I'm sorry.

　It seemed that it was Amur who had leaked the information, and while Rion was angry with Albert, he went in front of the Primera and got down on his knees and apologized.

'Mr. Amour, I'm not angry, please sit down in your chair. I can't talk to you as it is.
Yes, sir. And you can call me Amur.

　Amur seemed to know that Primera would say that, and he immediately stopped getting down on his knees and sat down in his chair.

''Well I didn't expect Brother Rion to make a fuss, but we were also responsible for forgetting to keep Amur and the others quiet, and it's not like the people who would spread the information about the engagement for fun knew about it, so we don't have to worry about it.

　The reconciliation between Primera and Amur (it wasn't so much a reconciliation as it was a reconciliation) was concluded, but Albert's anger didn't subside. Well, his precious sister's engagement would be ruined by Rion's carelessness.......but he probably couldn't allow it to become complicated. Incidentally, from earlier, "Don't speak lightly of an unannounced nobleman's engagement! Or, "You're going to ruin Primera and Temma's engagement! Or, "Your carelessness will be my fault! Or, "You're trying to put a crack in the relationship between the royal family and the Haust frontier earl! He said something messy like.

'Albert, forgive him for that. That's a bit of an exaggeration, as expected, and I'm sure Leon was just confused by the suddenness of the situation, and he didn't take offense, and he seems to be sorry enough.

Well, if Temma says so...

　Albert released Leon with a grudging disapproval. Perhaps Albert himself had been too excited and had lost sight of the drawback.

'Temma, Primera, I'm sorry,'

''Well, it's not like anyone other than the people in this mansion heard about it, so if everyone keeps their mouths shut, there won't be any problems. And I'm sure Jin and the others will understand that.
'Yes. Besides, if I remind Leena later, I don't think I'll have to worry about it.

　Leena is still a former Viscountess, even if that is the case, so even now that she's off the register, she'll understand the fear of nobility. If it's what Leena says, Jin and the others will definitely try to protect her. But still.........

'Leena calls Primera with a chi-(-)n-(-), but Primera calls her out.

　I was a bit curious. After all, was the difference in status between the dukes and barons the reason?

'No, Leena usually calls me by my name too. I just joke around a lot and deliberately call her the way I did when I was a kid.

　I thought that was a childish way of putting it, and that's why... I thought Leena was plain because of her naturalness, but I thought she was just joking around... After thinking about it, Leena I'm sure Primera is right about some of the blacker parts. I'm not sure why you're channelling him in front of me when he's not there, though.

I'll be sure to make sure the djinn are aware of this. Well, it doesn't make a difference to the engagement if it's revealed, but it will hurt the reputation of the djinn and others.

　Honestly, I don't think it will be much of a problem if the engagement is found out, but even if it's not intentional, the djinn who divulge it will be in disrepute with the royal family and the Sangha dukes. Combine that with the advice from me and the advice from Primera via Leena, and you'll understand how dangerous it is. Well, they might complain to me where they don't know why, but I'm sure they can manage to put up with that much. And if they can't, we can force them to go along with the training matches.

'As for Jin and the others, that's fine... Chris, you're okay with that, right?　After all the fuss I've made, it hasn't happened at all...

　Chris didn't wake up, which made me worry. I can hear him breathing properly and he doesn't seem to be suffering, so I think he's fine, but if he doesn't wake up this much, I'd suspect he's sleeping like a raccoon or something.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it's quiet, so Chris-senpai should be able to leave it at that, right?　If it happens badly and I find out what's going on, I'm going to make more noise than Leon.

　After a few words from Cain, we decided to leave Chris alone. It's because he was pretty grumpy even at Leon, but if he finds out about the engagement story while he's still drunk, he might not be able to handle it. It would have to be in a situation with Maria-sama, or at the very least, with Aina, to tell Chris about me and Primera's engagement story.

　After that, Chris-san didn't get up until it was time for dinner, and Aina, who had come with the Duke of Sangha, took her back. I tried to invite him to dinner, but he didn't seem to have an appetite because he couldn't sober up. By the looks of it, he'll be suffering from a hangover tomorrow.


"Then I'll leave you alone for today.

　The Duke of Sangha and the others left when dinner was over. As they were leaving, they asked if Rion wasn't going to stay at the Primera, but since the engagement was still ostensibly a secret, the duke decided to avoid any imitation that might give them the slightest bit of exposure.


''Even so, I thought that Temma would be married.......I thought he wasn't interested in women, but it seems that my fears were unfounded.　

　Jin laughed hysterically, followed by Garratt, Menace and even Grandpa, who started laughing as well.

'As for me, I thought Primera-chan was the most likely to be the one, so I'm not surprised. Well, I didn't expect her to get engaged out of the blue.

