At night, Bell walked alone to an open field.
’Ugh... I should’ve said that Hephaestus-sama’s blessing was just on my face.’
Judging from what Goddess-sama had just done, she’d definitely misunderstood what he ant.
Bell knew that Hephaestus-sama had done sothing similar to what Goddess-sama did earlier that morning.
But he hadn’t expected Goddess-sama to take it that way at all.
’I really ssed this up.’
Bell let out a helpless sigh.
The only thing he could feel relieved about was that Goddess-sama hadn’t stord over to the Hephaestus Familia and caused a scene—otherwise, he’d have no idea how to handle it.
’I’ve now ford a bond with Hephaestus-sama, Goddess-sama’s best friend... and that’s on top of the bond I already have with Goddess-sama.’
’How did this love triangle get so ssed up?’
Just thinking about the tangled situation gave Bell a headache, and he crouched down on the ground.
After a mont of silence, he gave his cheeks a few light pats to clear his head.
He pulled Kuji Kanesada out from his four-dinsional space and entered a ditative sword state, focusing his thoughts into the blade in an effort to calm himself as quickly as possible.
He’d collected the full paynt from the Loki Familia today, so at the very least, he could try a few ten-rolls later and see if his luck was holding up.
’Speaking of which... hasn’t the Loki Familia made a move against the Apollo Familia yet?’
Cassandra’s power was undeniable—and compared to Haruhi, her abilities were far more strategic.
From what Bell understood of Loki, there was no way she’d pass up soone like Cassandra.
In fact, the Loki Familia had already started investigating the Apollo Familia today, and Cassandra’s information had co up in their findings.
That day, the Loki Familia held yet another eting.
Finn was the first to speak.
"Cassandra Ilion, alias ’Mirabilis’. mber of the Apollo Familia. Skilled in healing magic. Possesses the Developnt Ability ’Treatnt’."
That was the intel Finn had gathered—even the specifics of her Developnt Ability.
Though, for soone only at Lv. 2, uncovering that kind of information wasn’t all that surprising.
All it took was paying the right price.
"Very favorable conditions."
Loki listened to the intel and nodded slightly. As far as backliners go, healers are always valuable—and they’re a rare support role in her Familia.
"She uses healing magic, and her Developnt Ability also follows the ’’Treatnt’’ path. As a pure support in the back row, she’s quite solid."
Her other qualities might not stand out much, but just having healing magic alone already made her a top-tier support.
Of course, Loki wasn’t just interested in Cassandra for her healing abilities—there was also information she’d heard from that kid.
"Have her unique traits been investigated too?"
"Yes."
Finn gave a small nod.
"I got Cassandra’s personal information from soone close to her."
"Soone close to her just gave up personal info that easily?"
Loki felt like sothing was off about that.
Finn quickly offered clarification.
"That person only shared the information after I explained that our Familia wanted to recruit Cassandra."
"Oh~"
Loki instinctively glanced at Aisha, who was sitting in the eting room. That certainly lined up with a certain soone.
"Finn, what about the girl who gave you the intel?"
Finn had already expected Loki to ask this, and he was prepared. After what had just happened with Aisha and Haruhi, there was a chance this was another pair from the Apollo Familia, just like before.
"Her na is Daphne Lauros. Her strength is close to the upper limit of Lv. 2. She’s currently serving as a provisional commander within the Apollo Familia and shows notable leadership potential."
"Well now... we’ve just stumbled into a treasure trove of talent."
Loki was honestly a bit surprised to hear about her command talent. Who would’ve thought the Apollo Familia had not just one, but two gifted individuals?
Putting aside Haruhi and Cassandra, who both possessed rare talents, even among ordinary adventurers, leadership was considered a highly valuable skill. And with Daphne already close to Lv. 3, she could easily be cultivated into a solid mber of the second squad.
Soone nearing Lv. 3 was already part of a Familia’s core strength. With proper developnt, she’d reach that rank in no ti.
To Loki, it felt like she’d just picked up a prize off the street.
"Finn, since this kid is that close to Cassandra, add her to our recruitnt list as well."
"Then, what did she say about Cassandra?"
At that, Finn’s expression turned a little complicated.
"According to her, Cassandra often says strange and gloomy things, which is why she earned the alias ’Mirabilis (Pessimist).’"
"Strange things, huh?"
Loki rubbed her chin. Between the nickna and the info, it matched exactly what that kid had told her.
"No one believes her, right?"
"Exactly. Nobody believes a word of the bizarre things Cassandra says. Even the person who gave this intel said, ’She’s always spouting nonsense in her sleep.’"
Loki figured as much. This lined up with what the kid described—Cassandra’s ability lets her foresee the future, but her skill is cursed, making it so no one believes her predictions.
"Good. Now that we have the intel, we’ll begin targeting the Apollo Familia starting tomorrow."
A few days ago, they dealt with the Ishtar Familia. Now, they were moving on Apollo’s so soon.
"Finn, I’m sure you all know what to do."
"Don’t hold back on Apollo."
"I want both his people and his money."
Loki’s eyes were already gleaming.
She had just shelled out nearly 1.6 billion. Even with her Familia’s deep reserves, that was a heavy cut.
In the past, she wouldn’t have gone this hard on Apollo. He usually kept his distance and didn’t stir up trouble.
But now was now—and with their funds running low, she had no choice but to squeeze so from Apollo.
So this ti, Loki was going in hard.
She was taking everything—not just the people, but the money too.
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