The Imperial City of Zebrudia is always bustling.

A well-developed town. The main roads run like a thick network through the capital, and there are always countless carriages and people busily passing through.
The appearance of the city is such that people from the provincial cities say that there is always a festival in Zebrudia.

When people gather, things gather, and that is what makes a city grow.
The Imperial City of Zebrudia is now said to be one of the largest cities in the world, and it is even said that there is nothing that cannot be obtained there.
Powerful weapons and armor, delicacies that were originally only available in some cities facing the sea, rare books that existed in only a few copies in the world, precious and expensive magic potions that could cure any disease, and - the mysterious treasures that were produced in the nearby treasure house.

Wealth, honor. And power. The thriving imperial city of Zebrudia represents the current era of active treasure hunting.

And its development is still continuing.

For us, the members of Strange Grief, it is the best of luck that the first city we visited after deciding to become hunters was the Imperial City.

Of course, I can't say that my childhood friends didn't work hard, but the abundance of supplies and excellent mentors gave them a big boost.
And the Strange Greed that gained momentum from that, went straight up the glorious road of the treasure hunter that ordinary people think of.

In fact, in the five years since we arrived in the Imperial Capital, our party (excluding myself) has already conquered most of the treasure halls in the vicinity of the Imperial Capital.

The reason why we still make this city our home is because it is convenient and we have made new friends, but we also want to contribute to the development of the city.


But right now, the imperial city of Zebrudia, to which I owe so much, is in an unprecedented crisis because of me.


The top floor of the clan house. I spent an hour searching through my private quarters, and I held my forehead.

The Citrine Slime was nowhere to be found. No matter how many times I searched. I've searched every inch of the room.
I've looked everywhere, between the countless treasures I've carefully displayed and under the bed, and I can't find a trace of him.

I sat down on the bed and muttered to myself. His throat was parched.

It was a warm and sunny afternoon. Normally, I would take a stroll outside with a suitable escort, or take a nap on the chair in the Clan Master's office, but I'm not really in the mood for that.

'Oh no, ...... what should I do. I can't find it anywhere. ......'

It was just before I threw it at the phantom in the White Wolf's Lair that I noticed that the metal capsule it was supposed to be in was empty.
Fortunately, the search itself was manageable thanks to our cute genocide monster, but it left me with one big question.

Where's the Citrine Slime? That's it.

I swear to you, I've never opened that capsule before.
I put it in the safe as soon as I got it, and it's been there ever since. It's almost like a dangerous substance. I try to stay away from dangerous things as much as possible.

Citrine Slime is a slime created by Citri Smart, one of the members of Strange Grief.

The slime species is known to be the weakest of the many that exist.
They are vulnerable to heat, cold, magic, physical attacks, and shock, and every child in the countryside has at one time or another stomped on a stray slime.

It is also famous for its ability to be created by special magic, and is often used in experiments because it can change its nature according to the surrounding magic power.

A single missed slime is not something that would normally cause you to feel threatened, but the one that was missed this time was not such a common thing.

It was the one that Citri had told me to keep because it was good that I had made it, but it was a bit dangerous and might destroy the Imperial Capital if I released it carelessly.

And her little bit is not a little bit. (A little bit is a little bit when it comes to the destruction of the Imperial City. ......)

Citri is a genius. Her body is not very strong, but she has more than enough wisdom to make up for it.
He's also the most mature member of the monstrous Ghosts of Sorrows, but he started out as a child who, like me, was troubled by weakness. (Though he was much stronger than me at that point.)

He must have been a great talent by nature.
All the members of the Ghosts of Sorrows had shown outstanding talent from the start, so I was the only one who understood their suffering.

Now I'm stronger. I've grown by leaps and bounds, gaining knowledge, experience, and position, but the sympathy she had for me has never gone away.

Perhaps that's why Citri often gives me her artifacts. I couldn't say no to her, so I accepted them with complete good intentions. (Or rather, I can't not accept it, because if I don't accept it, I might end up throwing it away and get in trouble. Apparently, Citry is not interested in the deliverables that I didn't receive.

And even so, she is a bit lazy and forgets to explain important things to me, so I often make mistakes in handling her.



--So. Just like ...... this time.


'...... No, no, no, no, no. Not this time. It's been in the safe all this time and I haven't even opened it.

