We spent the next three days investigating Rishnal Lake, but after encountering two rex that seemed to be survivors of the outbreak, we couldn't find anything unusual after that.
　After checking everything, we left Rishnal Lake and hurriedly returned to Sevalia.
　After arriving in town, we went to the Adventurer's Association to explain the circumstances of this mutation, and Noll and the others waited for me and Gretto to have a talk with Mr. Bence.
　When the two of us told him about what happened after we arrived at Rishnal Lake, Bence-san was very surprised.

'No, no!　I didn't know that was going to happen!　On a scale, I'd definitely say it's a major defeat!　It's amazing how you can solve that with just two parties!　I'm so glad I asked Gretto-san and Okura-san to investigate!

For our part, we want to thank the branch manager for introducing us to Mr. Okura. If this had been any other B-ranked party, we would have had no choice but to leave it and run away. Rather, we wouldn't have been able to do anything if it wasn't for that mage kid and the priestess.

'To think that Mr. Goulet would go so far as to say that, this Esther girl is no ordinary person!　And it's no wonder that Sisha-san had that Irina-san's eyes on her!

''I see, Irina-san, who serves the temple, was such a person to take a glance at....... We were with a party that was even more amazing than we had imagined. Not only were those two people, but a person named Nol was also awesome. It's amazing that there was an adventurer like that, someone who was capable of defeating Crocodilus Rex all by himself.

'You took out Rex by yourself!　I didn't realize that Okura-san's party was a group of people like that... it's only a matter of time before he becomes an A-ranked adventurer!

''Haha it's nice to hear you say that, but we're still inexperienced as adventurers, so it's too early for an A-grade.''

'How humble!　Yes, sir!　I'll be cheering for Okura-san and the others here at Bence as much as I can so that they can become A-ranked!

　Mr. Bence is looking at me with his hands clasped in front of his chest and his eyes shining.
　It's very troubling to see her looking at me like that.
　Maybe it's because we've resolved the anomaly from the shrine incident in quick succession, but our reputation seems to have risen abnormally high in Bence-san's mind.
　Even now, as a B-ranked player, I'm busy with requests like this, and once I get to A-ranked, I might not have time to go hunting for magic stones.
　To be honest, the current position is the safest way to go, but... if that's the case, it'll have to wait until the supply of magic stones is more stable.
　Well, that's something to think about when you get to the A-rank.

It's not just this case, but also what's going on in this Sevalia. I've never seen so many strange things happen in such a short period of time before.

"A witch, huh? I'm sure you've heard the rumors about it. I can't believe that such a demon is coming to this town, but after experiencing this mutation, I can't say that.

　Oh, even though it's a rumor, I didn't know there were other places related to witches.
　Even in Sevalia, there are witches in the old stories.
　It would be a good idea to check out the place where the rumors are, after the strange events in this town are resolved.

I'd like to thank Okura-san and the others for not causing any damage, but I'm starting to get worried when I think about the big battle that took place. I've been asking other adventurers for information, but lately it's only been a case of mistaken identity with the monster, so I don't have any concrete information. I guess they don't seem to be doing much after solving the shrine problem. At the very least, it would be good if we could figure out where that demon is coming from...

　Mr. Bence crossed his arms and hmmmed and pondered.
　Even though we're resolving the mutation, we're only going after them after they make their move every time.
　However, now that we have a clue from this mutation, this time there is a possibility that we can make a move before they make a move.

''It may be, but the next time, we may be able to make the first move before the mutation occurs.

'What?　Great job, Mr. Okura!　That's the leader of the party with these girls!

'Oh, no. That's just a possibility I found out about after discussing it with the girls....

What do you think you've learned from this mutation?

　I explained the idea I had discussed with Esther and the others the other day to Mr. Goulet and Mr. Bence, who tilted their heads.
　He said that the anomaly in Lake Rishnal was to keep them from going to the small island that was said to be nearby, and maybe they were doing something there.

'I see, and as I recall, when we encountered them there, they were fleeing towards the sea. But isn't it possible that they're doing it on purpose to make us think so?

'I can't deny that, but considering the anomaly in Lake Rishnal, I think there's a good chance there's something on the isles. It doesn't seem like a place where many people stop by, and it should be a good place to hide out.

'Sure it might be worth looking into that now that we don't have a clue either way.

