Live Dungeon!

“…Ah, I think it’s fine now!” Lorena promptly said.

“Oh? Well, if you say so,” Amy replied, her tone still tinged with suspicion.

Though she clearly found the timing questionable, Amy chose to step back. Perhaps she didn’t want to intrude on what had become a rather charged discussion among Healers.

Tsutomu, not particularly fazed, rose from his seat as if to say he’d had enough of the talk and was ready to start preparing for the Dungeon. But Stephanie didn’t miss the motion.

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“…Yeah. I don’t need you to spell it out for me; I know exactly how I performed,” Tsutomu said with a sigh. “Sure, once Garm and Amy turned undead, I got overly cautious. My positioning as a Healer was too passive. But why do you care so much?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Oh, come on. You had to know Eunice would jump in with some whiny protest if you brought it up, didn’t ya?”

His tone was edged with enough sarcasm to make Lorena nearly burst into laughter. But one look at Stephanie’s frigid expression made her bite down on her smile.

Eunice, her name suddenly tossed into the air, flattened her fox ears in confusion, trying to catch up with the conversation.

“I don’t know who you’ve got a grudge against, but trying to get the reaction you want out of me like this, it’s pathetic, don’t you think? And assuming I’d play along with it is even more insulting.”

“…”

Stephanie’s observation hadn’t been incorrect, but indeed, airing it in front of everyone had been unnecessary. If she had wanted to slander him, that would’ve at least made her intentions clear, but Tsutomu could see she had not meant it that way. He knew this type of behavior well. He had spent enough hours in Live Dungeon watching the digital equivalent of housewives’ venomous gossip circles. This was no different.

His gaze, filled with a weary sort of disappointment, settled on her. Stephanie could do nothing but fall silent. She knew that anything she said now would only dig her deeper.

Eunice, unable to read the subtleties of their exchange, could only tell that Tsutomu had seemingly won the argument. For that, she let out a small breath of relief.

“Oh, and by the way, Eunice? You’re just as bad.”

“…Huh!?” Her voice cracked in shock, as if an ally had suddenly pointed a gun at her.

Tsutomu, on the other hand, did not so much as blink.

“It’s true, I was not performing at my best. That’s on me. But when you jump to defend me without even noticing that, purely out of emotion, it’s… kinda gross, you know. I’d rather have no allies at all than ones who unknowingly get in the way. So please, do me a favor and stop pretending to be one.”

“Wh… wha–!?”

The words hit harder than any physical blow. Eunice trembled, her tail bristling with disbelief, unable to find a response.

And then, Tsutomu turned toward Lorena with a bright smile.

“That’s why you’re different, Lorena. You’re my star pupil.”

“…Come again?”

“Yeah, looks like you’re finally getting close to the hundredth layer. I’m expecting continued success from you,” Tsutomu added, giving Lorena a light pat on the head. “Anyway, I’ve got to get ready for the Guild. So, you girls feel free to stay and chat among yourselves, yeah?”

“Wait, what? Hold on a–!”

Before Lorena could stop him, Tsutomu had already ascended the stairs. She couldn’t exactly chase him down, considering this was someone else’s Clan House.

“…Seriously?”

“What the heck was that!? That jerk!!”

Left behind, Stephanie stood frozen with unshed tears clinging to her eyelashes, while Eunice buried her face in the sofa cushions, muffling her cries.

And Lorena… was left to clean up the mess.

“Look, I’m not dealing with you two, all right!?” she cried in a last-ditch effort to break away. “No way I’m getting saddled with all this just because of a few pats on the head!”

But even as she ranted, her voice cracking with frustration, she knew she could not just leave. She and Eunice had been getting along lately; she could not just abandon her. And Stephanie… for all her harshness, Lorena understood what had driven her to speak up. After learning that Tsutomu had tried to flee from the Corroded Elder Dragon, it had been Stephanie who entered the Dungeon herself, driven by something deeper than pride.

Knowing that, Lorena could not bring herself to walk away.

In the end, she stayed. And from the corner of the room, Amy, who had been quietly observing the whole thing like a housekeeper watching a household drama unfold, slipped away without a sound.

