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　After descending to the second underground level, Ars and the others stopped for a moment to check the situation while catching their breath.
　The sound of breathing, released from extreme tension, quietly echoed throughout the deposit.

''That wooden figure!''

　It was Fanon who swore so with a gesture of biting his nails. It was Fanon's squad in addition to Ars and Loki and Ilyce who descended to the two levels below their current location.
　Only those who avoided the center where Serketo was and ran through the corridors on either side were here, but one person died on Ars's side and one on Fanon's side...that is, two people from her unit were killed without a fight.

　Could the deep wrinkles between her eyebrows be due to the reason why her squad members lost their lives? They are made up of magicians who are called elite, so bad luck would be too terrible a way to die. And it is also a great loss for the country and humanity.

　But in fact, Fanon had other things in mind. There was no reason for a wizard to lose his life in the outside world, and it couldn't be blamed on anyone else.
　If it's man-made, it's a different story. If they disobeyed military regulations, such as fleeing before the enemy, heavy penalties were often imposed, and ethical decisions took precedence over strict judgments. That's why field judgment is a discretionary authority given to those entrusted with the unit.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more information on this in the future.
　A large amount of magical residue was spewing out of the umbrella, and with a couple of swings as if to shake it off with dust, he stabbed the pointy end - a stone poke - into the ground.

　Fanon shook his face to ignore the report from Exeles and walked over to the two men in conversation.
　With a vigorous shake of her hair tied up on either side, she grabbed one of the conversationalists - Ars - by the collar with her slender arms.

'You guys knew that!　I knew and I dared to withhold information!

　Ars was grabbed, but he brushed his hand away cumbersomely.
　The confirmations exchanged between Ars and Ilyce were not something that could be hidden, even if some of them were hidden.

　So it was only something that I was going to explain to them when I was sure of it, though I expected it. Without having to wait for the surrounding scouts to return, Ars decided to open his mouth.

'Don't take it out on them. I told you, the demons will be taken down by each of you. The decision is left to the field. I just preferred to make a decision on the field rather than dancing on uncertain information. Of course I was going to tell you as soon as I was sure.
It's our decision, but we can't waste time talking about the possibilities. It's our decision, but we don't want to waste time talking about the possibilities. I'm sure the little girl knows that much too.

　Ilyce joins in and admonishes Fanon for once.
　Ars has very little experience in being entrusted with the captainship of a unit, and he doesn't understand the emotions that he would put on the shoulders of a member of the unit like Letty does. It's understandable, but that makes it difficult to walk across the world of a mage who is constantly being replaced on a daily basis.
　It must be a thorny path. It's because they have to keep moving forward while hurting their hearts.

　Even so, Ars thinks that Fanon is not a good wizard of people like Letty.
　She is the second youngest single mage after Ars. Considering that she's been a single mage for several years, there's no way she wouldn't know that area by heart.

　From behind Fanon, who revealed a mushy mood, Exeles, who felt sorry for her attitude, lightly bowed her head as a silent apology on Fanon's behalf.

　In short, a grief-stricken complaint floated on Exeles' face that her barriers had been easily breached by the tail and she had lost one of her troops. It was a somewhat intrusive complaint, but that's the kind of thing Ars decided to agree with for now.

　Exeles defended her appearance as the representative mage of Crebidito. However, they've been working together for many years on missions, which is why she also expected Fanon to say this next.

'If I'd known, I could have walked away!　It's like my walls were put up to be torn down. It was a waste of time. I don't really care what happens to the wooden figure, but I'm upset about getting blown up!

　Only Exeles understands what they really mean. But those who do not--.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends and family. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for. I thought she was different from Letty and that she was innocent of her own desires.

　I do what I want to do. I do it because I want to. She is the most powerful selfish person in the world, with no regard for the circumstances of adults.

　The "this side" that Ars refers to is the side that is broken both as a magician and as a person.
　But that doesn't mean we can't feel close to them. The similarities between the two are not going to change the fact that he is a habitual guy.


　Not long after that, based on the information from the scouts, Ars and the others began to act.
　The interior of the deposit, which was as deep as a stalactite cave, seemed to have become even more luminous with mithril. The more time passes, the more mysterious the sensation seems to be.