If we are going to investigate this island, we should get the temple's permission to do so. The temple manages that place and only the temple staff know the route to the island. It is dangerous, so you should never go there without permission. I'm sure Okura-san and the others will be happy to give you permission.

'Yes, I was thinking of talking to Irina about it, and I'll come back to you later.

　That remote island is like a holy place of the temple from what Irina-san told me.
　And from the way Bence talked about it, it's doubtful that we'd be able to get to it even if we went by boat normally.
　Just like the last shrine, the wards are likely to be set up and we don't know what's going to be there, so it's better to talk to the temple.

　After we finished talking and reporting, we received the reward for this investigation request from Bence, and Grette and I left the branch chief's room.
　What a surprise, this request, an additional reward of 35 million gil each for solving a large number of crocodilus outbreaks.
　I don't know the exact number, but it's this amount of money because of the unusual situation where more than 10 Crocodilus Rex appeared.
　I heard that this was not an ordinary case, and they're going to report it to the Adventurer's Association in the capital.
　Rex isn't a monster that can be considered to be a major defeat on its own, but to have more than one of them appear at once is said to be unheard of.
　The unexpected reward makes me feel elated, but when I think about what's to come, I'm a little nervous, so I can't be honestly happy.
　I met up with Noll and the others who were waiting for me inside the Adventurer's Association and began to say goodbye to Gretto-san and the others, as the request was over.

'Okura-san, it was a pleasure to be with you guys this time. We're going to be actively investigating what's going on in the future, and we'll be happy to cooperate with each other. We will be happy to cooperate with each other.

It would be very reassuring if we could work with Gretchen and her team. I'll be happy to pass on the stories I've heard from the Temple through the Society.

　I'm grateful to Gret and the others for their help, and it would be reassuring if they could continue to cooperate with me.
　.........If I wanted to, I'd like to have them become part of the magic stone hunting group after Sevalia's mutation is over.
　They're trustworthy people, and there shouldn't be any problems with giving them the items from the Gacha.

　After the greetings, we dismissed with this, I thought, but before I could, Mars-san called out to me.

You can always tell us if there's anything you need. I'll help you guys as much as I can.

Yes, thank you.

'I'm surprised that someone who had so much doubt would say so much. You've trusted us.

Don't get your f*cking panties in a twist!　I just don't want anything to happen to us in Sevalia where we're based!　Tsk, we're going!

　Hearing Sisha's words, Mr. Maas walked out of the association, blushing and scratching his hair.
　Gretchen and the others chuckled at that and followed with a small smile, bowing their heads lightly to us.

''You weren't very honest to the end at all!

But he's much softer than when we met.

Yes. I guess it's all thanks to your brother and Sisha.

'Mmmm, this is what I get for it!　I'm a priest, you know!

　Looking at Priestess-sama, who put her hands on her hips and stretched her chest, both me and Esther put our hands on our foreheads and let out a sigh.
　It's true that thanks to Sisha, we were able to break the ice in some areas, but I'm pretty sure we were amused at least half the time.......
　While thanking Sisha, we too left the association in dismay, and since the sun was going down, we went straight home.

'Luna-san!　I'm back!

　As soon as he arrived home, Sisha ran dada dada dada towards Luna's room with a big smile on her face.
　I was taken aback by the sight of him again, but when I looked inside the house, I saw that it was not particularly rough and the house looked peaceful while we were away.

It looks like the house wasn't in disarray this time and they were able to stay safe.

'Mmmm, Freesia is a good girl, you know. She must have been on good terms with Luna!

I hope that's true.

　As Estelle put her hand to her cheek and looked worried, she heard a slamming sound of running around from the end of the room that Sisha was headed for.
　Then, with a bang, Sisha came out, opening the door with a bang and looking flustered with a change in blood.

''Duh, what's going on?''

I don't see Luna anywhere.　Mr. Noll!　Are Mr. Freesia and the others in Mr. Moffitt's hut?!

Hm?　I'm just going to go and check it out.

　Luna's gone?　The sun has already set and it's dark outside, and I thought she was asleep as usual, but she doesn't seem to be in her room.
　There doesn't seem to be any sign of Freesia, or is she in the Moffat's hut?
　That's what I thought, too, but Noll, who had gone to check on the cabin, came back alone with Moffoot in his arms.
　The white furball in his arms was poo-pooing in his sleep and looked comfortable.

'It was only Moffoot, sir. What about Freesia's room, sir?

