression calm, completely oblivious to how startling his words were.
Ais, on the other hand, was somewhat startled, but she cared more about another matter.
"So, your status values have already reached their limit, and you have to consider leveling up?" Ais spoke in a low voice.
"Mm."
Leon roughly discerned Ais's thoughts and spoke no further, simply giving a soft affirmation. Ais indeed stopped talking as well. She stared blankly at Leon, her eyes flickering slightly, her heart filled with extreme complexity.
Too fast—it was truly too fast.
How much time had passed? Counting every single day, it had barely been half a month, right? In just half a month's time, this man who had once needed her guidance just to walk out of the 18th floor had actually grown from a newly advanced Level 2 state to the absolute limit of his current level in one breath, and now had to consider leveling up? Moreover, he actually intended to challenge a Floor Boss to obtain a grand achievement?
That was a Floor Boss! Although it was only a Level 4 Floor Boss, even she would have to expend a fair amount of effort to defeat it, right? And that was only because she was a Level 5, relying on level suppression to accomplish the feat.
But what about Leon? He was only a Level 2! If he could succeed, it wouldn't be as simple as just being able to rise to Level 3. An opponent that required her to expend some effort to defeat, if Leon could defeat it at Level 2, what would that signify? It signified that this man's strength was already close to her own.
Thinking up to this point, Ais's heart trembled.
"Are you alright?"
As if seeing through the young girl's thoughts, Leon spoke up at the perfect moment.
Ais snapped back to reality, suppressing the complex emotions in her heart. While shaking her head, she uttered a sentence.
"Are you truly going to challenge Goliath?" Only at this moment did Ais's tone carry a trace of worry.
"Yes, it's already decided. Loki also knows and has granted her permission." Leon looked directly into Ais's eyes and said, "However, she requested that I bring you along."
Why he needed to bring Ais along didn't require Leon's explanation; the other party would undoubtedly understand.
Sure enough, without even thinking, Ais agreed immediately.
"I'll go with you."
Not only to protect Leon, but also to witness with her own eyes just how this man, who grew at a speed that filled her with envy, would battle against the Floor Boss.
The young girl desired to witness that battle. She wanted to know just how strong Leon would be when fighting with all his might.
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