Go back in the direction you came from. Just look for trees felled by metal lizards, or the ravaged ground. You won't get lost.
　Now that I'm close to the spot where the Metal Lizard found me, I start to climb up the hill.
　Just then, a large number of Gargons appear ahead. They're coming towards me. They're a little too far away to be caught by the tentacles.
　You put more magic into the rock spear and pierce its head. Although I used the same amount of MP as before, the spear pierced deeper than before and still shattered.
　Thinking that this would only hurt the corpse unnecessarily, I decided to reduce the power next time.
　As he ran further, five more pig-like creatures appeared, and he hit the nearest one with his sword and killed it.
　Then, the remaining four pigs run away. I'm disappointed, but there's not much need to kill a demon on its way to the other side of town, so I put its corpse in the item box and start running again.
　After another five minutes of running, a pack of Green Wolves arrived ......, but they bypassed me and ran away.
　I'm not sure if it's because I'm tired or because I'm wasting my time.
　Well, to be honest, I'm tired, and it's nice not to waste time fighting. I'll just keep running.
　The oncoming monsters all avoided me, so there were no more battles.
　I finally arrived at the village about 20 minutes after defeating the Metal Lizard.

"Kaede! You're alive!

　Sally comes running up to me. I want to tell her not to kill me without permission.

I want to tell her not to kill me without permission. ......, I'm alive as usual, but please don't kill me without permission.

The other adventurers say that the demons started retreating a long time ago, and the adventurers returned to the village, but only Kaede hasn't come back!　The other adventurers said that they saw someone who looked like Kaede running deep into the forest!　What are you doing?　I was worried about you!

But I was told to fight as far forward as possible to gain enough distance to retreat. ......

I don't remember saying anything like that. I just said that I wanted you to fight in the front line. I didn't ask you to commit suicide by going out there alone.

"Yeah, .......

　I don't remember if he said that or not, but I do remember him saying that.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

　Suspected: ....... Well, actually, it's probably my fault.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

"Oh, you encountered a Metal Lizard?　We need to get some wizards together quickly, but there aren't enough of them in this town, so we need reinforcements. ......

We'll need reinforcements from ......." "Oh, ......, we defeated it, but it was a Metal Lizard. Hello?

Huh!

　Looks like it's back from the dead.

I already killed the Metal Lizard. I think that's why the demons retreated.

　Apparently, for a demon, its information network is quite fast. I've been running from the time I defeated the Metal Lizard to the time I got here, and it was quite a distance, but you managed to complete your retreat before I got here.

I'm sure you're a wizard with a sword. You can use fire magic, too.　I'm sure you can use fire magic, but can you use wind magic?

"Wind magic?

　I don't remember using any such thing. In the first place, the spell I created to use wind magic was not wind magic, but pressure magic and perception magic.

"Yes, didn't you burn it with flames from above while floating with wind magic?

I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.

I don't know what you're talking about. There's no way you can make a hole in a Metal Lizard's armor. It's not a Metal Lizard, it's another demon, isn't it? Where's the body?

Uh, it's in the item box. Here.

　Then you place the corpse of the Metal Lizard out of the way near the gate from the item box.

"Oh, that's probably a real Metal Lizard. Where the hell did you get ...... from?

You said item box, my item box is a bit large.

　I'm sure you're not the only one.
　Sally's eyes are wide open as if they are about to fall out.

"'A little' big'? I see. Okay. But there doesn't seem to be a hole, is there?　...... Yikes!

　He can't see the hole, so he jumps on the metal lizard's back and puts Sally down.

I'm not sure what to do.

　I point to a neatly circular hole in the Metal Lizard's back.

I've never heard of a spell that could open such a thing. And please don't lift it without permission.

　Sally's face turns red. Are you scared?　I wonder if she was that scared.

I'm sorry. But you understand now, don't you?



"Yes. I understand you're something other than a wizard. And please don't put me down. I'll climb down myself.

　With that, Sally begins to climb down the Metal Lizard's back toward its tail.

I'm sure you've heard of it, but I'm not sure how much magic it consumes.

No, it's more like a lot. Even a fire wizard's magic power will run out. So, usually, you need about ten C-rank or higher wind and fire wizards each, and fire the whole shell. The armor is strong, but the inside is very weak. If they were also strong inside, they would be A-ranked, but since they are fragile inside and have no way to attack in the air, they are B-ranked.

