A few dozen days after finishing Freesia's first experience of hunting magic stones.

''Huh, now we've finished investigating the five locations.

That's true. But I didn't discover anything new at all.

I'm so sick of going there for days and coming up empty.

　I've finished investigating the fifth sighting site, but I haven't even found any anomalies in the hunting grounds, let alone the black magic light stone.
　It seems that just because Diabolus was found doesn't mean that they were doing something there.
　Rather, I'm starting to get the feeling that there are more places that I just passed through without doing anything.
　There's no sign of bumping into any of them, and if this is the case, I don't think we'll ever know what we're going to do.

　So, while growing anxious about the investigation that is not progressing at all, me, Noor and Esther headed to Sevalia Branch today to see if there was anything to report.

''--That's why!　We have to go now!

　As soon as I opened the door to enter the building, I heard a woman's voice shouting from inside.
　I looked at Noll and the others to see what was going on, and as I entered, I saw several people in costume, Mr. Bens and several staff members discussing something.
　Among them, the one who stands out and is shouting loudly is a woman in a familiar miko costume.
　Dressed like a blue priestess and short purple hair.......isn't that Irina who showed me around the Temple of Testudo?
　I'm wondering why she's in the Adventurer's Society, but it's not an atmosphere we can talk to her in.
　At any rate, we'll just listen in until the conversation is over.

This is a serious matter, and we understand that. However, we don't have someone to guard you right away.

'As a servant of Master Testudo, I have to get there as soon as possible!　We can use recovery magic as well, so please do us a favor!

''Although you say so... if we're going to escort the people of the temple, we'll have to ask for multiple C-ranked parties or people of B-rank or higher to do so...''

　With a desperate look, Irina-san is appealing to her, but Bence-san replies with a serious expression and a clipped response.
　From what I'm hearing, are you looking for an adventurer to provide an escort?
　And he said it had to be a B grade or better.
　Hmm, the smell of trouble is pungent.
　As we were thinking about whether we should talk to them or not, the receptionist who was with Mr. Bence noticed us.
　And without having time to run away, the receptionist gave Mr. Bence an earful.

Oh........Oh, Okura-san!　That's Okura-san!　You're just in the right place!

Oh, please calm down!

He's a man of great joy...

　He comes running up to me with a thud and Mr. Bence grabs both my hands and shakes them up and down.
　The expression on her face from earlier became a smile as if it was a lie, and the staff members who were around her were also breathing out in relief.
　Ahhhh........I don't think we can escape now.

''You guys........''

'Sister, you took care of me in the temple the other day. It was nice of you to show me around.

'It's nothing to be thanked for. You've been adventurers, haven't you?

　Irina comes over here, too, and her eyes widen when she sees us.
　When we went to the temple, we were in civilian clothes, so there's no way she would have known we were adventurers, and she seems surprised.
　Bence is shaking my hand and Esther replies in place of me.

'So what's your sister in the temple doing here?

Actually....

　Irina-san lightly turned over and started talking with a serious face.
　There are several shrines of Testudo-sama in the vicinity of Sevalia.
　We know this because we've seen them in person, and we've heard about them from the fishermen.
　So the reason why Irina and the others are so upset this time is that one of the shrines scattered around the area seems to have lost its power.
　We don't know the cause, but it seems that something happened at the shrine.
　It seems to be usually protected by a ward, and she says that unless something very bad happens, this kind of thing is not possible.

　That shrine is connected to the divine body of the temple in this town of Sevalia, and thanks to that, Testudo-sama's blessings are spreading to the surrounding areas as well.
　It is said that if it is left as it is, the demons that have been afraid of Testudo may come to the surrounding waters.
　So Irina-san and the others need to go to that shrine to find out what's going on there, and also connect the shrine with the divine body.

''We have to head there as soon as possible!　However, I was told that there were no adventurers willing to accept our escort...

So they were arguing. Brother, what do you want me to do?

　Hmmm, I don't know what to do.
　No matter how much I investigated, I didn't find anything new, but this extraordinary situation.
　Moreover, it's at a shrine that passes through a guardian god's blessing.
　We didn't know it because we didn't even touch it, but it seems that there are wards, so the number of beings that can harm the shrine should be pretty limited.
　And speaking of guys who could do that the one we're looking for is Diabolus.
　We can't say for sure, but there's a good chance he's in on it.
　If the diabolus is there, Irina and the others may be in danger, so should we be here to investigate as well as to protect them?
　Just as I was pondering this, Mr. Bence, who had been holding my hand for a while, started shouting, waving his arms up and down, "Okura-san!

Mr. Okura!　Will you please accept my request to be my bodyguard this time!　I will ask you to do the same for me!

Okay, all right, just stop waving your arms around...

Okura-dono being pushed around... the Section Chief is a very powerful man, isn't he?

　Hey, you're floating!　I'm floating!
　When I said I would be the escort, Bence-san finally subsided and let go of my hand.
　Huh, I didn't know I was strong enough to float up... Well, now that I've been released, I'll have to check with Irina-san.

'Well, it was Irina-san, wasn't it?　We're B-ranked adventurers, so if you don't mind, we'll take care of that for you.

We would love to have you!

　Irina-san responded with an immediate response and bowed deeply to us.
　We asked Bence and the others to draw up a request and officially take over Irina-san and the others' escort.
　It looks like they want to leave right now, but since we had just arrived at the association, we managed to get some time to get ready and leave the association.

