Thirteen years ago, he lost all of his friends in the dungeon outside, and Weiss has been fighting alone ever since. The fear of losing his friends never went away, but that didn't stop him from fighting to mourn his dead friends. After defeating his undead comrades and conquering the dungeons by himself, Weiss was feeling like there was a hole in his heart when he heard a rumor.

　A dungeon of the gods where people can be brought back to life even if they die. Weiss was skeptical at first, but once he actually saw the monitors and the explorers coming out of the guild's black gate again and again, he believed it. In God's dungeon, he wouldn't lose his friends. Hungry for human warmth, he quickly created a clan.

　But after throwing himself into battle alone for several years, Weiss' ability to talk to people was diminishing. And since people didn't want to talk to a celebrity who had a legend of solo dungeon conquest, Weiss became increasingly unable to talk to them.

　But after a discussion with Cecilia, Weiss began to make an effort to change. However, there was no way he could talk to her from the start, so he started by having a conversation with Cecilia.

　For the first week, Weiss couldn't speak properly. He was stuck in a swamp of thoughts, thinking about what the other person would think of his words. But with Cecilia's persistent questioning, he gradually began to come up with words.

　And so, after two or three weeks of practice, he was finally able to begin to speak. Weiss's thoughts, which had been hardened by years of silence, were being unraveled by Cecilia. And finally, the time had come.


''Good morning....
'What?　Oh, yes!　Good morning!


　The clan members were surprised when Weiss, who had previously only bowed his head silently, returned the greeting aloud to them with his own voice. Cecilia smiled at Weiss's appearance. The people around her were horrified at being approached, but from her point of view, knowing the truth, the scene was smiling.

　Cecilia hadn't expected that Weiss had ever said anything about being afraid of people. It was because she had been in the state she was in now since she was invited by the Clan, so it wasn't strange that she had that kind of personality.

　Cecilia was still the only one who knew that Weiss had a fear of people. Weiss seems to think that everyone will be disappointed if it's known, so she is lightly muzzled.


(A secret between the two of them!)


　He spoke with Weiss, prepared to be expelled as well as Cecilia. He was enjoying the current situation, as it would be nice to have that much perk in his life.

　The clan members began to notice the changes in Weiss, and the topic was buzzing around during breakfast. Many of the Red Demon Clan members had joined for Weiss, who had left behind a legend of conquering the Sollo Dungeon. So it was impossible not to be happy to be greeted by him.


''........Hmph.''


　The only person who seems unhappy is Alma, but she doesn't seem to have any intention of saying anything in front of everyone who is happy, and she's eating while holding her black cane under her skin. Then, as usual, we split into one and two armies before heading to the guild.


''........I'm going to do some fundraising today.
What?


　Alma was the first to react when Weiss suggested it along the way. Her face was contorted like a wolf with a sheep in front of it.


'You're taking so long when Aldoret Crow is catching up with you. Besides, you still have plenty of funds, don't you?
But.....
What?　If you have a counter argument, just say it.


　Alma glares at her bullishly, and Weiss can't help but shut up, as is her usual pattern. The bullish Alma pushes her away and she feels a sense of superiority that she's outwitted that Weiss. The others around her have been silent as well, so Alma has grown even more and acted like a clan leader.

　But now it's different. Weiss had made an effort to speak for today's day.


''........Do you really think you can fight in this situation and win?''


　Alma returns a surprised and quizzical glance when Weiss, who hadn't refuted her until now, returns her words. But that had happened once three weeks ago.


'Aldoret Crow hasn't challenged the Mounted Golem recently. Then I think it's in your best interest to gain even more combat experience here to make a difference, don't you think?
..........


　Weiss listened to Alma's opinion and pondered it. Time passed as he thought about how to argue with her, and Alma sniffed triumphantly. And as they were about to proceed to the guild.


'We're not even in a battle now, you know. We're just being slaughtered and consuming funds for mischief. Don't you think so?
...Cecilia.


