Have the Hestia Familia investigate… me?
Sitting on the soft sofa in the reception hall, Ron stared expressionlessly at the enamel cup in front of him, where hand-brewed coffee kept steaming upward.
Hard to deal with?
There's no way in hell this would work if you think about it!
Even though his strength had improved qualitatively compared to before, what had also been strengthened… was that damned Soulslike dungeon of his.
He didn't answer.
He only murmured softly, "The target is Floor 24?"
"That's right."
Why were they paying such special attention to Ron?
Probably because—
That trace of maturity and composure showing on the boy's face, completely unfitting for his age… even after accomplishing such feats in Orario, he remained neither arrogant nor impatient.
Eina didn't think this mission was difficult at all. To be precise, it felt more like the Guild giving special care to this emerging pillar of strength in Orario.
'Complete the expedition mission.'
'The Adventurers Guild will pay the Hestia Familia 30 million Valis as compensation. Recruitment notices may also be posted within the Pantheon.'
They were basically handing out money...
Being able to raise his adventurer level to Lv.3 in such a short time meant Ron's exploration progress had already reached the limits of the Middle Floors.
Noticing that the boy's expression hadn't changed at all, the half-elf girl reminded him, "There are no additional conditions. Even if you can't find the cause of the dungeon's abnormal activity, that's fine."
"After all…"
"The Guild has already dispatched a lot of manpower, and they still couldn't find any clues."
"..."
The final goal of a Familia expedition was to reach the end of the Middle Floors.
And upon hearing what Eina had explained, Daphne—standing behind Ron—felt her originally heavy mood turn into something indescribably awful.
Floor 24.
Back when she was in the Apollo Familia, she had once led members to that floor.
If the difficulty were the same, then with their captain's top-tier strength and Mikoto's Lv.3 power, completing this expedition would be extremely easy.
The problem was—once Ron joined the expedition, it was guaranteed not to be simple!
Especially after hearing—
'Due to frequent abnormal activity in the dungeon recently, the Hestia Familia is assigned to carry out an expedition investigation mission.'
Yeah…
The girl's mood became complicated beyond words.
Daphne's facial control was excellent, but when she looked at Ron—still completely calm—her eye twitched slightly despite herself.
There was no way she could just say it outright:
That all of the dungeon's recent "abnormal phenomena" were caused by this guy?
"Captain, what do you think?" After hesitating for a moment, she coughed lightly and reminded him. If necessary, they could use the plan she had proposed earlier.
But staying silent…
Wouldn't change anything.
Facing Eina's gaze again, Ron shrugged helplessly and said in a resigned tone, "Seems like we don't really have the… right to refuse, do we?"
"..."
This… could be refused!
Recalling all the instructions from Guild executive Royman, Eina frowned slightly. Since there were no outsiders around, she simply spoke frankly: "Well…"
"This is actually Guild Master Royman's decision. Recently, the Soma Familia has fallen into internal conflict, and the Apollo Familia has been disbanded. A lot has been happening in Orario."
"As a result, there's a shortage of mid-level strength."
"And Mr. Ron, the miracles you've created already prove your potential. Setting the expedition's endpoint at Floor 24 was something the higher-ups carefully considered."
"..."
At this point, the half-elf girl paused slightly and lowered her voice. "They also don't want to interfere too much with your exploration plans. During your usual dungeon runs…"
"You can just complete the mission along the way."
"Right now, the various Familias in Orario have already developed into stable powers. The Guild doesn't have the means to offer your Familia much additional support."
"They can only provide some financial assistance. Upon completing the mission, you'll receive 30 million Valis."
"..."
It was indeed goodwill.
Any experienced adventuring team with an average strength of Lv.2 could safely complete an expedition of this level.
For the current Hestia Familia, this sum of money was also significant working capital.
But Ron couldn't feel happy about it at all.
Because now the problem was—
Looking at Eina's increasingly puzzled expression, there was no way he could say that even reaching Lv.3 only barely allowed him to touch the Middle Floors.
"Mm."
"Please thank the Adventurers Guild for me."
"..."
Even though he was expressing gratitude, Eina, who was perceptive, still caught the helplessness in Ron's tone. Perhaps it was his pride—making it hard for him to accept special treatment from the Guild?
As long as he was still an adventurer, she was, in a sense, his "advisor."
The half-elf girl frowned, looking a bit frustrated at his stubbornness: "You deserve all of this. If you ask me, even 30 million Valis is too little. With your talent, it should at least be doubled."
"And besides…"
"Isn't this kind of expedition mission just something you can handle easily?"
"..."
Easily get crushed by the dungeon.
Well, in a way, that could also count as "easy."