　That's tough. I don't know what the rank of the wizard is, but it's probably too many for Ein, who rarely gets a C rank request. I could probably manage on my own. Actually, I could.
　When I cast a fire spell at his feet, he was more focused on the explosion than the heat, so the heat must not have penetrated.

"I see. I'll do that next time.

Can you fly?

　Well, we haven't developed wind magic yet, but we'll figure it out, I guess.

I think I can handle it.

I see. Let's go report to the branch manager.

　With that, Sally ran off towards the guild.

"Okay. Good luck with your work.

　I put the Metal Lizard away and send her off with a smile.

What are you talking about, Kaede is coming too!

　What? Me too?

　About five minutes later, I entered the guild. We usually talk at the counter, but Ms. Sally goes to the back once, and then she comes out and takes me upstairs.

Here.

　The door of the room where Ms. Sally stopped was labeled "Branch Manager's Office".
　This was the first time I had ever been upstairs, let alone in a branch manager's office. I'm getting a little nervous.
　Knock, knock. Ms. Sally knocked. I guess the culture of knocking hasn't changed even in other worlds.

"Come in.

　Ms. Sally opens the door and I go in. Ms. Sally closed the door without going in.
　There was an old man in the room with a scar around his eye. He was an old man, but a muscular old man. Suddenly, the old man moved.

"I'm sorry!

　And then he bowed to me. I wonder why. What did I do?

"Well, I don't know, but please raise your head. I don't remember him doing anything strange to me.

　It's uncomfortable to be bowed down by a muscular old man.

I don't feel comfortable being bowed down by a muscular old man. "Well, but the abnormal behavior of demons has been reported for some time. It's our fault that we couldn't determine that it was a sign of a powerful demon attack. If you hadn't killed the Metal Lizard, it would have taken us at least five days to get enough wizards to defeat it. You would have had to lead us in a different direction from the city, but there would have been many deaths. Thank you.

　Yeah. It took a lot of effort (physically) to kill the Metal Lizard, but it was worth it. It's good that people are saved. I'm not going to force you to help me, but it's good to help.

"By the way, about the reward, is 100,000 enough to include killing the other demons, and of course I'll buy the materials separately if you want to sell them.

"Sure, I'll keep the materials for now. I want to make a sword.

　I've heard that metal lizard armor makes a good material for swords. It may be strong enough to be used as armor.
　It may be heavy, but you can protect only the parts that would die instantly if attacked, such as the breastplate and helmet, and use recovery magic for the rest.

I see. By the way, I have a favor to ask.

Yes, what is it?

　A favor? Can you teach me how to defeat a Metal Lizard?

I need you to keep quiet about this Metal Lizard thing, because if word gets out, it's gonna be a mess.

"Do metal lizards swarm or occur all at once?

　If so, that's horrible. If so, that's terrible. It's tough to deal with more than one of them.

No, there has never been a case of two or more Metal Lizards appearing at once, but only the guild members and adventurers know that, and even if you tell that to the people on the street, not everyone will agree.

Is that so?
Oh, yes.
　That's right.

　But there are people who need to be taught. It seems like the guild knows him, so I think he's okay, but I should ask him.



But I want to make a weapon out of the armor, and then I'll have to teach Mr. Dverag how to get it, and I'll have to get that big corpse out of there, what should I do?

Dverag is tight-lipped, he doesn't talk to the general public much, so it's okay, he's like a guild member and he knows what he's doing. The corpse probably doesn't need to be taken out here, you need special equipment to process metal lizard armor. We don't have that in this town.

　Heat it up, pound it, mold it, quench it, and you're done! Isn't that it?
　Well, I don't think it's that easy to shape that d*mn hard stuff.

So we'll just send the material to a place that has the equipment and have it made?　How long will it take?

Well, ...... most of the large scale and specialized blacksmithing facilities are concentrated in Herrera. It's a dwarven mining town, but it's deep in the mountains, and I think it would cost less money and time to go there myself than to have it transported.

　You're leaving this town: ......
　I'm not sure what to make of this.
　It's also the last day to pay for the inn.

Yes, that's what I'll do.

　I've decided to leave this town.