Let's face it.
I was definitely paying close attention to the city slime.

The city slime was in a metal capsule. I'm sure I'm an idiot for not noticing that I dropped my treasure while moving, but I can't be that clever to just drop the contents. I don't think I can. I can't even if you ask me to.

The metal capsule has been destroyed, so I can't examine it in detail, but there was not a single scratch on the capsule. There were no holes, and it is unlikely that the contents of the capsule were stolen while it was stored in the safe.

The safe was located on the top floor of the Clan House, which was well guarded, and the safe it was stored in was a treasure trove.
I can't say that it would be impossible for a third party to open it, but if they did, I would know about it.

So there's only one conclusion.

--It was originally empty. That's it!

I convinced myself and fell back on the bed.

'Good grief, you're a bad person, too, Sitri. Hahahahaha ......'

Sitri isn't as dumb as I am, and he's not the kind of person who would pull a prank like that, but I can't help but think that he is.


......
It's a bit of a pain in the ass to think about, and I feel like I'm going to vomit if I think about it too long.

The Imperial City is at peace today. That's good enough for me. Let's just pretend the slime never happened.

It's only a slime, the weakest demon, no matter how special it is. It shouldn't be a big deal.

That's right. It's obviously an exaggeration to say that the imperial capital will be destroyed. ...... There are many skilled hunters in this capital.

Let's think of something more fun.


§§



A large, uselessly magnificent desk and chair.
The large windows in the Clan Master's office let in a lot of sunlight, which makes me feel sleepy, especially now that winter is coming to an end and the weather is getting warmer.

There was no work to be done, so I sat down on a chair and polished my treasure in a daze, when Eva, the deputy clan master, came in.

In place of me, she takes care of all the clan operations. She seemed to be busy again today.

She was dressed in a tight uniform from top to bottom, and her bright eyes peeked out from her slim red-rimmed glasses.
If you put the two of us together, we'd look like a dimwitted master and his talented secretary. That's exactly what we look like.

'I've received a call from the Search Council asking for more information about the [White Wolf's Den].

Eva looked at me, and without making any small talk, she got right to the point.



He is a very good assistant master. When I first joined the clan, I often gave him a hard time, but before I knew it, he stopped saying anything. I guess he abandoned me.

He listens back, rubbing his eyes, with a big sigh. He was feeling sleepy because he hadn't slept much due to the loss of the slime.

'Did Ark come back already?

'...... As expected, I thought it would be difficult to leave it to Ark-san who hasn't even been there. Or rather, Cry-san, you're relying on Ark-san too much.''

Ark is not ...... Ark enough.

Eva cowered her shoulders in disgust.

He is strong. He's strong and he's a good person. He's also popular.
I can't help but rely on him as a member of my clan.

This is especially so because strong hunters often have a few screws in their heads.
I knew from my experience of forming a clan that if something happened, I could just throw it to Ark and it would work out. I mean, you should be the master.

Well, that's why I got into a bad situation at the Lair of the White Wolf.

I'm sure Ark will be able to handle the slime.

'Tino is the leader so tell Tino. I only followed him from behind.

I went to help, but I couldn't defeat the Phantom or save Tino and the others.
I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea.

I used to think that I would like to be a hunter who would be praised for quickly coming to the aid of someone in trouble. Now, I don't have such big hopes.

No matter how it happened, I was glad that Tino and the others were safe in the end.

Sighing in a somewhat optimistic mood, he suddenly thought of something and checked with Eva.

'That's not the point. Did you notice any movement in the Imperial Capital?

'? What exactly do you mean by 'movement'? What are you talking about?

Eva Renfido is good.
Unlike me, she has the ability to manage this clan that has swelled to such a large scale--the First Step.
This includes the ability to gather information. All the members of this clan are excellent except for me.

If there's a big change happening in the Imperial Capital, there's no way she wouldn't know about it.
That means that I'm not letting the Citrine Slime get away.

And I don't see anything resembling impatience in Eva's tone as she asks me back.

End of proof.

I sit back in my chair and breathe a sigh of relief. It's okay. It's going to be okay.

'No, if it's nothing special, that's fine.

'...... will look into it as soon as possible.'

'No, it's fine. You don't have to do that. It's okay. It's okay. ...... Maybe. It's just my imagination. Let's just take it easy, take it easy.'

'......'

