When we entered the 'Green Hall' of the Upper Guild, we were taken to the back of the first floor as usual, but instead of the door room with the nine stars on it, we were taken to another place.

　There is a door without a doorknob and with a jeweled door - Seraphina took a ring out of the pouch and pointed it at the jewel.

　A thin streak of light emitted from the ring and hit the jewel on the door - and then the jewel began to glow, and the entire door moved with a bang behind the wall and slid open to the side.

(Like the hierarchy Ariadne was in, there are places in the labyrinth country that use mechanical devices. Are there any connections between them...?)

Each of the guilds in each district has its own floor for guild savers to use. Third Lieutenant Kuzelka is in that area now please proceed with caution and watch your step.

　Leading behind the door was a staircase that led down into the spiral basement. There are no lights, but the stairs themselves are faintly lit, and if you proceed with care in your step, you won't feel any danger.

　After advancing for a while, I felt a shifting sensation - Teresa noticed it too, and she pinched the hem of my clothes.

''It's okay, you won't have to worry about anything.''
..........
''When I first joined Guild Saber, I too was confused by these tricks.

　If I hadn't gotten involved with the Guild Saber, I would never have known there was such a facility in the Guild building. When you think about it, we're still a rare experience, even among the newbies (rookies).

　Eventually we see a door at the end of the spiral staircase, and Seraphina uses her ring to open the door.

　I don't know if this is the basement of the guild or if we're transitioning to another place - I don't know, but it's a completely different scene than the buildings above ground.

　There are no seams in the walls at all, and the floor is still made of a similar material to the one Ariadne was in. It looks like something you would see in a spaceship in a science fiction movie, like a more rigid version of linoleum.

　The lights, placed evenly on the left and right walls, emit a light blue light. Other Guild Saber members walk in from the other side and exchange a salute with Seraphina as they pass by.

　At the end of the corridor is the man I met in The Beach of the Falling Sun, who was with Kuzelka-san, at the end of the corridor. When he notices us, he raises his hand lightly - he seems to be someone who behaves in a frank manner, just as I got the impression from the way he speaks and other things.

''Good work. Mr. Cuselka is inside, but could you wait just a little while?
'Yes, sir. Will Master Khosrow Ryuji participate in the interview?
No, I'm just the conduit. Let me in, I'll sell you some oil around the corner. And you're a lot cooler than I am, Lieutenant Seraphina.
''I've always spoken this way. Besides, I joined the Guild Saber much later than Lord Khosrow's Dragon Sergeant.

　From what I've heard, 'dragon sergeant' seems to refer to the rank of guild saber. I wonder if it has the same connotation as 'Sergeant'.

　Mr. Khosrow was laughing at Seraphina's honesty, but when he saw me, he looked at me as if he was looking at something very interesting.

'Yo, young man. You may be called a "man in a suit", but you have a lot of equipment other than a suit, too.

　When I first saw him, I thought he was older, given the fact that he had a lot of hair and was turning gray, but Mr. Khosrow was just about to reach his forties or not. He might even be younger than Rival-san.

''My name is Arihito Atobe, if I may,''
'I'm Josh Khosrow. His rank is that of Dragon Sergeant, as you may have heard, and he is the assistant to Third Lieutenant Kuzelka. Remember me as a doddering old man with a long way to go, even at my age.
Lord Khosrow.
'Oops, don't say anything to Mr. Atobe. At my age, a man's life is more interesting when he's mysterious.

　He is an aloof person, but from what I've seen of Mr. Seraphina, he is not at all what he describes himself to be.

　It could be that he hasn't been promoted because of the circumstances, like Rolando-san. However, it's not something you can ask that much root and branch when you first meet him.

"This man Gray is awaiting sentencing. The biggest crime is that he tried to give you a monster on you. There are other crimes, but he has a very specific skill set, a cloaking ability that doesn't respond to most searcher licenses. Some of the guild sabers are capable of disabling these skills, but I can't keep an eye on them, so I'll probably have to impose a periodic skills lockdown. Then there's the retraining, but our demon instructor will take care of this guy. You'll get to see a badass with a tag turn into a true human being in six months, man.
Well I guess as long as you don't abuse your skills, I guess.
It's not a good idea to be a s*x offender when it comes to the owner of a skill that can be dangerous if misused. In fact, when you consider the amount of profit gained from the misuse and the trouble you spread around, it's easy to say that you shouldn't use such skills. Considering the number of women we made cry, I think it's worth throwing them in jail for a few years.

　The four of the Four Seasons were in danger as it was - in that sense, it was good that they came to the Seventh Ward in the fastest period of time possible.

'Whoa ... looks like we're ready to go. You two, I'll see you around again somewhere.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Khosrow.

　Mr. Khosrow walked away from the door. On the way, he approached the other male members of the squad and talked to them about going for a drink - I guess it's because they've come to Ward 7.

　Serafina-san knocks on the door before opening it. Then Kuserka-san, who was wearing a different color uniform than Serafina-san, stood up from her seat and greeted her.

