After organizing my gear, Nol and I went to the Adventurers' Association in Queles to report on yesterday's events.
　And I told the usual receptionist that there was a grandis in the bamboo forest as well.

''So there was a Grandis outbreak after all........ To defeat it again with a lone party, are you and Okura-san and the others.......actually A-ranked?

I got a B-grade!　I mean, more importantly, do you know of any demons that could drop this?　They attacked us together when we defeated Grandis. It was a demon that was the size of a goblin, had a similarly vicious face, and flew on black skinned wings.

　I gave her the certificate of defeating Grandis and showed her more of the black horns and trident that Diabolus had dropped.
　I told her that it looked roughly like this, but the receptionist tilted her head as she picked up the horns and trident spear and looked at it.

''A flying black demon that resembles a goblin.......I don't have any idea. And I've never received any reports of demons dropping such things. I'll look into it, so please wait a moment.

　After saying that, the receptionist disappears into the back with the Diabolus drop item.
　Does the association have any information about that demon? It didn't seem like a normal demon but.......where in the world did it spring from?

'If we don't know right away, then maybe it's a demon that isn't around here.

He was a pretty tough demon, wasn't he?　Like Grandis, it may be a rare demon to encounter.

　I was able to defeat them easily thanks to Noll and the others, but I think dealing with Grandis and Diabolus at the same time was more dangerous than the big defeat of Kobold.
　Diabolus, in particular, looked weak because of the one-sided beatdown, but in terms of status, he was as strong as a labyrinth boss.
　It's hard to believe that such a thing is out in the open, and maybe that was a special demon after all.

　While I was talking with Nol about this and that for a while, the receptionist came back.

''I have reported similar demons in the past and confirmed the objects that were dropped, but there was no record of them in this association's data. As for this monster, we are unlikely to be able to give you the reward for defeating it this time. We will analyze the horns and determine the reward, so may I keep it for a while?

Yes, that's all right.

　No information, after all.
　And if a demon has no precedent, can't we get a reward for defeating it immediately?　Come to think of it, I forgot to ask about the results of the behemoth I asked for at the Association in King's Landing. I'll have to go and ask them next time.
　But the fact that it can be obtained by analyzing it means that there are tools that can tell us how much of a monster it is.
　It seems that there are equipment stores that can determine the quality of weapons and armor, and it seems that there are people who can judge a demon by its materials.
　By the way, so I should also ask about the black magic light stone that Diabolus had.

''Excuse me, this is also something that the demon had, is there anything the association can tell us about what kind of thing it is?''

''Is that ... a magic light stone?　The Adventurer's Association does not provide detailed analysis of the magic light stone. If you want to examine it in detail, I think it would be better to ask the laboratories in this city to do so.

Well....

　Hmmm, the Adventurer's Association doesn't seem to know anything about magic light stones.
　Even if we ask the institute, I don't really know where to bring it in... should we just talk to Chrystia-san about it?
　As I was wondering what to do, the receptionist continued to speak.

''If there's no inconvenience, shall the association keep the magic light stone and ask the institute to analyze it?　Since it's demon related, the association will do everything possible to help you.

'Really?　Then please!

　Oh, I see that the Adventurer's Association can arrange it for us, thank you.
　I'm sure they'll choose a lab that's familiar with the Magical Stones, so I'll leave it to them.
　This Magical Light Stone seems to be related to the occurrence of the torrent, so if they can analyze it, they should do it.
　Because it's broken up into 17 parts, even Estelle doesn't know much about it, but a specialized lab might be able to figure out what they're doing.

●

　We left the Adventurer's Association after depositing the piece of black magic light stone, receiving the reward for defeating Grandis and requesting an investigation, and 6 million g, and we left the Adventurer's Association.
　I'm going to visit the Society every day for a while, just in case there are any more reports of Trent's sightings.
　In addition, I'm also going to look around the surrounding area to see if there's anything unusual going on. ........I especially want to look for a labyrinth or something.

''Ah, no harvest, huh?''

If the Society of Adventurers doesn't have any information about it, does that mean it's a demon like the Behemoth of the Labyrinth?

'I don't know. The status gave me some information, but it didn't end up making sense to me.

Now that you mention it, I hadn't heard the details. What was your status, sir?

　Oh, I guess I didn't explain the status of Grandis and Diabolus.
　Grandis must have had a provisional next to his name. His level was also lower than the first one, and his status was lower overall.
　The Diabolus one had a section called Status, and it was labeled as Military.
　When I told Noll about these two things, she crossed her arms and pondered.

'Hmm, it is indeed a mystery, isn't it? Grandis is tentatively labeled as "Grandis" and has a reduced status, is it the Military of Diabolus?

'The Diabolus is still easier to understand, though. Well, that's a different problem, though.

　Being a subordinate is probably the best way to think of it as being under someone's control.
　And if that's the case, then whoever is making Diabolus work for them might be behind it.

　Based on the information we've gleaned so far, I'd like to make a quick guess as to what the commotion might be.
　Diabolus will have that magic light stone, and some kind of magic that was added to the magic light stone will generate a grandis.
　With the Grandis generated, there was an abnormal generation of torrents around it and it was scattered all over the place.
　The second Grandis I fought was in the process of growing, having just generated it, so it became an individual with a low level and status.

