First of all, I hurriedly collected the mithril and returned it to Hollow Bottom Fortress.

　Although the details have not yet been explained, it seems that there has been progress in the investigation of the ruins underneath the "Demon King's Castle Realm".

　-- that was during the construction of the Hollow Bottom Fortress.

　The brave Falcon, who was remade into a chimera with dragons, attacked the site where the fortress is to be built.
　They also attacked me with a vengeance and relentlessly pursued me with an overwhelming difference in strength.

　In the end, they used a bizarre strategy to knock me down to a level lower than the Demon King's Castle Realm, but that site was the mysterious ruins that we are heading to.

''But was that ruin a place we could walk to?

　Pass through the cave commonly known as the Dragon's Hole and travel to the Demon King's Castle Realm side of the Hollow Bottom Fortress.

　This underground space is a wasteland with little greenery, and the first half where the fortress is located is steep and rocky.

　The rocky area is divided in two by a deep ravine, and the place where we can enter the ruins of our destination is at the bottom of the ravine.

''Don't worry, you don't need to worry. ''Don't worry, we've already found a route down to the bottom of the ravine that requires no special skills.

　The engineer man leads us down a rocky mountain.

　It's a land where demons may appear, but Garnett, who is a highly skilled fighter, is accompanying us, and the Golden Fang Knights have lent us soldiers in case we need them.

It doesn't look like it's ...... a very easy route.
It's still a pretty selective route.

　No, I don't think I would call this a path.

　I was only able to move about half of the way with just my two feet, and the rest of the place was such that I had to descend while grasping the protruding rocks.

　It was a stark contrast to the neatly maintained "Sundial Forest".

　Maybe this place will eventually be made easier to climb down, but that will be a long time coming.

"You guys can't just walk through this place every day?

　Garnett asked this in a dumbfounded way, and the engineer man laughed and shook his head.

'No way!　We have an exploration base along the canyon, so we usually sleep there. Why don't you stay the night, Luke-san?
'No, no thanks. I have to open the shop in the morning tomorrow.

　In the meantime, I'm finishing the descent of the cliff-like slope and arriving along the canyon.

　It's a different experience than when I came down ...... and almost slid to my death on the way down.

　First of all, people were walking around normally.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more than just a few of the things you're looking for.

''The frontline of the skirmish with the Demon King's army is a bit further downstream. This area is already in our sphere of influence.
'Huh ......, so the situation was going on without you knowing it.
''Technically, the demon race didn't have this area under their control, so they just took advantage of the gap and occupied it.

　According to the accompanying soldier, the rocky mountains on the other side of the river and the flatlands downstream are entirely in the demon tribe's sphere of influence, and it seems that influential adventurers have done their best to sneak in and explore the area.

　As I looked around while being briefed, a familiar figure of adventurers came into view.

''Isn't that Nagi and Melissa? Looks like we're in the middle of adventurer activity.
Oh, manager!　Thank you so much for the last time!

　Melissa is still smiling at me.

　Nagi, who was next to her, looked a little thoughtful, and in a moment, she moved in front of me without a sound.

''Whoa!
''...... I'll give you one piece of advice. If Shiranui Zakura asks you to make a sword out of scarlet gold, you'd be wise to refuse. Especially if you consider that woman to be one of your friends.

　I couldn't respond to Nagi's statement.

　I'm not sure what to say, but I couldn't think of anything to say because it was a meaningless warning before that.

　I've already accepted a commission from Sakura to make a sword made of baboon kane, and I plan to finish the final touches and complete it in the near future.

　While he was wondering whether or not he should tell Nagi about it, Nagi was called away by Melissa to leave the place.

'Manager. We're going to go back to exploring. If you need anything else, please ask me again!
...... So long.

　After a small bow, Melissa and Nagi walked towards the upper reaches of the canyon.

　As if seeing that our conversation was over, the engineer and soldier urged us to resume our movement.

　It's a little creepy that I can't grasp the intent of Nagi's warning, but for now, it's more important to get other business done.

'The entrance to the ruins of the example is here. Luke-san may already know about it, though.
...... Oh, I see. So you reused the hole the brave man punched in.

　Once, when I fell into a ravine after being chased by a brave man, I used [Decomposition] to make a hole in the rock wall and escaped into the ruins.

　Of course, I sealed the hole with 【Restoration】, but the brave man used all his strength to re-open the hole and chase after me.

　The hole had been neatly arranged and remade into a temporary entrance to enter the ruins.

　At any rate, I stepped through the entrance and into the corridor of the ruins and tried to head to the place where I fought the brave man.

''Luke-san, it's the other way around.''
'......?　The place where I fought the brave man is just down the road, though.
'It's on the other side of the road where I made my new discovery. The roads are so convoluted, so follow me so you don't get lost.

　Following the engineer, I started to walk in the opposite direction of the ruins.

　Unlike the former route, which was a straight line, this route was full of forks and crossroads, giving it a labyrinth-like appearance.

　The ceiling emits light just like the sky in the underground space to illuminate the corridor, and there are markers on the walls to indicate the direction of the route.

'(A marker left by an adventurer who explored this place or ......)'

　Many adventurers may be professionals at exploring ruins, but they are not necessarily professionals at studying relics.

　When an unknown object is discovered in a dungeon's labyrinth or ruins, it is common for them to take back information and an actual object of recoverable size and leave the rest to a professional researcher.

　This kind of request is often solicited for C-rank and above, and it's also a common practice to set up markers for the researchers who come after them and the adventurers who escort them.

(As expected of a group of high-ranking adventurers. It seems that they have taken care of every detail during their search.

　...... As I was thinking about that, I noticed a prying look coming from below.

'What's wrong with my face, Garnet ......?'
'No, not really. You used to look like you were going to die just because you were going to dive into a dungeon, and now I just thought you looked good. Are you excited to hear about this new discovery?

　I was about to say that - but I found myself unable to clearly deny it.

　A while ago, I would have felt uncomfortable about even stepping into the 'Sundial Forest', but now I don't feel that way anymore.

　As I thought, what triggered me to do so was my audience with King Alfred.

　The current king of the Westland Kingdom, a former adventurer.
　The moment I learned that the nameless adventurer I once admired was actually His Majesty before he became king, the weight in my heart seemed to ease.

''This looks better than that dour face.

　Garnett smiled and slapped me on the back.

　It was a soft contact, not enhanced by skills, just Garnett's natural arm strength.

'Your destination is just ahead. You'll be surprised.''

　Beyond the aisle was an eye-popping space.

　The walls and floor were worked flat and artistically carved, and the light-filled ceiling was high enough to look up at.

　And the opposite wall opposite the doorway was a huge doorway in it's entirety.

'This guy is ...... certainly awesome ......'