'Wombat, our target will be that lycanthrope. These guys.....
Don't worry about it, Wegan!　These guys are rare, too, if you catch them...

　The two adventurers encountered a monster while exploring the western woodlands.
　They were not just monsters, but monsters unique to the new continent called Shuraosa and Ayakashi species. Simply capturing these alive and selling them to the Guild Headquarters or the Imperial Rare Creature Book Squad, would fetch a very high price. The adventurer party to which Wombat belonged was supposed to have come for that purpose.
　It had been a bloody effort to become a Gold Ranker. Even the adventurer's business didn't necessarily last for long. In fact, Lesvon had lost his arm in this new continent.

　That's why he would make a big profit here and create savings.

　Wombat held his blade against the least combatant-looking Ayakashi, Azkirai, and crushed his body. Now all he had to do was tie it up and leave once. It would be simple.
　I've heard that there are many ayakashi that look close to humans and are equipped with high intelligence. Still, monsters are monsters. They are different creatures from humans. Even elves were treated the same until 200 years ago.

'Let Mitarai-san go.

　Nurikabe, standing in front of him, said.

''You promised Utsurogi-kun that you wouldn't mess with him again. You said you'd never touch me again.
Hey, Wegan, can you get that one, too?
''Don't be ridiculous. We don't even know what your combat abilities are yet...

　As you would expect, it was a pain in the ass to carry that huge body. The value of inorganic monsters is greatly diminished once they're defeated, because it's difficult to understand their biology and other aspects of their lives. I don't know if this law applies to the Ayakashi, but if I'm going to capture it, I want to capture it alive.
　That's when I was thinking about it. The rustling bushes shook, and a silver shadow jumped out from the other side.

''Guaaaaaah!''
Wha...

　It was a wolf with silver fur. He pounced on his sturdy paws, trying to slam them into the wombat. The wombat dropped back with Azkia Rai in its grasp, and Wegan intercepted it with a lightning-attribute spell. A flash of lightning flashed through the dense forest.
　But that didn't stop the wolf's momentum.
　As it tore through the lightning light, the silver wolf pounced on Weygun. It pushed down the slender sorcerer's body and dug its claws into his chest. It bared its large fangs and brought its face close to the fallen Weygun, threatening him. Its large jaws could easily bite down on a human skull or so.

　The silver wolf was bleeding from his shoulder. It was the lycanthrope he had encountered and engaged earlier.
　This guy can be killed. If we bring back the body, we get a bonus. But if we don't, Wegan will be killed. Wombat doesn't have the means to slaughter Lycanthrope in a single blow.

''Yi, Inugami-san........!

　Nurikabe muttered. Lycanthrope's golden eyes flickered.

　These guys know each other. The moment he realized that, the wombat put a knife to Azkirai's neck. Whether or not there is a human-like ability to empathize between them, I don't know, but I have no choice but to try.

'Get out of there!　Otherwise, I'm going to kill him!
....!

　It was a moonshot, but it worked. Lycanthrope slowly moved his arm away from Weygun, and in the meantime, he slipped out of his restraints.
　After all, he had the intelligence of a human and the ability to empathize, after all.
　But so what. We are adventurers and mercenaries. When it comes to work, they are driven to war. Guild rules don't allow us to assassinate important people, but we could still kill people in the course of our mission. There is no reason to hesitate in killing a monster.

　The lycanthrope shows no signs of unleashing its beastliness. As I recall, when we encountered her in the hills, she was a silver-haired woman.
　Even though she was wounded, she's a pretty strong enemy for two people to deal with. In addition, there are also Nurikabe over there. If they were so inclined, they could pounce on her again, this time with either a Weygun or a Wombat, and bite off either of her throat whistles as normal.

'Inugami, Mr......'

　Azkirai let out a faint voice. The wombat thrust more knives at its throat. A voiceless scream rose in his arms. The lycanthrope bared its fangs and snarled low.

'Unleash the beastliness.'

　Wombat recommended.
　Lycanthropes are very different in their biology from ordinary beastmen. The lycanthrope's special ability to beastify makes it one or two times larger in stature and increases its physical abilities. Like Demon, the Demon King, and Gilman, the Sea King, the Lycanthrope is a direct descendant of the Beast King.

