"So, you two parties are going to challenge the Dungeon Boss together? It's like the Central Continent is pulling out all their stops."
Prince Zew was impressed as he watched Helmios accept the invitation to challenge the Dungeon Boss along with his party, the Sacred.
"No, Prince Zew. I am not done yet. I am also inviting Admiral Galara's party, 'The Stinger'."
"What!? What do you mean!"
"There is a limit to the number of people who can participate. I'm inviting you and your party as well, Admiral Galara. Haven't you been staying in the base for the last three months thinking about that?"
Admiral Galara, who had been glaring at me, exploded in anger.
I, however, nonchalantly invited him to join the raid.
"What? How can that be?"
"What? No? I guess I guessed wrong then."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"No. I initially thought that you were angry at the situation because of the unreasonable order from the Emperor."
The reason why Admiral Galara started staying in the base last October was because he was angry that he had lost his friends due to unreasonable orders from the Emperor.
That is why he is swearing and drinking, was what I used to think.
But it was different.
I only noticed it on the 5th Floor, and learned from the cube that 4 parties for 50 people could challenge the Dungeon Boss at once.
"Oh."
Helmios leaked out a voice.
He understood what I meant.
"Admiral Galara decided that he and his party could handle the Dungeon Boss themselves and challenged it. But because of that decision, some people died. He blames himself for that."
I continued to speak to Admiral Galara, who kept glaring at me.
(Whether you prioritize safety like Helmios or adventure like Admiral Galara, both are ways to be a leader, though.)
I couldn't say that Helmios' way of making sure that everyone would be safe was the correct way.
There are some things you can only get if you are willing to take risks and go on adventures after all.
But it was also true that some lives were lost because of Admiral Galara's decision.
Admiral Galara, resentful of himself and unable to face his comrades, fled to our base.
Admiral Galara had always been desperate.
"Hey, you."
Admiral Galara's words weakened as I told everyone what he had wanted to hide.
"Admiral Galara. Now is the time to try again. We will be challenging the Dungeon Boss together with you. Nobody will die."
Finally, I invited Admiral Galara to join us.
"Ah! There's no way I can tell them to go into that place again! Do you have any idea how many people died?"
"Really?"
"Of course I can't! They're all thinking that their friends died because of my decision!"
Admiral Galara wasn't swearing as he shouted to expose everything in his mind.
As if in penitence, as if in remorse, he let out what had been building up in his heart.
When he thought of the friends he had lost through his own overconfidence and miscalculation, his heart could not bear the magnitude of his mistake, and he continued to bully himself until he was a wreck.
"Do your party members think so too?"
"Aah!"
When I said so, a noise came from upstairs.
We could hear the footsteps of more than ten people coming down the stairs.
And then they came into the dining room.
""Admiral...""
There they were, all of Admiral Galara's party members, who had been reduced to just 13.
"Hey, why are you here ..."
"Allen invited us here. He said to join him to conquer the dungeon along with Hero Helmios. This is the only way for everyone to move forward, so..."
Said a dwarf while sobbing.
"..."
Helmios, who had already accepted to join the raid, but I ignored him.
"Before ..."
"That's right. We can't see you being like this anymore, Admiral. Please come back! Let's conquer the dungeon together!"
Admiral Galara's party members had anxiously been watching over the battered Admiral Galara for the past months.
"You tell me..."
At that point, Admiral Galara went silent.
He then slowly looked at me, Helmios, and our party and began to think.
Admiral Galara began to think deeply, as if he were starting over, something he had once failed to consider carefully.
He pressed his palms into a tight grip on his head, as if to tell his alcohol-soaked head to get serious and work.
He thought frantically and began to do some calculations about whether we could make it and if we had a chance of winning.
(Okay, I think he is back to thinking like a leader.)
Everyone in the room watched the scene in silence.
Then, as if already sober, Admiral Galara looked at me.
And said...
"Allen. I'll join you in your attack on the Dungeon Boss. No, let me join you."
"Yes, sir. Of course."
"But I need you to promise me one thing. And it's not a condition for participation."
"What? I can't give you the special reward."
"It's not that. You said that even with your and Helmios' party participating, the chance of success is only 50%, didn't you?"
"I did say that."
"If the plan you've devised doesn't work, if you don't have enough power and we lose... someone will have to secure the retreat. I will be that someone?"
"What does that mean?"
"I'll be the bait, so you will get all 13 of them back safely."
""Admiral...""
