Three days after the discussion with the Tower Conquest Guild, it was officially announced that the “Fang of the Divine Wolf” would be brought under the umbrella of Crown.
At the same time, it was also announced that the building previously used by the “Fang of the Divine Wolf” would become a Crown Branch.
Perhaps it was fortunate that the rumors had spread beforehand, but the residents of Seichun accepted both announcements without much resistance.
Of course, not everyone was wholeheartedly in favor, and some expressed strong opposition.
Most of those who opposed were from the major guilds that had previously been known as Adventurer’s Guilds.
Public Guilds generally do not express public opinions on matters concerning private guilds.
Since Corry, the new heroine, belongs to the Guild, there is no opposition from the Arena Guild.
The Tower Conquest Guild has neither openly opposed nor approved, but their complete lack of response to the private guilds’ calls makes it clear which side they are on.
Most importantly, the three major merchant guilds in Seichun have agreed to the establishment of the Crown Branch.
With so many favorable conditions, there is nothing that can be done, no matter how strong the Adventurer’s Guild’s influence is in Seichun.
Moreover, the fact that the “Fang of the Divine Wolf” was renowned as an Adventurer’s Guild before becoming a Crown Branch also had a significant impact.
Now that it has become a Crown Branch, there is little left for Kousuke to do in Seichun.
The remaining matters can be left to the executives, including Schmidt and Gazeran.
Therefore, Kousuke and his party have embarked on a full-scale investigation of Gazenran Tower.
This time, Kouhi is also accompanying them as they aim for the floors above the 61st, where high-level monsters appear.
They passed through familiar paths to reach the Teleport Gate on the first floor, and from there, they teleported to the 60th floor.
Since the investigation on the 60th floor was completed, they immediately teleported to the 61st floor and from there, they meticulously investigated each floor.
This time, they thoroughly investigated from the 61st to the 65th floor, and there was a slight change.
The water that appeared was of two types: “Aether” and “Raspica Water”, but the frequency of encounters had clearly increased.
Up to the 60th floor, there was usually one spring every two to three floors, but on the 61st floor, there was a special spring on almost every floor.
There was one of each type of water on the 64th and 65th floors.
Kousuke tilted his head in front of the spring on the 65th floor.
“The number has obviously increased,” Kousuke said.
“Is it because fewer people are entering?” Ririka muttered in response to Kousuke’s words.
“Rather than fewer people coming and going, perhaps it’s because fewer beings are taking water from the springs?” Peach added, agreeing with Ririka.
“Even so, it’s strange that the other springs have just become ordinary water,” Kousuke said.
“Could it be that they’ve changed to ordinary water over time?” Ririka suggested.
“If that’s the case, then the question becomes why these springs remain,” Kousuke countered.
“Ah! Right. That’s true,” Ririka said, sounding convinced.
However, Kousuke also believed that what Ririka said was not entirely wrong.
“Hmm. It feels like I’ve seen or heard of a similar phenomenon somewhere…” Kousuke found himself in an intermediate state, on the verge of an answer but unable to grasp it.
He pondered for a while, tilting his head, but could not recall.
“I can’t remember at all,” Kousuke said, shaking his head. He gave up thinking about it, assuming he would remember it later.
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After crossing to the 66th floor through the Teleport Gate on the 65th floor, Kousuke and his party decided to return to the branch.
Their Tower Conquest Guild card clearly indicated that they had reached the 66th floor, their highest floor yet.
The idea was that if a party updated their record, it would boost the operation of the Crown Branch.
They plan to continue conquering further, but they have no intention of publicizing any further record updates.
It feels a bit late, but drawing unnecessary attention could hinder future endeavors.
Thus, after properly reporting the completion of the 65th floor to the Tower Conquest Guild and surprising them, Kousuke and his party returned to the Crown Branch.
Now that the establishment of the Crown Branch had been announced, Kousuke and the other Crown members could freely use the Teleport Gate.
It seemed that a considerable number of adventurers from the headquarters had already teleported to the Crown Branch.
Since the Teleport Gate allowed for instantaneous travel, adventurers based in Amamiya Tower could also easily conquer Gazenran Tower.
Adventurers who learned of this were using the Teleport Gate to come.
The Teleport Gate that Kousuke and his party used was not for general use, but rather one designated for some of the executives.
Since their party was already well-known in Seichun, they were given such preferential treatment without raising any strange suspicions.
As the destination of the teleportation was unknown, they could normally fly to the Management Layer.
Kousuke reported the situation on floors 61 to 65 to Schmidt and Gazeran, who were working at the branch, and immediately returned to the Management Layer.
Since they had expected to return to the Management Layer once the branch was established in Seichun, the members there were not particularly surprised or agitated.
Thanks to the Teleport Gate, they knew they could return at any time or travel to Seichun.
After greeting the members, Kousuke immediately headed for the bath.
When Kousuke is in the Management Layer, he is generally either crafting items, relaxing, or taking a bath.
The first thing he did upon his return last time was to take a bath.
The bathhouse in the Management Layer, after several customizations, had become quite luxurious.
As Kousuke was relaxing in the bath, he was surprised by an intruder. It was Shurein.
“Huh? What’s wrong? This is unusual,” Kousuke said. Shurein normally used the bath, but it was rare for her to bathe with Kousuke. It wasn’t due to any racial taboos, but rather that she previously said she was too embarrassed. By the way, other members often bathed together if their schedules aligned.
“It’s okay, I thought it would be nice to join you once in a while,” Shurein replied.
“Yes. Well, I always welcome you,” Kousuke said, while gazing intently at Shurein.
“Hey. What are you looking at? …Well, it would be tactless to say something like that here. More importantly, Kousuke really loves baths.” Despite sensing Kousuke’s gaze, Shurein’s expression was somewhat pleased as she said that.
“Of course. If I could, I’d draw hot spring water here too… Ah, that’s it! Hot springs!” Kousuke exclaimed, his expression clearing as if a burden had been lifted.
Shurein tilted her head, looking at Kousuke. “What? Did you figure something out?”
“Ah, probably. I think I might know why the springs in Gazenran Tower are so random,” Kousuke said.
“Oh. That’s good,” Shurein replied, having heard some of Kousuke’s story. However, Kousuke then scratched his head.
“That said, it doesn’t mean it’s easier to discover them. Well, never mind that.” For now, Kousuke was relieved, having thought of a probable reason for the random distribution of the special springs.
Then, Kousuke enjoyed the bath with Shurein, feeling a sense of liberation as if a weight had been lifted from his chest.
I included a bath scene specifically to bring up the topic of hot springs.
… I’m a bit nervous about whether there’s any demand for it since it’s so late.
I’ll explain the hot springs and the springs in more detail in the next chapter.
Though, you can probably guess most of it.
