"No, not at all. Honestly, it was small fry."
Hart answered Loretta's question in a breezy, matter-of-fact tone.
She blinked at his response, then let out a disappointed "Eh, really?"
"Well, part of it was probably that we brought way too much firepower. Still, the black dragon on the ninety-second floor was definitely way stronger, right?"
As Hart said that and turned his gaze toward me and Will, Loretta and Mariah followed suit, looking our way.
Fuuka, sitting right next to me, remained completely indifferent as usual, fully focused on devouring the food in front of her.
"Hmm. I didn't feel like the dragon we fought in the joint subjugation was particularly strong either. But like Hart said, with that many members gathered, that's only natural. What do you think, Orun?"
After giving his own opinion, Will passed the question to me.
"Both are dragons—dragon-type magical beasts—but they're completely different types, so a direct comparison isn't really fair. That said, the dragon we fought back then could've probably been taken down easily by any single one of those parties alone. From that perspective, yeah, the black dragon was the tougher opponent."
"Hmm. So all three of you think sending three full parties was overkill. Then I guess the real question is still—why go to the trouble of dispatching three parties in the first place?"
Loretta murmured thoughtfully after hearing our answers from people who'd actually been there.
Still, why is she so fixated on the joint subjugation?
If my guess is right, the main purpose of that joint subjugation was to pair Selma with the Dawnlight members.
Back then, I was supporting Dawnlight with my original magic, but when it came to the six basic support magics—the ones that really make a difference—their effectiveness was nowhere near Selma's level.
In fact, the biggest reason Oliver decided to swap me out for Philly Carpenter was probably that very gap.
But in this situation, where Loretta's true intentions aren't clear, spilling everything honestly doesn't seem like a good idea.
Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I've heard Philly Carpenter got close to Marquis Forgas and did whatever she wanted there.
There's no guarantee she hasn't messed with other nobles in the country too.
"There could be all sorts of motives, but the biggest reason was probably that they needed to subjugate it as quickly as possible to minimize damage on the surface."
"And by that you mean...?"
I decided to give Loretta a safe, reasonable explanation to satisfy her.
It's not a lie, either—it's one of the actual reasons three parties were sent.
"You said you've been looking into the joint subjugation, so you might already know this, but I mentioned the dragon we defeated was a different type from a black dragon, right?"
After confirming Loretta nodded, I continued.
"The biggest difference was the size. The dragon in the joint subjugation was abnormally huge..."
"How huge are we talking?"
"Big enough that if it took a few steps in a decent-sized town—not a city—it could half-destroy the place. Does that help you picture it?"
"...I can't really imagine the specifics, but I get that it was ridiculously massive."
"If something like that appeared on the surface, even its slightest movements would cause catastrophic damage all around it. That's easy to imagine. So the top parties at the time all gathered to take it down."
"Yeah, but something that huge should've been impossible to miss, yet until that day... where the hell was it hiding? And the fact that even you, Loretta, who's looked into the joint subjugation, didn't know its basic traits—that level of secrecy raises a ton of questions."
Once I finished explaining to Loretta, Hart chimed in with lingering and newly sparked doubts.
Magical beasts are born in the labyrinth and basically spend their entire lives inside it.
However, rarely, individuals unaffected by the crystals at layer entrances or caused by some unknown overflow end up emerging on the surface.
In the past, I'd vaguely assumed the dragon from the joint subjugation had come up through one of those means, spent a long time in hiding away from people, and undergone something close to evolution due to the different environment outside the labyrinth.
But Ozwald McLeod from the Cyclamen Order had said something about replicating a black dragon from the black dragon's corpse.
Maybe that beast back then was...
"I see. Thanks for telling me."
"By the way, changing the subject—Loretta, you were classmates with Selma and Her Highness the Princess, right?"
Once the topic wrapped up, Hart shifted gears.
It's common knowledge that Selma, Loretta, and the First Princess of the Nohitant Kingdom were in the same year at the noble academy.
Both Selma and Loretta are clearly highly capable, as evidenced by their S-rank explorer status.
Rumor has it both of them had grades so outstanding they could've easily graduated top of their class in most years.
Yet the one who took first place over them was the First Princess of the Nohitant Kingdom—Lucilla N. Edelweiss.
