Deep, deep, enormous trees stood in a tangled mass, and when you looked up, crystals glimmered in the sky.
A single man ran through that mystical forest.
It was a camp. Rows upon rows of tents lined the area.
The man entered the largest tent.
"Where's the boss?"
"Hey, hey. What's going on?"
"Where's Forkart? Where's the boss? Isn't he at camp?"
"Yeah, he's away from camp. Somewhere deep in the western forest, past here."
"They should be together, right?"
"Deep in the western forest, yeah."
"H-hey."
The man ran.
He charged through the strange forest with reckless abandon.
The monsters in this part of the dungeon had been cleared out, but it was still dangerous all the same.
Still, the man ran toward his destination.
Eventually, he came upon a man standing atop a fallen giant tree, practicing swings with a large halberd.
His upper body was bare, slick with sweat.
"Hm. Halt."
"Oh, Trebol. Where's the boss?"
— What do you want with the boss?
— A message. From the Grand Guild.
— In that case, the boss is further in.
— Got it.
The man ran.
Before long, he reached a giant crystal. Just in front of it, an elf twin pair stood reading a book together.
Both of them looked at the man at the same time.
— You there.
— Halt.
— Quoire. Almaars. Where is the boss?
— Just past here.
— What business do you have with the boss?
— A message from the Grand Guild.
— In that case, the spring is just ahead.
— She’s over there.
— Got it.
The man ran.
He was starting to get tired. His running speed slowed.
And then, gasping for breath, he finally arrived at the small spring.
It was surrounded by trees, holding clear water. There, a single man stood.
"Boss"
The man who turned around had soft golden hair. Sharp black eyes. A strikingly beautiful face.
He carried a vaguely androgynous air that bordered on the divine.
Every inch of him was like a finely sculpted carving — a beautiful young man.
In a red mantle over pristine white armor, he only had to stand there to look like a painting.
That was the kind of man he was.
"What is it?"
"A message from the Grand Guild. They're holding the 'Great of Rounds.' That is all."
"I see. It's that time already. Understood. We're heading back to the surface."
"Y-Yes, sir."
This beautiful young man was none other than the Boss — Alverd von Rutwelt.
Clan master of Kuun Hunt, the largest clan in Hydrangea.
A Rank I delver, and the very man known as "The Collapser of Ruin."
The northernmost reaches of the continent. The Great Prosfora Mountains.
Partway up the slopes stood a colossal structure, shaped like a cracked egg.
Inside the structure, massive triangular pillars of white, blue, and red rose up.
At the center of the pillars, a gigantic ring of dark metal floated in the air, with a white dome at its heart.
That white dome.
That was the Delvers' Guild headquarters — the Grand Guild "Brizs Kyalv."
The Grand Guild Master's office, inside the dome.
Alhazard Abramirin reviewed the documents through his reading glasses.
Snow-white whiskers adorned his black-panther face.
The Grand Guild had already transitioned from scrolls to bound paper and books.
The poised, dark-complexioned woman in a black coat and uniform at his side spoke up.
"Grand Guild Master. It's nearly time to begin preparations for the Great Outer Bounds."
"So it is. This is the year, then."
The Great Outer Bounds was a major Grand Guild event held once every five years.
It was, without exception, a grand council where all First-Rank delvers gathered in one place.
"Yes. Three individuals are being promoted to First-Rank delver this year."
"So the curse of twenty-seven is finally about to be broken."
Alhazard smiled wryly. The number had been twenty-seven for decades now.
There was no strict rule mandating exactly twenty-seven, but even when the count grew, several would die within five years, and it always settled back at twenty-seven.
"The three are Agaro. Megadia Megalopolis. And Entz Hylant."
"I know of Agaro. Wielded the Doom Sword, yes? Megadia — from Edda? Megalopolis was one of the old Six Houses of Edda, wasn't it. Entz? Don't tell me. No, but he was... What's this about, then?"
Alhazard looked up.
"Yes. Please, have a look at these documents."
Alhazard took the documents he was handed and read through them.
