Having successfully won the martial arts tournament, I finished the award ceremony and interviews before returning to the clan headquarters.
I then headed to the labyrinth management department where Sophie and the others were. There, Selma-san and Estella-san were in the middle of a meeting.
"Ah, Oru-cchi!"
While I hesitated whether to call out to the two who were talking seriously, Estella-san noticed me and spoke up.
"Sorry, did I interrupt?"
"No, not at all. —More importantly, you won the martial arts tournament, right? Congratulations."
"Oru-cchi, congrats~!"
"Thank you."
"With this, you're officially number one in both name and reality. It'll make things easier for the clan too. Really, thank you."
As Selma-san said, this result might cause some of the hero party's sponsors to shift to "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky".
More funding would let us carry out plans we couldn't before due to lack of money. Knowing my result contributed to that gave me a real sense of accomplishment.
"I just did what I could. —About tomorrow's schedule?"
I asked while looking at the papers on the table.
"Yeah. The labyrinth exploration ban ends today. There are quite a few sponsor requests piled up, so we were discussing how to distribute them to each party."
During the exploration ban, sponsors had naturally requested labyrinth materials.
A lot must have accumulated, and we needed to handle them quickly to avoid souring relations, so proper party allocation mattered.
I was thinking I should help too when
"Orun, you're going around the city with Sophie and the tenth squad next, right? You've already done the huge job of winning the tournament. Take it easy today and relax."
Selma-san told me.
"Right~ Tomorrow you'll be back to labyrinth exploration, so today enjoy yourself!"
"Tomorrow is post-festival cleanup, so the first unit's exploration starts the day after."
Honestly, it felt bad to play while they worked, but if the roles were reversed I'd say the same. I decided to accept the kindness.
"…Then I'll take you up on that and enjoy today."
"Yeah, have fun."
◇
After finishing with Selma-san and the others, I entered the usual room the tenth squad used.
The three were already there.
"Ah, Master! Congrats on winning!!"
Carol noticed me first and gave her congratulations.
"Orun-san, congratulations!"
"Congratulations! Master, you looked so cool! Knowing someone like that is my master fills me with a sense of superiority!"
Sophie and Log followed with their own congratulations.
Log's energy was especially high—definitely the highest lately.
Well, it didn't feel bad to be celebrated this much.
"Thanks, all three of you. —So, we've only got about half a day left. Shall we go around the city? Anywhere you want to go?"
"Yes. We each decided on one place! —But before that, may I ask one thing?"
Log asked with a serious expression.
"Of course. What is it?"
"Starting tomorrow, we can explore the labyrinth again, right?"
"Yeah. The ban ends today. Heading in right away?"
"Yes. After discussing it, the three of us decided. Tomorrow we'll challenge the 30th floor again!"
As Selma-san mentioned earlier, tomorrow was festival cleanup, so the first unit wouldn't explore.
Half a day should be fine.
"Got it. I'll come along this time too. As always, unless something extreme happens I won't interfere with hands or words. Give it everything."
"Yes!!!"
With the tenth squad's skill, clearing the 30th floor should be no problem.
Reaching the 31st would officially graduate them from rookies.
They'd be counted as proper combat strength for "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky".
We'd need to decide a party name by then too.
While thinking about that, multiple explosions erupted outside—like simultaneous blasts.
"!"
"What what!?"
"Explosion!?"
The three panicked at the sudden noise.
"It's okay. The explosions are quite far away. Panicking in times like this is the worst thing. First take deep breaths and calm down."
I spoke to the three and looked toward the window where the sound came from.
Buildings blocked the view, so I couldn't see the epicenter, but smoke was rising.
(The direction and distance… it's around the hero party's mansion!)
"Orun!"
Just as I pinpointed the location, Selma-san—who had been in a meeting nearby—entered the room.
"Selma-san, I'll go check it out. I have the highest mobility here."
"That's what I was going to ask. I'll head to guild headquarters for information gathering."
In emergencies like this, the guild headquarters gathered information fastest. Having Selma-san with [Mental Link] there was perfect.
