Several days had passed since we returned to Tsutorairu after finishing the sponsor greetings.
Today, a meeting was scheduled to decide the direction of the exploration parties belonging to the clan. I had come to the meeting room to attend.
In addition to the leaders of each party, several members from the Exploration Management Department—including the person in charge, Estella-san—were present, making for quite a large group.
"Morning, Orun-chi~! Looking forward to working with you today!"
As I sat in my assigned seat, Estella-san—who was next to me—greeted me cheerfully.
"Good morning, Estella-san. Likewise, looking forward to it."
"Orun-chi, did you read this morning's Karteli newspaper?"
"Karteli... you mean the article about the *Jade Tempest*?"
Estella-san's question prompted me to recall the contents of the newspaper I'd read earlier.
This morning's edition from the Karteli publishing company had prominently featured the *Jade Tempest*.
When I asked if that was the article she meant, she nodded enthusiastically, saying "Yep, yep!"
The article reported that the *Jade Tempest*—currently the third-ranked active exploration party in terms of deepest floor reached—was setting out today to conquer the ninetieth floor.
The *Jade Tempest* was the party that included Loretta-san, whom I'd fought in the first round of the martial arts tournament back in June.
They'd been rapidly updating their deepest-floor record in the Great Southern Labyrinth this year and could fairly be called the party with the most momentum right now.
"So, Orun-chi—what do you think the odds are that that party can actually conquer the ninetieth floor?"
"I think it's almost certain they'll succeed."
"Hoo~... And your reasoning?"
She looked surprised that I'd stated it so confidently and asked for my basis.
"Recently, the *Copper Twilight* has been diving into the ninetieth floor quite frequently and submitting regular reports to the guild. The *Jade Tempest* has surely reviewed all of those before deciding to attempt the ninetieth floor. That means they must have considerable confidence in their chances—that's why I believe they'll pull it off."
"Hoe~... I see~. I hadn't factored in the *Copper Twilight*'s movements. Yeah, now that you mention it, there have been quite a few reports from them. So the information on the ninetieth floor is probably more complete than before. In that case... I guess I really do need to come up with some kind of explanation for the sponsors. Uuugh, what a pain~..."
After hearing my reasoning, Estella-san let out a gloomy sigh.
"Are you worried that they'll catch up to us, Estella-san?"
The second-ranked party, the *Copper Twilight*, had never explored the deep layers at all.
For that reason, they weren't expected to catch up to the current number-one, the Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky.
But the *Jade Tempest* would definitely push into the deep layers as well.
That was probably why Estella-san looked so down.
After all, the *Golden Dawn* had overtaken us in a similar way in the past. It was understandable that the clan and sponsors would get tense.
"Yeah~. Their current momentum is impossible to ignore. We finally got to the top after the *Golden Dawn* self-destructed, and now I have to deal with sponsors complaining again? No way, no way!"
In response to my question, Estella-san started whining like a child, repeatedly saying "No, no!"
Over the past half-year, I'd come to fully understand that she was outstanding in her work—no complaints there—but if someone only saw her like this, they'd never believe it.
I knew this was her true self, and I was honestly glad she showed it to me.
However, there were probably people here who didn't know her as well.
Thinking about the future, she couldn't keep acting like this forever.
"I think your concerns are unfounded, Estella-san."
"Hoe? Why's that?"
With the intent of easing her worries, I shared my perspective.
"Explorers submit exploration reports to the guild on a regular basis, right?"
"Y-Yeah. The reports are prepared on a per-party basis, but for a big clan like ours, a dedicated department interviews the explorers and compiles them. In the Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky, our Exploration Management Department handles that role."
Anyone can basically become an explorer.
Once you do, you receive a guild card and free access to labyrinths—but you're also obligated to report your labyrinth exploration activities to the Explorers' Guild.
You don't have to report every single time, but failing to report can result in penalties, so explorers make a habit of periodically submitting information gained from labyrinth exploration to the guild.
The guild also maintains a continent-wide network, so it's safe to assume they track how often and how deeply each person is diving.
"Thank you as always for preparing those reports. It really helps."
"Hehe~. You're welcome! Oh yeah—back when you were with the Dawn, you were the one making the reports, right, Orun-chi?"
"Yeah. Preparing them was a hassle, but it also served as a good review of our exploration. Occasionally making the explorers do it themselves isn't a bad idea either. —Ah, sorry, I got off track. Exploration reports are publicly viewable by anyone. And each report tends to reveal quite a bit about the party's characteristics."
"Yep. We often use reports for party analysis. Just by reading them, you can get a rough sense of their preferred fighting style or what they prioritize during exploration... Though the ones you wrote were so dry and factual that there was nothing more to read into. Yet they were perfectly complete reports, which was honestly kind of frustrating~."
"Well, since we couldn't rely on sheer numbers like the big clans, information was literally our lifeline. —So, Estella-san, have you read the *Jade Tempest*'s reports?"
"Of course! They're the hottest party right now~. I make a point to go through their reports as much as possible!"
"Then—what was your impression after reading them?"
"Hmm... They definitely prioritize conquering the Great Southern Labyrinth above all else. And—if I'm being blunt—they feel like a party from a bygone era. They brute-forced their way through the infamous 'front-liner hell' eighty-eighth floor, so their concept feels close to the former Hero Party."
What Estella-san called a "bygone-era party composition" likely referred to the time before the concept of roles existed.
Back then, there were no dedicated Enchanters or Defenders—parties consisted almost entirely of attackers.
They had superior raw offensive power and breakthrough ability compared to modern standard parties, but their sustained combat capability was poor, making deep labyrinth conquests extremely difficult.
The revolutionary concept of assigning specific roles—roles—to each party member, supposedly pioneered by Selma-san, changed everything.
In the past, only those with truly exceptional ability or exceptional luck could advance through the layers.
Now, quite a few A-rank parties reached the lower layers, so overall explorer strength had clearly risen in recent years.
"I share the same impression. In that case—don't you think conquering the ninety-first floor would be nearly impossible for them?"
"Ah! You're right! The ninety-first floor is swarming with monsters! With a front-line-heavy party like the *Jade Tempest*, clearing it would be tough!"
The *Jade Tempest*'s composition was far removed from what could be called the current standard template.
Their party consisted of three front-line attackers, one Defender, and one recovery mage—a total of five members.
Against single powerful enemies, they displayed unparalleled strength, but the more numerous the enemies, the harder it became for them to perform.
In other words, on the ninety-first floor—where monster numbers were abnormally high—their strengths couldn't shine.
"Exactly. They might have some hidden trump card, but if we start worrying about every possibility, it'll never end. I think it's fine to seriously start worrying only after they've actually conquered the ninety-first floor. By then, we'll probably have advanced even further ourselves anyway."
"Yeah, yeah! I feel so much better now~ Thanks, Orun-chi!"
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