The building was not so magnificent for an organization called the Black Dog... ...that was trusted, feared, and favored by many in the slums.
　If anything, it would be better described as an ordinary building.
　Even in Gilm, a two-story building is by no means unusual, but a common occurrence.
　They also didn't seem to have any form of defense because it was a slum organization.
　However, Ray is not particularly a thief, so his ability to tell if there is a trap or not is not so high.
　Or, if there was a Bune here, we might have been able to distinguish some kind of trap.

"Grull?"

　Seto, who pulled the dragon lobe with a kuchibashi, asks if it's enough or not.
　Knowing what it means, Ray nods after a moment of contemplation.

"Well, I don't care."
"Grull".

　With a happy whistle, Seto returns from about 70cm to about 3m in size.
　Until we got here, we often took narrow streets, so we used resizing skills so we could go through such places.
　...though I've been walking quite a long time, and I've used my skills several times along the way.
　At first, he was surprised by Seto's skills, but now he doesn't seem to say anything in particular when he sees Seto getting used to it.
　Instead, we urge them to move on quickly.

"Here we go. We already know the Reys are coming. We can't keep them waiting too long."
"...do you know yet?"

　I question the man's words so much, and at the same time I agree.
　I thought I had taken a good detour until I came here, and I wonder if this was the reason.

(You didn't trust us completely... well, of course.)

　Ray is satisfied with the man's behavior without any particular complaints.
　That's because I thought that even if I were in a man's shoes, I'd do the same thing by announcing Ray's presence in advance.
　If this had been the usual partner -- whether or not it's normal for Black Dogs -- the man wouldn't have gone so far.
　But Ray, a notorious adventurer, has been devastating to some of the organizations behind the slums.
　Black dogs may well sense danger and prepare to welcome Ray.
　Anyway, Ray and Sett are led to the building by a man.
　Naturally, the building has a bodyguard.
　Ray was certain to have some strength.

(Well... well, if this is a black dog hideout, it's only natural to have a good guy ready. Besides, I knew I was coming.)

　Looking at the men, Ray thinks like that.
　... in fact, I was quite nervous that the men, let alone Ray, would face the notorious Ray.
　It's a sign that he's good enough as a bodyguard to hide it.

"Seto, wait here".
"Grull? ...Grull.

　Ray's words make Seto nod at once, though slightly disappointed.
　Given the size of his body, he probably thought it was inevitable.
　I was wondering if Ray would fit in with a resizing machine, but it's also true that I wanted him to be wary of the outside.
　That's what we need to be wary of about the current assassin incident.

(It may be hypnotic or brainwashing, or some other way of attack, but it could lead to the enemy taking a tricky approach... no, it's really a nuisance.)

　Ray doesn't know how he manipulated the man who said he would guide him to Black Dog's hideout.
　Or perhaps the enemy had originally pulled him in for some reason, which made Ray think even harder.

"Sett is outside, then. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ."
"All right,"

　When Ray says he'll leave Seto outside, the man who's led him to this point lightly talks to the man who's guarding the hideout and urges him to enter the building.
　Ray has no particular intention of opposing it, but simply walks into the building... and understands that at that moment a large number of eyes are directed at him.
　The building looked like a relatively large office, and many people there looked at Ray as he entered the building.
　Still, Ray was not immediately alarmed because there was no animosity in his gaze.
　Ray didn't react particularly well because the black dogs in the building were not hostile to him.
　Then a man with Ray approaches a person who was doing some work at a table in the building.
　He is in his 40s and 50s, and looks nothing like him.
　At first glance, he doesn't seem to be from behind the scenes.
　Given his feeble appearance, Ray may wonder if he really holds a certain position.
　But the man who brings Ray here speaks to him without hesitation.

"Kaonora, I brought Ray."
"What? Oh, thank you for your hard work. How was it? Didn't you act like someone attacked you?"
"Yes, don't worry about it. I've come all the way here choosing a place where I don't want to ambush."
"Well... Well, Mr. Ray, my name is Kaonora, the black dog."
"...are you the boss of the Black Dog?"
"No, no. No, that's not the case. I'm not going to do that, but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to be the liaison with the boss, because Black Dog is the organization he relies on, and he can't tell me all about it."
"Ah... well, I suppose so."

　Seeing so many people working makes it easy to understand that Black Dog is very busy.
　...and I came to him in the midst of this, so I was not sure what to say about it.

"And what Mr. Ray wants to know is about the assassins?"
"Oh, other than that, I've been feeling uncomfortable since I came to Gillum, but I want you to do something about what it really is. Magic items, skills, magic, etc.
"... I see. That's a little difficult. Let's ask the boss."
"Oh, that's right. This is it."

