After that, we encountered a group of monsters three times, but we defeated them without danger and descended the mountain more and more. Tsutomu suggested flying on a fly from the middle of the road, since the only strong enemies in the air at this level are abduction birds, but it seemed that Misir had chosen to go down the mountain path in order to earn magic stones.

　Taken aback by Misir, Tsutomu looked at Garum. Seeing that he was so excited that I must learn from now on, Tsutomu also asked Misil a lot of information about the valley while fooling himself with exaggerated enthusiasm.


'Was Misir-san also kidnapped by a kidnapping bird at first?'


　Tsutomu listened while descending the slope where the exit of the forest was already beginning to come into view, glaring surreptitiously at Camille. Misir's eyes narrowed nostalgically and then laughed in a frightening way.


''When mid-level players were allowed into the canyon, it was all the rage, that. I used to get beaten up too. Did you get beaten up too?
Mr. Misir....


　Tsutomu and Mishiru felt something in common and firmly held each other's hands. After a pause, Misir let go of his hand and moved quickly to stand next to Camille.


I'm on the side that does it now. It's a good way to shut up those cheeky little brats.
Hmm, that sounds familiar. I haven't seen you in a while. Can I share some of this with you?
'Hahaha!　I saw you do it and I copied it!　It looks like the guild leader has temporarily quit and if you're not busy, are you sure you want to come?
'I've got two days off a week from Tsutomu, so I'm free. How about next Wednesday?
'Oh!　Come on!　The Dragon Man (Dragon Newt) brats are going to cry and rejoice!


　Tsutomu almost slipped away from the two who lightly hit him with their gingerly thrust out fists. The two bird people also turned their eyes on the older group as if they were looking at a freak.


''You guys are........well, it's okay. With this terrain, the bird people seem to have a huge advantage.''
'Yah, the canyon is making me do all sorts of reckless things too, right?　They made me level up in one fell swoop, and I got hurt, and I covered for Misir, right?　He's a tough guy, so I should be there for him.


　The red-bird woman, who was completely recovered by Tsutomu's recovery skills, spread her arms out like a shield and frowned. Tsutomu, who had been listening to her complaints to Misir for a while while while grumbling and grumbling, said something that had been bothering him when he had run out of complaints.


''Come to think of it, that skill called Feather Dance, doesn't that mean you'll lose your feathers?
'No, no, no, it sure looks like I'm flying a feather, but I'm not actually flying a feather. It's a skill like that. They don't grow back that quickly.
''Is that so? And that doesn't seem like a normal feather dance to me...
Oh, you know a lot about being human!　We practiced so much on that one!


　Tsutomu knew about the feather dance skill, but in the game, it was a skill that used feathers to block the enemy's view and reduce the hit rate. It was used as if it was an offensive skill, so Tsutomu continued to talk afterwards, drawing out information from the bird people.


''Ah, Garum-sama. I've heard that several of my friends were saved by Garum-sama. Truly, thank you very much.
'I'm just doing what I deserve. You don't deserve to be thanked.
Well, I was wondering if you would like to shake my hand?
'We're still in the dungeon now. As long as everyone is relaxed, I have to be on the lookout for monsters.
Oh, no, I'm sorry.


　The girl with the blue feather turns over, feeling ashamed of her shallowness at Garum's words, and the girl with the blue feather turns over, biting further and turning red in the face. Garum dog-eared and wary of his surroundings, he continues to talk.


''When we return to the guild, you will receive your reward this time from Misir. We'll shake hands and so on, as much as we can at that time. So for now, be vigilant--''
'Aaaaah!　Thank you!　Thank you!　And if you'd like, I'd love for you to visit our clan!　I'm going to be pissed off because I met you in the dungeon and you didn't bring me back!　Everyone will be absolutely delighted!
We'll do our best.


　The wings of the blue bird girl, who was flapping her arms and jumping around, fluttered in front of Garum. Garum didn't fail to be vigilant about his surroundings even in such a situation.

