At night, I leveled up with Kayo and her sisters for the first time in a while. I didn't level up anything though, it's sad that I haven't been able to level up lately. I also ran into Kaito's guy in town. He looked at me and smirked at me. He wasn't looking at Lily and the others, and I thought he was partying with a pretty girl, but apparently not.

And I had been called out by Ruin and the others, which was unusual.

'Is this the first time you've been called out?'

'Yes. However, I didn't call Mr. Tact out for the sake of it either.

What do you mean?

Frankly, I'm getting invitations from the conquerors to come over to your boss, Mr. Tact.

Wow. We're going to fight that guy...I don't think we can win.

''I heard it's going to be 30 people this time, but it's actually been discussed on the board for a while now. So this is an official request.

That's not very crisp. I mean, 30 people?

I don't know what you mean by a 30-man attack?

Thirty is the maximum number of people the Legion can put together. ...But, you know, there's more to this story than meets the eye...

So Crow takes over.

'You've been getting a lot of resentment from the other players about the little girl... and you didn't put it out there for a target, so there's nothing you can do about it.

Well, you can't recreate a character, so of course something like that will come up.

'And this is after the last tamer one... so from our point of view, we're suspicious that there's a backstory.

I'm sure the timing seems odd... but that's not the point.

'Can you say no?　Mr. Lewin and the others were commissioned, weren't they?

'Yes. Since the mid-boss fight revealed a connection between us and Tact-kun... I've been formally requested to do so.

Looking at it this way, it sure looks fishy...I feel like he's making a preemptive move to make sure I don't say no.

"...Okay. I'll take it.

Is it okay?　It could be dangerous.

It's a fact that the level is no longer rising. Even if it's a trap, I'll do what I can to help.

I said that and decided to log out for the day. Tomorrow, Sunday is going to be rough.


Then on Sunday, I logged in, but I have time to spare, so I go ahead and summon the magic stone. Then I failed. It's the first time I've failed, but it's too bad luck to fail today.

I leave my money and valuables with the guild and fill up my inventory with stones. It's fine if it's my imagination, but I have a bad feeling about this.

It's a good thing that you're able to get a great deal more out of it than you might think, because it's the same way Ruin and his friends told me to, but a bad premonition is a bad feeling because there's a fear of it happening. I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say. I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going to happen at the upcoming meeting with the attack group.

And after explaining the situation to Lily and the others, I told them to return to the summoning stone.

'No!'
No.
I'm afraid not.

Well, I had an inkling that this was going to happen. Now, what did I persuade them to do?

'If we're going to be fighting a lot of strong people, we should be there.

'Yes!　Bad people are spanked by Lily!

I'll tell you how sinful it is to mess with Mr. Tact.

They're too tough. These kids are... but they're gonna have to be convinced.

You know what?　I acknowledge that Lily and her friends are strong. But it's not just people with swords that we'll be dealing with from now on. Of course there will be wizards and archers, too. I don't want to send you guys to such a battlefield. Please understand.

Mr. Tact doesn't want to see us get hurt, does he?

I nod at Aeon's question. Then Aeon answers.

'So do we. We can't just sit back and wait for Takuto-san to fall down.'

That's what Aeon tells me back. Well, you can't stop me now, can you?

You know what? Aeon.

I will never pull it off. Even if we lose, even if we don't stand a chance, I won't be beaten for free by people who do that!

He's stubborn in a weird way. This kid.....

Yeah, he's...　I'll take down as many as I can!

We'll show you how strong we are.

Huh, I can't convince you. I don't know if I'm the only one who can think of who this... who this looks like... or if I'm the only one who can think of one.

'All right. But not Setia.

'What?　Why?!

Setia is angry, but of course she has her reasons.

'The wizard is a good target this time. If you try to chant a spell, a bow and arrow attack will end it. I can't give you permission to take a child who you know will die if you can't do anything about it as Lord.

Uh...

Setia calls for Lily and Aeon to cover her, but it would be impossible to argue with her.

''...I understand. I'll take Tact-sama's feelings into account this time.

Good girl.

I stroke Setia's head and she smiles pleasantly. Lily and Aeon see this and make a noise.

'Ah!　Only little Setia is unfair!

I demand it of us!

When I saw that, it hit me.

'If you're going to listen to me and turn back to stone, I'll pat you down.

Hearing this, Lily and Ion's reaction changes.

'Huh!　Um, then.

'No!　Lilly!　You can't lose!

But, Aeon...

'Ugh!　Mr. Takut!　That attack is not fair!

For some reason, I was pissed off. Is it really that good? This?


So in the evening, I finish dinner and bath early and log into the game. Then, taking only Lily and Aeon with me, I met up with Ruin and the others and headed to the grassland where we started. There was a group of players.

''Welcome. To all of the first mid-boss defeating party, I'm Arthur, the leader of this boss defeating party.

My King Arthur in the first person is a new one. And he looks dumb. He's one of the first players I've ever met in a game that I don't want to be associated with.

I've been given a request, though. It's about you, the summoner.

Wow, they approached me. It sucks.

"...what is it?

Do you look at the board?

I didn't see him at all?

'Well... then this is all I can tell you. Release all your summoner data.

Huh? What are you talking about? This one.

May I have a word?

'You are not allowed to speak. Gawain, Lancelot.

The two swordsmen thrust their swords at Lewin-san and Crow-san.

''I'm sorry, but please don't interfere.

You're going to be upstaged by this.

If a real Knight of the Round Table saw this scene, he would despair. No, would he be executed for defiling the name of the Round Table? It wouldn't make a good impression anyway.

'In case you're wondering, the player I partied with should have released the information?

Did you find any information about these women in it?

I've given you permission to release as much information as your name.

What's the point?

Which is not what you're talking about.

"We demand that you release all information.

I'm afraid not.

I'm a generous person, so I'll just listen to you for a reason.

A really generous person wouldn't say that to himself.

'So all of you who have made that request of yourselves are releasing all of your information to the public?　It's about status, skills acquired, weapons acquired, etc.

'You don't think I'm supposed to be releasing such important information?　You're an idiot.

I'm not going to play down anymore. It's the first time I've met you, so I've played it down, but I don't feel as if I need to play it down to someone who calls people stupid.

'You're the idiot. You're the idiot, and I'm the only one who's willing to disclose information when you guys aren't, and that's not even close to the point of the story. I'm sorry, but the conversation ends here. I'm the one who's supposed to be here with the call to take down the boss. If this is the kind of nonsense you want to talk about, I'm going to have to leave right now.

Well... then the evil must be destroyed.

The man who calls himself Arthur draws his sword, and the other guys around me hold their weapons at the ready. Seeing this, Lily and Ion stand in front of me.

'Will you please step aside?　You guys.

I'm not going anywhere!

Mr. Tact will not be laid a finger on you.

Oh dear. Looks like you guys are tainted with evil too.

What is this guy talking about now? I don't care if you think I'm evil... I know I'm not a good person. But I'm not going to let you characterize them as evil.

"I'll have to teach you about justice. Why don't we purge you first?

So you're saying you're going to play Lily and her friends?

Tact...

I can't let him win.

I gave my permission before the strong will of Lily and the others.

Duel.
Opponent: Arthur, Lily & Ion
Victory condition: no combat
Referee: None.