His personality was quite arrogant, and he always looked down on weak adventurers, a typical believer in strength.
Despite often speaking harshly, sometimes even excessively, his actions often contradicted his sharp words.
Tiona smiled at Bert: "If something like that happens, I'll kill you."
The surrounding adventurers also turned their attention to them, and for a moment, all eyes seemed to be focused on Bert.
He turned his head, looked away, and said coldly, "Hmph, I know."
Aishe smiled.
Aishe didn't back down, her smile revealing confidence: "Last time, someone was beaten badly by me, are you sure you want to try again?"
On the other side, the Amazon girl Tiona's sister, [Wrath Serpent] Tione, bit her handkerchief unwillingly, muttering resentfully: "Goo… …[Holy Sword User (Saber)]!"
Tione ignored her, her voice full of dissatisfaction: "A woman's anger is unreasonable."
Although Tione tried her best to prevent all of this from happening, even using every method to monopolize Finn, she still couldn't stop the gradual warming of the relationship between those two fellow adventurers.
And the beginning of all this was because of Wei Gong and Liliruca's actions.
No matter how angry Tione was in her heart, she didn't dare to get angry with Liliruca, so she could only hold these grievances in her heart and get annoyed with Wei Gong.
If Wei Gong was really angered, it wouldn't just be Liliruca who would want to teach her a lesson, I'm afraid all the members of the Loki Familia would join in.
Some of them also planned to use the last time to update their ability values to ensure that their condition reached its best.
The last expedition can be described as a complete victory. Although no one was successfully promoted in the end, almost all members' ability values were significantly improved.
"Ah, Shirou-kun is here!"
Tiona stood in the distance looking around, and when she saw Wei Gong appear in her field of vision, she immediately waved and shouted excitedly. Aishe, who had been waiting aside, immediately greeted him.
Wei Gong responded.
In this joint expedition, Wei Gong, Ryunova, Kuroe, and Yamato Mikoto will join, while Anya and Haruhime will not be able to participate in this operation due to some reasons and considerations.
Tiona said, her tone full of amazement, "Ais blew the house away in one go!"
"Shirou, can I commission you to make a sword for me too? I want that kind of heavy sword, the kind that can be swung with great power."
Wei Gong said.
Because there were too many people who wanted to commission him to make weapons, Wei Gong had to transfer these commissions to the Hephaestus Familia to handle.
Only in this way, her weapon [Great Twin Blade Urga], which cost 120 million valis to build, seemed a bit wasteful.
"Shirou, you're here."
Liliruca said gently.
Recently, Wei Gong and Liliruca have been meeting frequently.
Most of the time, they meet when Ais comes to the Hephaestus Familia to practice swordsmanship.
As for Ais, as a level 5 first-class adventurer, the famous [Sword Princess], is there a possibility that she has the ability to walk to the Hephaestus Familia's residence by herself?
In the beginning, Wei Gong and Ais would usually have some simple sparring, practicing basic swordsmanship movements or dealing with changes in battle.
As for Liliruca, she and Wei Gong always walked into the workshop after the sparring, leaving Ais alone to continue swinging her sword in the training ground.
"Shirou, these are some details about this expedition, take a look first."
His relationship with Liliruca was already very close, and he got along very well with the members of the Loki Familia.
"First of all, the use of magic swords."
Liliruca began to say.
Wei Gong nodded: "If these magic swords are used because of me, there is no need to pay a fee, I can bear this part."
However, Liliruca shook her head: "No, this will cause confusion in the accounts, and it will be difficult to clearly divide the responsibilities at that time. In any case, the used magic swords are considered to be bought by our Loki Familia."
"In order to ensure the smooth progress of the expedition and everyone's safety, we may have to rely on the magic swords you project in certain situations."
Wei Gong frowned slightly when he heard this: "Projecting magic swords is just a consumption of mental power for me. It seems a bit unreasonable to charge a fee for this…"
Magic swords are life-saving tools in times of crisis, and Wei Gong's ability to project magic swords should of course not be wasted.
