"Bell, is your business finished?"
Bell smiled lightly at the question, feeling there was no need to hide anything.
"You could say that. Two months—that's the maximum amount of time I can stay active at this stage. Even I don't want to go beyond that."
"Don't want to exceed it?"
Finn didn't quite understand what Bell meant.
"Mm… how should I put it?"
Bell thought carefully about how to explain, and after a long moment, decided to speak plainly.
"Simply put, I've reached the end of my path as an adventurer. But the reason this path ends is because of the limits of the adventurer system itself, not my own limits. So to avoid being restricted by that system, I need to reduce my activity at this stage."
His words revealed something unusual—something almost unimaginable.
And the most notable part wasn't the reduced activity time, but his opening statement: "My path as an adventurer has reached its end."
When these words reached Finn, Gareth, and Riveria's ears, it was nothing short of a massive explosion.
Unlike the others, these three knew Bell's exact level. They understood that when he said his path had "reached the end," it wasn't an exaggeration—it was literal.
The three of them were stunned speechless for a long moment.
Eventually, Finn managed to pull himself out of the shock.
"I didn't expect you to already be at that stage."
The pinnacle of adventurers—the height countless adventurers had once dreamed of reaching, Level 9.
But after the shock settled, Finn finally grasped the deeper meaning behind Bell's later words. For Bell, even Level 9 wasn't the end.
So the real focus was on the phrase "this path." Finn immediately understood the true point.
Reaching the pinnacle of the adventurer's path wasn't the issue. The real issue was that Bell intended to take an entirely different path. Finn couldn't help but sigh inwardly—only Bell could even think of something like that.
'For ordinary adventurers like us, even approaching Level 9 is nearly impossible. Only he could consider a different road.'
Once again, Finn felt the cruelty of the world. Sometimes talent and ability truly determined how far someone could go.
"So, you just finished then?"
"Yeah. Two months of special training. I was planning to go home and rest for a few days before thinking about my promotion."
"Do you really need to rush this time?"
Finn's surprised look made Bell feel a bit helpless. If he could avoid rushing, he would. But time wouldn't wait.
"This time I'm forging a completely new path, so the timing of my promotion is unpredictable. So for a while, I'll likely disappear completely."
"I don't even know how long it will take, but one thing is certain."
"When I disappear, several goddesses will also vanish from the gods' sight. They're directly connected to me. During my promotion, the gods might guess my identity, which would put them in danger."
"So if you want to know whether my promotion is complete, just pay attention to any goddesses who disappear for a while and then reappear."
This served as a hint for Finn. But Bell gave this warning mainly because of one unpredictable factor—Ais.
Who knew if she would start causing trouble again while looking for him?
So to prevent that unpredictable factor from acting up, it was better to tell Finn everything and let him stabilize her.
As he spoke, Bell glanced sideways toward Ais.
Ah. Finn immediately understood why Bell had told him all of this.
"Come to think of it, after Loki-sama announced Ais's promotion, you all rushed into the dungeon to hide. Ais didn't spend much time with those two, did she?"
He was referring to Ais's parents.
Finn understood perfectly.
"As for those two, their bodies still hadn't fully recovered. Even when we announced the expedition, they were still training to regain control."
"Because they needed daily physical training, they naturally had less time to spend with Ais."
"And since Ais is one of our main forces for the expedition, she had her own preparations to handle. So she didn't have much time to be with them either."
At this stage, both sides had little free time, which meant their time together had decreased significantly.
Finn truly wished Ais could spend more time with her parents, but the expedition's schedule was set. He had no choice but to pull her into preparations.
This wasn't a short expedition. They were preparing for an extended one. Naturally, gathering supplies took longer.
Because of the expedition's expected duration, Finn requested that Tsubaki and a group of craftsmen from the Hephaestus Familia accompany them.
Staying in the dungeon for a long period made weapon upkeep a major concern.
Finn had even planned a joint expedition and explained the situation to Loki. He expected long negotiations, especially regarding profit distribution—but unexpectedly, Hephaestus agreed almost instantly, shortening the preparation period drastically.
"I see…"
Bell felt a pang of guilt toward Ais.
To help him take the blame, she had even given up her time with her parents. To put it bluntly, this was all his fault.
"I'm sorry, Ais. I've really troubled you this time."
But Ais simply shook her head, unconcerned.
"Dad and Mom are both alive. There will be plenty of time to be with them later. There's no need to rush."
She had genuinely been anxious at first, but once she learned from Loki that she could help her teacher, her urgency had completely vanished.
Her parents would be with her for a long time now—things weren't like before anymore. So there was no need for her to cling to them right this moment.
Bell, of course, didn't take her words literally. Most likely, the girl had been encouraged by something someone said. That was why she stepped forward to take the blame this time.
Which was why he made a rare decision.
"Ais, after I complete my promotion, I'll come find you. When that time comes, I'll give you a gift."
...