...... Now that we've satisfied our hunger, it's time to get down to business.

　In the end, I ended up finishing my meal, literally filling my hunger just to satisfy my hunger, without having time to enjoy the taste of the food.

　It wasn't that I couldn't taste it, but both Garnett next to me and Theodore across from me were behaving with perfect table manners, and I felt a strange pressure just to be there.

　The restaurant employees lowered their plates, put down their number of after-dinner drinks (dessert wine) and left.

'This is the perfect place to have a private conversation. I'd say about 10% of the customers come here to talk about things they don't want anyone else to hear.

　Then Theodore, with the same relaxed tone of voice he used when making small talk, cut to the chase that brought us here.

Our next enemy is Agat Ram, who hides in the third level of the Ark of the Elements. The dwarf demon king Ivaldi has created with his technological prowess, dolls that contain the souls of the ancients. By all accounts, they are the most formidable enemies ever.

　We'll start with a refresher on the information we're naturally aware of as well.

　This is just a prelude to opening up an important agenda, and Theodore didn't want to delve too deeply into it, but moved the conversation to the next level.

'Naturally, we need to be suitably prepared to take on the third level. We need weapons. We need armor. We need magic tools. We are currently waiting for the information from the Demon King's army and instructions from the royal palace, but as soon as we have a plan in place, we must be ready to go.
''I understand. I'm going to do my best to help you not only as the White Wolf Knights, but also as a weapons store ...... White Wolf Store.

　Perhaps the next battle will not be confined to accidental battles during dungeon exploration, but will be the largest battle since the Demon King's War.

　Whether or not the Golden Fang Knights and other knights will be deployed in that battle, and to what extent they will accept a joint battle with the Demon King's army on the front lines...... There are many things that need to be decided by the royal palace.

　It's not a metaphor, but my stomach would twist and die if I were asked to decide on the authority of the White Wolf Knights (me and my friends).

　This is the only thing that needs to be thrown to the highest authority in the kingdom.

　Then, once the plans for the battle against Agart Ram are solidified, it will finally be my turn.

　As a shopkeeper, I'm responsible for developing and manufacturing weapons and armor that meet the required performance.

　As the head of the knight's guild, I'll be the intermediary between the adventurer's guild branches and the adventurer parties participating in the mission.

　Currently, he was awaiting the royal court's decision, so he could rest and relax for the rest of the day, but it was certain that he would be busy again in the not too distant future.

'Thanks, I'm counting on it. By the way, ...... I understand that so far you guys have had two separate engagements with Agart Ram's puppets.
...... Yes. The first time was with the Night Ripper (Night Ripper) who was engaged in a series of murders in the King's City and ...... the second time with a group of puppets led by Agart Ram executive Hadary who attacked a neutral city (Athropolis) on the second level... ...
'Yes, it is indeed encouraging. I should say it's a blessing in disguise that the makers of weapons and armor have more experience in combat with virtual enemies than anyone else.

　Theodore leaned his weight on the back of the chair and then lowered his voice (tone) a notch and took over the words.

'I'll take a guess based on the fighting abilities of the puppets we've fought so far. I would like to hear your own predictions about the strength of the Agart Ram that we will be engaging in the third level.
...... That means, imagine the fighting ability of a puppet on the third level.

　A silent nod of the head was returned to confirm the question.

　I put my hand over my mouth and pulled out my past memories and let my thoughts wander.

　First of all, the Night Ripper, but that doll that replaced Azure and the others as traveling entertainers has the fighting skills and physical abilities to hunt down even Garnett in frontal combat - I don't know if I can call that a body. --I was proud of it.

　However, according to Demon General Norzuri, that was only a lightly armed version of the infiltration specialization.

　If you think about it, it's understandable.

　As long as you disguise yourself as a human and hide in the capital of the human kingdom, you have to be careful not to give even the slightest discomfort, and it's hard to use complicated tools because it's hard to get backup from your allies.

　And most importantly, the weapon had to be a weapon of commonplace construction due to the necessity of disguising it as a human killer on the ground.

...... First of all, the Night Ripper had a mithril blade inside his body and was committed to fighting by wielding it with exceptional athleticism. ......

　So what are these lightly armed, infiltration-specific dolls?

　They were also forced to hide out in a neutral city (Asropolis), but the difficulty of hiding must have been much lower than that of the Night Ripper.

　I was able to secure the cooperation of Algernon, a flesh-and-blood human, and keep him holed up in a human settlement while using him as a contact point for disguise operations.

　As a result, the puppets hiding in the neutral city (Asropolis) possessed a performance beyond that of the Night Slasher (Night Ripper).

...... Next, the dolls in the neutral city (Athropolis) had incredibly advanced weapons built into them. It seemed that each individual was also equipped with its own unique armament, including a mechanism that emitted heat rays like a magical beast Skol .......

　So is the strength of the third tier, Agart Ram, also at this level?

　No - the answer is no.
　Probably they have a hidden power that surpasses that of the forces engaged in the neutral city (Asropolis).

　I've obtained enough evidence through Sakura to believe that.