Tsutomu, planning to persuade Stephanie to step away from her conflict with Lorena and Eunice, started by visiting the Ealdred Crow Clan House.
“Excuse me. I’d like to meet Stephanie — could you tell me when she will be free?”
“O-one moment, sir.”
The receptionist, having not expected that question to come so suddenly, quickly ran inside the Clan House. Then, after a while, Tsutomu was told that she was here, and that he could meet her immediately. Thinking to himself how lucky he was today, Tsutomu followed the receptionist inside.
He was guided to the Dining Hall — which he vaguely remembered from quite a while ago — and once they were there, they started searching for Stephanie. Then, upon noticing a few familiar faces — Pollux, Sova, and Bittman — Tsutomu walked over to them.
“Excuse me,” the receptionist spoke to them, “Do any of you happen to know where Miss Stephanie has gone?”
“……” Sova and Bittman kept their mouths shut.
After a moment of awkward silence, Tsutomu noticed some magic wisps flying around the legs of a nearby chair, so he took a peek under the table.
“Ah, there you are.”
“HNGGG~~!!”
The moment Tsutomu found Stephanie under the table, the latter covered her eyes with her hands, her face flushed. She then raised her head too high and hit the table with the top of her head.
“Long time no see, Stephanie.”
“……”
“…Uh, Pollux? Is she sick or something?” Tsutomu asked with concern, seeing that Stephanie’s face was so red that it made him worry if she had a fever — not to mention that she seemed on the verge of collapsing, her breath ragged.
“I don’t know,” Pollux replied indifferently.
Sova and Bittman, unable to comprehend Stephanie’s recent behavior, simply watched on without chiming in.
“By the way, Pollux, I see you’re on a roll these days — congratulations on your promotion! Sorry if this sounds insensitive, but I see you still have your… people problems.”
Pollux, quite aware of the looks many people in the Hall were giving him, knew that Tsutomu could tell as well — so he swallowed the rest of the dessert he was having and groaned in annoyance. Perhaps due to the plumpness of Pollux’s face, for a moment, he resembled a grunting pig.
“Hmph, of course — those who can’t stay on top of their game should quit if they know what’s good for them. Nothing wrong about stating the facts straight to their faces, right? I swear, Ealdred Crow has not changed from the last time I was here at all…”
“Well, I expect to see more cool stuff from you all. Shouldn’t take too long until you get through layer eighty, right?”
“And when we do, you’ll analyze our performance and come up with new strategies that you can use to easily win. Good thinking.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“I wouldn’t say we’re THAT close to winning yet, though. Sova and Rook might need some work, but Bittman is the best Tank there is and Stephanie is just perfect. Despite that, we still can’t win. So I don’t think you’ll be able to pull it off on your first try, either.”
Sova, with one of his eyes peeking out from his long black bangs, looked furious — but surprisingly, he refrained from retaliating physically. If he were to compare himself to his role model, Weiss, he indeed would fall short, making it difficult for him to object to ‘needing some work’.
“I think we have a good chance, actually — just put together two solid teams, you see… But then again, maybe we’re not all that different from Ealdred Crow. Sova is a strong Attacker in his own right, and Rook… well, he has a lot of potential.”
“You think? Just look at this guy — he’s just a Weiss fanboy. What’s so special about him?”
“Damn it, Pollux! You really want me to turn you into minced meat, huh!?”
“Now, you two, calm down before things escalate.”
“He can use many types of weapons, sure, but he’s nothing more than a downgraded version of Weiss. He doesn’t even have a unique skill. Even a monkey can do this much.”
“Pollux, I taught you that a Buffer’s role is to draw the most power out of their party members, didn’t I?”
Tsutomu put a little anger in his voice this time, prompting Pollux to widen his naturally narrow eyes in defiance.
“Draw out the most power, yes, but what good will it do if even their highest value is low? People aren’t made equal — and Sova is, as I said, nothing special. Just think about it. Sova at his best is never going to be as strong as Weiss at his best.”
“Right, of course you’d see it that way as well. But here’s the thing — I’m already seeing some ways to draw out more of Sova’s potential. Underestimating the maximum value of such a talented Attacker like this just shows that you still have a long way to go as a Buffer.”
“……”
While the air between Tsutomu and Pollux grew increasingly tense, Sova mellowed down, surprised to have received such unexpected praise from Tsutomu. And then, noticing that Bittman had been looking at him, Sova hurriedly forced himself to tense up again.
“The point I’m making is that, if you keep being so negative, you’ll lose your footing sooner or later. I know you can do it — help Sova fight at his best, and help Rook… well, take the fight seriously.”
“…You’re not playing your mind games on me again.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. I’ve never lied to you, haven’t I?”
Pollux proceeded to tackle another bowl of dessert, ignoring Tsutomu’s sarcastic remark. Tsutomu chuckled and then made eye contact with Stephanie, who had been watching them this whole time.
“Now, Stephanie… I’ve heard that you’ve caused a couple of incidents recently.”
“Hyah–!?”
Stephanie reacted as if she had gotten an ice cube slipped into the back of her dress, prompting a puzzled gaze from Tsutomu.
“Huh? Uh, are you all right?”
It took a moment for Stephanie to contain her excitement, after which she straightened her posture and darted her eyes suspiciously.
“So, the incidents… Specifically, I’m talking about what happened with Lorena and Eunice…”
“Y-you knew…?”
