Shush, the sound of a knife scraping.

　I sat in one of the seats in my office, continuing to scrape a chunk of wood with my knife.
　I'm making myself something I didn't get yesterday from shopping. It took a lot of work, but it was just enough to pass the time while I waited for Snow.

　While I was concentrating on the wood carving, Snow walked into the office.
　He holds a document in his hand and talks as he hands it to me.

'...... Kanami, I hear you're on 'Epic Seeker' security today.
What, security?
"...... It's about time for the 'dance competition' to start in the Eltralieu country in the north. Because of that, a bunch of idiots from outside the country will enter the country. And the security situation will probably get worse. Just in time, they want us to help them.
Yeah. You've got a solid job ahead of you. How long?
'...... I heard that each guild is going to take a turn guarding the guild. Our charge is only from noon to night today.
That's it. I have to call everyone back as soon as possible. Snow, please.
...... oui.

　Snow blurted out with magic.
　That should have gotten the word out to all the members.

''That's really handy,''
...... Anyway, I told them to meet me there by noon.
That's enough. By the time you arrive, I'll have an assigned territory.
...... Good luck, Kanami.
Okay.

　Snow, naturally, sits in a chair near the window. He doesn't look like he wants to help at all.
　I know he doesn't like this kind of detailed work, so I don't say anything and just go about my business by myself. To be honest, it's also easier to do it alone than to be helped by someone who is not good at it. That's how far my thinking speed is from that of an ordinary person.

...... It's another beautiful day.

　Snow looks up at the sky.
　He seems very comfortable, examining this time of doing nothing.
　As I watch, without stopping, I decide which district the members will be in charge of.

　A little while later, Seri, who did her best to come to the office first, comes in. I immediately tell her the area I'm in charge of and ask her to be assigned to it. It's not like I'm saying good riddance. I'm not going to be the only one who's going to be able to do that. Not all of them were present, but there was a good number of them.

　I explained to all of them carefully and told them that they would be assigned to the guild from noon.
　This is how today's guild activity begins.


◆◆◆◆◆


　Just like the first day, I spread the 《Dimension》 across the city in my office.
　However, what's different from that day is the amount of work.

　There isn't a single document on the desk.
　The members were also doing patrol activities without purpose, so there was no need to give any particular instructions, and they had no choice but to be bored.

　Snow is riddled with humming and humming.
　This would be the ideal situation for her. She seems to be in a very good mood.

　I couldn't bear the work of carving wood, so I called out to Snow.

You know, Snow. It's not much more than just a patrol of the city that I can keep an eye on here, so why don't we go to the labyrinth?
...... Yeah. Well, the weapon isn't ready yet, okay?　
I've got alternatives. No problem.
I think it's better to wait for a new weapon to be completed than to wear out a weapon without a .......
No, but that doesn't mean-- Huh?

　In the midst of arguing with each other, I caught a single clamor in the 《Dimension》.

　In the center of the street, a man drew his sword and shouted with an angry expression on his face. In response, people who seemed to be citizens of Lauravia were building a wall to protect one girl.

　Unable to grasp the situation, I focus on the 《Dimension》.
　By doing so, you'll be able to pick up on the story, though it's choppy.

　The word "slave" is in the word the man is shouting, and I could see that he is blaming the girl who is being protected. Upon closer inspection, the girl's neck is marked with the sign of a slave.

　I understand the story a little more slowly.
　Perhaps this man is not a Lauravian man ...... and some accident has occurred and he is trying to harm the Lauravian slaves. It seems that the citizens of Lauravia, who have decided that this is unjust, are trying to protect the girl.

'There's a struggle. ...... It's a matter of slaves in this country and men outside the country.

　I can give the right directions when it comes to rough stuff, but I'm not very good at these kinds of disputes.
　I can't come up with a plan to deal with it right away.

　When I was lost, Snow spoke up.

...... For that kind of problem, Volsak is the best choice. Is it close?

