I had just left the Boutique Corleone when I spotted a party of three men who looked familiar. Three of the "Triceratops".

　When they spotted me, their leader, a bearded man, raised his hand in the air without effort.

'Aricht, those men...'
Well, I'll just go say hi. I'd like to know what the Alliance is up to.

　The other side seems to want to talk too, and only the leader comes over to us. When he looks at me, he shrugs and chuckles.

You don't seem to be in good spirits, what's going on?
We had it coming, but the Alliance leadership said they would fire us if we didn't tell them about you. Our leader tolerated us, but I didn't want to have to do the dirty work again, so I left.
...I see. I'm sorry.
'No, don't apologize. It's just that when you're a group of three men from the beginning, they treat you strangely badly. I wouldn't have joined if I'd known it was that kind of organization.

　When I hear such stories, I can only think of one executive who told them to leave.

''I've met this guy Gray once, but it's strange that he's an executive when all he can build up is a bad impression...''
He's a good talker... he's not the best fighter in the alliance, but he's stronger than us and more shrewd than us. You too, take care of yourself.
Yeah, thanks. What are you going to do now?
'For a while, I'm going to hunt down demons that I can defeat and do it steadily. I'm going to try out the unpopular labyrinths as well. And thanks to the binoculars you bought me, I don't have to live without them.

　He laughs as he shows them the bag of gold coins. Still, he says they don't slack off and work hard at their searcher's business - I like those people.

''Yeah, well I had something I wanted to tell you. Today, the leader of the 'alliance' will reach his contribution goal. Also, other party leaders will be working hard to increase their contributions, but today is the last day that the leader will directly lead and earn contributions.
'Well I'm a little curious to see how you operated.
It's not a very flattering practice, so I can't show you. It's just a matter of shutting out all parties except the Alliance and keeping a group eye on the few points where the demons are coming out. Still, it's safe, and it's the most efficient way to make money for the day in the Seventh Ward. I've heard that if we do too much of this, we might lose the assessment of 'Crab's' contribution, though.

　Does this mean that no matter how efficient it is, it's not a good idea to keep defeating demons in the same pattern? Even if you gain experience with such a literal 'frame-up' technique, it seems to me that the situation you can deal with will be narrower.

'Well, I know it's not a good idea to speak ill of the organization I've been in. It's not hard to see why Mr. Rolando chose to take the safe way out and go to the Sixth Ward, given his background.
'I heard once that you were sick and dropped to the bottom of the Seventh Ward...'
Yeah.........and that's where the obsession comes from. We're not in a position to give you any advice, but please don't let yourself be retired for a long time.
Yeah, I'll keep that in mind.

　Those last words carried weight. I wish them well, too - I'd say we're waving our sleeves at each other, but even with the slightest contact, it's a significant encounter.

　Everyone who had been watching them walk over to us - Misaki seems to be having some fun.

''Brother, you look so reluctant when you're talking to other guys, don't you?''
'Mi, Misaki-chan that would mean that Aricht-san usually...'
'We were talking about something serious, and I was just trying to keep my mind off the normal stuff. Doesn't look good on me?
'No, not really. I'm sure you've always been good at dealing with people you don't know. I was even the one who was the shyest person in the room.
I don't........Igarashi-san was always imposing, too, wasn't she?

　When Igarashi-san praises me, there are still moments when I wish she had praised me before my reincarnation, but I'm more embarrassed than that.

''.........''
Here you are, Theresa. Can't you get hungry?
..........

　Theresa doesn't answer, she just brings me the hem of my suit. This - you mean that you were worried about me because I went to talk to her alone.

''I'm not really worried about what would happen if the guys asked me to do something, like what if Arihito went to cover them or something, but I'm sure I'll get those calls sooner or later.

　The way Elitia said it, it's like she said she thought so - apparently she was in the same frame of mind as Theresa.

'Don't worry, I'm not going to leave the party,'
There's no other 'rear guard' person as good as you. We have to keep the rumors from spreading too much.......do those guys from earlier seem to be okay?

　Igarashi-san lowered her voice so that the people around her wouldn't hear, so I followed suit. Misaki put her index finger to her lips, as if she meant to be quiet.

'They said they left the 'alliance' for not reporting us. So I don't think they got the message about me.
They're so disciplined I wonder if that's what they thought of your rear end.
'I think everyone will be moved when they see Arihito-san at that time. My heart breaks just thinking about it, too...
Suzuna, are you okay?　Why don't you have a healer (healer) take a look at it?
'Wow, Ellie, you're even purer than I thought!
Hm........Mm, I don't think it's right to connect it to something like that just because it hurts in the chest?

　Misaki and Elitia are arguing, or rather jostling with each other, but all I can do is scratch my nose as an adult.

