Published: January 22, 2026
A few days had passed since I finished greeting the sponsors and returned to Tsutolairu.
Today, a meeting was scheduled to determine the direction for the explorer parties belonging to our clan, and I had come to the conference room to attend it.
The participants included not only the leaders of each party but also several people from the Exploration Management Department, including the person in charge, Ms. Estella. It was quite a sizable group.
“Good morning, Orucchi! Looking forward to working with you today!”
As I took my designated seat, Ms. Estella, who was sitting next to me, greeted me.
“Good morning, Ms. Estella. Likewise, I look forward to working with you today.”
“Orucchi, did you read this morning’s Cartelli newspaper?”
“You mean the article about the jade gale?”
Upon hearing Estella’s question, I recalled the content of the newspaper I had read today.
The Cartelli newspaper, issued this morning, had prominently reported on the jade gale.
When I asked if she was talking about that article, she nodded repeatedly in affirmation.
The article said that the a rank party jade gale, which is the third among active explorer parties in terms of reached dungeon floors, would start their assault on the 90th floor today.
Speaking of the jade gale, that’s the party Ms. Loretta, whom I fought in the first round of the martial arts tournament in June this year, belongs to.
Since the start of this year, they have rapidly updated their reached floors in the Great Southern Labyrinth, making them arguably the most momentum-driven party right now.
“How likely do you think it is that that party will conquer the 90th floor, Orucchi?”
“I think it’s almost certain they will succeed.”
“Hoh-hoh... And what’s your basis for that?”
Estella asked with a somewhat surprised expression, as if my confidence was unexpected, wanting to hear my reasoning.
“Recently, the red copper twilight has been diving into the 90th floor quite frequently, submitting regular reports to the guild. The jade gale must have reviewed those reports before deciding to tackle the 90th floor. So, they likely made the decision with a reasonable chance of success in mind. That’s why I believe they can achieve it.”
“Ohhh, I see now~ I hadn’t considered the movements of red copper twilight. They must have submitted quite a few reports, so the information on the 90th floor must be more complete than before. In that case, I guess we’ll have to think of some explanation for the sponsors, huh? Ugh, what a hassle...”
After hearing my reasoning, Estella gave off a gloomy vibe.
“Are you worried that they might catch up to us?”
Red copper twilight, which is second in terms of reached floors, is a party that does not explore the deeper layers at all.
Therefore, it was believed they would never catch up to the current top party, the silver rabbits of the night sky.
But the jade gale is definitely moving toward deep layer conquest.
That’s probably why Estella is feeling down.
In fact, the golden dawn also overtook the silver rabbits of the night sky under similar circumstances. It’s understandable that the clan and sponsors are tense.
“That’s exactly it~ We can’t ignore the jade gale’s momentum right now. Just when the golden dawn self-destructed and we became the top, I don’t want to hear complaints from the sponsors again!”
In response to my question, Estella whined like a child, saying “No, no!” repeatedly.
In the past six months, I’ve come to fully understand that she’s outstanding at her job with no complaints, but just looking at her now, I would never have believed it.
I understand this is her true self, and I’m honestly glad she can be herself around me.
However, there must be people here who don’t have much interaction with her.
Considering the future, she can’t stay like this.
“I think your worries are misplaced, Estella.”
“Huh? Why do you say that?”
To ease her concerns, I shared my perspective.
“Explorers regularly submit exploration reports to the guild, right?”