A minute passed before Louisa regained her composure, and in the meantime, one of Louisa's juniors who passed by said, "Senior, are you okay! I shook her and she finally woke up.

　She played the role of the older man, red to the ears and able, "I'm sorry you had to worry about me," and then led me to a different room, a private room at the far end of the room. The décor was like a different story, with leather chairs and a table made of a material like ebony, the kind of wood you'd expect to find in a place like this.

　After bringing me a tea set of steaming herbal tea, Louisa took a seat next to me instead of across from me, cleared her throat and began to talk.

'The last time an orc 'with a name' appeared on the second level of Akebono's field and was defeated was four months ago. The one that appeared at that time was called 'Yellow Fang', with the bright yellow body of a Fang Orc, it was a very good-tempered and boisterous creature that was popular at parties.
'A demon is at the banquet!　Louisa, are you upset and strange?
''Haha... sorry, I've been assigned to be the secretary of this month's guild drinking party, and I thought it was very troublesome, and I was told that although the color and strength were different, it wasn't much different in size from a normal Fang Orc.

　They say I'm too upset and my thoughts are all jumbled up. What have I done to have my memory confused by the juggernaut, what have I done?

'Louisa-san, please calm down for now. Was the individual that came out four months ago different from the juggernaut?
'Ha, yes. Did I say something strange? I apologize for my mistake. You are more muscular than I thought you were, aren't you?

　I'm still confused, but I wonder if this is some sort of state of affairs. It will calm down if we talk - but if my impressions of the hug are leaking out, I'm quite embarrassed if it's leaking out.

''.........Ah, yes, you're right. Yellow Fang is a yellow oak, as the name suggests. It is said that after killing about two hundred orcs on the second floor of Akebono's Field, they will appear to avenge their resentment. It is a level 3 named demon and is very powerful compared to Red Face. Last time they were finally defeated by a sixteen-man strike team after causing seven victims.
The 'Juggernaut' we defeated is a different individual than that one, isn't it?
You're right. There are two types of 'named': those that are more likely to appear and those that rarely appear. The Juggernaut is a rare species among the named Fang Orcs. The last time it appeared three years ago, there have been 11 named orcs killed since then, all of which were yellow fang.

　I can't say for sure since we haven't defeated enough of them to be able to get statistics, but out of the thirteen that appeared, two of them were juggernauts, so the appearance rate is about a tenth of a percent, or maybe once every three years--''

''But my personal opinion, Bergen I don't think the guys in the party that made the juggernaut appear could have killed two hundred orcs. And their levels were low.
'It was another party that made it appear. It was bigger than Yellowfang, so we had four parties with a total of twenty-four explorers, but unfortunately the defeat party was destroyed. It is recorded that the survivors were led by a party of explorers named Bergen. It is possible that they abandoned the party they accompanied and attempted to escape, which was investigated by the guild, but they testified that they were only lucky to have survived and no evidence was obtained.

　-- it was much deeper-rooted than they had imagined.

　The Juggernaut could not be defeated even by the 24 explorers, and Bergen and the three others had escaped. They hadn't returned to the second level of the 'Akebono Field' since then, and the juggernaut that had targeted Bergen and the others had not been defeated.

　When they learned that Elitia had come to the Eighth Ward, Bergen and the others thought they could now take advantage of the fact that they were being targeted by the Juggernaut, so they took action. And that's where we found ourselves.


''Yes. Of the 21 people who were defeated by the Juggernaut, 3 of them changed into sub-humans and became Orcmen and are enrolled in the mercenary mediation office. The remaining 18 are........

　What would happen if the searchers were defeated by the demons? I thought I understood it, but it's too harsh a reality. It could happen that they don't even become sub-humans, but unreturned.......

''The 'named' often causes damage to the explorer, and there is a bounty on offer. However, when the bounty is made public, some people will try to profit from the hunt, even if it means taking advantage of the party targeted by 'named'. For this reason, we do not post bounties to avoid unnecessarily inflaming the gambling spirit. However, in the interest of safety, I should have told you all that the juggernaut has not been defeated...
'So the guild is also difficult to behave due to a combination of things. It's not something that can be changed right away, and we're safe, so it's good that we're safe. The status of the 'named' of the hierarchy we're heading to is valuable information, and it's not easy to know.
'It's a relief to hear you say that. But ... I'm so glad ...

　Louisa wiped her eyes, probably relieved that we had survived. It wasn't so much because she was sensitive that she had fainted earlier, but rather because she knew how horrible the juggernaut was.

　With an embarrassed look in her reddened eyes, Louisa-san took out her usual monocle, or monocle. It looks like she's preparing to look at my license's action record.

''Then let me check the record of your activities in the labyrinth.
Yes, nice to meet you.

　The results of this search
　We're in Akebono's Field, second floor. 10 points.
　Aricht's level is now 3. 20 points.
　Kyouka's level has been raised to 2. 10 points
　Suzuna's level is now 2. 10 points.
　Took out 15 Watadama for 75 points.
　8 Dokuyari bumblebees killed, 64 points.
　Killed 23 "Fang Orcs", 230 points.
　800 points for defeating the "Juggernaut" bounty.
　Trust in "Theresa" has increased by 50 points
　Trust in "Kyoka" has increased by 50 points.
　Trust in Suzuna has increased by 10 points.
　Trust in "Elitia" has increased by 50 points.
　I rescued another party. 30 points.
　100 points for rescuing misaki.
　We fought off three criminals. 90 points.
　50 points for bringing back a "Black Treasure Chest".