　From then on, they reached the place Misir had designated without encountering any monsters. As the two bird people flew around the area at low altitude, a black gate suddenly appeared as if painting the space.

　Then, after pushing the black gate open, Misir exhaled heavily as if relieved, and turned back to Tsutomu and the others and bowed deeply.


''Thanks to you, we didn't lose any equipment. Thank you, I'll be sure to give you this thanks in the name of the Silver Beast at the guild.
No, no. If you're in trouble, you're in trouble.
'No, no, no, it's just that in any other PT, you'd have to abandon them, right?　I approached it, thinking there was a chance that that Garum could help me, but most of the time, even the clans get a bad look at me just for getting close. In awful places, they'll track you down and just take your equipment. Don't ever do that!
I was taught to fulfill requests for help as much as possible, but I think I've got the wrong teacher.　Hey, Garm?
..........


　Garum closes his eyes and is silent under Tsutomu's gaze. His ears are folded to the side and his tail is hanging down. Seeing the situation, Misir looked up to the heavens with a coy smile.


'Garum-san. You're an awesome guy, but don't spread your hands too wide, okay?　If it spills out of you, you'll lose a lot of money.


　Misir stroked the heads of the two bird people on either side of him. The two immediately shake off the hand placed on their heads.


I'm sure you'll be able to find it. It's not a good idea.
You can't do anything without us, so don't act like you're so high and mighty!
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey...


　Misir's shoulders slump as the two bird people give him a brusque attitude. Garum takes him at his word and returns his thanks quietly. Misir turned his gaze to Tsutomu to regain his composure.


''Are you guys still moving on?''
Yeah. ....I think I'll stay under until 6pm for now. I've met my quota for today, but I'd like to see the fifty-sixth level if I could.
I see. He's trying to get across the canyon. Well, if she's here, she can cross it if she wants to.


　Seeing Camille resting behind her with her great sword down, Misir looked back to Tsutomu with envy.


''It seems like the wyvern drops a great magic stone every once in a while, so if we can hunt it, it's worth the money. That's our goal for the time being.
If you're careful about poisoning, you can defeat them stably, right? It certainly seems to be a very efficient way to hunt.
The only thing we need to do is level up. There's no point in sucking on a magical stone that you can't remove. Oh, when do we get the magical stone for the reward?
Oh, 7 p.m., please?
19. All right. I'll be waiting for you around the guild reception area, number one.


　Tsutomu tells Misir as he checks the time on his pocket watch with a moving second hand. After he confirmed the meeting place, he gave Tsutomu a grin.


'I believe it was Tsutomu, right?　You're a good guy. I have to admit I was wary of you when I saw that article. Bullshit is a good thing.
Oh...... It's not good for us. If I see Amy, she's going to kick my ass.
'Hahaha!　I'm sure you'll get that article this time.　I'll look forward to it.
Please don't....
'Well, what. My clan isn't that influential, but I'll spread the word to my people that Tsutomu isn't a bad guy.


　Missile said as if to comfort a depressed Tsutomu, and then said goodbye and disappeared under the black gate with the two bird people.


''Well then, let's go find the black gate on the fifty-fifth level?


　After seeing the three of them off, Tsutomu turned back to Camille and Garum and said.


　--Oooh--


　In the next four and a half hours, Tsutomu and the other PTs had crossed the fifty-five levels and found the black gate to the fifty-sixth level. The three of them pushed open the black gate and entered and immediately transitioned inside.

　The place where the three of them landed was not the green ground, but rather the dead earth. Tsutomu, exposed to the warm, unobstructed sun, looks around while blocking the light with his arms.

　I can see the light brown hills that looked like they had been cut into squares, and I can also see the cliffs that looked like they might collapse at any moment. The place where the three of them were transferred was also a little far from the high cliff edge. Tsutomu peered at the cliffs and immediately returned to the Black Gate.

