One by one, the drunken members of the group became drunk, and the atmosphere in the room gradually changed from festive to quiet.



　Many of my friends were sleeping in the room today, not in the box garden.

　In the end, the only ones awake were Domorte, who was sipping a few drinks, and Lara, who was accompanying him.



　The room is warmed by a warm air spell, but we cover everyone with blankets.

　It's hard to get a cold tummy. I also adjust the brightness of the room to make it a little darker.



"I'm glad you've regained your sense of taste, Mr. de Morte. Come on in, there's still plenty to drink."

"Thank you, Lara. Here you go, Lara.

　Both of them are drunk or not, and they are repeating the same exchange happily.



　Domorte is spoon-filling a small cup for Lara. Lara seems to be a very strong drinker, being able to stay awake this long.



"Looks like everyone is asleep.

"Yeah, we had a lot of fun during the day.

　As we were talking, Patra woke up rubbing her eyes and sat on my lap and hugged me.



"Papa, it's time for bedtime!"

　Apparently I had been sleepwalking. I held her in my arms so that she wouldn't fall off, and she fell asleep with a soft, deep sigh.

　I patted her back gently and rhythmically.



"You're just like a real father and son, aren't you? Was Locke married?

"No!　But it was normal for him to take care of the children around him from a young age. It was a small village, and the parents were busy, so it was normal for the kids to take care of each other."



　Back then, I was with ...... my childhood friends all the time. I wonder what she's doing now that you mention it. The competitive kid who used to follow us around all the time. He was always pestering us to go with him, but ...... it's about time he left the village on his own.



　I was reminiscing about the past, a bit dazed, probably from the alcohol.



"Rock, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, ...... sorry. I was a little fuzzy. What was I talking about?"



"It's about the weird magic that surrounds this village. Lara investigated and found a total of six places where suspicious tornadoes and magical forces are gathering. They are ...... probably a ploy by the Suiju nation to use them in this raid. I'm sure of it."

"We're going to save this village while you play along. Well, if you want to help us with the investigation tomorrow, we can help you.　You guys can't leave here, can you?"



　Domorte and Lara said confidently and triumphantly.

　We've found some weird magic ...... too.



"Tornadoes? Black tornadoes?　We found some weird stuff too. Mr. Gargoyle, are you ...... sleeping?"

"He's awake. I'm a strong drinker.

　Mr. Gargoyle woke up with a start and staggered over to the table where we were sitting. He is clearly drunk. It was like a drunk who stubbornly denies that he is not drunk.



"Mr. Gargoyle found the wards that used to border the village of Kolon," he said.

"Yes. Yes, of course. Yes, of course. I did a little wind magic to get rid of the strange thing at the base. I can do it too. Cheers!



　Gargoyle raises his empty glass high in the air and lays his head on the desk.



"Gargoyle, you're always a good kid. You don't have to think you can do it. You've always helped me."

　I patted him on the head and felt the cool stone.



"Wait a minute!　What's with the warding?"

　Domorte and Lara look at each other.

　I had only told them that we had been attacked and that the village head didn't trust us.



"Hmm?　There was a ward between the villages of Koron and Anesa. Mr. Gargoyle blew it down. Also, I don't know if it has anything to do with the warding, but there's a black tornado called "Demon Wind Cave" in this village, and I found two of them, and I made the tornado disappear. I found two of them and put out the tornadoes. I found this black crystal at the base of one of them.

　Domorte downed the alcohol he had on hand in one gulp.



"Oh my God. ...... I was supposed to go there tomorrow to investigate."

"Domorte-sama~ I worked hard all by myself in the cold. I predicted the location of the suspicious magic and tried my best to find it so that I could be of help to Domorte-sama, but this guy ......... ........."

　What the hell is going on?



"Shouldn't you have broken the wards?"

"No, you shouldn't have. Margret has asked me to look into it. Margret knew that there was a strange magic around this village, but she couldn't go and investigate it herself, so she asked me to go to ...... and take a look. I didn't think that the problem was almost solved. Can I have the black crystal?"



"Yeah, if you can use it for something, use it."

　Lara was the only one who looked at me as if she wanted to say something.



I can be useful too. I've done the research. I was going to ask for praise. ......"

　Lara started to cry.

　She seems to become a crier when she drinks.



"Lara is great!"

"Shut up!　Shut up!" "Shut up, you idiot!

　He's being unreasonable.



"So, what's that all about?　It's been here for a long time, hasn't it?

"Apparently. Margret said all they could do was scatter the tornado for a second rather than try to figure out what caused it. They've probably been planning to hit this place for a long time. Every time a merchant comes here, there seems to be more and more strange magic and the dragons get more and more rampaging. How did you find this buried at the base of the tree? That's why it's really out of the norm. ......"



"It was Lucky and Mr. Gargoyle who did it, not me. And it was only buried in the ground, so it was an accident that I found it. If you still look for it, you can find it in the cave at the snow stone place, can't you?"






"I'll go look for them tomorrow. We'll be free to walk. Wow, this is interesting.

　Holding the crystal, Domorte spins it and plays with it, channeling magic power through it.



"This one uses the same principle, but it has been tweaked a bit. Maybe this is the magic of the Suiju nation.

"Why are some places wired and others not?"

"I think it's because the wards are activated at different times. This magic takes quite a while to work, so I think the scouts were planning to move the device before tomorrow's attack. It can't be moved now, though. Oh, if this is the case, ...... Mr. Locke, would you stand right there with this?"

"Sure."

　As I stood there, Domorte shot a light fireball at me, but it bounced off before it hit me.



"I just tinkered with it a little bit, and this is what I got. This is another interesting magic circuit. Let's go to Suiju country someday.



"Yeah, when you're ready. This might come in handy against those with no defense. How long will it last?

"This black crystal collects magic power from its surroundings on its own, so I think it can be used ...... almost semi-permanently. It's only limited to weak magic.



"Can I take this?"

"Sure. I'll pick them all up tomorrow.



　I'll put it quietly in the pocket of the kid who needs it.

　Tomorrow, when he wakes up, I'll explain it to him.

　We sleep in the cave.