Published: January 22, 2026
Tenth Squad—The "twilight moonbow" was promoted to the third squad the day after.
After finishing the exploration of the 90th floor with the members of the first squad, I headed toward the reception room.
Apparently, Lazarus Edington, the major sponsor of the silver rabbits of the night sky, wanted to talk to me.
Lazarus Edington is the old man who was the first to arrive when the silver rabbits of the night sky reached the 93rd layer.
I hope it’s nothing troublesome.
When I arrived at the reception room, I took a breath and knocked on the door, announcing my name.
The door opened, and there stood a woman dressed in a maid outfit.
“We’ve been expecting you, Orun-sama. Lord Lazarus is waiting inside. Please come in.”
Guided by the woman, I entered the room where Old Man Edington was enjoying some tea.
“Lord Lazarus, I apologize for keeping you waiting.”
“Oh no, no. Compared to an old man like me with too much free time, the hero who saved the city—you—must be much busier. Don’t worry about it at all.”
The old man replied with a kindly demeanor.
His expression remained unreadable as always.
“I appreciate your consideration. So, what is this about today?”
“Well, Orun-kun, I’ve come with a proposal. I wanted you to hear it.”
“A proposal?”
“It’s no secret, so I’ll get straight to the point. I’d like to invite you to the Reglyph Territory, where my family serves as lords, as a kind of rest and recuperation. I hope you can come.”
Reglyph Territory lies in the far northwest of the Nohitant Kingdom.
Currently, we are in Tsutolairu, a city located somewhat south of the center of the kingdom, so it's quite a distance.
Still, this is quite sudden.
Also, even though the explorer party we support financially is involved, it’s hard to believe they’d be invited to the territory simply for rest.
There must be some hidden reason behind this.
Why summon me to the territory...? I couldn't think of any immediate reason.
“It’s a great honor, but I still have the 93rd layer’s conquest ahead—”
“Oh, that’s no problem. Actually, I plan to invite Wilkes and Luclesha as well. Though they’ll stay in different places. And I’ve gotten Vince’s permission too.”
Wil and Lucre are also invited, and the leader has approved this?
Why would he bring three members of the first squad to the territory? What’s the true purpose?
I thought over the old man’s intentions, but with the information I had, I couldn’t reach a satisfying conclusion.
(Should I buy more time before responding? No, since the leader has agreed, delaying won’t help.)
“Hmm, I appreciate your caution. It’s good you didn’t accept my proposal so easily. If you had, I wouldn’t be able to trust you.”
As I mulled it over, the old man spoke with satisfaction.
“So, does that mean there’s a reason beyond mere rest for inviting us to the territory?”
“Yes, exactly. Though it’s still confidential, three new dungeons have appeared in the Reglyph Territory. I’d like you to investigate them.”
“Three dungeons?”
It’s not so unusual for dungeons to suddenly appear.
But three dungeons appearing nearby at the same time is an incredibly rare occurrence.
“Yes, that’s right. Usually, if it were just one, I would ask explorers active in my territory to investigate. But three locations are too much, and to finish quickly, I thought the trusted first squad of the silver rabbits of the night sky would be best.”
“I see.”
“Honestly, I’d like all the first squad to come, but since you and Selma-chan have responsibilities as clan executives, I think you, as the enchanter and ace of the hero party, are most suited for the dungeon hunts. Of course, we’ll cover all your living expenses during that time.”
If this is the reason, I can understand why they went to the trouble of calling us to the territory.
When dungeons appear within a domain, it’s normal to ask the explorers we support to investigate them.
“I understand. So the invitation is for the three of us: myself, Wilkes, and Luclesha?”