A few more days from the village of Hot Springs.
　In the evening, I finally arrived in my hometown.

　Villagers are gathering in droves.
　The research team's carriage stops in front of the village and Maru-san gets off to get permission to pass through and allow some of the people to stay.
　Although the conversation has gone through beforehand, it is important for the representatives to greet each other in the midst of a crowd of people.
　Whether or not this is done will make a big difference in the villagers' impression of the survey team.

　At Maru's urging, I walked with him to the entrance of the village.
　Is this a consideration that everyone will be calmer if there are familiar faces among the additional strangers?

''Oh...!　Are you Leme, by any chance?

　The village chief has been an old man since Fenix and I were kids. It's been more than ten years since then, but he's still a very active grandfather.

It's been a long time, I'm glad to see you're well.

　Thanks to this man who set up a video board (TV) in the meeting place, I was able to meet the dungeon conqueror.
　My hometown has had its ups and downs, but when I look at this man, I remember the good things.
　The expression on his face naturally slackens.

"He's grown up....that little brat....

'Uh ... ha ha.'

　It was definitely a lot different than I am now, I think.
　I don't want you to touch me too much in front of everyone. I'm a bit embarrassed.

You look better than you look on the TV screen. I was worried about you, but it seems to be unnecessary.

　I guess you could say that compared to the strategy video from the Fenix Party days.

'Thank you,'

Don't talk like that. I feel a wall.

No Well, yeah. I'm home, Grandpa.

Welcome back, Leme.

　Everyone in the village gets noisy.
　I introduced Maru to the village chief, and when I left for a bit, everyone caught up with me.
　There are many familiar faces, and the conversation is lively.

　The people who were adults at the time seemed to welcome us relatively favorably.
　Although I wouldn't go so far as to call them my children, in the countryside, there's an idea that the children of the village are raised by the entire village.
　The one who changed his attitude blatantly after becoming a [Black Mage] was the same age who I considered to be my friend at the time.

　And while I was thinking about that, a group of three people I recognized came over.

''The return of the self-proclaimed brave sama?''

'Hmmm?　But isn't that outfit from the [Black Mage]?

"Hey, where's that little crybaby Fenixie?　Oh, did you get dumped by that guy?

　These three guys were the ones who were picking on Fenix in particular.
　In other words, they were also the ones I was fighting with the most.

　........hmmm. I'm not going to trap them in the forest now, or fight with them while getting covered in mud.

　I could let it slide with an affectionate smile, but one of them said something that made me feel a bit clingy.
　I'm used to having something said to me, and I don't mind, but I can't just sit back and let my best friend be mocked.

'Fenix is leading the fourth largest party in the world right now. And our relationship will always be the same. There's no reason for you to laugh at me.

　Smile (,).
　A little bit, releasing a little bit of magic.
　Not harmless, but just enough to feel some pressure.
　One of them changed his expression and freaked out and retreated.

"Jeez, it's true, but...!

　Before I could open my mouth, the voice was uttered.

'What's going on, darling?'

　It was Mila.
　It's one of the most loverly performances I've seen in a while.
　Looking at me with a feverish gaze, she intertwines her body with mine, cradling my right arm between her breasts.

'Are we friends?　I'm Mila, a very good friend of my darling.

　The three of them are astonished.

'Duh, duh, darling...! She's too beautiful! No..... this is not true... for Leme...

　Hmph, I found Mira snickering for a moment.

''Leme-kun~. Hurry up and show me around~. Do you have a secret base or something?　Can I bring Sitley in?

　Citry-san wraps my left arm around my left arm, just like Mira-san.

''Le, [Demon of Love] Citry! It's too cute! 'Why are you so close to Reme!　You're bringing him in....

　I looked at him and he winked at me. He said he was going to do the same thing with Mira.

'Reme-dono will practice with himself. I don't mind if it's the middle of the night.

　Fulkas-san came in front of me and put his arm around my waist.

''Ka, [Reaper Knight] Fulkus! You're too big to be small! Midnight practice....what the hell are you doing...d*mn...!

　It looks like Ms. Fulkus is on board too. She has no expression, but I know she's surprisingly joking.

"Oh dear, you shouldn't do that, Black Knight-dono. You have a prior engagement to talk about magic with me.

　Merlin-san presses his chest against my back and says while putting his hands around my neck.

''Se-[Foresight Wizard] Merlin! Yo, you're too glamorous! What do you mean, "Don't drag your feet on this magic stuff, d*mn it...!

　The three of them seem to have a pattern in how they are surprised.

The first time I saw it, I was in the middle of a meeting. Remez-sama is such a sinful person.

