I'll get right to it, but would you mind hearing my side of the exploration plan as well?
I don't mind, but would you mind changing it around? Half of what I want to tell Travis has to do with you. I mean, don't you think you're going to offend your goons if you spend all your time with me?

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of your time with us.

　I'm sure you're aware that the color of her eyes change when money and business are involved.

　She was sent all the way from her parents' home to follow up on the financially indifferent Theodore.

　Since Maria's role is to monitor Theodore so that he doesn't spend large sums of money comfortably, and to pay off the parts of the dragons he defeats at an appropriate price, it's only natural that she is fussy about topics involving money.

''Let's just say it's already too late,''

　Maria let out a small sigh with a mixture of dismay and resignation.

'I had a meeting with Branch Chief Florence just now, but when I heard you had returned, I had to cut my plans short and fly out.
'Haha ...... sorry about that. I've kept you waiting for so long.
Well, it wasn't urgent, so it didn't do much damage.

　If you've cut off your plans before this to talk to me instead of pressuring your plans after this, it's certainly too late.

　I wonder if this is the reverse of the enthusiasm Theodore is putting into this exploration plan.
　At any rate, I'll apologize to Florence later.

''So, I guess it's fine if you're going to wait for Travis in a suitable conference room somewhere and ask him about our search plan.
Wait, Theodore. You're not going to tell me?
I'm not gonna keep it a secret. It's just a way to save time. I'm going to make it public later, and if you can't wait for that, you can ask him.
"Mmmm... ...... is there a problem if you go through Luke?

　I feel like I'm getting a strange trust from two A-ranked people, but I'm only troubled by the excessive expectations.

''Maria-san will be attending that one, right? Do you mind if I allow my relatives to sit in on this one too?
Of course I do. You can pick your room, if you want.

　-- so I asked Garnett and Leila if they would be willing to be present at the meeting with Theodore.

　Garnett naturally wished to, but surprisingly, Leila replied that she would not be a part of it.

　I had planned to introduce Layla to Travis after the meeting, but apparently he didn't have the courage to be present at the scene.

　So, it was decided that I would only introduce her indirectly, and we would not meet face to face until later.




　So Theodore and I decided to move to a rental conference room in a corner of the branch office and wait for Travis to rejoin us while we talked about the search plan.

　The two people in attendance are Garnett and Maria, but it's only me and Theodore who will be discussing it, and the two of us will be treated as witnesses.

''I think we've talked about this before. Considering the s*xual capabilities of the natural environment recreated inside the Demon King's Castle Realm, it's unnatural for there to be so many dragons living there.
''You said you wanted me to help you investigate the biology of the dragons in the 'Demon King's Castle Realm' in order to determine the cause of this.

　The role you expect me to play is the same as Travis', though our goals are different.

　Repairing weapons and tools. Destroying obstacles. Healing wounds.
　Analyzing, repairing, and neutralizing dungeon gimmicks.

　When I was first approached about this, I refused to participate in earnest on the grounds that I wanted to focus on running the White Wolf Store, and I said I would help if my [repair] was absolutely necessary.

　However, since I owed Theodore for the letter of introduction, I thought that I would have to loosen the conditions--

Yeah, that's kind of what we talked about last time.

　Theodore's response told him implicitly, 'Not now,' he said.

''It's a plan. The previous invitation was to explore the 'Demon King's Castle Realm', but this plan is a plan to explore the deeper depths of the realm ...... If it's not a completely different matter, does that mean that some progress has been made?
You're a quick study. You're right. We had a preliminary search by a small group of elite people prior to the long search that we had planned for a month from the time I brought this up to you, and it seems that we got it right.

　I drew a hit. The implications of the phrase were obvious.

　Theodore couldn't seem to contain the excitement that was bubbling up and didn't wait for me to verbalize my response before continuing his statement.

'Let's not be hasty, but let's start with the conclusion. The advance team found a huge vertical hole deep in the rocky mountain range. I haven't been there yet, but I've received reports that a dragon has been seen flying out of the great hole.
In other words, the dragons are emerging from their longitudinal holes, and furthermore, they are connected to the deeper realms: ......
It's still a theory. It's still a hypothesis, because maybe it was a moment of escape for a wandering dragon in a dead-end hole that led to nowhere.

　There is a possibility that the deepest area and the place where the dragons appear may be located deep in a vertical hole.

　The possibility that this is just a deep sinkhole and that the investigation will be fruitless.

　Although both possibilities are equally likely at this point, that is why adventurers are driven to explore.

''Well then, regarding the specific plan of exploration, please go to ......
'Wait a minute. I have to tell you something before I do that. I wanted you to hear this from Travis as well: ......

　I was just about to utter an important piece of information when there was a powerful knock on the door of the rental conference room.

'It's me. Sorry, am I late?
No, I think this is where we start to get serious. Come on in.

　After Theodore's response, Travis walked into the room alone and sat down in a chair with a thud.

　With this, all of the people I want to talk to are present.
　If you're going to explore a place even deeper than the "Demon King's Castle Realm", I definitely need to tell you something.

...... This guy is going to report to Florence later, but I still wanted to tell the most important party directly.

　He looks at Travis and Theodore and tells them so, then turns a sideways glance towards Garnett.

　This is new information that has just been found out in King's Landing.
　The reason I wanted Garnett to be present is because I wanted him to be present when I explained this matter to him.

''Do you know about the Night Ripper (Night Ripper) incident that was happening in King's Capital?