We move carefully through the mine, trying not to make any footsteps.
　We proceeded with the help of Ganz's map....
　Soon we came to an open area.

　It's a big enough square for a little sport.
　This is probably the mining site.
　There were mining tools lying here and there, and I could see trolleys for transporting the ore.

''Nya ... there are some suspicious people here.
Five in all just like Sora said.

　Three men.
　Two women.
　Each one was mining ore.

You think they were thieves?
I'm sure of it.

　The adventurers who are under contract to Ganz are a party of four, all of them men, I'm told.
　And I've also heard that no one else is under contract to mine.

　The only answer I can come up with is theft.

"But why are we stealing?
Do you think they'll make money?
'It's a delicate point. I think there are benefits, but the risk of an incident being exposed is great. The risk doesn't match the return.
"Sola's right. Stealing is a big sin. Normally, I wouldn't do something like this, but...
We will do one thing at a time.
Yeah.
I'm going to f*ck you.
No.
So I'll burn it down?
It's not that either.

　Why are there so many radical ideas in our party?
　Is someone else influencing you?
　...I'd like to think it wasn't me.

'Kanade, team up with Sora and Tania with Luna and take on two of them each. I'll take care of the other one, the leader guy.
Yes!
"On my signal, shall we go?　Are you ready?

　Everyone gave a small nod.

'Three ... two ... one ... now!

　They all jumped out of the shadows at once.

'What the hell, you guys are guh!
First in line

　Kanade was quickly on the rampage.
　He fired a flying kick at one of the men who was stealing.
　The man rolled with tremendous force and crashed into the wall.

'Be still!
What the hell are you people doing?

　Meanwhile, Tania was waving her tail around like a weapon, striking down the thief.
　Although the stealers returned fire by drawing their swords, there was no way they could damage the dragon's scales with those weapons.
　Tania used her tail dexterously to smash the weapon and overwhelm the thief.

'We're out of time, boring.
'No, it's not. See, the fellow thieves are trying to cast a spell. We'll interfere. Sola must cover Kanade and Luna must cover Tania.
"Raja. I'll take this one, I'll show Rain what I'm capable of, and he'll praise me later!

　Sora and Luna cover Kanade and Tania with magic.
　I'm not sure, but it seems to counteract the enemy's magic.
　As expected of the spirit race.
　It's a good thing that they're able to do this without a care in the world.

It's not a good idea to have a good time.

　The leader man who confronted me barked, holding his dagger at the ready.

'Do you understand if I tell you that I took on Ganz's request?
'What...?　That old man's?
"You've been caught red-handed stealing. I'm going to arrest you and hand you over to the guild.
You think you can do that?
You can.
Cheeky kid!

　The man slashes at me........but he's slow.
　He was far slower than Arios, and his technique was poor.
　Ironically, the fight with Arios had raised my fighting skills to the bottom.
　There was no reason for me to struggle against a man of this level.

''Phew!''

　I ducked under the blade and saw a counterattack fist.
　A definite response is felt in the fist........
　The man stumbled back, unable to hold back.
　But he was unusually battered.
　

Give up and surrender. If you're going to be quiet, you're going to end up here.
"Godd*mn it I'm not going to be licked by this kid!　I'm not going to get caught until I give that old man a run for his money.
Yeah?　What does that mean?
It's not like I'm just gonna tell you.

　The man stands up and smiles wryly.

''Hehe we expected someone like you to appear in the way. I'm fully prepared.
What did you say?
Come on!

　With an earth shaking, a huge shadow appears.
　Eventually, Sole, appeared in front of me.

"Behemoth?

　It's a demon that is categorized as a B-ranked demon.
　It is a monster that looks like a raging bull that has grown many times its size and is clothed in muscle armor all over its body.
　The sharp horns on the side of its head and the mane that extends to its back.
　Its arms and legs are as thick as a large tree.
　It is said that its tremendous power is so great that it can easily smash through even a small castle gate.

''Why is it here...''
'Hahaha, are you surprised?　This guy is my pet.
Pets?　I didn't think you were....
'I'm a beast tamer, you know. I had a bird watching the perimeter earlier, but now that you guys have shown up, I switched my contract to this guy, just in case. Looks like that was the right thing to do.
'You can't do a double contract, can you?　What happened to Behemoth while he was under contract to the birds?　Don't tell me you left it out?
I found her when she was a little girl. I've been raising him ever since. I've been raising her ever since. Even if they don't have a contract, they still listen to me to some extent. But the contract allows for more precise control, so when the time comes, I'm able to rely on it.

　A behemoth tamed by a man is just like a weapon.
　I never thought I'd have to deal with something like that....
　In many ways, this is unexpected.
　I didn't expect this nasty turn of events.

　However, in a way, it makes sense.
　The man's uncommon durability is probably the power he gained from his contract with Behemoth.
　Just like I'm getting the power of Kanade and Tania, the man got the sturdy endurance of Behemoth.......or so it seems.

'Go!'
Huh.

　At the man's signal, the behemoths rushed in.
　It's as powerful as an anti-shield weapon.
　There's no choice but to take it head-on.
　I jumped sideways with all my strength to evade it, but.......

'Gruaaaaaah!

　Behemoth pulls his weight to the right and turns.
　It bites at you as if it's not going to let you escape.

'Ko........no!

　I ran to the very front of the wall and leapt.
　Avoiding the huge body like a rushing shell at the critical point........
　Behemoth lost sight of his target, which was me, and kept his momentum going as he rammed into the wall.

　Zunn!　And the whole tunnel was shaking.
　It's like an earthquake.
　That a single demon could cause such a thing is frightening just to think about it.

''Guuuuuu........''

　Behemoth pulled his head out of the wall.
　Its eyes are bloodshot with anger.

　As expected of a B-ranked demon, I should say.
　Apparently the damage isn't much.

''Don't go flailing around here, stay quiet!

　Even if you're running away, it's likely to catch up with you eventually.
　Then we're going to go on the offensive!

　Running past the behemoths....
　The side of the head, the neck, and the side of the body.
　At the same time, he aims at the vital point and releases a fist strike.
　It's a blow that borrows the power of the cat spirit race and is a gut-wrenching blow.
　As expected, if this is the case........

Guaaaaaah!!!
"Seriously?

　The response was palpable.
　But it didn't do much damage, only anger.
　The behemoth howled in anger and swung his paws like a large tree.

　It's inevitable!

　Behemoth's huge arm catches me.
　Gosh!　My body was blown up in a straight line with the shock of