She's said to be a prodigy who achieved the highest score in the academy's history, far surpassing previous top graduates.
"Yeah, that's right. Why?"
"I never went to the noble academy or any school in the duchy or whatever. I'm kinda curious. Got any fun stories?"
"I see. Noble academy tales, huh... How about this one? It's from right after we entered—"
◇
After that, our host Loretta skillfully kept the conversation flowing, and we were constantly shocked by the ever-growing stack of empty plates in front of Fuuka, who never slowed her eating pace. Overall, it turned into a thoroughly enjoyable dinner party.
After seeing off the people heading to the second venue, I returned alone to the dormitory where my room is.
As I entered the building, I spotted the members of "Twilight Moonbow" relaxing in the shared space at the entrance.
"Ah! Shishou's back! Welcome home, Shishou~!"
Carol noticed me immediately and came running over with her usual bright smile.
"I'm home. That look on your face—does that mean I can expect some good news?"
While I greeted Carol, the other three came over too.
And with all my disciples beaming from ear to ear,
"Yes! Look at this!"
Log spoke up on their behalf and showed me their guild cards.
The cards read '61', proving that all three had reached the lower layers of the southern great labyrinth.
Seeing it, I felt my cheeks naturally loosen into a smile.
"Congratulations, all three of you. Now you're officially A-rank explorers."
"This is all thanks to Orun-san's guidance! Thank you so much!"
"I've told you before—everything you've achieved is the result of your own hard work."
"Shishou always says that, but we still want to thank you!"
"...I see. Then I'll accept your gratitude honestly. —And Luna, thank you for guiding the three of them."
I called out to Luna, who was standing behind them with a warm, fond expression.
"No, actually I barely did anything. This result is something they earned themselves."
After that, we all sat down on the sofas in the entrance to keep talking.
We couldn't just stand around chatting in the doorway forever.
"And get this! We got interviewed by a newspaper reporter for the first time~!"
Hearing Carol's words, I remembered hearing today that Branca from the newspaper company was interviewing A-rank parties from "Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky".
Since "Twilight Moonbow" had just risen to A-rank at perfect timing, they must've been included.
"That's great. From here on, you'll keep getting more and more recognized by the public. Getting interview experience this early is a good thing. How was it being interviewed by a reporter? Were you nervous?"
"Yes. Really nervous. Thinking about how what we said here would end up in the newspaper everyone reads... I couldn't speak very well..."
When I asked, Sophie answered with a dejected look.
Log seemed to feel the same way; he looked a little down too, just like her.
"That's something you'll just have to get used to. If you can handle the newspapers well, it'll make things a lot easier down the line. Since you're in a clan, you don't need to worry too deeply about that part, but once you're A-rank, there'll be more to do and think about beyond just advancing through the great labyrinth's layers. You'll run into things that confuse you, but if there's anything you don't understand, ask me or Luna. And when it comes to new things, don't be afraid—tackle them greedily."
"""Yes!!!"""
"Still, I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of article comes out of today's interview~!"
Unlike the nervous Log and Sophie, Carol seemed excited about the article itself.
"This interview was supposed to be for an article on "Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky"'s A-rank party, so I doubt "Twilight Moonbow" will get much coverage."
—Or so I thought, but contrary to my expectations, when the newspaper was published a few days later, it went into detail about "Twilight Moonbow" and even described them as the party with the most momentum right now.
Thinking about it, with Sophie's connection as Selma's sister, former hero Luna in the party, and every member being a unique ability holder, it's a group that doesn't lack for topics.
◇
After that, about a week passed in the blink of an eye—exchanging all sorts of information with members of "Twilight Moonbow of Copper" and "Jade Gale" under the name of the S-Rank Party Exchange Meeting, plus preparing with the First Squad for labyrinth exploration and the ninety-fourth floor conquest.
"I considered all kinds of possibilities, but this... this is one of the absolute worst-case scenarios...!"
In the morning, as I skimmed the newspaper like usual, an unbelievable article jumped out at me.
It prominently reported that during the recent summit between the king and the emperor, the empire's [Hero]—Felix Roots Kreutzer—had killed nearly everyone on the kingdom's side present at the venue, including the king himself.