　Even Maru-san joins in.

''Se-, [Senshen Summoner] Margrethe! It's too neat! "This number of people........Reme......who are these people.......

　I know what Mira is thinking.
　I don't know what the reason was, but they just wanted to be sarcastic.
　So it's pointless for me to argue right or to talk back with my emotions. It doesn't reach their hearts.

　In that case, Mira-san tried to create a situation that they envied.
　It's true that I'm a [Black Mage] and that I left the Fenix Party. A good-looking target for them.

　However, seeing the state in which beautiful lovers and strong, beautiful, capable people want me, it's just empty to say something sarcastic. It would have been nice to be able to make fun of them, but if the object of their desire is at the height of happiness in front of me, it will fade away.
　It was painful to see everyone around me in many ways, but I was happy to see everyone working for me.

''Leme you're in a somewhat enviable situation.

　Ex-san approached with a laugh.
　The noise of the villagers increased.

'Are your parents there?　I think we should take this opportunity to say hello.

　He came up to Mr. Arthur and received a yellow cheer from the ladies. He responded with a smile.
　Before he knew it, the trio had disappeared.

Let's put up with this level - and everyone?　Is it time for you to step away from Mr. Leme?

　Mr. Fulkus had no expression on his face, while Mr. Sitley and Mr. Merlin remained attached to each other with a joyful look on their faces.

''I'm.......hungry.''

Oh, Sitri, do you want to get to know Reme-kun better?

''That magic power release just now, that was an exquisite degree. It was suppressed to a level where an ordinary person with no tolerance for it would feel 'I don't know, but it's scary' for a moment.

''Oh, all three of you are highly respected people, and you don't want people to infer that your relationship with Leme-san is evil?''

　Only Mira-san is the only one in this place with a civilian slot.
　The other three are well-known adventurers or demons, and their appearance is known to the world.
　However, the three of them don't seem to be bothered by it. Maru-san was still the same, smiling at a little distance.

''Thank you all for being here earlier. But it's time for you to move away. If my parents see me--''


"Leme?


　They saw me.
　Just in the space created by the disappearance of the trio, my parents were there.

　The mother who called out my child's name had a look of confusion on her face. If I were in the opposite position, I would have had the same reaction.
　Mila-san hurriedly let go of her body and smiled modestly.

''........uh, I'm back.

　

You're home, you're.........

　That would be a situation where she is entangled in multiple beautiful women.
　As soon as I thought my mother wobbled, she just fell backwards.

''Mother........!

　Me panicking.
　My mother's body leaned back, and my father took it as quickly as he could.

'It's okay. I guess my mind couldn't accept the fact that my son, who hadn't seen his face in a while, was goofing off with a beautiful woman samurai, and he fainted. He'll wake up soon.

　This calm man is my father.

'No, there's a situation with this...'

'I suppose. I'll have to ask you later, you have that much time, don't you?

'Yeah..... Not right now, but I'll show up at the house.

　My father's expression softened as he replied.

'I see,'

　My father exchanged a light greeting with all the adventurers and sub-humans near me before returning to the house.



　Mira is mumbling in a depressed manner.

''Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to go to the investigation team's camp. Could Reme-sama join us once?　I'll have them take you back to the village later.

Oh, yes.

　At Maru's urging, we returned to the carriage.
　We passed through the village and headed for the forest.

　The camp seems to be located in the middle of the village and the original dungeon.
　There are a number of tents set up in the open space and people are coming and going.
　A mature man who seems to be the representative of the camp comes over and shakes hands with Maru.

　The personnel responsible for general support, such as engineers and cargo handlers, were separated here for once.
　Only the personnel who dive into the dungeon are passed into a certain tent.
　It was large, but not so much for things. There was a desk in the center, and a map was spread out on it.

''A dungeon map...?''

　As the name suggests, it's a map showing the structure of the dungeon and other information.

''Yes, although it's not yet complete, and it seems to have some problems, but.... First of all, I'd like to explain the original dungeon's attack once again.

　Saying that, Maru-san begins to talk with a stack of paper that looks like a report in hand.

''Tentative name, the twenty-fourth dungeon. I don't know how many layers there are. Currently, we have confirmed up to the third layer. A safe room has been temporarily installed in the passage from the second to the third layer. Various monsters are appearing in this room. It seems to be a very moody spirit, and the structure of the dungeon changes frequently. I thought that mapping should be minimal. Large spaces and passages tend to remain, so please keep that in mind.

　The original dungeons are numbered in the order of their occurrence. Nevertheless, twenty-four is the number that was observed after the world became peaceful.
　Before peace, both the core-powered dungeons and the original dungeons were life-threatening to conquer, so there was no particular distinction on humanity's part.

