On the 100th Floor…my best friend Claude was being pushed down by the angel Rita-san.
"…Uh, Rita-chan? I already have a girlfriend…" (Claude)
"I know~ You have two, right? Then I'll be the third candidate♡" (Rita)
The usually cheerful and innocent angel had a seductive smile on her face.
Claude, on the other hand, looked bewildered.
He probably never expected to have an angel like Rita come on to him like this.
I shifted my gaze to the fallen angel Eri beside me.
(Yes! Go for it! Keep it up!) (Eri)
Eri mouthed the words silently.
(Did you set this up?) (Eugene)
I tapped her shoulder lightly and asked in a whisper.
(Shh, this is the best part! Don't interrupt!) (Eri)
She scolded me.
Well, I guess I'll just keep quiet.
I turned my attention back to Claude and Rita-san's conversation.
"I mean, I just told you that you seemed really busy lately and should take a break…" (Claude)
A very typical Claude-like statement.
"Exactly! Angel work is super exhausting, you know? Sooo, I was thinking maybe you could heal me~☆" (Rita)
Rita shot him a sidelong glance.
Her hand reached out and touched Claude's cheek.
Claude still looked confused, but he didn't try to move away.
Rita-san's face slowly closed in on his…
(Any more than this would be bad.) (Eugene)
Deciding that, I grabbed the hand of Eri beside me.
(Hey! What are you doing?! It's just getting good!) (Eri)
(It's not something we should be watching.) (Eugene)
Ignoring her resistance, I pulled Eri away with me.
—Claude-kun… I love you.
—Rita-chan…
Eri and I left the scene as their voices faded into the distance.
◇
"Hey! Why didn't we watch till the end?!" (Eri)
"It would've been rude." (Eugene)
I pulled Eri along to a spot where their voices could no longer reach us.
"You're so straightlaced, Eugene. Anyway, didn't you have something to do here?" (Eri)
"Yeah, Principal Uther asked me to deliver this." (Eugene)
I showed her the stack of documents.
Eri flipped through the pages.
"Hmm… Something's happening with the Zenith Tower… I see." (Eri)
She looked a little more serious as she examined the papers.
"What do you think about the situation at the Zenith Tower?" (Eugene)
The Principal told me to deliver this to Rita-san, the administrator of the 100th Floor, but I was curious about Eri's opinion as well.
She was Rita-san's senior angel after all.
"Well, I've never been directly involved in the Tower's construction or management, so this is just a guess, but…" (Eri)
Eri paused for a moment as if recalling something.
"You do know that the Zenith Tower is the Last Dungeon, and its entire structure can change based on the Dungeon Master's will, right?" (Eri)
"Yeah, I heard that the current Dungeon Master, Anemoi, has a completely different approach compared to the previous one." (Eugene)
The former Dungeon Master, like Principal Uther, prioritized the safety of explorers.
The current one, however, seeks active participation in the Trial of the Gods.
"Exactly. The Zenith Tower transforms according to the Dungeon Master's wishes. So the abnormalities are probably influenced by that as well… But here's the tricky part… The Tower doesn't follow the Dungeon Master's orders 100%." (Eri)
"Wait, really? Even though she is the Dungeon Master?" (Eugene)
That reminded me…
There was an incident in the past where the Dungeon Master summoned a Divine Beast, the Hydra, but failed to control it.
"The Tower's Dungeon Master has changed hands many times. The Tower itself was built back in the mythological era, after all." (Eri)
"That's ancient history." (Eugene)
In the academy's dungeon studies, the origins of the Zenith Tower remain unknown.
There are no records of it in human history.
"It was constructed by repurposing the mana of the sealed Spirits —or rather, the Evil God's power— on this planet. It's been around for ages. Since the whole Tower is like a massive divine artifact, expecting a young Dungeon Master to fully control it is unrealistic." (Eri)
"…That sounds dangerous." (Eugene)
I wasn't too confident in Anemoi-san's ability to handle this.
"This document says the admin angels of each Floor are expected to provide support." (Eri)
"So Rita's workload just got even heavier, huh…" (Eugene)
The 100th Floor's angel already had her hands full.
