''I heard that the Silverwing Knights have decided to send a unit to Green Hollow. I can see the bitter faces of the Golden Fang guys.

　Garnett said in a smiling voice.

　I was surprised, but at the same time a question arose.
　However, Garnett would have expected me to have this question as well.

''But wasn't the Golden Fang monopolizing the Demon King's Castle's case and keeping the Silver Wings at bay?
Yeah. But the silver wing wasn't just looking at it with its fingers in its mouth either. I was always looking for an excuse to interrupt.
So you've finally found an excuse.

　According to what Garnett told me not long ago, the Knights are fighting for power over each other.

　The fact that the Knights involved in the matter of Green Hollow and the Demon King's Castle had been replaced by the Golden Fang Knights from the original Silver Wing Knights was part of it, and the Golden Fang was supposed to have dismissed the Silver Wing's interference in order to prevent them from recovering.

　Despite that, the fact that the Silverwing Knights would be sending troops to them meant that they had taken a move that could upset the current situation.

'You haven't forgotten about the Mad Golem, have you?　That's the one that was left inside the siege golem when it was brought to Hollow Bottom Fortress and damaged the fortress' equipment.
Did you take advantage of the blunder that brought in enemy forces?
No way. It was a trick that went undetected. What my brother picked up on was what happened afterwards.

　My brother - Sir Carmine, the Knight Commander of the Silverwing Order.

　Garnett deliberately created a deliberately grandiose voice and explained the details in an acting manner.

''The Golden Fang Knights have not been able to find any remaining Mad Golem individuals that have escaped to the ground, and they have not been able to take any safety measures in Green Hollow Town. As long as the main mission is to fight the Demon King's army, it is inevitable in some respects, but if that's the case, the maintenance of security on the ground should be delegated to other knightly orders: .......

　That's how it naturally made sense to me.

　Clearly, the Golden Fang was having a hard time dealing with this matter.

　It was a typical example of how he tried to use Travis, an A-ranked adventurer, to deal with it in secret, but because his methods were against that guy's beliefs, he was able to dismiss it and spread the information.

'...... Oh, I finally figured it out. So Dustin is .......
What did you say about hunting a demon king?
No, I'm just saying.

　When I gave me and Travis the series of information, Dustin said, 'For once, it's more convenient for me to spread the facts.

　That guy's only goal is to defeat the Demon King.
　Naturally, he didn't want the Golden Fang Knights to waste their power on trouble on the ground, and he would want them to spend all their energy on fighting the Demon King's army.

　In short, Dustin hoped that information against the Golden Fang would spread and the other Knights would interrupt them.

''But the remaining individuals of the Mad Golem are just 'might' be there, right? How did you manage to convince me with that?
I don't think I could have done it if it was just a possibility.
...... has already been confirmed as real?
I heard that our clandestine scouts in the Silver Wing saw it with their own eyes. Take a look at this guy.

　Garnett places one hand behind me on my shoulder in the chair and puts his arm over my other shoulder to show me a sheet of paper.

　We looked over the contents of the paper, trying not to be aware of the fact that we were both topless.

　It was a detailed sketch.

　What was drawn was the area around the head of a humanoid artifact that appeared to be a mad golem.

'It's similar to the earthen figure we encountered in the base defense battle before. This one seems to be more solidly built, though.
I don't know much about it, but the Mad Golem is said to be a type of full-fledged golem, unlike the magic-knit earthling form, which is temporarily knitted by magic. I'm sure that the surviving individual exists.
Where did this guy come from?
The forest near the Green Hollow residential area. We found them at the same time, and the other one we found escaped, so at least one of them must have survived.

　Garnett let me hold the sketch and put his hands on my shoulders, peering over my head to look at my hands.

　I instantly play out of my consciousness that the distance between our bare skin is much closer.

''The Silverwing (our) troops should be arriving in the near future. I'm sure they will be able to gather some skilled people suitable for the search, so I'm sure the problem of the Mad Golem will be solved soon.
So what's going to happen if we don't get there?
Hmm?

　A curious tone of voice prompts me to elaborate.
　I suppose he wants to see if his ideas and mine are in line with each other.

The Mad Golem is lurking around Green Hollow, but it hasn't gone into sabotage. So if there's a purpose, it's to gather information. It's possible that it's doing the same thing that Noir does with his bird puppets and visual linkage.

　I've heard that many users of [White Magic] and [Black Magic] have learned to share their senses with messengers.

　Also, the messenger doesn't have to be a live animal either, and by using it in conjunction with other skills and magic, dolls and the like can also be used.

　I heard that there are various magic-based skills, so there are seldom any [elemental magic] users like Melissa who can do the same thing, though.

'The information that the Silverwing Knights are sending troops to Green Hollow will spread to Green Hollow, right?　Because if you don't, you won't be ready to accept it.
Even if I told everyone involved, I wouldn't be able to talk about it.
'If the Mad Golem is being remotely controlled to gather information, it should immediately understand that the Silverwing Knights' scheduled arrival date is the time limit. No wonder they're thinking of doing one last job before then.

　The last job - there are a number of assumptions about its content.

　The first hypothesis that comes to mind is still sabotage against Green Hollow, which supports the Golden Fang Knights in the rear.

　The town hall. A guild house. Or simply a place where a lot of people gather.
　Even the Springtime Wakaba Tei isn't safe.

'The adventurers are going to be busy until the time limit. Probably almost everyone will be busy with guards and patrols.
You know the drill. But you know what? ......

　Garnett put his strength in the hands on my shoulders and pronounced in a serious voice with no play at all.

''Don't forget that you're a prime candidate for the target. If you say you gathered information in Green Hollow, then it's not surprising that they can find out what you've been doing.
...... I know that.

　Making and selling mithril weapons.
　Military cooperation at the request of the Golden Fang Knights.

　Even if these two were taken out of the equation, the enemy would see them as worthy of being added to their list of potential targets.

　Just like the four demon generals of the Demon King's Army, Norsulli, barked that I should have been the first to be killed.

When you think about it, building a powerful armor was the best choice, wasn't it?

　I sat back in my chair and tilted my head back far enough to look up at the ceiling.

　Garnett's face and bare shoulders, looking down at me, jumped into view from close range.

'Garnet. I'm willing to put my life in your hands.

　His beautiful blue eyes widen round and stiffen.

'If you're a strong guy, I'm sure there are others out there, but if I'm going to put my life in your hands, you're the one. And I don't want to involve Sakura too much, since she has other important purposes.
............
'Oh, no, it's not like you'd be dead or anything. Don't get me wrong, okay?　I'd rather not do that. Absolutely not.

　Just as I thought I was making a strange excuse for myself, Garnett's cheeks, which were slightly lit by the heat of the heating spell scroll, flushed as if they had been set on fire.

　They continued to look at each other for a time, leaving each other stunned.

　The silence was broken by a knock on the door and a call from the inn's employees.

'Sir. How would you like your dinner? Would you like me to bring it to your room?
......!

　Garnet bounces into bed like a big cat and dives into the bed, curling up with a blanket over her head.

　I'm surprised by the quick action in a moment, but for now, I respond to the voice outside the door.

'I'll come back later to ask you for help,'
I'm sorry, sir.

　I make sure the footsteps are moving away, then I lean my weight against the back and exhale deeply.

　A blunder. I didn't think I could take my eyes off of Garnett's face.
　I feel like lecturing myself to consider my position.

Anyway, as soon as your clothes are dry, just get them on. You'll be in trouble if you catch a cold.
............ oh, oh ......

　He threw out some innocuous and obvious words in an effort to regain his composure.

　Garnett's reply from inside the blanket was strangely weak.