The two escorts who invited me to dinner were Anthem—the serious-looking young man who'd sized me up on the first day—and Barnard—the more laid-back, flashy one.
The place they recommended turned out to be a fancy restaurant.
Barnard opened the door with practiced ease and strolled in; Anthem and I followed.
A staff member hurried over the moment we entered.
"Ah! Barnard-san, Anthem-san—welcome!"
They were clearly regulars.
"Yo! Nia-chan. Brought a special guest today. Ta-da! Orun—one of the guys who reached the ninety-fourth floor of the great labyrinth!"
"Ninety-fourth…? So you're a hero!? Wow! It's an honor to meet you!"
She grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously. Super friendly.
Apparently she hadn't seen this morning's newspaper.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not a hero."
"But… ninety-fourth floor…"
She looked confused.
"I've been there, yeah—but I left the party."
"Ohhh, I see! Still—ninety-fourth floor! That's huge! No one reached it for twenty years after the ninety-third-floor record. You're exactly what we call a 'valiant explorer'!"
"…You know your history."
I couldn't hide my surprise at the sudden passionate lecture.
"Ahaha… I used to be an explorer myself. Oh—right! I haven't shown you to your table yet! Sorry, got carried away."
She stuck her tongue out playfully.
"Usual private room okay?"
"Yup~"
Barnard answered the staff.
The room was spacious enough for six people to relax comfortably.
"Alright! Tonight we drink till we drop! Orun—tell us everything. Only what you're okay sharing, of course!"
The moment we sat, Barnard kicked things off.
"No way—we're not drinking till dawn. We've got exploration tomorrow."
"Heh heh heh. I don't get hangovers. Drink all I want—no problem!"
"Still, sleep deprivation's bad…"
"Orun's right. Even mid-layers, we're guiding and protecting rookies. We need to be in top shape—like any normal dive."
"Tch. Both of you are such straight arrows. Fine—till midnight! We disband at twenty-four hundred!"
After that, the three of us chatted about ourselves while enjoying the food and drinks.
As recommended, the dishes were high-class—fit for nobles.
In this country, adulthood starts at fifteen, so at eighteen I could drink normally. Some places wait till twenty, apparently.
"Regulars at a place this fancy… A-rank explorers in "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky" really make good money, huh?"
I don't usually pry, but the alcohol and their easygoing vibe loosened my tongue.
"Coming from someone who was in the hero party… we don't make that much, honestly. But explorers can die any day. So we decided—no regrets. Eat the good stuff while we can."
"Exactly. You were probably living large every day in the hero party, right?"
"Never. I handled a lot of the party's paperwork too—barely had free time."
"Hmm. Hey—be honest. How close were the hero party members really? Rumors say you guys weren't that tight."
…He went straight for it.
Normally I'd dodge, but after this morning's article, I felt like venting. Anything not outright forbidden—I'd say.
"Not hostile, but we did our own thing privately. Hobbies, tastes—totally different. Almost never ate dinner together."
"Whoa—okay to say that?"
Anthem checked, suddenly cautious.
"Should be fine. The leader's always preaching purity and justice—if there's stuff I can't talk about, that'd be the real problem."
"…That's loaded. Oh—been wanting to ask. You were an enchanter in the hero party, right? But first time we met you said frontline attacker. Your movements scream frontline too—even though we haven't seen you fight once."
"You noticed my stance? Impressive, Anthem. Especially since Orun hasn't fought yet…"
"Defender here—gotta watch allies' movements too…"
"Actually—I switched back to swordsman after leaving the party."
Both stared wide-eyed.
Makes sense—changing roles after years would shock anyone.
"…Mind if I ask why?"
Anthem leaned in, genuinely curious.
"…I was originally a swordsman even in the hero party. My grandfather was a former explorer. One day monsters attacked the village—he took them down with just a sword. Seeing that, I idolized swordsmen. When I became an explorer, I grabbed a blade without hesitation. Leaving the party felt like the perfect chance to go back."
"I see… But then—why switch to enchanter at all if you loved swords that much?"
"…After hitting the lower layers, our pace stalled. Lower layers explode in size and monster strength—slowdown was normal. But back then we didn't know that. We just thought we were stuck."
We'd blitzed upper and middle layers—then slammed into a wall in the lower ones.
Nothing strange. The real abnormality was how fast we'd gone before.
"We should've buckled down and built real strength there. But certain circumstances forced us to push forward fast. Around then enchanters were gaining attention—so we turned to that. I'd always been a jack-of-all-trades, decent at everything—so they picked me. I was starting to vaguely see what I needed to become my ideal swordsman anyway, and I was curious about magic—so I took the role."
"So that's how it happened. Plenty of people switch roles for party reasons. And it got you to ninety-four. Results-wise, it worked out."
"No—it was a mistake. Even as enchanter, we should've slowed down and trained properly instead of rushing."
I couldn't tell them the rest.
That the hero party had zero chance of clearing past ninety-four now.
"Hmm. So? What's your ideal swordsman look like? That should be safe to share."
Barnard picked up on my mood and changed the subject smoothly.
"My ideal swordsman? Lots of things—but simply put: a swordsman who can solo the deep layers."
◇
Next morning, heading to the meeting plaza through the market stalls, I overheard excited chatter amid opening preparations.
"Hey! You hear? The new hero party's diving into the deep layers soon!"
"For real!? So they could hit ninety-five today!?"
"Nah—word is ninety-two. Just testing teamwork with the new lineup."
They moved fast.
I figured they'd take it slower. But a first teamwork check at ninety-two?
At least they weren't stupid enough to attempt ninety-four right away. Still—first sync should be lower layers at minimum.
…Not my problem anymore.