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Once Rosen finished dealing with Falin's situation, he gave her and the others free rein.
Since he still couldn't pull his followers out of their original worlds, he didn't put many restrictions on Falin—just told her to go on more adventures and steadily raise her abilities.
To make sure she'd be safe, he even handed her the grimoire dropped by Sissel. With that in her hands, unless she ran into something ridiculously overpowered, Falin was practically untouchable.
Sure, death in the dungeon meant resurrection, but Rosen still hated the idea of his followers dying at all.
A few days later, after adventuring several times with Gabriel, Frieren, and the others under the guise of "normal explorers," Rosen finally told Marcil and Falin that he planned to leave.
"Eh?! Lord Rosen, you're leaving so soon?"
Falin, who had been thrilled these past few days to be adventuring with her old companions again, gasped in surprise at the news.
"Yeah. It's about that time. There's nothing on this island that can really threaten you now... but be careful of the deeper dungeon monsters. Oh, and one more thing—sooner or later, the elves might send a group called the 'Canaries' to investigate."
Whether that particular plotline would actually unfold was uncertain, but Rosen felt it safer to warn them anyway.
Still, the Canaries weren't villains—not really. Honestly, in the Dungeon Meshi story, there weren't many who could be considered true "bad guys" at all.
Rosen chuckled softly. "Don't worry. I'll still come by from time to time. And when I figure out a way to bring you with me, I'll come back and take you out of here."
"Take me with you... But, my brother—"
"Laios isn't really bound to people. His whole heart is wrapped around monsters. If I find another way to extend lifespans, I'll make sure your family gets it too."
That assurance steadied her heart completely. In this world, the only ones she truly cared about were her brother and Marcil.
Afterward, Rosen regrouped with Frieren and the others, who were delving into the lower levels.
Gabriel was happily picking fruit from a carnivorous plant.Blizzard (Fubuki) was debating whether to bring back some pretty plants.And Frieren?
Well, when they found her, she was about to get swallowed whole by a mimic.
Hearing familiar voices behind her, Frieren's usually calm voice broke into panic.
"It's so dark! I can't see! This is terrifying!"
With a frantic cry, she blasted the mimic apart with an explosion spell—also blasting her own hair into a frizzy mess.
Saeko Busujima, clutching her sword nearby, sighed in exasperation.
"I warned Miss Frieren this area was crawling with mimics... but she just wouldn't listen."
"She's always had this weird obsession with treasure chests," someone muttered.
Gabriel smirked. "Probably just old-person stubbornness. The more you tell them not to, the more they have to do it."
A little later, everyone parted ways and returned to their own worlds.
[Group Chat]
[Lazy Angel]: "So, how many points did you all get this time?"
[Hell's Blizzard]: "One thousand. A bit less than I expected."
[Old Mage]: "Same. One thousand."
[Saeko]: "One thousand here too."
[I Don't Want to Eat Monsters]: "Me as well... What about you, Gabriel?"
[Lazy Angel]: "Also one thousand. But that's the problem! The mission reward was clearly ten thousand points total. Where did the rest go?"
[Shepherd]: "I've got them. Screenshot.jpg."
[Lazy Angel]: "WHAT?! Damn it! Total plot armor!"
[Lazy Angel]: "You seriously don't get the same rewards as us and you still claim you're not the chat group's golden child?!"
[Saeko]: "Makes sense. Lord Rosen did most of the heavy lifting this time. The mission goals were basically all handled by him. The rest of us just... showed up."
[Lazy Angel]: "Ughhh! If I'd known, I would've gone instead! I knew the storyline too!"
[Hell's Blizzard]: "Even if you knew the plot, that doesn't mean you could pull it off perfectly. Like with the winged lion—if it had been you, you'd have rushed in swinging. Rosen just talked it down and avoided an unnecessary fight."
[Bad Woman]: "Honestly, Gabriel probably would've agreed to the lion's request just so she could spend her whole life gaming."
[Old Mage]: "You're supposed to be an angel, yet your temper's surprisingly bad."
[Old Mage]: "Must be all the gaming."
[Lazy Angel]: "Don't drag my games into this!! Come at me directly if you've got a problem! Angry.jpg."
[Bad Woman]: "See? The moment games come up, Gabriel turns into a demon worse than any demon.~~~"
Reading that, Rosen chuckled to himself. In Gabriel's world, there really was a demon so kind-hearted she could've passed for an angel.
[Shepherd]: "Marcil, in a bit, Senxi will finish prepping the monster dish. I'll send it to you in a red packet, then you can pass it along to me."
[I Don't Want to Eat Monsters]: "Got it. Still, I didn't expect you guys from another world to like monster meat even more than me... They're still monsters, though."
[I Don't Want to Eat Monsters]: "Personally, I'll take milk and cake over monsters any day."
[Shepherd]: "Just a matter of taste. I've never been picky about ingredients—as long as it's edible and tastes good."
Being from the East, he was used to making good food out of just about anything, as long as it was prepared properly.
[Hell's Blizzard]: "I brought back a ton of ingredients too—especially dragon meat. I'll ask around in the Blizzard Group to see if anyone's a skilled cook."
[Hell's Blizzard]: "Anyway, see you all later."
With that, Blizzard (Fubuki) logged off from the chat.
Meanwhile, in the One Punch Man world—
At Hero Association HQ, a petite girl with signature green curls suddenly snapped her eyes open.
"Fubuki... where did you run off to this time?"
Her name was Tatsumaki—Tornado of Terror, Fubuki's older sister.
Because of their childhood, Tatsumaki had developed an almost unhealthy protectiveness over her sister.
She might look cold and dismissive on the surface, but in truth, she constantly tracked Fubuki's location with psychic power, just to make sure she was safe.
Yet now—for the second time—Fubuki had disappeared completely from her senses.
Both times she'd eventually reappeared within a day, but even so, Tatsumaki's irritation simmered.
If it happened again... she'd have no choice but to confront Fubuki directly.
"..."
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