　As soon as she did, Cecilia stepped in between them and threw that at Alma. Alma was inwardly surprised that she had come in, and she felt it dimly. The four attackers charged in with the four attackers, but they were wiped out without inflicting any significant wounds. That was the way most of the battles were fought.


''We've only opened one treasure chest yet, and with some dungeon produced equipment we might be able to get out of this situation, right?　Plus, there's probably some material that hasn't been found yet, right?
Well, I don't mind.


　Alma nodded at the suggestion with a venomous smile on her face and walked off at a fast pace, seemingly reluctantly. As Cecilia put her hand on her chest as if relieved, Weiss approached her.


''I ... appreciate it.''
Yeeeeeeeee!　I'm sorry if I disturbed you!


　Even so, Cecilia couldn't hide the expression on her face that involuntarily collapsed. There were times when Weiss would somehow show her gratitude with a look in her eyes, but this was the first time she had been thanked verbally since she joined the Red Demon Army.

　The two male attackers approached Cecilia, whose expression was faltering with a grimace, and spoke to her.


''Hey. What's this all about?　Mr. Weiss, aren't you the only one who's nice to me?
No, of course not. Why don't you guys talk about it?
If you could do that, you wouldn't be in any trouble!　........But Mr. Weiss, you were mad at Alma.......right?
So why don't you just ask him? Come on. Can we go?
Hey...


　The attacker's man was taken by Cecilia's hand and driven in front of Weiss. With his back pushed, the man stepped in front of Weiss and stiffened like a frog staring at a snake.

　He remained rigid for a while, but if anything happened, the man decided to blame Cecilia for it, so he asked about Alma, half-heartedly. Weiss fell silent for a while after his words. An awkward air dominates the area and the man sloshes in a cold sweat. And when he couldn't stand the silence, he couldn't help but shout.


''I'm sorry!　It's nothing!
I'm not running away.
"f*ck you, Cecilia!　What if I'm expelled!


　Cecilia stopped the attacker, who immediately turned away and was about to leave. The man tries to shake her off, half-crazed.


'....Alma is drowning in power.
...What?


　The attacker's words caused the attacker man to stare blankly at Weiss. Weiss keeps mute no matter who speaks to him. He had never expected such a man to reply to his question.

　But up until now, Weiss had also tried to reply to Clan members when they asked him something. But the fear of not knowing how the other person would perceive his or her words would stop him or her from thinking, and it would inevitably take him or her a long time to reply. In the meantime, Weiss had been unable to reply until now because the other party would break off the conversation and run away from him.


''Well it's my fault. I want to save him, I think.
Oh, really....
"I'm sorry for the time being...
No, no!　No way!


　The attacker was so impressed by Weiss' faltering words back that he bowed his head several times. The other man, who saw this, also asked Weiss in a fearful manner. As usual, he was much slower to reply, but if you wait, you'll get the right words back.


'What are you doing?!'


　And the two attackers were chatting happily with Weiss until Alma noticed that no one was following them and shouted.


　--Oooh--



Yes!
"It doesn't matter how hard the outer shell is, as long as the internal organs are scarred.


　While exploring the sixty-nine levels, Weiss does his best to talk to the clan members. If it's a topic regarding combat, it's easy to talk about, his replies aren't that slow. Weiss talks mainly about such topics as the discussion of volcanic hierarchy monsters and their weaknesses.


''Meteor.


　Frustrated by such a weiss, Alma unleashes a meteor. A swarm of monsters with a round, rock-like appearance called Rocklab was crushed by a giant meteorite.

　Alma has a higher number of monsters to defeat and she takes pride in the fact that she's more active on this level. Despite that, Alma was irritated by the PT members who were gathering to Weiss.


''........Alma.


　Weiss spoke to her. When Alma stared at Weiss with a stare, he looked back at her with a Buddha's face that never changed at all.


'Meteor is good, but I want you to use your other skills as well.
What?　You're going to tell me what to do?　You haven't killed more monsters than I have, have you?
..........


