The group headed for the front line of the Stampede, arriving at Centria after a day's work with a wagon loaded with supplies. After that, after resting for half a day in Centria, Chrystia gave instructions to the whole group. Then, the Maze Control Squad, the Red Demon Squad, the Infinite Circle, and part of the Music Corps went to the front line, and the Babenberg family and knights were to be stationed in Centria.

　However, the purpose of going to the front line was only to gather information, and basically they would be fighting within the barriers of the Babenberg family in Centria. After all, it's more efficient to intercept monsters from a single base, so the front line will be standing on the basis of survival.


''Well then, Weiss-san. It's nice to meet you.''
..........


　Weiss, who has long black hair, is silent to Tsutomu, who greets him in a light tone. But that doesn't mean he's ignoring Tsutomu, he's just not used to being approached by others unexpectedly. While he has learned to speak somewhat to the clan members of the Red Demon Clan, it is still difficult for him to speak to others.

　Most of them couldn't bear this silence and walked away, but Tsutomu awkwardly scratched his cheek and waited for a response. After recovering a bit later, Weiss took a breath inwardly before answering.


''........Ah. Please take care of me.''
'Yes. Please help each other out when we seem to be in bad taste.
Yeah.
'Oh, but Weiss-san can automatically recover from a unique skill, as I recall, right?　Is there a recovery to begin with?
You don't have to do that. If you lose an arm, it will regenerate itself.
'Wow, that's great!　Then I'll just give Mr. Weiss the support he needs. Oh, but you will be tired, won't you?
Yeah.
'Then if it's time to fight together, I'd better stand around with a thicker medic instead of a recovery. The rest....
..........


　When Tsutomu suggested that with a smile even in front of a man who could regenerate a single arm, Weiss managed to speak back, even though he was confused. After that, Tsutomu asked about Weiss's unique skill, the phoenix soul (phoenix soul), and then he walked away as if he was satisfied.


(.........a strange man.)


　A normal person would be afraid of their own abnormality and look somewhat withdrawn. But Tsutomu seemed to see himself as just another attacker. In addition to this, Tsutomu had a similar atmosphere to me.

　Tsutomu may not be an anthropophobe, but Weiss sensed that he was lonely. But at first glance, Tsutomu was surrounded by his friends and probably would have a hard time even defeating one of the monsters on his own. So he doesn't seem to be alone, and he doesn't seem to have that kind of power.

　However, however, Weiss had shown that Tsutomu was capable of fighting alone in the last Stampede.

　Even the barriers of the Babenberg family were broken down, a monster named the Violent Eating Dragon. Everyone in that place was afraid of the tyrannical dragon and instantly realized that they could not win. But the first one to stand up to the tyrannical dragon was Tsutomu.


(It never occurred to me that a white mage would be the bravest of all.)


　Tsutomu, especially when he was using the black cane, was trying to do the healer all by himself. And even though he had the black cane, Weiss was surprised that he was able to do that in that situation. Tsutomu, who had been taking care of everything by himself, was, in Weiss's eyes, a shadow of his past self.


''Yo, alright, please.''


　At first it was just an apology for bothering him about Alma, but after the stampede, Weiss was a little curious about Tsutomu's character. And the fact that that Garum was the one who would be following him was also a concern.


''Ah, um........''


　Garum was also more of a lonely man. He was the only one who continued to be stubborn as tank positions retreated from the front lines one by one. He should have had a character that lived up to the name of a mad dog. Why did it become so round?


''..........''


　As he was pondering this, Weiss realized now that the little bird-man girl was looking up at him with teary eyes.


''..........''
I'm sorry.


　When Weiss unintentionally looked down, the blue-haired girl ran off as if to escape. When Weiss bowed his head as if to apologize to Tsutomu, who was watching over such circumstances 《behavior》, he smiled and nodded, then chased after Hanna.

　There were many other people with moderate personalities in the infinite circle, such as the guild leader's daughter, an elven archer, and the idol of the labyrinth city. Even with such people, Weiss returned the eye salute as best he could.

