We continued to move with Dius and the others, secretly placing beacons along the way, and the next day we arrived at a village near the Stogar mine.
　It was surrounded by stone walls, and many of the buildings and other structures were well built with bricks.
　The village was a little different from what I had imagined, but I heard that this is a relay point of the mine has developed in its own way.
　We stayed one day in the village and left for the mine the next morning, and finally arrived at our destination, the Shtogar mine, before noon.

　We had expected to find a tunnel in the mountains, but in front of us was a large, round hole that had been dug underground in a spiral pattern from the ground to the surface.
　How many meters in diameter is this?　It's going to be a lot lighter than 1km.... It's pretty deep down there too.

"Wow....this is a mine? It's really deep. Is this a place where people have dug out?

I know, but it's so old I don't know the details.

'Oh my God, is it that old?　By the looks of it ... they're not mining anymore.

It seems that they don't do normal mining now because of the demons that come out. But if you defeat a rare species of iron gargoyle, it will drop iron ore, so when the army needs iron, mages are sent by the state to hunt for it.

That's why you feel a little lonely, isn't it? But the fact that you can get iron by defeating a demon makes it easier than digging.

　There were a few large buildings around the hole, but they were already unused or weathered and tattered.
　With the demons coming out, it's hard to do normal mining, isn't it?
　Even now, when I look up at the sky, more than a dozen demons with large wings that look like rock-colored demons are flying around.
　But that means that this place wasn't a place for demons to spring up in the first place, right?
　What in the world happened here in the past........

'Where do the demons in here come from?

'There's a further side hole at the bottom of this hole, and it comes out of it. I think you can see it from the other side, don't you?

Wow, that's a lot of places to come out of. All right, let's head in there then.

　I was about to go to the place where the demons were springing up as usual, but when Dius heard that, his eyes widened and he started shouting loudly.

''Wait a minute!　Are you insane?

Hmm?　What's going on with you all of a sudden?

'What's the matter ... it's insane to think that this many people would walk into a place where a gargoyle would come out!　Normally they would invite the demons from a distance and destroy each one!

That's not very efficient, is it?

What ... efficiency?

　Dius is looking at me like he's looking at something incomprehensible.
　Since we're here to collect colotium, it's only natural that we should be concerned about efficiency.

''........Esther, could it be that Okura-san and the others are always hunting like this?''

Yes, I usually go into the places where the demons come up and take them down.

"In the northern cave, we run through the scorpions that keep popping up, drawing them in and wiping them out with magic. I'm afraid of Okura-dono because he is quick to talk about efficiency when hunting...

''Ugh.......it's a sight that makes me sick to my stomach just imagining it.......''

　Even Miggle-chan frowns and looks at me like she's looking at someone she shouldn't be involved with.
　I don't want you to look at me like that. I can understand if you're a lunatic like Sisha, but I'm still sane!

'Gargoyles can only attack a mage properly, you know?　If you're going to go inside, you'll have to prepare more carefully and increase the number of people in the room. It would be suicide to go in there without any preparation.

If you're a mage, you'll find Miss Esther here.

"Hmm, let me handle it. I'll shoot a fireball into your side hole and blow it all up.

　She smiles and pulls out her wand and red book as I point my hands at Esther next to me to appeal to her. She's ready to kill me.
　Seeing this, Dius shouts again, looking flustered.

''Bo, we're not here to destroy your hunting grounds!　Don't do that!

It's just a joke. Don't take it seriously.

'Haha I guess that didn't sound like a joke to me either...'

　I thought he was serious too... I'm not going to be able to get my hands on any of them.
　I'm sure you'll refrain from using explosive magic here, just to be safe. It's not a good idea to have a good idea of what to do with it, because it's dangerous if it's a misfire and collapses.

　But ... it's really inefficient not to enter the demon's spring area.
　It's fine if more than one of them are running at the same time like lizardmen, but gargoyles don't seem to have that habit.

'I get that it's dangerous. But wouldn't it be a bit daunting to wait for the colossus to come out of the distance and take out the gargoyles in a chippy way?

That's true but that doesn't make it any less true, does it?

　Hmmm, even a B-ranked Dius is at the level of hesitation to go inside?
　As I was pondering what was going on, Nol joined the conversation.

''Then how about we go to the front of the hole and hunt the demons that come out?　It is indeed dangerous to go inside. But it's also inefficient to lure a demon to hunt it from a remote location.

'Oh, I didn't know that was possible. I didn't think of that because all I could think about was getting inside. Noll doesn't sound so brilliant once in a while.

'Not sometimes, but I'm always brilliant!　Okura-dono is always so superfluous to the word!　You'll have to excuse me!

　Noor is angry as he steps on the ground.
　I accidentally said that, but I highly doubt he's always brilliant....
　But this time he made a really good suggestion. Me and Nol didn't go into the goblin forest at first either, so we should have just hunted the same way.

'Hmmm, that would have been manageable but the gargoyles here are pretty strong there, right?　If we get to the front of the hole, we're going to have to fight quite often, are you okay with that?

'Dius is such a worrier. We're here, so as long as he doesn't attack about a hundred of them at the same time, he'll be fine.

'Esther-chan is reliable........ But gargoyles are really strong, unlike Kobold, right?　It's pretty quick, even though it's hard, it's pretty quick, so even a mage would have a hard time hitting an attack.

Oh, that's going to be a bit of a problem...

