Live Dungeon!

Half a day had passed, with Amy, Amira, and Korinna continuing to trail Xeno under the guise of browsing the occasional market stall, all the while observing him with Pico’s covert cooperation.

”He’s actually working pretty hard, huh…”

Rumors of Xeno slacking off seemed entirely unfounded. Even on his day off, he remained deeply engaged with the Dungeon. Presently, he was updating his Status Card at the Guild, still in disguise, preparing to test new tactics against the Demi-Lich, the secret boss of the Wasteland biome — in turn to see if they would work for the team’s next attempt on the ninetieth layer.

As soon as Xeno vanished through the magic circle, Korinna, her hair let down to better blend into the crowd, summoned the two hidden women out from behind cover.

”I figured he was all talk, just some guy playing around instead of training his [. Guess I was wrong.”

Amira, her long red hair tied up into two dumpling-like buns, seemed to be revising her opinion of him. She’d assumed he was just a notorious slacker like Diniel, but without the competency to back it up. Yet seeing him like this, she couldn’t help but look slightly impressed.

”Well, if he wasn’t putting in this much effort, he’d never last in Absolute Helix.” Amy said. ”Even I would’ve been cut if I wasn’t useful as an Explorer. Tsutomu doesn’t keep people around for their popularity.”

”…Wait, really?” Korinna blinked.

”It’s true. When we first formed a party, I almost got dropped. Said something dumb, and poof, nearly out. I begged him to keep me, then this one journalist took it out of context and got him canceled for a while… Well, if you remember that event. Thing is, he didn’t give a damn how popular I was. So someone like Xeno, who’s not even universally well-liked, would get even less leeway. In any other Clan, you’d think that’s nuts but that’s Tsutomu for you.”

”…”

Korinna found that difficult to believe. She had seen firsthand how Tsutomu treated Amy much like everyone else around the Clan House, but still, the notion that he would completely disregard her status as the Dungeon City’s most popular idol left her speechless.

As the three of them stood there, a familiar figure approached: Xeno’s wife, Pico.

”I swear, you three were way too conspicuous!” She said, sighing. ”If I hadn’t kept his attention, he would’ve spotted you halfway through.”

”You were amazing, ma’am!” Amy gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

”I was dying of embarrassment, mind you…”

Amy naturally drew attention wherever she went, and Amira — despite altering her hairstyle — still resembled her mother and had a model-tier figure that made her stand out just as much. To keep Xeno from noticing them, Pico had gone out of her way to act completely unlike herself, leaving her red-faced and fanning her cheeks in flustered exhaustion.

Korinna, surprised by her efforts, gave a small bow in thanks.

Pico looked over Korinna and Amira again, then dipped her head in return.

”I know my husband tended to put on airs, even within the Clan. But I didn’t realize it had gotten to the point that his own party members were suspicious of him. I apologize on his behalf.”

”Yeah, we all thought he was the weakest one in the Clan AND a lazy loudmouth who couldn’t back up a damn thing.” Amira said flatly.

”Amira!” Korinna hissed.

”What? Don’t act like you weren’t thinking the same thing,” Amira retorted with a smirk.

”…”

Despite the man’s wife standing right there, Amira did not mince words. Flustered, Korinna tried to rein her in but Amira just roped her along, all in carefree arrogance. Korinna groaned and covered her face with one hand, while Pico gave a wry chuckle at the sight.

”So you thought that too, Miss Korinna?” She softly said. ”Actually, I heard some of the other Healer specialists mention that your support and healing has been a little… skewed. That’s probably where this is coming from. If so then I’m sorry.”

As a Dungeon Maniac, Pico had knowledge of various aspects of dungeoneering, but not particularly deep insight on the Healer role. She had not realized that Korinna’s own bias and influence might have affected her attitude and healing balance. And something like support skewing was nearly impossible to detect through the Monitor broadcasts, which only sometimes focused on individual party members. Only someone with a broader perspective — like Amy, or Dungeon Maniacs who were devoted to analyzing the Healer role, or an actual Healer like Tsutomu himself — could have noticed.

”It’s true, Xeno probably isn’t a good fit for Absolute Helix.” She continued calmly. ”Compared to Garm, Daryl, or Hannah, of course he comes up short. From your perspective as one who’s now among the best Healers in the city, Miss Korinna, it’s understandable that he might seem… unworthy of your support.”

