When the light subsided, I was standing at the entrance to the cave.
　T-that's the one that saved you?　
　It's bad for my heart, like the escape device triggers at the same time the centavra breaks....
　In order to meet up with the Nolls who escaped earlier, I started running while looking at the map app.

　But as soon as I was relieved, I started to feel pain all over my body.
　I didn't mind it while I was running away, but one hand was stuck and one of my eyes was bleeding so badly I couldn't see.
　I knew it was going to hurt like death, but seriously, it hurt like death.
　I don't even know where it hurts anymore. Mostly my whole body hurts.
　It hurts so much that I feel like crying right now... even though tears are already trickling down inside Helm.

　I thought about drinking a potion or something, but since I can't use one hand and it's going to take a lot of work to get it out, I held back and kept running.
　Besides, I'm afraid that at any moment, from the cave behind me, a diabolus is going to come chasing me.........so I want to quickly join them.
　As I was running through the pain, I finally saw Nol and the others.
　And Sisha, who noticed me, is running towards me.

''Okura-san!　Are you okay?

'Oh, ah...'

　When Sisha touched my body, my whole body was covered in a blinding light.
　Something warm flows into my body, and in an instant the pain recedes and I feel better.
　Ahh, it's soothing. You know how grateful I am for priests at times like this.
　After remaining still for a while, Sisha took her hands off her body.
　Normally it's only a moment, but it took quite a while.

"Huh, it took so long to recover, Okura-san, your hand was beaten up pretty badly.

Haha, you're rolling like a ball!　I got away scot-free, though!　Suck it up!　Thanks for the treatment!

'You're desperate........ Well, it's a good thing that she escaped properly. It looks like his bones were cracked all over the place, and he was in real danger.

　What? Was I in that bad of shape?
　That's why my whole body hurts. How could you endure the pain of a slightly cracked bone when it hurts so much? It's a wonder even for me.
　Is it because of the armor or the other gadget items that you have equipped, I don't know which one it is.
　I'm still equipped with a lion's heart that has the effect of making it harder for me to get into a state of panic, but did you think that this has the ability to make the pain fade away?
　It helps a lot to be able to endure the pain, but it's a little scary because it's like numbing your senses.

"I've been reviewing Okura-san for not whining even a single word. You really do it when you have to, don't you?

'Oh, hahaha ... and rightly so!

　Sisgah smiled gently at me and told me something nice that made my cheeks almost smile.
　But it's a bit embarrassing to be praised when I was crying in the helmet with my face crumpled up.
　When I finished recovering and headed to Noll and the others, Esther came running up to me.

''Brother!　I was already worried about you!

I'm sorry.

　Esther, who was hugging me with the same vigor, looked up and saw some tears in her eyes.
　I didn't think I'd worry you enough to make you cry, but I'm really sorry.

"Okura-dono, I'm glad to hear that you're safe. If it were true, I should have been the bait, but....

'Don't worry about it. Noll got Irina and the others out safely, so it was the right thing to do.

　I'm glad we all got out of there in one piece, even though it was a really bad experience.
　Noll would have been able to avoid getting beaten to a pulp like I did, but I still didn't want to let him bait me because he's not a defense specialist.
　I should be the one to take on this kind of dirty role, since I'm usually the one you're relying on.

''I'm sorry that we put you in harm's way. I'm really glad that Okura-san is safe.

'No, no, it's not Irina and the others' fault. Besides, we knew it was dangerous to begin with.

　I had expected there to be strong demons and such, but I didn't think there would be six diabolicals and even an extra one.
　What was that purple slug-looking guy........
　I was able to withstand the Diabolus' attack, but I almost died from that guy's body hit.
　I think the reason why my bones were cracking apart was probably because of that blow.

And what do you intend to do now?　If you don't decide quickly, those demons will come.

'No, I don't think they'll be here any time soon. Even though he's escaped, I'm sure he doesn't know we're out yet.

Esther's right. They seem to be prowling the cave looking for us.

　I checked the situation in the cave on the map app and saw three red dots scattered around and wandering around.
　I thought they'd be out of there soon, but when I thought about it, it was like we'd suddenly disappeared from Diabolus.
　I was a raggedy raggedy mess, and they're still looking for me, thinking I'm nearby.

'Well then, let's just wait until they come outside. It's tough to deal with that many inside.

I'd love to but I doubt they'll come out, only three of them are prowling around looking for us, but all the rest of them, including the big one, are still stuck in there.

''Yes that's troublesome. Isn't the goal of those demons to defeat us?

　The remaining three Diabolus and Grandulis hadn't moved from the hall where the shrine was located.
　It would be great if they came out after us who escaped... but I definitely don't want to fight inside, especially Grandulis, considering his skills and such.
　Do those guys not come out because they know that, or is there something else.......
　The reliable Esther-san answered those questions.