　That being said, Weiss couldn't say anything back. Alma is certainly more active in the volcano hierarchy. But the attacker next to Weiss, who was keeping quiet, stepped forward.


''Hey, Alma. What's your attitude?　To Clan Leader Weiss.
I'm just telling you the truth.


　Alma was surprised again to hear even the attacker interfere after Cecilia, but she returned the words with surprise. Then the attacker man nodded in affirmation of that.


''It's true that Alma kills the most monsters in the volcano hierarchy.
Well, then...
But you know what? What about before that?　Did you outnumber the Weiss in terms of kills, in the canyons, in the wilderness, and in the swamps?　Isn't it?
..........
'It's a given that there's a good or bad match depending on the characteristics of the hierarchy. Alma, you're certainly great. But you can't measure an attacker's worth just by the number of kills they've taken.
"...what's going on? You people who have been quiet until now, and now you come out of nowhere!　I wouldn't lose to Weiss on any level now!
With your wand, right?　It's not your own strength.


　Alma raises her eyebrows uncomfortably as she points to the black cane she's holding.


'This wand is mine!
What?　No, no, no, it's the Clan's. We all invested in it, bought it, and now Alma just has it.
This is something only I can use!
What's going on, Weiss?


　Weiss froze as the two men looked at him. Seeing the situation, Alma spread her hands out in a silly manner.


''There's no way I'm going to respond to your words. They'll just ignore me like they always do.''
Shut up.


　When the man controls her with his eyes, Alma turns her gaze to Weiss, who is standing on a stick, replying with a teasing yes yes. He's just frozen in his buddha's face, as usual.


''Look. When--
...the wand is the property of the Clan.
"Because,


　Alma's eyes widened and froze as Weiss replied to the man's words. Up until now, Weiss had thought that no matter who spoke to him, he would just fall silent and not be expected to reply. When he did open his mouth, it was only for administrative or battle-related matters. Sometimes, it's just that they still ignore him.


''Well I'm only lending Alma my staff. Others can use it.
What did you say?　This wand is only good for me!
...I noticed something during the Stampede.


　Everyone's attention is drawn to Weiss' words. He continues to speak slowly as he organizes the words that come and go in his head.


''.........Tsutomu had picked up the wand. The wand he was holding in his hand, the jewels embedded in it, were all shining.
What?　What's your point?!
"...he's special. Or maybe it's because he's a white mage.


　Ten treasures embedded in the black cane. When Alma had them, they only shone three, but when Tsutomu had them, they were all shining. From that, I can predict that the black cane is for white mages.


''........Let Cecilia hold the black cane once, and you'll see.''


　Then Alma hugged the black cane impatiently. She looked like a mother desperately hugging her baby when she was told to give him to her.


'I'm not kidding!　I'm not giving you anything!　This is mine!
"Alma. You're obsessed with the wand. You should leave for once.
'No!　This is mine!　My wand!　Don't get too close!


　Screaming out in confusion, Alma stepped back with the black cane in her arms. But she quickly realized that the situation was bad, and she quickly got down on her knees with her black cane in her arms.


'I'm sorry!　So please!　Don't take the wand!　That's my stuff!　Oh, that's my stuff!　Please!　Please!


　Alma rubs her face against the hot ground of the volcanic hierarchy and repeatedly apologizes with tears streaming down her face. The PT members around her are also taken aback by her emotionally unstable behavior.


".........let go of your staff once. I'll get it back to you later.
No!　Stop it!　Somebody help me!　I'm going to die!　I'll die without it!　Don't take me!


　Weiss took up the black cane without regard to Alma, who was crying and pleading with him. He then pushes Alma, who is rampaging around. Her face is injured by a claw stuck into her face, but it is automatically healed by the phoenix's soul.

　And so the black cane is taken away from Alma for a time, and the red demon team returned from the dungeon while managing to hold her down from the rampaging woman.


　--▽▽▽--


　It had been three days since Alma had had her black cane taken away from her. She has been holed up in her room in the Clan House. There was a delicate atmosphere among the clan members as Alma blocked out without coming out no matter who said so.