　Tsutomu decided to return to the guild this time since he had an appointment to make, so he entered the Black Gate with the three of them and returned to the guild. After a sense of floating, they arrive in front of the guild's Black Gate.

　It's currently 18:30 and it's the time when workers are starting to finish their work and more and more people are watching the dungeon delivery. Standing in line at the crowded reception desk, Tsutomu collected the unused potions from Garum and Camille. After putting them away in his magic bag, Tsutomu looks at the guild's giant monitor.

　The giant monitor shows a major clan PT flying on a fly through a canyon, taking on a wyvern. Thin-film wings integrated with paws on green skin mixed with a slight earthy color. Several sharp stabs can be glimpsed at the end of its long tail.

　The four attackers leapt at that wyvern with the wind in their faces. They just rushed into it and concentrated on the wings. One of them was knocked down by the wings, which were assimilated with his paws, and fell headfirst to the ground. In the meantime, the remaining three attackers attacked as they rushed the wyvern.

　The attackers attacked and attacked and attacked. They didn't even think about defense at all. Even if the wyvern's bird-like legs slice through their arms, they are brave enough to try to thread their blades through the wyvern's wings.

　One of them was impaled by the sting of the tail and fell out of the sky, but in the meantime, the two discarded attacks punched a hole in the wyvern's bat-like wings. The wyvern instantly fell from the sky.

　The two attackers stabbed the weakened wyvern as it hit the ground, and the two attackers stabbed it anyway. Then a small, colorless, large demon stone emerges from the particulate wyvern. Meanwhile, the healers who were waiting below stowed the two fallen equipment in their magic bags and returned to the Black Gate, and the monitor image changes.

　It's the typical hunting style of a major clan called Aldoret Crow. That clan has many members anyway. From humans to sub-humans in general. There are many of them in various age groups and there are many of them anyway. They are even divided from one army in the canyon to twenty in the swamp.

　The clan was the last one to lose in the auction bidding with the Red Demon Clan, and it is currently collecting funds blindly, perhaps due to its influence. To raise funds, they're hunting wyverns these days, and perhaps the crowd is getting bored of them, but their impressions are currently going in the wrong direction.

　Next on the giant monitor were four lightly armed attackers and a PT of a healer, who didn't seem to be fighting, and the five of them were weaving their way through the valley on their flies.

　It is a major clan called Golden Research, which is expected to defeat the fire dragons next to the Red Demons. The clan is headed by a leader who is said to be a Golden Wolfman with unique skills just like Camille, and it is a clan formed by a harem that surrounds the leader.

　The clan is a sharp clan where most of the clan members other than the Golden Wolf Man are women, and it is a clan that is likely to attract dissatisfaction from the male audience, but they are surprisingly popular with the male audience. Although they have actively challenged and defeated fire dragons, they have a higher reputation than the big clans that don't challenge fire dragons, and recently, they succeeded in killing one of the fire dragon's eyes. Because of that, he's expected by the crowd and his popularity is growing rapidly.


(I'm missing a lot of things there.)


　Tsutomu, who had watched the Golden Research Fire Dragon Challenge a few times on his day off, squinted at the giant monitor. That clan has the firepower to cut down on fire dragons, and it also has a technique to seal the wings. The countermeasure equipment isn't bad either. If things go in order, it has the ability to defeat fire dragons.

　However, if the Golden Wolf Man is involved, the PT will collapse at once. I'm sure you'll be able to see that other PT members were needlessly sacrificed in place of the Golden Wolfman, and that Tsutomu was prioritizing the distribution of potions to the leader. It was especially bad when the Gold Wolf Man died, and the PT would collapse in an instant. For better or worse, this is a one-man clan of gold wolves. That's my impression of Tsutomu.


(It's funny to watch, though.)


　It was really interesting to watch the PT members pulling each other's legs while exploring the dungeon with the Golden Wolf Man not looking at them. Tsutomu watched the giant monitor for a while and his turn came around, so he updated his status card at the reception desk.