Orun and Ozwell were locked in combat when Fuuka, having easily defeated the black dragon, stepped into the now-nonfunctional dungeon.
Fuuka scanned the hilly terrain, which looked as if a massive hole had opened in the sky due to the ground collapsing. Without hesitation, she began walking forward.
At the end of Fuuka's path were Ruelea and Frederick, who had been hiding and resting their bodies.
"What terrible luck, running into the worst possible opponent."
Ruelea murmured weakly upon seeing Fuuka appear before them.
"It has been a while. I assume you are prepared to die."
Fuuka gripped the sheathed katana in her left hand and spoke in a calm, steady tone.
Even if Ruelea and Frederick had been in perfect condition, Fuuka would have held the advantage in a direct confrontation. The exhausted pair stood no chance against her.
"I know it is shameless of me to ask this. Still, please let me say it. We will hand over every piece of information we know. So I beg you. Spare Frederick's life. Take only mine."
"What are you saying, sis? If one of us has to survive, it should be you, not me. Please, kill me instead of my sister."
"Stop joking around."
As the siblings argued over who would be sacrificed, a slash passed between them. The tree standing behind the pair split cleanly in two.
"Why has this turned into a discussion about sparing one of you?"
Fuuka, the one who had cut the tree, sheathed her katana and directed her killing intent toward the pair as she continued speaking.
"During the gratitude festival in Tsutrail one year ago. If you two had not interfered with me then, I would have finished off Philly Carpenter. The situation would have changed dramatically. Do you understand that what you did is far too serious to overlook?"
"Yes. I understand. If Philly had died at that point, the war between the empire and the kingdom would not have begun so soon, at least within the scope of what I can see. The power balance within the cult would have shifted significantly as well. I know our sins are not light."
Ruelea, sensing that Fuuka had no intention of sparing either of them, answered the question. Both Ruelea and Frederick accepted their deaths with expressions of resignation.
"Good. If you understand, this will be quick. At least I will make it painless."
As she spoke, Fuuka loosened the mouth of the scabbard and placed her right hand on the hilt of her katana.
"I'm sorry, Caroline."
A single tear fell as Ruelea murmured an apology to her younger sister for being unable to fulfill their promise of reunion. The blade drew close to her neck.
"Why..."
Ruelea let out a bewildered voice upon realizing that Fuuka's katana had stopped after cutting only a thin layer of skin at her neck.
Fuuka pulled the katana away from Ruelea's neck, flicked off the small amount of blood clinging to the blade, and sheathed it.
"Under normal circumstances, I would have killed you without fail. But right now the situation is what it is, so the current me does not have the right to decide your fates. I will decide how to deal with you two tomorrow. For today, stay hidden where no one can find you."
Fuuka explained why she was sparing them, but neither Ruelea nor Frederick could understand the reason, and confusion still showed on their faces.
Ignoring the pair, Fuuka turned on her heel to leave. Then, as if she had remembered something, she spoke to them once more.
"I assume you understand this already, but do not think you can escape from us. You may move around within Count Claudel's territory, but the moment you leave this domain, I will kill you."
"In other words, we are to hide somewhere in this territory until the Sword Princess visits us tomorrow?"
Frederick confirmed Fuuka's instructions while still looking confused.
"Yes. That understanding is correct. Focus on recovering your strength today. There is a chance you may need to work immediately tomorrow."
Having conveyed everything she needed to say, Fuuka turned away for good this time and began walking toward the dungeon entrance.
Orun learned Fuuka's location from Hart-san and approached the dungeon just as she emerged from it at the perfect moment.
"Fuuka."
He called out to her and hurried over.
"Orun, did you defeat the Doctor?"
Fuuka noticed him and asked about the fight with Ozwell.
"Yeah. There was some interference, but Ozwell is dead."
"I see. Good work, Orun."
Fuuka's expression as she said this showed slightly lowered outer corners of her eyes and upturned mouth corners, a rare smile for her.
The fact that she had smiled and offered him words of appreciation made the complicated feelings inside Orun feel a little lighter.
"Thanks. By the way, I was focused on Ozwell, but you took down the black dragon, right? How did you finish it off?"
"How? I simply approached it normally and cut off its head normally."
Fuuka tilted her head slightly and answered as if it were nothing special.
"I see. Well, either way, thanks for handling the black dragon. I appreciate it."
When Orun thanked Fuuka again, she shook her head from side to side.
"You do not need to thank me. For me, it was the perfect opponent to gauge how strong a deep-floor boss really is."
The clan Fuuka belonged to, the Red Copper Evening Glow, had reached the ninety-first floor of the great southern labyrinth. They were famous for not exploring beyond the deep floors that began after the ninety-first.
This must have been Fuuka's first encounter with a deep-floor boss. It was unclear how much prior information she had on the black dragon, but factoring in that it was her first time facing such an opponent, her true strength seemed truly unfathomable.
"Well then, shall we head back to Daruane? Returning to Tsutrail will probably be postponed until tomorrow, but is that all right with you and Hart-san, Fuuka?"
The original plan had been to finish reporting the labyrinth conquests to Her Highness Lucila and return to Tsutrail right away, but the current trouble had arisen before that, so they had cooperated here instead. Although the situation had been resolved, confusion likely remained, so Orun figured they would spend one more day in Daruane and checked with Fuuka.
"Yes, that is fine."
After confirming that Fuuka had no issues either, Orun headed back toward Daruane together with her while thinking about the plans ahead.