'Huh? Decline the Martial Emperor Festival and leave the city? Why ............ no ...... Cool, if you say so, you must have a good reason.''

I'm not sure what to say, but I'd like to know what you think.

In the small inn, the members of the Strange Freaks had gathered.

The Strange Freak was a party formed around its leader, Krach Andrich.
The members of this party, including Cool Psycho, are no more than minor villains, and the only real coincidence is the strength of Krahi. As for Kool and the others, their abilities are second-rate at best, and none of them has a second name.

One of the reasons why the Cools have been overlooked up to now is that, with the exception of their leader, Kulahi, they did not have much ability.
And as for Kulahi, no one could be sure that he was really a fake because he possessed an honorable spirit befitting a treasure hunter.


Until now, the scope of the Ghost of Sorrows' activities had not overlapped with that of the Ghost of Sorrows. It hadn't intentionally participated in any large-scale joint operations, and when it was discovered, it had planned to cover it up as just a look-alike. But now that I was face to face with the real thing, there was nothing I could do.

It seems that the Ghost of Sorrows doesn't have any great feelings for Kool and the others. But it's been recognized.
There's no telling what he'll do to them if they try to use the same name anymore. For treasure hunters, face sometimes trumps the law.

In this case, you have no choice but to run.

A female alchemist with a very bad eye. A red-haired woman with her legs crossed wildly on a table.
The Lowest Mountain, Ktli Smyrt, with her pale, almost deflated breasts, smokes a cigar and sighs deeply.

Apparently, business in the cleats was going well. Kuthrie is probably the worst member of this party, peddling poorly diluted potions to line his pockets. With a bottle of cheap wine in his left hand and a cigar in his right, he looks like a thug to all intents and purposes.
Including the fact that he is the stingiest despite being the richest, he is a rare member who probably surpasses the original "The Worst" in terms of lousiness.

'That's because you ............ cool are so petty. But even if you're not, there's no way you'll be able to beat the real thing.

'Huh! What are you saying to my brother? You can definitely beat the real thing!

'Nonsense. Besides, even if this guy is good, the party members are too weak. I can't find any anthems and I've made a lot of money. It's time to go.

Kutry's words were rough, but in a way, they were right on target. If I had to pick one of the biggest differences between the real and the fake, it would be the weakness of the party members.
The most inexperienced of them all was Ruscha. In a party with a powerful sorcerer named Krahi, the inexperienced sorcerer Rusha is a complete burden. According to Krahi, she has talent, but even that is a far cry from the talent of Krahi, who had fought alone without a master and had succeeded.

Ruscha shakes his head reluctantly and cries out with tears in his eyes.

'Shut up, shut up, shut up! Shut up, you little tit! We've just gotten our tickets, the Martial Emperor Festival is the perfect opportunity for you to show us your power!

'............'

Zulie had an unenthusiastic look on her face, as if she didn't need me to make her known. In the first place, in general, Cool and the others are not very enthusiastic.
Neither Kool, Zuly, nor Kutley are very concerned about being treasure hunters. There was a look-alike, so they just put on a look-alike face and came here on the sly.

No, it's probably the same for Rusha that she's not interested in hunters. She's just in love with Krahi.

Krahi pondered for a while with a serious expression on his face, but then he opened his eyes and said with a hard-boiled expression.

'I see, ......, I understand what you mean. But even so, even if defeat awaits, the Martial Emperor Festival is a great opportunity. I want to challenge the real thing.

'The real thing?'

At Zulie's quizzical look, Kulahi said in a cheerful voice as if singing.

'Yes. Everyone here is a real warrior! And there will be even more powerful ones in the main battle! If I retreat here, I'll never be able to make amends to the strongest opponents I've ever faced! I may be a fake now, but I'm here to fight and prove my strength and pride! That's what my hunter's soul demands!

'You're just imagining things.

Krahi didn't seem offended at all by Kuthrie's dumbfounded voice.

I don't understand how you can interact so much with members of a real clan and not notice them at all. I don't understand why he didn't notice that he was working with the real one to kill criminals at the real one's request. You'd think they'd realize right away that there's no such thing as a look-alike. .......

I don't know what the real thing is thinking. But it seems that this time, too, there is no stopping it.

His stomach churned and Cool reflexively held his stomach.

Cool Psycho was the brains of the party. But Krach Andrich always pretended to listen to Cool, but never did.
Zuly, who is sensitive to such dangers as a bandit, asks Cool in a whisper.

'What should we do? Run away?'

'Hmm......'

What to do...... Cool frowned, folded his arms and snorted.
It's easy enough to run away. There was no strong attachment to the party, and even if he ran away, Krahi would accept it on his own, as it suited him.

But this man, Klach Andrich, is a man who cannot be left alone.








It was a strange forest.
The trees, planted at even intervals, spread out endlessly, but there was almost no sign of life, as there should be in a normal forest.
There was no sound of birds, no sign of animals, not even the sight of insects, and the strangest thing of all was the soil.

The soil of the forest was made up of fine sand that would flow easily if you scooped it up. It was not nutritious and was not suitable for plants to grow.
In fact, many attempts to plant trees had ended in failure.

Until that day when a high-level hunter visited.

[Toaizant]. Until a few days ago, the land was called the Land of Sand.