''To be looked up to by both men and women, you must have been a leader after all.
''Well, um ... Igarashi-san, I'd appreciate it if you could be moderately strict with me.
Why?　I'm just saying what I think.

　Have we already passed the stage of distant praise or something like that? Madoka, who is with Sion, seemed to want to say something, but when I looked at her, she looked away shyly for some reason.

'We all want to talk to your brother,'
You don't have to hold back on anything, though. Madoka, can you get in touch with Melissa for me? I'm fine with the prospect, I'd appreciate it if she could see a list of materials.
'Yes, yes I've actually been waiting to talk to you about that too!

　By 'too', does that mean that there are other things to talk about? But Madoka is as earnest as ever and showed me the list of demon materials that Melissa had sent her.

　It seems that Melissa and Rykerton-san will also leave the dismantling station once and come to the rental workshop where Celes and the others are. Since the demon materials are also used to process equipment, it would be better to have a meeting together.

　◆◇◆

　When we came to the rental workshop, which was a few minutes' walk from the inn, Celes and Steiner had already finished getting ready to work, and Melissa and Rykerton were sitting down to drink tea.

'We've been waiting for you, Aricht. We've been waiting for you, Aricht," he said, "but we're just now getting the workshop ready for you to use.
'Master, it's not polite to stand with a cup of tea in your hand.

　Celes-san always takes off the hood she wears. She was from a labyrinthine country, and she was still a race that seemed to be from another world - close to the image I had of an elf. Her ears are long and she looks younger or younger than her actual age.

　She said she didn't usually show herself in front of her guests. Still, she felt grateful again for coming to a different ward.

''Exactly, how dare you put away the magic stone without using it. You guys........mm?　What is that look on your face? You're going to get out of shape for trying to lecture me.
'Thank you so much. Thanks to Ceres and the others for coming, we'll be able to decide what to do with the materials we had left over.

　When we thanked him again, everyone also bowed together - Celes-san looked a little embarrassed, but she jumped on Steiner's hand as a foothold and sat on his shoulder, gaining height and looking down at us.

'Mmmm, it's not bitter... and I just wanted to say it once.
'Master has been concerned about you since Atobe-sama and the others went to the Seventh Ward. The truth is, it was a crossover that he called me. And to be nominated as an exclusive, I'm a craftsman.''
The guests have been insulted by my appearance and frightened by Steiner. That doesn't make us any more pleasant to work with, well, not that there weren't any potential seekers.

　Someone as good as Mr. Ceres, who has been alive for over a hundred years, expects me to be there. Thinking about that, I wondered if there was a reason why he was opening a shop in the eighth ward, where few runes would be brought in.

'Excuse me, I was wondering one thing.......why did Celes-san and the others live in the Eighth Ward?'
I'd like to say that you've found a nice place to live, but there's no particular reason for it. After I retired as an explorer, I went from place to place to find a good place to live. It's just that the area around the workshop is quiet and the nearby waterways are beautiful.

　Celes-san was also an explorer - she was from the Labyrinth Country, and as a 'Jade People (Jade)', she was obligated to become an explorer just like us? I was curious, but I didn't think I could ask her anything more in-depth than that right now.

''Well........the magic stone you guys have in your possession. You can't leave them on your old armor?　It's better to think of ways to use it and not leave it behind, because it will increase your strength. It's better to use it whenever possible.
''Yes, Melissa has acquired the skill to synthesize magic stones, so I'd like to try synthesis as well.
'There are some things I can synthesize and some things I can't. Right now I can only synthesize once, as long as I can pick two and synthesize ... let me know if there's one that looks good.
"I didn't take 'Magical Tool Creation 2'. Instead, if you collect the same kind of magical stones, you can perform the 'rune generation' function... but you'll only need ten, so it won't be easy to collect them.

　As expected, ten magic stones of the same kind is--when I was thinking, Melissa brought out a bag of something. It contains something that looks like a rumbling stone.

''Well when I was dismantling the demons, I found a few demon stones.
'Thanks, Melissa. That's quite a lot....
When the enemy uses magic, the source of power is often magical stones. Of course, it's not uncommon for Atobe's people to defeat many demons.

　Rykerton-san shows me the list of magic stones in the bag. There are more than ten of them - but it's too soon to turn them into runes with a quick decision.

　More importantly, it wasn't just the magic stones that were found, but also the runes. Although I can't understand the effect of this just by looking at it, it seems to lead to an increase in strength.

