Chapter 359: The Fox and the Devotee
"Haaah…"
Eunice let out a long sigh as she rested her cheek on the table, propping her head up with one hand and gazing listlessly at the Monitor. Her golden tail, usually fluffy and well-groomed, swayed with uncharacteristic lethargy. On the screen, Tsutomu stood in the midst of the ninety-fifth layer, casting [ to fend off the swarm of Dark-element monsters.
When Milway surpassed her and descended to a deeper layer, Eunice had sulked, of course, but she had not fought it. She had accepted the difference in ability and quietly stepped down from her position in the Clan’s main party.
Since then, she had busied herself with developing new applications for existing Skills. But one day, Milway had dressed her up without warning and dragged her out of the house before she could protest. She was hauled off to Absolute Helix’s Clan House, where, much to her chagrin, she was made to attend a social gathering.
At first, she’d been thoroughly irritated with Milway’s high-handedness. But considering she had hardly left the house except for expeditions with Team 2, talking with people like Alma, whom she had not seen in ages, ended up being more enjoyable than expected.
Still, amidst all the conversation, the one she couldn’t stop thinking about was Tsutomu. He’d clearly had too much wine that evening, but strangely, the drunken version of him had a far more pleasant air. Ordinarily, alcohol made people worse. Yet somehow, with Tsutomu, the opposite was true. He remained as inscrutable as ever.
Later, at Milway’s insistence, she ended up speaking to him directly. To her surprise, he seemed… defanged, even mellow. He even knew she’d been demoted but did not mock her for it; instead, he calmly compared her performance to Milway’s and gave her practical advice.
[Maybe this side of him is the real Tsutomu…] Eunice thought. […and if it is, then… that’s a good thing. It really is.]
He had even said some encouraging words, which was something he would never normally say. He patted her head and told her to do her best if she wanted to make it back into Team 1. The gesture and the warmth behind his words nearly brought her to tears. Confused by this unfamiliar kindness, she drank more wine to suppress the emotions swelling in her chest. The rest of that night remained a blur.