What happened to you then?

　In my peaceful home I was receiving reports
　From Zebiantes.

　As expected, the three brave men, Pigalo, Altamir and Zester, attacked Rasperda fortress.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.

"I don't understand.
I don't know...?

　Zeviantes' report after returning from the fortress was not very to the point.

　You defeated the three heroes and then what happened?

“He disappeared. That's all I can say.

　How did it disappear?
　From what Zebiantes told me, it was like this.

　For the time being, it was going well until they fought and defeated the brave men and women.
　When they were incapacitated, they tried to restrain the brave men who could not move.

"A strange fellow came out.

　The guy wore a hooded cloak and was dressed in a way that made no sense at all to me in terms of face and build.

I must have been in a hurry to defend myself when that guy suddenly attacked me, and I was distracted for a moment, and then I realized that neither he nor the brave man was there.
''Hey, hey.......even if the Four Heavenly Kings were to let their prey slip away so easily.......!
No, no!　He doesn't have a choice!　That's how amazing an attack that the cloaked guy came out with!

　An attack that would make even a top-class magician, the Four Heavenly Kings, panic.
　It's only a matter of time before he or she is able to do so, and it's only a matter of time before he or she is able to do so.

　This is a great way to get a better understanding of the situation.
　All three were taken.

But they were fighting somewhere else, weren't they?　You're doing a great job of collecting that exactly...
According to Droyer and Bezalia, it was the exact same cloak that showed up. That's exactly what happened to me.

　Exactly the same physical appearance.
　The fact that this guy appeared on the battlefields of "Zebiantes and Pigalo", "Droyer and Zester", and "Bezelia and Altamir" respectively...?

　...the same person?

　No, it could be a different person if the cloak was hiding his entire body.
　But the important thing is not that.....

"Who in the world is collecting the brave men and women and for what purpose?
It's right there!

　Zebiantes snorted.

''I think that cloak is a force on the human side after all!
"Does this mean you rescued a hero in a pinch?

　It's true that thinking like that is the least messed up.

　If the human race's star of hope, the brave man, becomes a prisoner of the demon race, we're in big trouble.
　It would be a total loss of face.

　In order to avoid this, someone who had been secretly accompanying them, sailed out at the right time and rescued the heroes.

　Is that someone, for example, a secret agent who received the wishes of the Center Guild?　The one in the shadows?
　Well, it sounds like a very likely story.

What about that part?
What about it?

　Me and Zebiantes turned to the brave Radey, who was also joining in the conversation.

''Ew!　It's me?!
''That's right, if you want to know what's going on in the Center Guild, then a brave man is the best person to ask.

　We had too many ate's to gather information in our house.

''........No, I don't think there's anyone like that, that kind of watchdog. The fact that such a person was following Altamir and his friends means that they are following me too, right?
It's true.

　As a regular brave man, Radey is the one who should be treated more carefully than the other three who were chosen unexpectedly.
　If you're going to have a watchdog, it shouldn't be surprising that there are three or four of them sticking around.

But I've never felt the presence of such a person in my life. Dariel-san and Zebi-chan would have done the same, right?
''Hmmm...?

　Even me and Zeviantes, the ones who seem to be living together these days, don't notice it.
　That can't be true, right?

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.
　If there is a hidden form user whose presence is not detected by all of them, then that's a person who is even more powerful than the heroes.

''That guy is the one who wants us to defeat the Demon King-sama.......!
But there's one more thing that proves that the cape guy is on the human side!

　Zebiantes bites down boldly.

''That guy must have used his sword!
Sword?

　It's true that only the human race adventurers use weapons.
　Demons don't need weapons because they use attack magic if they want to attack.

"They attacked us with their swords!　That technique was also unmistakably the technique of the human race!

　
　I'm going to call him the cloaked man for convenience, and that's what he says.......

The "Encounter Sky".

　It seems that he unleashed a technique called the "Encounter Devil's Sky".

"What's that, it's just like the 'Super Empty Sky'...?

　Is that also a derivative of the 'Splitting Sky' technique?
　I looked over at Radey and he waved the cover off as best he could. 'I don't know, I don't know,' he said.

''The one that shot at me actually looked exactly like the 'Super Emperor Splitting Sky'. His aura was flying in a mass, huge, and seemed to be able to cut everything in a flash!
Isn't that the 'Great Emperor's Sky' itself?
'But it was different in some ways!　The mass of aura that the cloaked man produced was bright red!
''Red?''

　Colored Aura Slash.
　That's right, it's different from the 'Super Emperor Splitting Sky'.

　Auras don't have any difference in color to begin with, they're usually white or yellowish, like sunlight, like the dawn light.

''No, it was a really creepy color. It was as red as blood...!

　Zebiantes stuck out his tongue with a wedge as he felt creepy when he remembered.

　Surprised by that too eerie aura slash, Zebiantes, Droyer and Bezelia were all busy defending themselves.
　And while their attention was distracted for just a moment, the cloaked man and the brave man who had fallen down were gone, they said.

　Considering the situation, I should think that the cloaked man took them. The fact is also first of all definitely so.

"The human race must have taken him away, so 'Don't cheat! I was going to protest to little Radie, "I've been thinking about it. But I guess I was wrong.
You're not going to let me protest that...?

　Radey was perplexed.

But things have taken a turn for the worse, haven't they?

　As for me, I was hoping that the three newly chosen brave men would fail to capture the battle and the excessive momentum for defeating the Demon King would dissipate.

　.............
　What is going to happen?

I'm more worried about you.

　Radey muttered, that's exactly what he was worried about.

'To listen to you, Zebi.......doesn't that mean we don't know where Artamir and the others are?'
Oh...

　You're right.
　If he is a person whose identity is unknown, we don't even know where he is.

　The brave men and women who were taken by such a person are also missing.

　I didn't notice it until it was pointed out to me, but I myself have almost no contact with those three people.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I'm sure it's not.

"What should we do, Dariel-san........!　You'd better let the Center Guild know about this...!

　That's better, of course, but it's tricky when people question how you get your information...

'Zebiantes.'
Yes?
'The adventurers led by the heroes are safe, right?
Yes, they've rescued them from being buried in the dirt or trapped in the cracked ground and thrown them in jail.
So let them all go. Let them have the information that a brave man is missing.

　It's not a good idea to hold a prisoner of war and use him as a message pigeon.

Can you do that, Zebi?
Hmmm, it may be difficult to free a captured prisoner unconditionally, but you must try.
Yay!　I love you, Zebi!

　Now, now, enemy to enemy.

　Anyway, where did the brave men get taken to?
　I hope this isn't a harbinger of bad things to come....