　The magic stones and runes found this time

　1 x 1 Fierce Wind Stone found in the Aerowolf
　Rune of change ×1 ★ Found in the beetle of disobedience
　Found in 18 stray sheep from elastic stone
　Discovered in Thunderhead
　12 Darkness Blitz
　Hibiki no Rune ×1 *Discovered by the inviting herdsman's messenger　

Hmmm, 'resilient stone' and 'black bullet stone' are used to attach to bullets. These kinds of things cannot be compressed into runes.
''Actually, I got a weapon called a 'magic gun,' and the bullets for it are called magic stones, so it would be great if I could use it.
What the hell...?　Magic guns can only be made by a "gunsmith". I never thought I'd meet anyone who had one...

　Mr. Ceres is shaking with a wow - he seems more surprised than impressed. I placed a silver attache case on the table and showed the gun inside to Celes-san.

''This is........''
I'm sure you're asking if you can strengthen it, but I'm sure you've never used it yet. It's not easy to find the kind of metal that can strengthen it, so it's best to keep it for now. Let's leave it as it is for now.
''I'm a metalworking expert, so I think I can strengthen it without any problems. But as master says, it's complete as it is, so I think it's best to go unmodified until we can find the materials we need to strengthen it.''
Yes, it would help if we could strengthen it in the future.

　I'll have to try it out first, but 'elastic stones' would be a good place to try it out since there are so many of them. It's likely to be the first thing we'll use in our next exploration.

Then, let's talk about making armor from demon materials.
Yes, please. Melissa, how far along is the demolition process?
'The big one will take until tomorrow, but we have an idea of how to dismantle it. I'll suggest some materials we can use.
''There are signs that the 'Backstabbing Beetle' has removed its outer skin in the process, but it still has the largest shell left, so it can be used as material for a large shield.

　Teresia uses the circular shield (tajee), but currently no member of the party uses the large shield. However, if the use of the shield is limited, it might be a good idea to make a large shield and keep it in stock - if a shield user joins the party, I can ask them to equip it at that time.

　Speaking of shield users, Seraphina-san, but it would be difficult to get her to join my party. There's also the Guild Saber's mission.

''It's not uncommon for even strong demons to be able to convert only part of them into armor... Aricht, what do you do with the horns of the 'Backstroke Beetle' that Melissa cut off?
'Yeah, I hope it's good for something but it's a bit strange that you could cut off even the hardest parts in combat.
''These horns are probably the parts of the body that can only be cut in battle. The composition of a demon's body sometimes changes after it is defeated, so it cannot be processed. That's why they can't be processed, but the horn that I cut off remains in a state where it can be processed.

　Rykerton-san explains it to us, but there is a lot of mystery in the nature of demons. Since the part that can be processed is part of it, let's decide how to use it.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　The entire party reviewed and decided on what to do with each material.

　◆Aero Wolf's materials ◆

　Use Suzuna's ashtray's bow → Use Fang to add an attack strength increase to +1.
　Suzuna's Silk Shaman's Closet +2 -> Use fur to add speed boost to enhance to +3
　Theon's Hound Leather Vest +1 → Use fur to add speed increase, enhance to +2

　Material of Grand Mall

　Making a two-handed hammer "Hammerhead" using the "head shell".
　Making "Maul Knuckle" with "Claw x 2".

　Materials for the treacherous bugs

　Theresa's Eluminate Shortsword + 3" → Use the "Horn" to upgrade to the Eluminate Razor Sword + 4.
　Create the Great Shield of Mirror Armor using the shell.

　Stray Sheep's Material◆

　Kyouka's Light Steel Lady Armor +3 -> Use Wool to add a little breath resistance to enhance it to +4
　Misaki's Bat Leather Cloak +1 → Use wool to add a little breath resistance +2
　Madoka's cotton turban → Use "wool" to add "a little breath resistance" to enhance it to "+1".

　Material of Thunderhead

　Kyouka's Ermineated Cross Spear → Add "Lightning Attack Enhancement" by using "Lightning Horn" to enhance "Lightning Attack" to "+1".
　Melissa's Denim Overalls → Use wool to add medium lightning resistance to enhance it to +1.

　Darkness Blitz material◆

　Elitia's Unicorn Ribbon +1 → Add "Darkness Resistance 1" to Elitia's Unicorn Ribbon → Use "Wool" to add "Darkness Resistance 1" to strengthen it to "+2".
　Arictoo's Eluminate Mounted Boots +2 -> Use Wool to add 1 Darkness Resistance (+3)

　A messenger of the inviting herdsman

　Arihito's Hard Oxmail +2 -> Use Black Hair to add Medium Darkness Resistance to strengthen it to +3.
　Elitia's High Mithril Nightmare +4 → Use Black Hair to add Medium Darkness Resistance to strengthen it to +5.
　Produced "Flute of the God of Magi" from "Kakkaku".
　Created "Unwonderful Charm" from "Claws".