'We were given time to prepare, but what to do? We'd better call Sisha, right?

'It's an escort, I think you should definitely bring Sisha with you. But then we won't have a Freesia to watch over...

　Apparently, the destination shrine is located about five days by horse from Sevalia.
　Since we can't use the magic carpet, we'll have to travel by horse as well, and that's about 10 days round trip.
　Freesia can't take her with her, of course, so she'll be away from home........

We'll just have to ask Luna to keep an eye on her. Freesia also seems to have learned a lot from the last magic stone hunt, so she shouldn't be walking around without permission.

That's right. It's a good thing that Freesia understands the fear of hunting magic stones. If this was like Okura-dono and Sisha...

　As a result of fainting from using my skills during the last magic stone hunt, Freesia became completely frightened of the magic stone hunt.
　I didn't wake up until past noon the next day.......
　For Freesia, who loves to move around, it seemed to be quite a shock to her that she had passed out for an entire day.

　Maybe it's because of that, but since then she's moved less and less selfishly, and she's become much more quiet in the house.
　If I were to take Sis-Ha with me as an escort, I'd have to leave Freesia and Luna alone at home, but.......Freesia should be able to put up with it now.
　Believing that, we went home once and told Freesia and the others about it.

'What!　You can't go out for that long!

　'You look like it's the end of the world,' exclaimed Freesia.

'It can't be helped. You can at least look outside, but you can't go out when we're not around.'

'Objection!　I can handle another one!

As if that wasn't convincing enough...

　Bang bang, banging on the desk and Freesia is protesting furiously.
　I knew it was going to be like this....If we go to escort her, it will be just Freesia and Luna at home.
　There's no way Luna would ever go out with Freesia, and that doesn't mean we can't let her go out alone.
　We're going to need her to stay at home while we're gone, but it's not going to be easy.
　And now Luna is determined to catch up with them.

'Oh no, I don't want to be alone with Freesia. It would kill me.

　I'm shaking my head at high speed, with no expression on my face.
　

''Luna-chan, that's terrible!　That makes me sound like a problem child!

I don't think so. Use your skills and stay down.

Terrible!　It's too much!

　Luna turned away and ignored her face as she crossed her arms, and Freesia clutched at her legs with tears in her eyes.
　It's no good, it's impossible to make them stay home alone at this point.
　However, we can't afford to be guarded by Irina-san, who is like a shrine maiden serving the temple, without a full team.

　It seems that Irina-san and the others can use recovery magic, but I definitely want to take Sisha with me.
　I don't want to take my escort targets out into battle because it's dangerous, and although they're always playing the priest con, Sisha is reliable.
　Noll and Esther are the main force, so of course I can't stay home.
　What the hell am I going to do!　I was just starting to feel like holding my head up.

'Luna, I beg you, please, to be friendly with him.

　Noll clasped her hands together and began to make a request of Luna.
　After being asked, she quirked her mouth and furrowed her eyebrows in an awkward manner.

''Mmmm ... if only this elf would be quiet.

Of course I have faith that Freesia will keep her promise. But you'll be lonely on your own, won't you?　Hey, I'm begging you, please be good to them.

　Luna wrinkled her brow even more when Noll bowed her head at that.
　Even the lazy vampire-sama seemed to have her mind made up after being asked to go this far.
　She tried to move away, uncomfortable, but Freesia clutched at her feet.
　Even though she tries to peel her face off with her hands, it doesn't seem to leave her at all.
　

''.........Haha, I get it. I'll deal with you at least while Heihachi and the others are gone.''

'Yes!　I love you, Luna!

'Oh, stop hugging me!　Yeah, annoying...

Mmmm, Luna, you should be grateful!

　Luna, who was hugged by Freesia, is letting out a zit-eyed sigh in a very languid manner.
　Luna is always unmotivated, but since she's going to strictly adhere to what she's undertaken once, I think I can safely leave her in charge of housekeeping now.

　........But if you think about it, the main culprit that made it necessary for Luna to go through this kind of hardship is Freesia, right?
　If this guy had been honest and mature, there would have been nothing to worry about.
　In order to reduce Luna's burden as much as possible, let's give her one piece of advice here.

'It's fine to be happy, but don't follow me around without sleeping like the last time. If you do, you'll be forcibly taken away to hunt for the magic stone. .........Yeah, if you let them do some hunting before using that skill, it'll be more efficient.

　That skill of Freesia's was amazing.
　The duration was roughly about 3 minutes, but I got nearly 30 magic stones just from that one.
　Unbelievable efficiency.

　If we convert it to the current magic stone unit, 30 magic stones would be 1 freesia.
　2 freesia for 60 magic stones, isn't that the best.
　I want to say, "Let's shoot skills every day from now on.
　Well, he won't like it because he'll be out cold for a whole day.

''I'll keep my promise, I'll keep my promise!　That's why I don't want to hunt for magic stones anymore!

Your brother looks so bad...

'If you're this frightened, I'm sure Miss Freesia will keep her promise.

　Freesia, who was happy with a smile until a moment ago, has her expression strengthened and stretches her back in a beautiful salute.
　

　This time there's a possibility of fighting an opponent that's capable of breaking through the shrine's wards, and if it's true, I'd like to bring Freesia and Luna along with me.
　But I can't do that because Irina-san and the others are there.
　Maybe it's not Diabolus, but in the worst case, there might be a demon........
　If that happens, should I be prepared to be found out and think about calling Luna and Freesia to the site?