　If I didn't do a quick mental calculation of how deep this place is underground, I would be swallowed up in the vast space.
　The second level of the basement has a higher ceiling than the upper level, and the width of the passage is also wider. It wasn't a complicated structure, but rather a myriad of thick pillars that supported the ceiling.

　It was almost buggy, as if it had been corroded and thus became more airy.
　There was no clear pathway called a road. They looked like the remains of a random excavation. Or perhaps a pathway has been created by erosion.

　The pillars, which were as thick as the trunks of the giant trees found in the outside world, were lined up in rows. Because of this, the view remained the same for a long time, which made me feel as if I was losing my sense of perspective.
　Thanks to the fact that the natural pillar itself contained a lot of mithril inside, the pillar itself emitted a faint light, illuminating the surroundings.

　Ars and the others must first discover the passage that leads downstairs.

''Exeles-san, as I recall, you said that the Rare Mare sisters are likely to be on this floor, right?
Yes, sir. If you give me a few minutes, I'll try to track it down.
Please. And while you're at it, the passage that leads downstairs...
'My detection is mainly akin to magic detection, so I can't figure out the structure itself.
Okay.

　Arth's detection should be useful in understanding the structure, but it doesn't work for him right now, either because of the disturbance in his internal magic or the mithril makes it so.

''I'd rather make a hole in it than waste my time. Well.........

　Once the conversation was cut short, Ars spoke up again to the main topic until the detection from Exeles was over. While taking the silent pressure from Ilyce and being careful not to run off with unnecessary things.

'As you've probably noticed, they're not like the normal species, as Kalia said. There's no point in talking about speculation, but the fact that the perfect prey, the Ordoise, hasn't been eaten is proof of that.

　Fanon was quick to notice this matter. The principle of demons' behavior is simple. It is evolution as a species - an individual, and it prioritizes the actions that are necessary for that to happen.
　Of course, demons don't always prey on humans right away. This is because they have time to replace the magic power they incorporate, depending on individual differences and rates.
　However, they don't have a period of one or two days, and at most a few hours. This could be the time to bring back the prey to a safe place or a variety of other things. There is a margin of error for the sake of substitution, but it's a deliberate act of preservation ... which equates to an intelligent act.

　However, one thing that can be said is that there is no way to decorate it like preserved food. It's an intelligent action that deviates from the habits of demons as well. If anything, it might be better to call it an animalistic habit.

　For a start, leaving the explanation to Ars, Ilyce is committed to listening.
　Fanon wrinkled his brow and twirled his umbrella at hand as if he were thinking.

''I can tell by looking at it that it's so far removed from the behavior of the demons we know and their principles. Wow, I don't have anything to do with it, but my men can handle it and...''

　Ars tilted his head slightly at the abrupt excuse, but he decided to ignore it because he had a feeling that it would prolong him needlessly.

'We don't know anything about demons so much as principles, but that's okay. Probably wizards, they don't need the predatory act of eating humans.

　Fanon's troops looked skeptically at Ars, but as the story progressed, they pasted on their astonishment. It didn't take long for them to realize that their existing knowledge, based on their experience, might not be useful.
　It was, in a way, tantamount to an encounter with the unknown.

　Her gaze was set on the hollow, as if she were pondering, even as she returned the appropriate counterpart with a hefty smile.
　And as if to represent, Fanon

It's a puzzle. And the question is, what does it change? What difference does it make?　Right?

　He returns his hand and sticks out one finger to show his belly.

　No one could have an answer to this at the moment. Ars, who had acquired a wealth of knowledge through study, and Ilyce, who boasted a vast amount of knowledge through experience, could barely touch the issue.

　Ilyce also snorted and showed them, hmmm, before saying, "I guess that's what you mean. I can understand what the little girl is trying to say. I understand what the girl is trying to say, but there is no point in having information that is not definitive," he said, ending the conversation.

''You're a little girl,'' she said, ''and you're a little girl too,'' she said, ''and you're a little girl too, because you're so poorly dressed.
'What?　You take a long, hard look in front of the mirror to see which one is poorer, and then you say. Honestly, I can't tell the difference between you and the man.
"--!　Kuu~.....

