We leave the "Beach of the Falling Sun" and go out to the plaza in front of the labyrinth. Then, you can hear the other parties who saw Rolando-san and Daniela-san being carried away talking in a pitying manner.

''The leader of the 'Alliance' was hit, isn't it that guy from the example?'''
Yeah, they came over here with their whole unit and left one of us behind in sector seven...
People don't always follow you around. You left a little something for me, and I don't appreciate it.

　The unit - does that mean that before Roland-san's reincarnation, he was in the army or something, as the profession of 'Airborne Division' suggests?

　It's no wonder that there are many searchers who have an antipathy towards the 'alliance'. It seems that if you don't pass through that sandy beach, you won't be able to descend to the second level, and until the 'named' is defeated, it's virtually impossible to enter the 'Ochiyang Beach'.

　The remaining members of the 'alliance' belatedly emerged from the labyrinth, but no one seemed to have the energy to even say a word. When the person named Thomas saw us, he bowed his head, but he didn't speak to us, but instead headed quickly towards the upper guild - he would be heading to the medical center in that direction.

(.........hmm?)

　It's not another party, nor is it a guild saber - a white haired figure wearing something like sunglasses, which is rare in the labyrinth country, is looking at us.

　Seeing the figure wearing a white cloak, Elitia stops in her tracks. When she was about to call out to her as she stood there dumbfounded, Elitia burst back, and let out a small voice.

''........of the Byakuya Brigade.......why are you here.......?''
You think that's him?
Whaaaaa........here it comes.......can you hide behind me, Suzu?
Oh, no, I'm not ready for this either...

　It was hard to tell by the white cloak that hid his body shape, but the person who approached us was a woman. Underneath the cloak, she wore leather-based armor, but it looked like it was of a different quality than anything we'd ever gotten before.

　As she came up to Elitia, she raised her hand in a frightened manner.

'Hey, it's been a while, Ellie. I'm glad to see you're doing well.'

　Her appearance gave me the impression that she was no ordinary person, but she greeted Elitia in a more friendly manner than I could have imagined.

''What are you doing here?　Why are you here...
The Commander asked me to run an errand down to the lower section. I heard there were some interesting things happening on the way.
"...not a funny situation. One person.....
It's rare in this district to find a demon that can pull out your soul. It's not fair to tell them to take countermeasures... you should have run away as soon as they came out.

　I'm aware of what happened - where you were watching from, or you guessed it when you saw Mr. Roland and the others being carried.

''Is that all you're trying to say?''
'Yeah, for now. But still, I think we should get a few more good guys together.　Some of the girls are in professions like Iroko, and then they'll just drag you down. 'Miko' is a halfway house, and didn't the guy in that suit write 'salaryman' or something?　It won't help you in the long run...
'You can say whatever you like about me. But don't say anything about my people. Because if you say it again, I won't be able to forgive you.

　The white-haired woman kept her mouth shut when Elitia controlled her. Then she bowed her head with surprising candor.

'That was out of line, I apologize. But Ellie is mistaken. We haven't abandoned her in any way. I'm sure she was ready for it, too. When the time comes for you to drag yourself down, then...
...you can't even remember my name. I don't forget.........

　That's how heartless you can be towards someone who was your friend. The white haired woman didn't really seem to remember the name of the friend Elitia was hoping to help.

　However, without seeming to be offended, the white haired woman starts clapping her hands - heartily enjoying herself.

'Haha... haha. I wholeheartedly admire that about Ellie. Even though her level is low, she's brave when it comes to fighting, she steps deeper than anyone else and doesn't complain when she gets hurt. I couldn't possibly do that. I can't very well remember every single useless name.
But it's not like he's a badass...!
''Yes, Ruly. If only the boy had found the right equipment, he might have survived a little longer. I'm so sorry.
.........

　Elitia still thinks that her best friend - Luury - is still alive. Even though she was in denial about it, she couldn't immediately refute it.

　Hope doesn't always exist. The longer we continue to explore, the longer we may have to divide it up like that to get by - but still.

'Will you stop me from going any further? You're hurting my people right now and I can't let that go by.
"...Aricht...

　Just going forward and facing it, the pressure was overwhelming - was Elitia in an organization with such an opponent, and was she still facing it?

''Well I guess I've said too much again. And it doesn't look like he's just a 'businessman' he has eyes like a hawk, not a dog's eye.
''Don't do anything to Arihito!　Cyrone.........!

　Syrone - that's her name? She moves closer to me and looks up at me and then away again.

'If I survive and see you next, can I 'test' you?'
' ... no. Whatever that 'test' is, I'll refrain from it.
'Yeah. It sounds interesting, but... well, if you're really going to want it, you're going to catch it any way you can...

　Before she can finish, two people interrupt her from the side. It's Igarashi and then Theresa.

'You're headhunting a leader, is that how you get your people together?　Unfortunately, Mr. Rear end is indispensable to our party. Can you find someone else?
..........

　Igarashi-san piqued, and Theresia stood with her hands outstretched. I'm happy for the two of them, but the situation of having two women protecting her is indescribably unsettling - and this is not the time to think about it.

'Good explorers move on to the party that suits them best. Even if it's not us, if you become famous, you may even get scouted.......of course, right?　It's not a game.
'We're going to keep going. We're not going to play around.
Yeah. So, I guess we'll just say hello for now.

　The white-haired woman - Silone - didn't bite off more than that. She walked away with her back to us, turned around once and waved, but Elitia didn't respond to that.

'Ellie, you were at a tough party! With someone like that, I always feel so nervous, or maybe my shoulders get stiff.''
''I........I need to work harder. I have to stop people from talking to me like that....
'Suzuna doesn't have to worry about anything, 'maiden' is an amazing profession. She thinks they're the best party ever... and she rarely compliments anyone but her own party members.
'It looks pretty strong, but I'd like to catch up to that level eventually, even if it takes a while. Then I won't have anything to complain about.

　It's not as if I don't think anything of it after being told so much of what to do. But there's no point in getting angry, so I should probably direct that energy to something else.

''Elitia-san, how high is that person's level?''
'I was 12 when I left The Brigade, so maybe it's a little higher now.
''12........So that means the level is gradually becoming harder and harder to raise, and if you're at that level in the 5th district, that's what you're going to do.
'If you can take out an enemy stronger than you, your experience won't slow down so much. But it's not that easy... even at the level of the brigade, a member can get seriously injured, and then you have to stand around to maintain your experience.

　If you take a break from exploring, your experience will go down. We also have to avoid serious injuries that would cause us to rest for a long time - although I think it's unlikely that such a situation would occur because the 'support recovery' would close the wound.

　Once the conversation was settled, we decided to head to the upper guild. We need to report on what happened in 'The Beach of the Falling Sun' and calculate our contribution once.

''Ah........Atobe-san!　Thank God you're still here!

　Adeline-san finds us and comes running. She reported that she had left 'Arachne Mage' at my contracted demon farm.