The front line troops retreated directly towards Centria, and they escaped the stampede for the time being, fighting off the monsters that attacked them by surprise along the way. And while resting his exhausted horse, Tsutomu passed by with Alma, whose black hair was slightly spiky from the dried up body fluids of the sandworm.


''I can't wait to take a bath...''
..........


　It hadn't bothered me that much in dealing with the monster that had taken me by surprise before, but there was still a terrible smell wafting from Alma. Perhaps there was something in the sandworm's stomach that hadn't been fully digested, or it smelled like decay.

　And when Tsutomu frowned as he passed by, Alma turned around to find him with a glaring look on his face. If it was the usual Alma, she would not have spoken to Tsutomu because of the awkwardness, but now she was upset because she was swallowed whole by the sandworm, so she reflexively opened her mouth.


'Hey, you thought it would definitely stink now, didn't you?'
''........Actually, it stinks. You probably don't mind it because your nose is already used to it, but it smells like rotten meat.
Is that...?


　In fact, the space was open around the searchers who had been rescued after being swallowed by the sandworm. And when Tsutomu said those words back to him, Alma looked away from him after the awkwardness had now reappeared.

　The most important thing to remember is that there are a lot of things that you can do to make your life easier.


'Hey, clean him up. It smells so bad that your nose is going to get bent out of shape.


　At Tsutomu's request to pick his nose, the round-shaped, slime shaped Undine turned away in resolute refusal. After that Tsutomu increased the water magic stone by one or two and negotiated with Undine, leaving him to clean up the mucus-covered explorers.


''You're a white mage, right?　Why does the genie like you so much? I can't believe that a genie would take on such a chore.
Isn't that because he's a lucky boy?
Ugh.... I'm really, really sorry about that. I'm sorry about that.
"...I'm sorry too. It's already done, so now it's my fault.


　He had already received a full apology from Alma. Still, Tsutomu reflexively replied sarcastically, and apologized to Alma, who looked apologetic. She lowered her gaze while looking a little squeamish as Undine crawled up from underneath her feet and was groping her mucus off.


''Well do you remember the first time you met my eyes after the name of the lucky one was spread?''
..........
I pretended I hadn't seen you then. I was afraid that if I told you, you'd ask for your black cane back. I'm so sorry. I still remember the look on your face at that time.
That's okay. I'm safe now.


　Tsutomu's face is not that clear when he says that. When the name of the lucky one was spread, Tsutomu had no one in this other world that he could rely on. It was a lonely place with only people he didn't know, and that's why Tsutomu often remembered how Alma had turned away from him. At that moment, Tsutomu felt as if he had been pushed off a cliff.


'You're strong. You are so strong that you really don't need the black staff. But I should have reached out to you at that time. When Weiss took the black staff away from you, I felt like I understood a little bit of how you felt. Because if it wasn't for the Red Demon Clan members I wouldn't be here.


　Alma looked at Garum and Amy, who were talking to the Clan members of the Infinite Circle.


'You had that group, too. But I wouldn't have known if it wasn't for them. You were like a lost child," he said. You should have talked to them instead of running away from the idea of being a seeker anyway. I'm the one who started the name of the lucky one.
''Well that's enough. My apologies have been received before.
''Before, we ended up talking about the black cane after all. ........Now I see the black cane as a proper tool, okay?　There's no way I'm sleeping with you anymore!
(Did you really sleep with the black cane?)


　When Tsutomu gave Alma a white look as she blushed and said that, she jerked back to regain her composure.


''Anyway.......really, I've done you a disservice!　Gobbling!
Huh?　Wait, are you okay?
Gobbledygook.　Gobbledy-bobbledy!
Undine!　Stop, stop, stop!　Don't wash your face out of nowhere!


　Undine suddenly jumped at Alma's face, not missing the sad look on Tsutomu's face. Alma struggled, unable to breathe as the blue slime covered her face, and Tsutomu rushed to pull her off.

　Weiss looked at the two men who were rattling around like that with a divine face.


　oo


　After resting their horses, the frontline troops moved again, and after that, they were able to return safely to Centria without any monster surprise attacks. Since the Babenberg family had already put up a barrier from underneath Centria's ground to above the sky, there was plenty of room for a monster attack if it came. So the frontline troops finally seemed to be able to relax, and each of them began to talk at ease.

