We marched on for a few hours while continuing to steadily inquire about flowers, mushrooms and plants along the way.
　Kyousuke and the others arrived at a building located some distance from the settlement on Delph Island.

　It was a wooden structure not unlike the ones found in other settlements, but it was quite large in scale. It was this house that Inugami Hibiki had been brought into. There is no definite evidence for it at the moment, but there is no way to casually confirm it. Hiding in the bushes, we all stared at the building.

We'd like to break in right away, but...

　Rin said.

''Ah..... As originally planned, I'm going to turn back to the settlement and call the rescue team.''
I have to tell you about Ibis.

　When you think about Inugami's safety, the truth is, you can't even spare the time to do such a thing. But this is the only thing we decided on as a class. Kyousuke and the others can only break through from the front, and if it's an infiltration mission, Nekomiya's ability to move from shadow to shadow is far superior.

　In that case, let's hurry up and go home. That's when Kyousuke was about to say that.

''Um........Utsurogi-kun.......''

　Hanazono Hana turned to Kyousuke and the others with a gaze that held some kind of determination.

''We......... I'm going to stay here, but........
What?
'The vampires might come out of the house after this.... Besides, we're not moving that fast...

　Tentahara and Mushikasa also nodded as they swayed their bodies vertically.

　Indeed, the problem of movement speed is a big one. Ei, who can fly, and Kyousuke and Rin (Stream Cross), who have strong bodies in their hands, can march at nearly twice the speed of a normal human, but Alraune, Roper, and Living Mushroom are all less than human in terms of foot speed. Whether or not you leave them behind makes a lot of difference.
　The offer itself is gratifying, but there is a house with a vampire lurking right in front of it. I'm going to leave my classmates there, that's what I'm going to do....

''Don't worry. If it comes down to it, the tentacles will protect you.

　As Tentahara said this, the colorful tentacles lurking in the jungle undulated as they appeared.

''Kyousuke, let's just take their word for it here.''
Ei....
The rescue team is made up of light and fast-moving people. If we hurry, it shouldn't take us more than an hour to get there and back.
Okay.

　Finally, Kyousuke nodded.

　The three remaining here were all monsters that were good at hiding in the jungle. It wouldn't be so easy to find them unless they went to set them up themselves, and in an hour, they would quickly turn back and send a rescue team in.
　If there's anything to be concerned about, it's that after that, we'll probably end up in a battle with the vampires. Judging by the shape of that house, the vampires have some kind of connection to these islanders. Engaging those vampires would not be a welcome sight for the islanders. But if Ryuzaki can convince the chiefs, that is another matter.

　Will the name 'Toki' really turn things around for the better?

Let's hurry up first. Hanazono and the others stay put. I promise.
Yes.
I'm on it.
Rin, Ei, we're going back to the village as fast as we can. Let's go.
Yeah.
Yeah.

　As soon as he said it, Kyousuke's body rushed out quickly, slipping through the trees.

''Oh, wait for me, Himemizu!

　From behind, he was approached by Tentahara. Kyousuke involuntarily stopped in his tracks. Rin, who was clinging to Kyousuke's body, just asked.

''Eh, I mean, me?''
Yeah, it's you.

　Tentahara told him in a mysterious voice.

''Leave the Inugami's clothes behind. They're going to come back anyway.




　After all, it was not possible to extract any further information from the chiefs at that stage. Ryuzaki and the others discontinued the conversation once, and then proceeded to consult with each other about the trade fair. The suspicion of Ryuzaki and the others was never cleared from Chief Berger's eyes, but the consultation itself was completed without a hitch.

What do you think?

　Ryuzaki consulted with his companions in a corner of the village as such.

　The discussion itself was a temporary break, but in the afternoon they would invite the other island chiefs back for another discussion. Chief Berger told us that we should stay in this settlement as lunch will be served. If anything, it seemed that he wanted to keep Ryuzaki and the others in this settlement instead of returning them to the heavy duty branch school.

''The Chief is lying, but........ He doesn't know about the existence of vampires, right...?
Yeah, but they have their suspicions about us.

　Sakuma ran a hand over his shapely chin, his expression serious and thoughtful.

　The students in this village are Ryuzaki, Satomi, and Sakuma, plus the five students who will be the Inugami rescue team, Nekomiya, Sarutoyo, Kagoi, Karasuma, and Goubayashi. There were a total of eight of them. The search team by canvassing is five of them, including Kyousuke. The remaining members of the branch school are Benii, Harao, Kaoruko, and a few base personnel, including Sugiura, while the rest of the faces are carrying goods into the square to prepare for the trade fair.
　Nekomiya is still popular with the village kids and is being jostled by them, while Saruwatari is being ostracized for trying to teach the kids baseball when he should have been, while the other masks are head to head with Ryuzaki and the others to discuss the matter.

