After leaving the guild, Allen was walking a little faster than he had been accustomed to for the past ten days or so.
　Today was a little slower than usual.

　It's not because of the usual conversations in the guild.
　It was entirely on Allen, in essence, because he had stretched his legs a little too far.
　That's exactly why I was attacked by that thing, so it's all pretty much a kick in the pants.

But for now, let's get back to it before we worry about anything else. ...... I don't think they're worried about you, though.

　I feel like I had a tendency to do that a little bit, but nowadays I feel like people think I'm okay no matter what.
　Although I don't want to worry about them, I feel a little disappointed when they don't worry about me.

　I smiled selfishly and widened my stride a bit more.
　Your destination, the inn, was just around the corner.

　At first glance, this city may not look much different from other cities, but on closer inspection, you'll notice that it's different in many ways.
　One of them is the location of the Adventurer's Guild.

　While adventurers are not that bad, thanks to the efforts of some of the upper echelons, they basically have a bad image.
　As a matter of fact, it is often the roughnecks who become the guild's members, and this image inevitably follows them, and it is even worse for those who do not feel the benefits of the guild.
　In the capital, the adventurers' guild says that this is the reason why adventurers have a narrow shoulders, and that is why Beatrice is respected by the adventurers' guild ...... and that is why adventurers' guilds are usually not found on the main street It is.

　But the city, on the whole, was prone to feeling the benefits of adventurers.
　The Adventurer's Guild is located on the main street and seems to have been reasonably well received by its residents.

　Concomitantly, the position of the nearby inns has also changed.
　Lodges close to the adventurer's guild are less welcoming and fewer people stay ...... or, more often than not, in anticipation of this, the inns are not built.
　It is also about the image of the adventurer, in short, who wants to stay near a place where there are lots of rogues and rogues coming and going.

　But in this city, it doesn't matter if it's near an adventurer's guild or not, there is an inn, and as the inn is located on the main street, it's suitably luxurious in appearance and interior, and the cost of accommodation is reasonable.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for and what you're looking for.

　It's not sarcasm or anything, it's just a fact.
　Although I thought he would buy the dragon scales for a high price, the amount was a bit unexpected.

　The guild will buy materials from you, but it is much cheaper than if you were to sell them elsewhere.
　It's not that I'm just watching your step, it's just that as long as you're an intermediary, there's a certain amount of work involved.
　You're going to be able to find out the quality of the materials as well as the authenticity of the materials, so the purchase price will inevitably be lower if you consider that there is a lot to do.

　Still, the reason why Aren chose to sell it to the guild is because he didn't think it would be a hassle to sell his dragon scales elsewhere.
　Even selling to the guild would have gotten him into trouble.
　If I had tried to sell them elsewhere, I would have gotten myself into unnecessary trouble.

　The other thing is that Allen didn't need that much money in the first place.
　It was just a matter of getting by for the time being, and then hunting for monsters in the vicinity.

　That's why I sold it to a guild that was able to quickly and reliably deal with it. ...... The amount was 100 gold coins.
　A single gold coin is enough for an average family of four to live for three months with a parent and child, do you have any idea how much it is worth?

　Even one piece of gold is too much, and now it's a hundred pieces.
　This was indeed unexpected.

　I'm going to sell off the other materials soon too.
　Although the destination of sale is not always the guild, you will still sell some of them to the guild and ...... the one I thought would have the least amount of value is a hundred gold coins.
　It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to get a lot of money out of that carriage, because it's not going to be the only thing that's in there.

　Also, although it may sound like this, Leeds is not the kind of person to stay in the wild, and the same goes for cheap accommodation.
　Considering that, I thought we should get a better place to stay, and we ended up staying at a surprisingly high-class inn right in front of us.

　Anyway, Allen walked through the place where he was based, looking familiar.
　You are heading to the top floor of the inn, the so-called top class room used by VIPs.
　You have the luxury of using the entire top floor, which is rented for Leeds and the others, while Allen has rented a room one floor below.

　Even though it's a step down, it's still a luxurious room, and the total cost of the two rooms was three gold coins a night.
　I'm not sure if there are any guests who would pay such a price, but if you talk to them, you'll find that it's often, if not daily, used, so even in a place like this, there's money to be had.

　This isn't exactly what someone who rents the place ten days in a row would say, but...

I'm sorry I'm late. Sorry I'm late.

　And when I got there, as I thought, the two of them were already there.
　But there is no blame for Allen's actions on their faces, only an inevitable grimace.

It's not like we waited too long.
Yes, ...... and that's why you were late, isn't it?

　You will be able to find the right place to sit down, wondering whether you should be happy to be trusted or lamenting the fact that they didn't care about you, as expected.
　You're going to be able to get the most out of it.

You can't get away from the fact that you're not going to be able to get your hands on any of them. I'm not sure what to say, except that I have no clue what to do today.
"Yes ...... sorry
No, I don't care if you've been skipping work, you can't find him. As I always say, it's nothing to be sorry for.

　This time Allen shrugs, chuckling.

