Live Dungeon!

Tsutomu walked around the large guild dormitory, checking each door for the number that the Deputy Guild Master had given him. Eventually finding the one he was looking for, he double-checked before ringing the bell.

“You’re LATE! Come on, let yourself in!”

Amy’s voice came from the other side; Tsutomu heard that as somewhat of a reproachful tone. With the assumption that she had already heard the story from the Deputy Guild Master, he pulled the doorknob — it wasn’t locked, so it didn’t take any effort to open. The apartment’s interior was roughly the same in structure as Garm’s, so Tsutomu went to wait in the living room for the time being.

“Took you long enough, Dini–“

Amy, wearing loose pyjamas, turned around with a smile as she put a cup on the table… and froze over when she saw Tsutomu here. She proceeded to back away, while also grabbing the empty cup that had been on the table beforehand.

“–Huh!? Tsutomu, why’re YOU here!?”

“Uh, well, I’d thought the Deputy Guild Master already told you what was up, so I figured I’d drop by… Sorry, is now a bad time?”

“G-gimme a second here!”

Hiding her slightly reddened face with her hands, Amy hurried out of the living room and into her bedroom. Tsutomu heard some cloth-crumpling noises; it seemed that she was in quite a rush to get dressed.

Tsutomu waited for a while; by the time he was getting tired of standing around, Amy came back in her adorable, age-appropriate casual clothes. She must still be feeling somewhat awkward, what with one of her hands being occupied with fixing her white bangs.

“Uh, so, you were expecting your friend? Maybe I should come again tomorrow instead.”

“…Eh, it’s fine — she likes taking her sweet time. Probably won’t be here for a while.”

Amy sat down opposite to where Tsutomu was standing, the look on her face suggesting that she had just remembered the appointment with her friend herself; seeing that, Tsutomu took the liberty of sitting himself down as well. Feeling some relief after walking and standing all day, Tsutomu sighed softly before proceeding with the conversation,

“It feels like so long since we last met.”

“…Yeah. It must have been just a week, though? Right?”

“Huh, that’s a lot shorter than I thought. Anyway — let’s just go straight to the main point. We’ll be having a talk with Solit Company some time soon, Amy. I’d like you to come along as well, so I’m here to ask about your schedule for the next few days.”

Not wanting to get in the way of Amy’s appointment with her friend, Tsutomu cut to the chase, intending to just ask for her free times and leave immediately. Amy, seeing that as him being in such a hurry to be done with her, and how he still sounded so formal to just her, felt as if she had salt rubbed over her wounds.

“You’re being all buddy-buddy with Garm and the Guild Master now, but still being so formal with me, I see. Yeah, right… I’m not in your party anymore, after all. The Guild Master must have filled the slot really well, huh?”

Amy mumbled the latter part in a low, muffled voice; Tsutomu couldn’t hear her, and ended up looking somewhat confused as a result..

“I don’t really know where you’re coming from, but if you want me to be ‘buddy-buddy,’ then I sure can. So, your plans?”

“…I’m always free. You know, technically off duty and all that.”

“I see. How about the evening after tomorrow, then? Is that a good time?”

“Like I said, I’m free. Anytime’s fine. Anyways–“

It was apparent from how Amy gave her answer that she didn’t care about that matter whatsoever. She folded her white cat ears backwards, looked around as if she couldn’t quite place her eyes on anything, and then quickly lowered her head.

“Look, Tsutomu… I’ve always wanted to apologize. I’m so sorry.”

“……”

“I just up and charged at the Solit Company, then got caught… and the blame somehow ended up being placed on you. I’m sorry that my recklessness got you involved, Tsutomu.”

“It’s all right.”

Amy raised her head and saw Tsutomu nodding to her; the serious look on his face suggested that he truly meant what he had said. Not the cold, lifeless stare that she had gotten back when they had gone fighting the Shell Crab, but not a look of excessive kindness, either. Amy looked down, resolving herself for whatever would come next.

“…You should be more angry. Go ahead — punch me, kick me, whatever. I’ll tell the Guild to get rid of our party contract, and refund all the fees, too. I’ll even resign from my Staff Member job if you want. If you never want to see me again, then I’ll go far away… and then… and then…”

“Listen, Amy…”

Tsutomu called for Amy to stop as she scrambled her thoughts for more and more things to say. Amy’s shoulders jerked up and she looked up at Tsutomu with a frightened look in her eyes; the latter painted himself a smile to try and reassure her.