"Yeah, please do."
"I'll keep the telepathy connected. Let me know if you find anything."
"Got it."
"Orun-san" "Master" "Master"
The three looked at me anxiously.
I forced a smile and patted their heads.
"I'll just check the situation. Follow the labyrinth management staff's instructions."
"Understood. Orun-san, please be careful."
"Yeah. I'm off."
After the conversation, I activated [Technical Up] and [Agility Up] each at [Double].
I leaped out the window, stepped on a midair [Reflective Wall], and jumped higher.
Once I gained enough altitude, I created footholds with [Mana Convergence] and headed toward the rising smoke.
◇
As I got closer, the explosion site became clear.
As expected, the epicenter was where the hero party's mansion had been.
But the mansion was already gone—center cleared flat, rubble piled around the edges.
(What happened? —!)
While observing from above, a straight shockwave about ten meters long burst from near the former mansion site.
Buildings in its path collapsed instantly.
(…A magical beast appeared on the surface? No, during the festival the city's alert level was higher than usual. Hard to believe they missed a beast causing this much destruction. Then this is man-made…)
Luckily this was a quiet upscale residential area?
If it happened in a crowded spot, the damage would be catastrophic.
No—already serious as is.
Heading toward the shockwave's endpoint, I saw a man standing there—likely the cause.
He casually raised a sword wrapped in golden mana, preparing to swing.
"What the hell are you doing, idiot!"
I landed in front of him and drove a full-power kick into his abdomen.
The man flew back from the kick.
But he took no damage—stood back up like nothing happened.
"…Did you cause all this destruction?"
"…"
No reaction to my words.
"—! I'm asking if you did this! Answer me! Oliver!!"
I already knew from the lack of response earlier, but Oliver was clearly abnormal.
His pupils were dilated, expression devoid of emotion.
His entire body emitted a golden aura-like mana.
Visible to the naked eye without using his ability? I'd never seen or heard of this phenomenon.
While relaying the situation to Selma-san via telepathy, Oliver slowly raised his arm, pointing his sword tip straight up.
"—Hey! Wait!"
Realizing what Oliver intended, I shouted to stop him—but of course he didn't. He swung down.
The slash drew a thin golden arc and rushed toward me at incredible speed.
"Kuh!"
I dodged sideways. The building behind where I stood was vertically bisected.
(The mana coating the blade already dispersed… He just swung normally!? Ridiculous…)
A shiver ran through me at Oliver's absurd power.
While stunned by his sudden change and devastating slash, Oliver raised his sword tip again.
"!"
I activated [Strength Up] and [Agility Up] at [Quintuple] and closed on Oliver.
While approaching, I summoned a tournament long sword and struck his blade.
(With magic available, I won't lose in power!)
At contact, I activated [Instant Capability Super Rise: Impact].
The force from our clash scattered, blowing away surrounding buildings.
And not just buildings—my sword couldn't endure either. The blade snapped midway.
"—!?"
In the instant I focused on the broken sword, Oliver's left fist rushed unguarded at my chest.
I instinctively deployed a mana barrier and reinforced it with [Mana Convergence].
No time for [Instant Capability Super Rise: Impact].
My mana barrier barely slowed it—like paper.
Using that split second, I crossed both arms in front of my chest and took the hit.
"Guh…"
Oliver swung through,
"Gaha…!"
I was blown backward hard and crashed back-first into a building.
I immediately stood and cast [Heal] over my whole body. The pain subsided.
(What is this strength from Oliver…)
I didn't understand why Oliver acted this way.
But he was definitely not in his right mind.
This was still a sparsely populated area, but nearby was the street stall district—packed with people.
They were probably already evacuating from the explosion sounds, but panic was inevitable.
If he rampaged there, the casualties would be catastrophic.
I absolutely had to stop that.
—So Oliver wouldn't pile up more sins…!
From our exchange, words clearly wouldn't reach him.
Then only force remained…!
"Brace yourself for some injuries."
I began constructing multiple spell formulas for my next move.