Chapter 355

Chapter 358: A Heart That Broke Into Many Pieces (Please Subscribe!)

After a series of mutterings, Ize finally nodded in satisfaction after Lanti, unable to hold out any longer, admitted her mistakes.

And then back to the main topic.

“Philais… why are you standing in front of the Twilight Manor?”

While absentmindedly rubbing Lanti’s head, Ize turned his gaze toward the giggling elf beside him.

“Regarding this… we’re here to look for Refia,” Philais replied with a straight face.

Hearing this, Ize pondered for a moment. “Looking for Refia? Are you going out to play with her?”

“Hmm, that’s part of it, but more accurately, it’s to celebrate for her.”

“Celebrate?” Ize was a bit confused.

Seeing his reaction, Philais blinked in surprise. “Mr. Ize, didn’t you know?”

“Know what?”

“…Refia leveled up.”

“Oh～, so Refia leveled up, huh.” At first, Ize nodded as if understanding everything, but soon he realized something and hesitated. “Wait, when did she level up?”

In an instant, Philais’ expression became somewhat peculiar. Judging from his reaction, it seemed like Ize really didn’t know about this.

But they were in the same Familial Group, so how could Ize not know?

Despite her thoughts, Philais still answered seriously.

“It should have been yesterday. I received Refia’s invitation last night; she said she wanted to relax after leveling up.”

“Last night… I see…”

If it was after yesterday afternoon, that would make sense.

After all, he met with Refia, Tione, and others in the morning, and at that time, Refia hadn’t leveled up yet.

Or rather, her Ability Values hadn’t updated yet.

Considering the unpredictable nature of Loki, one generally had to go to the Divine Room early in the morning or after dinner to definitely find someone. Therefore, everyone usually updated their Ability Values during these two time periods.

Yesterday, he spent the whole day wandering around outside without returning to the Twilight Manor, so naturally, he didn’t know about Refia’s level-up.

“Although I thought Refia might hit the leveling bottleneck soon, achieving such a feat is still quite surprising,” Ize sighed.

Originally, Refia would need some more time to reach Level 4.

However, under his intervention, the little elf’s growth accelerated significantly.

The steady improvement of her basic Ability Values and combat skills was the best proof.

There were also many instances where they ventured deep into the Dungeon’s lower levels, slaying elite monsters, plus various expeditions. The required “Great Deeds” experience points accumulated bit by bit over time.

It was probably the killing of the White-haired Ghost that filled in the final piece needed for leveling up.

Even though he was severely injured by Ize, the fact remained that the White-haired Ghost was a Level 6 Hero Domain character.

Being defeated by Refia at Level 3 brought quite a lot of “Great Deeds” experience points.

“Is my leveling up really that unbelievable to you, Ize!?”

As soon as those words left his mouth, a faint voice immediately sounded beside him.

“Where? I already mentioned that I anticipated it, just expressing my amazement.” Ize helplessly responded.

Turning his head slightly towards the direction of the Twilight Manor’s entrance, the mountain-breeze-colored little elf was already standing there, pouting while glaring at him.

“You slept out again!” Refia’s tone was inexplicably resentful.

“Slept out?” Philais heard this description and seemed to understand something.

So this is why Ize didn’t know Refia had leveled up?

“Yeah, yeah! You have a room in your own Familial Group, but you ignore it and come to our place to freeload instead. How can there be such people!?” Lanti chimed in agreement.

This Half-Elf still didn’t know about Ize and Artemis.

It wasn’t because the two were hiding it from her.

Actually, Artemis had long since stopped being discreet about her relationship with Ize, and many knowledgeable girls within the Familial Group had noticed.

The reason Lanti still didn’t know was simple.

She was… cough, too young, and her knowledge in that area was still very rudimentary.

Though she had fantasized about meeting her prince on a white horse, her understanding was still stuck at the level where kissing leads to having babies.

Such a pure Half-Elf!

“I remember seeing you shopping with Goddess Artemis before…” Lanti’s comment made Refia recall past events. She paused for a moment and then blurted out a word: “…Jerk!”

“Not only are you so close with Miss Ais, but you’re also dating another goddess. Loki said people like you are called jerks!”

“Don’t use words you barely understand recklessly. I’m just a guy whose heart broke into many pieces!”

Could Ize remain indifferent in the face of such accusations?

Of course not! He had to refute them with righteous indignation!

“A heart broken into many pieces???” Refia tilted her head.

“What does that mean?” Lanti, utterly confused, added her question, turning her gaze toward Philais. “Do you know, Philais?”

“Nope.” Philais honestly shook her head.

The three girls who had never heard this joke had no idea how to respond to Ize’s statement.

“If you don’t understand? Then it means you’re not mature enough. Think about it slowly～!”

Ize had no intention of explaining it to them, waving his hand as he stepped into the Twilight Manor, leaving the three of them with his back.

Explaining would only get him into trouble, so it was better to leave them hanging like this.

“So suspicious… He definitely has some hidden meaning behind his words, right!?” Refia looked skeptical.

“Probably…”

Correct guess, but no prize.

With no one to enlighten her, Refia was destined not to understand what Ize meant.

After being troubled by this leftover puzzle for a while, Refia and the others quickly decided to stop thinking about it!

It was better to follow the plan and go out to play!

Originally, Refia wanted to invite Ais and the others today.

Unfortunately, Ais was helping Haruhi experiment with new magic, and Tione and Tiona seemed to be stimulated by her and ran off to practice early in the morning…

Including yesterday when she wanted to invite Ize, but he wasn’t there.

Refia planned to invite six people to go out and play, but now only two were confirmed.

Is it because they’re too familiar with each other?

It feels like everyone in the Familial Group has lost their affection～ waaah.

……

Meanwhile, the countdown for the expedition was ticking away.

Under the tense and anticipatory preparations of the Loki Familial Group members, the days passed closer and closer.

In the early morning, Ize woke up naturally.

On the day of the expedition, the night sky covering the horizon had yet to fade, but due to his biological clock and the slight weight on his chest, Ize opened his eyes early.

At this time, it was usually when he and Ais went out for morning exercises.

But today was different.

Today was the day of the expedition, which took precedence over morning training.

Waking up early was also to prepare better.

But upon sensing the weight on his chest after opening his eyes, Ize felt somewhat helpless.