Chapter 401, Cold Judgment

Translator: Barnnn

Editor: Silavin

 

“Listen, go back to your room and gear up. Once you’re done, wait for me outside the Clan House.”

 

“B-but…”

 

“Just go. Right now.”

 

Amy’s grip on him loosened immediately. Tsutomu’s voice was not loud, but the disappointment laced within it struck deeper than any shout. The restraint in his every word was quite visible, holding back dark emotions. Amy’s ears drooped like wilted flowers, and without another word, she turned and hurried from the room.

 

[Leleia could realize the card’s gone at any second. I need to move now. Dammit, this is like being caught in a natural disaster…]

 

Tsutomu knelt by his bed, reaching beneath it for the for-emergency Magic Bag he had prepared, but paused. Better to get Garm moving first. He straightened and left his room, hastening down the hall. At Garm’s door, he rapped his knuckles and spoke quietly.

 

“Garm. Trouble.”

 

“Big trouble?” came the response almost instantly.

 

“Big trouble. I’ll explain on the way. Can you get ready to head out right now?”

 

“…Of course.”

 

“Wait outside when you’re ready.”

 

Tsutomu must have said enough to convey the urgency. Without a hint of hesitation, Garm cast off his sleepwear and began donning durable, sweat-absorbing undergarments with a soldier’s efficiency.

 

Tsutomu returned to his room and quickly equipped himself in Dungeon-crawling gear. Before leaving, he opened his Magic Bag and pulled out a stack of enveloped letters, containing his parting messages to all his close acquaintances, and slipped them into the desk drawer.

 

Just as he stepped out of his room, he bumped into Daryl climbing the stairs, with a fresh towel slung over his shoulder.

 

“Oh! Heading out now, Sir Tsutomu?”

 

“Yeah, just a quick errand. I need to speak with some magic tool suppliers.”

 

Tsutomu shifted aside to make way for Daryl, who responded by bowing politely before continuing on.

 

“Don’t forget to shampoo your hair, yeah?” Tsutomu quipped, reaching out to ruffle Daryl’s hair as they passed.

 

“Please, you don’t have to remind me every single time!” Daryl huffed, swatting at Tsutomu’s hand.

 

The exchange was the usual, comical routine. Daryl had no idea it might be their last. He carried on to the second-floor bathroom without a second thought.

 

Down in the living room, Amira dozed on the sofa with a newspaper draped across her face. From the kitchen came the clink of dishes and faint voices: Ollie and Maribel chatting as they cleaned up.

 

Tsutomu paused by the doorway, looking up at the ceiling.

 

[Sorry, everyone,] he thought.

 

That moment of melancholic reflection passed quickly. He stepped out into the night, leaving behind the house in which he had lived for almost two years.

 

Amy and Garm were already waiting beneath the entrance light. Both were fully equipped. Garm’s expression was grave; clearly Amy had run him through the current situation.

 

“Let’s walk,” Tsutomu said quietly. “We can talk on the way.”

 

“…Right.”

 

Though Garm had been told everything just the other day, the reality of Tsutomu returning to his own world had not settled in. His face betrayed the conflict he could not voice.

 

Tsutomu gave a small shrug and let out a forced laugh.

 

“Well, no helping it now. It’s not Amy’s fault, really. I should’ve handled things better from the start. There’s no time to explain it all now, but I want to talk things through while we walk–”

 

He stepped forward, crossing the Clan House gate.

 

Something snapped above, like ice shattering…

 

“Agh–!?”

 

And pain exploded in his leg as Tsutomu collapsed, pulled down violently by a sudden force.

 

He looked down, and saw a red-fletched arrow had pierced clean through his left calf.

 

“What the– AAAAAAHHH!”

 

The pain came crashing in, ripping a scream from his throat. A numbing, electric sensation spread from the wound. The arrow had been laced with paralytic toxin.

 

From the second-floor window came a gasp, then a voice laced with shock and protest.

 

“Diniel! You didn’t have to–!”

 

“And HE didn’t have to sneak out like thieves in the dead of night.”

 

Tsutomu turned his sweat-slicked face toward the window, where Diniel stood with her bow still half-drawn, her expression was colder than winter stone. Xeno was beside her, hand raised as if trying to restrain her. Leleia stood behind them, hair still damp from the bath, her eyes flicking back and forth, undecided on which side she should take. Korinna and Hannah stared blankly, clearly struggling to catch up with the situation.

 

“<<Medic>>… <<High Heal>>!”

 

Tsutomu gritted his teeth and began patching himself up, but not hastily enough to mishandle the arrow’s toxin. Energy surged through him, and a green glow erupted around his leg and flew skyward; the severity of the pain may have made him put more energy into them than necessary.

 

“What the hell, Diniel!? You don’t just shoot people–”

 

“Spare me the act,” Diniel interrupted. “I saw everything with my <<Eagle Eye>>. Amy stole the card and delivered it to your room. These four…” she gestured to the others behind her, “…They confirmed it’s missing. And now you’re dragging two people out of the house at night without explanation. That’s more than suspicious. What are you hiding?”

 

She must have rigged the Clan House’s hallways and rooms with arrows earlier, using her skill, <<Eagle Eye>>, to observe from a distance, like a surveillance system.

 

Amy’s tail curled between her legs as she shrank back, unable to meet anyone’s eyes. Garm remained silent, his jaw tight.

 

Seeing their reactions, Leleia and the others seemed to finally be convinced of Diniel’s claims. One by one, wearing partial gear of their own, they followed her through the broken window. Each of them stood across from Tsutomu, Amy, and Garm. Though, rather than be outright confrontational, they were still uncertain.

