The city of Ishqa was silent. Or it was terrified and terrified and cowering.

　The main street, which is usually crowded with people, was deserted and not a single cat cub was to be found. The wind, blowing from the north (Titis) direction, was raging with dust and making the buildings screech and creak. A child's toy, a toy that had no owner, was rolling on the ground, tossed about by the storm.

　It was a sight like the ruins of an abandoned house.

　Of course, not all the inhabitants of Ishqa had died out. Of course, not every single inhabitant of the city had died out, and not every single one of them had been evacuated from the city. It is true that many of the inhabitants have fled to the south, but there are many who are still living in the city of Ithaca.

　However, it would have been extremely difficult to grasp this fact from the current state of the deserted city. Many people seemed to be holed up in buildings like shells, waiting for the storm to pass.


　Three days had already passed since the first dragon's roar (Dragonlore) roared across the city.


　The roar has brought many of those who had been in a state of panic to their senses, and the Stampede defense line, which had been in a state of turmoil at one point, has recovered with strong reinforcements. In fact, at this point, most of the monsters from Titis had been defeated, and as far as the Stampede were concerned, the situation was clearly coming to an end.

　Why is it that the city of Ishqa is still as quiet as a ruin? The reason was due to the earth-shaking that occurred shortly after.


　--Zu.........n, zu......n, zu.......


　The ground shook three times as if it were thrusting upward, bouncing, and the buildings all over Ithaca creaked loudly. Even the long walls that guarded Ithaca wobbled as if they couldn't stand it anymore.

　The shaking of the ground did not subside at once. Once, a little while later, and then twice - and then it didn't stop, and then five times.

　The size and frequency of the earthquake was too extraordinary to be called an earthquake. If it were normal, people would have been suspicious, and they would have made a lot of noise.

　But now, most of the residents of Ishqa were accepting this unusual occurrence with a sense of resignation. This abnormality began a little after the first dragon roar (dragonlore) - that is, three days had already passed since the outbreak.

　During that time, the earth tremors repeated day and night. Even a child could understand that an earthquake that continued uninterruptedly for three days was not a natural phenomenon.

　The earth tremors are proof that the owner of the roar (dragon) is still alive. If that is the case, there are only two responses that those who have no way to fight can take: give up or run away. Those who can run away have already run away. It was inevitable that Ishka was tainted with resignation.

　Because of such a situation, there was no cheering even when the government office and the Adventurer's Guild announced the end of the stampede. The earth shaking was a taunt from the dragon that "nothing is over yet," and the residents were forced to spend their days without sleep.

　Logistics had come to a halt, stores were closed, and if they ate up their stockpiles, hunger would be next. If a dragon were to attack them directly, they would be crushed like a bunch of worms. There is no way to know what will happen next, and the fear of slow-approaching death is ever-present. The echoes of the earth will keep you awake at night, and even if you are able to sleep, you will soon be awakened.

　The residents of the city, who are wasting away, can do nothing but pray. They prayed that the elite, the pride of the adventure city of Ishqa, would defeat the culprit as soon as possible.



　--It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of this project.


I've received word from Parfait of the defense line, Master. The three of them have left the defense line and are headed for the forest of Titis. Parfait has informed us that they are planning to ride the vermilion tornado where the dragon is lurking.


　The three people in question are, of course, Goz, Klimt and Cryer.

　These three days - or rather, the three of them were the ones who were able to hold off the Stampede's demons, including their activities even before that. If it wasn't for them, there was no doubt that the line of defense would have been breached early.

　After receiving Liddell's report, Elgato slowly nodded.


'I see. 'So you decided that the next wave wouldn't come, and you went to the source.

I suppose so. But whatever your goals, I would ask that you keep your discretion to yourself.


　Liddell complains about the departure of the three men. Even though it was largely due to his own carelessness, Liddell couldn't remain friendly towards the three of them after witnessing the outrage at Sola's mansion.

　In response, Elgato responded with a slight narrowing of his eyes.


''I guess he thought it would be useless to ask for permission. In fact, it is only wishful thinking that the Stampede is coming to an end. We couldn't afford to allow those three to leave under these circumstances.


　It's a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with your money.

　For the past three days, Elgato hadn't had time to sleep, let alone sit down in his chair, as he struggled to settle the situation over the government office, the guild and the city. Especially at the beginning of the disturbance, many of the government office's heavyweights had fallen due to the roar, and Ishka's city functions had been completely paralyzed, so the burden on Elgato's two shoulders was considerable.

　In the midst of such a situation, Elgato coordinated the confused staff and adventurers and dispatched them to various parts of the city to maintain security. Of course, he didn't just leave it to his subordinates; he also went out on his own.

　The master of the Adventurer's Guild and a first-class adventurer, Elgato was one of the most famous people in Issaquah. As a matter of course, he has access to government officials, the city's wealthy merchants, and the commanders of the regular army. Elgato kept in touch with them, enlisted their help, set up a temporary chain of command, and kept a lid on the pot of destruction that was about to blow over.

　Without this scramble, the chaos in Issaquah would have been unstoppable, and the city would have been looted and even rioted.

　During this time, Goz and his men supported the defensive line, which was in a state of chaos. If it hadn't been for Goz and his team, Elgato would have been forced to prioritize the elimination of demons rather than cleaning up the chaos, and as a result, the chaos in the city of Issaquah would have grown several times larger than it is today, and in some cases, it might have grown to dozens of times larger.

