After watching the fierce figure disappear into the distance, Liliruca turned her attention to Gareth.
"Mr. Gareth, I was right, wasn't I?"
Gareth glanced at Bete, who had now disappeared from view, before nodding slightly.
"Your guess is correct."
"That guy has always had a sharp tongue, but he doesn't actually harbor much ill will toward fellow adventurers in the familia."
Liliruca understood Gareth's point well. Compared to her experiences in the Soma Familia, Bete's treatment had been incredibly easygoing.
"Yes."
"If Bete truly despised us, he wouldn't have spared a single word. His attitude would have been nothing but cold indifference, even in his duties to protect us. But from what I've observed, Mr. Bete is different."
Liliruca had been paying close attention to Bete's expressions all along. Even the fleeting moment when he turned his head earlier was etched in her memory.
"He's proactive about protecting us. When faced with monsters we couldn't handle, Mr. Bete dealt with them much faster than we could. If he really despised us, wouldn't he have just let those monsters attack us?"
"That's a harsh thing to say." Gareth suddenly realized that Liliruca must have gone through something similar to reach such a conclusion. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so quick to judge.
However, Liliruca's assessment was actually correct.
If he truly didn't care, he wouldn't even bother putting in any effort.
If he really despised them, he would have started slacking off from the beginning. The ones with better acting skills might have pretended to care initially.
"You're right. That kid's always been like that. Even when he's concerned about others, he always has to express it in the most biting way."
Liliruca fell silent for a moment before lifting her head and voicing her theory.
"I think it's because Mr. Bete has been through something similar—he knows all too well the despair of being in that situation. That's why he deliberately speaks to us in such harsh terms."
"Like what Mr. Bete told us: 'The dungeon is a giant Monster Den. If we let our guard down, we could die at any moment.'"
"Mr. Bete must have faced similar ordeals before. Otherwise, he wouldn't keep repeating those warnings."
This child... She's as sharp as Finn. Gareth couldn't help but admire this little Pallum in front of him.
Although her innate talent wasn't particularly remarkable, her ability to see through people was no less than Finn's.
Now, Gareth began to understand why Finn cared for Liliruca so much—it was likely because of this very talent.
Others might not know about Bete's past, but as one of the elders in the familia, Gareth was well aware.
When Bete first joined the familia, Gareth personally investigated him as an individual. If not for that, he wouldn't understand Bete so well.
"Let's end the topic of Bete here. If we continue, we'll have to delve into his past—a story he truly doesn't want people bringing up."
Gareth chose not to elaborate further on Bete's story.
That werewolf's pride was too strong; sometimes, it's best not to poke at his sore spots.
Liliruca nodded in agreement.
The other listeners also started to realize that there was probably more to Bete's behavior than they'd initially thought. This gave them a different perspective on the difficult werewolf gentleman.
For adventurers, as long as there was no deliberate malice, it wasn't such a big deal.
Relationships only needed to avoid the level of toxicity found in the Soma Familia.
In that regard, the dynamics within Loki Familia were far better.
There wasn't much malicious entanglement between individuals.
The familia treated adventurers based on their personal strength and contributions. As long as one had enough strength, better treatment would follow.
Though such conditions might seem average, Loki Familia had taken this standard to its utmost. For adventurers of the same rank, Loki Familia provided the best treatment.
Moreover, Loki Familia had a natural advantage over other familias.
That advantage was the abundance of high-level adventurers, many of whom had agreeable personalities. The only truly difficult member within the entire familia was that Level 6 werewolf.
As long as Tione avoided talking about the leader, he wouldn't lose his temper.
Tiona was even easier to deal with. She was cheerful and optimistic most of the time, and unless someone deliberately targeted her, she was always happy-go-lucky. She had plenty of interactions with other adventurers and was even skilled at socializing as an Amazonian girl.
Even the foul-mouthed werewolf had come to understand the situation now.
Especially with Liliruca's conjecture and Gareth's confirmation. It was far more convincing than if the parties involved had explained it themselves.
With this understanding, the adventurers present felt much more at ease.
"Mr. Gareth, what should we do now?"
Clearly, their immediate task was to clear the floor.
But Liliruca wasn't so rash as to think they could clear this entire level.
"Wait."
Gareth's response left Liliruca puzzled, but she didn't press the matter further.
The others also stayed silent, quietly waiting.
About three minutes later, the sound of footsteps echoed from the staircase leading to the Lower Floors.
"Here she comes."
At Gareth's words, everyone instinctively turned their attention to the direction he pointed.
A figure slowly emerged from the darkness of the stairwell.
It was Vice-Captain, Riveria.
"Riveria, you're late."
Riveria, the target of Gareth's complaint, could only shrug helplessly.
"The situation in the depths is more complicated than we thought, and Ais is leading the team. What could I possibly do?"
"Although it took a few minutes longer than expected, the path to the safe zone has been cleared. The next step is to gather at the safe floor, then proceed with the lower floor briefing."
Yet, as she spoke, a sense of foreboding stirred within Riveria.
Only Ais had relevant data on the lower levels, having been directly involved in the entire operation.
But whenever it concerned Ais, Riveria always felt the need to be cautious.
Especially with Ais as she was now.