Then I somehow made my way out of the crowd and made my way to the Great Hall, where the administrator, Fraxinus, was waiting for me.

　The only two people accompanying me were Sakura and Garnett.
　It was necessary to let Noir rest because he had become sick from being rubbed by the crowd, and also because it became necessary to deal with the very few residents who were persistently biting back.

　As for the division, Hild is accompanying Noir, while the remaining three, Ezell, Eddie, and Lionel, are left to deal with the residents.

　As we stepped into the Great Capitol, a faint light leaked out from inside the innermost wall and the voice of Flaxinus came out of nowhere.

''Thank you. Thanks to you all, light has been restored to this land. On behalf of all the inhabitants of Athropolis, I thank you.''
...... As you may have already heard from Norzuri, the cause was that the demons were nestled in that place. The magic power that would normally be used to produce light was being taken away to regenerate the demon's body.

　He passed off the praise of the monthly phraseology and took out the medal-shaped artifact that was the core (core) of the demonic beast Skoll.

''Administrator Fraxinus. Do you recognize this one?
"It's ...... no way. ......
Norzuuri said that it was a magical beast, Skoll ...... that belonged to Fenrir, the great hexenbiest who once nearly destroyed the world. Perhaps you knew from the beginning that Skoll was the cause of this?

　A moment of silence ensues.

　Fraxinus, who doesn't have a physical body, can't read facial expressions even when confronted, and the only criterion for judging what he's thinking inside is the color of his voice.

　That's why I naturally focused my attention on my next statement.

''It would be a lie if I said I hadn't thought of the possibility. However, it was only based on the flimsy basis that Fenrir Wolves were herding in the area.''
That's why he didn't tell us.
'There are countless hypotheses of equal likelihood, and it was not practical to tell you all of them in advance: ...... Wouldn't you agree with this explanation?'

　It's an expected response.

　It's true that Fraxinus and Athropolis were troubled by the night that never dawned, so there's no way I wouldn't tell them in advance if I could narrow down the cause of the problem.

''So you knew of Fenrir and Skoll's existence.
"...... Yeah, there's no denying it.
'Norzli also said this. If you want to know what happened in the past regarding ancient magical civilizations, could you tell me at ...... that I can ask Fraxinus later?

　Considering the mission given to the White Wolf Knights, it doesn't matter much if Fraxinus sent us with the knowledge of Skoll's existence or not.

　Whether he knows about Fenrir, Skoll, and the ancient magical civilization.
　Whether or not we can get information about them.

　It's these points that we should be concerned about, and the exchange so far is also a prelude to this question, which is the real question.

'...... Of course I'll talk to you. Even though this is not the situation we intended, we cannot treat you guys as irrelevant since we have to fight Skoll.''
So long: ......!
But, please, I'd appreciate it if you could wait a few more minutes.

　The tone of Flaxinus's voice echoing in the Great Capitol was strangely calm and somehow laden with a pensive sound.

　It was as if he was reminiscing about a long time ago that had passed.

'For me, those times are also far in the past. Even if I were to tell you this here and now as I recall it, there is a risk that I would be providing incomplete information. I would like to recall the memories, recheck the data and provide you with orderly information.
...... Okay, all right, in that case. We'd like to have our experts present at the meeting.

　I decided to accept Fraxinus's suggestion for now and put away the medal-shaped artifacts.

　There's no need to be in a hurry since I've successfully made it this far.
　It's rather gratifying to have the accuracy of the information increased, or at least I'd like to hear it with Hild together.

　Then, as we were about to leave, Fraxinus' calm voice is thrown at our backs.

''Once again, my sincere thanks. The activities of the White Wolf Knights have undoubtedly opened up our future. Since neither humanity nor the demon race can live without light--''










Well, it was a bit of a mixed bag, but it's all worth it in the end. I got permission to stay with the adventurers and I'm getting information about an ancient civilization.

　On the way back from the Capitol, Garnett nodded with a hearty, satisfied smile.

''And I even got a meaningful artifact. Is this the kind of achievement an adventurer should feel?　That's the kind of thing you get addicted to, isn't it?
'It depends on where you get into it, though. Well, ...... is certainly one of the best parts of achieving these kinds of results.

　If it was me before, I would have been in a frenzy for sure.

　The reason I'm able to stay calm is not because I'm a mere adventurer, but because I'm in a position of responsibility in my own right.

　It's a good thing that you've got a good idea of what you're looking for.

　But I can assure you, without any hesitation at all, that I truly enjoy my current way of life.

''As well as the achievements, the way you stood in front of the administrator just now was truly magnificent. The title of Knight Commander is also completely on the board, and I was presumptuous to fall in love with him again.
Nunnai ......!　Hey Sakura, when did you get that ......!
'......?　Oh no, that was just an idiom. I would never throw powder on your sister's fiancée.

　Sakura looked blankly at Garnett, who reacted by eating bubbles, and immediately giggled when she realized that she had misunderstood.

　To Sakura, who didn't know the truth, Garnett was my prospective fiancée's twin brother, so she probably interpreted it as suspicion of a side affection because of that.

　In reality, it's a more direct misunderstanding, but Sakura should have no way of knowing that.

　...... Well, if I'm honest, I almost had the same misunderstanding and was about to raise my voice.

　I suppressed my inner turmoil and regained my composure as I turned to face them again.

It's true that the harvest was great, but the real work is yet to come. Both of you, take good care of each other.

　I look at Garnet and Sakura, who nodded and smiled at me in turn, and I couldn't help but smile too.

　I'm sure there will be many big challenges ahead of us.

　But if I'm with my friends, I'll be able to overcome any obstacle - I'm confident that I'll be able to do so from the depths of my heart.