Tsuna didn't answer right away. Instead, his gaze shifted toward Tione, the calmer of the two sisters. She caught the signal immediately.
Without hesitation, Tione reached out and pulled her excitable sister back. "Idiot. Don't make a scene. Some things aren't meant to be shouted across the whole Familia."
"Oh."
Tiona instantly realized what she'd done. She knew better than anyone that there were things best kept quiet—especially when it came to matters Finn and the others had decided on. Still, Tsuna's silent reaction had already confirmed it: she'd guessed right.
"So you're starting to prepare for the expedition too?"
"Yeah. I'll mostly be acting as a contingency—support and rescue work, that kind of thing. Right now, I'm figuring out what kind of plans I'll need to set up. You all know my ability makes me better suited for that role."
Planning those contingencies, though, was a headache. Tsuna looked at the three girls in front of him.
"Tiona, what do you think's the most important thing when exploring the Dungeon?"
"The most important thing, huh... hmm~ probably a place where you can really rest. Even the so-called safe zones aren't totally safe. Someone always has to stay up on watch, so it's hard to get proper sleep."
"Yeah," Tione nodded. "A more comfortable resting spot would help a lot."
The Dungeon wasn't exactly a cozy place to relax. Tsuna pictured the dark, damp corridors, the constant risk of monsters spawning nearby. No one could truly rest in a place like that.
A secure, comfortable place to recover would be invaluable. Tsuna grabbed his pen and quickly jotted that down.
"Besides comfort, is there anything else that would make a good resting spot?"
"Hmm~ if possible, a bath would be amazing," Tiona said dreamily. "Water's super precious down there. During expeditions, we can't waste any of it, so we basically never get to bathe."
Water really was a luxury inside the Dungeon. Some floors had natural water sources, but most of them came with serious risks—and the creatures that lurked in them were the biggest problem. That made every drop too valuable to waste.
Naturally, if even drinking water was limited, bathing was out of the question. For anyone, that was rough—but especially for girls.
Female Adventurers had it worse. Tiona, Tione, and Ais were all front-line fighters; with the constant battles and the sweat from long hours of fighting, not being able to clean up was torture.
"There aren't any clean water sources in the Dungeon?" Tsuna asked, frowning. He could've sworn the anime had at least one of those fanservice-y scenes...
"None," Tiona said flatly.
"Some floors do have water—like the twenty-fifth to twenty-seventh floors, where the terrain's connected across three levels. But most of those water sources are dangerous. The Great Falls water's technically drinkable, but monsters gather there in swarms, so you can't use it safely for washing."
Tione added, "And besides, our Familia usually only rests in the safe zones. We skip the Great Falls entirely and make camp on the twenty-eighth floor. It's a good rest area—plenty of vegetation, wide platforms, and natural fault lines that keep most monsters away—but it has no water source."
"The real trouble starts from the twenty-eighth floor down," she continued. "The deeper you go, the harder everything gets. More monsters, tighter spaces, fewer safe zones—and even those aren't that safe anymore."
"So yeah," Tiona said, stretching her arms. "What we really need during expeditions is somewhere we can actually feel safe resting."
"I see..."
Tsuna finally understood just how harsh Dungeon expeditions really were.
What Tiona wanted—somewhere safe, with clean water, maybe even a bath—wasn't unreasonable in the city, but inside the Dungeon it bordered on impossible. The Dungeon wasn't a vacation spot. It was a deathtrap.
At least, it used to be.
Tsuna's mind was already spinning with ideas—a resting area that was safe, comfortable, and had a water source for bathing.
A small metallic zipper appeared, floating in front of him.
He picked it up, walked over to the wall, and pressed it against the surface. With a quiet zip, the metal teeth sank into the wall like it was fabric. Tsuna gripped the pull and dragged it downward. The "wall" split open smoothly, like someone tearing through paper.
When he finished, he widened the opening slightly with both hands, then turned to the three girls staring at him in shock.
"Tiona, Tione, Ais—come take a look."
"Eh? Ehh!?"
Tiona's jaw dropped. They'd just been talking about their dream rest area, and now it was right there—pulled straight out of nowhere.
That zipper—something metallic, ordinary-looking—had peeled open the wall like it wasn't even real. Beyond the opening, she could see grass, and even smell the faint scent of fresh greenery.
"You—you actually made it!?"
Her shock turned to awe in an instant. Tiona dashed to the newly formed doorway and tugged at the soft, cloth-like edges before squeezing through.
What she saw on the other side took her breath away.
A treehouse nestled in the middle of a tranquil forest, surrounded by clean stone tiles and lush grass. Overhead, a bright moon hung in a deep blue sky—it all looked real, like she'd stepped into another world entirely.
"This is amazing! It's like a whole new world in here!"
Tiona's voice rang out as she ran inside, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Tiona, wait for us!"
"..."
Tione and Ais quickly followed her through, disappearing into the opening one after another.
Tsuna watched them go with a faint smile, then stepped inside last.