Live Dungeon!

That night, Amira returned not to the Clan House, but to her family home. Tsutomu suspected that the sight of the Fenrir had perhaps made her want to see Camille. But knowing better than to risk another punch, he wisely kept the thought to himself.

”You know, I think I understand now why Hannah and Daryl were so shaken up,” he mused aloud. ”That Fenrir… it was unlike any monster we’ve faced so far.”

”Well yeah, there’s never been a monster that fought WITH us,” Amy replied. ”By the way, it looks like Ealdred Crow has caught on to the mechanics of the ninety-sixth layer now. We’d better pick up the pace.”

”Come to think of it,” Garm interjected, his indigo-furred dog ears twitching with curiosity, ”that layer does seem unusual. Did you figure things out yourself, Tsutomu?”

Tsutomu quickly shook his head. ”Actually, no. It was actually Hannah who triggered the discovery. She uses Magic Stones for her Magic Fist, right? She went scavenging for some on-site, and that’s when a Dragon statue reacted. Diniel noticed it first. After that, I just started covering our tracks, hiding the details and making sure no one else caught wind.”

”Got it,” Garm nodded, accepting the explanation without suspicion.

While it was in fact Tsutomu who had known how it worked beforehand and guided events in that direction, the story held water.

As their discussion shifted back to the Fenrir, Leleia joined the conversation. But before long, Korinna descended the stairs, brushing aside damp, pale bangs plastered to her forehead with sweat.

”How’s Hannah doing?” Tsutomu asked.

”She should be past the worst of it by tomorrow night,” Korinna replied. ”No signs of anything serious.”

”That’s good to know. Thank you for taking care of her.”

”I’ll take over for a while,” Leleia offered. ”You should get some rest too, Korinna.”

”I could take a turn too,” Amy chimed in, raising a hand.

”There’s no need,” Leleia replied gently. ”You’ve got exploration tomorrow. Diniel and I can handle it.”

”…Wait, what?” Diniel blinked, caught off guard by the sudden inclusion. But as Leleia turned her eyes on her, giving a look that brooked no argument, Diniel resigned herself to her fate.

Later, the topic drifted to illness and how the Clan should handle such situations in the future. As they discussed it over dinner, Amy gave Tsutomu a mischievous grin.

”Still, I’m surprised Hannah was the one to fall sick. If anything, you seem like the frailest one here.”

”I wouldn’t go that far,” Tsutomu said with a chuckle. ”But yeah, I probably get sick more easily than the rest of you.”

”You HAVE been working out a little lately, so I guess you’re stronger than when you first started,” Amy said, poking him teasingly in the arm.

”Still can’t beat Korinna in a spar, though.”

”…That’s only because you’re too hesitant with your strikes,” Korinna added gently. ”If you overcame that, I’d probably lose right away.”

Tsutomu smiled and subtly leaned away from Amy’s fingers as she tried to poke his biceps again. Korinna, drawn into the banter, gave a modest smile as she tried to smooth things over.

”Physically speaking, you really ARE frail, Tsutomu,” Leleia said flatly. ”It’s a wonder you’ve survived this long.”

”Well, sure. Compared to YOU, Miss Six-Pack, I’m basically a stick figure,” he quipped, glancing at her arm. ”Your biceps might actually be bigger than mine.”

”For someone with such a big mouth, you’re lucky we’re not in the slums,” Leleia said with a sharp smile, rolling up her sleeve. ”You’d have been dead five times over by now.”

Her eyes, cold and piercing like a coiled serpent, locked onto him. Tsutomu, unfazed, turned to Daryl instead.

”Green-haired people are scary, huh?”

Daryl flinched, clearly unsure how to respond.

After dinner, everyone washed up and did their usual evening routines. Despite reassurances, Amy and the others still went to check on Hannah before turning in. Tsutomu hesitated for a moment, then decided to leave it for the morning and went to bed early.

The next day, Amira returned to the Clan House as if nothing had happened, prompting no comment from anyone. Tsutomu and the others then set off early to the ninety-third layer, a more sadistic version of the Swamp set of layers, by all accounts.

With Hannah still recovering, Korinna and the others stayed behind. The women took turns tending to her. Daryl had offered to help as well, but most of the care involved things he wasn’t suited for, so he spent his time visiting the orphanage or assisting Ollie with her work.

”Uuugh… My head’s spinning…”

Birdkin, by nature, had higher body temperature levels than humans. When they caught a fever, it hit them hard with quick dehydration, high sweat output, and drastic fatigue. Water intake had to be managed carefully, and in more severe cases, [ or similar healing skills could be employed to stabilize them.

That said, treatment through skills was still a method poorly understood. Reckless use of them could interfere with the body’s natural defenses, and in some rare cases, had led to fatal outcomes due to a lack of antibody formation. Aware of the risks, Korinna chose to limit her use of skills and focused instead on attentive physical care.

Thankfully, she had prior experience nursing Birdkin with Hannah’s constitution. She drew on that knowledge now, working tirelessly to ease Hannah’s discomfort without relying on Explorer skills. By the end of the second day, the fever had finally broken, and Hannah’s complexion was already looking better.

”S-sorry for the trouble…”

”It’s no trouble at all. You just focus on getting better.”

Korinna gently wiped Hannah’s sweat-dampened skin and wings with a towel before helping her into clean clothes. As Hannah lay back down, chastened and sleepy, Korinna brushed her hair back and pulled a fresh blanket over her.

The next day, her fever was gone, and her appetite had started to return. Still, a premature return to activity might trigger a relapse. Though full-time care was no longer needed, Leleia took over as the primary caregiver for the day.