''Lieutenant Serafina and Alihit Atobe-dono, both of you have turned yourself in.
'Thank you for your time. Sorry to keep you waiting.
No, it was nice to talk to Mr. Khosrow and hear about the Gray situation and so on.

　Why I had to wait for a bit - I had a vague idea of that when I saw Kuserka-san, but I didn't dare to say it.

''..........''

　Theresia is tugging on her sleeve as if to check me - I don't have anything in mind to be guilty of. Ms. Cuselka had probably just bathed and looked like she had just gotten dressed. There was a faint scent of soap to support my guess, but it would be a bit insensitive to point that out.

''Well then, over here.

　I hesitated for a moment, probably thinking I should tell him that I was out of hot water, but I don't think I'm particularly obligated to do so - it was an unexpected turn of events, and I'm subtly uncomfortable with it.

　We sit down at the table for the interview. Theresia stood around my right rear, Serafina-san sat next to me, and Cuselka-san sat across from me.

　Without the black armor, the ladylike atmosphere comes to the fore and makes her look like a different person. However, I can't be nervous for my age, so I'm going to change my mind here.

''First of all, let me introduce myself again. I am Kuzelka, a person with the rank of Third Dragon Lieutenant in the Guild Saber. The two of you are Alihit Atobe-dono and Theresia-dono, if that is correct?
Yes, I'm sure.
..........
'Good answer, sir. As for Lady Theresa ... no, let's put that matter aside for now.

　What do you think about Teresia being a subhuman? I'm curious, but I'll listen to Kuzelka-san first.

''You don't need to always wear the rank of Third Dragon Lieutenant, so you can only call me by my name.
'Ha, yes I'll call you Mr. Kuserka. Does the 'dragon' part have any origin in it?
''I heard it was named after the party of the people who founded the Guild Saber. ''Dragons'' are extremely powerful demons, and are said to be completely different in rank from other demons... It is also the philosophy of Guild Saber to have the power to resist such dangerous demons.

　As far as the story goes, it seems that Third Lieutenant Kuzelka has never encountered a demon similar to a 'dragon' either.

　The 'named' that he had seen so far was also strong enough to be nightmarish, but if he was told that they were different in rank from it, he could no longer imagine it at all.

''I'm sorry for threatening you, the 'true dragons' are small in number, and only the 'sub-dragon species' have been recorded to appear in the labyrinths of the wards around here, so you can rest assured.'''
'No I imagined for a moment what would happen if we encountered them and combat was inevitable. We should always have a way of getting away, right?
'If you escape the labyrinth without doing anything, your contribution will be reduced. If you only pay attention to that point, leaving would be one tactic. The strength of the party is how far you can bite off more than you can chew when you decide it's dangerous...

　Ms. Cuselka spoke and then looked at me as if she noticed something. I didn't know what that reaction meant until I heard the rest of her words.

'It would be rude to talk to Atobe-dono and the others like this now. Looking at your records so far, I have confirmed that you have continued to promote at an astonishing rate and that you have defeated all the 'named' that you have encountered. The guild's upper echelon has a special appreciation for this achievement.

　A special appreciation - there are people looking at what we've been dutifully going through, and
I'm evaluating against it.　

　I think we should be honestly happy about it, but I don't think we can just get carried away. It is undeniable that being expected of us is a responsibility.

I mean, evaluation is....
'First of all, this is a suggestion as a possibility. Mr. Atobe, do you intend to enlist in the Guild Saber? Of course, it's not just Mr. Atobe, it's everyone in the party.

　Ms. Cuselka looks straight at me and says - she's seriously recruiting us.

　When I first saw the Guild Saber, it felt like a group of experienced and strong explorers who had chosen to protect people. I had never imagined that I, still a rookie explorer, would join.

　But I had my answer. I sympathized with the Guild Saber's mission, but right now I had other things to do.

　Serafina-san looked at me, but she must have known what I would do beforehand, and she smiled faintly.

'I feel it's a great honor to have you anticipate us. And so I know it's not right for me to respond like this, but as for your invitation to join the Guild Saber, let me decline.
''........I understand. It is unfortunate, but joining the Guild Saber after less than a month of being an explorer yet will limit your possibilities. Besides, most of you do not belong to any organization and your goal is to move up the pecking order, so you will not be shy about refusing to be recruited.
I'm grateful to hear that. We have two big goals, and I'd like to focus on achieving them first.

　I hadn't talked to Seraphina-san about it yet, so she looks at me - I look at Seraphina-san at the same time, so our eyes meet.


Lieutenant Seraphina is on record as having fought alongside Lord Atobe's party on several occasions, but there's still a lot you don't know.
''I'm sorry. I have cooperated with Atoobe's party, and this time I have asked for their support, but I have only been in contact with them for a very short time.
''In that short period of time, we ended up defeating the 'named' together... Normally, you need to work together for a long period of time to increase your party's skill level. It seems that Atobe-dono's party is structured in such a way that it can bring out the abilities of its members even in a short period of time.