After thinking for a moment, Wei Gong nodded and suggested: "You can set a lower fine. I won't charge this money, but it can be used as funds for the members to purchase medicines and make equipment."
In the end, they formulated a specific strategy: Wei Gong would provide the team with projected magic swords, but these magic swords should not be used casually as much as possible.
In addition to the agreement on magic swords, Liliruca also formulated some other agreements, including the arrangement of Wei Gong and his team's positions in the expedition, tactical positions, and other details.
Of course, this is mainly because the cooperative relationship with the Hephaestus Familia is very important, and not because of Liliruca's personal emotional inclinations.
Liliruca looked at the documents spread out on the table, nodded with satisfaction, then gently exhaled and turned her gaze to the window.
"As of now, there is still some time."
Liliruca turned her head, not looking directly at Wei Gong, her voice was very soft.
The figures of the two overlapped in the dim room, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone on them, appearing gentle and peaceful.
She tilted her head slightly and asked in a nonchalant tone: "How are those two elves from the Dionysus Familia doing?"
Filvis is still the same as before. Although she is now willing to talk to Wei Gong and Lefiya, she is still generally taciturn and not very proactive in expressing her thoughts.
This also leads to Kuroe and the others' impression of her as a "Bitch Elf" becoming even more deeply rooted.
Liliruca listened to Wei Gong's narration, her eyes slightly lowered, and her long eyelashes cast long shadows in the setting sun.
Wei Gong said, "They are also elves… …They are your people, so I especially cannot ignore them."
Liliruca was slightly stunned, she smiled softly: "Is that so?"
She sighed softly, a hint of helpless smile on the corner of her mouth: "If you look at me like this, I can only believe even the most absurd rhetoric."
"No, it's okay, I was just thinking about Shirou and Lady Liliruca being together, that kind of double, no, quadruple happiness, oh hoo… …"
"Then, as before, starting from here, the [Vanguard] and [Main Force] groups will meet, and then they will act together."
However, those who truly understand Bert know that, despite his harsh words and rude demeanor, he is actually a soft-hearted person.
"Bert, you can't be rude to others like you usually are—I'm still counting on Shirou to forge equipment for me. If your attitude gives Shirou a negative impression of our Loki Familia, that would be a real problem."
Faced with such collective "attention," even the usually arrogant [Fierce Wolf] Bertilak couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end.
"What's this? The [Fierce Wolf] can be docile too."
Bert immediately retorted, not wanting to be outdone: "Huh? Elf, are you looking for a fight?"
Bert was stung where it hurt, his face turning slightly red, but he couldn't refute it, only snorting coldly.
"Sigh, sister, not again."
Tiona looked at her frustrated expression, helplessly spread her hands, and shook her head: "That matter has nothing to do with Shirou-kun."
The reason she was so angry was that among the slaves rescued by Emiya and Riveria, there was a female pallum. That person has now joined the Loki Familia, and her relationship with the [Brave] Finn is rapidly growing closer.
As a member of the same Familia, Tione couldn't bring herself to act against her companion, and could only watch as the trend of her becoming a "loser" became more and more obvious, her frustration growing harder to dispel.
The reason she could only suppress this anger was naturally because she couldn't afford to offend either Riveria or Emiya.
Therefore, Tione only dared to complain quietly to her sister.
Now, on the day before the expedition, the adventurers of the Loki Familia were busy at the base, packing their gear and preparing everything needed for the expedition.
Especially Aiz, who performed outstandingly in the two battles against the Labyrinth Alone King and the Strong Dragon, causing her stats to increase significantly.
Now, the [Sword Princess]'s stats have caught up to, and even surpassed, Tiona and others who leveled up to earlier than her.
"Shirou～"
The elegant elven lady stepped forward and gently took the young man's hand.
