I've made status cards for five people. Please check each one.
Yes, sir.


　As a result, Riki and the others, who received a total of about 500,000 G from Tsutomu, used that money to create a status card just as he said. By creating a status card, they would be able to participate in the workshops that the guild held once a month to teach the basics of searchers, and they would also be able to use the training grounds and banks that the guild ran.

　Thanks to this, the orphans, who until now have only fetched magic stones by themselves, can now advance to the path of being an explorer. The orphans basically couldn't read or write, so it was a verbal explanation, but even so, by listening to the advice of the guild staff and forming a PT to explore, they were able to earn more money than before in just a few days.



Yeah. That's what Tsutomu told me.


　The first thing they did with their earnings was to create status cards, and the orphans, who were all moguls, began to become explorers one by one. The orphans as a whole had improved their living conditions, and now they were even able to stay at the guild-run inn.

　The orphans were grateful to Tsutomu for this, but it can't be denied that their fears outweighed their gratitude. The fact that most of the shops wouldn't even do business with him anymore just because rumors spread that he had a dispute with Tsutomu. Besides, in the loser's dwelling, he scattered gold coins at the orphans and had someone who looked like a subordinate shoot them through with an arrow if they messed with them. That action alone could be taken as an example, and Diniel's inexplicable power added to the fear.


''Oh, good morning!''
Good morning, Mr. Tsutomu!
Good morning!
..........


　As a result, whenever Tsutomu is seen by the orphans, he is promptly greeted by them. Garum, who saw the orphans who looked like they were completely bowing to the boss, looked at him suspiciously.


''........What the hell did you do?''
... uh, actually.


　It didn't seem like he could hide it anymore, so Tsutomu told him that he had decided to find out the source of the rumors that had recently started to emerge, and that he had assumed the orphans were the culprits and taken action. Then Garum looked slightly dumbfounded, and Xeno looked a bit surprised, and then laughed high.


''Hahaha!　I'm sure Mr. Tsutomu cares about those things too!
I'm used to people talking shit about me, but I don't like it when people start unproven rumors about me. But I didn't think it would be a good idea to ask an informant about my own rumors, so I had to figure it out for myself.
Right. But I have a few ideas about that, don't I?
What?


　Zeno, whose wife is a labyrinth maniac and wants to be an entertainer himself, is sensitive to the movements of the crowd watching the Divine Table. That's why he had an idea why Tsutomu came to be known as annoying.

　It was originally from an article by a labyrinth maniac who knows a lot about healers. It is said that Lorena and Stephanie are the two top healers at the moment, but this article explains why Tsutomu is worthy of being included in the rankings, even though he is behind in updating the hierarchy. The article itself is not a bad one, as it throws a stone at the healer community. It's just that part of the audience that saw that article was not good.

　Perhaps it was because all the healers were women, and there was an aspect of the "angel" in the article. Some of the readers who saw the article often mounted themselves against Lorena and Stephanie's fans by referring to Tsutomu in their conversations.

　Some of them may have understood the content of the article properly and spoke out, but the majority of them wanted to feel good about speaking from above about their differing opinions from the status quo. Then there was a growing perception in the crowd that Tutum fans were annoying, which was somehow replaced by Tutum annoying.


''Hmmm...''


　When Tsutomu heard about the current situation of such spectators from Zeno, he was clearly not happy. This is because he didn't believe that such a rumor had been spread by those who wanted to make a smug face by spreading their shallow knowledge around him, and he didn't believe that this was the reason why he was being looked at unpleasantly by the crowd.


''I'm already here, and I'll go to the information shop during my lunch break to check it out. Oh, I'm still going to the eighty-seventh level today but I could do a few things I want to do. Would you mind giving me a little advice?
I've been known to do this kind of thing before.


　For some reason, Tsutomu consulted with Zeno, who struck a decisive pose for him, and then, as usual, finished the PT contract and dove into the 87th level. I'm not sure if what he said was correct or not, but I'm going to go back to the dungeon after confirming it with my eyes when I returned from my lunch break.

　And by the time the evening came, he was about to update the hierarchy and go to the 88th level to return, Tsutomu stood in front of the Eye of God that Zeno had brought with him. Normally, Tsutomu is not aware of the Eye of God, and only Diniel, who hadn't heard anything, looked like he wanted to go home early because of his sudden action.


''Excuse me. I just want to talk to you all about one thing, so please give me three minutes of your time.''


　Tsutomu prefaced that while holding up three fingers and began to talk about the current state of the rumors in front of God's eyes.


'There was a time when Stephanie and Lorena, now known as the two greatest healers, were my own disciples. But recently I heard that I was a better healer because of that. But I think Stephanie and Lorena are better healers than I am.


　As he declared this, Tsutomu chanted his heels and arranged them into a small rabbit-like shape and placed them in front of the god's eyes.


'Lorena, the familiar running healer, is a healer in a different dimension to myself. There is something called an avoidance tank among tanks, but I can't simply compare her to myself because running healers are the same kind of thing. However, I didn't teach her to stand like that in the first place, and I can't copy her. Other than that, there are a few other good things about her, but among them, her ability to manage hate stands out. I think she has a natural talent in that area.


