--The attack of the demon tribe stopped with a bang when they succeeded in destroying the golem.

　It's probably not that they've given up on their position.
　They are probably waiting for the reinforcements that are scheduled to arrive soon.

　The continuation of the attack will continue after they have joined up - it will be the last and biggest attack.

　During this slight lull, we'll be talking to the head of the position defense in person.

Dwight, the base commander. We sincerely thank you for your assistance.

　Underneath the nearly half-burned tent, the strong-armed knight asked me to shake hands with him.

''I apologize for the selfishness of my request, but will you help us until we can repel the enemy reinforcements?
I don't mind. It's not a situation I can back out of now. In the meantime, what's the current situation?
Thank you. I need you to look at this map.

　The head of the base, Dwight, spread a large map on his long desk.

　Joining me, Garnett, Sakura, and Noir, who had finally caught up with me, also looked at the map.

''The 'Demon King's Castle Realm' is shaped almost like a curved rectangle, divided roughly in half into rocky mountains and flatlands. The Demon King's Castle and the town of the demon race are on the flatland side.

　Several small red and blue triangles are placed on the map.

　From their positions, blue represents the Royal Army and red represents the Demon King's Army.

The rocky mountainous region is further divided into two parts by a deep valley, and one part of that valley is currently the territory controlled by our Westland Kingdom. So far so good.
'Yes, I understand. The invasion of the plains had come to a standstill, so you tried to pave a route across the valley to the other side of the river to break up the situation.

　So far, it was a rehash of the explanation that Garnett had given to Noir earlier.

The head of the Dwight base gave a small nod and continued his story.

'Thanks to your contribution, the first wave of reinforcements from this side arrived safely, and we were able to avoid the fall, but there's one oddity about that.
So....
''Right now, reinforcements from the demon side are also approaching. However, it's 'too early' for them to have been dispatched after the siege was lifted.

　If you ask me, it's true.

　Not much time has passed since I [repaired] the suspension bridge.

　The dispatch of reinforcements was supposed to come after that fact was reported, but it's already right under my nose.

''...... Are you saying that the deployment of the kinsmen guards was on schedule from the beginning?
'It could be. There are other possibilities, but I don't have enough information to make a definitive statement right now. Keep in mind that the unexpected could happen.

　After that, I was briefed by the head of the Dwight base by the head of the base, who told me the priority of which equipment he wanted me to prioritize [repair] in the camp.

　After all, there is something different between an army and an adventurer's party.

　In an adventurer's party, the more a party takes on high-ranking dungeons, the more all members are required to have a minimum level of ability.

　If they can't traverse the unknown territory on their own to some extent, they can't take them into the dungeon in danger.

　The method can be magic, body-enhancing skills or simple techniques.

　I couldn't do that, which is why I couldn't finally make it big as an adventurer.

　On the other hand, an army led by a knight's group has room to play an active role, even if it is a single point of specialization and has no other areas of expertise.

　The reason for this difference is probably 'size'.

　The number of people in an adventuring party can range from a few to a dozen, and even more rarely if it grows to dozens.

　However, an army of a few dozen is only the lowest unit of operation, and the total number of troops is huge, in the hundreds or thousands.

　The greater the number of people, the more room there is for others to fill in for their weaknesses.
　This prediction would not be roughly correct.

　But--.

'(Giving up on making a name for myself as an adventurer, I wouldn't have thought of that back in the day).

　The reason I wanted to be an adventurer was not a calculation, but an aspiration.

　I wasn't doing it because I had an aptitude for it, I wanted to do 'it' anyway, so it didn't matter if there were other fields I was suited to.

'Mr. Luke,'

　We are stopped unexpectedly as we leave the tent.

　The owner of the voice was a small boy.
　It was Nagi, an Eastern adventurer.

''I saw the sword Shiranui was using. That's a sword made of scarlet gold, isn't it? It seems my advice wasn't heeded.''
'Kirigakure!　This is a matter between me and Lord Luke. Let's not have you interfere with anything else.

　In the past, Nagi had told me, 'Even if Sakura asked you to create a sword for the hijinks, it would be wise to refuse.

　He also said, 'If you consider Sakura to be your friend, then that's even better.

　When I asked Sakura about that, she gave the main answer that 'Nagi is just overly concerned because she made a big mistake in a ritual using it a long time ago'.

　I took that and made a sword made of total hibikiro-kane as requested--'

"The rite of Passover is dangerous!　You understand that better than anyone!　You want to play second fiddle to your father!
"......!　No!　Your father's case is because he used an imperfect medium!　With a perfect total scarlet-hued metal sword, even if the 'pattern' is distorted, it can still be fulfilled!

　Sakura and Nagi were exchanging words fiercely, as if it was about to devolve into a slanging match.

　As long as they are genuine Easterners, they should have their own native language, but both of them dare to vie with each other in the language of Westland in a heated exchange of passions.

　Perhaps they want us to hear what the conversation is about.

　Nagi is trying to give the impression that Sakura's purpose is dangerous, and Sakura is trying to give the impression that Nagi's claims are wrong.

　I couldn't fully understand the conversation itself, but I could naturally read that that was the intention.

'Oh, hey ...... Luke ...... this, yea, what the hell can I do about it ......'
Don't. It's not something we can get involved in. If you're gonna do something, you're gonna have to do it on demand.

　Garnett stops Noir, who wanders around with a frightened gaze, with a strong tone of voice.

'You can fulfill it?　Where's the evidence for that!　If you're going to die on your own, you're not going to bother the people here either!
'I wouldn't do that!　If the worst should happen, I will take my life alone!　I've come this far because of that determination!
Hey, Sakura!

　Just as I was about to interrupt him when he said he was going to cut off his life, and as expected, I couldn't stay and stand, a completely different intervention ruined the serious atmosphere.

'Nagy!　Oh, thank God!　You're safe!
Whoa, Melin--

　Out of nowhere, Nagi's partner, Melissa, interrupted her and hugged Nagi's head tightly.

　The difference in height between them is one head, and Melissa is taller.

　If Melissa hugged Nagi from the front, her face would naturally be buried in Melissa's ample breasts.

''You fool!　What were you thinking, crossing the valley all by yourself?　I was so worried about you!
"No, stop ...... painful ...... you have people ......!

　Nagi is desperately patting Melissa on the back, but still Melissa's passionate embrace shows no signs of loosening.

　Me and Sakura are completely drained of energy, and I decide to leave the scene so as not to interfere with them by giving Garnett and Noir a look.

　Shortly after that--

We've got a visual on enemy reinforcements from the lookout!　All hands, get into position immediately!

　-- with the sound of a heavy horn (horn), a voice announced the end of the rest.