　You're looking for something you're not even sure you'll find in the first place.
　It's only natural that you won't find it.

But ...... you do a lot of things, don't you, Allen?
It's not that I'm doing it, well, it's just a natural part of my role. It's just that in that case, I'm just trying to kill monsters, after all.
"Muu ......

　You can find yourself in the middle of the day with the help of a few of your friends.
　You're not going to be able to say more than that because you are dissatisfied, but you understand that we are on the same side?

　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you can get your hands on it.

　This was, shall we say, a debriefing session.
　What we did today and what we learned, was the place to report and discuss the results.

　Ten days ago, Aren and the others decided to use this inn as their base, and at the same time, they also established their future plans.
　To be honest, what Allen and his team are trying to do is akin to finding a needle that could be dropped into the desert.
　It takes patience, but more importantly, does it even exist?

　But there's nothing we can do about it.
　So Allen and his team have decided to assume that there is a clue here about the general's assassination and proceed with the investigation.

　However, it's just a manpower tactic.
　And the numbers are not at the level of unreliable.
　Still, we have no choice but to keep asking if there has been any recent changes or anything suspicious.



　Moreover, the clues may not even be inside the city.
　It's quite possible that they are outside, so Allen and his team split up.
　Leeds and Beatrice are investigating inside the city, and Allen is investigating outside.

　In addition, Allen was also given the task of casually asking the guild for information.
　You'll be able to see that the adventurer's guild is the one who knows most about the outside world, and the adventurer's guild is the one who organizes it.
　When it comes to gathering information about the outside world, there was no choice but to not go to the guild.

　Besides, I know that the name Beatrice has more influence in the guild than apparently necessary.
　I haven't forgotten what happened that day in the guild.
　Maybe she could go to the guild and hear what happened, but there was a greater risk of her getting involved in something more extraneous.

　That's why the guild was also put in charge of Allen.

　Well, for some reason, that resulted in Allen being subtly noticed, but to a certain extent, it was inevitable.
　And I feel that I'm getting my money's worth.
　I've been trying to act like a small talker and occasionally talk about something related to the subject, but surprisingly, I've gotten some good information.

I'm sure there's something in the woods that's just as I expected ......

　About ten kilometers south of the city lies a forest that looks like something out of the ordinary.
　The size of it is unknown, symbolic of the fact that this place is unexplored, and it is vast enough that it would not be surprising if it stretched as far as it did.

　A full-scale investigation would be a different story, but there are no plans to do so at the moment.
　There is simply not enough manpower and the forest is currently very dangerous.

　It seems that the forest was originally a place where powerful demons would appear.
　But the payoff was great. Not to mention the monster itself, even the seemingly weeds that grew along the roadside were new flowers and plants that adventurers liked to go there.

　It seems that the forest is the reason why the city was built here and why the kingdom supports it in secret.
　What was gleaned from it was that much better.

　But everything is in the past tense because, as I said before, it has become very dangerous now.
　Originally, there were rank 4 and 5 demons, but unless you went deep into the forest, you wouldn't encounter any more demons.
　However, about twenty days ago, it was easy to encounter rank 6 and 7 demons.

　Adventurers are all deadly idiots.
　But they are not foolish enough to come to a place where they are sure to die.

　If so, then you should head elsewhere, but honestly this area is just an ordinary place except for that forest.
　The demons that appear are not so rare and there is no point in staying in this place if you are hunting them.
　As a result, the number of active adventurers has decreased, and some people have started to leave here and there.
　This was partly because of the time of day, but also because of the lack of popularity when Allen and the others went to the adventurers' guild ten days ago.

　And this city is basically made up of adventurers.
　The goods that adventurers bring bring in are used by the king's capital to get favors from the city, and the money they drop is what keeps the economy going.
　It's not a big deal at the moment, but if this continues for another month, various places will definitely start to be affected.

　In fact, compared to ten days ago, the vitality of the city is visibly declining.
　To be honest, Allen thought that in ten days, let alone another month, the effects would begin to appear.

　Incidentally, although the source of this story is the guild, it's more accurate to say that I was informed about this rather than informed.
　It was obvious that they intended to help you by telling you the story.

　This city is large, but it is not ruled by anyone explicitly.
　Even so, the guild seems to be in a temporary position due to the influence of adventurers, and the guild does not want to lose this place if possible.

　However, there's no reason for Allen to help with that.
　Honestly, he wouldn't mind if this city goes away.

　But as you can see from Allen's words, he's looking into that forest as a result.
　It's not because I was thinking about the guild or this city, but because I had no choice but to investigate as long as it looked suspicious.
　Twenty days ago now, although a certain amount of time has passed since this incident occurred, it is still suspicious enough that it cannot be said to be unrelated.

　Besides, I had some idea of the cause.
　The fact that the demons that hadn't come out from the back until now are likely to have been forced to do so.

　Even if they are lumped together as demons, they are still different kinds of beings after all.
　It is common for demons to fight each other, and their basic characteristics are the same for both animals and demons.
　That is to say, they are the law of the jungle, and there is a high possibility that a being more powerful than those monsters appeared deep in the forest.