　I guess that's about it.
　If we had been a little slower to go, Grandis would have been fully grown and Diabolus would have been gone from that place, and we would have repeated the same thing elsewhere.
　If Diabolus is the cause, as expected, then the Trent fiasco should end unless additional individuals emerge.

　I told Nol about the above thoughts.

''Using a demon like that, and even more, he has a technique that allows him to intentionally generate a large defeat-class demon....... Does that mean there is such a true culprit?

'I hate to think about it, but it's possible. I don't think there's a magic light stone out there that can affect demons, and I don't think Diabolus could make one himself.

　From what I saw of Diabolus' skills, there was nothing that could generate demons.
　The fact that he went out of his way to dive inside the Grandis must mean he was doing something, and the only thing I can think of is that magic light stone.
　I don't think there's a magic light stone that can interfere with such a demon, so I should still think that it was prepared by someone who can make that one.
　Kobold Lord also had a subordinate summoning as a skill, and I wonder if he summoned Diabolus in a similar way.
　To be able to summon a demon of that strength, I can't even imagine how strong that guy is.......

''Well, that's still speculation. However, something might happen in the future as well, so we should be on guard.

'Yes, that's right. You must be prepared for anything that may happen at any time!

　I made a prediction, but in the end it's all just my imagination.
　We won't know how it will turn out until we find out what that magical stone is.
　Even if you look into it in the lab, you won't be able to find out, so I wouldn't rely on that too much either.

　I've been thinking about it, but it doesn't mean that we have to solve this problem.
　But if there's something we can do to help, we'll do everything we can to help.

　Because if there's someone in danger like that, it could be a problem for us in the future for our hunting as well. We have to get rid of that source of anxiety as soon as possible.
　Besides, if we solve it, we might get another gacha reward....... hehehe.

●

Welcome home, brother, Nole.

Hey, I'm back.

I'm home! I see that Moffitt has also welcomed you!

　When I returned home after my report, Esther greeted me with a smile.
　Moffitt also greeted her with a poo-poo at her feet and was quickly picked up by Noor.

'How did you feel about what happened yesterday?'

'No harvest at all. Instead, as for the magic light stone, I left the shards with them and asked them to have the lab analyze them.

''Well..... I wish I could have parsed it out for you but I'm sorry.

　Estelle puts her hand on her cheek and looks down, looking a little depressed.
　She seems to be feeling responsible for not knowing what the magic light stone is this time.
　He's probably confident about magic and seems shocked that he couldn't analyze it.

'Esther can't do everything, either, so don't worry about it. If you can ask someone who specializes in it, then you can ask them to do it for you.

'Hmm, yes. What they can do for you should be left to others as much as possible.

'Uh-huh, I guess so.

　When I told Esther not to worry about it, Luna and Sisha joined the conversation as well.
　Luna is on Cisha's lap as she sits on a chair and is eating the fruit I picked up the other day. Of course, she has Sisha bring it to her mouth.
　Sisha, who is feeding the fruit to Luna, has a disheveled, loose face and looks happy.

''Well Luna can do a little more on her own. Or rather, isn't Sisha spoiling Luna a bit too much lately?

'What do you mean?　It's not even close!

That's right - don't say a word!

Sisha and Luna are very close to each other, aren't they?

　Ever since they became friends, Sisha's pampering of Luna has escalated.
　Lately, he's been changing her clothes when she wakes up from sleep, feeding her food like he does now, and bathing and washing her body together.
　I think it's great that they're close, but I'm worried that Luna is going to become a completely useless girl if this continues.......

It's a little frustrating that I didn't understand, but it can't be helped.

Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

But in return, I'm going to let my brother comfort me, yay!

What, whoa!

　Esther, who had been listening to the conversation in silence, looked up and smiled.
　It looks like she's blown it off. I was relieved to hear that.......but she then hugged me.
　Oh come on, how could that be!　I don't mind comforting you, but why are you hugging me!

Esther stays close to Okura-dono, doesn't she?

'Hmm, I got away with it when I crawled into bed this morning, so I'm going to get plenty of pampering for that.

What?　Have you crawled into bed again, sir!

Oh, you're going to bed.

Oh, to bed.

　I hadn't told her about getting snuck into bed this morning.
　When Esther mentioned it, Noor was surprised again, Sisha looked at me with a smirk, and Luna looked at me with interest.

　Why do you think I should look at you like that when I'm the one who was undercover?

I haven't done anything bad!　Because I fell out of bed right away!

Isn't that so?

It's an exaggeration to fall down just because you slept with her. It's almost as if... or is it?

What convinced you?　........Hey, why are you turning away from me!

...nothing.

　Luna was on the verge of stopping to say something, and after a bit, she nodded her head of her own accord in agreement.
　Then when I called out to her, she turned her face away from me and turned away.
　Hey, what was this little girl going to say now?　That's what I'm talking about, and I'd be hurt if a little girl said that to me!

　They teased me like that, but the conversation continued afterwards with a lot of fun.
　I was feeling depressed because it was the day after the bombing, but that feeling faded when I was talking to Nol and the others.