“You’ve thought it over more than enough now, don’t you think? There’s no need to punish yourself anymore.”

“Wh– but why!? It was my fault that you were treated like a criminal! Of course I have to be punished for it!”

“Hey, don’t worry — it’s already been decided that the case with Solit Company’s article will be set straight. Besides, I don’t really feel like griping over the mistakes of someone four years younger than me, you know.”

“…Huh? Four years…?”

“I mean, you’re eighteen, right? I’ll be turning twenty-two this year.”

“WHAT!!?? You’re OLDER than ME!?”

“Yeah, I guess I look THAT young to some people, huh — Garm and Camille had just about the same comment. Not that I get told that very often, though.”

Hearing Amy’s reaction and seeing how her expression and tone had changed so suddenly, Tsutomu facepalmed, sounding somewhat disheartened. It took a while for Amy to recover from her cringe of surprise, after which she slammed her hands on the table and leaned forward.

“–Wait, that’s not the point!! I need something to be done to feel better! Come on, punch me! Hit me with all you’ve got!”

“Punching is a bit… Oh, right. The contract from before is still in effect, isn’t it? How ’bout I use that to my advantage now, hmm?”

“Eh- yeah! If it’s something I can do… j-just say the word!”

Amy insisted… with her teeth grit and her eyes closed. Seeing her shoulders tremble, Tsutomu pulled a wry smile as he leaned forward on the table. Amy, able to tell by sound that Tsutomu had started moving, tensed up and waited for whatever punch would hit her.

“Boom.”

And so Amy was hit… with a light flick on her forehead. So light, in fact, that she only blinked repeatedly out of surprise and confusion instead. Tsutomu, no longer leaning forward, looked her in the eyes and proceeded to say,

“Here’s the deal, Amy — you, me, and Garm are going to form a party and fight the Fire Dragon again. Yeah, that’s what I’ll have you do? How about it?”

“…What?”

“I mean, Camille was super strong and helpful and all, but it just didn’t feel right without you, you know? See, your Attacker style involves repeatedly landing weaker hits, while Camille deals high damage with slower single attacks, so I wasn’t quite used to managing the aggro she generated. Oh, and I’ve thought up a few plans for your role, too; would be a waste to never try them out, right? Come on, let’s do it, Amy. We’ll go ham on that oversized lizard after we’re done with Solit Company!”

As Tsutomu started talking about his run in the Dungeon, Amy chuckled along a little before her expression dropped to a frown.

“…No way; I’m not strong enough for that. I mean, it took you eight hours even with the Guild Master’s help, right?”

“Huh? Hey, you got that wrong — Camille’s got high firepower, sure, but she actually freaked out real hard at the beginning, you know.”

“Uh, what?”

“…Oh, you didn’t get to see the beginning of it on the Monitor? She straight up lost the will to fight the first time she heard the Fire Dragon’s roar. That was… the main reason why the fight took so long, actually.”

“What!? The Guild Master lost the will to fight!? THE Guild Master, of all people!?”

“That really surprised me, too. She seemed so much like a mass of pure confidence, after all. Well, she did recover and help out soon enough… but then I was scared the whole time that she’d be demoralized again if she were to be hit, so I had her fight less aggressively overall.”

“Oh, okay… But I still don’t think I’ll be able to pull it off, though. Nope, definitely not!”

“Yes, you can!”

“No! I can’t!”

Tsutomu, having become rather mentally tenacious himself, gave Amy some cursory encouragement; she denied it with a wave of her hands. Mildly annoyed, Tsutomu proceeded to fold his arms.

“We make such a good party, though… Besides, by the time we’re done dealing with Solit Company, we probably won’t have much time left on our contract, so I’d like the three of us to at least clear the Fire Dragon together once. It’s my first party ever here, so I kinda got attached, I guess…”

Upon hearing Tsutomu’s claims, Amy clenched her fists. She knew that all too well — while watching Camille fighting the Fire Dragon, she wished time and time again to take her place in the fight.

Amy had been in her worst form when she and Tsutomu first formed the party together. Having seen Garm as the no-nonsense babysitter of the Lucky Boy, she had only agreed to join the party because the Guild Master had ordered her to. That perception of her had started to change after they had reached the twentieth layer.

