The morning after Her Highness Lucila came to Tsutorail and made her request to us, the members of the first unit gathered at the dormitory entrance to see off Selma-san, who would be accompanying the princess.
"Everyone, thank you for coming all the way to see me off. I'll be away from the clan for a while, but I'm counting on you all from here on out."
As Selma-san thanked us for seeing her off, Rain-san was the first to speak up.
"Of course we would! You make sure to support Her Highness properly too, Selma!"
"Yeah, of course."
"Still, to be personally requested by the princess herself to accompany her~ For me, Selma-san is a reliable leader, so I'm sure Her Highness wants to rely on you too! As your comrade, I'm proud! It must be tough, but do your best!"
"Being told that much makes me feel a little embarrassed. But thank you, Lucre."
"Orun, you're leaving here too, huh?"
In the middle of the conversation, Will asks me.
"Yeah. I'm meeting up with Fuuka and Hart-san at the explorer guild, so while I'm there I'll get the conquest permits for each labyrinth from the Guildmaster, and then I'll leave Tsutorail right away."
"I see. Orun-kun, conquering labyrinths must be tough too, but do your best."
"Thanks, Rain-san. You guys will probably have days where you can't let your guard down either, but don't push yourselves too hard."
From now on, we'll all be moving separately.
Those staying in the city—Rain-san and the others—will each have their own tasks to run around for.
It'll probably be a while before we're all together again, but if everyone gives their all to what's right in front of them, I believe we'll be able to reunite in the not-too-distant future.
"Everyone, things are going to be tough from here on out, but let's meet again like this—with smiles—as "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky", as the first unit, to challenge the Great Labyrinth. The next time we gather, it will be the moment we step onto the ninety-fourth floor. And then, let us become the next hero party...!"
With a dignified expression, Selma-san speaks of the path ahead while thrusting her fist forward.
"Yeah, for that sake too, I'll work hard at studying magic while simultaneously defending the city! So that no one gets hurt anymore, so that no one dies anymore!"
Responding to Selma-san's words, Lucre thrusts her own fist against Selma-san's.
"Hero party, huh. I'm not that interested in it, but I inherited the dream of 'conquering the Great Labyrinth' from that guy Albert. I don't plan on kicking the bucket until I accomplish it. And when it comes to who should conquer it, there's no one else but this group!"
"Everyone, don't just look up—don't forget to keep your eyes on your feet too. If we advance steadily, one step at a time, that path will surely lead to 'conquering the ninety-fourth floor'—and eventually to 'conquering the Great Labyrinth'! So let's walk that path together!"
Next, Will and Rain-san express their own feelings while thrusting out their fists.
Then the four of them turn smiling faces toward me.
"I'm going to conquer labyrinths all over from here, but for me that's just part of the process. My goal is to gain new things from Fuuka and Hart-san and use them for my own growth. As the ace of "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky", I'll come back even stronger."
I speak my own feelings while adding my fist to the four of theirs——.