A few days later…

"Have you asked the others already?~" whispered a feminine voice into Luz's ear, who didn't respond to her words and continued to sleep peacefully.

"Fine," the female sighed quietly before teasing, "it seems like you leave me no other choice.~" The girl gently licked Luz's ear. The sensation immediately sent shivers down his spine, and Luz almost jumped out of his bed like a frightened cat whose resting sleep was disturbed.

"What is going on?" He immediately cussed quietly, moving his gaze across the room, only to see a certain somebody leaning against his bed rails…

"What the fuck are you doing in my goddamn room, Liv!?" Luz cursed as quietly as possible so that no other kid awoke from their interaction.

Unfazed by his words, the latter only reminded Luz, "Have you done what I told you!?"

"That's why you woke me up?" Luz suppressed his anger before throwing his pillow against Liv, who easily caught it.

"Come on, bro, we have to catch the villain. The longer we wait, the more girls will fall victim to his experience," Liv commented thoughtfully, and Luz finally gave in.

"Fine. I will do it. But please never disturb my sleep again," Luz sighed quietly before jumping out of his bed.

"Perfect," Liv whispered while gently touching Luz's chin. "Now, you only need to convince the rest to join our investigation. But before you guys leave the mansion, visit me."

"I will," Luz muttered quietly before throwing her out of the room he shared with the rest of the kids. "Huh? Lewis isn't here… I didn't expect him of all people to be an early bird."

An hour later, Luz stood before Francis, a broadly built giant with red hair and tanned skin, who made his first appearance in chapter 28.

As one might expect from a barbarian, Luz found him in the arena basking in the morning sun. "Oyy, Francis," Luz remarked as he stepped closer. "Wake up."

But the latter ignored him and only responded once Luz's shadow fell on him.

"What are you doing here?" Francis yawned as he adjusted his position against a stone wall while a club rested against his shoulder. "I haven't seen you since you returned from your first mission."

With a wry smile on his face, Luz answered, "Am I not allowed to visit an old friend? As for your second question… Well, I was busy with some investigations and so forth."

"I see, I see," Francis commented while scratching the back of his head. But his jolly mood immediately became serious in a matter of seconds. "So tell me, kid, what leads you to me? You probably wouldn't be looking for me to extend some greetings, right?"

"You are correct," Luz sighed while leaning against the wall. "To keep it short, Liv wants me to persuade you to join a mission with me. Hopefully, it is not too much to ask from you."

"Nah, it's fine," Francis replied before standing up and stretching his body. His jolly mood returned for a fraction of a second before becoming serious again. Coldly, Francis asked Luz, "Is it perhaps the investigation that led to Liv getting house arrest and Lewis stopping doing any quests for the time being?"

"Yes, exactly that mission," Luz answered while hearing bones creaking, which sent a shudder down his spine.

"So tell me, Luz. What have you two been investigating that needs the help of this giant like me, hehehe?" Francis asked before cracking his fists.

Half an hour later…

"Insect hoards leaving the bodies of females? That sounds disgusting, but count me in." Francis answered in excitement. "As for the female duo, forget asking them. I guarantee you; they won't join us no matter how enticing your offer is since they hate insects like the pest."

"You don't have to apologize. I'm already grateful that you are joining me," Luz answered, and the two left to find the last member of their group.

Somewhere else, in a guild, Lewis was sitting there wearing his armor while chatting with his crush, Erena, the guild worker. He had no intent on doing any missions and only wore his leather armor as an excuse to visit the guild. As he happily talked with his crush, two familiar people, Francis and Luz, fell into his viewpoint.

Upon seeing them, Lewis almost lost his composure and prayed with a forced smile on his face. 'Please don't be here because of me. Please don't be here because of me.'

Unfortunally, the gods weren't on his side today.

"I told you we would find that bastard there. Look, he is flirting with the guild workers," Luz whispered, to Francis, staring right into Lewis's eyes.

"Heh, you were right. That brat has really turned into a playboy," Francis answered in amusement, cracking his fingers. "It seems like I was too soft with his training."

The two made their way towards Lewis, whose face immediately turned sour. "Erena…" Lewis hesitantly said while shifting his gaze back and forth between the two parties. "Could you please give me a moment?"

"Of course," she answered while taking a sip of her drink.

Lewis immediately stood up and walked with a displeased face toward the duo. But before he could curse at them for interfering with his date, Luz shouted, "Thank you, Erena, for taking care of Lewis while Francis and I were busy. Unfortunally, we have to take him with us so that he can do some actual missions instead of harassing you."

"I'm not gonna…." before Lewis could even finish his sentence, Erena interjected, "Perfect. My shift is starting in five minutes anyway, so you might as well take him now."

"Thanks," Francis answered respectfully before grabbing Lewis like a doll and dragging him outside. As he did that, Lewis began resisting, even going so far as to plead for help. But Erena remained strong and let the two take him.

"You two…" Lewis cursed at Luz while grabbing his collar. "Please stop trying. I've already said no to Liv countless times. No matter how much you guys try, I will not join the two of you in any insect mission."

But Francis wasn't dissuaded by Lewis's answer, and a smile began creeping on his face. "Fine by me," Francis stated before gently pressing his index finger against Lewis's chest and whispering, "You don't have to join us. But if you don't, well… I have got some bad news for you. I will be expecting you in the arena every day from now on, and I will be beating the living shit out of you every goddamn day till you become as strong as me."

Francis put a lot of emphasis on the word "every day," to the point that even Luz's hair stood up in fear.