　And I would recommend a member who is strong on those issues.

　That's right.
　I don't have to be the solution to everything. It's best to get someone with more experience.

　Soon I was looking for Mr. Volzak.
　Luckily, he was looking around the immediate area.

"Yes, Mr. Volzak is close.
...... Then I'll ask him to pick up the pieces.

　Snow turns to the magic stone and begins to explain the situation. I match it up and explain the way to the scene in a clear manner.

　Within a minute, Volzak-san has arrived at the scene.
　He intervenes, raising his voice, and tries to put the commotion to rest. Apparently, the slave girl and the citizens of Lauravian know Mr. Volzak's face. They were relieved to see that someone they could rely on had arrived.

　The raging man and Mr. Volzak are in a grappling match.
　I watch that with relief.
　I confirm the status beforehand. The man's status is not even close to Volzak-san's feet.

　However, Volzak-san doesn't try to capture the man by force.
　He asks for a discussion to keep things quiet. He could afford to do just that.

　But in the end, he ended up being restrained and ended up being restrained as the man went wild and turned to violence.
　The rest is the same as the usual process.

　As the people thanked me, Mr. Volzak took the man out of the place.
　I make sure that things are under control, and then I take a breath and deposit my back to the chair.

'Whew, good: ......'

　In 《Dimension》, I find the slave girl smiling and waving at Volzak-san.
　But I can't smile, like the girl. As long as the girl is a slave, just the thought of this kind of thing happening again and again is depressing.

'Are you done with ......?'

　Snow looks at me with an unhappy face and checks the situation.

'It's done. But I'm not used to the slave problem. You won't know what to do with it.
......, you'll have to get used to it. I mean, Wolsak is a slave too, to begin with?
'What, Mr. Volzak is a slave ......?'

　I float my hips in surprise.

...... a slave that Palinkron bought out a long time ago, as I recall. He was a high-priced slave of the gladiators, and I think he is still treated as the property of Palinkron in one way or another.

　It is clearly described as "property" and I flinch.
　But then I remembered Mr. Volzak's behavior, and I could see that he was far removed from my image of a slave.

'Is that so? Somehow that's not the slave I have in mind.
...... There are a thousand different types of slaves in a single bite. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a thing before in my life. And in Lauravia, there is a tendency to eliminate the waste of human resources and to ensure that the right people are in the right places. So there are fewer people who discriminate against them than in other countries. Just look at ...... Volzak and everyone around him, right?
Heh. ......
'It's ......, so it would be nice if you could see another (...) pity slave and not just jump out of nowhere. It's still better here.
Again?　No, I'm not going to jump out at you out of nowhere, okay?
...... Yeah.

　Snow didn't seem to believe my words.
　Even now, I don't know what was suspicious about me, even though I left it up to Mr. Volzak to resolve the issue successfully.

　Thus, after the conversation with Snow, the office is silent again.
　I wanted to go to the labyrinth, but now that I knew that an incident like the previous one was going to happen, I couldn't leave.

　However, what's free is free.
　Even if I carved wood and unfolded the Dimension, I could still find room for parallel thoughts.

　After a few minutes of silence, I speak out.

'You're bored, Snow,'
...... leisure time is great. Also, I don't like labyrinths.

　You get nailed first.
　But this time it's different.

No, I'm not going to go in the maze. Anyway, to kill some time, can I ask you a few questions about you?　You don't have to answer anything you don't like.
......, no problem. It's no bother at least to talk.

　I thought I would be rejected, but surprisingly, I was accepted.

　I'm going to use this free time to establish a smooth working relationship with Snow.
　For starters, I ask him something that has always bothered me.

'Snow has an awesome brother, right?　Can you tell me about that person?

　Snow Walker's brother, Glenn Walker, the most powerful labyrinth explorer in humanity.
　Regardless of Snow's kinship, that title alone was intriguing enough for me.

''...... It's not awesome. A pretty - no, a pretty bad one. I mean, we're not that close, so I don't know him.

