Just before a dungeon we came to the phoenix tribe's village again.
　I think back to the last time.
　As soon as we saw each other, they attacked us out of the blue.
　I couldn't even get them to listen to me.

　Will it be okay this time?
　I can't help but worry.

It'll be fine.

　Seemingly reading our anxiety from his expression, Sigle-san says in a firm tone.

'Last time it was just Sakura, but this time I'll be there. I'm sure the phoenix tribe doesn't know my face, so well, they'll be wary of me, but I'm sure they won't attack me all of a sudden. I'm sure they'll listen to you.
Well that would be nice.

　But still, what kind of a position is Mr. Sigle in?
　I know you're not the leader of your village, but you're representing your village in a duel with us and...
　Thus, you've been with me on important occasions and...
　If you think about it, you have great authority, and yet you are trusted by a large number of people.

　I'm curious though...
　We can listen to the story later.
　For now, let's just focus on the phoenix tribe.

"Hoisa.

　Sigle-san touched the door with a pop.
　The door lit up as before, and opened slowly.

'Who's there?　Sigre, but...
'Oh, you're Mr. Sigle?

　A familiar voice came from the back.
　With the sound of clattering footsteps, a girl shows up.
　The girl who greeted us last time and attacked us without question.

''Ah, Sigle-sama!　And Sakura-chan.

　He smiles at Sigure-san and Sakura, then his face hardens when he sees us.
　It shakes and shakes, and then quickly becomes teary-eyed.
　Her hair begins to sway and shake, releasing grains of red light.

''Pya, pyaaaaah!　I'm human, human, I'm going to be eaten!
Calm down.

　Is this a repeat of last time?
　Just when I had some apprehensions, Mr. Sigle stepped forward and patted the girl's head.

'Huh!　
'I can understand your surprise, though. Just so you know, the two of you over there are harmless.
But, by the way, he's a human being...?
'I can assure you that the two of you are harmless. Or do you not believe me?
'Yeeeee!　Oh, no. No way!　I would never doubt the words of Lady Sigre!　I mean, it's not something I can interfere with, wow.

　I don't know, but I was so upset that I felt sorry for her when I saw her.
　I'm not sure if Sigle-san is more amazing than I thought, or if the girl has that kind of personality... it's hard to decide.

''Finia, what are you making a fuss about?''

　One more person who looked like a phoenix tribe appeared.
　Judging by his appearance, he was probably around thirty?
　She's tall and generally slender.
　She's not pretty or beautiful, but she's cool.

'I could hear her voice deep inside, couldn't I?　For heaven's sake ... if you're my daughter, you should try to be more relaxed.
I'm sorry, mother...

　Apparently, they were a mother and daughter.
　If you take a closer look, you can see that their faces are vaguely similar.

''Isn't that.......oh my, isn't that Sigle?
It's been a while.
'Yes, I suppose so. It's been a year since the last race, right?　And.....

　He looks at me.
　Its gaze is very sharp.
　If there was power in its eyes, it could have been pierced as it was.

''I see. So this is why Finia was making such a fuss........Finia.''
Ha-ha-ha.
'I'm sorry for being so harsh earlier. Once the humans have arrived, there's no point in panicking.

That's my girl. Do your best to be that girl.
Yes, sir!

　Are you a tough guy?　I thought, but I guess not so much.
　He scolds where he should scold and praises where he should praise.
　I guess that's the kind of person he is.

'So ... Sigle, what does this mean?　I can't believe you brought a human to the village.
I've got a representative from this year's race.
... what?
This year's representative is my grandson, Sakura, and the human man there, Lane.
Excuse me, could you repeat that, please?

　Have I gone deaf?　The question was asked back.
　However, her face is already starting to pull away.

　Sigle-san says to her in a nonchalant manner.

''The representative of this year's race is Sakura and the human Rain there, right?
You're kidding, right?
I'm serious.
''Such a joke.......are we trying to pick a fight with the phoenix tribe?

　Gosh!　And the rage swells up.
　No.........this is now a killing spirit.
　An overwhelming killing spirit that even has mass is slammed into just me and Chiffon.
　If I were to be frightened, I'd almost be frightened, but.......
　But if that happens, I might embarrass Sigle-san.
　I manage to hold back and confront the woman.

''Heh.''

　Eventually the killing spirit subsided and a little bit of admiration spilled out.

''It doesn't sound like it's just a human being, does it? All right, let's hear the details. I'll take you to the chief.
Thank you.
Come in the back. Oh ... just so you know, if you do anything crazy, I'll burn you down on the spot, and I intend to do so.
Um... yes.

　I've been hit with a tremendous thick nail.
　I'm not going to do anything bad with this one.
　No, I'm not going to do anything weird in the first place, though, am I?

　

'Heh........'

　Since we're talking about dungeons as dwellings, I may be rude, but I had a dark image of it.
　But that's not the case.

　It seemed they had processed it afterwards themselves, and the passage was wide and well-lit.
　Occasionally, they would pass through a large room.
　It's so beautiful that it's hard to believe it's in a dungeon.

　I'm sure they must have spent a long time renovating it to make it more livable.
　Looking at this dungeon, I felt as if I could understand a part of the history of the phoenix tribe.

''Please wait for a moment.''

　When we arrive in front of one of the rooms, we are stranded.
　Only a woman is in the room.

　Perhaps this is the chief's room.
　We're going to report what we've come to and decide what to do in the future.......right?

　And then, about ten minutes of waiting the door of the room opens to reveal a woman.

'Come in.'

　It's time to go.
　I brace myself and walk into the room.

Huh?

　For some reason, there was no one inside.