▽▽

A short while later, as the three renowned Healers finally departed the Clan House, Tsutomu lingered to speak with the others who had also come to visit.

“…You know,” said Cecilia, eyeing him with a mix of curiosity and exasperation, “you managed to smooth things over within your Clan just fine. So why is it that you can’t do the same with those three?”

“Cecilia,” Tsutomu replied, ignoring the sharp tone, “you’re pretty capable yourself, aren’t you? How exactly do you envision the dumpling [?”

“Hey! Excuse me!” Alma cut in sharply.

Cecilia, one of the Healers from the Scarlet Devil Squad, hadn’t made any particularly noteworthy accomplishments yet, but Tsutomu could tell she had a strong grasp of her skills, likely surpassing Eunice and even Lorena in technical proficiency. He had been hoping for a peaceful exchange of opinions with her, which was why he had made the conscious decision to ignore Alma entirely.

The woman in question, predictably, did not take that well. Her shout of indignation was quickly cut short as Cecilia leaned close and whispered into her ear.

“Alma, I’m sorry, but could you hold off? Opportunities like this don’t come around often.”

“Hmph, don’t waste your breath. If someone like you ends up influenced by him, Weiss is going to be devastated.”

“If you plan on relying entirely on Weiss to brute-force your way through the ninetieth layer again, be my guest,” Tsutomu said with a casual shrug.

“Oh, shut up! That’s none of your business!”

“Didn’t stop you from pushing your unsolicited advice on me last time. Hell, you were even talking like everything was working out perfectly on your end. From where I’m standing, you’re the ones on shaky ground. Weiss still hasn’t gotten over what Garm said to him months ago. You’re fatally short on Tanks, and your Healers and Attackers don’t mesh well… Sure, the interpersonal drama seems to have cooled off, but structurally, you’re still just leaning on Weiss to carry the whole Squad. That’s probably why you’re struggling even to beat the Fallen Lich. And yet you’ve got the gall to talk about lending me the Black Staff?”

“…Now I understand exactly how those three felt earlier. Would anyone mind if I erased this man from existence right now?”

“You’re welcome to try.” Tsutomu replied without missing a beat. “Just know that before you even finish saying your skill’s name, Diniel will probably have already shot you between the eyes.”

“You fu–! Do you even hear yourself? Have you no pride as a man!?”

They were not alone in the room; Diniel, Amy, and Barbara, the Tank from Golden Tune, were also present. Given their company, Alma knew she could not act on her temper. The four women had been enjoying a relaxed session of trying on accessories from Amy’s extensive collection before Tsutomu had arrived, and Amy was still in the process of dressing Barbara up like a doll.

“…Then, Tsutomu,” Cecilia said, “what would you do to fix it? If you have an idea, would you be willing to share it?”

“Cecilia!?” Alma gasped.

Tsutomu had just begun feeling a bit smug after getting the last word in with Alma, but Cecilia’s solemn tone and deep bow caught even him off guard. He blinked, studying her expression with mild surprise.

“The Scarlet Devil Squad was built entirely around people whose Jobs naturally lean toward Attacker roles. There are only ten of you in total, and none have a Job that fits the Tank role. Weiss is the only one with the aptitude for it, but he was never a good fit. Unless you come up with some unconventional strategy, you’ll keep hitting a wall. So… if it were me, I’d put out a recruitment call only for Jobs that are suited for Tanking. With Weiss’s name still carrying weight, I’m sure you’d get some promising applicants.”

“…But that would…”

“If you just want to run a cozy little group with close friends, then by all means, stay as you are. Maybe God’s Dungeon really will end at the hundredth layer. If that’s the case, keeping things small and familiar makes sense. But if the Dungeon goes further, you’ll only fall farther behind Silver Beast and Ealdred Crow. Eventually, even the other mid-tier Clans will pass you by and forget you ever mattered. Some of them are really shaping up now.”

“…”

“If you don’t want that to happen, you’ll have to take risks and make changes. By the way…” He turned briefly to Amy’s group. “Golden Tune’s in the same boat, y’know! Don’t act like this doesn’t concern you!”

“…”

Barbara, who had been quietly enjoying Amy’s hairstyling with her round bear ears perked up, sank them sheepishly, now suddenly very aware of the tension.