'This is the remains of an adventurer found in the mountain where the shrine of the seal was located. The adventurer had been cut down by someone.

　Before I knew it, it seems that Sora had brought back the relics of that adventurer.
　Perhaps she had expected this to happen.

''By the way, that culprit is the brave man there!　I'm sure of it, as I've identified it by the magic of our spirit race.
'The motive is to get rid of the witnesses it's reasonable to assume that he killed them because they were seen breaking the shrine of the seal.
Ggh...!

　Arios bit his lip hard.

'Arios, what do you mean...?'
Hey, hey. You were talking about that adventurer running away.

　Mina and Leanne are in a panic.
　Apparently, they had kept the killing of the adventurers to keep their mouths shut from their friends.

''It's too much trouble to be told that the evidence is proof again, so let's get on with it and show it off. Luna, go ahead.
"Hmm. Behold my magic and be amazed!　This is the magic of recreating the memories of the dead!

　Luna cast a spell.
　She used both the magic to search for memories and the magic to project those images.

　The perspective seemed to be that of a deceased adventurer, and I could see him alone with Arios, somewhere in the dimly lit mountains.
　There was some kind of argument...
　When the adventurers turned away, Arios slashed at them.
　A few villagers screamed as the scene flooded with blood.

　That's when Luna stopped the magic, as she seemed to have decided that it was good for Kiri.

''Nah........Gu......this.......''

　As expected of Arios, he can't seem to excuse himself after being shown something like this.
　He just turns blue in the face, and it seems he can't get any decent words out.

''.........You have been cheating, have you?''

　The village chief said in a strangled tone.
　The other villagers also stared at Arios.


What kind of guy... is this really the kind of guy who's brave?
I can't believe I have to thank these people...

　The gazes of the villagers stabbed at Arios and the others like arrows.
　No, it's not just the villagers.
　Axe and Cell also turned their eyes on Arios and the others as if they were looking at garbage.

''Kuh ... it's a travesty!

　Trapped, Arios fussed like a child.

'There is no way I can approve of this kind of thing!　It's a trap to set me up, it can't be any other way.

　
　The only thing that comes back is a cold look.

"d*mn........I'm not going to hang around with you guys!
Arios!
Oh, wait a minute!　You can't just leave me here!

　Arios and his men try to escape but...
　If you take your eyes off the road here, you might do something terrible again.

　This is not the time to worry about Arios being a hero or anything like that.
　I'm going to use Narkami's wire to restrain Arios and his men, but....

Lighting!
Huh?

　Arios uses a magic that makes the light shine.
　He can't cope with the suddenness of the situation and looks directly at the light in a proper way.
　Everyone else stops moving as well.

　In the meantime, Arios and the others seem to have escaped...
　By the time my vision finally returned to normal, Arios and the others had vanished cleanly.

''d*mn it, they got away!

　Axe throws a frustrating ground kick.
　Cell, on the other hand, is calm.

'I can't blame him, let's just give it up.
You can't let him get away with this?
How could I leave them alone?　I'll report this incident to the country through the guild. I'm sure the country won't leave you alone if you've done this. I'm sure something will come out of this in the near future.
''d*mn I wanted to punch one of them in the face, but ... well, it's no use. I've got more to deal with the demon than that one right now.
That's what I'm talking about.

　Although we can't leave Arios' problems alone...
　Now we need to tackle more than that, we need to tackle the problem of Iris.

　We've already been attacked once.
　There's no guarantee it won't happen again in the near future and...
　We should do what we can now that we have time.

We're an investigative team, but...

　Axe glances at the villagers.

He can't move.
'Right. What happens if Iris comes again while we're away from here...?
We'll just have to keep you guys safe until the strike force arrives.
Oh, dear. You're pretty clever for an Axe. Are you faking it?
No way!　I could think of something like this.

　That sounds a bit disingenuous when you think about it, but...
　Oh well.
　If I get too deeply tweaked, it's going to be a lot of trouble.

''Um........can you adventurers protect the village so.......?

　The village chief asked timidly.
　In response, I nodded firmly to reassure him.

'Oh, of course,'
'Oh, thank God!'
"But, chief.......we don't have much money.......　I don't know if I can pay the commission...
That's not...
Don't worry about it. You can get a discount now for a fraction of the price.

　When Axe was about to say something, Cell smacked him on the head with his bow as usual.
　

''I don't need a commission.

　Instead, I say so.

'What?　No, but ... isn't it normal to pay a commission in these cases?　We're going to have to enlist the help of the adventurers...
Well, yes, I know, but it's kind of like you're playing on a weakness, you know?
It's not like that...
'Besides, protecting the village is part of the investigation. We're the ones who are in trouble when no one else knows about the demon, and... well, that's just the way it is, so don't worry too much about it.
Thank you very much!
""Thank you very much!"

　The villagers bowed their heads in unison.
　I'm a bit embarrassed.

''Adventurers are all wonderful people.......like saints....
Yeah. He's a far cry from that brave man.
Maybe this one isn't the real brave one?
'Ooh, you might be right. Because it's funny how brave a guy like that is.

　It was Arios with all kinds of things to say.
　Well, I don't feel sorry for him because he had it coming.

''Anyway, the strike force we'll stay in the village until backup arrives, so I'll take care of you.
It's nice to meet you too.
Okay, Axe?　It's what a top-notch adventurer does when you don't ask for a reward in a situation like that.
Okay, okay, okay, okay.

　After Cell admonished him, Axe had an indescribable look on his face.

　Well, Axe's actions aren't wrong either.
　What I'm doing is like charity, which is very different from the actions of the adventurers.
　This time around, there might be a perception that I don't have to pay adventurers for their services.
　If that happened, other adventurers would be annoyed.

　So, in these situations, I always ask for a reward, no matter what the circumstances.
　........I learned that from Natalie before.

　Although I have done something out of the norm for adventurers.......
　I don't think we can accept rewards from villagers in this situation.
　For once, I hope they'll just admit to breaking the rules.

So, what are you going to do now?

　Axe asked me that.
　He should have been hit by a cell with a bow, but he's pinned down.

　Is he used to it because it's always happened...?
　Suddenly, I wondered about such an unimportant thing.

'There's nothing wrong with being a village guard, but it's a waste of time if that's all you do, right?
Yeah. Hmm.

　I think about it for a moment and then give my answer.

'We'll split up. One, we'll still do the same research on the demon.......Iris. Maybe some of you will remember something new now that you've taken some time off since then.
Oh, that's right, too.
''The other thing is to fortify the village's defenses. It turns out that the enemy isn't just Iris alone, but also includes countless demons. If we are attacked again, we want to make sure that the village is not damaged. I'd like to set up some traps and barriers.
Well yes, it's a fair point.

　I got approval from Axe and Cell.
　I looked at everyone to make sure and they all nodded in unison, as if it was no problem.

''Then let's work on this policy until the backup arrives. First, the team that's going to investigate...''
Cell and I will take care of that.

　Axe came forward.

'I'm good at that kind of research,'
Surprisingly.
Yeah, that's a surprising amount of brain work for me... hey!

　It was a surprisingly flippant Axe.

''Then let's help Sora and the others too. It would be difficult for the two of us to do this alone....
With the magic we're using, it'll be easier to listen in. Hahaha!
Oh, come on!
So the rest of the time, we can fortify the village, right?
Yeah, okay.

　Kanade nodded with a smirk.

'Then let's proceed with that. It may be tough after a battle like that, but we'll work together and get through it somehow.