Liber stood beside Bete and glanced at Lefiya, who was looking a little down after hearing Riveria's words.
He held the cup of tea Lefiya had brought him, took a sip, and spoke to her softly.
"Don't lose heart. When we got back, Tiona and the others were still praising you."
Lefiya lowered her head a little further.
"They were only trying to comfort me. When Miss Ais and the others fought the Freya Familia, I couldn't help at all. Miss Tiona even had to save my life."
"How embarrassing."
She slowly curled up, crouching on the ground and tracing lines in the dirt with her finger.
Seeing her crouched there in dejection, Liber couldn't help feeling a little exasperated. Lefiya had only recently started to regain some confidence, and now she'd lost it again.
He glanced at the executives, who were still discussing what to do next.
Holding his teacup, he quietly bent down and crouched beside her.
The dispirited Lefiya was staring at the lines she'd absentmindedly drawn on the ground.
Feeling something brush against her, she turned around. The face suddenly looming close startled her so badly that she fell onto her bottom.
"Eek!"
Hearing Lefiya's cry, everyone who'd been discussing things turned to look.
"What's wrong, Lefiya?"
Tiona, who was draped over the back of the sofa, poked her head out and curiously looked at Lefiya sitting on the ground.
"Th-that..."
Lefiya sat on the ground, supporting herself with both hands, and stammered.
"Come on, get up."
Liber, crouching beside her, held out a hand, a hint of amusement on his face.
Pouting, Lefiya took his hand and let him pull her up. She spoke in a quiet voice.
"Don't tease me, Liber."
"Sorry, sorry."
Liber let go once he'd helped her up and casually apologized.
Seeing that Lefiya and Liber were standing and unharmed, the executives resumed their discussion.
Noticing her irritation, Liber took a couple of sips of tea and asked quietly,
"Feeling a little better?"
"Huh?"
Still startled by Liber's prank, Lefiya blinked at his question.
Before she could say anything, Finn looked toward Liber.
"Thank you, Liber. I didn't expect you to make it back in time."
Hearing Finn's praise, Liber straightened up and replied earnestly,
"I didn't do much. You don't have to be so formal, Captain."
"Why are you being modest? I saw the wounds on Allen."
As she spoke, Tiona glanced at Bete behind them and teased him.
"Unlike some people, who got beaten up the whole time."
"You want me to shut that mouth of yours for good?"
Bete suddenly moved closer to Tiona, baring his teeth as he spoke.
"Soo~ sca~ry~"
Tiona paid no heed to Bete's threat. Pulling down her eyelids, she mocked him.
At her silly expression, Bete's mouth twitched. He grabbed her cheeks and clamped a hand over her mouth.
"If you don't want to keep that mouth, I'd better shut it for you."
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Tiona's cheeks squeezed in Bete's grip, she stared wide-eyed and made muffled noises before abruptly breaking free.
With anger in her eyes, she lunged at Bete.
"I'll kill you, you bastard!"
She vaulted over the sofa, tackled Bete to the ground, and started wrestling with him.
Everyone stared at the two of them on the floor in wordless dismay.
Finn smiled helplessly and looked at Liber.
"Modesty is a fine virtue, but Tiona was right. You and Bete held Allen back together.
"That gave us a chance to hold Ottar at bay, keeping things from escalating further."
"I was worried about your condition before, but now I can see that you've grown far beyond my expectations."
At Finn's words, Liber scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
Suppressing a smile as he regarded Liber, Finn spoke warmly.
"If there's anything you need, tell me. We can add it to the request we submit to the Freya Familia.
"If they refuse, the Familia will do its best to provide it."
"There isn't really anything I'm lacking at the moment."
Liber sounded a little troubled.
"What about a weapon? You're still using an ordinary one, aren't you? Do you need anything in that regard?"
Finn asked curiously.
"Ah! Well... as for a weapon, the god Goibniu promised to forge me one with an unbreakable property for free."
"Huh?"
Everyone stared at Liber in surprise.
"Wh-why... though?!"
Still wrestling with Bete, Tiona spoke haltingly as he squeezed her cheeks.
"I can't tell you the reason. Goibniu and I made an agreement—or you could call it a deal."
Liber answered Tiona awkwardly.
Finn looked at him in confusion and asked hesitantly,
"As captain of the Loki Familia, allow me to ask: this agreement or deal doesn't involve the Familia, does it?"
"No, no. It doesn't involve any specific business. I'm just helping him with something personally."
Liber quickly waved his hands as he replied.
"All right. That does make it difficult. Is there anything else you need?"
Finn sighed with relief, leaned back in his chair, and propped his head on one hand as he asked.
"Then how about weapons after all? Ordinary ones are fine. I'd like to get quite a few."
Liber thought it over and decided to ask Finn for weapons after all.
"I don't know what you need so many weapons for, but that works. If it's only a few, the Familia can meet your needs."
"How many do you want, exactly?"
Finn asked.
"The more, the better. At least twenty."
Liber gave it some thought as he answered.
"That many? The Familia can provide them, but let's put it on the bill first. We can try asking them for forty."
Finn tapped his brow, considered their own stock and the compensation from the Freya Familia, then decided to add the weapons to the bill.
Liber shrugged and didn't object.
Bete and Tiona, who'd been tussling on the floor, got to their feet, ready to start fighting again.
"All right, you two. Stop for now."
Finn called out to stop them.
He clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.
"Whatever else happens, tonight's business is behind us. You've all been busy all night, so get some rest.
"If anything else needs discussing, I'll send someone to notify you."
"Thanks for all your hard work. That concludes the meeting—dismissed!"
Liber walked down the corridor with the others.
He watched as they split off at each junction and returned to their rooms.
When he reached the junction that led to his room, he started down the passage.
Suddenly, Ais spoke from behind him.
"I heard you fought Allen one-on-one earlier and injured him. Is that true?"
Liber turned to her. After considering Ais's question, he replied,
"I wouldn't say that. I didn't have that kind of power yet."
He shrugged.
The wounds on Allen were only there because Allen had underestimated him and brought them on himself.
"...Is that so?"
Ais murmured, looking confused.
"Of course."
Hearing Ais's mumble, he confirmed what she was wondering.
"Well, if that's all, I'll head back to my room. Bye!"
Seeing that she still looked confused, Liber turned and waved as he walked toward his room.
Before you continue