Sophie is approached by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Baucis Empire.

Minister. Well, I'm the princess of Rosenheim with a claim to the throne. I'm sure the Baukis empire has information about your hotel stay. I'm sure they have the magic ship's boarding record as well.

　Allen wonders if the Minister of Foreign Affairs didn't arrive suddenly.
　I've already given him the schedule for the trip to the Bauchis Empire when I was in Latash.
　I think it's just as well that Aren and the others have many things to talk about.

We'll talk in the other room. Duly noted. Please wait while I wait for my friend.

　Having said that, I'll wait for the slowest keel today.
　Allen is sleeping in the men's room with Dogora, Keel and Formal, but he won't wake you up just because you're awake earlier than everyone else.

　To achieve maximum efficiency, sleep and food are most important.

Thank you for responding on such short notice. Now let's get ready to eat.

　The Foreign Minister then gazes at the dwarves in the back.
　Soon after, Keel arrived and went to eat.

　I was led to the dining room, which is quite large.

It's a very rich country. What about the Ghiamut Empire?

　The gleaming dining room is conspicuous by its jeweled and gilded decorations.

　Allen described it as "nascent gold".

　I wonder if the same is true of the Empire's Ghiamut Empire as well.
　The Foreign Minister and Sophie face each other at a plush table.

"May I offer you something to drink?

"No.

(No way I'm drinking in the morning.)

　The "what to drink" at this time is that what to drink is what to drink.
　Sophie refused a drink from the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I wonder. Sophie doesn't drink anymore. (She doesn't eat dragon meat, and she's eating less and less.

　Since Allen does not drink any alcohol, Sophie does not drink anymore either.

　Also, elves don't seem to eat hexenbiest meat.
　I've heard this since I was at school, but they eat the meat of wild animals, but not hexenbiest. This area is different from humans.
　That's why only Sophie and Formal did not eat white dragon meat.

　That's why the hexenbiest army that attacked Rosenheim and the Central Continent are said to be organized differently. Demonic beasts that are eaten by humans don't attack the central continent so much.

　It is said that this is because the Demon King's army is trying to avoid having the fallen monsters used as food.
　Thanks to this, the boar meat in the settlement village is a valuable food on the battlefield.
　On the contrary, in Rosenheim, the human hexenbiests are also attacked because they have no fear of being turned into food.

　Allen does not drink alcohol because of his memory of a previous life when he hated misjudging games and falling asleep due to alcohol.

　His refusal to drink alcohol is partly due to his magic recovery ring.
　Thanks to the effect of the magic recovery ring, which restores 1% of your magic power every second, you are constantly recovering your magic power.
　To avoid wasting even one second, your magic power is basically being consumed continuously.
　Allen thinks that if you get drunk and accidentally fall asleep, you'll waste several hours of magic.

　It's breakfast and it's brought in from the soup.

(Seriously, it's a course meal in the morning? It's going to take a while, huh? Well, since the Minister of Foreign Affairs is here, I'll give him what he wants.

My name is Nukakai, and I am the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Thank you for coming. My name is Sophia Lorne. And these are my colleagues.

　Sophie introduces me to Allen and the others as her friends. He does not say their names one by one, but he sits down and bows his head lightly in greeting.

　Allen doesn't call himself Rosenheim's chief strategist.
　As you will find out when you look into it, Allen believes that when you know you have the power, that's when things get messy.

Let me first thank you. Thank you for providing me with such a valuable elven elixir.

　Foreign Minister Nukakai thanked him.
　Thanks to the large amount of elven elixir provided by Rosenheim, the casualties were the lowest ever, despite the unprecedented size of the demon king's army's invasion.

''No, no. I didn't provide them directly to the Baukis Empire?

　The Baukis Empire has already officially thanked Rosenheim for providing the elven elixir.
　But it was only given to my colleague Merle.

Indeed, it was purchased as a favor from Merle, my Imperial Lord.

(Looks like Merle was born a commoner. I don't think I can say no to the Baucis Empire when they ask me to give it to them. Wasn't that too much to ask for?

　Merle is a commoner's son, not a nobleman's son.

　Allen thinks that if you took him away by force, it would change the way you handle him in the future.
　The academy seems to have responded appropriately to Merle, who lived in a stronghold with the princess of Rosenheim.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on.

　The one I gave Merle was the magical seed.
　You have been thanked for it, but it's much less effective than the Heavenly Blessing you offered to the Giumut Empire.

