I assume a lot of things as I kick the ground hard.
　I should have defeated enough ant demons in the hole I fell into to allow Mario to 1UP.
　In that way, I should have been able to defeat the demons that sprang up from it.
　If that's the case, then there's not just one hole, but several entrances and exits, just like an ant nest.
　I thought about it, but as far as I could see while running, there were no holes in the ground.

　When I reached the central square, there were countless holes in it, and the residents were knocking them down when the demons came up, like a whack-a-mole.

'Is everyone safe?'
　They all looked surprised when I called out to them, but then Grand-san raised his voice.
''Luciel-dono has returned. We're going to smash the hole.
"O.
　The inhabitants of Rockford, who were so well voiced that it seemed as if all the people here were dwarves, dropped various chemicals into the hole and dropped rocks with their magic tools, while Mr. Grand and Dolan closed the hole at the end.
　The only hole I fell into was the one that was left untouched.

'I'm sorry to have worried you. But still, why aren't you filling this place up?

If there's only one spot open, that's where the magic stone will come from.
　I'm glad someone didn't follow me in.
　I was relieved and decided to tell them briefly what I'd told them after I fell into the basement.


'I see. But this time with the earth dragon...
　Lionel was full of fighting spirit, but I busted it both ways.

''This time, if you weren't good at it, you would have died twice. Once when I fell into the hole and the second time when I was hit by the earth dragon's breath.
　But still, the fact that Lionel's clothes are dirty in places means that he must have tried to jump into the hole once completely and was stopped by Paula's golem.
　The arm of the golem that Paula was controlling could be seen to have cracks in it.

'So? What's been going on in this basement? Paula and Lisian visited the workshop and were about to jump into this hole to chase after it, and then there was an earthquake and there were holes all over the place, and they were surprised because demons were coming up?
　Dolan was blue in the face because of the earthquake, but apparently he was in the fight.
　I remembered the story of the genie as I recuperated, so I decided to ask him.

'I fell pretty deep, but I could tell from the lights that the ants were all messed up. ........Speaking of which, the earth spirit said that the dwarven kingdom and the demons are already fighting, do you know anything about it?
What?
The dwarves, who live in the depths of the earth, were the original inhabitants of the caves and gradually spread out their homes underground.
　So that's exactly why you created the Underground Kingdom.
　Well, if you have the ability to do so, you could do so, but.......
I'm sure you don't want it to be here.
He thought that this place where the earth dragons and spirits gather is the center of the earth.
The fact that there were so many of them was a problem, but the dwarves were strong and sturdy. It's unthinkable that a mere ant monster could ever keep up with them.
　You two are dwarves too, so you might want to think so........
'The earth dragon is gone, so the demons will be weaker, just like in the case of the labyrinth... but what if other demons other than ants come out too? What if that's like a forty level class of the labyrinth?
Shit.
No, they'll still be fine with the king and his entourage.
　Depending on how many of these ant demons there are, there may even be dwarves who can't fight.
　When you think about it........Huh? I was surprised that I'd been inspired to go help him before I knew it.
　It must be because of all the things that have happened.
'Do you mind if I take a break first?'

　I decided to take a break to refresh my brain for once.
　Because when it came to Lord Leinster and fairies and dragons, and now even dwarves and demons fighting, my mind was about to be swallowed up in a whirlwind of thoughts.
　There was no point in being too impatient and emotionally unstable right now.
　I am by no means the hero of the story.

　Dolan and Grand-san looked at each other and nodded to each other.
''It's not as if the kingdom is going to fall anytime soon.
''There's no point in getting impatient when you don't even check on that condition. I'm sure Lord Luciel has had a tough time this time, and it would be better for him to rest.
　They were very understanding and everyone else didn't show any difficulty, and once we got back to Doran's residence.


　Once back in the workshop, it was a little late for lunch, so they took out the food they had been making before from the magic bag and ate it.