　Leena was puffing her chest out, saying that it was to be expected, except for the sudden engagement. And for some reason, Amour was also puffing out his chest in the same way, and Jeanne was blushing a little when she saw Amour.

''Well, there's still some time before the engagement announcement, and I'm sure it's only then that people will start to get noisy around us. More importantly, I think the djinn will get more attention until the engagement. What are your plans after your audience with the kings?　

　When I said this, the djinn looked a little uncomfortable, but soon returned.

About that, I need a little help from Temma.

　I said.

'Actually, we recovered the hydra's magic core and dungeon core, but we left the other materials behind. We couldn't bring all the Hydra materials with the magic bags we have with us.

So you want me to be the courier. But I'm stuck on the lowest level, a long way up.

　I'm sure Jin and the others know that. But if you're still asking me, you're either going to let me get down to the bottom of the stairs by myself or you're not.

Do you mean the djinn will lead me to the lowest level?

　Just like the last time I took Amy into the dungeon, one of the djinn would hold hands with me to get to the warp zone near the bottom level.

'Wouldn't there be any complaints from the other adventurers if we did that?　Rather than doing that, I think it would be better to ask the guild staff to follow you and collect the materials?

　I thought that was the only way for me and Jin and the others to avoid incurring some weird resentment, but...

'That would certainly bring an adventurer who is intimately acquainted with that guild official to the lowest level. And then they die.

　Guild staff should be neutral, but that is just an ideal, and it is certainly not all such staff. If such a staff member was asked to do something by an acquaintance, or if a large sum of money was accumulated, he or she might take that dependent(s) to the lowest level in secret. Or they might send adventurers as the consensus of the guild for the materials near the lowest level.

''On that note, if it's Tenma, he has several magic and dimension bags by himself, and he won't be defeated even against the lowest-tier demons.

'You can do it then, but don't ever complain if you uproot the material around the bottom level?

　I'm not going to do that, but I did give you some advice. You can't say that you won't take it with you if you find something unusual.

I don't care. Since it's Temma, I'm sure he'll think it's better to dive once on his own after the request is over, rather than have a strange rumor started about him.

　It seems that the request was made after reading my character as well.

''It certainly sounds like a request based on knowing me well. If that's the case, I'll have to make a move right after I present the dungeon core to the king, so I should probably tell him first. That way, you might be able to get a higher price for the parts that the djinn don't need.

　In the case of a hydra, the things called flesh and internal organs are poisonous and cannot be eaten, but yes, the poison glands are useful, and the skin and bones can be used for weapons and armor. According to the djinn and others, the hydra this time is a pretty big one, so even without the meat, they would be able to get quite a bit of material from it. Well, some of those materials will have to be sold wholesale to the guild, but if you also offer them to the king (though you'll get compensation in the form of a reward), the king's feelings about the 'Sword of Dawn' should be even better.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a response from Tenma.　It would be quicker for us to tell you that it's something that Temma has agreed to do than for us to say it alone.

　That's what the djinn say, but I think they are simply afraid of being asked a lot of questions by the king and the others. It's not a bad thing to do, so I think it's fine to be imposing, but unlike me, I think the king has an image of being close to a cloud to Jin and the others. So I guess they need me to explain it to them as quickly and reliably as possible.

''Well, okay but in return, as a reward for carrying the luggage and explaining to the kings, give me some of the Hydra materials. I'd be happy to get a certain amount, but what you give me will be fine after I've secured enough for the djinn, the king and the guild.

　You won't actually get much since it only takes a lot of work to carry your stuff, but Hydra materials are rare, so I'd like to secure some of them. Well, we still have materials for the demons called Earth Dragon, Running Dragon, and Wyvern, so I guess we'll call them part of the collection, but if we consider that the other information about the warp zone near the bottom level is also part of the reward, we can't say we're getting too much reward.

'If that's okay with Temma, we're fine with it... but maybe we don't have many skins to use, so give us a break then.

　Jin bowed his head apologetically, but his words surprised Grandpa more than me.

''Hydra's regenerative power is ridiculously high, so you must have kept giving it a very caustic attack.

　Of the two of us, only Grandpa had experience in defeating Hydra, so I was convinced that he was surprised by that. But the djinn looked so subtle.

'Well, well, to say it's caustic is an understatement...'

　We all looked at Jin, who was having a hard time saying it.

'They brought in dozens of ballista's, shot arrows into the hydra, poured oil on it and burned it. When it weakened them, they cut off their heads, and when they couldn't move, they forced out the magic core.