　This magic seed, which requires five D-ranked magic stones, restores 1,000 times the magic power of your friends within a 50-meter radius of the target.

　The 'Heaven's Blessing' that requires five B-ranked magic stones restores all of the health and magic of your friends within a 100-meter radius of the target and restores their body defects.

I see. I'm glad to hear that the Baukis Empire is not damaged too badly. So, I want to talk to you about the future?



　There's no point in talking about how the magic seed was used, so I'll change the subject to a future story.

　All this time Sophie is dealing with Foreign Minister Nukakai.

Yes, I am here to talk about that as well. What do you want to try the S-class dungeon in the temple of Yanpani?

Yes, I would like to try it with my friends. Is it possible to try to conquer a dungeon here?

　Sophie shows Foreign Minister Nukakai the "S-class dungeon invitation" that she received from a cube-shaped object called the "S-class dungeon control system".

　The Temple of Yanpani is the place where the dwarves of the Baucis Empire worship their dungeon master, Dighragni.

　I already asked you to let me capture the temple, but when the Minister of Foreign Affairs arrived, I asked again, "Indeed, you are invited.

Indeed, that's the right invitation. I have no reason to refuse the challenger invited by Lord Digrigni.

(Oh, you'll let me try normally?)

　The dwarves of the Baucis Empire seem to think that the invitation given to a cube-shaped object in a Class A dungeon is the will of Digrigny.

Thank you for your cooperation.

　Sophie refused to drink, so Nukakai, as expected of a tea, took a sip from his teacup and sipped thoughtfully.

　He seems to be choosing his words.

However, we should be pleased to see the challenger to the S-class dungeon. We would be delighted, but it's not a place for someone in your position to challenge us.

"Huh?　What does that mean?

"Half of the challengers in S-class dungeons die within a year. It's a very dangerous place.

(Ho ho ho?)

　Those words made Allen's companions tense and stiffen.

　Being able to challenge an S-class dungeon means that you have conquered five A-class dungeons.
　Fierce fighters from countries around the world have won the right to challenge S-class dungeons, but half of them have died before they could wait a year.

I know it's a dangerous place. I know it's a dangerous place, but I believe the challenge is inevitable if we are to fight the Demon King's Army.

It's true that there are many things that can only be found in S-class dungeons. I'll explain what the Empire's response is to the dungeons.

　With that said, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nukakai gives us a brief explanation of the challenge of S-class dungeons.

　For the challenge of S-class dungeons, the Baukis Empire also issues a bill of rights.
　However, it is valid for one year and must be renewed the following month after it expires.

　If you don't renew it and don't use public transportation such as a magic ship, you will be notified of your death six months after it expires and it will go to each country.
　In this case, the notification of death will go to Rosenheim.
　The reason for this is that it is often difficult to confirm the deaths of challengers during the capture of S-class dungeons.

......

　Sophie listens in silence.
　The reason why the Minister of Foreign Affairs would say something so clearly to a princess from another country to discourage her from challenging him is because so many of them will die.

(If even one of them is alive, you don't have to wait half a year to find out how many people died in the dungeon to confirm that they died.

　Allen thinks that when a member of a dungeon capture party dies, it's probably more likely that the party will be wiped out.

That's it. If you want to hear more about the S-class dungeon Tower of Trials, you can ask the priest serving Master Digrigny in the temple.

Thank you . By the way, how about our friend?　I told you that I wanted to capture it with you?

...... right.

　Foreign Minister Nukakai, who had been speaking so fluently, minced no words.

Did something happen to Mr. Merle?

　I heard that the Baukis Empire won the battle against the Demon King's army.
　But we didn't hear if Merle was safe.

　All eyes are on Foreign Minister Nukakai to see if anything is wrong with Merle.

"No, of course. Our Merle is safe. He served in the war. We graduated Merle because we decided it was okay to let him graduate from our academy. But His Majesty is concerned for Merle's precious talent.

　Foreign Minister Nukakai says that His Majesty is reluctant to let Merle, who has the precious "Demon Rock General" talent, go to a dangerous S-class dungeon.

　And even in the entire Baukis Empire, there aren't many dwarves with the talent of "General Demon Rock".
　It's a rare profession, one in ten million.

So it's a tough job?

No, no. So the Baucis Empire would like to get something in return.

(Huh? Hmm?　(Maybe that's what you meant when you said dungeons were so dangerous?

　Negotiations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who called himself Nukakai, were to continue.