Chapter 75

“Good work!”

Stephanie had just finished a brief talk with the three others when Tsutomu, previously levitating over them with <<fly>>, came down to congratulate the team. Tsutomu then pointed in the direction of the Queen Spider.</fly>

“The enemy seems to have dropped a treasure chest, too — why don’t you go open it?”

“Ah, it did, yes! Come on, everyone!”

After the Queen Spider’s corpse had dispersed into particles of light and faded away, a silver treasure chest sat where the body had once been. Since chests dropped by Bosses were quite rare and have high chances of containing quality loot, Stephanie led her party members to open the silver chest, to celebrate the moment together.

“…A one-handed sword and a shield, I would assume? They look to have poisonous properties.”

Stephanie retrieved a green-bladed sword and a shield from the chest, narrowing her eyes in suspicion as she observed them. Tsutomu, seeing the items, looked satisfied as he proceeded to bring up a proposal,

“Oh, I happen to have some business with the Guild’s appraisal staff — can you leave the process to me? I’ll cover the fee, too.”

“Huh? Well, I certainly don’t mind, but… what about you three?”

Even if the team were to end up selling the items and split the earnings among themselves, getting them appraised by a Guild Staff Member first would still be helpful. As such, the three others agreed, letting Stephanie hand the sword and shield over to Tsutomu, which he accepted with thanks.

“Now then, shall we make our way back outside?”

“Yes!” Stephanie replied cheerfully, then returned through the Black Gate to the Guild.

The three others, immediately upon arrival, nervously stepped away with the intention to leave. Before they could, however, Stephanie called them to stop,

“One more thing, everyone. I’ve had a great learning experience these past three weeks — thank you.”

“Oh, no… I should apologize, for causing you so much trouble.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Stephanie’s gracious words of thanks had Rigas flustered, while Dorssia only bowed her head down. The Attacker kept himself silent.

“…I do have some knowledge of how well you all are faring within the Clan. But please don’t worry. I’ll put in some good words with Rook for everyone.”

“Um, that doesn’t sound right…”

“I mean it — I can, with confidence, voice my approval of all three of you to Rook. I’ll definitely not let any of you be expelled.”

Stephanie’s confident words brought tears to Rigas’s eyes. And from behind her, Tsutomu added,

“Oh, I’ll be saying something myself as well. Surely that will keep you all from being kicked out, at least for now, so please do remember to work hard from here on out.”

Back when Rook had assigned the three to this training session, Tsutomu had actually raised a condition for their expulsion to be postponed. As such, their position would be safe for another two months, after which things would be decided by the extent of their efforts.

Afterward, Tsutomu and the whole team went together to the Appraisal Office, where they requested Amy to appraise the sword and shield after she was done with the ongoing things. Amy, alternating her sights between Tsutomu and Stephanie, twitched a corner of her mouth as she accepted the items, then immediately turned away grumpily and shooed them away.

In the end, Tsutomu managed to get in a brief chat and an appointment to go explore the Dungeon together on Amy’s next day off. He then left the office and turned to talk to Stephanie,

“Well, that concludes your training program, Stephanie. Thank you for your hard work.”

“…Huh? That’s it?”

“Yes. You’ve done well these past three weeks — oh, before I forget, may I have my tools back?”

“A-ah, yes, of course…”

Stephanie, though upset to hear that her training had already concluded, returned to Tsutomu the Blue Potion vials that she had borrowed. She had thought that her training would never end so abruptly, what with her having so high expectations from Tsutomu, whom she greatly respected.

Tsutomu had no way of knowing that without being told outright, however, so he continued to say,

“To be honest, I didn’t think your team would get through layer thirty, but then you managed it in the end. Your skill control and timing have gotten much better, too — that’s good. You’ll be able to maintain your position in Ealdred Crow’s main party, I’m sure.”

“…Thank you very much,” Stephanie said and quietly bowed her head to Tsutomu. She could not help but doubt that the training was actually over.

It was true that all the morning practice had greatly improved her skill control, and although not yet perfect, she was now able to count the time by the seconds in her mind, without using her hands and feet. Those were thanks to Tsutomu’s teaching style, with her using his skill control methods as a frame of reference. The mixture of by-the-book knowledge and unconventional methods had helped her improve both technical and practical.

She still had her doubts when it came to the afternoon explorations, however. Unlike in the mornings, Tsutomu would say nothing and watch from afar, only moving to supply her with Blue Potions, which had been paid for by Ealdred Crow. The only advice she had gotten was on how to be both a Healer and a leader at the same time, without any demonstrations or even by-the-book explanations.

Although that did help her improve, she had always wondered whether or not there was actually a reason for Tsutomu to be there. She had instead wanted it to be more like the mornings, with Tsutomu joining in on the action and showing her what to do, so that she could have at least some frame of reference.

[…Is this REALLY it?]

Stephanie cast her eyes down, feeling as if there was some lump stuck in her throat. Now that she had thought about it, Tsutomu had not delved any deeper into the Dungeon after his victory over the Fire Dragon. Stephanie, on the other hand, had already advanced through a few of the subsequent layers, so she was technically ahead of him when it came to Dungeon exploration progress.

Now she wondered if it was in fact not the case that he had not taught her anything in the afternoon, and that the subjects in question were simply things that could not be taught by conventional means. As Stephanie’s doubts swirled in her mind, Tsutomu looked through his Magic Bag and pulled out a stack of documents.

“Also, Stephanie, I’d like you to have these.”

“Yes…? What are they?”

Stephanie’s downcast eyes raised up at the sight of Tsutomu’s documents; they contained a detailed review of her performance thus far. They recommended that she used <<medic>> more frequently, what with it having the effect of fatigue alleviation in addition to its expected status effect recovery. They also had a reminder that she had sometimes forgotten to set up the <

[Wonder if she’ll eventually ditch the Black Staff for a more fitting one… Well, probably not anytime soon.]

The Black Staff, which Tsutomu had brought along into this world from Live Dungeon, was originally a weapon exclusive to White Mages, and it had a myriad of beneficial effects for White Mages such as extending support skills’ durations and amplifying healing skills’ effects. In this world, however, anyone could equip it, enabling a Black Mage like Alma to wield it in battle. Although its extra benefits would not take effect, what with them being exclusive to White Mages, its high base values still served to greatly boost the power of her skills. All in all, Tsutomu still considered it a big waste.

Looking away from Monitor #1, Tsutomu left the Guild and headed for the inn.

[Next up is the Enchanter. I’ve got to modify my training program based on Stephanie… Wait, I haven’t even heard a word from them yet. Is something going on?]

Rook had, after accepting Tsutomu’s offer to teach the Enchanter, sent out a message through an express courier to the distant town in which the Enchanter lived. But the messenger had not yet returned. Rook had sent out another message a week ago, but nothing had yet to come of it, either, effectively labeling the Enchanter as unreachable.

[What’d I do instead they don’t show up tomorrow?] Tsutomu thought to himself as he walked back to the inn.