Later in the day, during business hours at the White Wolf Store.

　I left the storefront operations to Garnett and called out to Alexia, who was taking a break in the office and living room at the back of the store.

'Can I have a word, Alexia?'
Yes?　If you don't mind eating, I hope you don't mind.

　Alexia pretended to listen to me anyway, while taking a bite of the bread with ingredients that she brought in for lunch.

'You may have heard at least a rumor, but soon we're going to be taking on the third level of the Ark of the Elements.
'Wow ...... that rumor was true.

　In order to avoid leaking information to Agart Ram, the existence of the diversionary tactic is concealed as much as possible, but the situation is different when it comes to raiding from the second level to the third level.

　As long as the second level is the target of exploration by ordinary adventurers, it is undeniable that rumors will inevitably spread during the preparation stage.

　In fact, if one thought about it, the information that they were going to challenge the third level from a route that Agart Ram was aware of could be more advantageous if it was known to them.

　As long as the intrusion from this route was nothing more than a diversion, it could even be said that it would be more effective to successfully intercept them.

　Therefore, the policy for the raid from the second level was not to control information so strictly, but to leave the rumors that spread naturally untouched.

'I'm thinking of going on a site visit next week or so to inspect the raiding route, but there's a possibility that we'll have to build a large scale device, right?　So I'm hoping to get someone to go out there and take a look at the site and get their opinion.
Hmmm, so I was wondering if you could introduce me to a mechanic.

　Alexia took a bite of the filling bread, chewed it thoroughly and poured it down with the herbal tea, then opened her mouth as she picked up a second one.

'I'll go for it then. I'll have to fill in for the shop's employees, though.''
Are you sure?　Aren't you busy working as a craft engineer?
'I'd be lying if I said I wasn't busy, but our union isn't as dependent on the top management as Luke is. We can at least leave the day-to-day operations to other members.
'I know I should do something about ....... I also let Sophia handle a lot of things on the Knights' end.

　He accepts the sudden point with a chuckle.

　I've been thinking rather often that I could throw more various tasks to someone else, like throwing the branch office almost entirely to Natalia and the others, and I would be in a position to oversee them.

　However, as the saying goes, it's easier said than done, and I haven't been able to find the right opportunity to do so.

The rest is up to us, though. Most of our members are full-time technicians, and I'm the only one who works at the same time as an adventurer. Even though it's not that dangerous, I think it would be difficult to ride deep into the dungeon.
'Oh, ......, that's what I thought,'
If they haven't found it so far, I'm sure it's not too late to secure the route.

　What Alexia said was a natural statement for the leader of the craftworkers' union, but she also seemed to be having fun with it.

　It's different from the smile I had when I was having fun as a craft engineer and rejoicing in my success.

　But I know better than anyone else the period of time when Alexia had this kind of smile on her face more often than anyone else.

'You look like you're having fun. By any chance, are you looking forward to your first dungeon attack in a while?
Oh, you know what I mean?

　Alexia gives a brilliant smile and full affirmation.

　This guy is a rare fellow who works as both an adventurer and a mechanic, and he met me when he was working as an adventurer after leaving his master's side.

I started out thinking of it as a way to test out prototypes of equipment for practical use, or to investigate the demand in the field, or to help me with my work as a craft engineer. It was fun to explore, and when I continued to work in the engineering field, I started to miss dungeons.
Haha, I know something about that too.

　He pulled up a chair across from Alexia and sat down.

'In the beginning, the bitterness of wandering around the labyrinth was so hard to forget that I didn't even feel like hiding in the dungeons, but somehow I didn't even feel like it anymore ...... and now I'm just diving like it's normal for me to do my knightly duties and stuff.
But you don't plan to go back to being a full-time adventurer, do you?
'As expected. I've become too big a burden to turn back now. I can't abandon my position, at least not until I get Lord Rembrandt's approval or until I've defeated Agat Ram and won't have to.
Whew. Thanks for the food.

　Alexia let out a deliberately weird voice and fanning her face with her hands with a pat on the face with a strange expression that matched her voice.

　The reason I came to work as a Knight Commander was to get my father, Lord Rembrandt, to approve of my relationship with Garnett.

　He respected the old-fashioned values of marrying his own children to influential people to increase the power of the family, which is often treated as outdated even among the nobility these days, and he was unlikely to be able to change that.

　And Garnett was a Garnett too, needing the support of the Silverwing Knights and Sir Rembrandt to avenge his mother, and was in no position to refuse his father's request.

　That's why I was determined to rise to a position that Sir Rembrandt could satisfy by rising to the rank of Knight Commander myself.

''Looking back like this, both me and Luke-kun are a lot different from those days.
Oh, I don't need to tell you. I don't need to tell you that you were just trying to earn your master's respect in order to come over here, and now you're on your own and the head of the engineers' union. You're not the guy who got kicked out of the inn after the explosion.
'Mmm ...... don't tell that to the kids in the union. They'll definitely laugh at you.
'Even if I don't tell you, you'll find out someday, somewhere. Isn't your master in danger?

　Alexia glared at me resentfully as she sipped her herbal tea with a muffled face.

　Even though it was only for a short period of time, there was a harmonious air that reminded me of the days when we were both adventurers.

''Oi!　The white wolf!　There's a group of people here!　Get your ass back here!

　Garnett's loud voice flying from the store brought me and Alexia's mood back to the present as fast as we could.

　I exchanged a glance with Alexia and chuckled at each other and told her to rest properly until the break was over, then turned back to the store alone.