Chapter 408, The Students’ Diverging Paths

Translator: Barnnn

Editor: Silavin

 

“…”

 

In one corner of Ealdred Crow Clan House’s dining hall, large enough to seat a hundred, Stephanie sat frozen, her pink ringlets waving in the breeze. She had already heard the particulars of the incident, of course, but now, with Tsutomu’s retirement plastered across the front page of the morning paper, the news struck with irrevocable weight. It was now more real than ever.

 

“Why?” That single question dominated her mind endlessly. Her eyes, darting feverishly across the page, chased the printed words as if they might suddenly rearrange into an answer.

 

Nearby, Sova was going through a sizable set of nutritionally-balanced, vegetable-centric breakfast, while Rook crunched happily through a pile of sweets. Both noticed the peculiar stillness in Stephanie’s posture… and discreetly slid a few seats away.

 

“Ma’am, I have a letter from Mister Tsutomu,” came a calm female voice behind her.

 

Stephanie turned with alarming speed, nearly tipping her chair and sending her tray almost sliding off the table. Bittman caught the tray just in time, while Dorssia, without missing a beat, plucked the airborne knife from midair and quietly slipped it back in place. The two exchanged a subtle nod of acknowledgement before returning to their meals.

 

Completely oblivious to the minor acrobatics occurring just behind her, Stephanie reached out with trembling hands and took the letter from Team 1’s manager.

 

[There’s no mistake! This IS his handwriting!]

 

The moment she confirmed the familiar writing on the back of the envelope, a radiant smile spread across her face, so intensely so that even Sova recoiled slightly.

 

“…”

 

She read it once. Then again. And again. Breakfast forgotten, time forgotten, Stephanie scoured every word as if a secret message were hidden between the lines. By the time Rook and the others had finished eating and vacated the dining hall, she had finally accepted the contents for what they were, though they brought her no satisfaction.

 

The letter was nothing elaborate, containing a light apology followed by a simple explanation: family circumstances had called Tsutomu back to his hometown. Then, a line or two expressing hope that she would continue excelling at the front lines. That was all.

 

But Stephanie could not believe it, not from him. She remembered those long days as his disciple, from morning to night. She had seen firsthand the intensity with which he threw himself into the God’s Dungeon. In her view, Tsutomu was not someone who would separate himself from the Dungeon even if his family was in fatal danger. Would that man truly drop everything for something so mundane?

 

The words ‘I hope you continue to succeed’ warmed her, yes, but they also stung. Because she had hoped for so much more.

 

[If only he had asked me to join Absolute Helix in his place, I would’ve gone in a heartbeat…]

 

What she had truly wished for was an invitation to fill his role, to carry on his legacy in his absence. As a Healer, she had no doubt she could live up to the task, perhaps even surpass it. Objectively speaking, she was the most suitable candidate. If it had come to that, she would have dragged Dorssia along and transferred Clans without hesitation. Then, when Tsutomu eventually returned, she would have proven herself beyond question, far outshining that infuriating Channeler… She would have earned his acknowledgment. And then…

 

[…No! No more of that. I told myself I would stop indulging in these fantasies.]

 

There had been a time when her emotions toward Tsutomu verged on obsession. But she had cooled since then, and shed the false idol she had built in her mind. Even so, the strength of her feelings had not diminished. They had only changed shape. If anything, seeing his feats on the ninetieth layer, then the hundredth, had only inflamed her admiration further.

 

[Be practical, Stephanie. First things first, stay at the front lines. Be someone he’ll recognize when he returns. From there, everything else can begin… Hehehe…]

 

Just the thought of being praised by him again made her cheeks flush and her lips curl into a deep smile.

 

With her thoughts finally settling, she returned from the spiraling maze of her mind. She stuffed the few remaining cold mouthfuls of her neglected breakfast down, swallowed them whole, and immediately went to prepare to head into God’s Dungeon.

 

▽▽

 

“What… what is the meaning of this!?”

