Chief...!　Oh my God, oh my God...!

　Saying that, it was Sakai-kun who came running in.
　I knew right away that something had happened from his haste.

"I just received a notice from the head office of Kaji-ri...!　I mean, I mean...!

　Sakai and the other blacksmiths are dispatched from the Blacksmith Village in the human territory.
　It is said that the blacksmiths organize a guild of sorts and the master instructs his students.
　Thanks to these mechanisms, the skills of the masters are passed down to the next generation and can develop day by day.

　And what do you think the headquarters of the organization said to you...?

"Retreat from Lax Village!
"Huh?

　As expected, I couldn't help but be surprised myself.

　The blacksmithing business in Lax Village is doing very well now.
　Why all of a sudden?

Retreat?　What do you mean by retreating?

　Withdrawing from Lax Village means abandoning the mithril processing work that is brought here.
　It's supposed to be an attractive job for the blacksmiths, both profitably and rewardingly, but...!

'The head office has instructed me to continue working in mithril processing itself... Just move the work area to Campbell Street...!
"In Campbell Street?!

　It was a relatively large city in the vicinity of Lax Village.
　However, Campbell Street just isn't geographically suitable as a transit point for transporting mithril from the mithril mine to various locations.
　The shortest way to get there was always through the village of Lax.

It's not a good idea to move the forge to Campbell Village, it's not going to be very efficient.　Why would Sakai's superiors do something so stupid...?
Yes, I can only say it's a stupid thing...!　The head office is completely satisfied with the results here, and we just received a letter asking us to 'keep on jangling'.......?　Why the exact opposite...?

　Sakai-kun seemed to be greatly perplexed.

　I'm in trouble too.
　It's a good idea to have a good time with them.

　If they were gone, the village would not be able to support itself.

I don't like it either.　I don't want to obey this stupid order........!

　Sakai-kun's voice quivered.

''My dead master has told me many times. Whether or not we blacksmiths can do our work comfortably depends on a competent person to protect us...!　When I came to the village of Lax, I realized what it meant...!
Meaning...?
Chief Dahliel was generous with his support and didn't give us much of a choice. He lets us do what we want. You don't know how much easier that was for us to do our job...?

　I'm glad to hear that, but...?
　I've had many opportunities to use people since I was the Assistant Four Heavenly King........

''I don't want to do mithril smithing under anyone but Dariel-san now. They're bound to say this and that anyway...''

　Sakai-kun's excitement still hasn't subsided.

You can only work with the demon race in the forge," he said. The new equipment that I'm working so hard on right now is only possible with the help of the alchemy magic that Honey uses.　If I leave this place, I can only make second-rate products as before!

　I don't think you can be that dismissive!

'Above all!　If I leave the village of Lax, I'll be leaving the girl I've been trying to get to!　I absolutely hate that!

　That was the strongest refusal.
　Anyway, it turns out that Sakai himself, the person concerned, didn't agree with this instruction at all.
　The other blacksmiths would be the same.

　So what is the reason for such a stupid order that no one can be happy?

　I saw a person's face in my mind.
　It was an expression with a very unpleasant smile on his face.

　Roselwy, the director of the Center Guild.

　Was this oddity due to his dark work?
　This conjecture can be called a certainty.

Darling, darling!

　The plain woman who came running down to us.
　She was Masari, an alchemist.

　She was a woman of the demon tribe who had secretly come to help Sakai-kun with his blacksmithing work.

''Honey!　We can't leave Honey!　I can't live without her!
I can't do this without you, and I can't do this without you!

　A man and woman of a different species embracing each other with a hissy fit.
　Well, it's okay.

　So what's Masari doing here?

There was a letter in the mail. Does this mean I'm revoking my instructions?

　The demon tribe's Masari also seems to be feeling a great deal of confusion at this sudden order to move bases.

''Well, but how could an order that was given once be overturned so easily...?
''Wait?　This letter, a letter from the headmaster of the Forge Village.

　Huh?　Seriously?
　The same place you gave the order to move, in rapid succession?

'But this one doesn't have the headmaster's crest engraved on it. It's in the form of a private letter. Let's see........?

　Sakai-kun begins to read the newly delivered letter with the authority of the recipient.

　The second letter contained a backstory that couldn't be written in the first official order.

　In summary, there was intense pressure from the director of a certain Center Guild, and he couldn't afford not to obey it.

"You're still Roselwy...?

　I refused his request, so he started harassing me.

　It's annoying, but it's really effective.
　He has attacked the very foundation of the LUX village, the one I hold most dear.

''According to the contents of my personal letter, the General Headquarters is also in trouble. The instructions I was forced to give under pressure from the Center Guild Director...''
"I can see how much backbone they have in them that they don't shove you in the front door even if you don't want to...

　Roselwy will keep harassing me like this over and over again.
　Until I gave in and started listening to him.

What do we do now, chief?
..........

　What to do.
　The easiest thing to do is to smash Roselwy with this hand.

　That in itself is not difficult.
　I was confident that I would win even if the A-level adventurers the Center Guild was holding were to come at me in a bunch.

　But they were powerful people.

　If they were to sell a fight from the front, it would be a pretty big deal.
　It would be a battle with the entire Center Guild, and the Lux Village, which lives its life while belonging to the human race, would not be able to remain unaffected.

　Whether they won or lost, they would not be able to return to their previous smooth sailing state.

''I can't have that.......!

　I muttered to myself.
　That's what fighting the powerful is all about.

　There are many different types of power, and even if you are inferior in terms of the most direct violence, you can still take out the powerful with various other forces.

　If you're like me, you've got other things to protect.

　A family to protect.
　A home to protect.
　Friendships to protect.
　Your faith to protect.

　Violence is not enough to keep them unharmed.

So, although I've made reasonable provision for it...

　I take out my magic communicator and call to the other communicator I gave him.

''........Selmet?　It's me, I need you to look into something for me ASAP.

　I've already made up my mind that I'm going to protect what's important to me by any means necessary.

　It would be meaningless if I didn't have all the means at my disposal to do so.
　I immediately decided to make use of one of the powers I've gained.

　Information, a power that is in some ways more sinister than violence.

"I want you to find out what you can about this Rosselwy fellow. Anything you can tell me about this person. ... hmm?　Yes, the Center Guild. You know your stuff!

　As expected of the Demon King's Army, their intelligence network is excellent.
　I'm sure you've already figured out what I want to know even before you've looked into it.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find some clues to reverse the situation from the information gathered by Selmet.
　If you can't find one, then let's use our powers.