Tsutomu’s strategy of assigning the roles of Attacker, Tank, and Healer among the party members — at first, Amy had thought it to be pointless. But it had been effective; Garm, as the Tank, had never collapsed no matter how many hits he took from the enemies, while Tsutomu, as the Healer, had kept up with his healing and support skills. It had been exhilarating, being able to go ham on the monsters with enhanced speed.

When they had managed to defeat the Shell Crab — the one thing she had perceived as an impossibly high wall — with plenty of energy to space, Amy hummed and jumped for joy when she got back. And then they had gone and defeated yet another Shell Crab — that was when she had started to understand what being a specialized Attacker was all about.

Her role was to pick off the monsters, one at a time, as they prioritized Garm. To move with awareness of Tsutomu’s support and healing skills, and also to stop attacking whenever he warned her to. It had been gratifying — to play her part in the team, and to be praised by Tsutomu.

She had truly believed in this party’s ability to prevail over the Fire Dragon.

“…I think so, too.”

“Hmm?”

“I think… I think we make a good party, too! I’ve finally figured out your fighting style! Garm and me, we’ve gotten way stronger than before! Matching our moves with your skills, managing the aggro on us, and all that stuff! We were having such a good time! But then… I’ve caused you a lot of trouble, and the Guild Master is helping you out now…”

“Uh, that’s got nothing to do with Camille, doesn’t it?”

“No, it does! She’s got her awesome Dragon Form! I wouldn’t ever be able to pull off my moves like she did! No way in hell! She’d definitely make a better Attacker for Garm’s Tank, too! You’re better off just sticking with her!!”

“No way; I’m sure you’d be a better fit for us, Amy.”

Tsutomu replied to her immediately; Amy flapped her mouth in confusion, with no words coming out. Tsutomu put his hand on his chin and proceeded to explain,

“Camille’s Dragon Form is cool and all, but it’s really exhausting to work it into our routine, you know. Accounting for her mistakes took up a lot of time, too, which made managing aggro and my mental strength a whole lot harder. Well, some of that was just because we’d been teamed up for just a week, though. Unlike her, you’ve been with us for far longer — that’s why I said you’d be a better fit. Besides, it’s not like you’re lacking in firepower, either. Your attacks are fast and precise — makes it easier to get them at their weak spots, after all.”

“But… But…”

“Believe me, Amy — you ARE strong enough. Come on, let’s team up again! Oh, I forgot to mention… Garm’s kind of nervous around Camille because of the hierarchy at his actual workplace, so he’d probably be more comfortable… arguing with you, don’t you think?”

Tsutomu held out his hand; as she stared at it, tears trickled from Amy’s eyes down to the floor. In attacking Solit Company, she had further damaged Tsutomu’s reputation. By the time she had been released, Camille had joined Tsutomu’s party, and several days later, they had gone and defeated the Fire Dragon. At that point, she had thought that they no longer hand any use of her.

But now, Tsutomu was insisting that he had forgiven her, and even went so far as to invite her back, saying she was an integral part of his team. Amy was so overwhelmed with emotion that she jumped over the table and hugged him.

Although Tsutomu tried backing away — only because he was startled — he still managed to catch her. Amy buried her face in his chest and started to cry.

“I-I thought you were gonna say… you didn’t need me anymore!”

“There’s no way I’d do that.”

Tsutomu smiled to Amy, while also pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe her tears. Amy, squinting as she felt a little ticklish, continued to speak,

“I thought you’d say you’d rather have the Guild Master!”

“Well… ideally, I’d like to have both of you with us, actually. Both of you have high AGI and could dodge the monsters’ attacks to some extent, so that would help Garm have an easier time Tanking. Oh, but then I wouldn’t be sure who to use > on first. Maybe I’ll prioritize Camille while she’s in Dragon Form and–“

“…YOU MORON!!”

Amy, with tear-stained eyes, looked at Tsutomu as he rambled on about party strategies; with both hands, she proceeded to pull his cheeks to the side.

“Just me should be enough, right~~? ‘Cause I’m a better fit than the Guild Master, right~~?”

“Owowowow!!”

Amy kept on pinching Tsutomu’s cheeks as she clung to his chest, her face finally the usual cheerful smile.

[…What am I even doing, standing around out here?]

The friend whom she had invited over, an Elf named Diniel, had already arrived… but the latter saw that Amy was having too much fun pinching some man’s cheeks to notice her; as such, she didn’t feel comfortable with letting herself in. Then she heaved a sigh to herself, her blonde ponytail hair swaying with the movement of her head.