　
　Estelle's magic is powerful, but from my experience so far, it's going to be difficult to make it hit against an anti-aircraft opponent.
　It seems like she could easily defeat the demon by blasting the entire perimeter, but that would consume too much of her MP and wouldn't last for long.
　It would be helpful if Luna or Freesia were present at a time like this, but.......let's check the status of the gargoyles for now.

　------
Species:Gargoyle
　Level: 45
　HP: 3500
　MP:0
　Attack Power:700
　Defensive Power:2500
　Agility: 100
　Magic Resistance:0
　Intrinsic Ability: None
　Skills The Claw that Slashes
------

　It's not weak. If this is a normal gargoyle, an iron gargoyle or colossus seems to have some strength to it.
　This certainly looks dangerous to get inside. After all, it was important to check their status.
　But still, the way Dius and the others talk, I get the feeling that they have fought gargoyles before.

"Have Dius and the others been here before?

'Yeah, I've been here a few times as an escort for a mage who wanted to investigate the place. Since I've been here, though, I've had to fight around that mage's people.

'Oh no, it was really hard at that time........ I told you no, but you went in the hole........oh.

　Miggle-chan is hurriedly holding her hand over her mouth, but it's too late.

'Could it be that you've been oddly reluctant to go in there earlier?

Ugh ... well, that's...

To tell you the truth, once a mage went into that side hole and chased after it. Then a gargoyle came from the depths of the pit and ran right back. At that time, I really didn't feel like I was alive...

　I see, that's why you've been trying so hard to stop them.
　No wonder I'd be traumatized if I went in suddenly and was chased by a horde of demons of this level, even if I went in with preparation.
　Now that we've decided on a hunting plan, it's time to actually fight the gargoyles before we go downstairs.

It's no use talking about it all the time, so let's see what the gargoyles are like and fight them once. How did Dius and the others defeat them?

'First, I had Miggle lure me in with his bow, and when he came toward me, Gauss-san stopped him. So I distracted him with my sonic blade and held him back with Miggle while the mage attacked him when he saw an opening.

　Dius and the others are a solid fighter, after all.
　I guess I can't blame them because their defense is 2,500, so they can't do proper damage unless they use magic.
　Based on what I heard, I had Miggle-chan lure me in again this time, and I'm going to prevent it, distract Nol and Dius, and have Estelle take them down there.
　First, I'll have everyone cast Estelle's support magic as usual.

''Hmm!　I knew I'd be motivated by Esther's supportive magic!　I think I could even go through a gargoyle now!

''Huh, it's nice to be pleased. If you're that confident, can Miggle break stones with arrows?

"Eh, I don't know if it's possible to crush it with a stone........ I'm sure I could stab you if I tried hard enough.

　Even a B-ranked Miggle-chan can't crush a rock?
　How substandard is Freesia, who went through Lapis and crushed the rock behind her.......
　He could take down a gargoyle all by himself.

　The preparations for battle are ready, and Miggle-chan turns the arrow to the bow.
　And the moment she aimed at the gargoyle in the sky and stopped breathing, she released an arrow.
　The arrow she fired goes forward with a light, and it hits the target as if it were sucked in.
　The arrows pierced through the body without being flicked, and the gargoyle, noticing our presence, descended while letting out a yell.
　Oh, the arrows pierce even though their defenses are supposed to be high? Moreover, hitting it with a single hit is also excellent.
　Miguru-chan is also a B-ranked competitor, isn't she?

'Yay!　It really sticks in the gargoyle!　How about it, Esther!

'Yeah, great. You've got a good arm.

Oh, no, not really.

'Miggle, this is no time to be happy!　Prepare to intercept!

Oh, sorry. Sorry.

　Miggle-chan was smiling open-mouthed at Esther's praise, but she returned to a serious expression when Dius warned her about it.
　Then I step in front of Miggle-chan to catch the gargoyle coming toward me as we discussed.
　The descending gargoyle raises a sharp, clawed hand and swings it down at me as I get in its way.
　I catch it with the lid of the pot, but I only get a light impact.
　After all, it's only strengthened, so this level of damage won't pass through to me?

"Alright, Noor!　Now!

I'll take care of it.

　Next, it's Noor and Dius' turn. Quickly, Noll comes towards the gargoyle I'm catching with sword in hand.
　........hmm?　Wait a minute. In terms of gargoyle status, if the Nol attacked now........
　When that thought passed.

''--Ttei!

　With a shout from Noor, the sword was swung down.
　And then her sword is flicked - without flicking, the gargoyle's body is broken into pieces.
　 With that defensive strength, the damage was already passed through with the normal attacks of the Nolls.
　The person who attacked him is tilting his head as he looks at the shattered gargoyle.

''That's because it was shattered, isn't it?

If I take him down in one fell swoop, I won't have a chance.

I'm sorry, sir...

　Esther, who was holding her wand up to attack, was puffing out her cheeks and sulking a bit.
　On the other hand, Dius and Miggle-chan rolled their eyes as they saw Noor crush the gargoyle with a single blow.

''Ga, crushing a gargoyle with a single blow...''

I don't believe it. It's too much bullshit!　Okura-san, what's going on!　Just like during the Great Defeat, who are you really, Noll-san!

'Eh, no I don't think that's a good idea...'

　Miggle came up to me and asked me some questions.
　We managed to cover up the situation while making it vague, and we began to move towards the entrance to the tunnel that is said to be at the bottom of the hole.
　Huh, I was so distracted by Estelle's magic that I forgot the specs of Noor itself....