　However, his sister's assessment of him was harsh.

'When you can call your brother, who is even considered to be the strongest of mankind, a 'no-good guy', you sound like you're close?
'...... Hmmm, I don't know. We at least talk, but we're not particularly close. All we do is talk and note what's wrong with your brother.
As the same brother, I'm starting to feel a little sorry for him. Glenn Walker: ......
They're not blood related, and I still don't think they're close.
Oh, so you're not related by blood?
...... Me and my brother were both adopted. The Walkers had a tradition of mixing good blood, and we came into it through that process.
Really? Let's see, the Walkers are the great lords of Lauravian, right?
Yeah. Messy house. Thanks to Palinclone and his brother, it's getting a bit more breezy, but it's basically noisy.
What do they say about being loud?
He wants the Walker family name to be known, just like his brother. He says publicly that he's adopting for that reason.
That's quite a greedy house. ......
'Lately, they've been giving up on my valor, but they're pestering me to marry them instead. Unbeknownst to me, I was engaged to someone I didn't understand.
Oh, a political marriage. I've never seen him before.

　I'm a little amused by the realities of political marriage in front of me, which I only knew in history class.

"I wonder if you'll forgive me if I sell my name as a sub master of 'Epic Seeker': ....... I don't think he'll forgive me: ......

　But Snow's face darkens in the exact opposite direction.

'What, you don't want to get married?　With Snow, I thought you were thinking that marrying a rich man would make it easier.
'We need money ....... But marrying an aristocrat doesn't make it any easier. It's too much trouble.......

　Snow breathed with a gloomy expression.

'If you don't want to, then you'd better reject it outright. I think you'll regret it if you don't put it into words, don't you?
'Rejecting ...... would be troublesome. Either way, it's troublesome. If it's ......, I won't do anything. I don't have a choice anyway.
You got no choice, you ......
...... Try as hard as you can, it's useless anyway.

　It was a moment when I could certainly sense the distortion of Snow's way of life.

　She seems to have given up on even her own marriage - or even her life.
　It's heartbreaking.
　Something inside me was screaming that I shouldn't allow myself to give up.

'Hey. Why are you so apathetic?　Did something happen in the past?
...... That's pretty much to the core, Kanami.

　Snow gave him a surprised look, then chuckled.

'Sorry, I know I'm overstepping my bounds. But I wanted to get to know my partner, Snow, better as soon as possible. I kind of felt like I'd regret it terribly if I didn't: ......

　An unidentified threatening thought was running through my mouth.

'...... Well, no problem. If it's Kanami.
'As I recall, you were a submaster on The Epic Seeker when you were a kid, right?　Did something happen back then?
...... I used to be a pretty girl, still a pretty girl. I was very motivated to work for the guild and I enjoyed every day of my life. I was a dreamer back then.
Oh, you're a very motivated Snow. I'm not sure I can imagine.
...... At that time, I had only failed once, so I had hope. But the more times I failed (・・・・・), the more times I failed (・・・・・), the more stupid I felt about trying. So here's what happened (・・・・・). Really, that's all I'm talking about.
How many times have you failed: ......

　Snow's face was distorted when he said "failure.
　This was the first serious expression that Snow, who doesn't take himself seriously, showed - the first time he'd ever shown it.

　I thought I could understand the feeling a little bit.

...... Yeah. I don't feel like doing it anymore. The more desperate I get, the more stupid I look. When you fail seriously, it gets really hard. I don't want to do that anymore.

　Snow said, sticking a dry smile on his face, that he would never be serious again.
　I knew in my head that I had to deny it, but my emotions wouldn't let me. Because what Snow was saying was something I could understand as a fellow human being.

　Most of all, I was hesitant to throw accusations in return for Snow's frankness.

That's a nice surprise. You really do know what you're talking about, don't you, Snow?
'...... Hmmm, I think it's a kindred spirit. And I know Kanami's making a huge mistake too.
'I'm a huge failure ......?　What does that mean--?