Pico held no illusions. Unlike others, she could speak of Xeno without emotion clouding her judgment. That was why, at first, she had opposed him joining Absolute Helix. There was no way he could survive among a lineup of monsters like the other Tanks. She had spent so long working with him on plans to join Ealdred Crow only to have it all overturned. Of course she was angry.

And sure enough, in a party where everyone else exceeded human limits, Xeno remained the lone ordinary man. To someone like Amira with a unique skill, or Korinna with the intuition to sense a person’s impending death, Xeno must have looked like nothing but dead weight.

But even so, as both his wife and a Dungeon Maniac, Pico pulled out a single sheet of paper and met Korinna’s gaze, her eyes earnest.

”Still… During the Winter General fight, when you cleared it on the first try, Xeno really DID function as a proper Tank. I think part of that came from his training after the Mount Golem fight. But mostly, it was thanks to Tsutomu’s perfect support and leadership.”

With countless Dungeon runs in Live Dungeon under his belt, Tsutomu had developed the uncanny ability to draw out the full potential of any party member. Xeno’s unexpected success during the Winter General battle was, in her eyes, a direct result of that.

”I don’t think anyone can replicate what Tsutomu does as a Healer. At least, not yet. But I believe you can get close. Ever since Miss Amy brought it up to me… I’ve been thinking about that.”

With that, she handed the paper to Korinna.

Korinna accepted the paper with a hesitant, almost timid expression. She glanced down at it, unsure whether she should read it then and there. But before she could decide, Pico began to speak again.

”That’s something I put together based on my thoughts about how Xeno should be operating as a Tank.” she said, her tone composed but earnest. ”But whether to read it and whether to put any of it into practice, I’ll leave that entirely up to you as the Healer. To be honest, before any of this can work, we’ll need to change Xeno’s mindset. And it would also place a bit of extra burden on you.”

No sooner had she finished explaining than she reached out and gently clasped Korinna’s free hand, as if trying to impress the weight of her sincerity upon her.

”Even so… Would you please at least read it?” Her voice trembled slightly, not from weakness but from restraint. ”If you decide it’s worthless, then I’ll go back and revise everything — again and again, if I must. I just–”

”U-um…”

”I won’t deny that my husband’s all style and not quite enough substance. But even so, I can say with confidence that he has what it takes to fight on the ninetieth layer. He has the ability, and more importantly, the resolve. Please… I’m entrusting him to you.”

”……”

Korinna was completely at a loss. She looked down at the tightly gripped paper, then at the woman bowing her head with such heartfelt intensity, their hands still clasped. There was no script for this. Flustered and unsure what to do, she looked around until Amira stepped forward and placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.

”Look, I get what you’re saying,” Amira said gruffly. ”I’ll at least read this. But I’m not making any promises about whether we’ll go through with any changes. Maybe we’ve overlooked Xeno’s potential. But we won’t know till we actually talk things through with the whole party.”

”Even considering it is more than enough. Thank you.”

”…Hmph.”

Amira snorted, clearly caught off guard by how different Pico was from what she’d imagined. She snatched the paper from Korinna and began reading it then and there. Watching her, Amy gave a crooked smile and let out a quiet chuckle.

”Well, with a request like that, we’ve kind of got no choice but to read it, huh? …Still, if we start seriously talking about Xeno’s place in the party, there’s a chance we’ll end up deciding he’s dead weight.”

”That’ll depend on what Xeno does from here,” Pico replied without flinching. ”But I’m not worried. If it works, Xeno will earn his place in Absolute Helix. And if it doesn’t, there’s always Ealdred Crow. Either way, it won’t be the end of the world. I believe he can get through this.”

Korinna could only stare, stunned, as Pico met Amy’s needling remarks with unshaken resolve. Even in the face of sarcasm, she stood firm. Then, after offering the three of them one final bow of thanks, she turned and remained in the Guild, waiting for her husband.

”…Honestly, I figured HIS wife would be some flashy, tactless type.” Amira muttered on their way back to the Clan House. ”Didn’t expect someone with that kind of spine.”

”She’s probably the one who runs the household,” Amy said with a smirk. ”Poor Xeno.”

”She is… really well put together…” Korinna murmured, still dazed. ”I don’t get it. How is someone like her married to someone like Xeno…?”

All three of them shared the same thought as they made their way home. Whatever they had assumed about Xeno’s wife, they had been completely wrong.