By now, she was probably taking a "break" with Claude.
I just hoped she'd get some proper rest.
As I was thinking that…
A pair of soft, white arms suddenly wrapped around my neck.
"Eri…?" (Eugene)
Eri pressed her lips against mine before I could say anything.
After a long kiss…
"Hey, Eugene." (Eri)
"…That was sudden." (Eugene)
"Well, we've got time to kill until Rita's done, don't we?" (Eri)
"I mean, yeah, but…" (Eugene)
"Then it's fine, right~?☆" (Ero)
Eri pushed me down.
I silently wrapped my arms around her back, pulling her close.
(…I'll borrow someone's notes for the afternoon classes later.) (Eugene)
I sighed internally.
◇
"Huh? Eugene and…Eri-san? Why are you two here?"
Claude and Rita-san showed up while Eri and I were chatting.
Rita-san's slender arm was wrapped around Claude's.
They were standing…completely at a couple's distance.
"Eri-senpai! I did it!" (Rita)
Rita-san made a V-sign with her fingers.
"Nice! My teachings paid off. You did great!" (Eri)
Eri gave her a thumbs-up, while Claude's expression stiffened slightly.
"…Wait, what?" (Claude)
"Congrats, Claude." (Eugene)
I offered him my congratulations.
Claude's eyes widened.
"Eugene!? You saw that?!" (Claude)
He rushed up to me.
I explained that Eri and I didn't watch the whole thing.
"Um… Eugene. About this…" (Claude)
"I won't tell Sumire or Sara." (Eugene)
"I-I see…" (Claude)
"But I think this is going to get exposed anyways." (Eugene)
"Yeah…" (Claude)
"I haven't been able to hide anything either." (Eugene)
Claude and I exchanged looks, then gazed up at the sky.
A conversation could be heard from a short distance away.
"Rita, listen. You need to secretly tuck a feather into Claude's clothes. That's how you subtly hint at things." (Eri)
"I see! That's really educational-ssu, Eri-senpai!" (Rita)
"Rita-chan!?" (Claude)
Claude turned around in a panic.
"Hey, Eri. Stop teaching weird stuff." (Eugene)
So the black feather on my clothes before was intentional too.
After that, I handed over the documents requested by Principal Uther to Rita-san.
As expected, she let out a tired sigh. "Ugh… More work again-ssu yo."
"Now, now, Rita-chan." (Claude)
Claude tried to console her, so I left it to him.
I returned to the academy, and Ellie said, "I'm gonna sleep," before heading back to the 7th Sealed Prison.
As expected, Claude's new relationship was quickly discovered by Leona and Teresia.
They were apparently grilling him about it.
On top of that, Sumire and Sara confronted me.
"Eugy-kun, you knew!?" (Sumire)
"Eugene, confess!" (Sara)
They both interrogated me.
Only Airi reacted differently.
"As expected of Eugy's friend. Going after an angel, huh?" (Airi)
She seemed oddly impressed.
—Peaceful days continued for a while after that.
I helped Sumire with her magic training.
Lily Whitewind joined in while sparring with Sara and Airi in sword training.
For some reason, Claude started asking me for relationship advice.
Eri was as unpredictable as ever, summoning me whenever she felt like it.
The horn of Kirin, which we fought alongside the swordsmanship club, was set to be auctioned off.
President Robert, the key figure in breaking through the 200th Floor, was rumored to be graduating from the academy, as he had been chosen as a candidate for the position of Holy Knight Commander Candidate upon his return to the Holy Union.
When I asked him about it, President Robert confirmed that he would take the academy's graduation exam in about six months before heading back to the Holy Union.
Before that, he requested me to be his sparring partner, which I gladly accepted.
I haven't seen Principal Uther for some time.
It seemed he was busy researching something.
◇One Morning◇
Just as the sun had begun to rise…
"RIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!!!"
A loud bell echoed throughout the Dungeon City.
—Emergency alert! Emergency alert!
Even in my dorm room, I could hear the announcement from the Dungeon Guild.
—All explorers in the Dungeon City, assemble at the Zenith Tower immediately! I repeat…
Something was happening.