The next day I left Sarya-sama and made various preparations.
　After that, I left the capital and headed back to the Earth's Wedge.

　It's a ruin that was once used as a fort, located far from the capital.
　It was used as a venue for adventurers' A-rank exams...
　And a place where Arios's machinations have separated me from my precious friends.

　It's a place that has a lot of ties to me now.

Security is tight, as you'd expect.

　When we approached the ruins, about 500 meters away, we stopped and ducked behind a rock.
　I only revealed my face and checked the destination.

　The knights were deployed at equal intervals around the ruins.
　A pair of them.
　The spacing between them lined up would be roughly 100 meters or so?
　There are no major obstructions in the area and visibility is good.
　They are within visual distance of each other, so they can easily tell if something is wrong.

So you have full ground security.

　Then what about the basement?

　When I explored the ruins during the exam, I thought...
　Those ruins are quite large.
　It stretches underground like an ant's nest, with passages extending all over the place.
　What if we can successfully find its entrance?

All right, well can you come over here, please?

　I made a tentative agreement with a lizard that walks nearby.
　This is a lizard called a spiny-legged bearded lizard that lives in a hole in the ground and uses it as a nest.

Good boy. I'm sorry to trouble you, but you're going to have to do something for me.

　The lizard chirped softly and gathered his friends.
　One by one, the lizards gathered.
　Fortunately, or rather, the lizard I tentatively contracted with seemed to be the leader, and the other lizards did what I wanted without me having to do anything.
　They scattered here and there and started digging holes.

　When I've dug a certain amount, I return to the ground and...
　And then we dig another place.

　It took me a while to repeat this sober work.
　One of the lizards cried out and signaled to the leader.

"Looks like you found me pretty good. Thanks.

　I canceled the temporary contract.
　Giving them their reward of dried meat, I moved to the point where the lizards were singing.

　The horned bearded lizard dug a hole in the ground and used it as a nest....
　We proceeded to dig deeper.
　About 5 meters deep.
　To protect themselves from their natural enemies, they seem to have taken extra care in building their nests.

　That's the case for the bearded lizard, but....
　At one point I only dug a shallow hole and quickly turned back.
　That's exactly what I was looking for.

'Down here ... there it is!

　The hole dug by the hawthorn bearded lizard widens, and soon afterwards it hits the wall.
　It's an obvious artifact.
　But it's deteriorating there.

　It's the ceiling of an archaeological passage that stretches here and there.
　So, in order to find this guy, they had a lot of holes dug for him.

Huh.........!　This guy, this........is pretty hard!

　Kicking the ceiling.
　It was used as a fort in the past, so it's sturdy indeed.
　However, if you kick at it with all your might, it will eventually crack and.....
　A hole opened in the ceiling and the debris crashed down.

''.........''

　Stand by.
　We'll see what happens.

　If the inside of the ruins were also being monitored, someone might come in at the sound we just made...

He's going to be okay.

　I waited for a while, but I didn't hear footsteps, nor did I hear any sign of anyone.
　I entered the ruins through a hole in the ceiling.

'Matter Creation. Fireball.

　He made a simple torch and lit it with a spell of minimal power.
　Fortunately, it was a familiar place.
　It's the place where I passed the test.
　You can also go back to your memory and proceed in the opposite direction.

'Kanade, Tania, Sola, Luna, Nina, Tina... wait for me, I'm coming to help you!



----------



　As expected, they didn't empty the ruins, and as I headed to the entrance, I could see a glimpse of knights here and there.
　The fact that they haven't deployed knights throughout the entire area, even to the end of the ruins, is probably simply due to a lack of manpower.
　Or maybe Arios' power wasn't enough to move so many knights....

　Either way, there are only a few knights deployed within the ruins.
　I tame the rats and have them become my eyes, and then proceed down the path behind the knights.

　After a short time, I arrive at the road that leads to the ground.
　I quietly look around.

　I saw some large tents.
　They are probably the knights' waiting area at the back of the room.
　I wondered if Arios and his men were there too?

　Moving my gaze further, I saw five tents with multiple knights standing on the front.
　They looked more like surveillance than security, giving off a stuffy atmosphere.

''There it is.''

　It's probably that tent they're all trapped in.
　One thing, I'm afraid we're missing a few.
　Maybe Tina isn't the strongest species, and her body is so compact that she's being held captive with someone else.

'Oh dear... what do we do now?'

　It would have been nice if everyone had been in one place.
　It's hard to save them when they are in pieces.
　Even if you save one of them, the rest might be taken hostage.
　Is that the arrangement for that?

'It's hard to help everyone at the same time but now that we're this deep in the water I guess we'll just have to move on.



----------



　Arios went to the ruins and took direct command of the scene.
　The Kanade and the others have been transported and are ready for execution.
　If I give the signal, the execution can be carried out in five minutes.

　The only thing left to do is to wait for Rain to appear.
　I went back inside the tent and rested my body for a while.

This time.........Rain, I'm going to kill you.......!

　Arios grinned, imagining what it would be like when he cornered Rain.
　It wasn't a brave man, it was a smile of concentrated malice.

'Arios-sama,'
Monica what's wrong with you?

　Heartily, Arios's tone of voice is soft towards Monica.
　He must have forgiven her on some level.

'My prey is caught in a net.
'What...?　I haven't received any reports of that but are you sure?
'There was a hole in part of the ruins. It wasn't there until the other day. I think they've sneaked in through it and are already in our bosom.
Oh, you little shit.

　Arios taunts the knights who can't find Rain.
　But it can't be helped.
　Contracting with various animals and maximizing their effectiveness, Rain, a profession with excellent covertness, ensured a stealthiness equal to...........or even more than that of an assassin.
　Even if it was a high-ranking knight like Monica, it was extremely difficult for an ordinary knight to detect the traces of Rain's presence or its presence.

''But the strongest species are still in our hands. The trump card is still in our possession.
Yeah. Well then we'll execute him right now. Tell each and every one of you to do so.
Right now?
'Lane is good at cunning schemes. You don't know what he'll do if you let him. We can't let him take the initiative. I think we'll be the first to move.

　Arios bandaged and geared up.

'If you try to execute the strongest species, Rain will jump out at you. He's an idiot. That's where we'll get him.
'Okay. Now, let's see...

　Monica bowed her head to Arios.
　Because of this, Arios could not see Monica's expression from Arios.

　Monica was.........smiling.