”Ahhh. That breeze feels nice…”

”Don’t make it too strong,” Leleia warned, glancing at the summoned Sylph.

”But my wings are all itchy. Just a liiittle stronger? Man, I wanna fly again sooo bad…”

Leleia adjusted the Sylph’s airflow while also summoning the Salamander to perform little tricks, entertaining Hannah as she tended to her needs. She might not have had Korinna’s bedside manner, but her knack for assisting others shone through, and Hannah got through the day without any discomfort.

By the next day, Hannah had already returned to her usual energetic self. Still, she was officially on sick leave to ensure a full recovery. Diniel had been assigned as her caretaker for the day, though in truth, she did little more than sit nearby and read a book while Hannah stretched in the corner for rehab.

”…Hey, Diniel, have you ever actually taken care of someone before?”

”……”

”So… that’s a no, huh.”

”I can preen your feathers for you.”

”Absolutely not. I feel like you’d rip them out.”

”……”

Diniel had, in fact, helped quite earnestly back when Hannah was feverish and barely conscious. But now that Hannah was clearly out of danger, she had decided there was no further need, and returned to her book without a word.

That evening, Hannah was finally allowed to bathe. Though she wasn’t able to soak in the hot water for long, she scrubbed her body and wings clean, feeling as if the last few days of illness and grime were finally rinsed away. She dried off quickly and returned to her room before the chill could set in, flopping face-down onto her bed with a small frown.

It had been five days since she’d come down with the cold. Thanks to the girls’ care and the extra rest, she felt even better than before. But something had been gnawing at her.

”Teach is the same as ever, huh… Wouldn’t surprise me if he just popped up in the living room tomorrow like nothing happened.”

Garm, Amy, even Xeno had come to check on her at some point, but Tsutomu alone had not shown his face. She had half expected as much and wasn’t particularly upset about it. If anything, she was looking forward to giving him a good headbutt the next time they met.

”If I could get this kind of treatment, I’d want to get sick too,” Diniel said.

”Yeah, well, it actually sucks, y’know? Being stuck in your room the whole time.”

”Sounds perfect to me.”

As she bantered lazily with Diniel, who clearly had zero intention of doing anything remotely resembling caretaking, a knock came at the door. Diniel didn’t move a muscle. With a sigh, Hannah got up and opened it herself.

Standing there was Tsutomu, balancing a tray of food.

”Looks like you’re back to your usual self,” he said with a small smile.

”Uh… uh-huh…”

Hannah froze, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the person she’d just been talking about. Tsutomu stepped past her without ceremony and placed the tray on the table.

”Figured you’d be ready to eat properly by now, so I brought dinner.”

”Wait… huh? Why’d you bring it yourself?”

”Ah, well, I’ve got a contact who’s a food supplier who happened to be heading out to Milny Village. I had them ask around about you while they were there, about your lifestyle, stuff you like, that kinda thing.”

”…Oh.”

Hannah’s eyes fell on the food atop the tray. A stew of chunky potatoes and chicken, both breast and thigh, jumbled together in a familiar mess. A side of vibrant and fresh boiled root greens. And even crispy deep-fried tarantulas, which many in the Dungeon City would scoff at as grotesque but a certain crowd would consider a delicacy. These were all dishes her mother used to make back in the village.

”The recipes are mostly the same,” Tsutomu said. ”Miss Ollie made a few nutritional tweaks, but I heard this fried one’s your favorite, right?”

”W-what about it!? You got a problem with that!?”

”Easy, easy. Don’t shout. You’re still technically recovering.”

”I’m FINE! I could go into the Dungeon tomorrow if I wanted!”

”Well, that’s good to hear.”

”…You’re being weirdly nice today. Are YOU sick or something? Want me to take care of you for a change?”

She sprang up, bouncing on her toes until she nearly reached his eye level. Tsutomu sighed and placed a hand on her head to hold her down.

”When a Clan member gets sick, of course I worry a little. But it looks like you’re well enough now, so I’ll be counting on you again starting tomorrow.”

”Ah! That’s it, huh? The classic ‘counting on you’ move! Too bad I’m not a dog-type Beastkin! It won’t work on me! I’m not gonna go all mushy like Daryl did!”

Despite her words, she made no attempt to brush his hand off her head. She simply looked up at him with wide, playful eyes.

Tsutomu let out another sigh, then curled his fingers into a claw and ruffled her hair.

”Gyaaah! What the hell!?”

”You’re plenty lively, so eat up while it’s still warm. Then get some rest.”

”I was gonna do that anyway! Jerk!”

She yelled after him, clutching her now thoroughly messed-up head as he exited the room.

Even so, she scarfed down every bite of the meal, grumbling all the while. Then she marched downstairs with her empty tray and demanded seconds, forcing Tsutomu to bring her another round.

”Man, are we sure I’m still the Clan leader? I’m being bossed around a lot today…”

”I dunno, sounds like something a leader’s supposed to do!”

She said it so casually that Tsutomu paused, and an unusual smile flickered across his face, like he’d seen something long forgotten. Hannah tilted her head in confusion, and Tsutomu, caught off guard by his own expression, quickly busied himself gathering the empty dishes.

”Well? Satisfied now?”

”Totally. I feel like I’m the one in charge today!”

”Yeah, yeah.”

Afterward, he turned off the lights and helped her settle in. She burrowed under the blankets and peeked out with only her eyes showing.

”Y’know, getting sick now and then might not be so bad.”

”Better not make it a regular occurrence.”

With a look of mild exasperation, Tsutomu left the room, tray in hand, and closed the door behind him.