Team Decision, Cadre Deliberation.

The courtyard of Twilight Manor.

Mist-like vapor gathered upon the surrounding vegetation.

A crisp sound of clashing echoed suddenly through the tranquil courtyard, where a young man and a young woman, each wielding different weapons, were testing their blades against one another.

Two figures intertwined, swords colliding as they engaged in a fierce confrontation.

The two combatants remained entirely unaware of the gaze observing them from above.

As the angle of the view shifted, it focused on a high tower within Twilight Manor.

A window on the tower stood open, and Loki, with her short red hair, stood before it, watching the intense duel below.

After observing for a while, she turned to look at Riveria and Finn inside the room.

"What do you think of the proposal to have Lefiya and Liber form a temporary party for an adventure?"

Inside the room, Finn sat behind a massive desk.

On the desk before him, documents of varying heights were stacked in neat, categorized piles, containing reports and files of diverse content.

Hearing Loki's words, Finn set down the supply report he had been reviewing and responded calmly.

"I am personally in favor of this. Getting Liber accustomed to teaming up with others will also make it easier for him to join the expeditionary force later on."

"Lefiya is a pure backline mage, so this is the perfect opportunity for her to learn how to better protect her companions. However, this mainly depends on whether Riveria thinks it is appropriate, and Lefiya's own opinion is also very important."

Having said that, he turned his head toward the elegantly seated woman with emerald hair.

"What do you think, Riveria?"

Riveria, who had been sipping black tea, heard Finn's inquiry and slowly set down her teacup.

She pressed her slender fingers against her chin, lowered her head to ponder for a moment, then raised her head, parted her cherry-blossom-colored lips, and spoke slowly.

"As for that child Lefiya, her magical ability goes without saying, but her mindset is still somewhat unstable. Whenever something happens, she always becomes so nervous that she is at a loss. I support Lefiya and Liber teaming up temporarily, but precisely because of that, I worry whether that child might hinder Liber's adventure."

Finn placed the document he had just signed onto the stack of processed files and picked up another file from a different pile.

He read the contents of the file while responding to Riveria.

"It seems we are in agreement regarding the team-up. Gareth generally doesn't have much of an opinion on these matters. The next step is to see if Lefiya herself agrees to it."

"Mm."

Riveria picked up her tea and nodded in response.

Loki let out a sigh of relief and prepared to take action.

"Since no one objects, I'll go talk to Lefiya."

"I should be the one to handle this. If you go, Loki, you'll just frighten the child."

Riveria sipped her tea slowly, her tone flat as she stopped Loki's intended action.

"Eh?! Am I really that terrifying?" Loki asked, somewhat annoyed.

Finn, busy with his paperwork, chuckled at Loki's remark.

"You aren't that terrifying yourself, but Riveria is likely worried that when you go to inform Lefiya, you'll suddenly engage in some harassing behavior and scare her."

"I am a proper deity! When chatting with a cute girl, words alone cannot fully express one's feelings. Using actions to deepen our bond is the best method. Building affection is serious business, after all."

Loki said this with a smug look, clearly unbothered.

Riveria's face darkened with irritation at Loki's words; she stood up and sighed.

"Forget it. I will go talk to Lefiya and see what she thinks."

With that, she walked out the door.

After Riveria left the room, accompanied by the sound of the door closing, only the rustling of paper and the scratching of a pen remained as Finn continued to process the files.

A short while later, when Finn had finished all the files in his hand, he looked at Loki, who was lying on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling in a daze.

"Loki." Finn set down his pen and called out to her.

"Hm?" Loki, who had been daydreaming, looked toward Finn at the sound of his voice.

Loki saw Finn suddenly sit up straight behind his desk, looking at her with a serious expression.

"Even though I know that Liber, with his two magics, has extraordinary potential, you have been paying too much attention to this newcomer lately, Loki. And now you're arranging for Lefiya to team up with him—on the surface, it seems a bit overly doting."

Finn's tone was gentle, but his expression was serious and carried a hint of probing.

"Why are you so concerned? Before he grows up, the gossip of others doesn't matter, but as the captain, I need to know the reason for your focus so I can handle any potential strife that might arise within the Familia."

Loki, who had been lying down, suddenly flipped over and sat up at Finn's serious inquiry.

She sat cross-legged on the sofa, clutching her ankles with both hands, leaning forward with a fox-like smile on her face.

"Tell me, Finn, back when you were Level 1, how much did your status increase each time you updated it?"

Finn frowned, struggling to recall the situation as he prepared to answer Loki.

"Why do you ask? I only remember that the proficiency gains were in the tens at the start, but the rate of increase dropped off later on."

Loki leaned in toward Finn with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You know about what happened last night, right?"

Finn nodded in response to Loki. "Some members reported it to me, but is there a connection between the two?"

"Last night, that kid Liber came back in a sorry state. He had the guards worried sick. He went too deep into the Dungeon, which is why he was in such a mess. I went to check on him yesterday, and after confirming he was fine, I updated his status. Guess what happened?"

Finn looked at the childlike Loki and sighed before speaking.

"It's nothing more than a significant increase, I'm sure. Don't keep me in suspense—what is the reason for all this?"

"Liber went deep into the Dungeon yesterday, and this was only his second status update. Believe it or not, his total proficiency increased by nearly seven hundred points! If you add up the gains from his two updates, he's managed to rack up nearly eight hundred points of proficiency in a very short time since receiving his Falna."

Loki curled up on the sofa, rocking back and forth with an excited expression.

Finn looked at the theatrically behaving Loki in surprise, stunned.

"This growth rate... it's truly..."

Loki watched Finn's shocked expression and laughed triumphantly.

"Hahaha, that's the look! I knew you'd make that face."

Finn rested his head on one hand, calming his nerves. Looking at the exaggerated display from Loki, he shook his head helplessly.

"I have a general idea of how much you value newcomers. It seems this one is indeed worth paying extra attention to, but Loki, surely my surprise didn't warrant such an over-the-top reaction from you."

Loki stopped her dramatic movements and looked at Finn with a cheeky grin.

"Actually, while I didn't expect him to grow this rapidly, I had already guessed he had potential. I had planned to wait until he reached a certain level to surprise everyone, but he ended up shocking me first."

"Sigh, you... never mind. Then, regarding the next—"

Hearing the sounds of training in the courtyard suddenly cease, Finn paused mid-sentence.

"It seems the youngsters' warm-up is over. Loki, I was worried you might be over-investing, but it seems I was just worrying too much."

"Hehe, being overly concerned is a good thing, you know."

Loki replied to Finn with a sly look.

"Then keep a close eye on the newcomer. It looks like he'll be joining the expedition soon, so I need to carefully consider Liber's position for it."

"Oh, leave it to me. Since they've finished training, I'm going to go ask Ais how her training with Liber went."

Loki hopped off the sofa and walked out of the room, looking delighted.

Watching Loki leave, Finn stood up from his chair and walked to the window.

"The growth of a newcomer, huh..."

He looked up at the sky; it was cloudless, with the sun hanging high in the center.

Finn stood by the window, feeling the warmth of the weather as he watched the boy and girl in the courtyard finish their training and part ways after exchanging greetings.

He smiled faintly.

"This is truly something to look forward to."