Hey.

　Villa Diechee in the evening.
　He said he was coming for a drink with Emily and Celeste to thank them for their help.

　A slightly weak, adventurous-looking man spoke to me.

'Yeah?　What is it?
I just want to make sure that the ...... thing in Tennessee, that was you, wasn't it?

　I thought for a moment and nodded lightly.

'Yeah,'
Oh, yeah. Okay, thanks.

　The adventurer was convinced and returned to his friends waiting at the table three doors down.

'How did it go?'
It's Lyota's choice.
I knew it. That means they're being unreasonable in some way.
'Yes. Kuwa-Bara.

　I consciously listened carefully and caught their conversation.

'You're right on target,'
It's going to be better than I expected.

　Celeste smiled and took a swig of her beer.

'More than you aimed for?'
'Quite a few people were listening in when Mr. Lyota and that person talked earlier.
I see.

　I looked around.
　A few looked away hurriedly, a few smiled affectionately.

'I see, I'm sure they heard you.
Maybe tomorrow ...... No, I'm sure it will spread by the end of the night.
It's all over the news.
Yeah. If it stops the pillars, I have no problem with that.

　I dared to say that because I knew he was listening, and I knew that he was listening.
　I didn't say it especially loudly or with emphasis.
　They'd still be listening, and if I said this, the rumors would spread on their own.

　Sure enough, a different kind of whispering could be heard in the tavern-viradièche than the usual din.

　We did what we could with this.

'Once again. Emily, Celeste. Thank you for your help.'
You're welcome, sir.
'That's watery. We're family mates, and we don't need that kind of formal thanks to help you.
Well, thank you, then.

　Celeste seems to want it that way, so I thrust out a jockey of beer while saying a more lighthearted thank you.
　Celeste and Emily both smile and match the jockey with a click.

　And then they do so again.
　I thanked them in a different way, and secretly from the bottom of my heart.

　　　　　☆

You're late.　What do you call it?　Master of the morning, right?
Aulum and Nihonium.

　When I returned to the mansion, I ran into two spirits in the corridor.
　They seemed to be coming off of a bath, and both of them were uptight and looked much more flirtatious than usual.

　In particular, Nihonium, with her hair up and pulled back in a bun, exuded a mature s*xuality that the rest of the family didn't have.

　He has no intention of blaming Aulum for telling him that he is Master of the Morning, and seems to enjoy the very act of talking about it.

''You've been taking a bath?''
Yeah. It's a nice thing to do, isn't it, taking a bath? I should have left the dungeon earlier if I wanted to do this. Well, I didn't get out until Ryota came.
'The baths are nice, of course, but in case you're wondering, it's because it's Emily. This mansion is an Emily space, so every facility is better than the rest.
Okay.

　Aulum pops his hand and is convinced.
　Meanwhile, Nihonium remains attached to Aulum and doesn't speak.

　I took him out of the dungeon, but he hasn't spoken much since I left him with Aulum.
　Aulum says he'll take care of it, but I wonder if it's okay. ......

I'll tell you what. If you've had a drink, then the whole Tennysin thing went well.
I've done all I can do, for now.

　Briefly, in a nutshell, he lightly explained the situation to Aulum.
　Aulum listens to the end while giving a small, cheery counterbalance.

''Don't you want to erase the drop or something?''
"Drop?
See, that's what I did when I was a kid.
...... Yeah.

　I remember when Aulum told me to do that.

　Aulum dungeon in Indor, there were adventurers who were overworked and falling over, so I had Aulum restrict the nighttime drops and reform the working hours.
　That went around and led to Aulum being here.

'I see, to the spirits - if we were in Tennesin and convinced them to do without the drops, it would be more reliable?
Shit. They won't be able to do anything about it, right?
Fuumu: ......

　I picked my chin and considered the possibility.

　Sure, it works.
　There is, though.

'It's going to be complicated when they meet Tennysin, too. The best way to get out of the ground floor now, for free, is to be born in a dungeon. It's going to be a pain in the ass if there's an adventurer like Rebecca Neon who can not only get through, but also meet you easily.
What if...

　Aulum pushed Nihonium, who was hiding behind his own back and remaining reticent, in front of me.

'What?'
Why don't you get Nikhonium to do it?
In Nihonium?
Have you forgotten what he can do?　That one that I'm so good at that I'm attached to the dungeon master.
...... Yeah.

　Aulum reminded me of this when he told me.

　Dungeon Master of Nihonium.
　Normal dungeon masters lose all the monsters in that dungeon while they are out, meaning they lose all the drops.

　Nifonium's Dungeon Master goes a step further than that and loses all the drops in the cyclo while he's out.

　That's the darkness that Nihonium has to deal with.

　In other words, Nihonium can stop the Tennysin drops regardless of the Tennysin.
　And since it's not Tennesin, it doesn't change anything, even if the adventurer is in Tennesin's spirit.

'Indeed, it's an effective move.
Right?

　Aulum was proud of his chest.
　He was a little shaken up by the thin clothes after the hot water ...... gohon.

　An effective move, that's for sure.
　But.

'Let's not do that.'
...... Huh?
Why not?

　I gave a disgruntled Aulum a light deco pin.
　She suppresses her forehead and looks at me with even more resentment.

'Have you forgotten what happened in the first place?　I want to get rid of her, and she's not going to get rid of it. So why are you using your powers to do it?
Ah, .......

　Haha Aulum, I think I remembered.

　Yes, that's exactly what's wrong.
　You say you want to solve it, but on the other hand, you don't want to make it useful.

　That's a no-no at .......
　I want to get that part right.

　Maybe it's even more so because I put it off long enough to leave it in Aulum's hands while I'm in front of it.
　I want to do right by Nifongnium.

Sorry, I beat you to it.
I don't owe you an apology.

　With a gulp, he indicated Nihonium with his chin.
　Aulum gave a small nod.

'I'm sorry.'
...... No.

　Nihonium gently closes her eyes and gives a small shake of her head.
　He smiles calmly, as if to say he doesn't care.

　At best, it's a mature smile, at worst, it's an unhappy smile.
　I still want to help her get rid of that.

　And that's when I thought.

'Let me, let me do it.'
...... Huh?

　I'm surprised by the unexpected offer from Nifongnium, who turns to me, and I'm struck by the emptiness of the offer.

　Nihonium keeps smiling at me.

''Thank you,''

　He said a heartfelt, heavy(...) thank you.

'That's why,'

　After I thought I heard a voice say.

Let me, please.

　Nihonium said with a determined look in his eyes.