　In other words, this beastly state is no different than wearing a powerful armament in human terms. The Wombat's recommendation is an order to disarm, so to speak.

''Inugami-san, no.''

　Nurikabe says so, but in the end, the lycanthrope known as Inugami follows our recommendation to the letter.

　Staring hard at Wombat and Weygun, the silver wolf continues to snarl, baring its teeth, and eventually its body shrinks as if the air had gone out of it. Its full-grown silver fur fades away, revealing its skin-colored skin. The sturdy paws are replaced by slender arms, revealing a slender waist.
　The slender beauty sits on the ground and stares at me hard. One arm was covering her chest, as if she had the least amount of embarrassment. The stab wound on her shoulder that Wombat had inflicted on her still hadn't healed.

'You prick.'

　Inugami's throat spun those words. Wombat sniffed.

'I ain't in the mood for that right now,'

　If the situation were the situation, the wombat would have blown one of his whistles, but now it's kill or be killed. I'm going to take on the same resolve as if I were dealing with a whore.

'So, what do we do? Wegan.
We can't go this far and try to negotiate.

　Weygun gave a small sigh and turned his cold gaze to Inugami.

'I'll kill that lycanthrope.'




　What on earth should we do?

　Ozashiki Do-suke was watching the situation from behind a tree. The people in front of him were adventurers. Adventurers are those people who work in a mercenary kind of occupation among humans. Just the other day, I was almost attacked. That time, Soraki Kyousuke and others managed to save me.
　When Mitarai Azuki, who was walking in the lead, was captured by the adventurers, Gozashiki was behind Wallino. He had quickly fled behind a tree and was not to be found. He had always been good at hiding his presence.

　Inugami came to his rescue, but he was soon in a tight spot. Azuki was still trapped by the adventurers, Inugami had been forced to release his beastliness, and Kano was unable to move.
　Then one of the enemy adventurers said.

---I will kill that lycanthrope.

　If this is the case, the Inugami will be killed. And if the Inugami is killed, Azuki and Kano will not be saved, it is not true.
　The only person who can move to save them now is me. But Ozaji's legs were sluggish.

　Out of the filter, as they say. The fact that I was in that situation was not something I could bring myself to say. If you take out your kemari and hit one of your best shots, the situation might improve, but you can't do that. All I can think about is what if I fail, or what if they find out where I am?
　What could be done with a little twist of courage, I can't do.

　Ozaiki was still stuck to the tree, his teeth clattering.

'Hey, Ozaashiki,'

　I freaked out and shook my shoulders when someone called out to me from behind. I almost shuddered.
　When I turned around, there was a line of variant forms dressed like Yamabushi over black feathers and a simple, semi-liquid variant.

''Ka, Karasumaru........ Himemizu-san.........
How's it going?　What happened to Azusa?
Mitarai-san is in custody. Inugami-san has just been de-beastified.... The adventurers are going to kill Inugami-san...

　The two men were silent for a moment as they answered in a shaky voice. Karasuma muttered a single word, 'This sucks.

'You mean it was the adventurer who injured Hibiki?　How could you...
It's only natural for an adventurer to attack a monster, isn't it?

　At Rin's question, Karasuma spat out. While listening to their conversation, Gozashiki muttered.

''I'm sorry, both of you, I'm just...''
You're out of the filter. I'll be fine. I know.

　Rin responded in a gentle voice. An arm reached out from her body and gently stroked her head.

''Don't worry, don't worry. I'm sure me and Karasumaru-kun will take care of it. You'll be able to do that, right?
Yeah, I'm feeling pretty close to losing my temper too.

　Karasuma hasn't had a filter break yet, but Rin overcame it once she did. Talk about dependable.
　From the shadows of Kameno, we can see the situation. Perhaps it's because Azuki is being held hostage, but Kabeano hasn't been able to move either. One of the adventurers holds a knife to Azuki while the other unleashes a lightning-attribute spell on Inugami. Inugami managed to avoid it while jumping up and down, but he was soon caught in the body by the lightning lightning that was running in every direction in this small forest. He lets out a small scream and falls to the ground.