 

Eunice was furious. Absolutely livid.

 

The headline declaring Tsutomu’s retirement and return to his hometown blazed across the morning paper’s front page like a cruel joke. She clenched the paper in trembling hands, barely able to contain the urge to rip it to shreds.

 

That Tsutomu, the very same Tsutomu who had just conquered the hundredth layer, would retire so abruptly, without warning or ceremony, was unthinkable. It flew in the face of all logic. Even if he were to retire, there was a proper order to such things.

 

But what stung more than the suddenness of his departure was the next revelation. After questioning members of Absolute Helix and pestering other Explorer acquaintances, Eunice had learned that Tsutomu had left farewell letters behind. Stephanie had received one. Lorena had, too.

 

…But she had not.

 

That was when Eunice’s fury truly erupted, her anger rocketing through the roof. It was Lorena who eventually managed to soothe her, gently suggesting it might have been a postal error. Clinging to that thin thread of hope, Eunice somehow gathered herself again over the course of a few hours.

 

That evening, her steps were heavy as she trudged home toward the Golden Tune Clan House. On the way, she spotted a discarded newspaper. Picking it up, she found her gaze drawn once more to the article about Tsutomu’s return home.

 

[…Is this really how it ends? Just like this?]

 

She had assumed this strange, tangled relationship between them would last for at least a few more years. Long enough for her to develop some new application of skills even more extraordinary than the Dumpling <<Raise>>, that would perhaps place her among the three greatest Healers in town.

 

But now, the one person who had always been her benchmark, the focus of her ambitions, had suddenly vanished.

 

Maybe this is all a dream, she told herself again and again. But it was not. The official joint statement from House Babenberg and the Security Team had confirmed it beyond all doubt: Tsutomu had left the Dungeon City.

 

She could not understand it. Not the timing, nor the reason. None of it made sense. Her thoughts remained a storm of tangled threads as she returned to the Clan House, head bowed and spirit dulled.

 

The next day, she sat alone and weighed her future. There were two paths before her: One was to stay here, remain with Golden Tune, and continue chasing Leon’s affection, an affection she had poured years into pursuing. She had devoted herself to him with a single-mindedness verging on madness, even pushing herself into the role of a self-sacrificing Healer just to gain entry into his harem-like party.

 

The other path… was to leave. To abandon Leon, to abandon the comfort and familiarity of her current life, and instead chase after the trail Tsutomu had left behind. Or at the very least, to wait for his return from somewhere new.

 

Cutting ties with Leon, after everything, would be a bitter pill to swallow. She had always hoped to be the one woman he would choose, the one who could make him give up his foolish little kingdom of affection. That dream was as hopeless as it was stubborn. But staying… that, too, might one day fill her with regret so deep she could never claw her way out of it.

 

And as she thought about it, she realized something: following Tsutomu might be even harder than trying to win over Leon. But she did not want to live with the knowledge that she had never even tried.

 

And so, Eunice made her choice.

 

“…Thank you for everything up until now.”

 

She formally announced her departure from Golden Tune, offering a personal farewell to her comrades and to Leon. She entrusted all her accumulated knowledge to Milway in the form of neatly compiled documents and withdrew from the Clan that had once given her purpose.

 

Standing outside the Clan House, a faint tremor ran through her. Was this really the right decision? She thought back to when she had first laid eyes on Leon, back when they both were under twenty, and how she had fought tooth and nail to be accepted into his team. She had been scared then, too.

 

But she had endured, for his sake. Now, she would endure again for someone else.

 

And with that conviction, even the Magic Bag slung over her shoulder felt a little lighter.

 

“Just you wait, Tsutomu! I will find you, and when I do, your neck better be clean and ready for the chopping block!”

 

With a final, fire-breathing shout, Eunice soared from the Dungeon City’s outer gates on a cast of <<Fly>>. She headed towards the quiet, forgotten villages lying in the opposite direction from the Royal and Imperial Capitals.