　Searcher Contribution ・・・ 1649
　Eighth Ward All-Time Contributions Ranking 2

(Whoa, the three of us have leveled up. So the experience of the juggernaut was so enormous that even with Elitia in the party at a level apart, the experience of the juggernaut was huge.)

　However, considering the difficulty of raising the level and the future efficiency of the level, it might be better to unify the levels somewhere - but it's troubling because the efficiency of the hunt will only improve if we have a party and use my skills.

''Ahh... even a 3-digit contribution is amazing, but to go up to 4 figures in just two days...''

　With a blush on her face, Louisa-san is enraptured as she hugs one pair of glasses to her chest.

　Apparently, the limit for trustworthiness to be counted as a contribution is 50 for a single search. And it turns out that once the 'Support Attack' is activated, the contribution level is 10. Perhaps because Suzuna's stamina hadn't been reduced, the amount of 'support recovery' didn't appear to be accounted for.

In the ranking of contribution in a single search, it ranks second all time; the party in first place once posted 1660 because a large number of demons in the labyrinth occurred and they were able to hunt a large number of Watadama. However, with this number of defeats, only Atobe-sama and the others who defeated the Juggernaut still exceeded 1000.
Now we'll be recognized as two-star searchers... right?
Congratulations. Will the required amount of copper mercenary tickets be purchased today?　The juggernaut's prize is a hundred gold coins, so I can give it to you right here.

　I thought it would take more time, but being able to beat the juggernaut has allowed me to achieve my goal faster than I thought.

'I have eight tickets left, so 92. Let me buy them for 276 silver coins.
'Very well. Now you can officially add Theresia-san to your party. She is a sub-human, so please keep her in the party for the entire time if you can. If you dismiss her in the middle of the party, she'll have to return to the mediation office.
'It's okay. She has an immovable role to play and I know it may seem strange to say this after just meeting her, but I want to make her human again.
''........It won't be easy.

(The Great Temple of the Fourth Ward ... this is important information.)

　In some wards, there may be major facilities in the labyrinth country. Since it's a country, there will naturally be a governing body - let's just ask this now.

''Louisa-san, I'm sorry for asking this now. Does a labyrinth country have a king?
''No, the family that founded the country has been expelled from the First Ward. The real power to rule the Labyrinth State now lies with the Temple Master of the Great Temple and our guild leaders.
''Huh........So it's like we're exploring at the country's behest? So that's what you meant when you said we have no choice but to become explorers?
''Yes. As you may have already noticed, all of the labyrinths in this labyrinth country are located somewhere else in this world. Only the entrances to transfer are collected within the walls of the Labyrinth Country... and I'm not yet in a position to know why that happened.

　That means there are many different labyrinths, not just the plains. The skills and tools you need will also change, and if you don't respond flexibly to the labyrinthine environment, you may get stuck in it.

　In order to avoid this, you need to gather as many friends as possible. As a party, five or six people would be the best in terms of being able to turn around small actions, but if there is no limit to the number of people that can be supported, then in some cases, you may have ten or more people to take on a strong enemy.

''Thank you for teaching me so much. Louisa-san, I'm changing the subject, but what's our pecking order?
''Depending on the role of the party, each contribution will be calculated separately. Atobe-sama is in the eighth district ... wow, seventh in the pecking order ... in single digits. As for the others, Igarashi-san is ranked 438th, Suzuna-san is ranked 435th, and Elitia-san is ranked 115th out of 12,000 people in the Fifth Ward. Congratulations, you can change your quarters to a 'Royal Suite'. We have preparations to make, though, so you can start using it tomorrow.

　The royal suite--that is, it's bigger than a suite. Then the three of us, Igarashi-san, Theresia and I can live there without any problems........

　Igarashi-san's pecking order has also jumped up in the pecking order due to her contribution this time. In other words, she's out of living in a stable, so she doesn't have to stay at my house anymore.

(He said he'd make my lunches... but you can cook even if you live separately. Don't expect it to be the same all the time, with the exception of one night last night.)

"...Atobe-sama, would you prefer to remain in your current room?　You don't look very happy, sir.
'Oh, no. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm going to look at the room tomorrow, and if it looks good, let me move in.
"Very well, I'll make an appointment with the manager to take a look. Also, to unlock the Black Treasure Chest, we need to remove the traps, so I'd like to introduce you to a skilled boxmaker.
Box store?　So you're saying you specialize in removing box traps?
"Yes, sir. The trappers are working on it, so they can't fail to unlock it. It's one in ten thousand, which is the most difficult part of handling the box. There is no doubt that there are several treasures inside, so it is worth paying a fee to open the box safely.

　I was able to buy tickets, check out the pecking order, and was introduced to the 'box office'.

　She's been really helpful in many ways and I want to thank her in some way for asking me to be in charge in the future. It may be difficult to do so in a hurry, but I'll invite her to the launch.

''Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. Louisa-san, what time are you up today?
'The Guild is open until midnight, but since I'm not on duty, it will be closing soon.
Well you could have dinner with us if you want. I'm sorry for asking you out on such short notice, but we really appreciate it.
'Well ... is it okay?　If it's okay with you, Lady Atobe, I'd love to have you with me.


　--At this time, I really, genuinely just wanted to share the sense of accomplishment of completing a great task with Louisa-san as well.

　Going to the tavern means that adults drink to some extent, except for Suzuna, Misaki, and Elitia, since they are still children.

　What kind of changes would happen to Igarashi-san when she got drunk, and what kind of drunkenness would Louisa have to go through? I hadn't yet imagined that it would happen like that.