Danmachi: A Despicable Stranger

Chapter 67: What did you do that you shouldn't have done?

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Just as Izzy expected, Lefiya was knocked down by his magic without much struggle.

This was even when he deliberately lowered the effect of the magic.

However, this is in line with the magician's characteristics of being light-hearted, soft, and easy to be pushed down, which was within Ize's expectations.

But the elf's willpower was extremely strong, and she struggled back and forth for more than ten minutes.

After getting a little familiar with this situation, she forced herself to go downstairs to find Ais and the other two.

During the whole process, Izzy followed closely by the side, like an old father who was worried that his child, who had just learned to walk, might fall or get hurt.

When they reached the ground floor, the two separated.

Izzy was about to go out to have breakfast, while Lefiya was looking for Ais and the other two who were exercising in the courtyard behind the Twilight Manor.

"Is the strangeness of Ais-tan and the others related to that kid Izzy?"

On the stone corridor connecting the two towers of the Twilight Manor, Loki leaned her elbows against the low wall and spoke softly.

Her eyes were narrowed into slits, and her expression was somewhat serious, although she still had a headache after last night's hangover.

But compared to her own headache, she was more concerned about why Ais, Diona, Dione, and the others below couldn't even walk steadily.

"It seems so. Lefiya also looks strange..."

In addition to Loki, there was another elf on the corridor quietly watching the scene below.

With long, smooth emerald-colored hair and eyes of the same color, her slender figure clearly gives people the impression of being slim, revealing enviable slender curves and crystal-clear fair skin.

Riveria, who had just finished breakfast and happened to pass by but was pulled here by Loki to observe the unusual situation of Ais and others, nodded slightly to agree with the Lord's point of view.

She herself is the type of person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. She is very concerned about the situation of Ais and the others; otherwise, she wouldn't always be nicknamed "Mama-san" by Loki.

"Damn it, Izzy... He tortured our Ais-tan to the point that her legs became weak, and he even brought three beautiful girls, Diona, Dione, and Lefiya, with him! This is such an enviable, infuriating behavior! I will never let him go today!"

Loki gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, looking extremely indignant.

If we ignore the reason why she is so angry, it might be quite touching~

"I guess it's enough to just imagine them. They just look like they are training, but they look a little weird..."

Riveria and Loki's focus is obviously different.

She looked at the glowing star map on the wrists of Ais and the other three and felt the continuous fluctuations of magic power emanating from it, and was thoughtful for a moment.

"Is it the effect of magic?"

On the other side, Izzy, who was out, first went to the old place, said hello to Ryuu, and then got a breakfast.

Then he went to the guild headquarters and exchanged the pterosaur magic stones he had previously conquered with the guild staff, and then used them to collect the reward for the conquest commission.

There is no need to worry about being suspected or anything like that.

The magic stones dropped by "Strengthen" monsters seem to be different from those dropped by ordinary monsters, and the guild has a way to identify them, so the process of receiving the commission reward is smooth.

Fortunately, Izzy didn't encounter Eina when he arrived at the guild headquarters.

It seemed that she was temporarily away due to work-related matters, sparing him what would have undoubtedly been a stern lecture.

After all, as a well-informed guild member, Eina must have learned some details about the pterosaur's conquest from other adventurers over the past two days.

The key detail, which every adventurer present had witnessed, was that the pterosaur was defeated alone.

Had Izzy shown up with the magic stone to claim his commission reward and crossed paths with the half-elf, the outcome would have been disastrous.

If she caught him, he'd have no chance of escaping for hours, likely subjected to an extended scolding.

What had seemed like a clever ruse to fool Eina at first now came back to haunt him, and Izzy knew full well he was paying the price for his earlier choice.

With that in mind, he resolved to limit his visits to the guild headquarters in the near future.

After collecting the commission fee, Izzy made a quick stop at the Cecht Treatment Center to purchase a few more bottles of elixir.

As the saying goes, you can go without medicine for a while, but you can't live without it.

Following his errand, Izzy wandered around the city, passing the time until nearly noon before heading back to the Twilight Manor.

Not long after his return, Raul, who had just dragged himself out of bed after sleeping off his own exhaustion, came looking for him under orders.

"Izzy, Loki and the captain seem to want a word with you. Did you do something you weren't supposed to?" Raul asked, winking suggestively.

Izzy raised an eyebrow and blinked in confusion.

"Huh? Did I do something? Why do I feel like there's more to what you're saying? It's like you're hinting at something."

"Ahem... It's nothing. If you didn't do anything, then great. I'm just delivering the message. Now go see the leader—he was looking for you earlier~"

Raul coughed awkwardly, clearly abandoning any attempt to pry further, and quickly changed the subject.

After finishing his message, he scurried off in a somewhat panicked manner.

"…Why do I feel like Raul's up to something? He seems to be scheming something suspicious," Izzy muttered as he watched his friend retreat.

Still, he didn't dwell on it for long and instead turned his thoughts to the message Raul had delivered.

"I guess I'd better go see why the captain and Loki want to talk to me, though I think I already have a pretty good idea…"

The Twilight Manor Hall, Reception Room

It was close to noon, and most of the hall's members had left, but in the reception room overlooking the corridor, an unusual gathering had formed.

The Goddess, the three giants, and the clan's key members were all assembled in one place.

Things inside the house felt distinctly odd.

Four girls—Ais, Diona, Tione, and Lefiya—were sprawled across two sofas in disheveled positions, their bodies limp and exhausted.

Finn and Gareth had taken seats nearby, while Bete leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

Meanwhile, Riveria and Loki appeared to be giving massages to the four girls, though Loki couldn't seem to resist letting her hands wander during the process.

Under normal circumstances, none of the four would have tolerated Loki's antics without protest.

But now? Their bodies were sore and weak from the overwhelming strain of sparring. They didn't have the strength to resist her mischief.

"Is that magic really so powerful? It can leave you in this state?"

Watching the four in their miserable condition, Bete couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Lying on the sofa without any sense of decorum, Diona curled her lips and groaned.

"Can't you see the state we're in? Ugh—Loki, be gentle!"

"Oh, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean it~" Loki replied with a mischievous grin.

After a period of questioning, everyone present finally understood why Ais and the others were in such a state.

The reason, unsurprisingly, was Izzy—more specifically, his magic.

Once Loki grasped the situation, she promptly took Ais and the others to update their ability values.

To everyone's amazement, not only did Lefiya, the little elf, show noticeable improvement, but even the three seasoned Lv.5 adventurers—Ais, Diona, and Tione—experienced measurable gains in their basic abilities after just one morning of sparring.

The increase ranged between 1 and 10 points per ability, totaling several dozen points overall.

But what truly stunned everyone was that this had all been achieved in just one morning!

"A magic that can accelerate the growth of ability values…"

Finn rested his chin on his hand, his expression more serious than ever.

"There's no better choice for something like this than to keep it a tightly guarded familia secret," Gareth added, his tone grave.

It was akin to what the [Ishtar Familia] had been rumored to develop in recent years—a so-called "secret weapon" that they kept under strict confidentiality.

Similarly, Izzy's magic was now an undeniable "secret weapon" for the [Loki Familia].

If knowledge of this magic were to leak out to other clans and factions, it would undoubtedly cause an uproar.

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