'There you are, Luke. Do you mind if I talk to you for a moment?

　I looked back and saw Travis' thick chest plate, standing so close I couldn't see his face.

'What's that muscle? It must have gotten thick again after a while, right?
Look a little higher up. Do you think you'll see a face up there?

　First of all, we lightly exchange uncomfortable exchanges with each other.

　Because of his position as an A-rank, Travis is often treated in a manner that sets him apart from other adventurers, but to me, he's just a big, rotten guy with whom I've had a rotten relationship since my fledgling days.

　Travis also seemed to think this relationship was not a bad thing, and he often smiled at me in a way that he didn't show when he was dealing with other adventurers.

　Such was the case with Leila, who was staring blankly at Travis over the table.

　If he had merely offered to make small talk, I would have told him to deal with Layla rather than me, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about the information that was presented at the meeting just now. I'm sorry, but can I borrow Luke (this guy) for a while?

　Travis mouthed that over my head to the other three.

　It was a completely expected errand.
　This wasn't going to make Leila, or even Garnett, sit in the same room.

　While Garnett and Sophia nodded to each other to confirm their agreement, Leila shook her head as she vigorously stood up from her seat.

''Ha, yes!　Be my guest!
Why are you answering me?

　Garnett looks sideways with a dumbfounded face.

　I'm not sure if that statement really reaches Leila or not.

　But my response is the same as Leila's.

　As the leader of the White Wolf Knights, I couldn't refuse a nominal request like this from an A-ranked adventurer (Travis).

''Sorry, I'm going to go for a moment. When the food arrives, please eat first.

　I told the three of them that, and then Travis led me away from the public eye.

　The existence of an invasion operation against Agart Ram is highly classified information.

　For the time being, it is information that cannot be shared with ordinary adventurers, and discussing it in a crowded diner is out of the question.

　Travis brought me into a secluded area with few people and set up a B-ranked adventurer, who was also attending the meeting, on guard before he once again cut to the chase.

''Let's get straight to the point ....... It's about how to get from the second level to the third level.
I knew it. The first time I heard about it, I was surprised that I hadn't heard of it.

　At the time I was spoken to by Travis a while ago, I could roughly imagine what this guy was going to talk about.

　If there is a matter that we wanted to discuss in further detail at the meeting, it would definitely be the diversion plan from the second level and its execution route.

　As for the other parts, the ground side had also assumed some of the details, but these points were the only ones that only came from the Demon King's army's perspective.

"Between each level of the 'Ark of the Elements', there is something that can be called a labyrinth to a greater or lesser extent, and between the second and third levels there is a third labyrinth ......, but the routes that pass through the third labyrinth are all destroyed or concealed in order to prevent the Demon King's army from fighting back, And that's what you said.
Yeah, and Agart Ram is watching for signs of pathway re-opening, while at the same time not breaking or concealing the pathway, so that it can be intercepted.

　This in itself is just a reaffirmation of the meeting we just had.

　What Travis wants to confirm is further down the line.

It's true that the travel route proposed by the Demon King's Army was outside the scope of our expectations. I didn't expect them to use the 'flow of water' that leads to the third level. No matter how much we search for land, we shouldn't be able to find it.

　As the second level is described as a "hierarchy of water and greenery," it is covered with forests, rivers, and lakes as abundant as the forests on the ground.

　This water flows into the dungeon from above ground and outside the dungeon, and does not stay on the second level, but flows into the third level through various paths.

　This is a natural consequence.

　The second level is filled with an abundance of water, but if the water does not move somewhere else, it will be submerged and filled to the ceiling in an instant.

　And if you think about where these waters will escape to, it's bound to be the third labyrinth and the third level directly below.

Ah, the underground water that flows from the second level is a valuable source of water for the third level. The puppets may not need to drink the water, but the abundance of water is essential to maintain their advanced crafting technology. So the major waterways can't be sealed off even if we wanted to.

　Through my interactions with Alexia and the others, I've come to understand firsthand how much water is always needed for these artisans to process their materials.

　It cools heated materials, cleans parts that have been exposed to dust and contamination, and even powers large-scale processing equipment at low cost - it's fair to say that without abundant water resources, elaborate craftsmanship would not prosper.

　In fact, even in the multi-story city of Springfield, the home of finesse, the pumps and drains that distribute water throughout the entire multi-story city are said to have been installed at considerable cost.

'The canal cannot be blocked because of circumstances on the Agart Ram side. "We can't block the waterways because of the situation on Agart Ram's side, and the large scale waterways that bring in large amounts of water are a good route for us to send our forces through the waterways," he said. This area is exactly what we said in our meeting earlier.
Yeah, but do you have a means of transportation to get there and back on the waterways?　A diversionary unit is a one-way ticket to a war-death premise mission: ......
I'll be fine. I know a good guess on that one.

　The one knight that came to mind was a knight who belonged to the White Wolf Knights.

　He was a man who had skills that were closely related to the water, but was smoldering without a turnout.