Green Hollow Town, a hot spring resort in the mountains, is still crowded with visitors and adventurers today.

　There was a time when the discovery of dungeons and the escalation of the Demon King's War reduced the number of visitors to the hot springs, and adventurers made up the majority of visitors, but the number of visitors seems to be recovering now.

　Just walking down the main street of the town, you can see a group of people who don't look like locals or adventurers, laughing happily as they pass by.

　Some are children, some are old people.
　They are not the kind of faces you would expect to see in an adventuring party.

　Tourists continue to recover as the number of adventurers continues to grow.

　Green Hollow Town is far more crowded than it was the first time I visited.

It's strange, though.

　Garnett, who is walking next to me, mutters in a low voice.

It's a good thing there are still some bad guys lurking in the depths of the dungeon, but the ground is getting more and more crowded. It's just a matter of time before you know what's going on.
That's the way it is. As long as they're being kept secret, they're only able to build up a track record of safety in the eyes of the public. They'll get more customers.

　I hid my voice just enough that the other passersby couldn't hear me and answered Garnett's overflowing frankness.

　The Demon Lord's War had ended earlier than expected, and since then the search had been going smoothly without any major incidents - ostensibly that's how it was supposed to be.

　It is not disclosed to the general public that the headquarters of the criminal organization Agart Ram existed, that they are the survivors of an ancient magical civilization, or that the decision was made to join forces with the Demon King Gandalf, who had escaped deep into the depths of the world to fight Agart Ram.

　Because of this, it is considered by the public to be one of the best front lines in the entire continent, but it is also considered by the public to be one of the cheapest places in the kingdom, having survived even the battle with the Demon King unscathed.

We can't tell the average tourist not to come to Green Hollow because we can't disclose the truth yet, and the people of Green Hollow will never be convinced. So it's too big a deal, and you're tied up with the means to hit the other way.
We can't do anything about it until we get to the bottom of what's really going on. ...... Haha, he's stuck in there.

　Garnett laughs jokingly.

　Of course, it doesn't mean that Garnett really thinks there's no way to beat me.

　It's just a prelude to getting my statement out.

'So we have to win. Before the people of Green Hollow realize what's at stake right under their noses, we have to settle with Agart Ram and make peace with the truth: ......, right?
You're absolutely right. It's not a problem as long as we win through the front door, even if there's no way out. Let's just let them get locked in the depths of the dungeon and be swept away.

　Garnett smiled fiercely and slammed his fist into his palm with a nimble sound.

　Even with his mother's avenger, Agart Ram, in front of him, Garnett didn't get any more impatient than necessary, and calmly aligned himself with his surroundings.

　Regardless of whether or not they can ultimately win, as long as the arrangements are being made for us to make the first move and launch an attack, there's no need to be in a special hurry.

　In the meantime, we've arrived at our familiar destination.

　--The Silver Winged Knights, Green Hollow Town Branch.

　The Silver Winged Knights, whose mission is to maintain security, has many bases throughout the continent, but this base is quite large in comparison to the size of the town.

　The reason for this would not need to be said again.

　Ostensibly, this is the result of a focused deployment of forces, ostensibly to guard against the Demon King's Army, and in reality, to guard against Agart Ram.

　As soon as the silver-winged knight noticed our arrival, he led us to the back of the branch as much as a face-pass.

''Hey, long time no see. Your exploits have always reached my ears.''
'Commander Carmine?　If you're here, let me know in advance and I'll be happy to help you out at .......

　What was waiting for us there was the Knight Commander of the Silver Wing Knights, Carmine Argentia himself.

　Dressed in rather rough clothes, the figure leaning against the wall across from the conference room for some reason makes it seem as if the town's playboy has accidentally wandered in.

　However, he is still a full-fledged Knight Commander.

　He is the current head of the prestigious Argentia family of knights.

It's not just about the fact that it's your brother, he's trying to surprise us, or he's here on vacation or something like that, right?
'Hahaha!　I don't have that much time on my hands, by the way.
It's what you think.
Well, there's no denying it. But in this case, it's a matter of official business. By the way, you can go to ......

　Carmine lightly brushed off Garnet's teasing complaint and now turned his gaze to me.

　To be more precise, he's staring at my right arm.

"...... It looks like your arm is still connected to the ...... arm. Do you like it surprisingly well?
Yeah, well.

　I grab my right prosthetic limb with my raw left arm and move the fingers of my artificial right hand.

　My right arm has been left to be replaced with a prosthetic hand that Noir and Alexia co-crafted since it was (therefore) cut off before.

　The arm itself has been preserved in perfect condition, so it was a(n)e(n)e(n) decision to leave it as a prosthetic limb.

The means by which the Demon King's Army kept my right arm in a perfect state ...... It seems that they haven't finished analyzing that area yet, and most embarrassingly, this one seems to be more battle-hardened than the one in the flesh, so...
I'll tell you more about the features later. And let me know what you think of it. A lot of retired knights are curious about the prosthetic limbs at the White Wolf Store.
'Of course. We'll talk about it at length after we've done our business today.
Thank you. Then let's make this quick.

　Carmine heaved his back away from the hallway wall and pushed open the heavy door of the conference room.

The joint strategy meeting of the Silverwing Knights and the White Wolf Knights regarding the operation to defeat Agart Ram. The defeating of them is a long-cherished desire for us as well. Let's discuss this carefully.