　And the tall man with indigo dog ears and a distinctive tail is an old friend from before Weiss got his unique skills. But the way he looked at himself was somewhat of a poke in the eye.


''Hmm, you've become quite pretentious, haven't you?
Shut up, you idiot.
You're just trying to dress up for the sake of being funny.
You're the one who's a lot more mature than you used to be. You're like a dog in a Tutum.
Shut the f*ck up, you idiot.


　Probably the only people talking to Weiss on an equal footing were Tsutomu, who recognized him as a fellow PT member, and his old friend Garum. And when Garum walked away without saying anything back, as if he had been hit in the sore spot, Weiss pouted a bit and then looked away with a creepy smile.

　Then Weiss suddenly had the flesh of his back picked out. When he turned around, he saw the clan members there.


'You and Mr. Tutom and Mr. Garm can talk good, can't you?
Yeah. I don't think he enjoys talking to us that much, either.
I'm sorry.


　Seeing Cecilia, the Red Devil's healer, and Alma, the attacker, puffing out their cheeks, Weiss didn't understand, but he apologized for now. However, the two of them already understood Weiss's sentiments, and they looked even more unhappy.

　The clan members of the Red Democrat Clan understood that Tsutomu and Garum were talking to Weiss as equals. But they also understood that it was only possible because of Tsutomu, who had achieved extraordinary achievements until now, and Garum, who was known as a mad dog in addition to being an old friend.


I'm not going to be able to say that it's not a good idea. You can't just stand back and look at it like that.
That's true.
f*cking kids, man. That's not very mature.
..........


　Looking at Weiss, who was looking at the Clan members and looking left and right with a troubled gaze, Cecilia and Alma were looking like children who had been successfully pranked. The Clan member's man put his hands on his hips to such two people and made an expression like, "Oh, dear.


　ooh.


　And so, as the two clans were preparing to go to the front line while having a light meeting with each other, Leon, who was just on his way to the farthest southern city to gather information, arrived in Centria.


''Did you get any new information?''
'No, not really. It was the usual stampede of monsters, both in number and variety, as usual.


　After seeing the Stampede site in person, Leon will pass on the information to Christia. However, Leon says that although the scale is larger than last time, it's still not that different from the previous stampede.


It's just that the monsters were passing through the city much faster. Even though we had evacuated people and things beforehand, there wasn't a single monster left in the city. That's why it's a little strange.


　Following the appearance of enough monsters in the previous stampede to break the barriers of the Babenberg family, the king's capital has also advised the people of the south to evacuate to the north in advance.

　As a result, the population of the city to the south has been reduced to less than half, but there are still a certain number of people left. And although some of the people should have been attacked by monsters, surprisingly, not a single one of them was killed.

　After examining Leon's words, Chrystia raised her long staff and launched a red flash into the sky. It was a signal to head to the front line, and the clan members of the Labyrinth Control Squad immediately began to act.


''I see. Thank you for the valuable information. Leon, please continue to collect information.
Hey.


　With that being said, Leon rested for a few minutes and then ran back to the southern city on his own feet. Beside Leon, who moved without a single complaint, Chrystia also hurried to the base at a fast pace with her long staff in her hand. Then he immediately gave instructions.


''I received the information to Leon. There is no particular information to report, but this one will also go out once. Babenberg prepared the centuria barrier now. The knights deal with the civilians. Especially the civilians who have been evacuated from the south, to be dealt with appropriately. If the depression is contagious and causes a riot, it will hamper our operations.
I've been told.
'Ha!　Yes, sir!


　It seems that the head of the Babenberg family has already started preparing the barrier and is gathering the colorless great magic stones in one place. The Knight Commander also immediately passes the information to his subordinates, and they quickly begin to act quickly.


''Weiss, Tsutomu. We are on our way. Send word to the clan members. I'll also borrow some of the music corps.
Okay.
Yes, sir.


　Weiss and Tsutomu moved quickly in reply, and the old man, the conductor of the musicians, nodded silently.