　The reason Jin seemed to be having a hard time saying it was because he thought he had defeated the Hydra in a way that could be called evil.
　When I asked him for details, he told me that he brought five or six ballistae at a time to the lowest level, one floor above the lowest level, and when he saw an opening in the hydra, he placed them at the very edge of the ballistae's range, and when he was able to set up enough of them, he fired them in sequence, and the arrows were specially made, with the arrowhead and body hollowed out like a thick straw. When it stings, blood spurts out from behind.
　It seems that no matter how high the regeneration power of the hydra was, it couldn't produce enough blood to surpass the amount that flowed out of every part of its body, so he poured oil on it and burned it when the blood flowed weakly, and when it was weak, he cut off the heads one by one. He said that when he damaged them to that extent, the regeneration power was quite low, and the heads didn't regenerate before he dropped all of them (just the flesh rose up from the cuts and created a kind of base of the neck), but the heart was still working, so he forced out the demon nucleus and the heart.

''What a.......devilish way to fight.

But I think we've found an effective way to deal with the Hydra. You need to have a place where you can't escape, such as a dungeon, and the ability to carry a large amount of goods and money, but it's much safer than the way I fight, and there's a much better chance of getting out of there alive. Well, we may have to give up our skins," he said.

　Unlike me, who thought it was a bit of a disappointment, my grandpa had a high opinion of it. I guess this is the difference between those who have actually fought and those who have not. Jin and the others were probably very happy to have their grandfather's opinion of them, and they began to talk about all sorts of hardships, and grandpa began to talk about his own hardships as well. The party went on and on.

　The party continued until late, and early the next morning, Grandpa, Jin and the others were found by Jeanne and Aura in a drunken state in the dining room.
　Me, Jeanne, Aura and Leni had pulled up to their room before the date changed, so they were fine, but Amour stayed with Grandpa and the others until late and was brought back by Leni in the middle of the night, and he woke up at the same time as me but looked a little under the weather.

'Hey Jin, wake up!'
'Umm ... my head hurts ... be quiet ...'

　Jin seemed to have a bad hangover and it was hard to speak.

'I'm meeting the king in a few days, so no alcohol until then.

Uh....

　Garratt, Menace, and Leena didn't even have the energy to speak, but Jin replied on their behalf. While they were dealing with the djinn and the others, Grandpa was staggering his way to the kitchen, but

'Grandpa, I'm collecting the pills I left in the kitchen, so there's nothing for you to do over there.
Nuh-uh-uh...

　Grandpa gave up his medicine and came to me quietly.

''Grandpa, the djinn are here to meet the kings, so I won't let them get carried away and drink. I'll report this time to Ernest-sama, so be prepared for a sarcasm or two ... ten or twenty.

　It wouldn't do him much good if I was sarcastic, so I decided to ask the person he didn't like most. If Ernest-sama could say sarcasm to Grandpa, he would accept it without being asked.

''Well, that's........''
Be patient.

　Without saying anything, I told them that reporting to Ernest-sama was a decision, and handed out the hangover pills to the djinn first. It was a form of giving priority to the djinn who were our guests, but.......

I'm sorry, Grandpa. I'm out of medicine.　

　I gave them to Leena and she ran out of pills. Lately, Chris had been drinking so much alcohol that he had been consuming a lot of pills.

I'll go to my uncle's place and get some for you, so just wait until then.
Come back, come back, come back, come back...

　I don't feel like I've been flagged for something, but I hurried to the inn where Uncle Mark runs the inn to share the same medicine as the house (I'm giving out the stuff I made) anyway.


'Grandpa, I got it for you...?'

　

'You're asleep.......grandpa, rest in peace.

　He placed the cup of medicine and water near his grandfather, closed his eyes, and clasped his hands together.

"I am alive....

　I thought I heard something, but I left quietly, as I had things to do today.


'Now that I have a full belly, let's get on with it.

　Today, we have to make a golem to give to Primera. In a sense, the golem has become the standard equipment of the Otori family. And since the golem will be used to protect my fiancée, we need to make a golem with good performance. So, although it might take a few days to complete, we'll take our time and get to work on it.

''First of all, what kind of shape do we want it to take.......maybe a knight type?

　Since Primera is associated with the image of a knight, I decided to make the shape of the golem resemble a knight.

''I've decided on the shape, but how will I make it...?''

　The golems I've made so far include a golem made of wood, stone, and earth joined together, a golem with the core of the best golem of them all reconditioned, a scorpion-shaped golem that I gave to Jeanne and Aura as a golem for royalty, the "Guardian Gigant", and the horse-shaped golems of Tanikazee and Lyden, as well as the Golem.
　The level of difficulty in making them is also roughly in the order I just listed (but Tanikaze is just before the royal family-only one).

'The reason for the latter half of the golem has to do with the rarity of the materials and the amount of metal used to make it, and as for Raiden, I still don't know what allowed him to make it, but...'

　If we could make a perfect manual on how to make Raiden, we could have the strongest army in the kingdom... well, if the instructions on how to make it leaked out, there would be a conflict that would split the kingdom into several pieces, so maybe it's better if we couldn't. ........Inevitably, the feeling of waste is left behind.

