"By the way, Leon, the Hearth Mansion has finished renovations. Haruhime and the others will be heading there with Belle from now on. They won't be staying in the underground church anymore." Hestia informed him calmly after Leon exchanged greetings with Daphne and Cassandra.
Leon turned his head toward Belle and Lili, offering them a warm smile. "Congratulations, Belle, Lili. You won't have to keep squeezing into that cramped church anymore."
"Thank you, Leon-sama." The group of young adventurers responded excitedly and in unison, full of gratitude.
Then Leon suddenly remembered something and said, "Right, Naaza's psychological trauma has been cured. She's able to return to the dungeon again."
He glanced at Belle and the others with a subtle grin and said, "Starting tomorrow, you can team up with Naaza. It's better if you take care of each other down there."
"Eh? Really?!" Belle's group was visibly surprised.
The Hestia Familia had always relied on the Blue Pharmacy for their potions, so everyone was very familiar with Naaza's condition. They knew she'd once suffered a deep mental scar regarding monsters, one that had effectively cut off her adventurer's path. None of them had expected her to recover.
"That's wonderful news. I can go on an expedition with Naaza-san now." Belle said with childlike excitement.
"We've finally formed a complete party!" Lili's eyes sparkled as she began to count off the team roles on her fingers.
"We've got a blacksmith—Welf, a healer—Cassandra, a forward—Belle, a central defender—me, two defenders—Daphne and Mikoto, and an assistant—Haruhime. Now we've got a pharmacist and an archer—Naaza!"
She puffed out her chest with pride. "The only thing we're missing is a mage."
"Hehehe, the Hestia Familia is finally on track." Hestia chuckled with pride, stuffing her hands into her sleeves and looking around at her growing family.
Seeing the cheerful atmosphere, Leon showed a rare, relaxed smile.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Naaza had just returned to the Blue Pharmacy.
"I'm back, Miach-sama." Naaza said softly as she stepped through the door, her tone gentle and calm.
Hearing her voice, Miach looked up from the counter where he was mixing a potion. "Welcome back, Naa—huh?"
He blinked in surprise mid-sentence, finally taking a good look at her.
Naaza was different now. A few droplets of blood still stained her cheeks, and an energy radiated from her that hadn't been there before.
"Miach-sama, Leon helped me overcome my psychological trauma." She said with a bright smile. "I can return to the dungeon again."
Miach was momentarily stunned. But when the meaning behind her words settled in, a gentle and proud smile gradually formed on his face.
"I see. That's wonderful, Naaza."
"I'll do my best moving forward!" She replied firmly, nodding with renewed determination.
For the next two days, Leon stayed quiet. He didn't take any further action, except to occasionally spar with Ais, Tione, and Tiona. The rest of his time was spent quietly at the library, waiting for news from Fels.
During this time, Hephaestus and Tsubaki essentially became permanent guests, showing up for every meal—breakfast included.
Even Demeter came by once, spending a long while chatting with both Leon and Hestia. Before she left, Leon requested that she deliver fresh fruits and vegetables every few days.
And then, two days passed in the blink of an eye.
That night, the news Leon had been waiting for finally came.
"Leon, I've finished crafting the keys. I made a total of fifty." Fels's voice echoed from the communication orb.
Leon narrowed his eyes slightly and responded with admiration. "As expected of a sage… well done."
In just two days, Fels had not only cracked the design of the artificial maze key but managed to produce fifty exact copies. That level of skill was something only Fels could pull off in all of Orario.
Without any delay, Leon immediately made his way to Fels's location that night, picked up the keys, and then rushed to Daedalus Street to find Finn.
As expected, Finn was stunned when he heard the news.
"The personal mercenary of Ouranos… truly amazing." He muttered, shaking his head in awe.
"With the keys in hand, we can finally prepare to launch a full assault on the artificial maze." Riveria chimed in with a serious nod, steering the conversation back to the mission at hand.
Leon nodded in agreement. "For this operation, only two forces will participate—Loki Familia and me."
He glanced around the office, filled with senior members of the Loki Familia. "We'll divide into four teams."
"I'll lead one." Finn said, then looked at the others. "Anakitty and Bete will also lead a team."
"I'm fine with that." Bete said, nodding lightly.
"No problem." Anakitty echoed in a calm voice.
"Team four will be led by Ais, Tione, and Tiona." Finn continued. Fresh chapters posted on NoveI[F]ire.net
"Leave it to us!" Tiona raised her fist with excitement, and the other two nodded without complaint.
Finn turned his attention to Leon next. "Leon, I'd like you to lead a team with Alicia. Would that be all right?"
"Of course." Leon smiled and agreed without hesitation.
"Thank you." Finn said sincerely. "As for Gareth and Riveria, I want you two to remain outside the maze and serve as the emergency response team."
"Understood." Gareth said with a slight nod.
"No problem." Riveria replied coolly.
Finn stood from his seat and looked around the room. "If possible, this should be a full-scale assault. But if we run into serious resistance, treat this as a recon mission for a future operation. Regardless of how far you make it, record everything. Do you understand?!"
"Yes." Everyone answered in unison.
"These are communication orbs I got from Fels." Leon added, pulling out several round objects and handing them out. "They allow long-distance communication. Use them if something goes wrong."
Finn turned the orb in his hand, marveling at it. "Amazing… we can stay in contact in real time."
That would allow Finn to issue commands based on live intel—a huge advantage in the winding, trap-laden artificial maze.
With the meeting concluded, the team disbanded for the night.
Leon returned to the library.
After washing up, he climbed into bed and as expected, Hestia crawled in right after, snuggling into his arms.
"Leon… you're attacking the artificial maze tomorrow, right?"
Her voice was quiet, muffled against his chest.
"I'll send Haruhime with you." She whispered. "Her power will definitely help."
Leon thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Alright. Haruhime can come with me."
Although Haruhime's Uchide no Kozuchi could only be used in close proximity, her Hero's Power was another story. As long as she had prior contact, she could apply it even from a distance.
With Haruhime on the team, they would have an extra layer of security in case anything went wrong.
"I'll have her ready in the morning." Hestia murmured.