　Just as I was about to go further into the conversation, I felt an anomaly within the Dimension and my words were cut off.

'...... What's up, Kanami?'

　At the very edge of my Dimension's reach, I find a person who is on the verge of getting into an altercation with a member of "Epic Seeker".

　There are two girls who are talking up to the members of Epic Seeker.

''There's someone poking at our members.
...... What, to a guild member, not a citizen?

　I'll use Dimension Multiple to get a better handle on the situation.

　The two girls were abnormal.
　The word "abnormal" comes before any word.
　That's how unusual they were.

　The two girls shake their long, thin hair that looks like gold sand is dancing.

　One of them has her long hair in a braid that hangs down her back. If you look closely, you can see that she has a mixture of hair that resembles silver as well as gold. Her shimmering gold and silver hair is intertwined. And her body is not normal either. The creation of a face that is too well-formed to be human, and golden eyes that are too beautiful to be of this world. And the perfect proportions without any waste. There was an embodiment of beauty that was beyond the ultimate in feminine, almost like a monster.

''Nah, there's a girl who's frighteningly beautiful: ......
...... horribly beautiful girl?

　The other girl is not normal either.
　This girl has her golden hair cut short. She ties her hair back like a tail, and if you look at it differently, she looks like a beautiful boy. And this one is just as scary and beautiful as the previous girl. She is less beautiful as a woman than the previous girl, but she has a neutral charm. This one is smaller in height, and perhaps they are sisters.

'Oh, they're beautiful but horrible ....... Two girls like that.
...... Is it possible that it might be--

　I don't wait until the end of Snow's words and shout out.

''-- What the hell, these guys!　It's too abnormal!

　I had to shout out loud.
　So much so that the status of the two girls was extraordinary.


[Status]
　Name: Rustyala Foods Yards HP708/709 MP325/325 Class.
　Level 16.
　Strength 11.73 Strength 11.12 Skill 7.14 Speed 8.40 Wisdom 12.98 Magic 9.13 Element 4.00
　Status:.
　Inherent Skill: Weapon Combat 2.14 Swordsmanship 2.03 Pseudo-God's Eye 1.00
　　　　　　　Magical combat 2.27 Blood art 5.00 Sacred magic 1.03
　Acquired skill: reading 0.52 elemental 1.00

[Status]
　Name: Diablo Sith HP179/182 MP821/831 Class: Swordsman
　Level 11.
　Strength 6.32 Strength 5.39 Skill 3.02 Speed 3.18 Wisdom 9.99 Magic 45.12 Qualities 5.00　
　State: blessing 1.00
　Inherent Skill: Divine Magic 3.80 Divine Blessing 3.08 Absolution 2.00 Focused Convergence 2.05
　　　　　　　Attribute magic 2.10 Overcapture protection 2.12 Life extension 2.24 Aiming 2.03
　Acquired Skill: Swordsmanship 0.10
　? :?


　Substandard qualities and skills, and an order of magnitude higher.

　The fact that these two girls, Rustyala and Diablo, are crowding the members of the team makes me fearful. If they get serious, they will be unable to do anything about it and the members will be beaten.

　From the looks of things, there's a good chance it's going to be a rough affair.

'Snow, we're leaving now!　They're so strong that they wouldn't be able to compete with us if it weren't for us!
...... I have to go to ......, right?

　Snow sees that I'm not in trouble, and he stands up without a hint of a struggle.
　I jumped out of the window to make sure that Snow was following me.

　As we run over the rooftops of the city of Lauravia, I give directions to Snow at the rear.
　I have him contact the other members nearby with a magic stone to gather them as well.

　I'm not going to let them join the battle, but I'm sure I can intimidate them enough to surround them. For the sake of the members who are currently being crowded in, I'm going to turn my head to the limit and give them instructions.

　I run as fast as I can, hoping that it won't be a rough ride until I get there.