Chapter 90 - Celebration Banquet!
"What? Retirement? Mía Grand?"
At this time, Finn and several other senior members of Loki Familia were gathering in a brand new conference room for a discussion.
They were discussing the rumors Finn happened to hear on the way back.
The last sentence was asked by Gareth.
"Yeah, when I first heard this news, it really startled me."
"But I went to Freya for confirmation. And it seems like this is true."
Loki, who always had a playful attitude, was not in the mood for jokes at this time, her face filled with contemplation and confusion.
Freya Familia, one of the strongest Familia in Orario, whose current leader Mía Grand, officially announced her partial retirement from the frontline exploration of the underground dungeon.
As a first-class adventurer in Orario, the self-proclaimed one of the 'strongest,' announcing retirement is not a trivial matter.
"What a joke. What is that violent female rogue thinking?"
"In this sensitive period, if this causes turmoil and Evilus takes advantage of it, what should we do?"
Gareth had the most intense reaction to this matter.
Mía Grand, like him, was a dwarf.
Perhaps because of being the same race, Gareth and Mía usually quarreled the most when they met.
(PS: Mama Mía is a dwarf who is 180cm tall, and I can no longer understand the definition of dwarves in this world.)
The two almost always bickered as soon as they met, whether it was due to a competitive mentality or some other factor.
"Gareth has a point. Recently, the activities of Evilus have become more and more frequent. Any unexpected changes at this time are not good news for us."
Finn agreed with Gareth's statement. He looked at Loki next to him and asked:
"Loki, did you ask Mía what she plans to do after retiring?"
"Uh... well... Freya told me that Demi Ymir seems to be planning to open a tavern?"
"Huh???"
Upon hearing this answer, not only did Gareth let out a strange yell, but even Finn and Riveria were stunned.
Loki looked at their reactions, scratching her head with some distress.
"Freya did tell me that."
"Supposedly, Mía's exact words were, 'No matter how messed up the times are, there should always be a place where you can laugh and eat!'"
It's because of the increasing activities of Evilus and the deteriorating security in Orario that Mía Grand chose to retire.
Her plan is to establish a place where anyone can happily eat and drink.
For this reason, one of the 'strongest' in Orario voluntarily gave up the path of becoming stronger for a reason that doesn't even qualify as a dream and opened a tavern.
After hearing this reason, Finn and the others fell silent.
After a while, Finn suddenly spoke, "If I'm not mistaken, she should have opened her tavern in West Street, right?"
West Street is the area with the most number of ordinary residents and, in the current declining security of Orario, the area with the weakest defense forces.
If Mía really opened her tavern on West Street, then her purpose is obviously...
"That violent woman, actually..."
Gareth looked at Loki, who nodded, feeling uncomfortable for some reason.
Finn looked at Gareth, pondered for a moment, and said, "Let's go check out that tavern sometime. Although we are in a competitive relationship, Freya Familia is also considered an ally."
"Hmph, who is an ally with that female rogue."
Gareth grumbled, but he didn't oppose Finn's suggestion.
The matter was settled.
"Now that it's decided, let's discuss the celebration banquet for tonight!"
After the serious discussion, Loki immediately broke the slightly heavy atmosphere.
"This time, we have a grand dining hall. Finally, we can have a banquet at home!"
Loki's performance immediately gave Finn and the others a headache.
"Having a banquet at home is your main goal, right? I can already imagine countless restless nights ahead."
Riveria was the only one among them who opposed building a grand dining hall.
When Loki proposed this idea, she had a foreboding sense of headache.
Finn and Gareth also had some regrets about approving this proposal.
At that time, they only thought about the convenience of having a grand dining hall and overlooked the fact that this proposal came from their own god.
But what's done is done. Finn could only helplessly ask Loki:
"So, how's the preparation of ingredients, the invitation of chefs, and is the grand dining hall ready as the venue for the banquet?"
Each of Finn's questions pierced Loki like a sword.
Finn looked at the goddess in charge of their familia, who was whimsical at times, and even he couldn't help but sigh.
"Alright, alright, I understand. Leave the banquet arrangements to me. Since there's still some time before tonight, let's quickly start preparing."
In the end, Finn could only reluctantly take on this task.
Finn and Riveria took some members of Loki Familia, one responsible for procuring food, the other for hiring chefs.
Gareth, being the strongest, was assigned to lead people in preparing the grand dining hall as the venue for the banquet.
…
Time always flies in busyness, and in the blink of an eye, evening arrived.
Under the joint efforts of Finn and the others, the celebration banquet was successfully held.
Loki was now sitting happily in the main seat.
"Let's cheer for the success of this expedition!"
"Cheers!"
With Loki leading the way, a large number of glasses were raised, and the banquet officially began.
Luke and Ais were both attending the Loki Familia banquet for the first time.
The two who had been following Finn and the others didn't quite integrate into this rowdy group.
Ais was relatively better off, sitting next to Riveria, who kept serving her dishes.
This situation led Finn and Gareth, who had been drinking, to jokingly say, "Riveria is already a good mother," making Riveria feel very embarrassed.
As for Luke, he simply chatted with Finn and the others while enjoying the food.
However, this situation didn't last too long.
After some time at the banquet, some slightly intoxicated Familia members gradually surrounded Luke and Ais.
Since Luke and Ais usually didn't interact much with ordinary members, everyone didn't have many opportunities to talk to them.
However, this didn't mean that the other Familia members weren't curious about them.
After all, they were designated as core members of Loki Familia as soon as they joined, and many had witnessed Luke and Ais's extraordinary combat capabilities during the expedition.
Previously, everyone was unfamiliar, so they were hesitant to strike up a conversation.
Now, fueled by alcohol, they gathered around Luke and Ais with newfound courage.
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