　Tsutomu ran the green rabbit made of heels into the distance, followed by the commanding stick-like wand that Stephanie used, which she took out of her magic bag.


'Stephanie is by far the best of the healers. Support recovery, skill manipulation, and hate management. There are many other things, but she's definitely the best at it. I guess she practices meticulously on a regular basis. I can't complain about him, he's a true example of a healer. There was a labyrinth maniac who said that he has already surpassed his master, and he's right. As you can see from the hierarchy of attainment, it's probably true that she's the best healer right now.


　Tsutomu's face was radiant as he expressed such an assessment, and he seemed to be congratulating his disciples for surpassing their master. But when Xeno, who was standing behind the god's eyes, asked him to speak about the other disciple as well, his expression became a bit cloudy.


'Eunice I think the dango raise was a good development. As for your abilities, we'll just have to work a little harder.


　After saying that much, Tsutomu coughed to return to the topic and got down to business.


''It's true that there was a time when the two of them were my disciples, but they're not anymore. They are on the front lines as full-fledged healers, and as you can see from the hierarchy of attainment, they are even in a position above you. I hope you can evaluate the two of you and yourself with that in mind. That's all from me. I'm sorry for my suddenness today.


　With that said, Tsutomu left God's eyes and entered the Black Gate and returned to the guild.


　oo


Oh, you say that much?
What, did he admit it?


　Tsutomu's second-hand remarks spread quickly among the crowd, and some of the newspaper reporters headed back to work to make tomorrow's morning paper. The crowd seemed to have changed their opinion of Tsutomu, perhaps because they were surprised that he had gone so far into the subject.


'Face, you're too disheveled,'
Yeah?　Really?　They say it's a natural talent. Heh heh.


　In the meantime, Lorena, who was the only one who saw the platform in person, had a sly look on her face and was pointed out to Misir. But the smirk on her face didn't get better until the next day.


''.........''


　And after wiping out the entirety of the ninety levels, which still showed no signs of attack, Stephanie went to sleep after saying goodnight, and the next morning when she was eating breakfast, a clan member handed her that morning's newspaper. Then she froze as she read through it and stared at the newspaper again as if devouring it.

　She couldn't help but be angry at Tsutomu these days. The fact that he had praised Eunice for developing the dumpling raises, and the fact that he was looking at Korina as a prayer warrior. And that he was even helping an orphan who couldn't even make a status card these days. I felt like I was being told that I was less than an orphan, and today I was becoming more and more fixated on Tsutomu-sama in the room.


(Hmm...!)


　But when she saw a picture of Tsutomu holding the commanding rod he was using, with a sentence of even greater praise for himself, Stephanie was so overcome with emotion that her heart almost jumped out of her chest. Breathing hard as if she was having a seizure, Stephanie couldn't move from the place for a while.

　Then, on the way to the guild after breakfast, Stephanie's mood was so good that the members of the First Army PT had pulled back slightly. Normally, she had such a lack of expression that she could be called an ice conductor, but it could be seen that she was visibly in a good mood. Even those who were working as receptionists in the guild seemed to be surprised at her.

　But after entering the 90th level, that good-humored face had retracted, and she was hoping for the battle of the end of her life with a serious face as usual. This is because he is aware that he is being watched by Tsutomu in Kamidae, so he can't show only hapless things.


(..................But are you already over it?


　Nevertheless, the healer was thinking about Tsutomu's statement, dividing her thoughts to the extent that the healer was not neglected. Stephanie, who had memorized each and every word of the morning paper, had already repeated what Tsutomu had said hundreds of times in her mind. That finally allowed her to calmly review the statement, but there was something about Tsutomu's words that stuck with her.

　It was true that he was beyond Tsutomu if one only looked at the hierarchy of attainment. In the reputation of the spectators and labyrinth maniacs, and in terms of technology, such as the mastery of the dango raise, he may indeed have surpassed what Tsutomu had said.

　Even now, as far as Tsutomu's healers are concerned, I don't think he's inferior to himself. I can say with confidence that he is a great healer, with very fine detail.

　However, past glory is a thing of beauty. I can't really say that my current assessment of Tsutomu doesn't include his past reputation as well. And Tsutomu, the man himself, said that his students have already surpassed him.

　Even if he couldn't hear the words of praise from Tsutomu in person, he was still happy to have received such high praise. But when I accepted it with a cool head, I felt a sense of sadness. I felt like Tsutomu was being treated as a master whose role was already over, and I couldn't be honestly happy about it.


(Really, is this the end?　(Am I following the illusion of Lord Tsutomu?


　I still admire Tsutomu. That was true, however, Tsutomu's statement had swelled those feelings as well. The back of the master he thought he was still chasing now might not be there anymore. Maybe he was just chasing the illusion he had created, and not the person he saw so far above him. I had just taken it too far, I had just taken it too big.


(Tutom-sama........)


　Stephanie was sending support recovery to the PT members who were fighting the end of their lives with such doubts.


'Hey, why is mine only short!


　And when Eunice found out about Tsutomu's comments in the morning paper the next day, she was upset that she was the only one who could make a very short comment.