"Long time no see, Alicia-nee-san."
Currently, Emiya, as the captain, had come to the Loki Familia's base alone in advance to negotiate and coordinate before the expedition.
"Shirou, the swords you forge are truly amazing!"
Aiz lowered her head shyly upon hearing this, with a hint of embarrassment on her face.
Tiona then asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Well... it's possible, but it still needs to go through official channels and be commissioned through the Familia."
In the end, most of the commissions were directly rejected by the Goddess Hephaestus.
However, if it was Tiona's commission, it would definitely be accepted.
"With Shirou here, this expedition will definitely be a great success."
Alicia said with a smile.
She paused slightly, as if remembering something: "Oh right, Lady Riveria said she has something to discuss with you. Shirou, I'll take you there first."
Riveria always personally brought Aiz here for training. No matter how busy she was, she never seemed to feel comfortable letting Aiz go alone.
Riveria had never considered this issue.
Anyway, for Aiz, Riveria always personally took her to find Emiya.
Then, after each sparring session, Emiya would point out some minor issues and have her practice on her own.
Each time, Aiz could see them both disappear behind the door of the workshop, and then Riveria would return after a long time.
Riveria handed a document to Emiya.
Emiya took the document, nodded, and quickly scanned the paper.
However, precisely because she was so familiar, Riveria felt that all the details and agreements should be clarified in advance.
"This time, the Hephaestus Familia has lent us thirty magic swords, with a total value of ninety million valis. If these magic swords are not ultimately used, we will return them to the Hephaestus Familia; but if they are used, we will ultimately pay according to a discounted price of 90% of the original price."
She paused for a moment: "Next, there's also the matter of you projecting magic swords. I have an idea about this."
Riveria said, "However, in order to avoid unnecessary waste and reliance, I suggest charging adventurers a certain fee for using projected magic swords."
"This is a 'punishment measure,' mainly to prevent everyone from over-relying on, or even abusing, magic swords."
Riveria explained.
However, monsters killed with magic swords hardly generate experience points, which doesn't help adventurers grow. If the team members become overly reliant on these magic swords because Emiya can project them at any time, it will be extremely detrimental to their long-term development.
Riveria thought for a moment and agreed: "This method is feasible."
If they are used, a fine of 300,000 valis will need to be paid, and the fine will go into the funding pool.
The number of 300,000 will neither make the adventurers reluctant to use magic swords at critical moments, nor will it be low enough to allow them to use them carelessly.
These agreements did not have any problems, and in some aspects, they were clearly biased towards Emiya and his team.
In short, both sides were trustworthy adventurers, and they had sufficient understanding and trust between them, so the negotiation of the agreement went very smoothly, and they quickly reached an agreement.
The room fell silent for a moment, and the afterglow of the sunset shone through the window, dyeing the princess's profile with a soft golden color.
Responding to Riveria's hint, Emiya stepped forward without hesitation and gently embraced her.
After a moment, Riveria gently pushed Emiya away, lowered her head and wiped her lips, seemingly regaining her usual calm expression.
Emiya, hearing her question, explained the situation of the two elves to her without any concealment.
As for Aura, she has become extraordinarily cheerful… but sometimes she is overly enthusiastic, seems to be a bit too dependent on Emiya, and even shows a tendency to offer herself easily.
Now, Ryu is highly vigilant towards Aura, who comes to find Emiya from time to time, while Haruhime unexpectedly gets along with her very well.
She was silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "…They are all pitiful children."
Because after coming to this world, Emiya has received a lot of help from the elves.
Emiya looked directly at her, his eyes full of seriousness.
Being stared at like this, Riveria's expression changed slightly, and she couldn't help but feel a trace of wavering in her heart.
Tiona: "Alicia, are you okay? Your nose is bleeding non-stop!"
Alicia had a dazed smile on her face.
"Too wonderful～"
217
Chapter 217: Infiltrating the Deep Levels.
