A few hours before Lily reached the kingdom of Arabian.
　There, a conspiracy drama is about to begin unseen.

　Led by Shin, Kyou was cruising the desert.
　Shin and several of his bodyguards are on the convoy. Then there were Phytis, Jack, Locke, and others.
　Since the goal this time was to capture the demon, they were leading wagons, and while escorting Keogh, they were acquiring the demon's seeds, eggs, or materials.
　But after two or three hours of walking in the morning across the desert, the number of demons they were able to get was still very small. The number of demons they still managed to get was still in the single digits.

It's true that the number of demons is decreasing after all: ......

　Looking at the number of demons poured into the wagon, Kyou muttered to himself .
　All they had gotten from the search so far was a cactus ball and a killer scorpion, and the rest were low-ranked demons such as sand rat eggs, which are not particularly rare.
　But even those common monsters had decreased to the point where you had to spend a lot of time looking for them.

"There used to be cactus balls and other things that grew all over the desert, but now their numbers are quite small. Even for sand rats, if there was a hollow in the desert, that was their nest. ...... "The number of sand rats' nests has decreased dramatically now.

　I'm sure that Shin is also worried about the recent demon decrease.
　However, I'm not sure what the cause was, and when she had a gloomy look on her face, Kyou called out to her.

I'm sure you can't figure out the cause, right?　So let's focus on increasing it now.

　It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of it.

I'm sure you're right. I'm sure Kyou-san's new demon cultivation will be enough to increase the decreasing number of demons.

"Oh. So now can you move to the west for a bit?

"West?　Okay, but why again?

　Shin looks at Kyou's sudden proposal, but Kyou replies to her with a confident smile.

"A demon grower's hunch. I have a feeling there's a rare one over there.

　You'll be able to get a good idea of what you're looking for.

"I understand, if you say so, Kyou-san.

　So, following Kyou's suggestion, the group moves to the west.
　Eventually, as they walk for a while, they come across a place where some shriveled grass-like things are growing up from the ground.
　At this strange sight, Kyou, who was riding the wagon, gets out and approaches.

"Shin, what's this?　It's also a demon, right?

This is a desert jellyfish. This is a desert jellyfish.

"Desert Jellyfish?

　Kyou wonders about the answer from Shin.
　To him, Shin brings the sword in his hand close to the demon.
　Then the shriveled grass stretches out like a tentacle and grabs the sword.
　When he was sure it had grabbed him, Shin pulled the sword as hard as he could, and a jellyfish-like creature appeared from inside.

"Whoa!

　The dragged-out jellyfish lay on the ground with its legs, a grass-like thing, twitching.
　It was just like a jellyfish washed up on the ground.

Desert jellyfish use this grass as a tentacle, and when their prey gets close to them, they just snatch it up and eat it. But when you get them out of the sand like this, they're relatively easy to defeat with just a flurry of movement. Although their ranks are not very high, their body parts are very tasty and their plumpness is irresistible. According to recent studies, they contain substances called choraagens, which are reputed to be good for you.

　Kyou nodded at Shin, who was unusually eloquent in his explanation.
　There are many other desert jellyfish lurking in the area, and this seems to be their nest.

It's not every day you find a place with this many desert jellyfish. That's what I'm talking about!　Your hunch is clear. Let's take all these jellyfish home with us!

"Oh, yeah!　Then give me something like a stick to help me out.

"Of course I'll help you with that, brother.

"Pop!　I'll help you too!

　Following Kyou, the others, including Jack and Rock, agreed, and one by one they each held swords and sticks, and the moment they thrust them in front of the tentacles like Shin did earlier, the grass-like tentacles clung to them, and the next moment they began to launch them one after the other like a single line of fishing.

"By the way, ...... this takes a lot more power than I thought.

　When you thrust one up, you turn your shoulder at the unexpected weight.
　It was as it should be, about six inches of jellyfish lurking inside.
　It felt like it was carrying the weight of a small child.

"Pow!　Rock, I've got another one!

　Then he smiles and catches a bunch of desert jellyfish and piles them on top of each other.
　He said to Rock, "Well done!　That's my girl! Rock laughs happily in response, and again fishes one after another for desert jellyfish.
　Rock smiles happily and fishes for desert jellyfish again, one after another.

　Before long, all the surrounding desert jellyfish have been washed up, and they walk deeper and deeper into the water to find the remaining jellyfish.
　Then, as the members gathered here moved away from each other, it happened.

　The first person who noticed something unusual was Dora-chan, who was lurking in the pocket of Kyou's clothes.
　When she noticed something, she popped out of Kyou's pocket and hurriedly observed her surroundings.

"What is it, Dora-chan? Are you in such a hurry, is there something bothering you?

No, it's just that, well, you know, ...... smells a little dangerous. ......

"Danger?

　Was it because of their demonic instincts?
　Agreeing with that, Jack and Locke, who are also demons, noticed something and hurriedly shouted at Kyou.



"No, brother!　Don't go that way!　Beyond that, something's wrong!

"Pop!　There's something coming!

　It was at the same time that Jack and Locke shouted.
　An eerie, ear-shattering yell was heard.

　The panicked group turned their attention to the source of the voice.
　There, on top of a small dune, there was a demon towering against the sun.

　A demon with the body of a lion, wings of a bat, and countless poisonous needles at the end of its scorpion-like tail.
　It was so terrifying and intimidating that you could tell at first glance that it was a higher demon.

　However, the most deformed aspect of the monster was its face.
　It was not that of a beast, but a face that looked like an old man.
　The face was human and the body was a demon. Kyou, who was in front of him, froze as if he had been strangled, and Shin, who was in the back, shouted the name.

"Desert Demon Manticore?　No way, how did an A-ranked demon end up in this place?

　The demon, called Manticore, looks down from the top of the dune to see Kyou standing below.
　And then, just as it sets its sights on its target, it lands in front of you with the speed of a lion.

What?

　Panicked Kyou. At the same time, everyone else who was away at the same time rushes out at once, weapons in hand.

Kyou-san!
"Kyou-sama!
"Brother!　Don't move there!　Help now!
"Pop!

　Calling Kyou's name out loud, the group runs.
　But before that, the manticore caught Kyou's body with its tail and used the wings on its back to create a sandstorm.

"Ggh!
This is ......!
"I can't see anything!
"...... pa!

　The group managed to shake off the sandstorm that was brewing in front of them and moved closer to the place where Kyou and his friends had been.
　However, after the sandstorm stopped, there was nothing there, and they looked up to see the Manticore flying away with Kyou still in its sights.
　The group managed to follow it out of the corner of their eye, but it was so fast that they could only make out the direction, and Kyou disappeared, trapped by the manticore.

　This is what was told to Lily from Shin's mouth, and she deeply regretted not being there herself.