Chapter 69 - Expansion of the Familia's Base!
Riveria, accompanied by Luke and Ais, emerged from the dungeon.
Upon exiting, their first order of business was to exchange their loot for money.
The Money Exchange, also known as the Currency Exchange, is located on the first floor of the Tower of Babel, within the adventurer's guild office hall.
Its purpose is to reclaim magic stones and materials obtained by adventurers in the dungeon, following the corresponding prices.
Of course, adventurers have the choice to sell these drop items to the guild or not.
In the case of prominent Familia like the Loki Familia, one of the top Familias in Orario, they have trade relations with many commerce-oriented Familias, allowing adventurers to sell their gains to these partners.
As they progress deeper into the middle and lower floors of the dungeon, monster materials and dropped items become scarce.
Magic stones maintain a stable value, acting as a hard currency with fixed prices.
However, dropped items and dungeon materials vary.
Monster materials can be used to craft equipment, and rare drop items can even be used to craft "first-class" equipment used by top-tier adventurers like Finn.
These rare materials are often brought back to their own Familias for internal use.
However, the magic stone fragments and dropped items that Luke and Ais brought from the first floor have limited value.
It's more efficient for them to exchange them for money directly at the guild's counter.
Considering they only spent around 4-5 hours in the dungeon today, their earnings are not substantial.
Nevertheless, this marks their first income as adventurers, and theoretically, they should be happy.
However, the atmosphere among the three seems somewhat heavy.
The main factor for this change is undoubtedly Ais.
Compared to her obedient and cheerful demeanor when they first arrived in the dungeon, Ais, who was enthusiastic about monster hunting, now seems a bit depressed and low-spirited.
It's clear that Ais hasn't fully recovered from the harsh reality she experienced before.
Walking silently through the streets, the three of them lack the relaxed and casual atmosphere they had on their way here before.
Even Riveria is feeling a bit of regret now.
She is reflecting on whether her teaching was too aggressive.
However, Ais has chosen to become an adventurer, and this path was of her own choosing.
As long as she intends to enter the dungeon, sooner or later, she will learn about the harsh reality.
It might take a day or two, maybe a week or two, but definitely not too long.
Because this kind of 'malice' among adventurers is too common in the dungeon.
Thinking about it now is useless.
What needs to be done at the moment is to divert Ais's attention from this matter so that she doesn't dwell on it.
After making up her mind, Riveria casually spoke to Luke and Ais, "Speaking of which, the time for you two to join Loki Familia is just right."
"Huh? What do you mean? Is Loki Familia planning some event?"
Luke sensed Riveria's intention and didn't hesitate, smoothly picking up where she left off.
Hearing Luke smoothly continuing the conversation, Riveria breathed a sigh of relief.
At least she wasn't left talking to herself. It's worth noting that for someone like Riveria, who is not good at words, comforting others is quite a challenging task.
After giving Luke a 'knowing' look, Riveria continued to speak, "Recently, there have been many newcomers in our familia, and the once spacious 'Twilight Manor' has become somewhat crowded."
"So, recently, Loki and Finn are discussing the expansion of 'Twilight Manor.'"
Luke had been paying attention to Ais's emotional changes. Once he noticed her inclination to be drawn into the topic, he decided to keep the conversation going.
"Expansion, huh? Will there be any new facilities added, such as a training ground or something?"
"Forget about the training grounds; that's impossible."
When it comes to training grounds, the biggest headache is not someone else but Riveria herself, who is a mage.
As the strongest mage in Orario, Riveria's magic is so powerful that if she were to unleash her full power, it could even flatten everything in her line of sight.
How could she use a training ground? Should she be responsible for cleaning up the mess after every training session?
"However, speaking of new facilities, it seems not impossible."
Riveria furrowed her brow, seemingly recalling the details she heard at that time.
The expansion of the headquarters is mainly managed by Loki and Finn, so Riveria wasn't heavily involved, and her impression of it isn't very deep.
"Oh right, Loki said they plan to add a large dining hall for the use of all Familia members."
Previously, Loki Familia didn't have a unified dining hall because the number of members wasn't too large, and most adventurers wouldn't stay within the Familia's residence during the day.
Therefore, there was no centralized dining area.
Familia members had to go outside to eat, which became inconvenient over time.
With the increase in the number of members, if they were to expand, the construction of a large dining hall would indeed be a necessity.
(PS: At the beginning of the plot, Loki Familia seemed to have around 50 to 60 members. Considering the strength of Loki Familia, the casualty rate should not be too high, so the number of members should be continuously increasing. Now it's nine years ago, let's say there were around 30 people for the sake of argument.)
Hearing about the construction of a dining area not only piqued Luke's interest, but even Ais was genuinely drawn into the topic.
Watching the reactions of the two, Riveria felt somewhat helpless.
Why is it that whenever the topic of food comes up, everyone becomes so enthusiastic?
The same goes for Loki and Finn, as soon as the construction of the grand dining hall was mentioned, the proposal was instantly approved.
However, since Ais's attention was successfully diverted, it's better to continue with this topic.
"After the dining area is constructed, the variety and quality of food shouldn't be bad. After all, Loki insists on 'never letting the girls in Loki Familia eat anything that's not delicious!'"
Thinking about Loki's attitude at that time, Riveria couldn't help but feel a headache.
"As for ingredients, Finn has already contacted corresponding Familia who specialize in this area, so it shouldn't be too bad."
"So, you can look forward to the grand dining area a little bit."
Perhaps because they heard good news, Ais's mood noticeably improved.
Compared to emotionally complex adults, children's emotions always change very quickly.
And noticing Ais's improved mood, Riveria and Luke temporarily set aside their concerns.
The three of them thus reluctantly restored a harmonious atmosphere.
Chatting on one side and planning to find a place to have dinner, then return to the Familia headquarters.
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