Then me and Garnett decided to go back to the ground after the incident and take a rest at the White Wolf Store, our home.

　I sit down on the couch and open my notebook while taking a breath.

　It was a note of what Travis and the others had told me verbally about how the battle had gone after the floor was destroyed and they left the front lines.

　-- a huge doll with only the upper body, born from an accumulation of doll-shaped golems.

　It's exactly what I expected it to be.

　The earthenware form of General Vestri and the doll-shaped golem in the basement.
　If these are the relationship between the prototype (original) and the counterfeit products, then it's not surprising that there's something equivalent to the giant clay figure that Vestri was creating.

　Well, I couldn't even be there for the scene, and it would be uncool to dignify it later by saying that it was just as I had read, so I'd be careful not to come up with such an idea.

Here you go, I've made you a drink.
Thanks.

　I took a sip of the cold herbal tea Garnet had prepared for me and turned the pages of my notebook.

　The contents of the next page were about the future exploration plans Travis had told me about.

''So what's the plan for the rest of the search after all?

　Garnett sits next to me, twisting her body into the gap in the couch, and leans down to peer into my notebook.

　Her slender, soft shoulders push my arm away, and her blonde hair, freshly bathed, sways lightly in front of her eyes and nose.

　I casually shifted my seating position so that we wouldn't be too close, but for some reason, Garnett shifted to the side to follow suit, and we ended up no closer to each other at all.

'It's close. See, I'm not trying to hide it.

　I give up on keeping my distance and tilt my notebook in the same position to make it easier to read from Garnett.

　-- According to Travis, he was planning to temporarily freeze the large scale search deeper than the area where the doll-shaped golem appeared, for now.

　You can't deny the possibility that the demon king's army is there beyond that, but more than that, the risk of unexpectedly encountering unspecified forces cannot be ignored, and it seems that the danger is great if the current policy is left as it is.

''Does that mean we don't investigate anything deeper than that place?
''No, they're just not going to explore under the current policy of mobilizing mid-ranking and low rankers as well, but they're going to look into it with a small elite group of knights and high rankers only. Well, it's ...... a reasonable decision.

　The underground forces that Demon King Gandalf called the true enemy are equipped with a strength that at least surpasses that of the Demon King's army.

　Even that crowd of puppet-shaped golems that made us fight so hard could be just one of the mass-produced forces if it is not done well.

The only thing that has happened is that our plans have been moved up. Originally, we only mobilized mid-level and below because we needed to search the underground labyrinth with manpower and sea tactics, and I heard that we were planning to switch to a small number of elites once we got a hold of the Demon King's army's tail.

　There was no way a veteran like Travis wouldn't be prepared for that area.

　The same is true of the Demon King's Army, which would be in danger if they encountered it with a young man in tow.
　The search freeze was not an unexpected situation, but part of the search flow as planned.

''Hmm. It's hard work for adventurers too, for what it's worth. Can't we just dive in as a party and turn back at random?
'You can still do well in less difficult dungeons.

　In dungeons up to about C-rank, a cautious approach like this one is rather overkill.

　It's not a problem for a party of a few people to just make decisions and explore (attack) freely.

"But this time, even though it's not officially ranked, considering the potential threats, it's at least a B-rank ...... dungeon that's as difficult as an A-ranked dungeon if you're not careful.
So Travis has to be careful.

　Garnett crossed his legs on the couch and rested his weight on the back with his hands behind his head.

The only thing that matters is that you're okay. You're done helping Travis for now, right?
This time. We repaired the collapse as requested with the promise to cooperate if you need my help. The next time we go under, we'll need to [repair] it again, or this time it will be if Theodore asks for it.
'Ah, ...... I see, there's that one too.'

　As soon as he heard Theodore's name, Garnett suddenly frowned.

"d*mn it, I don't know what to do: ...... I can't keep up with you.
'......?　What's wrong with you?
You're not doing well. Didn't I tell you that before?　Theodore and I may have met when I was still a student at university, you know.
Oh, by the way,

　Theodore is an adventurer known as the Dragonslayer, and is also the heir of the Beaufort family, a high-ranking noble family whose role is to guard the border.

　It seems that Garnett as a child, as the 'daughter' of the Silver Wing Knight Commander's family, had attended the greetings to the Beaufort family as their 'daughter', and it seems that Theodore remembered her face and name at that time - she may have been remembered by him.

　It's only a possibility, but it's a risk that Garnett can't ignore if he wants to hide his identity.

It's a good idea to go to Theodore's next time to ask him about the state of his preparations. Of course, just me. Then I'll casually ask him if he remembers the daughter of the Argentean family.
'I'm a little nervous about letting you go alone, but I'd appreciate it if you could probe me. But can you ask them casually?
Of course you can, of course you can. You'll have a good excuse.

　Garnett tilts her head curiously.

　Apparently, in all seriousness, he has no idea of an excuse to bring up the subject with Theodore.

''It's about the last night party. In order to make sure you get into the Count's night party, I had him write a letter of introduction as a frontier earl's legitimate son. Then it's only natural that I should report the results.
Well, yeah, but ...... is a bit of a wait. What exactly are you talking about when you report results?
'Of course I'm going to be involved with Miss Alma Argentea on the basis of her engagement,'

　When I reiterated the obvious, Garnett sat down on the sofa, squatted down with his head in his hands and began to move his legs as if he were flailing about.