"...Mmm. Dungeons are truly beyond all comprehension. To think such a thing could happen."
"Indeed."
"So the venue has been decided, then."
The venue had been decided not as the Grand Guild, but as each individual city.
"Yes. And I'm sorry. I'd forgotten to mention this. Separate from that, there are two documents I need your seal on urgently."
"Oh? Which ones?"
"They're emergency budget allocation forms for the post-incident cleanup of the Minos unit that was discovered the other day."
"That was in Hydrangea, if I recall."
"Yes. The dungeon on the twelfth floor of the town where the incident occurred has completely collapsed, and the area has been declared off-limits. The teleportation array connections have been completed."
"Chaibe, then?"
"Yes. The invoice for that is attached as well."
Alhazard glanced at the amounts on the documents and furrowed his brow.
"...Isn't this a bit steep?"
"Even so, it's considerably cheaper than the initial estimate."
"Is that so."
With no other choice, Alhazard pressed his seal twice.
The woman received the documents.
"Thank you very much."
"Now then, the venue?"
"Yes. Here are the candidates."
"Hmm. Hmm. Not bad."
Alhazard looked over the materials that had been handed to him, then muttered that none of them felt quite right.
They were all locations that had hosted the event several times before—reliable, sure, but lacking any novelty.
"This isn't supposed to be fun, but—"
"Still, the soul of a delver is necessary—we are explorers, after all."
Partly due to his position, but he hadn't explored a dungeon in decades.
He suddenly recalled something.
"The Witch's apprentice."
"Hm?"
"The Witch was in Hydrangea, wasn't she?"
"Yes."
"And the Minos Unit was sighted in Hydrangea."
"Yes. That's correct."
"Do we have any records?"
"Yes. Here they are."
Alhazard lifted his reading glasses with a quick flick as the documents were placed before him.
"The sightings were on Floor 12. The Ark Ruins—the murals in that watchtower... It hasn't been that long since I spoke with the Witch's apprentice, and yet here we are. Is this coincidence or not? How very interesting. So, the Witch's apprentice. Truly, this is nothing short of delightful."
"Something?"
"I've decided. This year's Grand Rounds will be held in Hydrangea."
For the first time in years, Alhazard looked thoroughly satisfied.
An unprecedented grand festival is coming to Hydrangea.
The Royal Capital.
To the northeast of that ancient city, an unnatural hole has been opened.
At the bottom of that hole lay the "Edda Noble Estate."
It was an underground world brimming with nature.
Countless mansions and castles dotted the forests, the lakeshores, and the mountain peaks.
Among them stood an ancient temple.
It was the temple of the Utopia family, who presided over the rites among the six great houses of Edda.
The deity enshrined there was none other than the Edda god, Generous.
"That brat..."
In the ancient sanctum that only she could enter, a girl seethed with irritation.
Purple hair. Purple eyes. Brown skin. A face where youth still lingered beneath its beauty.
She wore a white ceremonial robe wrapped with layers upon layers of blue cloth.
A deep slit ran from her hip to her ankle, leaving her thighs completely exposed.
She danced before the statue of the god that only she was permitted to worship.
Then she used Banish to obliterate the paper streamers on either side.
She closed her eyes, drew in a shallow breath, and let out a long exhale.
"So great... so impossibly great... the greatest in this whole world... and yet, that brat. That child. A nobody who doesn't even know himself. A shameless fool who's convinced he's weak. I won't forgive it... I won't... I will never forgive this. I'll make you understand, Wof."
Narcissus Utopia — the "Reincarnation of Generous" — swore a solemn vow.
———
Thank you.
Season 2 ends here.
I'd love to jump straight into Season 3, but I'll be taking a short break.
In the meantime, I'll be putting together the character introductions and settings for Season 2.
As for Season 3, I currently have zero episodes stockpiled.
I'd like to buffer around five to ten episodes so I can maintain a more stable update schedule.
I'm planning on taking a break of about one to two weeks.
Please bear with me for a little while.
Thank you for your continued support.