Then I decided to continue my discussion with Gilbert.

　Gilbert's other business was a request for the test delivery of the throwing spell armor that Noir and Alexia had developed.

　As expected of a knight's order that oversees military affairs, they responded quickly to the new weapon, and when they heard rumors of the battle in question, they immediately agreed to try it out.

　Our response was, 'I'll take it back to the store and discuss it with the person in charge for now.

　He didn't mean to say no to them in a roundabout way.
　Without consulting with the two of them, we really don't know if we can produce the amount of Golden Fang needed for the test within the time frame.

　It seemed that Gilbert had already anticipated that, and for today, this was the extent of the problem.

'One last important question I'd like to ask you,'

　Right after the conversation about the test delivery was over, Gilbert opened up a new topic without pause.

The other day, I heard that a search party led by A-ranked adventurer Travis had engaged an unknown enemy in the basement of the Demon King's Castle. Including the fact that you were part of that party.
''Did you still know: ...... Excuse me, if you were the head of the Golden Fang Knights, you deserved to be the first to report it.

　Gilbert's statement is an undeniable fact.

　The other day, I stepped into the labyrinth spreading underneath the Demon King's Castle in the form of cooperating with Travis.
　The purpose was not to participate in the search, but to repair the crumbling places that would hinder the search.

　Although he had successfully completed the 【Restoration】 and opened the buried passageway, what awaited him beyond was an unexpected enemy.

''A golem created by advanced technology. Wasn't it?
''Yes. It was an object that was far beyond the technology of the Demon King's Army. I believe the details are reported in the report: .......
''I'm receiving it. A large number of small golems resembling puppets must have fused together to become a giant. That's not what I'm asking.

　The reply was just as I had expected.
　Since the Golden Fang still has troops stationed in the Demon King's Castle to keep an eye on them, it is impossible that they are not aware of what happened in the basement, and it is also impossible that this has not been reported to the Commander.

You'll be able to have your honest opinion. I'd like to hear your own impressions. Do you think that this is the strength of the 'true enemy' that the Demon King mentioned?　And if so, how much do you think it's a force to be given credit for?
...... That's a tough question.

　Even if you are told that your impressions, or in other words, your impressions are fine as you feel them in your heart, it is something that you can't avoid thinking about.

　Whether or not it is the 'true enemy' of the Demon King's army - whether or not it is the weapon of an unidentified force that has eliminated even the Demon King's army, which boasted such an impressive battlefield strength.

　The idea that it is somehow like this has been there for a long time, but since the other party is the leader of the knight's corps, I can't help but think that I'm going to give it a basis.

''It's really my opinion, but I don't mind.
That's what I said. Let's hear it.
''That's probably what the Demon King calls 'the true enemy.' ...... I think so.

　Gilbert listens to me without changing his expression.

''As you may also know, I fought a puppet-type golem that carried advanced intelligence in the royal capital. I don't have any concrete evidence for this, but I felt that the one I engaged in underground ...... was a mass-produced model that limited that thing's performance.

　It's really an intuitive impression with no basis.

　Even though it is possible to read the physical shape of the doll through 【Analysis】, without knowledge of golems and dolls, it is impossible to compare them and judge how much they resemble each other.

　It's like looking at two paintings and judging whether or not the author is the same, a feat that is impossible for experts or even amateurs to accomplish.

　...... Perhaps, if you did your best to do an [analysis], you might have found something, but since the remnants of the Night Ripper, which is the key comparison object, are stored in the royal capital, it is also impossible to reexamine them now.

　So this is just my opinion.
　In the first place, even if I don't have to do an [analysis], I'm sure that a superior expert will analyze the recovered remnants of both of them to determine if their manufacturing techniques are the same or not.

''The Demon King had unearthed a large number of golems and modified them to use them as a fighting force, but he said that those were only for ground attacks. I don't know if it's true or not, but it's not good against the 'true enemy' or something like that: ......
''So the 'true enemy' could excel in golem technology, that's a possibility. That's a possibility we're considering as well.

　Gilbert preemptively put into words what I was about to say.

'Yes, sir. The reason why the golem troops are useless is simply because the other side is better than us ...... and that would naturally explain it.
That's why they didn't turn their specially modified golem squad to a grudge enemy, but instead switched to a completely different approach of fusing humans and dragons, and dismissed the golem as a ground invasion for the purpose of collecting materials. To us, this is a terrible inconvenience.
...... Yeah. And both the Night Ripper (Night Ripper) and the underground golem were made with advanced technology, so it's too good to be a coincidence.

　The Demon King's army's golems and the remote control technology of the earthen forms clearly surpassed the human side.

　The 'true enemy' that seemed to surpass even that, the forces that sent the Night Ripper, and the forces that created the underground golem swarm - if all of these were unrelated, then the unknown forces with unconventional golem technology were individually There will be more than one of them.

　Rather than assuming multiple forces with substandard golem technology, it's simpler to assume that they are the same force.

''And as for the strength assessment of that pack of golems, if we assume that the Night Slasher (Night Ripper) is also their force, then I think they are like miscellaneous troops to match the numbers ...... so to speak in order to get things together.

　It may sound like praise for a serial killer, but the Night Ripper, who was disguised as Azure, a traveling entertainer, was truly a tremendous performer.

　Not only did it have the ability to fight, but it even had a personality that was comfortable masquerading as a human.

　Compared to that, that crowd of golems must be said to be a notch or two inferior.

''I don't know if they were developed to counter the magic of the Demon General Vestri, or if Vestri's magic was crafted to counter that one, but I think it's safe to say that their threat level as a fighting force is on par with the Vestri.
Very well. Proper analysis. It's as good as we could have hoped for.

　Gilbert nodded with satisfaction.

　His expression was still unchanged, but judging from his gestures, my response seemed to be as expected.

''Thank you. But there was no point in asking this kind of question, wasn't there ......?　Anything I can come up with, the Order will have already assumed it.
I didn't want to gain any new insight.

　After deftly putting away the documents at hand, Gilbert walked briskly up to me.

''New Knight Commander, I wanted to test the judgment of Luke of the White Wolf Forest. That's all there is to it. Because if your knights are based in this town, the official duties entrusted to them will probably be related to the Demon King's Army - or the 'true enemy'.