As they carried their friends into the box store, Ake and Plum came out of the stairs to the basement. I guess that means they were hiding out just in case.

'Mother, welcome back!　....Huh?　Everyone's asleep.
Atobe, big brother, are you alright?　It's a bit abrasive here. Plum, let me give you a pat on the back!
Yeah, I'm sorry about that. It's not that big of a deal.
After being stunned by such recklessness.......you must be a bold man, Mr. Atobe.

　From the looks of me, it doesn't look like I'm doing anything too big, does it? But it was only with Zion and the others that I could use that method, and I'm not going to do something reckless without thinking about it.

''Yes, I've bandaged you up. Mom, can I give your brother some medicine?
'Oh no, I think potions are valuable, so...'
No, there's something called 'healing grass' that is used to make potions. Even dried powder made from it can be used to heal shallow wounds. The drawback is that it's hard to drink.
''Oh, I see. But the potion itself is precious, so the ingredients...

　When I tried to ask, Farma put her index finger to her mouth. Does that mean I'm not going to say anything?

The guild provides several kinds of medicines in the medicine chest at the townspeople's homes. Some people redeem them, but we don't use them and put them away, so... let me help you at least for now.

　Mr. Farma brought me a healing herbal powder on a piece of paper, along with some water. She said it was hard to drink, so I was prepared for it, but it was like Chinese medicine, spicy, but not that terrible of a taste.

(Oh ... my strength has recovered. It's a shallow wound, but it's a relief to see it recover visibly.)

Ha-ha, my brother looks bitter.
Bitter's the better part of it. That's what these things do.

　Eik and Plum miss me, and I'm watching them take their medicine. I can't borrow Ashtarte as a fighting force, considering Farma-san and the children - but if possible, I'd like to borrow Zion's help.

　Farma-san, who had split up with Theresia and made everyone take the awareness pills, comes back here when she's finished with the whole process. And just by looking at my face, she could tell what I was going to ask for.

''Theon is still in Atobe-sama's party. So, I thought of you guys as friends and was the first to notice that you came near us.
'Oh I'm sorry. I forgot to return it to Farma's house.
''No, because I had also asked you to take Zion with you. Rather, I am proud of the fact that this boy tried to protect Atobe-sama. Like Ashtarte, he has grown up to be a truly courageous guard dog.

　Falma-san strokes Sion's head - even though she's sitting up, her head is the same height as an adult's, so when she tries to stroke him, Sion lowers his own head.

''........I'll let you take advantage of Sion's help.
''Silverhounds are often the vanguard of the party. They will be larger than humans and have more physical strength... so please don't be shy. Please give them the same role that you would entrust them with if you added Sion to Atobe-sama's party.

　If you ask me, I think Falma-san has a great deal of heart too. Even though she has retreated from the line of exploration, she has entered the labyrinth to retain her skills and maintain her level, so she must have plenty of experience in combat after all.

''Hmm.......this place.......''
Farma's store I'm sorry. We don't think we've caused you any trouble.

　Elitia and Igarashi woke up. Misaki and Suzuna continued to wake up as well.

''Ha.......... brother Arihito, be careful, a strange song...!

Me and Theresa were the only ones who were lucky enough not to fall asleep. We managed to fight them off with the help of Zion and his mom's dog, and there's the one we caught.

　When I explain to them that the Song of Sleep is dangerous, they all look at the fainting demi-harpy with a nervous look on their faces. Many of the demons become quiet when their vision is taken away, so they are blindfolded and gagged, and their wings and feet are tied up - it's dangerous if they don't do that much, so they can't loosen their restraints any more, although they look pitiful.

'Mother, is this winged girl a 'mamono'?'
''Yes, I think it's all right now, but don't get too close. Atobe-sama, since you've been taken alive, do you intend to be put into the 'Demon Ranch'?
Demon Farm...?
It's a place to keep the demons you train and bring to your side. It's like a warehouse, and the demons you keep there can be called up with special summoning stones.

　I had never thought of capturing them alive before, but is it possible to have a demon on your side - if it's a demon that has a special attack, there are places to use it.

　In order to find out how to use the 'Demon Farm', shall we put Demiharpy into the farm? Dismantling it is a bit visually demanding.

''By the way, what do the other explorers do when they defeat Demiharpy?''
Many two-legged demons, such as orcs, may attack humans and prey on them, but demi-harpy may deceive humans and feed on other demons, but they are not carnivores themselves, and their main food is grass and nuts. As a result, searchers do not defeat them like the enemy in their eyes, and often let them go with a little feathering or clawing.

　Even at that stage, it was already an irritating story for a child, but when Farma-san put her ear to mine, she told me, ''Although it is possible to incapacitate them by making them unable to use their vocal cords, fighting demi-harpy is itself abhorrent because it is cruel.