Himemizu, I'm pretty sure I'm fast.
But we're too far away from this position. We'll have to go around.
Can Inugami last long enough...?

　Rin and Karasuma continued to discuss the matter.

　If Kyousuke were here, Gosashiki thought, he would have combined with Rin and settled the matter quickly.
　He's admirable. He was slighted in his class, neglected in his transition, and never arrogant, even after he got his powers. Of course, there might be a reason why half of his power was borrowed. But whether it was when Gozashiki joined his surrounding classmates in ridiculing Ryuzaki for falling to the bottom, or when he turned a cold gaze on Koganei for losing his trust, Kyousuke's attitude was always consistent.
　No matter who he was, he didn't discriminate, he didn't divide and conquer, and he would rush to his friends' plight and gallantly defeat his enemies.

　I can't be like that. I can't be.

　So when the filter is cut off, my body will easily stop moving, too. I'm so terrified that I can't do anything about it. Even the sight of a classmate being hurt in front of you doesn't make your heart burn with righteous indignation.

---Ugh, ah, ah...!
---You are very stubborn.
---You better have something more powerful than that, Wegan!
---igniting the surrounding trees.

　The exchange between Inugami and the adventurers drove our frustration. Suddenly, Ozashiki turned her gaze towards Kano. Her body, which is the black painted wall itself, does not ooze any emotion at all. I have no idea what she's thinking about.
　Just then, Ozaji noticed that Chihaya Kano's body was trembling slightly. At the same time, it reminded him of her, when she was human. She was tall and always had her mouth tied up in a knot, and she was intimidating and hard to talk to. Even Ozashiki, who had known her since he was a child, was dismayed to find that he no longer understood her at all. It is a good thing that you are not the only one who has been told that she has an iron-faced skin and a walled-in mind, and Ozaji often agrees with this.

　She is trembling a little. She is frightened. Just as she is now. The terrible situation that is happening in front of her eyes.

''........Himemizu-san.

　Ozashiki spoke absentmindedly to Rin, who had been planning tactics with Karasuma.

'What?'

　When the conversation is interrupted, she doesn't even show irritation, but asks back in a gentle voice.

''How did you..............................overcome your broken filter?''
You'll never get over it. You can't overcome it, because once the filter wears off, the thing you're afraid of stays scary forever.

　Rin replied quietly, calmly, but clearly.

'But if there was anything scarier than that, we'd have to do it. I mean.
What do you fear?
'To no longer line up next to Kyousuke-kun with his chest out. Oh, I don't have breasts right now, though. I mean, I'm going to become a human again.... Oh, even if I return to human, I don't have any breasts. That's not what I meant.
Himesui....

　Karasuma threw a dumbfounded voice at Rin as she started making incomprehensible excuses alone.
　Ozaji ruminated on those words Rin had told him. Once the filter is turned off, what is scary remains scary forever. This swelling in my legs will never go away. But even so, if there is something more frightening than that, the only way is to move your body, even if you are forced to.
　What is the thing I fear the most right now? I suppressed my trembling body and thought desperately about it.

　As you think, you get an answer. Once I get an answer, the trembling in my body does indeed decrease a little.

'Karasumaru, Himemizu-san........'

　Ozashiki said in a somewhat clearer voice than before, ''I'll make an opening for the adventurer with the knife.

'I'll make an opening for that adventurer with the knife.
Are you okay?
It's not okay.

　At Rin's words, Gozaji shook his head.

''I have a feeling that if I don't, the scariest thing in the world is going to happen to me...''




　The lightning attribute spell released by Weygun for the umpteenth time burned Inugami. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. However, no matter how much the opponent is a monster, it was not very pleasant for a wombat to tease a thing in the form of a human girl like this.

''(Would it have been easier if I had just cut off her head with a knife?)'

　Wegan is an attack-only wizard and doesn't have anything convenient like binding. Inevitably, the wombat would have to secure Azkia Rai. With Weygun's poor arm strength, there was a chance that he would be able to escape.
　If he had done this far and not died out, then this lycanthrope called Inugami might be resistant to magical attacks to some extent. Seeing Inugami with his hands on the ground and repeatedly breathing wildly, Wombat changed his knife. With his arm holding Azkia Rai, he held the knife as it was. With his free arm, he took out another knife.

