Aldrete Crow is in limbo at the 96th level, and the first-string PT has spent all day long diving into God's dungeon to find the cause of the problem. However, although there are clues, they still haven't been able to break through.

　The structure of the 96th level is quite simple: the passageway of the old castle, which PT members can comfortably pass through even if they are spread out horizontally, is shaped like a donut-shaped structure that can be circled around as it is. And at the midpoint of the structure, there is one thing that stands out among the old castle that can be seen from the 91st level.


(Though there is no doubt that this dragon is the key to breaking through...)


　Stephanie sips on Aldoret Crow's own portable food cookie, and stares at the dragon, which has a head larger and more stubborn than a fire dragon's.

　A stone statue of a dragon in the shape of a dragon, protruding from the inside of the wall in the middle of the area that overlooks the outside. I could see it from the ninety-one levels of the old castle, and I wondered if it was just a decoration, but up close I could see that it was breathing well. It was a monster that looked like a stone statue, a monster that had been seen in the Light and Dark hierarchy as well.

　The dragons exist in one piece in the middle of the north and the south, seemingly in a meaningful way. At first I tried to attack the dragons, thinking that I should just defeat them, but they didn't respond as if they were attacking the old castle itself, and they didn't particularly counterattack me.

　I've seen some not-so-strong monsters appear in the passageways after a certain amount of time, but there's nothing special about them. I received information that there might be a hidden passage and spent five days carefully searching for it, but it ended up being empty just the other day.

　The ninety-sixth level is the only place where the infinite circle of information restriction is so tightly enforced that it is unnatural even from a spectator's point of view, so Aldoretto Crow's informants haven't been able to obtain any good information. The divine platform only showed Hannah fighting a lone monster in the corridor, and before he knew it, the ninety-sixth level had been breached.

　Even at the previous levels, Tsutomu had been able to hold the key points and cleverly conceal them, so the intelligence workers were forced to struggle to gather information at the divine table. However, at the 96th level, since the cover-up was carried out in earnest, the only information received by the military PT was speculation, and although there was some progress, the situation was not good, as the team continued to come up empty.

　And because there was so little progress, the current first-ranked PT had two people to investigate the ninety-sixth level, and the other three were to help raise the level or help the lower-ranked troops. Sova, who was currently carefully mirroring the ninety-sixth level with her divine eyes, blurted out as she fiddled with the spark-generating magic tool at hand.


''It would be best if I could ask the Infinite Circle to give me some information...''
'Master Tsutomu won't be so naive, I'm sure. I, too, was nailed, and Sova won't be able to do the same this time as she did with Weiss. How about asking for a trial?　I'll pretend I'm not involved.
Hey, why don't you bring in God's Eye and we'll have a public conversation?


　As she practiced swiftly replacing the magic stones to be set in her magic tools with one hand, Sova stared at Stephanie with a swift look. She passed such a gaze and brought forward some of the protections and heists that she had been turning behind her.


'Then it's the other clan members, but no one is going to give out information so easily. And it doesn't look like they've even been given information about the only hole.


　Daryl, who is very loyal to his master due to his breed of dog people, and Leleia, who would not give up information even if she were tortured due to her disciplined, knightly origins. Diniel's skill with the bow is unsurpassed, and his character is also a mystery to many. As for Hannah, who was the only one among them who seemed to be able to spout off information in a polite manner, it seemed like she wasn't even given any information in the first place.

　Saying that, Stephanie let out one lackluster comment as she put the skill back under her feet. If it was inside a normal dungeon, she would never be distracted, but right now, there was only a view of the ninety-sixth level on the divine platform, and there were no monsters. It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.


''The fact that only a passage was shown on the divine table, I think it's clear that that dragon is involved...''
If we could come up with an idea on our own, one of our intelligence officers would have come up with it long ago. .... I'm sure you've shown everything by now, so we'll go back and level up. Especially Sova, you're late to the party.
Haha, leveling up is just a job. We have a lot more work to do than that.
If Drusilla had been here, you would have been denounced.
"...why is Aldrete Crow only a crazy woman?
Did you say something?
It's nothing.


　From the side, they are disturbing to each other, but they have spent a lot of time together since their childhood as they were originally childhood friends. Although they did get a glimpse of Stephanie's darker side because of Tsutomu and sulked, their relationship had now begun to return to normal.

　When the two of them arrived at the Black Gate of Return, avoiding the battle with the monsters while their conversation was going on, Sova looked at Stephanie who was biting into a cookie.


''But you, how can you move on that alone?
'Healers don't move their bodies as much as attackers and tanks do, so this should be enough. They also seem to have more nutrition.
It's different now. Aunt Pei would be very disappointed to hear that.
''...Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen my aunt for a long time either. Even when I went back to my parents' house, I spent my time training as a healer.


　They had grown up in a family that could be considered upper class among the commoners, and they had been blessed to have sweets since they were children. And remembering that she hadn't seen her Aunt Pei, who often made them sweets, for over a year now, Stephanie looked down at the cookies with a jaundiced look in her eyes.


(Absorbing skills, even from those around her...)


　The words Tsutomu said to her not long ago are still etched in her mind, but Stephanie hasn't been able to achieve much of that. To be honest, she still has no interest in anyone other than Tsutomu-sama, but even so, she has improved to some extent in terms of relationships within the clan, and now she is on good terms with Kisaragi, the second-ranked healer, to the point of exchanging opinions with him.

　However, there hasn't been much progress with the other clan healers after that incident. Besides, when Eunice and Lorena attended the social gathering organized by the Infinite Circle and found out that they weren't the only ones invited, I thought I was going to stop breathing and die.

　It seems that the social event was fixed that day to begin with, and I've been told that it was a coincidence that the girls attended. But is there such a thing as coincidence?　Stephanie can't help but guess the other side of that information. She almost scratches her head involuntarily as she can't stop her disgusting paranoia from taking advantage of it.


(................I had Sova confirm this. It's the truth. (There's no need to doubt anything.)


　But the part of the story that he was forced to hold on to alone until now can be suppressed with the support of Sova and Bittman, who were at the scene of the madness, and Drusia, who has even become a loyal servant to them. The truth of the social gathering was made to be investigated by Sova, who was disappointed that she wanted to drink over with Weiss, and it was confirmed that it was really sudden.





　Normally, she would like to invite only Tsutomu, but since she had been advised, she couldn't afford not to invite the others. She had been thinking about this for a while now, but when she heard about Aunt Pei, she remembered how they used to have tea parties often, and she made up her mind.


(For that reason, I'll have to break through the ninety-sixth level as soon as possible.)


　If that tea party was to be misunderstood by Tsutomu-sama as something to search for information, it would be a shame if he misunderstood. For that reason, Stephanie returned to the guild from the Black Gate of Return, hoping to break through the ninety-sixth level even more.


''You're back.''
Hmm?


　As soon as they emerge from the black gates of the guild, they are approached and Sova reacts. The informants are dressed in clothes that are familiar in Aldoret Crow, with hoods so deep that you can't see their faces. Of course, not all of them are dressed in such suspicious attire, but it's true that many of the leaders of the informants are dressed this way, so many of them are imitating it.

　He was getting annoyed looks from the gatekeepers of the Black Gate, and he spoke to them in a quiet voice.


''I've figured out a way to break through the ninety-sixth level, perhaps. Will you come to the Clan House at once?