Live Dungeon!

”……”

In the end, they could not leave Eunice shouting outside the Clan House forever. At Ollie’s prompting, she and her junior colleague Milway were begrudgingly let inside.

Now they were seated on the living room sofa with a tense, upright posture, seeming to have calmed down after the fuss they had raised.

”…Well then, we’ll go get ready,” said Daryl tactfully, rising from his seat.

”Yeah, thanks,” Tsutomu replied, crossing his legs like a comic book villain.

Tsutomu had not let the Vulpeers sit here out of kindness; he had deliberately made things awkward for them by placing them in the living room, where members of Absolute Helix came and went. Hannah peeked over from the hall every so often, clearly curious. Diniel, who was perpetually grumpy in the mornings, did not even try to hide her cold stares.

Milway looked like she might burst into tears at any moment, but Eunice, perhaps because of her junior’s presence, met Tsutomu’s gaze with defiance.

”What is the meaning of this?” she demanded.

”That’s MY line,” Tsutomu shot back. ”Showing up uninvited at someone’s Clan House first thing in the morning? You’ve got guts, Eunice of Golden Tune. What, did you come to start a fight with our Clan or something?”

”Eep…”

Milway, who looked about ready to flee at any second, was kept from bolting only by Eunice’s firm grip.

”I’m not here to escalate things!” Eunice said, trying to maintain her composure. ”This is a… personal matter.”

”Oh, really?”

Tsutomu glanced lazily between the two: the golden-furred Eunice and silver-furred Milway, both Vulpeers, though their coloration was rarer than most. In town, black-furred Vulpeers were far more common.

”So? You need something?”

”Yeah, I need you to look at THIS!” Eunice slapped a newspaper onto the table with a loud whack, turning it so it faced Tsutomu directly. ”Why are they calling me a SILLY FOX!? Everyone else got name-dropped properly, and they leave ME out!?”

The article in question was a piece on the prior day’s events involving Stephanie. Having occurred in the afternoon, most people hadn’t caught the live broadcast. Eunice, for her part, had been locked in battle with the Winter General on the eightieth layer. She’d only found out later, through this morning’s newspaper… and when she saw the phrase ‘silly fox,’ prominently featured in bold in the headline, she’d lost all reason, rushing here despite everyone else trying to persuade her out of it.

”For the record, I DID try to tell her it was the journalists that did it…” Milway said. ”I mean, they use flashy headlines to draw readers in all the time, don’t they? But she wouldn’t believe me. Could you please explain it to her…?”

Milway had been off-duty at the time and had watched the live broadcast herself. She knew Tsutomu had praised Eunice, even declared her worthy of recognition. He had even mentioned Milway, calling her a top-grade Healer. It was a praise she had not expected but quietly cherished.

Now, as she looked at Tsutomu with pleading eyes, he met her gaze and gave a small nod, as if to say ‘Leave it to me.’ Knowing he had once encouraged Eunice during the Stampede, Milway held her breath, expecting Tsutomu to say something nice.

”That headline was accurate,” he said with a mischievous grin. ”I’ll say you’re a silly fox too.”

”…Huh?”

”EXCUSE ME!?”

Eunice’s shout was loud enough to make Ollie, who was in the kitchen, turn around in alarm.

”I mean, you and your group still can’t even get past the eightieth layer. Sounds like a silly fox to me. I honestly don’t see why you’re so mad.”

”Why I oughtta–!”

Tsutomu’s grin only widened as he leaned an elbow on the sofa’s armrest, looking down at Eunice as she was rendered speechless.

”So what, does Leon still pretend he can Tank? Well, get this: Tanking isn’t something you can just dabble in. Leon’s been trying to copy Hannah’s moves for a while now, but it’s all surface-level. He’s got none of the core awareness a proper Tank needs. Hannah works because she WANTS to be a tank. Your win against the mutated Shell Crab was a fluke; he and Weiss Tanking only works for THAT specific fight. How long do you plan to keep failing before you learn something?”

”Don’t you dare insult Leon!” Eunice hissed, eyes sharp.

There it was, the same piercing look she’d given him back during their earliest clashes. Tsutomu almost felt nostalgic, meeting her glare with a derisive snort.

”If you don’t want to be called a fool, then prove me wrong. Show some results. Until then, you’re just a silly little fox.”

”Mil, we’re leaving.” Eunice said coldly. ”Looks like the news was right after all.”

She rose to her feet and stormed toward the door, footsteps growing louder with each stride. As she turned her back on Tsutomu, Milway caught a glimpse of her face, twisted with frustration and pain.

”…Why?”

After the front door shut behind Eunice, Milway turned back to Tsutomu, her voice trembling.

”Why didn’t you tell her the truth? Why didn’t you say what you did on the broadcast? You said developing the Dumpling was worthy of respect! If you’d just told her that, she would’ve been so happy… I know it. You looked so proud of her that day. You meant every word!”

She was not wrong; on the broadcast, Tsutomu had spoken not with flattery or strategy, but with genuine pride, like a mentor who’d seen his pupil finally bloom. But now, the man before her had worn a mask of arrogance and cruelty, and she could not understand why.