　Also, the magic-made pseudo-life in the original dungeons that resembled the demons in the original dungeons are called monsters.

Powerful floor bosses and wandering individuals have also been identified, and these have been confirmed to resurrect after some time after being defeated.

　This is where the safe rooms become important.
　It may be because the game imitates dungeons, but in many cases, monsters don't appear in the passageways that connect the layers.
　So you set up a recording stone for transference and create a room around it with earth magic just in case.

　This makes it easier to capture the original dungeon.
　There is a safe room from the second level to the passageway that connects the second and third levels, so we can start our attack from the entrance of the third level.

　After that, Maru-san continued to talk for a while.

''Also, this time, I will ask you all to form a clan.

　Clan is an adventurer's term from the past that refers to multiple parties forming a group with the same goal.
　It's easy to understand if you imagine a raid battle where multiple parties gathered to attack the Demon King's Castle.

　In the original dungeon attack, a clan leader is appointed separately from the party leader so that each party can act separately in case of an emergency.
　Since we're a mishmash in a sense, it's important to keep the chain of command organized.

I'd like to ask Ex-sama to serve as the Clan Leader, what do you all think?

　I can't argue with that.

''.........Hmmm, it's left to me. It's a party, but even though there's no limit, can we still think of it as basically five people?

''Yes, especially since you adventurers are probably used to a five-man formation. However, we have no problem with some increase or decrease.

　The people are somewhat divided by the words.
　It was quite a long journey, and the party had been briefed about it beforehand.
　In the course of the trip, each individual had probably found members who were kindred spirits or who seemed to be well balanced in terms of strength.

''Hmm, I'd like to invite Reme, but.......hmmm......that sounds difficult.

　Mr. Merlin said, somewhat ruefully and yet amusedly.
　The reason is that Mila-san was gathered to my right, Citry-san to my left, and Fourcas-san in front of me. ........Is it a coincidence that they are in the same line as before?

　It's a secret that I'm a Remegaton, but it's actually helpful to be able to team up with a member of the Demon King's Castle.
　Not only are they excellent, but they also breathe well together, which is huge.
　I don't know if they recognized me on this trip or not, but I'm not surprised by everyone else.

'What? We're basically working together. No problem.

　Arthur said.
　The Ex-Party is joined by three people this time, so there are about two openings.

''Would the members of the Ex-Party please allow me to join?''

"Oh, my dear Mal. Do you want to stay with me that badly? Come here, little darling.

　Marlin-san spread her arms out in an exaggerated manner.
　Maru-san ducked it with a single smile and got permission from Ex-san and Arthur-san as well.
　She is also an adventurer belonging to the third-ranked party, a reliable force to be reckoned with.

　The remaining one was a minotaur man with a 【Protector】.
　It is said that the 【Guardian】 is a rare 【Position(Job)】, and is a knight position that specializes in defense.
　When it comes to defense, it is said that he has an aptitude that surpasses that of a [Holy Knight].

　I need a role to protect Merlin-san and Maru-san, so he'll be able to help me.
　With him, the two of you can also focus on the attack.

''Ah, um, Reme-san.......!

　He's a [White Mage], a young man with pure white hair. His name is called Joss-kun.
　I've been talking to him a lot since the incident with the bandit.

''Could you please add yourself to the party.......!

　I looked at the other three faces for a moment and they didn't seem to be complaining.
　I nodded, as I was very welcome to mine.

'Nice to meet you, Joss-kun.

"....!　Thank you!　I'll definitely make it useful, so I look forward to working with you all...!

Yeah, nice to meet you, okay? Nice to meet you~. You're so cute when you're nervous~

　In the end, five parties were formed. The first team of investigators will be added to this group, so it will be a large party, but since there are ways of operating this party specific to the original dungeon, this shouldn't be a problem.

　After learning the necessary information such as linking each registration certificate to the transfer recording stone that leads to the safe room, adjusting the magic body (avatar), and explaining how to create a substitute, the day was dismissed.

''Reme-dono, the carriage is ready.

　After talking with the guys for a while, I was approached by them. It was a man from the survey team.

''Thank you. --Mira-san.

　After thanking him, I called out my companion's name.

''Hiyah, yes........!　Let's go........!

　I get into the carriage with a nervous-looking Mira.
　I'm going to get a lift to the village and go to my parents' house.

　First of all, I'll have to talk to them about the matter with the trio.
　It's depressing to think about it, but it can't be helped.
　In order to relax Mira-san, who is frozen in place next to me, I look for a topic of conversation.