Published: January 22, 2026
“No, not at all. To be honest, they were pretty weak.”
Mr. Haruto answered Ms. Loretta’s question nonchalantly.
Upon hearing his reply, she blinked and then said disappointedly, “Really? Is that so?”
“Well, I guess we were just overkill. But even so, the black dragon, the floor boss of the 92nd floor, was definitely much stronger, wasn’t it?”
As Mr. Haruto said this, he turned his gaze towards Will and me. Following his gaze, Ms. Loretta and Maria also turned their faces our way.
Fuuka, who was sitting next to me, remained completely indifferent, still absorbed in the food in front of her.
“I wonder. I didn’t feel the dragon we fought in the joint hunt was particularly strong either. But as Haruto said, with a team like that, it’s only natural. What do you think, Orun?”
Will gave his opinion before turning the question to me.
“They’re both dragons—demonic beasts of the drake species—but their types are completely different, so a simple comparison isn’t possible. However, considering the dragon we fought then could probably have been defeated easily by a single party, I think it's fair to say the black dragon was the tougher opponent.”
“Hmmm, so all three of you agree that sending three parties to fight was overkill. Then, why on earth did they dispatch three parties?”
Listening to our answers, Ms. Loretta murmured thoughtfully.
I wondered why she was so concerned about the joint hunt.
If my guess was correct, the main purpose of the joint hunt was to combine Ms. Selma and the Dawnlight members.
At that time, I was supporting the Dawnlight members using original magic, but when it came to the six fundamental types of support magic—which are crucial and have the most noticeable effects—my support was far inferior compared to Ms. Selma’s.
In fact, the biggest reason Oliver decided to replace me with Philly Carpenter was likely this.
However, in this situation where Ms. Loretta’s true intentions were unclear, I didn’t think it wise to be too straightforward about this.
Maybe I was overthinking it, but I had heard Philly Carpenter had been getting close to Marquis Forgus and doing as she pleased.
Such a person might also be meddling with other nobles domestically.
“There are many possible motives, but the primary reason was probably the urgent need to defeat the dragon quickly to minimize damage to the surface.”
“And that means?”
I decided to give Ms. Loretta the safe answer.
Not that it was a lie—this was indeed one of the reasons three parties were sent.
“I’m sure you know since you’re investigating the joint hunt, but the dragon defeated in the joint hunt was different in type from the black dragon, right?”
After confirming that Ms. Loretta nodded, I continued.
“The biggest difference was size. The dragon in the joint hunt was abnormally huge…”
“How huge are we talking?”
“Imagine a moderately sized town, excluding cities. If it took just a few steps for it to cause half the town to collapse, does that give you an idea?”
“…I can’t picture it exactly, but I get that it was an enormous demonic beast.”
“If something like that appeared on the surface, even a slight movement would cause massive damage to the surrounding area. So, all the top parties gathered to take it down.”
“Well, it should have been conspicuous if it was that huge, but even up to that day, no one knew where it was. And the fact that even you, who investigated the joint hunt, didn’t know the dragon’s characteristics suggests it was incredibly well hidden. There are still many questions.”
When I finished explaining to Ms. Loretta, Mr. Haruto added some unresolved questions and new doubts.
Demonic beasts are born within dungeons and generally spend their entire lives inside.
However, occasionally, some aren’t affected by the crystals at the floor entrances or due to mysterious floods, beasts come out onto the surface.
Previously, I vaguely thought the dragon we fought in the joint hunt had come to the surface by one of these means and had spent a long time in an unobserved place, evolving in a way that was different from its dungeon environment.