'I've already checked!　Oh, where in the world has he gone, Mr. Luna....

'If Freesia, who comes as soon as you call her name, isn't coming, then she's not in the house, is she?

　If it's that hell-eared Freesia, just name it and I'll tell you what!　He should be coming to the living room making a fuss about it.
　If it doesn't, does that still mean he's not in the house?
　But then you'd think that the same old Luna would be out, too.
　I had certainly asked for a chaperone for Freesia's outing, but I don't think she's going to be out this late at night.
　I didn't think she was in some kind of trouble... Just as my thoughts passed by, I heard the sound of the door opening again with a bang.
　I heard a sound from the front door, so I turned around and saw Freesia with a big smile on her face.

'Ah!　I knew you were home!　You're welcome back!

I'm home. Have you been outside?

'Yes!　I was taking a walk with Luna!

　Freesia said cheerfully as she raised one hand, and Luna came into the house late.

'Huh, dear. Just when I thought I'd run suddenly, Heihachi and the others were there.'

Miss Luna!　Welcome back!

Mm, I'm home. Welcome back to Sisgah.

　Good, it looks like you didn't get into any trouble.
　But I didn't think you'd be taking a walk at night.

'You've been out at this hour?'

'I used to take a walk at night because Heihachi and the others might call me during the day. If something happens to this clunker, it's more convenient to cover it up at night.

'It's true that we do a lot of research in the daytime, so it's best to avoid it. But you know how Freesia used to feel about that.

'Ehehe, nighttime walks are also more fun because the moon is beautiful! Luna-chan also seems to have more fun at night!

'I'm not really enjoying it. I just feel better without the sunshine.

'And again~ humming as we go out--tete!　Ouch!　Luna, you're hurting me!

　Freesia, who poked Luna's cheek with her fingertips with a tsk tsk, was bitten by Luna with her fingers as hard as she could.
　It seems that if it's nighttime, that Luna seems to be in a reasonably good mood to take a walk.
　But I didn't think she was thinking about us and taking a walk at night.
　If you've been told, it's most likely that they do their investigation during the day, and that's when they call Luna and the others.
　If that's the case, it's better to stay at home during the day and go out at night so you don't have to worry about calling them out.
　If it's Freesia, I don't want it to be while the sun is out!　I guess I wasn't that selfish.

'At any rate, it looks like you didn't have any problems while we were gone.

I'm fine, I'm fine.

　Luna answered after a short pause, looking away and trying not to make eye contact with me.
　'Hey, it doesn't look like there was a problem, no matter how you look at it.

'What the hell was that between now and then? Maybe you didn't do something wrong, did you?

'I didn't do anything!　All I did was play with Moffitt for lunch and walk with Luna at night!　The only thing that's changed is that I shot a demon outside of town!

You're doing it!　What the hell are you doing?!

Yeeeeeee!　Stop!

　Looking at Freesia who answered cheerfully, I couldn't help but hold my cheeks with both hands and crush them grimly.
　Seriously, what the hell is this guy doing to me.......what if someone sees me!

Why would I do that?

'I was walking up the wall when I found those guys outside being attacked. So Freesia shot the demons. I'm sorry we couldn't stop them. There was no sign of anyone around us, so they couldn't have seen us.

'I don't know if you'd like to take a walk up the wall but did you look so dangerous that you wanted to touch it?

'Yeah but I was so far away that it's okay!

By the way, how far away did you hit the demon?

'Hmm, I wonder if it was farther away than the last time I defeated a demon called Lapis. I just want you to rest assured that no one has seen me!

　Lapidus, you mean the last time you tested Freesia's skills in the Lugen Valley.
　Even then, she was nearly a kilometer away but does that mean she made a better shot than that?
　This guy is a bit of a clunker, but he's really good at what he does.

　........Well, it looks like he helped people, so we should tolerate him, but I hope he doesn't do it in a place where he's likely to be in the public eye.
　Is Luna apologizing for not being able to stop him, or is she saying that she saw that he was attacking her and was hesitant to stop him?
　In the meantime, there don't seem to be any witnesses, but the person who saw or was helped from afar may have come to Brunne and spread the rumor.
　It looks like I'd better be careful to make sure Freesia doesn't have a bow in town for a while.
　Totally, Sevalia's anomaly is only deepening the mystery, but it's a lot of trouble here too.