　Chrystia told the Babenberg family that she felt the intelligence in the Stampede this time, and ordered the knights to readjust the Centria's defenses and weapons. He then called Leon, who was talking to the head of House Babenberg.


''Leon. This information must be delivered to the King's capital or it will be fatal. I don't want that to happen in case it does. Return to King's Landing at once and ensure that this information is delivered. The documents have been put together here.
Hey, hey. Leave it to me.
I'm sorry. I'll reward you when I get this information to King's Landing correctly.
'Seriously?　Yes!


　Leon, who has been busy communicating information almost since he was called to King's Landing, was pleased to hear the words of Christia's reward. As it is, Leon left the Centria with an air of glee, while Chrystia went to the head of the Babenberg family to discuss the defensive battle.

　And Tsutomu was also speculating about the behavior of the monsters just now, while relaxing in the lobby of the inn.


''Mu~tto.''
(There shouldn't be any monsters at the helm of a monster.)


　Beside Hannah, who was training her demonic fist with a rubbish demon stone while roaring with a difficult face, Tsutomu crossed his arms and said, 'Live Dungeon! I'm digging up information on the But "Live Dungeon! There is no such thing as an intelligent, commanding monster. There are talking monsters, but most of them are unlikely to command due to their solitary boss-like position.


''Ow!　Master!　Master, I'm hurt!
(And the Red Demon and Infinite Circle clan members were targeted, right? If you can command monsters, you'd normally go after the commander, Chrystia, right?　Judging from the members targeted, it was probably someone who was deeply involved in God's dungeon, but.... (And he was also relentlessly targeting me.)


　Even if there was someone in the Stampede who could command the monsters, Tsutomu didn't know what they were aiming for. A surprise attack from the ground by making the wyvern hide in the clouds or using the sandworm. And since the sandworm could only advance through the soft soil, it probably had other monsters digging for it. Despite having the intelligence to be able to give such detailed instructions, those who commanded the monsters didn't target Christia, but those associated with the divine dungeon.


"Shh~shh~!　I want you to get better!　Hurry up or I'll drink a potion~?
Hanna, you mustn't interrupt Mr. Tsutomu. You mustn't bother Mr. Tsutomu. I'll make it better.
(If it was born out of a dungeon, like a rampaging dragon, it probably wouldn't be going after me. They should be aiming at someone stronger. But even so, the fact that they went out of their way to target me means that there's another reason. .........Could it be that the monster had been hiding in the labyrinth city before this stampede happened?


　Having come to that conclusion, Tsutomu turned to Hannah, whose fingertips were being healed by Korina's injured fingertips from a magical outburst. And as Tsutomu pointed his hand at Hannah, her face lit up with a flash of hope that she would recover.


'Holy.'
'Gee!　Huh?　Why!　Master, why did you attack me?


　Holly only had a slight warm effect on people, but Hannah rolled over in an exaggerated manner and looked like she was in pain.


'No, it seems that this time Stampede has someone commanding the monsters. Perhaps that's someone related to the labyrinth city, so I thought Hannah was the one, but I guess it's not a quandary.
What?　No, I'm not sure what it is, Master!　Did you suspect me?
'No, I feel like I've done it because Hannah's injury appeal has been so annoying lately.
Oh, my God!　I'm working so hard!


　Tsutomu was a bit smitten with Hanna, who had recently gone out of her way to practice the Demon Fist in front of him. So when Tsutomu said that he unintentionally let loose a holie, Hannah showed her anger by flapping her blue wings in a breeze.


''Also, as I said in the labyrinth city, don't use the Fist of Demon Flow here. If you use it with people around you cajoling you into being Melcho-san's disciple, you won't recover.
I don't!
Corrina, you don't have to get better.
I understand.
'Korina!　Don't be poisoned by your master!　I just want Corina to remain kind!
Hey.


　When Tsutomu reflexively replied that he was not kind to her, Hannah looked back at him with a half-fearful, half-expectant look. Tsutomu ignored Hanna and got up from his chair.


I'm going to go talk to Garum and the others. This time it seems that the healers may be targeted from the start, so be careful with Korina too.
Okay. Okay.


　Leaving Corina and a squirming Hanna, who was fumbling fearfully at Tsutomu's advice, Tsutomu left the other clan members to speculate that the person commanding the monster might be someone associated with the labyrinth city, in case they were wondering.