"Sensei," Ais' eyes narrowed at her and Lili had to actually take a step back. Because for as much as they were Saitama and Genos, they were also Liliruca and Ais. And Liliruca was a bit scared of the ice queen in front of her.

"Did you come to the middle floors alone again?"

Lili swallowed nervously and nodded. "Yeah. I kind of, you know, forgot my party back at the start? Look, it wasn't my fault they were so slow!"

Ais stared at her with a ferocity that reminded her of her old landlady in her past life and that was never a good feeling. That landlady was friggin' terrifying!

"Sensei, you have to remember, you're not as strong as you were before. I'm worried that you'll get hurt."

Oof, that stung. And the worst part was, Ais wasn't wrong. Lili had no intention of training herself to the point that she went bald again. Not only that, but she absolutely refused to lose her newly regained connection to her emotions. The fact that she had been so empty inside, it scared her. So odds were, she'd never ever attain that level of strength again during this second life of hers. Therefore, Ais' worries weren't unfounded.

However, with the addition of Falna, she could make up the difference well enough.

She smiled sheepishly at her disciple, no, her friend. Something the old her would have never admitted. "Okay, I promise I'll be more careful. At the very least, I won't go past Floor 20 until I'm Level 3. Sound good?"

Ais remained silent for a moment before nodding. "Good. Now, let's go. I heard there's a discount at the Hostess of Fertility."

Lili's eyes widened. "A discount?! Oh man, we have to get there. May's food is amazing!"

Ais nodded and she took off running, Lili hot on her heels.

In a corner of the first floor, a few party members stared off into the distance, wondering where their Familia Captain went.

"So let me get this straight," a rather irritated Lili asked the new Adventurer she had bumped into. "You're the only member of your Familia and you thought it was a good idea to travel to the Fifth floor despite only being at this for two weeks."

The white haired boy nodded, expression sheepish. "Hestia-sama deserves better, so I'm trying my best to bring in money."

"And then, as if the fates were frowning upon you, a Minotaur attacked you. And you actually tried to fight it."

"Well, I mean. I'd rather go down fighting than screaming."

There was a pause and Lili sighed. "Well, I can't fault you for that. Still, I couldn't very well live with myself if you got yourself killed and left your Goddess all alone. So I'll act as your Supporter for a bit and help you learn the ropes."

"R-Really?! Thank you so much! Oh, I'm Bell, by the way! Bell Cranel!" He exclaimed, extending his hand to her in greeting.

"Liliruca Arde," she said as she took his hand and shook it.

It had been about 10 months since she and Ais had their glorious discounted meal at the Hostess of Fertility and in that time, Lili had made incredible progress. She was currently a Level 3 Adventurer with SS in all stats and had even unlocked some more magic for herself. The whole disguise ability was nice, but she was glad to finally have something more unique to call her own.

Still, when Ais had run into her in a mild panic, explaining that she had saved a boy from a Minotaur who then ran off screaming while covered in blood, she had been a bit concerned. After asking around the guild, she had figured out that the boy belonged to the Hestia Familia and sought him out.

And now, she was acting as his Supporter so he didn't get himself killed.

Still, she was mildly impressed with his drive. That desire for strength in his eyes, it reminded her of Ais, and to an extent, her old self. But that quest for strength could end in disaster, something she knew well. So she'd have to keep an eye on him.

She was refusing to allow him to go past the Fourth Floor for now. She may be a Battle Junkie, but she wasn't stupid. Said intelligence was honestly more of a Lili thing. Saitama wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box.

Everyday, she became more glad that she was more just Lili with Saitama's memories, than Saitama himself in her body. That would have been terrifying. Orario would have been burned to the ground already.

"Ah, Bell, don't hit it there-" and now he's covered in blood again. This was going to be a long day.

Meeting Goddess Hestia was a novel experience. She was a bit flirty, but acted more like a concerned mom. Heck, even she was fretted over by the woman. It was . . . a nice feeling. How long had it been since Lili had a connection with a parental figure? Both Soma and Saitama's parents were neglectful at the best of times.

It made her put a lot of things into perspective. Hestia was warm and loving, Bell, while inexperienced, was very kind and fun to be around.

In comparison, what did she have at the Soma Familia? A bed to sleep in. That was about it. It was cold, and empty. And while Saitama wouldn't have minded it - he preferred his solitude - Lili was not Saitama. She craved companionship. Friendship and family.

So, as she stared at the amusing scene of Hestia berating Bell for staying in the dungeon too long ago, she made up her mind.

"Hestia-sama, I'd like to convert to your Familia."

She wasn't happy when Bell and Hesita both agreed that she should be Familia Captain. While she had no issues with responsibility - unlike Saitama - she felt bad about taking the spot from Bell. But the boy didn't mind, saying that she was a higher level and far more experienced, so it was only right that she had the role. She put her foot down and insisted that he at least be Vice-Captain though, something he agreed with.

Perhaps transferring was a bad idea. She was already starting to get a headache.

"You're a demon!" came Bell's anguished cry as he lay on his back, breathing heavily.

Lili smiled at him, hands clasped behind her back, her pose resembling a certain old hero she once knew. "You're the one who wants to get stronger. So I won't be going easy on you. Unfortunately, you may die in the process. Try not to do that."

"Hestia-sama! Save me!"

The Goddess was reading a book on a bench nearby. Her only response was a "Good luck, Bell" before she went silent once more.

"Ah, Hestia-sama has abandoned me!"

"Oh, don't be a baby," Lili said as she launched herself toward him, causing the white haired warrior to dodge at the last moment with a very elegant 'eep!' escaping his lips. "In fact, you should be excited, all this Extelia is going to help your stats quite a bit!"

"I think you mean stat! Because all I can see going up from this is my vitality!"

"Well, you're not wrong."

And so the torture- training continued.

"Your Familia Member looks like he's about to die," one Ryuu Lion commented as she set some tea on their table. "What did you do to him?"

Lili shrugged. "Trained him to become a real man."

All that escaped Bell's lips were a pained groan.

Ryuu looked at him with pity, but Lili snapped her fingers in front of her face to get her attention.

"Nah, don't give him your sympathy. That'll just go to his head. Last thing he needs right now is an ego. We don't want a second Beta Loga."

"It's Bete!" the wolf man from a few tables over shouted at them.

Lili rolled her eyes. "Bagel."

"That's even worse!"

"Quiet down, Barney" Ais' voice called out. "You're making a scene."

"Don't you start too, Ais!"

To Lili's surprise, she could have sworn she heard Ryuu let out a snort. But when she looked at the elf, her face was as stoic as ever. Was she imagining things?

She took a sip of the tea and nearly vomited. What the heck, who made this- she spotted a certain bluish haired maid peering at her from around the corner. Syr?!

Was she still jealous that she was hanging around Bell? She had already told her that it wasn't romantic!

And then she noticed Bell slump over in his seat, foam escaping his mouth. Okay, so maybe it wasn't done out of hate. Maybe she was trying to show much she cared by poisoning them.

At the very least, Mia immediately scolded Syr and told her that she wasn't allowed in the kitchen for a reason. So that was good.

She could only assume she was still functioning because of her Abnormal Resistance, otherwise she'd definitely be a goner like Bell over there.

A sigh escaped her lips as she sunk into her chair. Though despite her outward appearance, she was inwardly happy.

This lively atmosphere and all that it entailed. She wouldn't trade it for the world.