 

It was true that, just as Diniel had explained, the circumstantial evidence was damning. And Amy’s behavior under pressure only made matters worse; she was visibly off. Garm, too, remained entirely silent, offering neither defense nor denial.

 

“Is that really enough?” Tsutomu asked, not wavering despite the sharpness of the accusation. “Just a few assumptions were enough to shoot me over? Me? The Clan Leader of Absolute Helix? You’re saying you all decided that was reason enough?”

 

Even faced with Diniel’s composed and rational scrutiny, he did not back down. Instead, he stepped forward, blood dripping from his wounded leg, and bared an emotion he had rarely shown to the Clan: anger.

 

“Let’s say the card really is gone. Judging from your reactions, that much seems true. It’s a reward from the hundredth layer, the thing you’ve worked for weeks to obtain. I understand your panic. I’d feel the same. But was there really a need to shoot me without warning? If I’d run off the moment someone noticed the card was missing, maybe then I’d get it. But this… this was an ambush, wasn’t it?”

 

“Uh, Teach?” Hannah piped up hesitantly. “This… this isn’t like… super serious, right?”

 

The tension hanging in the air was starting to choke her, but she still clung to the possibility that Tsutomu was putting on an all-too convincing act. After all the mistakes she’d made in the past, he had never gotten this angry. Maybe it was just one of his more elaborate pranks.

 

Tsutomu pulled a slightly exasperated smile, and for a moment, Hannah relaxed, but then…

 

“Tell me something, Hannah. Do you REALLY think I’m the kind of guy who would just let it go when someone shoots me in the leg without warning? Maybe give them a pat on the head and say, ‘Let’s all get along’?”

 

“Um… I…”

 

“That’s not who I am. And you know what? Right now, you’re standing across from me. With Diniel leading the charge, all of you are turning into my enemies. I hope at least that part is clear.”

 

The look Tsutomu gave them now was reminiscent of when he had stared down Mirul, the woman who, even unintentionally, had nearly cost him his only way back to the real world by spreading slander through the Dungeon City. His gaze was one of a silent fury that left no room for misunderstanding.

 

Korinna trembled, visibly shaken. Xeno shut his mouth, words caught behind clenched teeth. And Hannah, her curiosity now souring into regret, wore the expression of someone wishing she’d stayed in bed. Leleia did not let her emotions show on her face, but she felt as though something vile and many-legged was crawling down her back.

 

Only Diniel, who had seen the theft through her <<Eagle Eye>> skill and had the confidence of firsthand knowledge, remained unmoved. To her, Tsutomu’s defiance looked like nothing more than well-rehearsed bluff. She opened her mouth to steady the others, but Tsutomu preempted her by shifting his aim to another target.

 

“Xeno! You must’ve been standing right there when Diniel nocked that arrow! You were close enough to stop her, weren’t you?”

 

“I-I didn’t think she would actually–”

 

“And only AFTER she did, did you step in, raising a hand and playing the hero! But it was too late, wasn’t it? You had the time; you made a choice. So don’t give me that crap about not seeing it coming. You’re complicit. I doubt that’s enough for the Security Team to slap any penalties on you, but I CAN. You and Miss Pico both, consider yourselves on my watch list!”

 

At that, Xeno lunged forward, visibly rattled.

 

“Leave my wife out of this! Yes, I failed to stop Diniel. I take full responsibility! But I swear on everything, I didn’t expect her to actually shoot! I wasn’t even watching that closely!”

 

Before Tsutomu could respond, Korinna stepped forward, flustered.

 

“P-please! Before anything else, remove the arrow and heal yourself! It’s only going to get worse the longer you move around like that!”

 

But Tsutomu raised a hand, silencing her.

 

“Don’t come any closer. I don’t consider everyone here an enemy… but I can’t trust you either.”

 

“T-That’s not…”

 

He turned to Leleia next.

 

“What about you, Leleia? Which side are you on? You never struck me as someone who’d back Diniel out of some petty revenge.”

 

“…Revenge?” Leleia parroted.

 

“It’s just a theory, but… I think this is personal for Diniel.”

 

“Ridiculous,” Diniel snapped, spitting the word out like poison. She raised her bow again, but stopped short when she noticed Xeno’s unease. Pushing forward now might tip the balance the wrong way.

 

“If you really thought I stole that card,” Tsutomu continued, “you could have just confronted me. You could have brought it up, stopped us from leaving, and made us search the place. But you didn’t. You went straight for the shot. Why? Because it wasn’t just about the card, was it? This was about what happened on the ninetieth layer. You wanted payback.”

 

“If someone humiliates me in the Dungeon, I return the favor in the Dungeon. That’s the only place it means anything.”

 

“Are you sure? You’re over a hundred years old, right? Must’ve stung, getting made a fool of by a twenty-something human. I don’t think you wanted me dead, but you did want to see me bleed. Wanted to see me cry, maybe?”

 

“…You’re wrong.”

 

“Am I? This was the perfect setup. You could get your revenge and still claim the moral high ground. All the circumstantial evidence points to me. Even if you’re wrong, no one could blame you for it. You mean to tell me none of that entered your mind?”

 

“…It was Amy. She stole it for you. I saw her. And I couldn’t bear to watch my best friend being manipulated by a man like you.”

 

Though she spoke softly, her words hit with the weight of conviction. Hearing them, Amy’s tail bristled in shock.

 

Tsutomu’s expression did not change.

 

“All right then. Let’s suppose I did want that card. Do you really think I’d be dumb enough to tell Amy to steal it today, of all days, AND knowing that Leleia is holding it? Why would I do something so unnecessarily risky when I’m completely under suspicion?”

 

“…”

 

“Diniel,” Leleia started, “I’m sorry, but you should–”

 

Before she could complete her thought, the sharp blast of an alarm whistle tore through the air, slicing the moment clean in two.