　That's what Ray says, and he takes out a letter from Mistilling... he hands over a letter written by Marina.
　When Kaonora receives the letter, she mutters a whimper at the name of the sender, Marina, on the envelope.
　After Marina went out of her way to write to him, she thought there was some kind of connection between Black Dog and Marina, but Ray agrees that there was something more to it than she had expected.

(Marina is a dark elf, living for a long time. Considering that, it could be one or two connections to the organizations behind her.)Given Marina's time in life, there was no doubt she had a better chance of doing so.
　When Marina finds out, she's scolded... but she's thinking about something that might be subtle, but soon Kaonora opens her mouth when she sees Ray.

"With this letter, I'm sure my boss will meet you. ... I just need to ask him, so please sit on the sofa and wait a moment."

　Say so, and Caonora walks away in front of Ray.

"Well, I'll be back soon, and I'll be going now."

　When Ray sits on the sofa, the man who guided him this far says so.
　For Ray, I can only thank the man who guided me this far.

"Well, I'm glad you showed me this far."
"Why, if you get raged by Ray in the slum, you'll get an unsophisticated damage. That's all I can do."

　Say so, wave lightly, and leave.
　It would be a lie to say that Ray has little to say that the slums will collapse, but if he's targeted for his life, Ray has to fight back.
　That would naturally cause damage to the surroundings.
　But there's a lot of weird things going on when the slums are going to collapse.
　At any rate, after a few minutes of his departure, Kaonora emerges from the door.

"Thank you for waiting, Mr. Ray. Come this way. The boss will see you."

　Then Kaonora takes me to the back room.
　As long as it's a two-story building, there are naturally two floors, and there's a little doubt among Ray that the boss might be there, but Kaonora guided him to another room.
　Then Ray walks into the room, wondering if the second floor is being used for something else.
　and the one who went into the room at the end of the road.

(E.L.F.? No, for an E.L.F., his ears are short. So, half an E.L.F.

　In the room was a sofa with a man who seemed to be a half-elf, and a sofa for three people facing each other.
　That was really the only thing in the room.
　If I had to give you something else, it was Marina's letter, which was read by a half-elf man.


"Why? Come in. You've got something to tell me, haven't you?"

　The half-elf man who looks up from the letter and calls out that way is in his thirties.
　Half-elves, however, live longer, if not as long as elves.
　Among the novels, comics, or games Ray read while he was in Japan, half-elves were set to be hated by both elves and people.
　However, there is no unconditional dislike of half-elves in this Elgin.
　Some areas are bitterly disliked, while others are treated kindly by both sides.
　In that sense, Ray had no idea what kind of childhood the half-elves had in front of him.
　But Ray doesn't change his attitude because of his partner's background.
　nod to the man's words and sit on the sofa for three.

"Well, Mr. Zorak. I'm going to leave now. I still have work to do."
"Oh, hang in there. But don't push yourself too hard. Don't forget to rest tight."

　Half an elf... After Zorak says, Kaonora nods and leaves the room.

"Are you surprised that such a fellow is in a high position among Black Dogs?"
"Well, I don't deny that. I thought... and I'm sure it was quite different from the back organization I knew."
"Most of the organizations you know are on the outskirts, aren't they? It's not very interesting to be with them... ...but Black Dogs are also on the outskirts, so they do things that they can't tell anyone."
"Did you meet Marina for that?"
"No, Marina was a long time ago. She helped me when I couldn't help myself."

　Zorak's words came as a little surprise to Ray.
　However, given Marina's caring personality, it seems to me to be quite convincing.

"Well, that's why Black Dog was in partnership with Marina."
"...let me tell you, I won't run the organization out of my own interest."

　Zorak says, looking sharply at Ray.
　Ray nods back to Zorak.
　After just a few words, Ray soon realized Zorak was smart.

"That will save me,"
"Hmm,"

　Ray's words make Zorak look somewhat uninteresting.
　To Zorak, Marina is not only a benefactor but also a mother...or sister.
　It's far from welcome for Zorak that Marina quit her guildmaster job and returned to being an adventurer because she wanted to be with the man in front of her.
　That said, Ray didn't force Marina to do so, but because it was her own decision, she wouldn't say it, even though she had something in front of her.
　...most of all, as the leader of the Black Dog organization, I really wanted a connection with Ray, who was nicknamed crimson.

"And? What I want is information. Is that all right?"

　Zorak would ask Ray so.