..........


　In a corner of the dining room that could easily fit a hundred people set up in Aldoret Crow's Clan House, Stephanie, with her curly peach hair, froze as she looked at the morning paper. Although she was aware of the commotion around her about it, the fact that it was even in the paper suddenly made Tsutomu's retirement seem more real.

　Why?　The only question that dominates Stephanie's inner thoughts is, "What's going on? The letters circled around in her mind, and she followed the newspaper article incessantly, moving her eyes as if they were turning.

　Sova, who was sipping a nutritionally balanced vegetable-based breakfast nearby, and Luke, who had been picking up only sweets all morning, looked at her bizarre appearance and moved a little away from her seat.


'I have a letter for you from Mr. Tsutomu.


　Stephanie turned around at a frightening pace at the sound of a voice from the woman who was waiting behind her, the manager of one of the troops. The momentum almost caused Trey to slide off, and Bittman, when Drusia quickly grabbed the knife that flew out of it, quietly put it back unnoticed.

　Bittman gave a light eye bow and then resumed his meal in response to the inorganic look from Drucia, who seemed to say, "You're not doing it, are you? Stephanie, who hadn't seen any of these two's secret activities, excitedly received the letter handed to her by her manager.


(From the handwriting, there's no doubt about it!)


　After seeing the writing on the back of the letterhead and confirming that it was Tsutomu's own, Stephanie carefully opened the letterhead with a smile on her face that made Sova don't like it.


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


　Forgetting to eat her breakfast, Stephanie reread the letter several times to see if it contained any hidden messages for her. When Luke and the others had already disappeared from the dining room after breakfast, she finally agreed with the contents of the letter, but it wasn't something she was truly satisfied with.

　As for the contents of the letter, it only contained a mild apology for the sudden return to her hometown due to a family affair, and that she hoped that she would continue to be active in the front line.

　To begin with, the first question was whether Tsutomu would really abandon God's Dungeon if his family was in a critical condition. When he was an apprentice, he spent some time with Tsutomu in the morning and afternoon, and he realized that he had a tremendous passion for dungeons. I wondered if he would ever return to his hometown for such a reason, as he had been updating the tiers of the dungeons at a speed that no ordinary person could ever achieve.

　I was happy to hear that he had high hopes for the future. I was happy to hear that, but I was also disappointed because I was expecting something else.


(If you had taken the opportunity to invite me to the infinite circle, I would have headed right over...)


　Stephanie's biggest hope was that Tsutomu would nominate her to replace him while he was back in his hometown. If it came down to who the healer would be to replace Tsutomu, she could confidently recommend herself, and based on her objective assessment, there was no doubt about it.

　If that happened, even Dorsia could pull out and transfer to the Infinite Circle and wait for him to come back. And then he would surely achieve more than that d*mned praying man, and by the time he came back, he would make the difference clear. And then he would be officially recognized by Tsutomu, and then.........


(......I shouldn't, I shouldn't. (I've already tried to stop these kinds of delusions)


　At one time she had strong emotions, even insanity, but now she has awakened from her false beliefs and has calmed down. However, even though the form of such strong emotions changed, it did not mean that its size was a phenomenon. Rather, after seeing the activities of the ninety levels and the hundred levels, it's safe to say that I'm now beyond the tomes created in between the days of practice that drove me crazy.


(Let's start with the practicalities. First of all, we have to stay on the front lines when Tutom-sama returns. We'll talk after that, hmmm...)


　That way, she could live up to his expectations, and maybe, just maybe, what a surprise. The thought that maybe then he'd compliment her again like he did back then naturally brought a deep smile to Stephanie's face.

　Finally, she returned from the crucible of her thoughts, and after stuffing the neglected and dry breakfast into her mouth and swallowing it, she immediately began to prepare to head to the divine dungeon.


　â€


　Eunice was furious. He decided that he had to find this evil tyrant.


''What do you mean by that~~?


　When he saw the news in the morning paper that Tsutomu had retired as an explorer and returned to his hometown, Eunice's hands were trembling with anger and she was ready to tear the newspaper up.

　Tsutomu, who had just recently accomplished the great feat of capturing the 100th level of the hierarchy, suddenly retired as an explorer, an unthinkable thing. If he were to retire, there would be a certain order of events.

　But she was even more furious after that. Afterwards, she asked a number of clan members and other searchers in the infinite circle, and apparently Tsutomu had left a letter before returning to his hometown. But Stephanie and Lorena had it, and only she hadn't been sent it to herself.

　Eunice was furious at the fact, and she settled for comforting Lorena, who was sympathetic to her that day.

　Relying on Lorena's words that it might have been a delivery error, Eunice managed to recover after half a day or so, and returned home to the Clan House of the Golden Examining with a dawdling gait. Along the way, he picked up a newspaper that had been read and discarded, and stared at the article that reported that Tsutomu had returned to his hometown.


(.......Is this okay?


　I knew that this kind of relationship was going to continue for at least a few more years. In the meantime, he was planning to develop another application of a skill that was more awesome than the dango raise, or to eat into the three great healers.

　But Tsutomu, who was beyond that goal, suddenly disappeared.

　Isn't this just a dream?　And although I've thought about it many times today, it's definitely real. That Tsutomu had really left to the labyrinth city was a certainty from the materialistic announcements of the Babenberg family and the security forces.

　Why, was all I could say. It didn't make sense anyway. And so, unable to collect his thoughts for the rest of the day, Eunice left slumped in the Clan House.

　For the rest of the day, Eunice was troubled by two possible futures. One was that he would stay on as the Golden Examining Healer and try to get Leon to turn around as he had been. The other was to leave the Golden Research and follow Tsutomu or transfer to another clan and wait.

　It was more painful than anything else for Eunice to cut off the feelings for Leon that she had spent years making up her own mind to do. Besides, the plan to make him abandon the harem he had built and make him choose only himself was a near impossible task. That was why he hated the feeling he had that he was trying to escape elsewhere.

　But it would be a lie if I stayed and my future self wouldn't regret it. This might be his last chance to switch. Besides, chasing Tsutomu might be tougher than forcing Leon to abandon his harem. Still, there could be a future that I would regret.


''I'm indebted to you until now.


　And the conclusion that Eunice finally came to was to follow Tsutomu's footsteps back to his hometown. He said goodbye in person to the Clan members and Leon, who had been diving into the dungeon with him for years, and entrusted Milway with a document containing all the knowledge he had, and Eunice withdrew from the golden investigation.

　After leaving the Clan House in that way, the thought of whether this was really the right thing to do came to mind. Looking back, I fell in love with Leon at first sight when I was a minor, and even when I managed to get into the golden research as a self-sacrificing healer slot, I was still worried.

　But even so, I was able to do my best because of my love for Leon. With that feeling, you can do your best again this time. When you think about it, the magic bag you were carrying on your back seemed a little lighter.


''Wash your head, I'm waiting for you!


　Then Eunice flew out of the outer gates of the labyrinth city on the fly and began to head first to the villages in the opposite direction of the royal and imperial capitals, shouting to the sky.