Chapter 259: Near-Dead Tank
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In a stroke of fortune, Tsutomu and his party managed to locate the Black Gate leading to the eighty-second layer, after which they returned to the Guild without delay. The eighty-first layer had been shrouded in an oppressive gloom, making the search for the Black Gate a daunting task. However, through a combination of Tsutomu’s keen understanding of the Light and Darkness layers and a bit of luck, they stumbled upon it within the first day of exploring — much sooner than anticipated.
“Apologies! I must head home immediately!”
Taking Diniel’s words with the utmost seriousness, Xeno, whose face had turned an alarming shade of pale, quickly checked out with Tsutomu before bolting out of the Guild. Diniel, maintaining her ever-stoic demeanor, watched him disappear into the distance.
“I did tell him I was just joking,” she murmured.
The joke in question stemmed from an unreliable source — one of Hannah’s remarks had spiraled into a tabloid article that was now making the rounds. The article insinuated that Xeno had been toeing the line of acceptable behavior, with accusations of borderline stalking swirling around him. Despite the untrue nature of the claims, and the fact that Pico had been conversing with him without any apparent animosity just the day before, the rumor was enough to send him into a panic.
“Well, considering that poker face of yours, I can’t really blame him for taking you seriously,” Tsutomu remarked, taking a second to glance at Diniel as he focused his attention on Monitor #3, where the rest of Absolute Helix was displayed.
Diniel’s expression remained an impenetrable mask as she began to inch closer to him, her face devoid of any discernible emotion.