　The slightest glimpse of tongue warfare seemed to have gone to the elder Ilyce. Fanon let out a small animalistic squeal from his throat and puffed out his bright red cheeks.
　Perhaps it's peculiar to single mages, but it seems that inevitably the words for sale and the words for purchase are sold as a set. However, it's becoming an established series of events until they sell out immediately.

　Fortunately, Loki did not enter the acorn back race.
　Somehow, Ars foresaw that there would be fewer opportunities for single mages to fight together in the future.

　This would be too much of a waste of time.

　Ars's cheeks twitched, but for his part, Fanon's question was too much for him to move his food fingers. Maybe he should say that he didn't have to deal with the odd headache.

　As far as Exeles didn't intercede, I guess these exchanges were nothing to waste. I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of good reasons for this.

　In that sense, Ilyce, as an elder, must have given a nice follow-up.

I'm not going to be able to say that I'm a good person. As for the rest of the story, we should think of it as a food chain that only occurs inside this deposit. Cannibalism between demons, not humans. In other words, we should think of it as reaching the end of our evolution as demons.

　So," Fanon says, pushing down her anger and urging her to go on with her story.
　I don't think he's particularly concerned, but I pretend I didn't see her temples twitch and react as if they were twitching.

'It's a form no one's ever heard of before, so it's best not to consider it a threat as per the rate, you know. Knowing about it doesn't change what we're going to do. As I said beforehand, we'll just have to assume it's not a species from the outside world and go with it. Still, if we're talking speculation...

　Ars cut off his words for a moment, a warning from Ilyce that implied

　--I know. I may have leaked a little too much, but no more, indeed.

　I'm not going to be able to do anything more.

"If I had to guess, I'd say that even we don't stand a chance in a head-to-head magical battle.
It's not...

　Ars stilled Fanon's words as he interrupted him.

'That's what you would say, so it's a field decision.

　He kicked off with a stance that didn't accept any rebuttal.
　Later, Exeles' bruises were fully retracted and the detection report was made. First of all, as she had been told beforehand, her detection would not discover the passage leading to the downstairs.
　Even so, Exeles apologetically said that if there is a demon's reaction within the passage to the downstairs, it might be possible that it is connected to the three underground levels.

　As expected, there's no time frame for that.
　Next, the detection of the Leahmare sisters, Exeles reported a vague detection result.

'It's them, but we've been able to track their traces. However, their reactions have disappeared from a certain place...''

　Exeles reports that they are 3km away from the current location where Ars and the others are. If it's that distance in the outside world, it's close, but 3km inside the deposit is quite far.

　Ilyce is the first to interrupt the words that come to the heart of the matter.

'You don't think we'll get confirmation of survival?'
''Yes ... no, probably, but they should be alive. Since the traces of magic itself are not that old.
I see.

　Ars touches the root of the detection of Exeles with a pout. The magic power she is using as the basis for confirming their survival, and the degree of deterioration of their magic power, she must have expected it. In other words, whatever the traces of the battle, they had disappeared after she and the others began to move.

　According to Exeles' detection, there are two demons on the second underground level that are at the same level of the upper floors - two S-rated demons.
　Then Exeles said something that made me retract my previous statement.

'According to our detection from the outside, we reported that there are many B-rated demons in this underground level two, and that this is causing a mix of magic power, but it seems that most of them are definitely from strong demons. It's not like there are no lower level demons at all.
So the main reason you misidentified it as a mixture was because it was two individuals with complex and bizarre magical powers?

　I've been thinking about this for a while now.
　I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not, but it's a small affirmation that it's a good idea.

I'm sure it will be quicker for us to get downstairs if we drill a hole. I'm sure it's safe to say that from the way things are going up there.

　There were no objections from Loki and Ilyce as they headed downstairs.

　To be honest, it was difficult to penetrate the ground, which was as good as bedrock, unless it was an extreme magic that could shake the entire mineral deposit. Of course, they had to worry about collapsing and suppress the power of their magic, but based on the rampage of Galginis fighting on the upper floor, they wouldn't have to worry about a few things.
　If I had the most time to spare, I wouldn't be so reckless.

''I'll leave this floor to you guys. If you can't find the Leamea sisters and Felinella, head to the third level to search for them. I'm sure you'll be in charge of the third level, but in any case, you'll have to meet up with us once. And then... ku--!