Tsutomu, abandoning the pomp of earlier, responded in a calm, neutral voice.

”Her being happy doesn’t do me any good. If anything, it’s better to rile her up. THAT will push her to develop something even better. If she wants sweet words, she can get them from Leon.”

”But… but she cares! About your opinion! She values your words more than anyone else’s, especially when it comes to being a Healer! She didn’t want you to see, but she was THIS close to crying!”

”Oh, c’mon… I thought you might be different from the rest, but in the end, you’re just another happy-meal-brained member of Golden Tune.” Tsutomu’s voice was flat with disappointment as he spoke, meeting Milway’s accusing gaze with a sigh. ”To be honest, the moment any Healer starts prioritizing all their support and recovery on Leon, they’ve already shown their second-rate stripes. Sure, Golden Tune has a decent number of high-level members, but most of them are dead weight. Eunice is also… well, I did respect her when it came to technique and development. But that bad habit of hers is still going strong. That’s why I called her a silly fox. I DID mean that, too.”

”……”

”The thing is, though… even when you work with Leon, your healing distribution is balanced. You showed flashes of real technical skill, and your level is high enough to hold your own against the best of the best. You don’t spout delusions about love increasing healing potency, either. That’s why I acknowledged you.”

”…Thank you. But…” Milway’s voice wavered. ”I wish you’d said nice things to Eunice instead.”

She stood, gave a polite bow, and left the living room without another word. Tsutomu watched her go, then let out a long, slow breath as if shedding a heavy coat. With that, he turned to prepare for the Dungeon.

▽▽

The team was now on the ninety-seventh layer, a field where monsters from the Volcano biomes appeared in great numbers.

[Something feels… off today.]

Hannah, currently Tanking against a Cerberus, twisted away from its fangs with a quick sidestep. Yet as she moved, her eyes flicked to the floating blue wisps of [, and a frown crept across her face.

Tsutomu’s [ placements generally fell into two categories: The first were directional, set to subtly guide Hannah’s movements. She rarely questioned them, letting them lead her naturally. The second were more precise, either striking her directly or offering several options, like chords in a rhythm game. These typically appeared when she was performing well, giving her the freedom to improvise and flow.

But today’s placements were neither. There were inconsistencies, odd beats in the tempo. She felt it in her body before she realized it in her mind.

When the battle ended, Hannah’s blue-feathered wings fluttered low, and she landed beside Tsutomu with a subdued thump.

”Hmm? What’s up, Hannah?” he asked, looking up.

”Teach, did something happen to you today?”

”…What do you mean?”

”Your [ is… different. Doesn’t feel like usual.”

”…Seriously?”

”Super seriously.”

”…Got it. I’ll pay more attention and adjust it. Thanks for pointing it out.”

Tsutomu thanked her with a weary smile, his tone subdued. He immediately began conjuring and dismissing small [ wisps one after another, muttering to himself. It was a familiar ritual; they often reviewed their performance post-battle. But this time, Hannah sensed something else was off.

She narrowed her eyes, gave him a gentle jab in the ribs, and asked with teasing mischief,

”It’s about Eunice this morning, right? That whole drama messed with your vibe?”

”……”

She expected a snarky retort, maybe a dry laugh. But Tsutomu said nothing. No reaction at all.

Puzzled, Hannah floated up with [, hovering in front of him. When she caught sight of his face, she froze.

He was stone-faced. Totally grumpy.

”Sorry, I’ll fix my rhythm up, so you go grab the Magic Stones in the meantime.”

”Uh… okay, I’ll do that!” she blurted, voice cracking.

She bolted toward where the monsters had been, scooping up some high-quality-looking Inferno Magic Stones and scurrying back to set them at Tsutomu’s feet. Then she backed away, wiping sweat from her brow like someone who’d just survived a natural disaster.

[That was terrifying… Didn’t think he could even make a face like that in the Dungeon.]

Tsutomu usually kept his emotions tucked away behind a wall of calm, but that expression just now had chilled her to the core. She exhaled sharply to release the tension, just as Leleia approached, the Gnome Spirit waddling behind her.

”Yeeaah!” the Gnome cried, offering a little high five.

Hannah returned it with a grin, then looked up at Leleia.

”What’s up, Leleia?”

”Oh, nothing serious. I just happened to overhear a bit. Tsutomu seemed… unwell. His face looked rather grim. I thought something might’ve happened.”

”Well, actually…”

Hannah explained how Eunice’s early morning visit to the Clan House had soured Tsutomu’s mood. Leleia’s smile deepened, her expression turning sly.

”I see. That’s quite the juicy bit of gossip.”

”Wait, no! Don’t go spreading it around!”

”Relax. I’m merely saying, it might come in handy if he ever tries using Amira in a scheme against me. Having a little countermeasure tucked away never hurts.”

”You’re not gonna mention my name, right?”

”I protect my sources.”

”Good enough for me!”

Relieved, Hannah watched as Leleia sauntered off toward Tsutomu, her smile faintly wicked.

…Unfortunately for Hannah, Tsutomu put two and two together almost instantly. Thus, her brief reprieve came to an abrupt end as she was swiftly apprehended for questioning.