　Until now, Allen has been investigating the perimeter and shallow areas of the forest, but today, he finally went deep into the forest.

"Hmmm, I thought I would too when I heard about ......, but does ...... mean that you were able to find a figure or a trace of it?
It's more like a trace, but to be more precise, I felt a presence. Compared to other demons, it's different, or it's like an unbridled power. Well, to put it another way, I couldn't understand it any better.
"Mr. Allen, even if it is?
No, I'm not a jack-of-all-trades, you know?　There's a limit to what you can tell from a hint.

　Strictly speaking, there are ways to trace information from indications.
　All you have to do is use every ounce of your omniscience to do it.
　However, the price of doing so will be the burning out of Allen's brain.

　Omniscience can know everything, in the literal sense of the word.
　But it also means knowing everything.
　Not only does it pick up information about what you want to know, but it also picks up information about every single rock around, so if you use it with all your might, your brain won't be able to hold on.

　Therefore, in order for Allen to use his omniscience, he must first recognize his opponent clearly.
　At the very least, he needs to see it with his own eyes, and once he does, he will finally be able to limit the information he can obtain to that subject alone.
　Once you can recognize it, even if it becomes invisible afterwards, you can still pick up the information regardless of ...... Well, it is natural to have that degree of limitation considering that it was originally the highest level of authority.

You'll be able to find out more about where they are, and how strong they are, by the way?
Hmm ...... I'm not sure about the location. I've explored the surroundings a bit, but it's pretty vague. To begin with, a presence like that should be felt even outside of the forest, and they're probably deceiving us in some way.
Have you heard that basically, the more powerful a demon becomes, the better it is at hiding its presence?
That's true, but it wasn't like that.

　It was only after several days of investigation that Allen realized that he had a strange feeling.
　Then, by using his omniscience, he managed to get a clue, and finally succeeded in catching a hint of presence, albeit vaguely.

　If you had only suppressed the presence, you would have been able to catch it more easily and would not have been able to locate it.

Hmm ......, that's a pretty powerful presumption when you talk about a presence like that," he said.
I think ...... is probably as good or better than the last dragon in terms of ability.　Well, that's why I spent a lot of time exploring the surrounding area, so I wouldn't have to chase too much.
I think it's the right thing to do: "More than that, is ...... it's the right thing to do, don't overdo it.
Well, we can't break the lease.



　Then he shrugged his shoulders and tapped the sword at his waist.
　Of course, it's not a broken one, but rather a sword I borrowed from Noel to keep me going until it was ready.
　Thanks to that, Allen was able to survey the outside world.

　It's a much better product than the one I was using before, but as far as strength goes, the old one is probably better.
　You can't afford to break it by doing something recklessly.

I'm sure it's a good idea to have a good idea of what's going on in the world. Should we proceed with the investigation, alerting the guild casually?
Yes, that's right: ...... I can't have Mr. Allen do anything that might be more dangerous than this.
"Oh, no, I'm going to continue my investigation of the forest for my part?
...... Why is that?　It's not like you're thinking about this city or the guild, is it?
It's true, but it sounds like I'm a bit of a luddite if you say so: ...... And the reason is that I'm curious about the way you're faking that hint you just gave me?

　As I mentioned earlier, Allen was able to notice it because he used his omniscience.
　But this was also because he felt uncomfortable at first, and the reason for this was probably because the hint of an attempted deception was too great.

　If you didn't feel any discomfort, it's highly likely that Allen wouldn't have thought of using his omniscience, which means that if the hint was something smaller, he wouldn't have noticed it.
　I can't say for sure, but ...... depending on its nature, it may not even notice if someone is right in front of it.

...... it is.
Yes, I don't know if it was the gift, but if you think about it, at least you can't be sure it was unrelated, right?

　One of the most important people in the kingdom has been assassinated, and something fishy is happening that could be used to assassinate him.
　Even if this is actually unrelated, you can't just ignore it.

Well, and if it helps someone else in the process, so much the better.
...... Yes, that's right.

　Allen smiles at Leeds, who just before had a downcast look on his face, but now shows a smile.
　As usual, a straightforward reaction.

''Although, tomorrow may be a break from research if I'm not good at it.
Oh, sure. I have to go to Noel's tomorrow. ...... Noel, will you be okay?
"You're going to fall down as soon as you go: ...... No, I wouldn't be surprised to find you on the floor when I get there.
...... I don't like to think about it too much, but it's possible, so it's troubling. It's no wonder I've forgotten to eat and sleep.

　I feel like I'm going to die as it is, but it doesn't look like you're joking either.
　At some point, their faces were serious and serious in every way.

Have you seen something like that before ......?
It wasn't ten days, but it was often two or three days.
"You said you're doing something about it by delaying everything with magic. When it's all said and done, you'll recoil.
"You're losing your life force: ......

　But I guess that's how eager they are.
　I'm sorry for the two of you who are worried, but honestly, Allen was looking forward to it.

　What kind of sword would she be striking?
　To find out, Allen squinted his eyes into the void to find out.