　There was a bit of a buzz among the crowd as Alma was begging Weiss to get down on her knees and plead with him, which of course was shown on the monitor. But the newspapers didn't pick up on it, and with Aldrete Crow breaking through the Mount Golem, that was the only topic of conversation.


''I'm ... sorry, until now.''


　Weiss then confessed to all the clan members that he was afraid of people, apologized for what he had done and bowed his head quietly. The clan members were surprised by this confession, but they didn't seem to feel disappointed or any other emotion.

　It was true that Weiss had rarely spoken up until now, but the clan members weren't bothered by it until Alma had gone off the rails. It wasn't that Weiss was wielding any harm, and he was nodding and other movements. They were all glad to be able to fight alongside the living legend.

　Like Cecilia, the clan members didn't seem to be particularly concerned about Weiss's interpersonal phobia. Weiss closed his eyes as if relieved at that.


'But I still wish you'd given me a little praise.
'And then there's the fact that he's so eager to invite Garum to join the clan. He talks terrific to Garum alone, and I thought he wasn't happy with us.
I'm really, really sorry.


　But they all seemed to have some kind of gripe after Alma went off the rails and the air went sour, and afterwards, Weiss couldn't help but feel annoyed when he heard what sounded like a mildly b*tc*y argument in front of him.


'Weiss. I'm sorry?
No, no, it's fine. I'm sorry.
No, no!　It's not just Mr. Weiss' fault!　.... we're sorry too. We didn't tell you the whole time.
Yes.
Indeed.


　So the disorientation caused by Weiss's lack of speech was resolved, and the clan members were reconciled. However, there was still one person who had retreated to his room.


''........Alma is my fault.


　Weiss also has the powerful power of the Unique Skill, and therefore knows the dangers of it. He had an undercurrent of experience in the dungeons outside, but Alma doesn't have it. Despite knowing this, he left Alma with the sudden possession of the powerful power of the black staff.


''........If you're thinking of attacking the dungeon, you should let Cecilia have the black cane.


　After taking the black cane away from Alma and giving it to Cecilia, the treasures all glowed. There is no doubt that the black cane is for white mages. It's not that Alma is strong, it's just that the black staff is strong, so even if it's not her, Cecilia can have it, and there's a black mage in the team. If you let that person have it, it will be easy to resume the dungeon attack.


''But I........''


　Weiss cut off his words to calm himself down. Friends who couldn't be saved in front of him. Friends who had been turned into the undead. Even now, he could dream of the scene. He looked down and clenched his fists.


"...I don't want to lose my friends anymore. I want Alma to come back. I want Alma to return to the person she was. I'm not sure I'm the one who's qualified to say that, but still.


　Perhaps if it wasn't for the black wand, Alma wouldn't have gone as crazy as she did. If Weiss had cared for Alma early on and the people around her had noticed, it wouldn't have happened like that. I want Alma to return to the variety of skills she used to have before, to use them to cheer everyone up. Weiss looked forward and looked at the clan members. They all looked back at Weiss in unison.


'That's why we don't use this wand. I don't think it's a good idea to use it. Alma won't be able to come back. But it will also delay the dungeon search. I know it will inconvenience you all, but please.


　Weiss said in a tearful voice and lowered his head.


"Could you give me and Alma some time to ourselves...


　Clan members gasped at Weiss's cry for help.

　Then one man said aloud.


'Fine!　I wish Alma would come back too, though!


　Arrow after arrow, the other clan members speak up.


''Wow, so am I!　That wand must be haunted by a demon!
It's a good thing I had that cane.... I was kind of scared to talk to him, too.


　Clan members who knew what Alma looked like before she held the black wand agreed with Weiss' words. They had seen firsthand the changes in Alma and witnessed the anomalies as well. Everyone also felt responsible for letting Alma alone have the black wand.


''........Thank you.''


　Weiss bowed deeply again to the Clan members who had agreed with him.