''No, no........!

　I wondered if he had an idea of what he was going to do. Azkirai clung to my arm.

'Hey, let go.'
No, no!　You, now, Inugami-san....
'If we leave him alone, Weygun's magic will kill him anyway!　You'd be better off just making it easier on him, though!
No!　No.........!

　It would have been easier if I could just shake it off, but in the meantime, Inugami's golden eyes are still staring at me. The moment I shook off Azkia Rai here, it suddenly transformed into a silver wolf, and there was no guarantee that it wouldn't attack me. Wombat clicks his tongue and lightly draws his knife.

''Ah........''

　Pish, a single red line ran across his cheek. Immediately after, blood swelled up from the wound in a plurality. When the red blood touched the atmosphere, it turned into clear, colorless water and flowed out of Azkirai's cheek.

''Me........!

　Inugami glared at the wombat while breathing heavily and repeatedly.

"Don't mess with Mitarai........
Then you might as well just get yourself killed. I don't need to do anything I don't have to do!

　That's when the wombat shouted. From the bushes, an "something" shot out in a straight line. It seemed to be a sphere, but he couldn't tell what it was any more. But it drew a sharp curve in the middle and caught the wombat's hand precisely.

''Whoa...!

　After a moment, he removes the knife.

!

　At that moment, Azkirai forcefully shook off Wombat's hand.

''Ah, d*mn it........!
Grrrrrr.

　The wombat swings its remaining knife at the fleeing Azkirai. However, at the same time, the Inugami, with a roar that cannot be emitted by the vocal chords of a human, but still in human form, leaps at you. The tremendous physical strength demonstrated from the slender arms pushed the wombat's shoulders and slammed it to the ground.

''Kuch...!

　I thrust the knife as hard as I could into the belly of Inugami, who was getting on his horse. I'm going to try to gouge out the abdominal cavity as it is. But the face of Inugami, which had come close enough to collide with his forehead, had changed at once. The golden eyes have a tremendous killing intent and hostility in them, the mouth is split open to the ear, and the sprouting fangs are pointed towards you with saliva dripping from them.
　Wombat held his chin with one arm and took out a knife with the other, and this time aimed at the eyeball and stabbed it.

''Geez!''

　The silver wolf screamed and fell back on its back. Wombat managed to crawl out of the gap.

''Wegangs!''

　Wombat called out the names of his fellow adventurers. The sorcerer Weygun finished his chanting at that very moment and was about to unleash an exquisite blade of wind at Inugami.

''Let it be!''

　Yet another voice sounded, and a black shadow flew out of the bushes. The figure with its protruding beak and wings spread out was like a bird, but it was clothed in more clothes and sprouting arms over its feathers. Its sprouting arms struck at Weygun with momentum.

''It's Kalasteng!''

　Wombat shouts.

'You bastards!　How dare you do that to Inugami and Mitarai!

　Carasteng oozed anger at the sound of his voice and slammed the wargun into the nearest tree as hard as he could. Wombat pulled out his knife and this time he threw it at Carasteng.

'Whoa!

　The knife went straight up and into Carasteng's arm. In that moment, Weigan manages to escape Carasteng's restraints. Carasteng turns back to us and waves a large leaf in his right hand. The wind fluttered and a blade of air was released, but the wombat managed to get away from it by hiding behind a tree.
　This kind of brawl in such a sheltered area is what Thief is all about. But as expected, the situation was too tilted.

　Kalasteng pulled out the knife in his arm and threw it to the ground. The lycanthrope Inugami also bared his teeth and snarled, with the knife stuck in one eye. Azkirai ran away and disappeared. Nurikabe was still standing there.
　The situation was stalemated. If someone moved, someone else would move to stop it. That was the situation.

''Ka, Karasumaru-kun...!

　Nurikabe muttered.

