Chapter 141: If there's any more delay, Luke would starve to death!
"I heard that whenever you have time recently, you go to challenge Gareth."
Luke looked at Bete, who was facing away from him, smiled, and asked him:
"Are you going to challenge him even though you know you can't win?"
"Nonsense! How do I know if I can win or not if I don't fight?"
Bete refused to admit defeat verbally, but deep down, he actually understood.
He was just unwilling and discontented.
Luke lay on the grass, lifting his head to look at the sky.
"Bete, you asked me before, right?"
"You asked how many members of the Loki Familia are useless without the protection of someone strong."
"So, how about it, have you got your answer now?"
"...Tsk, they're just a bunch of weaklings."
Hearing Luke's question, Bete replied discontentedly.
But he only spoke half of it.
'Although they are a bunch of weaklings, they are not useless.'
He didn't say this latter half aloud, but Bete knew Luke would understand what he meant.
Bete had joined the Loki Familia for several months now, during which he also participated in an expedition with the team.
It was that expedition that truly integrated Bete into the Loki Familia.
Only by personally witnessing with the team can one truly understand the greatness of the three leaders of the Loki Familia.
The members of the Loki Familia expedition team can all act fearlessly in battle; their figures fighting to the death with monsters from start to finish are exactly what an 'adventurer' should look like.
This is all because they fully trust the voice that guides them.
They have the toughest shields, the most powerful magic, and a commander who will never make a mistake.
They carry the pride and glory of being part of the strongest Familia.
Bete might not say it, but he also deeply knows the greatness of Finn and the others.
"Aren't there still some casualties?"
"Even for those as strong as Finn and his group, aren't there still weaklings who fall behind?"
Indeed, no matter how strong Finn and the others are, they can't achieve zero casualties forever.
Although not frequent, there are still those who die in battle, unfortunately.
"That's our job then."
Luke stood up, patting off the dirt that clung to him.
"Finn and the others have finished almost all the work; only a little bit is left."
"If we can't even do this bit of work well, then what are we, the core members, for?"
"I'll leave you with a saying."
"Misfortunes in the world often stem from a lack of ability on the part of those involved."
"If you don't want to see 'the weak' die in front of you, then strive to become stronger, strong enough to save everything you see."
After speaking, Luke left the courtyard.
Bete's condition was much better than he had imagined.
Following this progress, it wouldn't take long for Bete to fully integrate into Loki Familia.
So, there's basically no need to worry anymore.
Luke, who had informed Bete not to enter the dungeon recently, should, by logic, go next to notify Ais.
However, Luke didn't plan to do so.
If Ais wants to enter the dungeon, she would first come to find him; notifying her doesn't really matter.
Moreover, they were just returning from exploring the dungeon today, and there was no plan for a second exploration.
Thinking of this, Luke felt somewhat hungry.
Today, he and Ais, along with Ryuu, returned from the dungeon around dinner time.
But because they heard the news of Ottar's upgrade, they first went back to their Familia residence for a meeting, and then he chatted with Bete for a while.
With all this delay, he completely missed dinner time in the large dining hall.
Now he could only go out to eat something.
Leaving Twilight Manor, Luke didn't think too much and headed towards Mama Mia's tavern.
After all, the food there was much more delicious than other places.
The price was high, but with his team finally having decent logistics, Luke no longer needed to worry about it.
Moreover, he was not entirely without curiosity.
This is a momentous transition between the strongest of the old and new generations. It's impossible for Mia, who was once the strongest, to have no opinion on Ottar surpassing her.
Walking on the road.
Luke, who was about to go for a meal, saw a scene that caught his attention.
"God Miach? What are you doing?"
Luke looked at the god in front of him, who was holding a bag of vegetables, with great surprise.
He was very surprised by the other party's appearance as a househusband.
Miach Familia, a Familia that operates a potion sales business, is not top-notch in Orario but still has a considerable reputation.
Miach Familia is powerful enough to compete with Dian Cecht Familia, a strong healing-type Familia.
Their relationship is similar to that between the Goibniu Familia and Hephaestus Familia, belonging to the first and second-ranked competitors in their respective fields.
The first time Luke saw the god Miach, he was shocked because the other party was completely different from his impression of a poor god in the anime.
Now it seems this isn't a deviation from the original work. But then, what happened to cause the decline of the Miach Familia?
"Hm? Oh, it's Luke."
God Miach, who was suddenly stopped on the road, was also startled, but he immediately recognized the adventurer who often visited his shop.
At the same time, he understood why Luke would stop him.
"Ah, as you see, our Familia has already declined."
"Rather than decline, it's almost no different from disbanding."
Miach had an obvious look of loss on his face.
The decline of their Familia is what most gods fear the most; now being seen in such a desolate state by an acquaintance, Miach felt very bitter.
"Did something happen?"
"If there's anything that needs help, just tell me."
Maybe because he has a natural affinity for characters appearing in the original work, Luke often visited Miach Familia's potion shop before.
Their potions are also excellent, and much cheaper than those of Dian Cecht Familia.
If Dian Cecht Familia is going for a high-end route, then Miach Familia takes the low-end route.
For rookies and low-level adventurers, or even adventurers like Luke who don't have much demand for potions, choosing Miach Familia's potions is more cost-effective.
After all, Dian Cecht Familia's extremely high-quality elixirs are precious items used to save lives at critical moments.
Neither in terms of price nor effects are they suited for regular use.
"Ah, thank you, but for now there's nothing I need help with."
"It's just that a child of my Familia was injured and a large amount of money was spent on her treatment, leading to my Familia's decline due to debt."
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave first. The injured child still needs my care."
Luke watched god Miach turn and quickly walk away; his flustered escape made Luke thoughtful.
Recently he has been cooperating with Ryuu, with no plan to delve deep into the dungeon and therefore no need to replenish potions.
Thus, Luke hadn't visited Miach's shop for a while.
The last time he went was because of 'The Nightmare on the 27th Floor', preparing to enter the lower floors of the dungeon to replenish potion supplies.
At that time, Miach Familia was still operating normally.
Tragic event, member injured, treatment, debt.
Linking these keywords together, combined with god Miach's hurried escape just now.
Luke basically understood the cause of the situation.
Deciding to make sure to visit and confirm later, Luke continued on his way to Hostess of Fertility.
If there's any more delay, Luke would starve to death!
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