The ride is fun, but the ride home is even more fun.
After a few days of riding in a carriage, I arrived at the huge gates of the imperial capital Zebrudia after a month.
There was a lot going on on the way there, and I made a lot of detours, but the return trip was quick.

After all, the journey was only--.

Then I came back to myself and counted on my fingers.
There were seven of us on the way there, me, Liz, Citori, Tino, and Kuroshiro, and seven of us on the way back, me, Liz, Citori, Tino, Lucia, Luke, and Anthem. If you count the number of people, there is no increase or decrease.

And ...... aside from Kuroshiro, where did Hiilo go? ...... I completely forgot about him.
It's not a problem, because the collar has been removed, and I haven't seen him since then, so I guess he's gone, but I wanted to say goodbye to him.

Lucia, who was reading a book, noticed my appearance and looked up.

'Are you sure you forgot something? Leader?

'...... No. Well, whatever.

I'm sure he's doing fine. Rather than riding in the same carriage, it would be better for my mental health if I went home alone, since everyone in my party is rather quirky.

Half of the carriage was filled with souvenirs that I had bought in Slus. I bought a lot of them to show off my vacation to my clan members and Eva.
Most of them were hot spring dragon buns, hot spring dragon eggs, and hot spring dragon bath salts, but some of them were coffins filled with the corpses of subterranean people. These are the things that Luke and his friends have hunted. Demon materials were one of the sources of income for treasure hunters.

Our party uses carriages, but rarely rides in them. In general, Liz, Luke, and Ansem are outside, so there is a space for them. Sitri is in charge of the guard and Lucia is my escort.
Tino also seems to be running with Liz this time.

The gates of the imperial capital, which I hadn't seen in a long time, looked like they were under construction. The gates of the imperial capital, which I hadn't seen in a long time, seemed to be under construction, and were lined with knights on guard, a far cry from Thurles.
I had heard from Lucia that there had been some sort of commotion, but apparently things hadn't settled down yet.

Well, that happens sometimes, doesn't it? He stretches and sighs.

'I'll get a good night's sleep when I get home after a long time.

'............It looked like you were taking it easy the whole time. ......'

'Yes, Lucia has a treasure charge. I've also used Realize Outer.

'............ I'm tired too, but ...... I'll punch you, okay?'

Daily life returned. I gave Lucia a half-hearted smile as she gave me a sour look, and I breathed a sigh of relief.







Not only the gates, but also the inside of the Imperial City had changed drastically from what I remembered. How could this be, when it had only been a month or so?
Perhaps a bomb had exploded, several houses were half destroyed, several roads that had been well maintained were torn up, and the Knights were frantically directing traffic. The trees that used to grow beautifully along the streets and the coffee shops that I used to love were all damaged, to the point where I thought there was a war going on.

Fortunately, we are now in the aftermath of the uproar. The houses have collapsed, but there are no corpses lying around, and the townspeople seem to have gotten used to the situation.
I know it's unbecoming of a hunter, but I'm not good at looking at dead bodies. I don't know what happened and I don't want to know the details, but I'm really glad I left the capital.

There's nothing I can do about it anyway.

Leaving the carriage to Citri as usual, I carried a box of hot spring dragon buns as a souvenir and climbed the stairs of the Clan House, feeling lighter than usual.
I had a small taste of the hot spring dragon buns on the way, and found them to be quite tasty.
They don't really have dragons in them, but they come in both sweet and sour flavors, so that even those who don't like sweets can enjoy them.

When you enter the lounge, you will be greeted with a smile and a shout.

'I'm home! ............ ah?'

She stiffens with a smile.

The lounge, which was always clean and tidy, was now filled with the dead. There were hunters slumped over several tables with dead eyes, and countless bottles of alcohol lying on the polished floor.
It was a scene I had seen somewhere recently. Lucia, who had come with me, was wide-eyed, and Luke was frowning and (probably) thinking about something bad.

On top of that, slumped over one of the tables was, without a doubt, the Black Gold Cross, one of our clan's most talented members. Its leader, Sven, looked at me with zombie-like eyes and went rigid.

I approached the table with a smile and placed a box of hot spring dragon buns in front of Sven's stunned eyes. Sven's shoulders were shaking and his cheeks were drawn together at the sight of the box with the deformed dragon printed on it.

I patted him on the shoulder, turned and ran. I hear Sven stand up behind me with a thud.

'Ah! Hey, wait up! You--'

'Luke, I'm busy, take care of the rest.

'All right, Sven! I'm going to show you my new technique... and we're going to the training grounds!

You're looking good for a guy who just got back. .......
And I'm sorry, Sven. I have to give Eva a souvenir, so I don't have time to complain.

'd*mn it! ...... You guys! Don't let Kry get away!

Sven shouted at Luke, his eyes glowing.
The others looked up as if their corpses had been resurrected, their eyes shining as if they had found their prey.
As they pass each other, they tap Lucia on the shoulder. Lucia lets out a high-pitched squeal and cries out for more.

I run up the stairs, out of breath, smiling. A scream rises from the lounge.


'Welcome home!




'Welcome back, Cry. ...... How was your vacation? I've heard ...... a lot about you.'

'Well, a lot happened, but it was fun. Here's a souvenir for you.