　What's more, Elgato would not have been able to produce as many overwhelming results as the three of them when they went to the front, and the defensive line would probably have collapsed. If that had happened, Ishka would have been destroyed in a morning by internal and external troubles.

　It is undoubtedly due to the achievements of the three of them that Ishka now exists, albeit in a humble way. It's a good thing that we don't have to turn a blind eye to a little selfishness. It's not a matter of whether or not they fled before the enemy, but even more so if they were headed to eliminate the main culprit - that's what Elgato thought.

　But he didn't want to tell that to the Lidel in front of him. Lidel is an intelligent woman. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what to expect.

　Then why did Lidel speak in such a way as to condemn the three of them?

　It's a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're doing. But that wasn't the whole reason, Elgato surmised.

　Perhaps Liddell was even more wary than he was angry at those three. In a way, much more so than the Stampede demons. It was also Elgato's psychology at the same time.

　In the past three days, Elgato has only once witnessed the three of them fighting on the defensive line. The sight of countless, thoughtless and thoughtless demons, literally ripping, cutting and burning them to pieces, was extraordinary even in the eyes of a first-class adventurer. Liddell must have seen the same thing in Sora's mansion and was alarmed.

　He had the power to prevent even the Stampede if he wanted to. If they were so inclined, they could reduce the city of Ishqa to ashes.

　This can't be dismissed as a delusion. For the three of them, based on their own values, turned on the demon girl who was allowed to live in Ishqa and those who tried to protect her.

　The circumstances of that situation are still unclear, but Liddell reports that the three of them defied the restraints and made it clear that they would put their own laws before the laws of the city.

　Such outlaws are an immense fighting force. Even if it wasn't Liddell, it was natural to be wary. Again, Elgato is also wary of the three of them, just like Liddell.

　........Only, to tell the truth, the weight of the three of them in Elgato's thoughts was not that heavy. This was because there were others who were far more wary than the three of them. Another fact from Liddell's report. The one who dismissed those three was a former tenth level adventurer who had been expelled from the guild--


Not you again, Sora.


　Elgato mumbles, fidgeting with his furrowed brow. The name of the guild's problem keeps coming up these days," he said.

　Elgato understands that the current Sora is neither a parasite nor a level 1.

　After the period when he was expelled from the guild, Sola's abilities have increased rapidly. I knew that, but I didn't think that the three people who were capable of blocking the Stampede had reached a point where they could all give Sola a hard time.


''So the extent of the rise I had in mind and the extent of the actual rise were about as far apart as heaven and earth. Now, did God descend, or was it possessed by a demon...?

Master, what is it?


　When asked by Liddell dubiously, Elgato responded with a small wipe of his head and said, "It's nothing.

　From there, he resumed his speculation about Sola.

　Liddell says that he and Sola are acquaintances and probably homebodies. There is no denying the possibility that the three of them may have been holding back or hesitating behind Sola's victory.

　But even taking this into account, Sola's speed of growth was unparalleled.

　That Sora, but it was confirmed that three days ago, she had headed north on the Indigo (Indigo) Winged Beast (Wyvern) - when I thought that far, the guild's building suddenly shook.


''--m.''


　Elgato feels the shaking and raises his eyebrows slightly. The sturdy guild building creaks and creaks, followed a little later by a zhu...nn, zhu...nn.

　A month ago, there would have been a great deal of excitement about whether it was a swooping demon or an earthquake, but now Ishka is accepting this anomaly with resignation.

　Elgato walked over to the window and looked out.

　Right now, most of the residents of Ishka linked the continuing earthquake to the roar of three days ago, and believed that a fearsome demonic beast was rampaging near the city. Continuing earthquakes are synonymous with demonic beasts being alive. Therefore, everyone hoped that the shaking would stop soon.

　However, Elgato sees the earthquake in a different light than others.


Indeed, the shaking of the ground shows that the beast is still alive and kicking, but at the same time, it challenges the beast. But it also proves that the one who defied him is still alive and well.


　If you don't think so, you can't explain why the demonic beast is staying in the forest of Titis.

　It wasn't just for an hour or two. Rather than thinking that the demonic beast hadn't moved from Titis for three days and three nights for no reason, it was more convincing to think that it couldn't move from where it was now because it was fighting with someone.


''It was definitely the dragon's roar (Dragon Roar) that echoed three days ago. If that's the case, then we should consider the one on the other side of that vermilion tornado to be a dragon of an illusory species. Sola, have you been holding that dragon back for three days and three nights?


　If so, Sora's power is unimaginable. Incredibly.

　But even so, as long as we are human, there are limits. From the frequency of the earthquakes, Sora should not have been able to sleep or even eat or drink for the past three days. The earthquakes could stop shaking at any time.

　Thinking of Sora, who is probably fighting a deadly battle with a dragon, risking her life, Elgato lowers his gaze as if he is worried.

　He knows that Sora is hostile to the Adventurer's Guild. I am also aware that I am the one who caused it. Aside from the matter of expulsion, it was natural for her to resent me for the way I handled the matter of the Sword of the Falcon. Even if Elgato cared for her, Sora would only frown loosely.

　Nevertheless, Elgato couldn't help but pray for Sora's safety.

　He couldn't help but pray for the safety of the young man who knew he couldn't win and still challenged the dragon for someone else.