'After all, I'm pretty sure that the person who infused something into that chieftain is a vampire.

　They all nodded as Goubayashi crossed his arms and said, ''You mean that Chieftain wants to keep the vampires here?

'So, does that mean that the vampires are the reason why the Chief wants to keep Ryuzaki-kun and the others here?
'Then we shouldn't really be here......... I should have my hands somewhere else, but.....

　What is the purpose of this vampire? Since that is the first thing we don't know, we can't bypass it.

　The main objective is the heavy duty branch school. Just in case, I've placed a Harao there. If it's an opponent with a combat ability of a pawn, it's easy to intercept.
　The search unit includes Kyousuke, Rin, and Ei. They're the strongest force among the four groups of two years at the moment.
　The one thing I'm worried about in terms of strength is the preparations for the trade fair, which is devoted to nearly half of the students. But I can't imagine the benefit of a vampire raiding this place. Even if they were thinking of kidnapping the students like Koganei did, it would be a negative thing if they stormed the trading hall where merchants and other islanders were also present and showed up. Especially if he was in a position where he could blow something to the chieftain.

　At this point, Ryuzaki and the others hadn't given much thought to the possibility of having more than one vampire on the other side.

　Delph Island was not a large place. In addition, there was one disappearance every month or two that seemed to involve vampires. There had been unconscious speculation that there was probably only one vampire lurking on this island.

　Now, it was just around the corner.

''Geez!''
What the hell?

　A scream came from a corner of the settlement and I looked up to see a skeleton wearing blue slime all over its body, accompanied by a mass of fire, coming out of the jungle. Who is it, I didn't need to ask, it was Kyousuke.

''Utsurogi!''
You're not late!

　Ssshhh, with a cloud of dust, Kyousuke jumped out and landed on his feet.

''You've learned how to make a pretty cool appearance........''
''No, well, yeah. I guess Ei made it up...

　Kyousuke glances at Ei, who is flying right beside him.

　The remaining islanders in the village seem to be glancing at Kyousuke. It doesn't seem like it would be possible to have too many secret talks, but soon Nekomiya says, 'Chumoku! I shouted and began to perform, and everyone's eyes quickly turned to me. As expected of a woman who wants to be a stage actor, she is different.

'I don't see Hanazono and the others.

　Ryuzaki said as he looked around. Kyousuke nodded.

'They've been asked to stand by because of their wishes. In the meantime, I have a few things to report.'

　Then Kyousuke held up a finger.

''First, let's talk about Inugami. Inugami was taken away by two men, presumably vampires. Right now, it looks like he's being held captive in a wooden hut outside the village.
A couple of...?

　Ryuzaki twisted his eyebrows quizzically. It wasn't just Ryuzaki, but the other faces as well.

'Yes, two of them. If those guys are vampires, then there are at least two vampires on this island.''
It's dangerous.

　Goubayashi said in a whisper.

'Even me and Ryuzaki can't handle two or three pawns on our own.

　The same can be said for Harao. Harao and Kaoruko are the ones who are assigned to protect the heavy duty branch school. The rest of the members are not expected to have much fighting ability. If more than two vampires were to attack here, it was doubtful that they would be able to protect Benii.
　Sakuma suddenly began to fidget. Perhaps he is worried about his best friend.

　However, Kyousuke continues.

''One of those vampires, I think his name is "Toki".
Toki...?
"Toki........not just Toki......maybe Tokino, Tokihala, or something like that....... According to the message Inugami left for us, it's an ibis."

　Toki. It has a very Japanese sound to it.

For now, Utsurogi. We've learned something on our end too.

　Ryuzaki looked up and revealed to Kyousuke and the others the information he had gleaned from his conversation with the chieftain.

　First, that he was hiding something about Inugami's disappearance.
　That the Chief himself is unaware of the vampire's existence.
　The Chief has some suspicions about us.
　This suspicion may have been instilled in him by someone else.

　Taking all this information together, the Chief has speculated that the vampire who hid his identity has been feeding him some convenient information, and so on. Kyousuke, Rin, and Ei nodded and ruminated on those information.

''It's possible that the vampire who infused that chieftain with information is Toki, isn't it?

　Rin stretched out from Kyousuke's body and said, "I'm not going to do that.

'For now, I'll try to sway the Chief again at the afternoon's discussion. I think I'll mention Toki's name as well.

　At Ryuzaki's words, Satori's Satomi also nodded silently.