"Shut up!"
"I see. It's the party leader's responsibility, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"I see. But I am the one responsible for gathering all the parties. I have the responsibility to stay until the end to make sure all the parties are safe. Please agree with me here."
I didn't mind if he acted as the bait but I said to him clearly that I was planning to stay till the end and secure everyone's retreat.
"All right. If that's what you're ready for, I won't stop you."
"We did it! Now we can move on! Let's drink today! Hey, Allen's brother!"
(Who's Allen's brother? I don't remember having a brother like him.)
Admiral Galara's party members rejoiced.
"That's amazing. The strongest troops of the Baukis Empire will also participate? This will go down in history. ... Today will be the prelude to an important dungeon raid."
Prince Zew, who had been silent for a long time, exclaimed with surprise.
''Eh? Prince Zew, you are coming too. I've prepared Medals for 4 parties to go to the 5th Floor, and Medals to challenge the Dungeon Boss.''
"Hmm?"
Prince Zew couldn't understand.
He didn't understand what I had said.
"Oh! Nice. Then, it will count as you conquering the Dungeon for the first time."
"What? That can't be! Fulfilling my promise to His Majesty the Beast King by taking alms!? Never!"
Helmios pointed out that Prince Zew could fulfill his trial that the Beast King had given him if he participated in the raid.
Helmios thought that if Prince Zew hadn't received detailed rules, he could just join someone's party or gather a group of beastmen to join him.
However, Prince Zew was furious when he understood Helmios' words.
He said that such a tangential Dungeon Boss raid would be a desecration of the promise that he had made to His Majesty the Beast King.
He seemed adamantly opposed to the idea.
The rewards for defeating Bosses were so great that many parties would agree to raid the Boss together without thinking too much about it.
Even in my previous life, I didn't suffer much when I used to be a recruiter.
The hardest part was when I had to reach out to parties who were at odds with mine.
The leader of the party, Dark Knights, Prince Zew bared his teeths at us when we invited him.
''It's not alms, Prince Zew. We won't be able to defeat the Dungeon Boss if you and your paty do not participate."
"No, no. Allen. Don't..."
I replied seriously to the furious Prince Zew.
His anger cooled and his words became stagnant as he was ashamed of his position.
There were a lot of beastmen in the S-class dungeon, but most of them were not very strong.
They only had 1 or 2-star Talents.
The Crown Prince Bek knew about Prince Zew and his promise to the Beast King.
If Prince Zew conquered the S-class dungeon, then Prince Zew could become the next Beast King.
So, Crown Prince Bek didn't want Prince Zew to succeed in any way.
That didn't change even after Princess Shea captured the Evil Sect.
"His Majesty the Beast King hasn't decided who to make the Beast King yet. So, Crown Prince Bek won't relent."
Crown Prince Bek would receive no merits from sending strong Beastmen to the Bakius Empire.
"I understand. The strongest people of the Albahar Beast Kingdom will be here shortly, so please wait a moment."
I then looked at the door to the dining room.
Not only Prince Zew, but everyone looked at the door, wondering what I was talking about.
No one came.
One or two minutes passed, but no one came.
Everyone looked at me with a look that said no one came, but I kept looking at the door with conviction.
"No one's ..."
Knock Knock
Prince Zew was about to say that no one was coming, when there was a knock on the front door.
A servant of Helmios went to receive the guests.
The dwarves and Helmios' party were all in a tizzy, thinking that someone had really arrived.
All eyes were on me and my friends but we remained unperturbed.
We knew who was coming.
"Oh, um, ..."
After a while, the servant came back to the dining room.
I could see the tension in his face.
"Let them enter."
I said before Helmios could.
The servant looked nervous and escorted the guest into the dining room.
"This is Marshal Sigur!"
Prince Zew shouted in surprise.
The reason was because the highest military officer of Rosenheim, Marshal Sigur, had entered the room with the elves under his command.
Naturally, Prince Zew had met Marshal Sigur many times since he was the Royalty of the country that represented one continent of the Five Continents Alliance.
When I tried to say why he was there, more people started to enter the room.
"Master Allen, they're all here."
"Thank you."
""...""
Ten silent and confident beastmen entered the room, behind Marshal Sigur.
And then Prince Zew realized something.
"This, the Ten Heroic Beasts?"
Allen, who had already convinced Admiral Galara to join him, was about to begin negotiations with the 4th party, who would participate in the Dungeon Boss raid.