(Does that mean Kuzelka-san doesn't have a grasp on my skills either...?)

　Does that mean that I won't be able to find out about an individual explorer's individual abilities unless I have to? That means I can continue to keep my skills a secret as long as my karma doesn't go up and I don't get caught - I have to be very careful.

'Lord Atobe, does that great goal involve the Lord Elitia Centrail, who is a member of your party?

　-- After all, the fact that Elitia came down from the fifth ward and was in our party was noticed by the Guild Saber.

　Could we use this opportunity to ask for their help in saving Elitia's friend? If they were able to do that, Elitia wouldn't go back to the Eighth Ward to look for her friends. Even though I knew that, I still wanted to ask.

''Elitia and I have a party from the Eighth Ward, by fate. We wanted to help her friend who was left behind in the labyrinth of the Fifth Ward....
''........As for your friend Elitia-dono's friend, we have no choice but to answer that it is difficult to rescue him at present. As for that labyrinth, we have given up on interfering in that labyrinth from the second level onwards, even in the hands of the Guild Saber. We've managed to prevent the Stampede from happening, but we've fallen into a special case where there's a lot of risk about defeating the 'named'.

　If they could prevent the Stampede, the Guild Savers were on a mission - they couldn't risk it and go so far as to help a captive.

　Elitia looked for her friends to help her friend - she couldn't find them in the Sixth Ward, or even the Seventh Ward, and she came down to the Eighth Ward.

　We would eventually make it up to Ward Five. But if we just follow the order, the chances of being rescued seem to be slowly diminishing.

''..........Mr. Kuzelka, is it possible for you to let us go to the fifth ward, even temporarily?
Even though you guys are strong now, you're still in the fifth district........
''Yes ... I know it's dangerous. Still, considering how painful it is to be captured by demons in the labyrinth, I want to save you as soon as possible.

　Mr. Cuselka said nothing, quietly closing his eyes. Then, after pondering, she took out her license and did some manipulation.

'Right now, I can't measure it so that Lord Atobe and the others can get to the Fifth Ward... but I can offer you one way to get there.
W.........is it true.......that...?
''Yes, sir. The Guild Saber superiors have decided to award you the honorary title of 'Encouraged Seeker' even if you do not belong to the Guild Saber.
Encouragement... for what we do?

　Nodding back, Cuselka urges me to look at the license - and I do.

　◆Current Situation ◆

　Honorary title "Encouraged Searcher" is awarded to the party of "Aricht".

Your party may be called upon to assist in guild-saber missions. Whether or not to accept the request is optional, but if you do, you will be paid and your 'honor value' will be added to the guild's payroll. Please ask the guild staff to explain this later.

　Even if you have a title, you don't necessarily have to respond to requests for cooperation, so there is no particular risk. But since it's us, it's hard to think of receiving a request and refusing it, but it won't be a frequent request either.

''Does that mean we can work with the Guild Saber without having to formally join?
''If you think of it that way. Since we Guild Savers have limited manpower, there will inevitably be times when we will want to ask for help from the searchers. You have made a tremendous contribution in the Stampede suppression of the Eighth District, and if that happens in the future, we will be able to issue rewards from the Guild Saber in a more explicit manner.

　I'm satisfied with what I heard, so I'll try to explain it to my friends later - but I haven't yet heard the "method" that Kuserka-san says.

''So, the way to get to the Fifth Ward is...''
If you have that title, you may be summoned to the 'two lower wards'. In very rare cases, it is possible that Atobe and the others will be asked to help with an assignment in the Fifth Ward.

　By cooperating with guild saber missions in the higher wards, you will be allowed to stay in the ward where you were called up, temporarily - Kuzelka explained that to me.

　Although the time limit is limited, he said, they can enter the labyrinth within the Fifth Ward as long as they are staying in the Fifth Ward. It's one of the rewards for 'Encouraged Explorers' who help in a dangerous mission - although it's a risk, they can skip a class and take on the labyrinth in the upper ward.

(I don't know when they'll be called up, but it's possible they'll get their chance before they're promoted to the fifth ward. If you can raise your level as high as possible by then it shouldn't be a foolhardy attempt.)

　And this story also ties into another purpose.

　--The Great Temple in the Fourth Ward. We may be able to get to that place early on, where they say they can figure out how to restore Teresia from the sub-human.

　I look at Theresia, who is standing behind me. She looks back at me, but I can't see any emotion in her mouth.

''........Lord Atobe. What do you think you want to do with that sub-human girl?

　Kuserka-san's voice seems to have lowered the temperature - I face her again, feeling a creeping sensation.

'Trying to turn sub-humans back into humans is an act of perverting reason. Because sub-humans are beings who lost their lives once and were resurrected.

　She knows something. How to turn a sub-human back into a human - and that it's not easy.

''I'm not ...''

　Mr. Cuselka looked at me with eyes that didn't miss an inch of wavering and waited for an answer.