Before I left the room after the interview, I remembered something I wanted to ask Louisa.

'Mr. Louisa, this white box,' she said, 'can you introduce me to a craftsman who can open it as well as the black box? Can you introduce me to a craftsman who can open it in the same way as the black box?
''I'm sorry, too. I did see a white box and an indication in the evaluation section. This is the first time I've seen such an indication........

　When I show her the white box, Louisa-san puts both hands to her bright red cheeks. It's just that I missed touching the 'white box' because I was talking to the point value, so I'm not that embarrassed about it.

''There are no supporters who have any skills above 'Fingertip Technique 4' that Falma-san has. You can try to unlock a wooden box with 'Fingertip Technique 1', a red box with 'Fingertip Technique 2', and a black box with 'Fingertip Technique 3', but Farma-san makes sure that you can unlock the black box almost without fail by leaving room in your skill level. If a white box is more difficult to unlock than a black box, then unlocking it with Fingertip Technique 4 is a risk... The Guild does not recommend forcing such boxes open.
So you're saying that it's practically impossible to open...

　That being said, it's human nature to be curious about what's inside, but even in "The Black Box," it was said that if you fail to unlock the box, there will be great damage, so you can't cross a dangerous bridge. I don't want to think about being wiped out by the box's trap, even though I've fought the demon and survived.

　One way is to have Falma-san try to unlock the box after using Misaki's Fortune Roll, but it's difficult to take Falma-san into the labyrinth, and there's also the problem of whether she can challenge it in the first place.

'We'll just have to ask someone who knows about the white box...?'
'Umm ... well ... yes ...'

　Louisa-san puts her hand on her cheek and thinks about it. I'm sure she'll be troubled if she asks me suddenly, but even for me, I want to get a clue somehow.

'Yes, Celes-san might know about it. She had a shop in the eighth ward, but she's the one who originally came down from a higher ward.''
'I see ... okay, I'll ask Mr. Celes. Thank you, Louisa-san.
'No, I couldn't help you right away... I'll limit the time I spend on my regular duties and learn to teach you many things in the future.

　Even now, just being able to have an interview with her without having to wait is enough to help me. I got up from my seat and shook hands with Louisa-san, then she saw me off and left the 'Green House'.

　◆◇◆

　Back at the quarters, the dining room was lined with freshly prepared food, as Melissa had come up with a menu on her way home and bought some ingredients.

'Welcome back, Rear-kun. I was hoping to be a little late, but I'm glad you came back at just the right time.
'Big brother, could we not have gone out to dinner?　I did buy some delicious-looking sake, though. Look, it's a first-class sake, Dwarf Koroshi!

　Misaki, wearing an apron, brings out a bottle that seems to contain alcohol and shows it to me. There was an age-old label on it, depicting a muscular dwarf-like dwarf-like dwarf.

I'll take it gratefully, but it's still high in the sky, so I won't drink it. And I'm not that much of a drinker.
What?　Nah, I just bought some stuff knowing that they would say that. Now you have a secret weapon for the night, Suzu-chan!
Well, I'm not sure I'd use alcohol for that kind of thing...


　Hand-watering is a skill in which water drawn by hand is purified, but alcohol is also purified.
Will it go into the We won't know that until we try it.


'What's bothering you Aricht, Suzuna is a serious person, so keep those jokes to a minimum.
I'm sorry. I'll try not to be an a**h*le.
I think it would be better for Alihito to be a little lighter. She is a good cook, though, isn't she?

　Melissa, who has the skill of 'Cooking 1', seems to have made lunch as the mainstay and she comes out of the kitchen. She transferred a stewed dish from a large frying pan she was holding to a platter that was placed in the center of the table - a seafood dish that reminded me of the Mediterranean breeze.

''It has a kind of Italian feel to it... are recipes like this widespread in the labyrinth country?''
''Because ... some of the people who reincarnate are knowledgeable about many different kinds of food. Some of them are cooks. A popular occupation for many parties that can do half combat and half support......my dad said.

　When I was thinking about the fact that 'demolition shop' also has skills related to cooking, I wondered if it was a chef-type occupation in a larger group - and Madoka also came over here with a pot.
It seems to be Zion's meal, and she tries to go out the doorway.

　You can buy food for escort dogs, but at our house, Farma-san taught me to give them meat and vegetable dumplings and other foods that have been cooked to match the seasoning to the dogs.

'Madoka, would you mind if I went to feed them?　Zion did a great job of it, too.
'Yes, if that's what your brother says. I'm sure Zion will be happy to hear that.