'Stay put, Kano. There's Gozashiki in there too.
'Ozaji-kun...?　But....
'He made the move because he didn't want it to be terrible for Wall Street too. You'll figure it out.

　Karasteng remained vigilant in the midst of the conversation, even in the midst of our conversation. Inugami listened to him and sniffed with a hum.

　What to do. Wombat looked at Wegan. If he could escape, he would, but his enemies were the beastly lycanthrope and the karasteng. Even if it was just one Sifu, there was no way he could escape with a sorcerer's foot. Even if you consider Weygun's "agility," which is a tangible value (status) in the Adventurer's Guild, it is clear that this is not the case.

　Even if you are trying to escape, you need to create a large opening. From the looks of it, there is a strong sense of solidarity between the enemies, but it is not based on a certain level of professionalism, like a party of adventurers.
　A high level of empathy to care for a wounded comrade. That's one thing to aim for.

　This is the one that seems to be the biggest target of all, and the one that seems to be the most unaccustomed to fighting. Wombat sent a quick hand sign, and Wegan nodded in response. Wegan quickly raised his wand and began a magic chant.

''!!!''

　Karasteng was the first to react, waving the leaf like a fan. However, Wombat, who had read that that one would move first, threw a knife at Karasteng's arm, which was holding the leaf.

''Gu........!

　A crowsteng removes the leaf. The leaf left his arm and fluttered away.
　Almost at the same time, the silver wolf pounced towards the wombat. From the motion of throwing the knife, he connected with the evasion and slid into the wall of the great tree. The Inugami's large paws slammed into the trunk, and its claws scraped away a large portion of its surface.
　Two seconds remained until Wogan's magic chanting was complete. Wombat took the last knife from his pocket and fired a third time at Kalasteng. This time it didn't hit, but Karasteng, who was sensitive to the attack, was given only a few seconds to evade.
　One second to go. With a roar, Inugami gutted the trunk of the great tree in a mess. The tree, which was severely off balance at the base, was pushed down with its entire body towards the wombat. In a panic, the wombat dodged to dive underneath it, but there, he saw the silver wolf looming in front of him with his big mouth open.

　0 seconds. Wogan's magic goes into effect. His signature lightning attribute magic scorched the atmosphere, and this time it was fired at the standing Nurikabe.




　Standing dumbfounded, unable to do anything but watch the battle, Kano Chihaya didn't realize until that moment that she was the target of an attack. The magic that the adventurer unleashed was the same magic that had been unleashed on the Inugami many times before. It tore straight through the sky and flew towards us.

''Kabeano-san!''

　He hears such a voice from behind him, and one small boy leaps out of the way. The boy leaps to block the oblique line between himself and Inakou, and takes a direct hit from it.

''Uh-oh!''
You're going to sit?

　It was his classmate, Gozashiki Do-suke himself, who always hid behind his own shadow and never asserted himself. Ozaashiki let out a scream and fell to the ground, then stopped moving.

''Ozaashiki-kun!''
Gosh!

　Following Kabeno, Karasuma turned and shouted.
　Just then, a hair-raising cry came from ahead.

''Gyaa!''

　Walled Field's open vision, inexorably, captured the scene. An Inugami pounced on one of the adventurers and bit into the very shoulder, biting and biting the flesh off of it. More claws gouged the flesh on his back, but the adventurer, despite his wounds, ran away quickly.
　The wizard adventurer also ran to chase after the escaped adventurer. But soon after that, an arm that seeps out of the ground catches the adventurer's leg.

''!

　The adventurer fell over and looked at his own feet. There were blue translucent arms growing out of the ground, gripping tightly and not letting go. Not just one arm seeped out of the ground, but the sorcerer's body was completely restrained as it was.

''Nah, nah, ah, nah........nah.......!
You'll be penalized for breaking your promise.

　The voice he was used to hearing was somewhat angry. It belonged to Himemizu Rin. Eventually, she revealed her full form from within the ground, binding up the adventurer's body with a volume that was several times larger than usual. She took the staff from his arms and held his mouth to completely contain its magic.

''Himemizu-san, Goshiki-ga!

