After parting with the adventurers at the guild, Val heads to a tavern.
　It's a place for the masses, serving decent liquor and decent food at cheap prices.

'Oh, welcome!'

　A young, beautiful sign girl greets him with a smile.
　He comes in from time to time and runs into her, but she doesn't seem to remember his face.
　A number of men have come by, and Val, who she can only assume is an old man who doesn't even look like an old man, is like a backdrop to her daily life.
　You will not even be aware of the individual unless something special happens.
　As for Val, that was fine with him.
　He takes a seat in an empty seat for two and asks for a cup of cold tea and some snacks.
　A middle-aged man, equally gruff, came in and asked him, "Can I join you?

'Do you mind if I sit with you?

Yeah, go ahead.

　It was as if the two had met by chance, but Val was waiting for him and he had come to meet him.
　They ate in silence as the nibbles the middle-aged man had ordered arrived.

'What do you think, these days?'

'There's a young guy with quite a bit of momentum. It's a bit risky, but thanks to the stoppers, it's not too badly balanced.

　Val replied with an assessment of the youth party that had hired him as a luggage carrier.

'Hmm?　Does it have a promising future?

It would be nice to have one more person in charge of brain work and one more person who can recover and scout.

　The middle-aged man ponders something.
　He is, as a matter of fact, a member of the chief's entourage that unites the Adventurer's Guild, a man who has been specially informed of Val.
　The current head of the guild is very famous and his face is well known, so on these occasions he is sent a tight-lipped, faceless being like him.

''You do appreciate it, don't you?

Yes. If stretched correctly, you'll see three lines.

That's it: ......

　The middle-aged man rolled his blue eyes at Bal's statement.
　The three lines was an expression that implied third level adventurers, and third level adventurers were quite capable people.

''If you say so much, then their reputation must be revised.''

　It turns out that the guild apparently didn't give it that much credit.

(Admittedly, the attitude wasn't exactly complimentary.)

　And Val looks back with a wry smile.
　He doesn't mind it one bit, but it would be a big demerit for those who do care.
　The middle-aged man is aware of this, and thinks to himself, 'That's an assessment from Master Bartolomeus who doesn't care.

'And now, regarding the fire the other day, do you know anything about it?'

　The man asked Val.

(About the demons appearing in various places.)

　Val has an idea.
　The Adventurer's Guild had their hands full, but he could understand why they thought he might have information that they couldn't know.

''We're still investigating. I've even heard the opinion that maybe it happened elsewhere and the fire spread.''

　The middle-aged man's expression hardens as he hears his words.
　This is because he realizes that he has been suggested two possibilities: either a conspiracy by another country, or another country is being targeted and the Empire is on the hook.
　Whether another country is targeting the Empire or another country is being targeted, it can't be an ordinary conspiracy.

We will make every effort to let you know if we know anything. Take care of yourself.

Yes, thank you.

　The middle-aged man thanked him and stood up.
　No one is listening to the content of their conversation.
　Their voices are drowned out by the loud exchanges going on here and there.
　Unless they were trying to eavesdrop, it would be impossible to do so without Val noticing.
　After assessing the young adventurer and telling him about the massive demon outbreak, Bal returned to his home.
　No one would even imagine that he would be doing such a thing, it was a commonplace routine.