The attack on Mithril's convoy, which occurred suddenly, was resolved in the form of the capture of the culprit (one person died).

　Fortunately, the adventurers who were involved in the convoy were not injured, but fortunately there were no fatalities, and all of the human legs and feet escaped to safety.

　The best thing about it is that there was minimal human casualties.
　........but that doesn't mean it can't be said that nothing happened.

◆

You know what I mean?
Yes....! I'm sorry...!

　After returning to the village of Lax, I began to question the attackers I had arrested.
　The two men were the hammering hero, Zester, and the bow hero, Altamir.

Last time we had you as our guests, but this time it's different. You are thieves who have tried to rob the village of its most valuable possessions. Don't expect to be treated the same way.
Yes....!

　As if to demonstrate their declaration, Zester and Altamir were seated directly on the ground.
　Although they no longer saw that they no longer had any intention of rebellion and didn't go so far as to restrain them, they also confiscated their weapons and had a lookout, but they handled the situation with a certain amount of discipline.

''First of all, let me check...........is your body okay?''
Yes?
You mean, like, hurt?　I've been properly treated and it's nothing serious, but...?

　You felt that I was worried about the injuries you sustained in battle, but that's not my intention.

You're not going to be able to get away with it. That raised your aura levels, but does it affect anything else?
No, no....nothing in particular...?
'Come to think of it, that aura that went up then is back to normal. I can't believe I ate the metal myself. It's like the whole thing was a bad dream now that I think about it.

　With their brainwashing spell lifted and the red light in their eyes gone, they were truly rational and the interrogation went smoothly.

　In the same way, devouring the mithril, Pigalo destroyed himself.
　The fact that the two of them didn't do so must have had a lot to do with the amount of intake.

　Whereas Pigaro was gobbling it up like he was bathed in it, the two of them only took a small bite.
　That was the difference between being crushed by the increased power or not.

'But still, eating metal is not good for you. You have to be very careful about the after-effects.
'Master Dariel!'

　Something about Zester flattened out as he cried.

'How considerate of a fool like us!　You can't complain about us being dragged through the streets and thrown in jail for our crimes, but your compassion is just like the son of Arantzill!
What?　Son?

　Don't be a prick about it.
　You're scaring Altamir, I'm going to talk to him.

It doesn't matter what it is now that you've finally come to your senses. I've got a lot of questions for you.

　I tried to get it out of Pigalo, but he didn't even have to answer, he just destroyed himself and disappeared.
　The best solution would be to ask the two of them.

''First of all, why did you do this?''
''............!''

　Like a child accused of a prank, the two of them shushed each other.

　That's probably true, like a child who has played a prank with no particular motive, neither of them have a solid motive for this act.
　So I'm going to keep going.

'We both must have been manipulated by someone.
Manipulated...?
You both had a red light in your eyes while you were doing the deed. It's a brainwashing spell used by demons.

　Brainwashing magic is different from the messenger magic that controls small animals and is used to cast it on intelligent bodies such as humans and demons.
　You can't use messenger magic to control the instincts of creatures that have high intelligence and judgment.
　The high level of intelligence is used against the creature, and the emotions that only the intellect possesses are enlarged and run amok. It's the brainwashing magic that makes them lose their ability to judge things as they see fit and manipulate them as the magician sees fit.

The person who put the brainwashing spell on you must be there. She is the mastermind behind this incident.

　And the one that comes to mind is the cloak-suit that says they were abducted.

　Zester and the other three heroes who were defeated at Lasperda Fortress.
　Normally they should have been captured by the demon tribe and taken as prisoners, but they were recaptured and taken away by a mysterious person who covered their entire body with a cloak.

"Considering what happened before and after, it was the cloak that caused you guys to be brainwashed with a spell to rob Mithril. Do you remember anything?
It's...

　The first thing Zester does when asked is a difficult look.

''........I don't remember. There's a pockmarked blank in my memory...!
I also........my most recent memory before it was interrupted is where I got hit by the Four Heavenly Kings and got stuck.......!

　I knew it.
　I sighed at the answer that I had expected, but was not what I expected.

It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. And the memories of the time it was cast on you will be vague.

　The mastermind behind this is the cape that put the brainwashing spell on Zesters with such calculation.

I'm sure it was Mant who gave you guys a power-up by eating mithril. Who the hell do you think you are if you know about this trick...?

　It's very disturbing, even alarming, but there's nothing more to be found out, and the mystery remains a mystery.

I guess we have no choice but to put this incident behind us.
'No!　It can't be over!

　Zester raised his voice.

He said, "No matter what the reason, it is absolutely unacceptable that we, who have been given the title of heroes, should steal. Please let us be punished severely by the hand of Dariel, the son of Lord Arantziel!

　So stop saying it at every turn.

"I'm going to...

　Altamir said divinely.

''Well if it were true, I would like to return what you stole and atone for your sins as you see fit, but what you have eaten will not be returned. I'll be sorry if you don't impose a heavy punishment for that.

　I'll make sure to charge the center guild for the loss of Mithril, okay?
　The people who made you guys brave are responsible for that, too.

But I think you'll be stripped of your heroic titles anyway.

　Even just the unprecedented attempt to appoint multiple brave men and women has resulted in such a scandal.
I'm sure you can't help but conclude that the attempt was a mistake.

''It's fine, it's more than I can hope for.

　Zester said.
　'You want it?

'That's what I've come to realize in this one case. My own inadequacies, and the standard of being a true brave man!　Now I just want to be diligent about improving myself!
Okay.
'It doesn't matter what your title is!　That's the lesson I've learned this time that such things can be deceiving!　I'll keep in mind that it's important to have a heart and ability to match a brave man, and I'll work hard to become Dariel-sama!

　Why me?
　Zester's respect for me since he found out where I came from is unstoppable.
　It was kind of too serious, so I got bonded and revealed it, but I guess I should have kept it a secret.

I don't want to be a hero anymore.

　Altamir said.

'Now that I've become one, I understand. I didn't seem to have much hope of being a brave man. I didn't want to be a hero.
"We would like to return to the Center Guild. Then we will vacate our title as heroes, atone for our sins, and start over from scratch.
The project to elect multiple heroes is now aborted. It's good to have a unique hero.

　They nodded to each other.

　Now that they had given back the rank of heroes and Pigalo was dead, the Center Guild's attempt to send out two or more heroes as they said, would probably fail.

　It would be nice if the momentum of rushing to defeat the Demon King-sama faded and they could stagnate peacefully and leisurely.

　.........
　But..........

　There are other concerns as well.
　The fact that the existence of the guy acting like a mastermind in this one case was only known, but nothing was known about his true identity was a great deal creepier.

　A mysterious figure in a cloak?

　I'll give the Four Heavenly Kings a drink to take Zesters away.
　He disturbs the minds of the strongest people who were even selected to be brave and sets them up with brainwashing magic.
　And he knows an external method of increasing the amount of aura by many times by eating mithril, etc.

　There are so many things about this mastermind's behavior that it's uncanny.
　And the creepiest thing of all.....

''What did you want to do?''

　That's what I mean.
　The purpose of the mastermind in this one is unclear.

　Did he want a mithril?
　But then, Pigaro and his friends ate it right after they took it, so it's useless.

　Or maybe they wanted to use the brave men who ate Mithril to power up for something more, but that too was lost on me because I stopped them.

　Ummm.
　Something sickening.

　I wonder how the mastermind cloak is feeling as he stares down this endgame?