　Kabeno shouted. Karasuma rushed over and shook Gozashiki's body.
　A direct hit of lightning magic. No noticeable trauma. It was an attack that Inugami had eaten many times. You would think that it would be something like this, but as a matter of fact, Ozashiki didn't even twitch. Her face, like that of a petite childish woman, kept her eyes closed.
　Rin and Azuki, who had been hiding behind the trees behind her, also rushed over to us, and Inugami, who had been following the adventurer to the back, came back a moment later.

''Hmmm.........''

　Eventually, Ozaashiki shrank back and slowly opened his eyes.

''Ozaashiki-kun........!
"Ka, Mr. Kabeano.... I'm so glad......... You're safe.....
'Idiot!　That's my line!

　If it were true, I would have liked to hold Gozaji, who was blathering on, in my arms. I've never felt as frustrated as I do about the lack of arms. The Inugami, who had been looking so mysterious up until then, sniffed, and made a gesture to Karasuma that made him shuck his chin.

'What, out?'

　Karasuma, too, makes a sound as if the tension has been released.
　He pulls the knife out of Inugami's eyes. With a sizzle, blood splattered and Inugami let out a small scream.

''Inugami-san, are you alright...?''

　Azuki asked, and Inugami nodded. Karasuma studied Inugami's face as he dumped the knife he had pulled out onto the ground.

'This one, if you look closely, isn't stuck in my eye. It's just right next to the eye. It's bleeding, though, so that's going to hurt.
Oh, well, you're just lucky.

　Karasuma crouched down and pulled out the knife that was stuck in Inugami's stomach as well. As he was about to check his belly wound as well, the back of his head was slammed into the back of the Inugami's paw as hard as he could, and he fell to the ground with his beak.

"Mugou!
'I guess the wound in my stomach was off kryptonite, too. You got lucky.

　Azuki said, and Inugami nodded again.

''Speaking of which, it looked like Ozaji-kun got a direct hit too, are you okay?　I hope you didn't get burned.
"Uh-huh. She seems fine.... I'm not sure.
Thank you for your help.
Uh, yeah...

　When Kabeno thanked him, Ozashiki scratched his cheek and averted his gaze.
　He was a little surprised and happy when this timid and shy man had popped up for him. Hameno wanted to express his feelings in words, but in the end, he couldn't see any other option but to thank him.

''Well, I guess I'll go home then...''

　Rin, who had been silent until then, suddenly broke off. She was slowly crawling on the ground, still holding one of the adventurers in custody.

''As for his treatment of this adventurer, let's discuss it with Kyousuke-kun and the others and think it over.
Speaking of good luck, so is this guy.

　Pulling the kuchibashi out of the ground, Karasuma says.

'If Gozashiki had been dead or Inugami had been hurt worse, I would have broken at least one of his arms out of spite.
Ka, Karasuma-kun... I don't think that's a very good idea, so...
Yeah. That's not a good idea.

　Azuki protested modestly. Rin nodded. Probably only Karasuma was the only one in this group whose filter hadn't been cut off, so his words and actions would inevitably be extreme. Well, Inugami might have said the same thing if he could talk.
　With his mouth covered, the adventurer was protesting something, but of course it wasn't going to be a meaningful word.

'But actually, I'm glad that both Mizashiki-kun, Inugami-san, and Mitarai-san are safe.
Well, I'd say it was all thanks to the courage you mustered up, Ozajiro-kun.

　Rin responded to Wallino's voice with a carefree answer. However, the Gozashiki himself, with his hand over his mouth and a difficult face, was pondering.

What's going on?　Ozaiki-kun.
...maybe I could be awakened to phase two.

　They all let out an 'oh' to the ozashiki who muttered in a mysterious voice.

'Really? Congratulations, Ozashiki. What kind of ability is that?''
'I'm not sure... In the document that Benii-san brought with her, there is a description of Zashiki-Doji's Phase 2 ability. According to that........
""According to that?"

　Everyone's voices, except Inugami's, chanted in unison.

　Ozashiki looked up and looked at the faces of all of them, and at the adventurer who was still bound by Rin. He replied in a proud voice, somewhat reserved, but surprisingly clear and proud.

'It seems to improve the luck of those around me,'