Kousuke had reached the 56th floor, but further investigation was temporarily on hold.
This was because Kousuke had stated he had something to prepare and had secluded himself in the Amamiya Tower Management Layer.
During events similar to Kouhi’s arena battle the other day, he might visit Seichun, but he was basically holed up in the Management Layer.
During that time, Peach and Ririka, who needed to compile the information they had gathered, were diligently working on subduing monsters in the tower alongside Cecil and Arisa.
They had not proceeded beyond the 56th floor.
This was because Kousuke had stopped them.
The reason for stopping their progress beyond the 56th floor was related to what Kousuke was trying to create.
In short, they were currently waiting for the item Kousuke was making to be completed.
With Kouhi’s prowess in the arena leading the way, Kousuke and his party reaching the 56th floor, and the activities of other members, the influence of “Fang of the Divine Wolf” was steadily growing.
The shortage of members, which had been the only drawback, had also been resolved with the addition of people from Crown.
Since Crown was also operating to assist Seichun’s activities, they were even considering publicly announcing that Crown was backing “Fang of the Divine Wolf” soon.
The timing for the announcement was being considered to be after Kousuke and his party had surpassed the 60th floor.
This was because currently, there were almost no adventurers capable of operating beyond the 60th floor, creating a situation where even somewhat forceful actions would be tolerated.
However, the crucial Kousuke was engaged in something, so they were still refraining from making a public announcement.
***
Since Kousuke had returned to the Management Layer, Mitsuki had accompanied him, but Kouhi remained alone in Seichun.
Kouhi had argued that she could return from the Management Layer if something happened, but Kousuke had not allowed it.
The reason was that since Crown had not yet been formally announced, it was considerate to minimize potential points of contention.
Perhaps thanks to that consideration, Kouhi was currently in the guild, conversing with a visitor.
“I didn’t expect you to come all the way here directly,” Kouhi said, after taking a sip of the drink Exu had prepared, addressing the visitor.
The person she was speaking to gave a slight smile and nodded at Kouhi’s words.
“I suppose not. I also didn’t expect I’d end up doing something like this.”
The visitor who had come to see Kouhi was Jiana, whom she had fought just the other day.
Kouhi narrowed her eyes at Jiana.
“So, you were told by someone to come here?”
“Half right, half wrong.”
Jiana replied, and Kouhi tilted her head.
“It’s true that I was told by people like Carmen or Yarna, but it’s not from anyone you might expect.”
Kouhi was wary, suspecting Jiana might have been sent by someone with influence, specifically, the arena guild.
Regarding the recent battle, both Kouhi and Jiana had already heard that they were being unfairly accused of something that felt like a baseless complaint. Kouhi wondered if Jiana had come to propose some kind of deal related to that.
Sensing Kouhi’s steady gaze, Jiana shrugged.
“Well, no matter what you think, it’s irrelevant to what I have to say today, so I’ll speak.”
With that preamble, Jiana, seeing that Kouhi wasn’t saying anything, continued.
“I came today to offer a warning and encouragement.”
“Encouragement?”
While Kouhi could understand the warning, she tilted her head, not understanding the meaning of being encouraged.
“As for the warning, you probably already know, but there are foolish people who know nothing of battle moving to crush you. Well, they’ll likely self-destruct anyway, so you can just leave them be.”
Jiana said this, and Kouhi prompted her to continue with just her gaze.
“As for the encouragement, it’s also a chance to inform you that your next opponent seems to be decided.”
“Is that so?”
Finally understanding, Kouhi nodded.
Following the flow of the conversation, she finally grasped what Jiana wanted to convey.
“Oh? You’re not surprised?”
“I kind of expected it.”
Jiana narrowed her eyes and stared intently at Kouhi, who answered curtly and calmly.
After a moment, seeing no change in Kouhi, Jiana returned a wry smile.
“Knowing you, you probably won’t worry about it. More importantly, please shatter the ego of that misguided fool.”
Jiana said this suddenly, and Kouhi tilted her head again.
“Misguided, you say?”
She didn’t ask who it was, as it would be a pointless question now.
Since Jiana had brought it up of her own accord, it was clearly about her next opponent.
“Yes. A misguided fool. That idiot thinks he’s the best in the world.”
“Wasn’t he actually the best?”
“Before I fought you, I probably would have thought so too, but now it sounds like mere delusion.”
Jiana stated this firmly and smiled faintly as she looked at Kouhi.
It was clear from her demeanor who she now considered to be the best.
“Is that so?”
Kouhi nodded slightly, and Jiana chuckled softly.
Confused by Jiana’s reaction, Kouhi tilted her head.
“No. I never thought for a moment before fighting you that I would come to think this way… Thank you.”
To the quiet but distinct words of gratitude, Kouhi nodded slightly in return.
***
Several days after that conversation between Kouhi and Jiana.
Kousuke returned from the Amamiya Tower Management Layer.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. It’s finally done, so we’ll resume our conquest.”
Kousuke, upon his return, called Ririka, who was resting in her room, and said this.
In his hand, he held a flat object.
“Is that what you were making?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Kousuke nodded at Ririka’s question and began distributing the flat objects.
Not only Peach and Ririka, but Kouhi also received one. Mitsuki had already been given one in the Management Layer.
“I’ll give one to Kouhi just in case. She might use it.”
“Thank you.”
Kouhi accepted it from Kousuke, nodding honestly.
After examining the flat object she received for a while, Peach asked Kousuke.
“So, what exactly is this~?” she asked.
Knowing it was something Kousuke had made, they understood it was some kind of magic tool, but they didn’t know its purpose.
“It’s used like this.”
As Kousuke spoke, he took out the card he used to conquer the Gazenran Tower from his pocket and inserted it into the magic tool.
The card fit perfectly, becoming concealed within the tool.
“When you cover the card with this tool like this, it will only function as a card for the teleport gate.”
In other words, Kousuke had created a tool to conceal their progress in conquering the Gazenran Tower.
When entering the Gazenran Tower while carrying the card, the conquered floors would be precisely recorded. However, by sandwiching it in this tool, that recording would be prevented.
For now, their intention was to surpass their highest current floor, but they considered around the 65th floor to be a reasonable point to announce their progress.
This tool was created for that very purpose.
To confirm its functionality before then, they had made this tool after surpassing the 56th floor.
“I see~”
Peach and Ririka nodded at Kousuke’s explanation.
“Kousuke-sama.”
Kouhi, who had also been listening to Kousuke’s explanation, spoke to him after he finished.
“Hm? What is it? Was there something strange you heard?”
“No. It’s not that, but my next match has been decided.”
“Oh. It’s decided? Was it early this time, or late? Well, that doesn’t matter. So, who’s the opponent?”
“Hartvin. Rank first.” Kouhi stated this calmly without any particular pressure.
However, contrary to her expression, one could see the feeling that the time had finally come.
“I see. So, it’s finally time.”
Kousuke looked at Kouhi and said nothing further.
When it came to battles, Kousuke had nothing to tell Kouhi.
With the preparation of the tool for conquering the tower complete, and Kouhi’s match against the first-ranked opponent finally decided, the turning point in Seichun’s history was undoubtedly drawing near.
While Kousuke was preparing the conquering tool, Kouhi’s next opponent was decided.
Given the opponent, the match will be held after a sufficient promotional period.
Therefore, the next part will be about Kousuke and his party’s tower conquest.