Eva is looking at me with a quizzical expression. Her only weakness may be that she is too loyal to her duties.

She's not going to poke a snake out of a bush. Most things in this world are made to work themselves out.

...... Citri, please come back soon before it's too late.

You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few of them.

'Heh, you're very energetic.

It's not easy to train right away when you've just finished a life-threatening search.
That's Tino. That's Tino.

When we first came to the capital, Tino was just a girl, but now she's an accomplished hunter.
And it seems that Lise is still a great master after all.

That's right. .......

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it. If I just sit here, I'm going to fall asleep.

There's nothing wrong with taking a nap, but it's probably not a good idea to show it in front of Eva, who's working very hard. I don't mind being kicked out, but I don't want Eva to leave.

'Well, I guess I'll just go talk to her. Training grounds?'

'...... I think that's a good idea. It's the training area on the second basement floor.'

'Okay. I'll take care of the rest.'

I waved at Eva, who had never once lost her serious expression, and stood up.


§ § §



'Gather the information now . I don't care how trivial it is, gather all the information you can on what's going on in the Imperial City.

'Yes, sir. Yes, sir!

One of Eva's subordinates rushed out of the room at the sound of her calm yet somewhat intimidating voice.

Eva Renfido is a former merchant.

Before she became the Deputy Master of the Clan, she was a member of the Vells Chamber of Commerce, one of the top two merchant associations in the powerful Empire.
Although he was still a lowly merchant at the time, he still has ties to the company even now, having resigned his position at the behest of the company.

The First Step is a huge clan.

A good hunter means a huge military force. Particularly when the clan is as large as the First Step, it will attract attention from all quarters, from countries, merchants, and other hunters to bandits and other criminals who specialize in hunters.

Eva, though unaccustomed to it, took advantage of her position and developed her clan by building a sophisticated information network throughout the Imperial Capital.

A network of merchants. Newspapers and other information media. He also uses his position as a hunter to gather information from treasure hunters. Even the Explorers' Association has been reached out to.

Freshness is the key to information. Most of the important things that happen in the Imperial Capital are immediately brought to Eva's attention.

That's why the question posed by the Clan Master came as a shock to Eva.
If this had been the first time, she might have questioned him strongly. At the very least, he would not have dared to order an investigation.

But the Master's words were worthy of Eva's trust.

Krei Andrich was a strange man.

When he had first met him, he had been a boy with no level 8 certification and no second name. It had been several years since then, several years since he had become the head of the clan and the deputy master, but he was still elusive.



He is usually absent-mindedly polishing his treasure or sneezing in his office.
He does not interfere in the running of the clan, nor does he seem to be doing anything in particular. He doesn't look strong, and his character is not particularly noteworthy, except for his occasional eccentricities.
He doesn't have the brilliance that some of the hunters in the clan, who will become heroes in the future, have. On the contrary, he is always talking about how he wants to quit being a hunter or give up being a clan master.

If a stranger were to see him, he would definitely be judged as a fool. Eva, too, was frustrated at first by his lackluster behavior.

However, the words that she occasionally let out were so accurate that even Eva, who knew the Imperial City inside and out, thought they were a joke.

From earthquakes and other natural disasters to anomalies in distant treasure halls. He had seen her repeatedly get involved in incidents that had no warning, ranging from disputes between Imperial nobles to the dark activities of secret societies.

He was obviously in no position to know about it. But once it happens, it may be a coincidence, but when it happens two or three times, it seems inevitable.

Genius is not a word that can be used to describe his unbelievable foresight.
Unidentifiable. I've heard it said that things can change a thousand ways. I clapped my hands in agreement when I heard the name Eva was given.

She would only say that it was a coincidence or bad luck, but when she saw the egotistical hunters following her meekly in light of her current situation, she sometimes looked more like a monster than a hunter with easily recognizable monster-like abilities.

Eva is confident in her abilities. But that's just common sense.

If Krai senses an omen, no matter how sudden the words, Eva will only act on that assumption.

Deputy Clan Master's office. After giving instructions to a number of her subordinates in the messy room compared to the Clan Master's office, Eva turns around and looks out the window at the ground and mutters.

She drove out of her mind all the miscellaneous work that she should have done, desperately trying to remember if she had overlooked anything.

'What the hell is going on ...... in this imperial city?

This was Eva's daily routine when something like this happened.