In the center of the forest, there was a small village.
A strange village with wooden houses mixed in with the stacked brick houses.

A tanned man with a thick cloth turban wrapped around his head noticed something strange and shouted in panic.

'Hey, the fox is not here! Do you know who he is?

'What?

'Isn't he taking a nap somewhere again?

Upon hearing the story, the anxious villagers gathered around.

The miraculous forest was created entirely by a girl wearing a fox mask.


We don't know who it is. All the villagers knew was that it was the famous "Thousand Transformations" who brought it to them, and that the girl would use her strange powers in exchange for fried tofu.

It was unlikely that she was really a god, but the girl's power was powerful.
The tree planting, which had been unsuccessful in the past no matter how many famous magicians were invited, was established in an instant.

The man who is the head of the planting village looks up at the tree that exists in the center of the village.

It was a huge tree that would normally take a thousand years to grow. It was so thick that ten people could hold its arms and finally turn it around, and its height was outstanding compared to the forest that was growing day and night. If you look at the forest from a distance, it will probably look like a joke with a single giant tree sticking out of it.

It was a tree that grew right above something like a tail given to it by the Thousand Transformations. A small shrine had been built nearby, as she had been advised just before she left, and the girl was supposed to be taking a nap there.
However, the girl who had been lying there for most of the day was nowhere to be seen. Only the three pieces of fried tofu placed in the bowl were dry and crispy.

Clearly an abnormal situation. The fox, who loves fried tofu and eats it as soon as I give it to him, would never leave fried tofu there until it is completely dry.
He may go for a walk, but he never forgets to eat.


'.........'


But the villagers made no further noise and looked at each other in confusion.
A land full of greenery was something the desert people longed for. Everyone was grateful for the miraculous forest, and there were strong calls to give the Thousand Transformations a medal.


But even green has its limits.


The growth of the forest knew no bounds. Even though no trees had already been planted, the forest was expanding day by day, turning the desert green at a tremendous rate.
The wooden houses were the result of an attempt to stop the forest from swallowing up the village.

Plants and animals that had adapted to the desert were being driven out, and some people were catching colds as the temperature dropped several degrees due to the sudden appearance of the forest.

And most of all, there was no end in sight, which was terrifying. The foxes would not stop even if we asked them to stop at this point.



Eventually, one of the villagers said in a distressed tone.

'Didn't ............ take you there?

'? That's right. I'm sure of it!

'That man took the fox away!

'I saw him fiddling with something on a square board! That's how he communicated with him!

There was a chorus of voices that seemed to agree with these words and eventually turned into cheers.
I don't care what's true. The forest has stopped encroaching. Toaizant was saved.

The relief and excitement did not stop after dark, and the feast of thanksgiving began.








Illusions are memories of the past that are recreated by mana materials. As such, illusions do not have a life span unless there is a particular reason.
Because they are not living beings, they have no connection to biological needs. The habits of each individual are also based on the reason for their existence, not on experience.

Therefore, the illusion that came from the [Lost Inn] - the nameless sister fox created by the powerful mana material - was now moving as if driven.

She had to move.

Illusions don't need to eat. They don't know what tastes good or bad. And I'm not going to side with that squeamish human.
But a habit deeply engraved in his being has a burning need for fried food.

'White Fox-sama, are you sure you're okay?

A woman dressed as a priestess asks my sister fox who is sitting in the kitchen.
The sister fox replied in a cold voice to the question that she no longer knew how many times she had asked.

'Don't worry. This is all a matter of careful calculation. I know everything.'

'Yes,......, this is ......, this is the boss's order. Boss's orders--'

I have no interest in human affairs. The sister fox is an illusion created by the gods. A god.
God is tyrannical. God doesn't care about mere mortals.


My sister fox just wants to eat fried tofu.


My brother's obedience to the mortal he calls "Kikikan-san" is just the result of a negotiation.

No matter how many thousands of people die, no matter how many organizations are destroyed, she is still a fox. It's worse to be fooled by someone who can read your mind.



Take a lesson from Mr. Kikikan. That person is incredibly unproductive.
It's like he's been voluntarily manipulating you from the start. No wonder my mother lost. In a battle of wits, it's people like that who are the most troublesome.
Even my sister fox doesn't know what to do.

She rarely had a chance to fool humans when she lived in the treasure house.
As she wagged her tail, which had sprung out of her mouth in a good mood, the sympathetic stone she had taken from the priest trembled.

I'll take it, but I can't hear you.

I can't hear you.

When I tilted my head and looked at the stone for a while, I suddenly heard a voice.

"Who are you?

'............'.

You know you've failed. My sister fox's power has its limitations. She can't do everything, and she has her weaknesses.

She's not good at deceiving people at a distance. It's hard to read their minds unless you're face to face. This opponent in particular seems to have a high level of mental defense. It's almost impossible to read his mind.
There was power in his voice. A power that could threaten even the world's top-ranked sister fox from the treasure house.

Now, who should it be? .......

Sola? Gaff? Sola's teacher?

I don't care what's going on, but that doesn't mean I don't know what's going on.

I think about it as I stroke my tail. Then the sister fox changed her voice and said.




'Nice to meet you, boss. No, nice to meet you is strange, I've been watching you. I'm your enemy, the one with no sense of humor.