The check up to floor 100 was completed without incident.
There were no malfunctions or defects.
With the checks done, we headed to the deepest level where the dungeon core was, at Chaibu's request.
Isibara had returned and was now talking with Mirese.
I stared blankly at the dungeon core and thought.
Chaibu is too strong.
Every boss, including the floor 100 one — Chaibu took them all out. The dungeon keeper too.
I couldn't do anything.
Also, I'm sorry for wondering "what even is common sense?" while I was at it.
Chaibu, who looks gaunt — no, slender — turning into that enormous beast.
And then proceeding to beat monsters bare-handed with her bare hands.
The gap was so enormous that I couldn't help but wonder, "what even is common sense?"
But anyway.
She's stronger than me, isn't she?
No, she's definitely stronger.
She might even be stronger than Arveld.
What surprised me most was how she completely dominated the Generous Copy on floor 100.
This Generous Copy actually possessed a Relic: Banish.
The witch had tracked down the Relic plate of Banish through various connections and brought it to me.
It was the latest model, made possible by that.
And Chaib had taken that Banish head-on without a scratch.
Even when hit dead-on with Banish—the ability that made anything it touched vanish—there was no damage.
Until now, it had been countered or cut through, but taking it directly and coming out unharmed—that was a first.
In other words, Banish simply didn't work on Chaib's Frasselei third form.
Even Generous's Phantasmagoria would probably be useless.
Still, if I used Banish Lore with Reave Form, it would probably get through.
"............"
No—the fact that only then would an attack finally land was impossible to ignore.
Lately, there'd been something on my mind.
It was a concern I'd been harboring for a while.
Was the Relic Banish really not that strong, after all?
I'd first realized this during the Forest Wave.
The dungeon anomaly had used a Relic that disabled other Relics.
But it was a limited-scope Relic—one that didn't work on higher-ranked Relics.
And yet, Banish had stopped working.
I realized it. For the first time, I understood.
Banish was not a higher-ranked Relic.
Internally, I was shaken.
And then came yet another blow to rub it in.
Fought a man who turned out to be a remnant of the Jinryu.
He cut through Banish without breaking a sweat.
I was quite startled, but after what happened the other day, I managed to keep my composure.
After that, I was busy with all sorts of things and pushed it to the back of my mind.
But today it became clear.
Maybe I really need to face Banish head-on.
— Hey, hey, Wof~
— Wh-what is it, Chive?
— About the dungeon keeper thing — up to the 50th floor, that strength is fine, I think — but from the 60th floor on, you'll need to be a bit stronger or it won't feel like much of a challenge~
— Understood. I'll make adjustments.
— Also — I'll go ahead and prepare something a little nicer for the contents of the treasure chests~
— Is something wrong?
— Hmm — personally, I think it'd be okay to bump up the grade for the deeper floors~
— If that's the case, then understood. Thank you for your help.
The treasure chests we use are the ones prepared by the goddess of knives.
However, I reduced the proportion of knives and set it up so that various items matching each floor's level would appear at random.
Originally, I had planned to connect them with Haizen's Junkyard so items would show up randomly from there.
But those things were junk — though they were originally relics.
Whether they were from ages past or not was one thing, but with more recent items, there were problems.
So the witch came up with a plan.
"The Exchange of Junk from the Junkyard for Merchandise That Could Become Dungeon Treasure"
With the agreement of Zenzera, Goro, and the Monster Hunter Guild, it was put into action.
Not a buy-and-sell arrangement—an equivalent exchange. It was carried out smoothly using the dungeon's functions.
The counterparty for the equivalent exchange was Chaibe's shop.
Her store had just about everything, to the point where it could hold its own against the dungeon's Junkyard.
Incidentally, because of this arrangement, the Junkyard in the basement of my uncle's hideout stays as it is.
So a new Junkyard will be built inside the dungeon.
When it's done, it'll be connected to the surface areas of Heizen, including the Heizen Great Forest.
From now on, waste from the surface regions will be collected there as well.
The location will be the second basement floor, past the corridor on the right just after you enter.
When the time is right, I'll make it a place where kids can earn money, just like Hydrangea.
But Hydrangea and Heizen are different situations.
We'll sort out the details through discussion.
"As for the dungeon, things are going smoothly."
There are still fine-tuning adjustments needed, but it looks like a pre-open is doable.
There is a problem, though. Or rather, one has surfaced.
The Forbidden Land. The danger of its treasure vault.
There's a possibility that a Phantom Unit is sealed inside, just like with the knife.
Tomorrow happens to be the dungeon report meeting.
I'll report on the successful save and the rest while I'm at it, and bring up the Forbidden Land for consultation too.
Depending on how things go, I might have to consider wiping out the Forbidden Land too.
That place isn't the deepest level of Haizen's dungeon anymore, after all.
The next day.
It was the day of the dungeon development report meeting.
Zenzera family main residence. The executive office.
Present were Zenzera family head Seiran and head butler Giiza.
The bizarre figure with the head of a swamp crab, who also happens to be the head of the Gouro family — Puaman Club.
Subjugation Guild master Bazeran.
Isibara was there too. Everyone responsible had gathered, minus one person.
Huh? Ennea? She's sleeping. She's not waking up.
I reported on the successful save, and mentioned the need to readjust the bosses and such.
Then I brought up the Forbidden Land and the Phantom Unit.
At that, Puaman Club probably changed his expression.
Hard to tell with a crab head, though.
"About that — I think it's probably related."
"Related to what?"
"It's about the Jinryu remnants."
"Now that you mention it, they've been quiet lately."
"Haven't heard a peep since they failed in their ambush on Lady Seiran. They're still around?"
That was my thought too.
Wof already knew their numbers had been significantly reduced.
"Poor Man. Go on."
"As it happens, we've been sheltering two people who were remnants of the Jinryū family. They offered unconditional surrender and information in exchange for their safety, and we accepted. Based on that intelligence, the remnants have first declared themselves the 'Remnant Embers' of Jinryū. Their objective is to strike back at Heizen."
"...Strike back at Heizen?"
"Oh boy. Are they planning some kind of suicide attack?"
Basellan laughed coolly.
Seiran sighed.
"They've made not just Pons, but all of Heizen their enemy?"
"Apparently so."
"Are they out of their minds?"
Basellan said it without mincing words.
"Foolish."
Giiza also spoke up harshly.
He was right, of course. Stupid and foolish.
Had they really been pushed that far?
Poor Man's Club continued.
"There's one thing that caught our attention. The leader of the Remnant Embers — according to these two, he suddenly underwent a complete personality change and started acting like a leader. Before, he wasn't like that at all. Apparently he was a servile, despicable man who would bow down and practically lick Barou's boots. On top of that, at some point he started wearing a mask."
"Could it be the Red Mask!?"
"Biggs?"
"No. That's not it. Biggs was defeated. The Red Mask disappeared as well."
I'll say it with certainty. But could there really be more than one?
You're kidding. But Poor Man Club gave a small shake of his head.
"No. But the mask is definitely familiar."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"What about it?"
"The leader wears a mirror mask. Apparently, it's what Garado used to wear to conceal his identity. It looks remarkably similar to that mirror surface. No — it probably *is* that mirror surface."
Oh, that thing.
Come to think of it, it did seem to have disappeared at some point.
I hadn't even given it a second thought, but could it really be that?
Was a Phantom Unit sealed in that one too?
Right. I should ask Nekia.
She might know something.
Several hours later.
The Extranze residential district. Second floor. Nekia's bedroom.
Nekia looked completely blank.
"Nope, I have absolutely no idea."
She really didn't know a thing.