　Madoka hands me the pot with a big smile on her face - she'll be waiting for me in the garden shed, and when I walk out with the pot, Theon is sitting outside the door, waiting for me.

　He's huffing and puffing with his tongue, but I wonder if this was a sign that it was hot - the 'Silverhound' seems to be more acclimatized to the cold weather, and his fur is bushy and quite long. Maybe because their natural habitat is to live outdoors, their hair seems to grow back to some extent on its own without human intervention, but you might want to give them a little care.

　When I put the cooled meat dumplings into the rice dish, Sion begins to eat them at an amazing rate with a gafu gafu. It must mean that he was using quite a bit of energy in that much of the battle.

''........Sion, is it hot?　Maybe I should trim the hair for you.
Bow.

　To keep the food from flying off, Theon licks the area around his mouth before responding. If she is wagging her tail, does that mean she wants me to trim her?

　She also said that if she gets Melissa's skill 'Grooming', she can do something like 'Trimmer' - but since Melissa likes Sion, should she have her get it as she wishes?

　I'd like to have a meeting with Melissa later on about getting the skill, as she's leveled up.

　After finishing the meal, I vaguely thought of taking a look at Sion's mouth and checking for cavities. I've taken care of big dogs in the past, and the health of their mouths is important - and although I haven't taken special care of them, they are healthy.

All right, you're gonna be fine. I'll even brush your teeth next time.
...Kuhn.

　I don't know what I'm going to do, but I guess he guessed that he was going to do something to me, and Sion's ears hang down. When I patted his body to cheer him up, his ears gradually stood up again.


I used to have........well, no, I used to have.......some kind of dog at a shelter a long time ago. I don't really like any of the animals, but I do know a bit about dogs...

　I don't know how long she's been watching him, but Igarashi-san came out of the doorway and sat down in front of Sion and patted his head. Sion was nuzzling Igarashi-san as well, and began wagging his tail with a flap.

''You once said you wanted to get a dog when you were still new to the Labyrinth Country. It's a house that the guild lends me, but when I came to, I realized that I've already come true...
'Yes, I remember that too. Was it when you moved into Mrs. Orells' house?

　As I stood up, Igarashi-san looked up at me, smiling. The gesture of her hair over her ears seemed to accentuate her ladylike nature.

''But Sion-chan has to go back to Falma-san's house someday, doesn't she? When I think of that, I'm still going to miss her... although I know that would be selfish.
''Yes but there's also Sion's mother at Falma-san's place.
BOW!

　It's hard to gauge what that reply means, because I don't know the language of dogs - Sion is in such a good mood that he's happy to be petted, or maybe it's because he's eaten, or maybe he wants to go for a walk.

'It would be nice if we could keep Zion's kids too... how quick it is to think about sitting somewhere else.
If that's the case someday, I'd love for you to be part of our family.
Yes, my family.... Is that the kind of thing that you would say to your family?
''Eh... ah, no, I mean, family isn't because you and Igarashi-san are seen as husband and wife or anything like that...''
Does that mean you don't want to be with me...?
Well, that's not a problem at all, it's not like I don't like it or anything.

　I can at least understand that even the word "fearful" is not appropriate for this occasion. However, when it comes to being seen as a married couple, again, that's it - and as I was turning my head with all my might, I saw Igarashi-san laughing.

''........Igarashi-san, you can't do something like that, I'm really weak.''

　I still feel weak when pressured, or rather, Igarashi-san remains a weakness for me. That doesn't mean it's all bad though.

''Hmph.......sorry. In a situation like this, I thought it would be polite to stay angry.
Well, I'm afraid that's part of the deal, but it's heartbreaking.
'When you're dealing with the rear, everyone seems to be pushing you even if it's not me. Suzuna-chan isn't that type of person, so she'll be more comfortable, right?
'The pace is close, or something like that. But I don't feel comfortable with anyone in the party.
Well... the most uncomfortable part of the day is just when you're with me.

　That's not the case at all - no, if you mean in terms of comparison, I'm sure I'm the most nervous of all the party members.

''I'm sure you'll get in trouble with your rear end if you're constantly self-deprecating like that, so it's time for you to.......''

　I was just about to go back inside the house. Sion moved - towards Igarashi-san in front of me.

''........Eh?''

　Igarashi-san, who had changed clothes after returning to her lodgings, was wearing a skirt about knee length - for a moment I didn't understand what had happened, but Sion was poking her head into Igarashi-san's skirt as she was bending over, and Sion was poking her head into her skirt.



　I'm of the opinion that a dog that's friendly to people is likely to get all kinds of skin in the game.
I couldn't read about this behavior at all - does the silver hound have a propensity to peer into dark places?