　For demons that are difficult to defeat due to their appearance, there is also the option of sending them to the farm. When you want more strength, being able to summon demons will expand your tactics - in the future, when you fight demons, you'll also consider whether or not to make them your friends.

''There are many demons that can't communicate with humans and their wills, so consider that only a small percentage of them can be your companions. The tentacle demons that were flying above us earlier, for example, can be seen as impossible to train. There may be some who have such skills, though.
Yes, okay I've learned a lot. Farmer, the equipment that prevents you from falling asleep....
This will be the accessory. It will be an earring, bracelet and pendant. Fortunately, many things can be found that prevent the effects of 'Sleep 1', so we've been able to provide enough for a few people.

　'Sleep 1' - that is, there is also a higher level of sleep attack. We have to keep in mind that we won't be able to prevent sleep for a long time to come, but that's enough for this time.

　It's also possible that the named Flying Doom could use a state defect. Thinking about that, I felt like asking just in case.

''Excuse me, Falma-san. Do you have anything else to prevent the other state abnormalities?
''Well this bowl metal is effective in preventing 'confusion'. Can I get this one for you as well?
'Can I borrow it, just in case? I don't know what the enemy is going to do to me, so I need to be insured.
'That's a good idea. Now, please take this one.
'Arihit, you should be equipped as our leader. Because I want you at the helm of us, and I want you to be on the board at all times.

　Following Elitia's recommendation, I wear a bowl metal. The armored potsherd that protects my forehead - it's designed so that it won't come off when I wrap it around me, making me feel more secure in my defense.

''Okay ... let's keep an eye out for the demi-harpy and head out to defeat the 'named'
'Dear Atobe, ladies and gentlemen, may you have the best of luck.......are you sure you don't want to take Ashtarte with you?
'As a precaution, it would be better for you to stay here as a guard dog. There are other searchers and mercenaries out there. If we join them, I'm sure we can fight them off.
Good luck, brothers!
Don't get hurt, be careful!

　The kids cheer us on, and we get out again - the flying dooms that have been flying through the air recognize us and swoop down one by one.

'-- Everyone, let's move forward, intercepting the enemy!　Don't take it easy!

　We must not forget to raise morale by applying support uplift. Elitia and Sion, who are leading the charge, reduce the number of enemies, and the individuals who still get through, Igarashi-san and Theresia bounce back - that's where me, Suzuna, and Misaki's indirect attack sticks.

''Wow!''
'That's quite a feat ... good girl. We'll work together!

　Elitia called out to Sion, who was running alongside us. The swarm of flying dooms descending from the skies above in front of us no longer posed a threat to us.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　After a few engagements, the total number of enemies has been reduced considerably. There are no more flying dooms that operate in groups of a few, leaving only a group of 'named' ones.

　The morale has been building up through 'support uplift' - but when we reached the square in front of 'Akebono's Field'.

''Rival-san.......Madoka!
Brother you can't come here!　It's a demon's song, a demon's song...!
'Aricht, stay behind the building!　He's going to attack you if you get in his line of sight.....ooooh!

　Rival-san shouted and held his shield upwards - what landed there was a heat beam like a laser.

　The demon that I encountered ◆

　★ Death coming from the sky: level 5 in battle Drop: ?
　18 Flying Doom Drop: ?
　2 demi-harpy's dropped: ?
　3 Sweetbirds Dropped: ?

　Flying Doom's 'named' - from the name, it's coming to kill me completely. On top of overcoming Flying Doom's weakness of not having a long-range attack, it also has a terrifying firepower, and so on, the foulness is good.

''Goooooooo.......oh.......''
Mr. Rival, please step aside once!
I'm sorry...

　What Rival-san was holding was the kite shield that her companion had - even if she borrowed it, she jumped out to attract the enemy's attack. The power of the heat ray was tremendous, and without being able to reduce the impact, Rival-san's strength was reduced.

　In the square, the injured sub-human mercenaries and the searchers are lying on the ground. Some of them had burns all over their bodies from the heat rays, but they are still breathing - but if the demons are not annihilated as soon as possible, some of them will lose their lives.

''--That's dangerous!

　Boom, my heart lurched. Madoka, who was in the shadows of the building, away from the burnt-out stalls, jumped out - to protect the fallen searcher from the flying doom that was attacking him from above.

''Siong!''
Wow!

　Sion, who heard my orders, will 'cover' Madoka - if it's a Flying Doom body hit, you can reduce the damage to zero by 'Support Defense 1'.

'Stay behind the building!　Elitia, can you attract an attack from 'him'!
　If I draw that guy in with a 'decoy', you can make sure you finish him off when he comes down!
'Yeah, okay guys, watch out for the hot stray bullets!　I don't know if even my defenses can prevent that from happening!

　The 'death coming from the sky' is slowly circling in the air, aiming at its next target. But Elitia was right, when the guy came down, he didn't intend to let it escape into the air again.