''You haven't finished taking measurements for the three of you armaments yet, have you?
Yeah. It'll take three days at the earliest. If Toretto was here, it would have gone faster.
''Speaking of which, when I released the earth dragon, I dropped an ore instead of fangs and scales, can you and Doran take a look at it when you're done eating? There were quite a few different kinds of ores and magic tool-like things that we could use.
Okay. I'm looking forward to it.
Ore has been hard to find lately, which means we're pretty lucky.
'I suppose that's the price of fighting a dragon, and whether it's cheap or expensive is probably worth it, but I'm done with it.
'Yes, Master Luciel. You can talk to me as you always do. You have already had your drink with me.
''I'll take your word for it. I've been having some difficulty getting out of the habit of Yenis apparently.
Haha, haha. But I can't wait to see what kind of ore it is.

　As Dolan and Mr. Grand began to get excited, he was unexpectedly poked in the side.
'Ts! Don't poke me in the side. What is it, Paula? And Lisian is with you?
If you've got a grimoire in the basement, I'd like to borrow it.
''Currently, we don't have any magic stones, so there's not much we can do.
All right. But don't take it apart.
I promise.
I won't disassemble anything that can't be reconstructed.

　
　That's what I thought, but since it was something that I couldn't determine what on earth it was a magical tool for, I eventually decided to leave it to them.


　Perhaps it was out of concern for me, but there was no mention of the dwarven kingdom and the dwarven race.

　After we finished eating, we headed to Dolan's workshop first.
Then I took out an ore from my magic bag and placed it in order, and their faces froze.
''First of all, it's probably a gemstone of some sort.''
　It's strange because if you arrange the ores neatly, you'll feel like you're in a museum's ore section.
　I hope it's a good substitute because there were a few things that gave me a sense of magic, albeit faintly.
　And what cannot be placed on the table is laid out on the cleaned floor, but Dolan and Mr. Grand were no longer in a state of confusion.
　Every time they left the ore on the table, they stopped breathing and went crazy.

'These are the leftovers left behind by the earth dragon.
'....Does Lord Luciel not know what that is?
Yes. I'm an amateur.
''After Lionel-dono and the others have finished their armor, we're just about to see the completion of that one. After that, we'll need a lot of magical stones, but it should be at an operational level.
Really?
It's true.
That's very exciting.
"...what are you making? Let me help you with that.
'Make sure you set the request fee as a doran. It's going to be a bit of fun, so I'm asking for a discount if possible.
　With that, I left the workshop.

"Keffin making his rounds first?
''Yes. We fought the ant demons when they came here, but we'll take them down without a second thought.
Put this on.
　I handed him the robe.
'I don't think the worst thing that could happen to the robe is that it would dissolve, even if it received the worst of the dissolving fluid.
Thank you. Good day.
　Kefin disappeared like a mist.
'You're keeping to what I told you to always use ninjutsu,'
　Kefin would follow me... and after that was decided, I decided to train Kefin so that he wouldn't die if he struggled.
　I can't peek at a person's proficiency, but I decided that I could teach him, guessing a lot of things.
　I believed that he would be the one to protect me.

　I saw Kefin off and headed to Paula's booth, and before I knew it, Paula and Lisian's room had a door installed that allowed them to come and go.
'When did that happen?'
This will be easy to do.
More than that, it's a grimoire.
　Their eyes look at me like a child wanting a toy, and while I'm easing up a bit, I'm also taking out the weapons and other magical equipment.

　And as soon as they have finished taking everything out, the two of them get along with each other? I started the analysis.
　As if I never existed........

　As expected, I was a little hurt, so I blurted out a small word.
''I guess I'll have to leave the magic tools and such in the future for the girl who can't even thank me.

I'm sorry. I'll try again when I can analyze it.
'I'm so sorry. I will do my best for Lady Luciel.
　They could hear a small murmur to the two of them.

'You can compete with them, but make sure you greet them properly and answer them.
Okay.
Of course.

　Saying more would only be my own complacency, so I headed to the room I stayed in yesterday to take a nap and sleep on my angel pillow.

　The next time I woke up, I went to sleep, not knowing that my heart would be pounding loudly.