　You can't dive in there!
Uh, you go over there, Mr. Rear, and you go over there!　Try not to look at this one!
Yes, sir.

　I was checked by a half-teary-eyed and impatient Igarashi-san, and I tried to retreat into the house - and then I saw Misaki, Melissa and Madoka looking at me through the doorway.

'Wow ... something interesting is going on here?　Isn't it kind of cute that Kyouka's sister is in such a hurry?
"...I want you to eat it before it gets cold.
''Sion-chan, you look like you're having a lot of fun.......you're really taking to your sister Kyouka, aren't you? I'm jealous.

　Igarashi-san wanted to tell the female members not to look at me but to help me - I'm going to have to be careful in the future when I bend over in front of Sion in my skirt. And as I entered the house with a calm demeanor, Suzuna and Elitia pointed out the redness of my face.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　After a late lunch and helping to clean up, it was time for after-dinner tea. Ms. Ceres took her saucer and elegantly tipped her cup.

　Mr. Steiner was eating in the other room, so he may have taken off his armor at the time, but the opportunity to be shown inside was unlikely to present itself in the foreseeable future. He was back to normal now, standing in reserve behind Celes.

I'm sure you would like to finish your formalities before you take a day off, Alihito. Do we have any work to do?
Before we go, I wanted to ask you one question, Mr. Celes - this 'white box' - have you ever seen it?

　A white box is placed on the table. Then Celes received a glove from Mr. Steiner, put it on, took out a magnifying glass with the appearance of a magic tool and began to observe.

I've heard about the existence of the white box itself. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future. Hmm.........
Mr. Celes, do you have any idea what's going on?
I am familiar with the secrets of this country and the lore. As a Jadeite, I am well acquainted with the lore and secrets of this country, more so than you are. This box is sealed with the Logos runes. In order to open it, you must fulfill the conditions indicated by the runes.


　Mr. Ceres nodded. Then, after setting the saucer and cup down, he touched the brim of the large triangular hat and straightened its position.

'This box will still be easy to open... though that's an optimistic expectation. It says that you are to fight a strong opponent while in possession of this, which I believe it does. Other people may have a different interpretation.
'No, I believe in that interpretation thank you very much. So, for the time being, we can continue our search with this in our possession?
I'm sorry, but I'm not quite up to speed on the interpretation of the Chinese characters. It is tempting to improve at times like this, but it's not easy to do so. But it's not easy to improve.
''Master, when you went to the labyrinth after Atobe-sama and the others, you looked very contented. Don't you want to come back as an explorer as well as a supporter?''

　Celes said, Celes put his hat on tightly and deeply.

I couldn't stand still, that's all. I couldn't stand still, that's all. I was not able to stay, that's all. I should have been able to stay.
'No, Celes and the others came and helped me a lot. Is that fire magic a skill of a rune maker?　It looked pretty powerful.
I'm sure you're not alone. But Takuma and Luka, whose abilities were strengthened by your skills, were more successful.
'Thanks to Atobe-sama's skills, Master's magic was a little stronger too.

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

It's not a good idea to be able to have a good time. For making me feel like that........
'What.........Celes, did I do something.......?

　Hiding her face with the brim of her hat, Celes looks at me. While holding her hand over her chest to suppress the throbbing of her heart.

'The party you're at makes me want to explore again... I've started to fidget in waiting. What will you do?
''Well, um that's the thing. I want to raise the level of Madoka and Louisa-san, who are less likely to participate in battle, accordingly. If you're asking Celes-san and the others to participate in that as well.......
You sure about that?　I can use less magic than I could in my day, and I don't have the skills to increase my power anymore.　By the way, I'm at level 4, despite all your pretensions about Steiner and the like, but I'm at level 3.
''It can't be helped. Just to maintain this level, the two of us had to search very hard... weren't those days a precious memory for us?

　The two of them are in some kind of dispute - the better they get along, the more they are, I guess.

''...Hon. Excuse me, that was disgraceful in front of Atobe-sama.
'Haha ... no, not really. But I'm a little chickened out that he came at that level. The level of Takuma in the vanguard looked high, so I'm glad he's there.
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you want to do with it. Arihito is by nature suited to be a leader.

　We're all in free time now, but I've come to see what they're talking about, and Misaki is waving her hand in the distance - I guess she's teasing me for being shy.

''Then I'll take our leader's word for it and let us go to the labyrinth when we get a chance.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Atobe.

　When the conversation was settled, I asked Madoka to come over and ask her about the status of the material I had asked the 'courier' to bring in.