“Thanks to the news, yes.”
“You knew…”
Upon hearing Tsutomu’s remark about having read the news, the look on Stephanie’s face turned overly cheerful — quite the opposite of her nickname of Ice Conductor. Such an unfamiliar expression from Stephanie caused a stir among the Clan Members in the Hall.
“You probably shouldn’t have done that. Just saying.”
“Y-yes. I’m sorry…”
“No, don’t apologize to me — and you’ve already apologized to them, so that’s fine. But I want to know… Why did you say all that to them?”
“…I couldn’t believe they were your students, Mister Tsutomu. Their levels were low, and their skill even poorer. Especially that Vulpeer girl — How could someone you have trained personally be that incompetent!? It’s inconceivable, I say! Don’t you think so, too!?”
Stephanie suddenly went on a rant in a forceful tone, causing Tsutomu to be slightly taken aback. As far as excitement went, he thought Stehpanie’s was just as intense as Lorena’s, but Stephanie’s aura gave off a more unsettling air. Feeling a chill run over his skin, Tsutomu quickly responded,
“Listen, Stephanie. You shouldn’t impose your own perception on others. Lorena and Eunice have their own reasons for being Healers, so it’s natural for their approaches to differ from yours.”
“But…!! They are not worthy of calling themselves your students!!”
“I don’t quite understand why you are making that judgment yourself — and why you think you have the right to. Lorena has developed her very own style, different from the rest of us. Eunice has even invented a whole new type of skill. They ARE achieving results in their own ways, don’t you think?”
“That little…! She couldn’t use most of the special skills that you have tried to teach her! She only made one herself out of necessity! You’re spoiling them, Mister Tsutomu! You’re letting them turn a blind eye to their own shortcomings! So… So why!? Why are you defending them!?”
Stephanie threw a tantrum like a baby, slamming her fists on the table, dealing emotional damage to Tsutomu by reminding him of his past — specifically the brief phase he had gone through in his high school days, when he could be considered a toxic player. Playing with random parties in Live Dungeon, he would get angry at players who did not fully understand the game’s mechanics and the community’s basic etiquette, not unlike what Stephanie had done.
One particular instance resulted in him going on a long rant in the game’s chat box, which then turned into an argument that turned viral as screenshots were posted on social media sites. That incident ended with his expulsion from his Clan at the time, so the scars of humiliation from that experience ran quite deep.
Seeing Stephanie’s skill wisps flying in turmoil behind her, Tsutomu looked straight at her.
“Not everyone explores the Dungeon for the same reasons, Stephanie. They’re not in your Clan and not even working with you toward any common goal. You have no good reason to force them to act a certain way. Don’t you understand that?”
“…Oh, Mister Tsutomu, you and your excuses for them…”
“No, these are no excuses. You don’t have the right to make them do anything — it’s just common sense.”
“…Yes, I understand, Mister Tsutomu.”
Stephanie’s darting eyes suddenly became still, and she fell silent. Sova and Bittman anxiously watched, while Tsutomu crossed his arms, contemplating what to say next.
“Lorena, Eunice, everyone else — they have their own merits. They all are working hard, and provide me with valuable insights.”
“……”
“But let me just say this,” Tsutomu said, observing Stephanie’s wisps slow down and stabilize. “Right now, I’m paying the most attention to you.”
“…Huh?”
Stephanie looked forward, surprised. Then, when her eyes met Tsutomu’s gaze, she froze up.
“I do know you’ve also been working hard — maybe too hard. You’re always training, even right at this moment.”
“N-n-no, I… I’m not… W-well, you see, I’ve been practicing greeting… people. Yes, people. That seems to have given me the push I need to get through each day.”
“Greeting people, huh? Good — that’s important. Just don’t overwork yourself, all right?”
“Y-yes! Yes, of course! However hard things may seem, those greetings have helped me control myself to keep within my limits! This is thanks to you, Mister Tsutomu!”
“Me? What do I even have to do with… Uh, actually, never mind. Whatever works for you.”
“Hehe… hehehe…”
Tsutomu found it strange how he seemed to have taught Stephanie about the importance of greetings, but since that was not a bad thing, he nodded in agreement. In the end, the tense atmosphere from earlier dissipated, and Stephanie became fidgety, playing with her peach-colored hair with her fingertips.
“Also, as far as I’ve seen, you’re the best Healer in town right now, Stephanie. It’s evident that you’ve put in a lot of effort. I think that’s why Lorena and Eunice might have rubbed you the wrong way.”
“…I-I still have a long way to go. What about you, Mister Tsutomu? I’ve heard that you’ve been trying out new things as well. I’m still far from being good enough.”
“There’s no need to be so modest, Stephanie. You’re the best of my students — you pay attention to all the details, and you’ve made remarkable progress in such a short time. I’m proud of you — Really, I am.”
“……”
Seeing Tsutomu’s smile, Stephanie suddenly stood up. Sova and Bittman tensed up and took defensive positions, while Tsutomu, sitting in his chair, only tilted his head in confusion.
“Mister Tsutomu… I… I…”
“Yes?”
“I need to get back to my training!!”
Stephanie sprinted through the Dining Hall at full speed, skillfully controlling the wisps around her. Sova and Bittman watched her with eyes resembling those observing a rare beast, while Tsutomu remained frozen in his seat, unable to make sense of what had just happened.
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