After seeing Eina off, Ron stood at the entrance of the mansion and looked up at the cloudless blue sky.
The blazing sunlight poured down on him…
Yet he felt no warmth at all.
The Guild's higher-ups truly intended to support the Hestia Familia financially.
And yet—
What Ron felt was only the malice of the Soulslike dungeon.
He took a deep breath to steady himself, then turned to Daphne, whose expression was just as heavy, and said concisely: "Let's hold a short meeting now."
Expedition.
The Guild had left them plenty of time.
There were still three days to prepare—and there were no strict limitations on personnel.
Perhaps in the eyes of the higher-ups, this mission…
Was just a pretext to subsidize the Hestia Familia?
There was also no strict deadline. As long as they brought back monster drops from Floor 24, the expedition would be considered complete.
"Feels like…"
"The situation might not be as bad as we imagined."
Ron's tightly furrowed brows didn't relax.
If they followed Daphne's method, they could indeed deal with the Guild's mission.
But from another perspective—
Wasn't he just being scared into cowardice by the Soulslike dungeon?
He hadn't even experienced the true difficulty of the Middle Floors yet, and he was already choosing a conservative approach. That clearly didn't match his style.
Moreover, the mission had very few restrictions.
He could completely bring in familiar, reliable adventurers to join the team.
"Hmm…"
"If I bring along Lefiya from the Loki Familia, completing the mission shouldn't be a problem, right?" Ron murmured softly, just as the door opened.
Then, Hestia, Mikoto, and Cassandra entered one after another.
He didn't beat around the bush and said seriously: "Miss Eina from the Adventurers Guild just came to our Familia and assigned an expedition mission."
"The target is to reach Floor 24."
At this point, Ron looked at Daphne and continued: "For this expedition, as the captain, I definitely can't be absent. I'll leave the preparations before departure to you."
"We might need quite a bit of time—conservatively, about ten days' worth of supplies."
"Mm…"
Her suggestion hadn't been accepted.
But this was within Daphne's expectations.
After all, facing the Floor Boss—the ancient dragon Lansseax—and being able to stab himself twice before the fight even began…
Would someone like that really be scared by the dungeon's difficulty?
She nodded heavily and asked seriously, "Then when do we start this expedition?"
"On the last day of the mission."
"During this time, continue normal dungeon runs. Let everyone adapt to the difficulty first—so that when facing… those special monsters, they won't be too overwhelmed."
Most importantly, they could use the last two days to raise their ability values as much as possible.
Seeing Hestia's expression gradually grow serious as she realized the gravity of the situation, Ron nodded lightly: "Lady Hestia, this expedition…"
"We'll win."
"..."
That sounded suspiciously like raising a death flag.
But hearing Ron's sincere tone, the girl's tense mood eased considerably: "If there's anything you need help with, just say it."
"Especially equipment…"
Hestia just needed to say the word—
As for the rest, naturally, it would be her dear friend Hephaestus's headache!
...
After leaving the Hestia Familia residence, Lefiya was actually in a rather good mood.
As for why—
It was probably because of what Ron had said: no matter what, they would still be friends.
After returning to her Familia, when facing Riveria's inquiry, she didn't hide anything: "Master."
"I've already told him about the Great Tree branch, and… Ron doesn't particularly resist meeting you."
"It's just…"
"He hopes to settle the matter of the Great Tree branch first?"
"..."
This was essentially Ron admitting it indirectly!
That the so-called dungeon "abnormal activity" was caused by him.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be using this matter as leverage to negotiate with her.
His mind was indeed sharp.
Not like Lefiya in front of her, or Ais, whom she had watched grow up—
Far too inexperienced.
Riveria nodded lightly.
If it were a naïve rookie adventurer, trying to use the uniqueness of that person to strengthen the Familia…
It would be extremely easy!
But Ron was clearly not someone who could be fooled so easily…
Because in this "cooperation" between Familias, he clearly held the initiative.
If they couldn't offer a price that satisfied him, even arranging a meeting would be difficult.
And if this secret were to fall into the hands of the Freya Familia?
She could already picture the scene—
A Familia that normally never entered the dungeon, suddenly sending all its members deep inside.
"Alright."
"I'll have to trouble you to write a letter to the Elven homeland and see if we can purchase a Great Tree branch."
Leaning back in her high-backed chair, Riveria gently rubbed her temples.
Originally, she had thought that by leveraging Lefiya's friendship with Ron, they could negotiate a mutually beneficial cooperation.
But in the end…
She had no idea what kind of spell Ron had cast on Lefiya.
That in such a crucial matter concerning their future, she would actually maintain a neutral stance!
"Ron…"
"Even I don't know how big your appetite really is."
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---