　The fact that Kyousuke and the others had found that vampire's house meant that there was a possibility that a battle was about to occur. If the vampire was in a position to blow something to the chieftain, it would be our side that would be put at a disadvantage if we hid the information poorly.
　Of course, if they wanted to, Ryuzaki and the others had enough power to silence all the people of this Albadamba island with a forceful push. But we don't want to do that.

''Hey, Utsurogi-kun........''

　With an unusually grim expression, Sakuma said.

''What, Sakuma?''
Those vampires, what kind of things they're trying to do you didn't know, did you?
Hmm, yeah...

　Kyousuke nodded. Sakuma's expression remained unchanged, and this time he turned to Ryuzaki and told him

''I'm going back to the branch school once.
That's fine, but...
'I'll talk to Asuka about the things I've heard here. Maybe she knows someone called Toki, too...

　But that's probably not the only thing that's going on.

　Sakuma is concerned about the possibility that there are more than two vampires and the heavy duty branch school could be attacked on top of that. In that case, of course, Harao and Kaoruko alone would not be able to prevent the attack. It's not like anything will change with Sakuma going alone, but that's the point where neither arrows nor shields can hold you back.

''Then I'll go with you.

　That's what Goubayashi said. Sakuma turns his head with a surprised look on his face.

''Goubayashi-kun?''
Hmm. I'm sure the Utsurogi should be the one to go, but from now on, I'll have to ask the Utsurogi to guide Nekomiya and the others. In other words, if Utsurogi is there, there's no need for me to go along with him.

　Kyousuke nodded. It was possible that a few vampires remained intact in the house that held Inugami captive, but even in that case, Kyousuke would be able to handle it. The Xtreme Cross' outstanding fighting ability was proven.

　The new way to divide the faces here is, in other words.

　Ryuzaki and Satomi.
　They will participate in the meeting with the Chiefs later. The role of this group is to sway the chiefs. We've already moved to the next stage from extracting information, we're going to tell the truth to the chief who is suspicious of 2 years 4. That's about it.
　Originally, I had planned to cross Sakuma here. This is because even if she doesn't voluntarily use the Enchantment, I was hoping that it would be effective enough to ease the human's caution. However, I will respect her opinion here.

　Kyousuke, Rin, Ei, Nekomiya, Sarutoyo, Kagoi, and Karasuma.
　They are in charge of rescuing Inugami, who is probably trapped in the vampires' house. There's no chance that all the vampires are away, but this is a team where a battle will occur nine times out of ten. Depending on the situation, Kyousuke and Rin's Extreme Cross will need to make quick work of it.

　Sakuma and Goubayashi.
　They turn back to the Heavy Duty Branch School to escort Benii and exchange the information they've gained. If the reason why the chief was trying to keep Ryuzaki and the others back was to make it easier for the vampires to move, then the first target would be the branch school's Benii. If there was more than one vampire, it was doubtful that Harao and Kaoruko would be able to intercept them on their own, and more importantly, there was no telling how much better the situation would be if these two joined forces.
　It's the most dangerous position to be in.

'Once Inugami's rescue is taken care of, we'll head towards the branch school as well.
Yeah, you should.

　At Kyousuke's words, Ei nodded.

'Sacchan, don't take it easy.

　Rin said, and Sakuma nodded with a slightly bitter smile.

''Yeah........ Himemizu-san and Utsurogi-kun and the others........come as soon as possible.
Well, I'm going to let you have at least three of them. Anything more than that, I don't know.

　This statement is a gobbledygook. As much as we can rely on him, he's not going to be able to take on three bodies by himself. It means that he can work with Harao, Kaoruko, and Sakuma, and three is the limit. And that's only if the opponent is a pawn class. Knight, if they were dealing with the Bishop class, those four people would probably be able to take on one of them.

''As I thought, the one that looks most dangerous is the branch school.......''

　Kyousuke's voice was filled with a bit of bitterness.
　As long as we can't divide our forces, it's inevitable that there will be a bias. And that the burden will be concentrated only on Kyousuke and others. Ryuzaki bites his teeth.

　It's not a favorable story by any means. But there are many situations where you have no choice but to rely on their outstanding combat abilities.

'I'll be waiting for you.'
Yeah, I'm on it.

　At Sakuma's words, Kyousuke nodded vigorously.

''Apparently, though, the conversation was done while we were gone.
Being out of the group and being in the upper right corner of a group photo, that's what makes it so adolescent.
'It's not that I was left out, but...'

　Finally, Nekomiya and Saruwatari returned after being squirreled away by the children.

　They all nodded to each other once again and began to take their positions.
　The islanders of the maritime coalition nation of Albadamba, Delph Island, were still unaware of the battle that was about to take place on this island. However, preparations for the battle were steadily being completed.