　Materials limit which armaments can be strengthened to a certain extent, so it's not possible to concentrate on strengthening one armament or another. For this reason, we decided to take a stance of strengthening where we could. For materials that have a certain amount of material that can be made when processed, we'll have them made even if they don't have a specific use.

　As for the sheep-based demons, I'm going to have the material distributed to my suit as well. I'll need a large amount of wool, but I've also received permission from everyone.

"I didn't realize that they were so well equipped in the seventh district.......You guys found another box, didn't you?
'Yes, I was lucky enough to defeat the 'named' demon.
''There must be someone in Atobe-sama's party who seems to have been born under a lucky star... or maybe it's not just luck. I'm wondering how they usually explore.''

　Mr. Steiner is dressed in heavy armor, but his tone is as lively as a boy's. He is not a "middle man", but is actually quite young. You may be told that there is no 'inside man', but in fact, he may be quite young.　

It's the processing of demon materials, so we will be working together with you. Do you plan to use the equipment to be enhanced today?
No, I haven't made up my mind at the moment.
"It's going to take some time to work on it, so when you're ready, I'll need your equipment.

　I wondered if it would be a few days before I would actually use the enhanced equipment - when I was thinking about it, Celes-san held up one finger.

'Tomorrow,'
What ... uh ... tomorrow?
I'll finish the work and deliver it to you tonight. It's not difficult to do, since you'll be using your skills, as long as you can manage your magic. You're right, Steiner.
'It's best to avoid guzzling manna potions whenever possible. Potions are useful, but they seem to have side effects if you use them too much.'
I'd like to tell you that I won't use such a cheap product, but I've heard that it has side effects regardless of the quality of the potion. It's not all bad, but I'm not sure I'd like to try it.

　Instead, I used 'Assist Charge' on Celes-san and thought that if I used the potion to recover - I remember when I was high from drinking too many nutritional drinks. To me, the nutrition drink was definitely a potion.

''Rear-kun, what's going on?''
Oh, no, no, nothing... no, I was just reminiscing about the old days.
Oh....is it possible that what happened at that time...?

　Come to think of it, I recall that Mr. Igarashi once gave me an energy drink. When I told my colleagues, they were envious for some reason that the beautiful section chief would give me an energy drink - I wonder what kind of imaginative wings he was fluttering around in.

'....Aricht, I'll make you a suit for Theresa too. It's a leather suit made from the leather of Death Coming from the Sky. I won't change the design that much, but I think the performance will be much better.
'Yeah, please. I think using the 'Light Shade Skinny Suit' as a lining would solve the problem of transparency when using the 'Camouflage Stone'.
'I agree. But the idea was never in my mind. I've always admired Alihit's imagination.

　I don't know if it will work without trying it out, but I'd like to hope for the best. However, the first time you try 'Optical Camouflage (Active Stealth)', I'd like to leave it in the quarters just in case.

The rest is just a matter of how you use the magic stones and runes. It's going to be another long day.

　The magic stones on my old equipment, the magic stones and runes that were lying in the warehouse - and the ones I just got this time.

　There are numerous combinations of armor and magic stones. Although the option of combining them has increased, I'd like to think about putting all the stones on someone's equipment for the time being - it's hard to put them on and off every time, so it would be good not to change the stable magic stones.

''It's great if one person can equip several attribute magic stones, but it's also better if everyone can do an attribute attack one at a time, so that's a problem.

　If Elitia can also change swords, then she can put a magic stone on it - but if her sword technique strikes the weakest attribute, it would definitely be quite powerful.

''So we can't synthesize special attack magic stones at the moment. Even the attributes can only be synthesized with each other, only those that are compatible with each other...''
Once you make a composite, you can't undo it, so it's a problem. I'd like to synthesize only what I can get from the duplex, though.
Wouldn't the 'Fiery Wind Stone' and the 'Explosive Stone' look awesome when combined in some way?
''The 'Life Stones' will increase your strength.......there are two of them, so if you can synthesize them and equip them for Arihito-san.......''

　I appreciate Suzuna's concern, but the members who should increase their strength would basically be the vanguard. Synthesis is good, but I think it would be better if the most vanguard Elitia and Igarashi-san could use it.

''Brother Arihito, I have purchased the materials for the parts of the equipment that couldn't be used, as you instructed. The valuation is about this much.

　The report that Madoka came out with showed 5300 gold coins. Spending the usable part of the money and the rest being this is a gesture or something - sooner or later, I'll probably have accumulated the funds to buy a house when I notice it.

　When I checked the total amount of gold coins to date, it was 28354. Converting the silver and copper coins into gold coins, it's about 30,000 pieces. Strengthening the equipment is the top priority, but I want to use it effectively where I can.