''If I were to make it, I'd like to make it exclusively for royalty, but I promised that I wouldn't sell anything exclusively for royalty to anyone other than Maria-sama and the others, and it would be better not to let Primera have it.

　Since I'm not selling to Primera, it doesn't mean that I'm breaking my promise, but maybe the meaning of 'not selling' includes the meaning of not giving it away, so it's best to avoid it as much as possible.

'Then we'll have to make it up a new way... what to do...'

　There was no way I could come up with a new method that easily, so I decided to look for a magic core that could be used to nucleate the golem first.

''Let's see, the magic core that could be used as a nucleus is...''

　Searching through the bag, he found all sorts of things. In terms of high-value items, there were dozens of different types of items in the bag, from running dragons and earth dragons to orcs and goblins, and more than ten thousand of them were in the bag.

''Running dragons and earth dragons are too large in size, and orcs and goblins can't make them strong...''

　The S-ranked demon I have in my hand is too large in size, so I'd like something a little smaller, but I don't have an A-ranked one, and the only one that's close to that is Wyvern's.

'If it's a wyvern's demon core, I can use it as is.

　The larger the nucleus, the thicker the area around the nucleus must be in order to protect it. If you do that, the weight will increase by that amount, so you'll have a slow-moving golem or, conversely, a fast-moving golem, but the wyvern's magic core is about 10cm in size, so it should be fine even if you make the coating and the perimeter thicker.

''There are some things missing, but this should be no problem at all.

　For Gigant and Tanikaze, I used the cracked magic core of the Dragon Zombie, so it should be possible to do it with the Wyvern as well. However, the Dragon Zombie and Wyvern's magic core is too different, so what worked for the Dragon Zombie may not necessarily work for the Wyvern, but even if it fails, the cracked core can be used as a variety of materials, so it should be used not as a nucleus but as a material for strengthening.


''It's not quite so easy.''

　The magic nucleus in good condition could be nuked without any problems, but the missing magic nucleus has a distorted shape, so it's difficult to neatly carve the golem's information.

''Well, I made some mistakes, but I was able to neatly make five of them, so we should be able to make as many as planned.

　We failed a few times, but we got the number we had planned, so we decided to stop making nukes.

'Even if we can nuke it, we haven't made the outside so what do we do?

　I had an eye on the core of the golem, but I still couldn't decide what kind of golem I wanted to make.

'Well, let's just make it a meal.

　I was so focused on nuking the golem that it was past noon before I realized it. Once I thought about lunch, I felt strangely hungry, even though I hadn't even bothered to think about it before, so I moved to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

'I don't have any good ones. Let's go outside.　

　I couldn't find anything in particular I wanted to eat, so I decided to look around the stalls and shops as well as take a walk.

''Shiroumaru and the others.......seem to be ready to go too.

　I turned around to see Shiroumaru and Solomon waiting for me, as if they understood that I was going to tour the stalls with my words. Both of them were drooling with a crisp look on their faces, and Slarin was wiping the drool off the floor.

'Well then, let's go. But Solomon, as usual, move in your bag.
"Yeeeeeeeew.

　Solomon replied something like, "Hey, hey, I know," and dove into the dimension bag he always had in there.


'Thanks to the djinn, there's still a lot of stalls out there.

　Normally, the number of food stalls would drastically decrease around the time of the royal family-sponsored party after the tournament, but this time, thanks to the buzz that the Sword of Dawn had conquered the dungeon, many food stalls that usually pulled up and went back to their hometowns had hastily extended their stay in the royal capital. Thanks to that, we were able to choose a variety of food.


I'm feeling a lot fuller. Shiroumaru and the others........still not enough?''

　After visiting a few stalls, I was quite satisfied, but Shilomar and Solomon said they still hadn't had enough. By the looks of things, it didn't look like we were going to be able to stop hitting the stalls just yet.


'So you're finally satisfied,'

　It was close to evening when Shiroumar and Solomon finally seemed to be satisfied and began to sleep in their bags.

'You have a good status, sleeping when your belly is full,'

　At my muttering, Slarin bounced his body and agreed with me. By the looks of it, dinner................no, these two would eat it at will. As I was heading home while taking the long way around, with a hunger pangs, I saw the knights of the royal capital coming and going in platoon units several times. It is probably an act of restraint that doubles as a patrol. As is the case every year, this is the time of year when the criminal activity in the royal capital increases the most, and this year the festivities are prolonged due to the activities of the djinn and others, so they are probably increasing their vigilance.

''Somehow, are we starting to see the direction of the golem?''

　I had only decided to make it a knightly golem, so I had an idea of how to make it when I saw the knights actually moving with their armor on... but...

It's going to be more difficult if it's just me, so why don't you get Kelly to help?

　He decided to consult with the most trusted blacksmith in the King's City.