Unlike Sven, who changed his expression as soon as he saw me, Eva behaved as usual.
She smiled at me and accepted the hot spring dragon buns with a dumbfounded expression.

That's it, that's it. It's soothing.
What's with that look on Sven's face, like he's just found his revenge? What did I do?

'I'm sure you've had a tough time with the Barrel Thieves, but we've also had a tough time ...... while you were gone, and we'd appreciate it if you could ...... come back later and thank our clan members.

I've already given you a hot spring dragon bun.

'...... Speaking of which, have you lost some weight?

You don't have any sleeping habits, and your uniform is perfect. Her glasses are polished. But overall, she looks a little slimmer than the Eva I remember.

Eva is not a hunter, but she is the real head of this clan. Since the clan members were so exhausted, it is not surprising that Eva is just as tired.


I was just a decoration, so it would have been the same whether I was there or not, but not having someone to take responsibility for me in case of emergency might have been mentally tough.

'I'm sure I've inconvenienced Eva with my absence, and if you have work to do, I'll do it here, so take some time off.

The work of running a clan is enormous. Most of them I don't understand, but with Lucia and Sitri's help, I'll be fine.
Sitri can do anything and everything, and Lucia helps out whenever she can, as if she's worried about her brother's disgusting behavior, so she has a good face for Eva's men.

When I suggested this, Eva's eyes relaxed a little, and she sighed and shook her head.

I've already left the ...... report on my desk because the commotion has already died down, but the war between the Hidden Curse and the remnants of the Akasha Tower was like a beehive being stirred up all over the Imperial Capital. The remnants, it seems, were still hiding some pretty big names, and our members were urgently asked to help, so we were mobilized quite a bit.

'That ...... must have been tough.

I'm really glad I was on vacation. The clan leader of the Hidden Curse, the Abyssal Firemage, is a terrifying mage. How terrifying is he? He's so terrifying that Lucia gives him a disgusted look just by hearing his name.
I try to avoid seeing him as much as possible, but every time I do, I have to do everything in my power to keep my face from turning into a scowl.

In addition to that, I have a grudge against him. It's already been resolved, but I accidentally approached a party that she had her eye on when she founded the clan.
And she won. To tell the truth, that party was the second or third most troublesome party in our clan, the Starlight, and ever since then, I have not been able to walk around the Imperial Capital with my head held high.

If that horrible old woman was involved, it was only natural that Sven Anger was about to die. She treats even Ark like a little boy, and in addition, she doesn't hesitate to reduce people to ashes, she seems to be happy to do so.

Eva's words were filled with a dark heat, as if she had gone through a great deal of trouble.


In addition, the other party's mage is also very skilled - can you believe it? It seems that the other party tried to perform the ritual of summoning the thunder spirit. A thunder spirit in a place full of people like this?

Is it hell?

Summoning spirits is a profound skill. Lucia is being pummeled to create a waterfall, but a spirit with a high offensive attribute is enough to be treated as a strategic weapon. It is obvious to me, an incompetent person, that this is not a magic that should be used in the Imperial City where there are many people. You're a member of a secret society, is that it?

I'm sure you're not the only one who has a problem with this.

''Hearing that, can you imagine what [Abyssal Fire Extinction] has done? It summoned the fire spirits that it has a contract with! He tried to counter the power with power! I really can't believe it. This is why level 8s--''

I'm sorry.

'.................. How is the Imperial City still standing?

When I saw the traces of destruction, I was surprised to think that a war had broken out in the imperial capital, but if the Abyssal Destruction had summoned the spirits, it would be a miracle that this level of destruction was enough.
Rumor has it that the old woman once burned down a treasure house. And the Abyssal Destruction has the power to do that.

Eva's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at my words.

'I don't have any detailed information, but it seems that ...... both sides were severely exhausted after the spirits used a lot of power. ......'

'Hmm. You were lucky.''

'It seems that the thunder spirits in particular were heavily exhausted, and it was settled rather quickly. Well, I guess I'm lucky.

Summoning a spirit is the art of summoning and using an existing spirit. The power of the summoning depends largely on the condition of the spirit as well as the skill of the summoner.
Naturally, when they are not being used, they are free somewhere, and there is a time lag between when they are activated and when they arrive, so it is a very uneven technique.
There are even stories of people who tried to summon a spirit when the time was right, but couldn't because the contracted spirit had disappeared.

Incidentally, Lucia is said to carry a bottle of water spirit with her, as she uses it to make waterfalls from time to time. She is not half bad at taming animals. She has always been good at disciplining animals. Lucia is also the one who trained me to use my dog leash.

Well, that's all over now. Not my problem.

I put away the report on my desk and opened a box of 24 hot spring dragon buns for myself. I had bought as many as I could, so there were about thirty boxes left.

As she sucked on a strawberry-flavored red dragon bun, Eva suddenly said something unintelligible.


'By the way, Mr. Cry. I'm talking about the White Sword Gathering...'

'Hmph? I'm sorry I've been away for so long. ............ Keho,...... I wasn't playing around.''


I swallowed a strawberry dragon bun and immediately began to make excuses, Eva blinked curiously and said.



'What? No. ............ has been postponed, so ...... will be held in three days. I wasn't sure if I should call in my absence, but I'm really glad I came back in time.