'We can't fit into the warehouse we're currently renting, so we've rented a new storage facility to put the large crab material in... is it safe?'
''Oh, we should also have a special storage room for large demon materials. By storeroom, I mean that crab...
'Yes, I had Rykerton look at it, and it looks like there are parts of it that can be eaten. The shell and legs are too big to be used for building material, but I heard that only some of them might be used for equipment.

　That ghostly, translucent crab as a foodstuff - what a strange thing to say, but the fact that I'm curious when it's called a 'named' crab is a sign that I've adapted to the labyrinthine country, too.

'What about that 'funeral person'?　It was like a shell inside, but...
'Well, um........Rykerton-san said something like 'Samurai Mail'. It seems that the shell that envelops the entire body is made like the armor worn by a samurai, and if you have the right physique, you can equip it as is. This is in the warehouse, but they asked me to appraise it before equipping it. Also, I'm dropping runes as a drop item.

　Madoka gives me a firm send-off, which is very helpful - I have to tell her not to take it too far, as it would take courage just to look at it when it's that huge crab, and the shell of a funeral person, so I have to tell her not to take it too far.

'The crab, which is made of sand, had eight drop items instead of the material left behind when we defeated it. The three mantises were turned to stone before the courier who arranged for them to be brought back, so only the Scythe and the Wings were removed. Also, two magic stones were removed.
'Too perfect to say anything else. Thank you so much for your work, Madoka.
''Yes...I can only do this much...Also, I got a call from a bargain shop, so I think I can bid on it if I submit a purchase request today.

　I marvel at how much more capable this kid really is. It's my turn to worry about doing too much work, and it's my turn to think the opposite.

'All right, let's see what goods you have later. Madoka has been working very hard, so take a break and take it easy. If there's anything you want, just let me know and that's all you'll get.
''Oh, no...I can't...I can't have your brother say that much...''
'Madoka, didn't you want a cart of magic tools?　Those things come in handy.
'A cart would suit Madoka's skills. Maybe I should buy one.
Are you sure you want to...?
'Yeah. Depending on the price, I'd like to think that things aren't too expensive to buy...
''Well, uh ... it's about 1,200 gold coins ... that's very expensive ...''

　Madoka, who is in complete charge of our financial management, seems to me that we can put all our faith in this attitude of frugality. I bought 'Owl's Scope' with a thousand gold coins, but he didn't say anything about it, so I should continue to think carefully on my own and make sure I spend my money on what I need.

　◆ ◇◆.

　I told him I had no problem with the price and that I was going to go out and buy a cart next time. It's an expensive purchase, so it will be important to see it in person.

　The giant crab is still being dismantled, so we'll make sure we have all the materials we know we can currently use and what we've obtained.

　◆Alihito-Atobe-sama, report from the dismantling station, primary ◆.

　Collect 2 sickle blades from "Ocean Mantis".
　4 pieces of transparent wings from "Ocean Mantis
　When Ocean Mantis was dismantled, we found two Blade-Slashstones.
　From The Merciless Burialer to ? I found "Kote
　From The Merciless Burialer to ? I found "The Helmet".
　From The Merciless Burialer to ? Discover "Armor".
　From The Merciless Burialer to ? Discover "shin guards".

　Newly acquired items from this search

　Drop an Operation Stone from Sand Scissors.
　?" from "Sand Scissors". Drop 1 'bracelet-like thing'
　?" from "Sand Scissors". Drop 6 "Rusty Metal Chunks".
　A "Fighting Rune" is dropped from "The Merciless Burialer".

　Along with the materials, unappraised equipment has been found from "The Merciless Funeral Manger" - this may or may not mean that all of that shell of full body armor is treated as equipment.

　There are other items that need to be appraised that have been dropped, so ask Madoka for the ones that can be appraised with 'Appraisal Technique 1'. The other items can be appraised with 'Intermediate Appraisal Scroll'?

Hmmm........I'll have to decide on where to process this while observing the materials in the workshop.
''Mr. Ceres, the materials of the demons that you defeated in the co-combat are entitled to a share of the materials, as well as Ceres and the others.
We don't have to share the money since we will be processing it. Luka, Takuma and Shiori don't mind. Shiori said he wanted to drink once before Alihito and the others went to the Sixth Ward, so that would be a good way to repay him.

　Of course we'll be there, too, of course," Celes said happily - Takuma will be brought by Shiori, and I'd like to ask Luka to join us later.

　Today's dinner table is going to be lively again. With that in mind, I called out to everyone to move to the workshop.