'Considering what your sisters have told me, aren't those demons waiting for the protection of the existence of Testudo-sama to completely disappear from this place?　So it's enough to prevent us from reviving the function of the shrine.

Hmmm, if that were the case, it would never come out........ What should I do?

　So the goal is just to get rid of the protection of the shrine, not to defeat us.
　And if that's the case, before we can accomplish that, we have to wipe out those guys somehow and fix the shrine.
　...that's impossible, isn't it?　I don't want to go back to that place and fight him head-on.
　But if we're going to fight in that hall, we're definitely going to have to face each other.
　Could you ask Estelle-san to blow up the whole cave...............a crazy request?
　That big guy had a high magic resistance, so it looks like he'll be able to withstand this and that with magic with plenty of time to spare.

　........wait?　The diabolus that's spread out in that tightly sealed space we can kill it.
　If it works out, we might be able to kill it safely.
　Good.

Let's take a stab in the dark.

What?

　Hearing my words, the Nors unanimously looked as if they wanted to say, "What the hell is this guy talking about?

●

　I told Noll and the others what I was going to do, and I came to a remote location by myself, out of sight of Irina and the others.
　Then I set up the beacon and called Freesia and Luna at home to the site.

'Wow!　It's been a long time since I've been outside!

Quite the loudmouth elf.

　Freesia is jumping up and down in a big huff, and Luna is crossing her arms in dismay.
　I called the two of them apart like this so that Irina and the others wouldn't know they existed.
　Apparently, while we were away, they were getting along reasonably well with each other despite their extreme attitudes.

'Sorry to call you out,'

'Mm, fine. But are we in such a situation that we need to come?

Yeah, you're not gonna be safe in a frontal fight. That's why I called you two.

'So, then!　What do you think we should do?

From now on, I want you to come with me to the cave and slay the demons in the dark.

A stakeout?

　I called these two because they're essential to my Operation Darkness.
　Luna was tilting her head, but Freesia's heart was pounding in her chest when she heard those words.

''If that's the case, leave it to me!　I'm good at assassination!

Ehhhh..... By the way, by the way, can you detect a presence in the dark as well?

'Yes!　I can usually see them in the dark, at least in the dark. And even if I'm hiding in a place where I can't see you, I can still recognize you to some extent!

　This guy can act in the dark too........
　Our party, other than me and Esther, all of us can move in the dark with the bare minimum!
　I mean, it's very scary to say that he's good at assassination with a big smile on his face and energy.
　He's good at moving in the woods, shooting long distance with a precision bow, and he's not afraid of the dark... Isn't this guy actually a hell of a bad guy?
　...Yeah, let's not think about that right now.

'I don't have a problem with it either. The darkness is my sole concern.

Yeah, I'm counting on you both.

　For now, I called Luna and Freesia, so I asked them to wait at another location for a while.
　Then I had Esther and Sisha go to Luna and the others to switch places with me in order to have them cast support magic on the two of them.
　I go to Irina and the others and explain to them to get them away from this place.

'As such, Irina-san and the others should stay in a safe place with Noor and the others until it is safe to do so.

'But........are you sure you're going to be okay with just Okura-san?　You were in such a shambles just now.

It was a surprise attack. Otherwise, I wouldn't be late.

''....Okay. It seems we can't help you, so we'll obey you honestly.

　I feel bad for feeling like I'm fooling a good person like Irina, but this is another way to play it safe.
　I'd really like to take Nol and the others with me, but this mission would have to be carried out in a small group.
　I've managed to convince Irina-san and the people in the temple to leave this place until those guys are defeated.
　Sisha and the others have also returned to finish casting their support spells, so we'll have to separate the Nolls again here for a time.

The actuality that you're going to be separated from Okura-dono again... even though Freesia and the others are with you, I'm worried about you.

Yes, that's true. But we can't help you with the things you're going to be doing.

'Ugh, Luna-san is here and I can't be with her.... Okura-san!　I won't forgive you if anything happens to Luna-san!

"Hahaha don't worry if it looks bad I'll come running again.

　This strategy, it will be executed by just me, Luna and Freesia.
　If it were true, I'd like to send Irina and the others back to Sevalia once, and then all of us would go to fight... but we can't spend too much time on it.
　If it's a beacon, we can go home quickly, but I don't think we'll be able to get the conditions right so easily.
　So we'll have Noll and the others protect Irina and the others in a nearby location, and we'll kill those demons on our own.

　I don't know what will happen to Grandulis alone but we should be able to reduce the number of Diabolus for sure.
　In the worst case scenario, if we assault with Nol and the others after executing this mission, we'll be able to handle it.

''Well, let's get going, because I'm really counting on you two.

I'll take care of it!　I can't wait to get this done and play with Noor, so I'll do my best!

''I've had enough of dealing with these elves. We need Heihachi and the others to come back soon, so let's do our best.''

Terrible!　We were so close to each other!

　........Will they really be able to handle it?