After a bit of hesitation, Sakura and Noir decided to dare to take Algernon up on his offer.

　It's hard to believe that he was ready to lure her into a trap, since he bent his access to the living quarters, which he kept refusing to enter, due to the unexpected occurrence of an encounter with Shiranui Kuranito's daughter.

　Besides, since they have a public (oyaa) position as trustees in spite of their bent, and yet the administration knows that they are here, there was no need to be overly cautious.

It's a shame that you invited these young ladies and you can't seem to serve them a good cup of tea, but think of it as just fulfilling the least amount of obligation and go along with them.

　While Algernon leads the way to the parlor, Sakura casually observes the inside of the walls.

　Not only are there the tree dwellings common in Athropolis, but there are also buildings lined with what appears to be small-scale warehouses made of wood as well as the outer walls.

　We also see men engaged in the hauling in of goods, who give us a warning look.

　It's not as if they are adapting to the not-so-warm climate of the second level, but everyone is wearing clothing that doesn't expose their skin, and they are even wearing thick work gloves.

　Because of this, we can't get proof that they are really humans and not demon disguises, but at least their faces can only be thought of as human.

　Furthermore, after entering the building, I continued to observe, but I didn't pass anyone else while walking down the corridor, much less any sign of Bran showing himself.

'Sorry it's so ready-made and modish,'

　As soon as they arrived in the reception room, Algernon poured the herbal tea from the pot into three cups and urged Sakura and Noir to take one each.

　After they selected their cups, Algernon drank the contents of the remaining one in one go, as if to show that there was no poison in it.

'...... a little, wait, give me ......'

　This time Noir thumped his fingers in several places around the cup Noir had placed on the table, creating a flow of magic power like a simple magic circle.

''It's okay ...... not suspicious, ......''
If you say so, Lord Noir.

　After a careful check, Sakura also sips her cup.

　Algernon chuckles at their vigilance and sits down in the chair across the table from them.

　Sakura was quick to broach the subject herself there.

　She felt that if she let this man set the pace of the conversation, she would be treated appropriately without being able to ask what she wanted to ask.

'I have seen my father's diary, which was left at the Duke of Kingswell's residence. According to it, you were able to control your father's rampaging descent. How in the world did you do it?
A diary?　...... Oh, yeah, you said something like 'I lost it somewhere and I'll have to look for it later'. You left it at my parents' house. So, that's ...... before you entered the last dungeon.
Can you tell me what it is?

　He asked again, not allowing himself to be derailed.

　Algernon showed a troubled face, thought for a while and then opened his mouth again.

I'm sorry, I can't say anything more than that it's an application of my skills. This is a confidential matter. It's also the basis of my activities. It's a good thing that I didn't tell Siranui himself how it works.
...... Okay, okay, I get it.

　Sakura decided to cut off any further pursuit.

　The questioning was unlikely to yield any results, and even if she was able to draw out the statement that it was an application of Algernon's own skills, she should take it as a harvest.

　Then, this time, Noir quickly poses the next question.

'Is ...... Blanc, has ...... always been ...... like that, like that, feel ......?'
"No, I didn't get that much ...... at the beginning, but what the hell, I wasn't cornered. It's a lot weaker mentally. It was only after the Demon King's Army showed up that he got worse.
'The Demon King's Army: ...... I knew it was .......'
'After that, you either won't try to get out of here, or you'll follow me out of town and try to leave town. Until then, I've been showing up to council meetings as a way of helping me out.

　There must have been some time lag between the time Bran disappeared into the void due to the runaway summoning magic and washed up in Athropolis and the arrival of the defeated Demon King's army.

　During that period of time, Bran's spirit was still calm, to the extent that he was recognized by the other council members as a person that Algernon had followed, but the appearance of the Demon King's army had completely changed the situation.

''From the looks of it, missy, you're Bran's sister or something, right?　As much as I'd love to bring him to you, he's in a situation like that: ......
Algernon!

　Suddenly, an angry voice sounded in the reception room, and the girl I had just encountered stepped in angrily as well.

''What do you mean by inviting an outsider in!
f*ck!　Sorry ladies, we're done for the day!

　In the form of being chased away by the panicked Algernon, Sakura and Noir were forced to run out of the living quarters without so much as a greeting.

　Apparently, in that place, a human relationship has been established that is unimaginable from the previous reputation of the council members who represent humans in Asropolis and the humans who are protected by them - a relationship that is unimaginable from the previous reputation.

　Sakura decided to look back at the clues gained by her accidental visit, while caring for Noir, who was breathing heavily due to her sudden run.

'And yet, it was a strangely lifeless building, wasn't it? For a large party-worthy number of people living there ...... it may simply have meticulous inhabitants and a thorough cleaning and organizing process.
"Ha, ha, ha, ...... residents, were not ...... as many as they were told, or... ...?
'I don't think the administrator would not have checked the head count first. You'd have to assume that they knew how many people there were and then assigned them a living quarters.

　So it is quite unlikely that the number of people who applied to the superintendent was itself false.

　The residents were indeed as many as applied for.
　But the living quarters seemed to have a sense of life - a thin air of human habitation.

'And that herbal tea we got. They said it was ready-made and ready to be made, but there was only one container big enough for two or three people. If there are a lot of people living together, it's only natural that there is a larger quantity of leftovers.
...... I mean, actually, I live somewhere else, ......?
If you're told that it was just a matter of clearing out empty containers from time to time, and that it was also before refilling the leftovers ...... ah!

　Sakura ruffled her black hair and looked up to the heavens.

'It's going in circles in my head, no matter how much I think about it. If it looks suspicious, it looks suspicious, and if it doesn't look suspicious, it looks natural....... A problem that can't be solved by wielding a sword is a complicated one, anyway.......!
"....and anyway, let's get back to ...... and let's get back to everyone else's... ...... and maybe we can get some feedback on a lot of things... ...
...... That's right. It's also known as the "people power" merit. It's much better than sitting here with your head in your hands.

　Originally, they had planned to just watch the situation from afar, but they were able to obtain a number of unexpected harvests.

　Sakura and Noir decided to head home for the time being, dismissing it as a sufficient contribution just to report them.