Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

"Less than a month..."

Loki nearly started drooling from sheer envy.

She'd been in Genkai for so long, yet she had never seen an Adventurer hit Level 2 in under a month.

And judging by how cautious this kid was, his Status had no doubt been raised to the limit.

Loki didn't believe for a second that this kid would leave his stats anything less than maxed out. Sure, he hadn't shown any signs of melee capability—but she wasn't naive enough to think that meant he didn't have it.

So far, he'd only demonstrated his magical talent. But could that alone explain why he was bold enough to venture into the Dungeon solo?

Of course not.

'This kid's a full-package type.'

Loki was certain of it. But she kept the thought to herself—some things just weren't meant to be said out loud here.

Still, she couldn't help the wave of jealousy washing over her.

'How is that shorty so lucky?'

'Just randomly bumps into a kid this ridiculously overpowered.'

Loki had to force herself to stop thinking about it, or the bitterness in her heart would start overflowing.

"I've asked everything I needed to."

"We came here today for three main reasons. First, to thank you for saving Aisha and Haruhime. That girl's never forgotten what you did for her."

Sanjouno Haruhime flushed the moment Loki mentioned her name.

Bell noticed it, and of course, so did Hestia and Hephaestus.

"The second was to follow up on what we were just discussing—but I think we've settled that."

Loki had originally been worried that this kid might be preparing to take action against other Adventurers. The whole tense moment at the entrance only reinforced her concern—if this boy ever sided with the Evilus, Orario would be as good as doomed.

But thinking back on his response, Loki realized she'd been overthinking it.

This kid saw through things clearer than anyone. There was no way he'd ever join a group like that.

What reassured Loki the most, though, was his entire approach.

He didn't even trust other Adventurers—how could someone like that ever believe a bunch of maniacs?

Even the idea was laughable.

"The third point—and the main reason I came today—is about custom runes."

"Our Familia is preparing for an expedition soon. We'll be exploring completely uncharted territory, so we need to stock up on a lot of supplies."

"With that in mind, do you have any Rune Stones you recommend?"

If the second topic had gone in her favor, Loki would've used it to haggle. But now, that wasn't an option.

Of course, her Familia was loaded, so paying full price wasn't an issue. Still, she needed to understand what types of Rune Stones were available—this time, she planned to make them a core part of their preparation.

"Recommended Rune Stones?"

"Offensive, buffing, healing, detoxification, curse removal, attraction, detection—just name it, I can make it. I can even craft ones that boost luck or increase drop rates, though those are a bit more expensive."

Since this was a proper business talk, Bell got more serious.

The Rune Stone craze had only started a few days ago. Most Adventurers probably hadn't even used the ones they bought yet, so it would take time before the second wave of demand kicked in.

Still, no matter how many cheap Rune Stones sold, they'd never match the profit of high-end ones.

"Luck... increased drop rate..."

Loki nearly dropped her jaw.

"You're telling me you can actually make that kind of nonsense?"

"It's a universal magical script. With the right arrangement and combination, it forms new types of magic. Right now, I'm only just getting familiar with it, and there are still many functions I haven't figured out."

Bell was laying the groundwork for explaining future abilities through the lens of Rune Magic. It would let him mask other capabilities while making future actions easier to justify.

"I also have a few highly practical Rune Stone models for you to consider."

"Expeditions require tons of supplies, and carrying them all is a pain. Lately, I've been researching spatial-type tools. I've even made a few prototypes."

"You can make that kind of thing too!?"

Loki nearly jumped to her feet.

Even Finn, Riveria, and Gareth noticeably tensed—their breathing grew heavier. This wasn't something to brush off.

Lack of supply space had always been a major issue in Loki Familia's expeditions. If they could solve that, they'd be able to bring back far more Magic Stones and drop items, significantly boosting their profits.

"Of course I can."

Under his hood, Bell's eyes flickered with a faint gleam. He mentioned this now because he already had personal access to spatial storage—this was his way of setting the stage.

In truth, crafting spatial tools with Runic Magic wasn't especially hard. The key was that different types required different methods.

Some were simple. Others, much more complex.

"There are cheap options and expensive ones. Which does Loki-sama want?"

"The expensive one, obviously!"

Loki didn't hesitate.

Even blindfolded, she could tell the expensive version would be better. The cheaper ones probably came with too many limitations.

Since she'd made her choice, Bell ignored the cheaper options and pulled out a waist pouch from behind him.

"This is a high-quality waist bag—2,500 Valis to make. But it contains a separate, five-cubic-meter internal space, ideal for storing large quantities of supplies."

"Because it's spatial-type, you don't need to worry about the item dimensions. As long as the total volume doesn't exceed five cubic meters, you can keep stacking items inside. Only when you hit that limit will it stop accepting new ones."

Just like that, he dropped a bomb on Loki.

A waist pouch that could hold five cubic meters of goods—honestly, that was insane. It could replace the cargo of two to three carts, easy.

Normally, Loki Familia had to prepare ten to fifteen carts' worth of supplies for an expedition.

With just five of these pouches, they could carry everything they needed.