The head of the mercenary guild's chapter ...... Meda Delma's testimony was very long, so I will only compactly explain the important points.

　It seems that Meda Derma is a member of an underground organization called "Breath of the Ancient Wise Men".
　Its purpose is to revive "My Lord".
My Lord is an ancient sorcerer who has lost his body but has lived on as a soul.
　If he resurrects, the members of the organization are promised eternal life or something.
　The members of the organization are said to have heard the words of "My Lord" in their dreams and were guided to join the organization "Breath of the Ancient Sage".

　...... The guards who were interrogating him had a troubled expression on their faces.

''What do you think, [Dragon Slayer] Lord?　Frankly, I don't believe Meda's testimony: ......
I know you had a lie detection spell in the interrogation room. Did you get a response?
No.

　The guard shook his head.

'The lie-detecting mages didn't respond, not even a twitch.
Then we can believe Meda's testimony, can't we?

　To begin with, this is a fantasy world of swords and magic.
　I'm sure it's a rather tempting development for ...... that an evil being appears in your dreams and makes him or her do evil things to humans.
　I've been through a fictional experience of being in a different world.

...... I get it.

　The guards pondered for a while, then nodded with an awfully sunny expression.

''It's the words of the [Dragon Slayer] lord of none other, and I will believe Meda's testimony as well. I believe Meda's testimony, I believe Lord Dragonslayer.''
Oh, oh, .......

　The trusting and respectful gaze that the guards give me is embarrassing.
　The other guards are also somewhat favorable to me.

　Well, you've contributed a great deal to keeping the city safe.

　Taking down the Needle Turtle.
　I've taken down the Needle Turtle.
　Catching Meda.

　I think I'm doing a great job.
　I hear there's even a reward for my efforts, so I'm looking forward to it.


　*

　It was evening when I left the guard's quarters.
　I meet up with Iris and share the information so far.

''Breath of the Ancient Sage'' hey ....... I think I've heard the name of it somewhere: ......

　Iris hmmm, and pondered.
　Then she suggests to me.

'I'm going to go check out the meeting hall for a bit. I have an idea for a sub-human informant.
All right, all right. I'm going to leave town for a little while.

　After I parted with Iris, I activated 【Spatial Leap】.
　The destination is ...... ancient ruins.
　It was to ask Lily about it.

　My hunch is that maybe Lily is also involved in The Breath of the Ancient Sage.
　I had a hunch.



　As soon as we warped to the ancient ruins' residential area, the Osewa Slime arrived.

''Master!　I've been waiting for you!　Over here!

　What the hell happened?
　I followed the slime.

　I arrived at a place a little far from the residential area.
　There was a stylish restaurant with all glass walls.

　The words 'Oishii Resutoran Surai Mu Kikchin' were written in squishy characters on the restaurant.
　I wondered if the slime crew had worked hard to write it.

'Master, wait inside!　I'm going to get that girl!
Okay.

　I took a seat by the window.
　Soon after, a lot of slime came rushing in, carrying Lily.

　For some reason, Lily was in a dress.
　A black gothic Lolita, full of ribbons and frills.
　From her neck to her shoulders, she was uncovered by the cloth, exposing her bare skin.
　The white neck is dazzling.

　Lily asks, a little embarrassed.

'Slime-chan said ...... you should try this on, ....... How, is ......?
I think it looks good on you.

　The slim dress matches Lily's flouncy atmosphere well.
　She's a beautiful girl who wouldn't be embarrassed to show her off anywhere.
　When she walks the streets, she is sure to catch people's attention.

''Oh, thank you, thank you ....... It makes me very, very happy when Mr. Ko praises me. ......

　Lily seemed embarrassed and turned over with a bright red face.
　She was so cute that I wanted to look at her forever, but time is limited.

　I told Lily all the information up to this point.
　About the undead user, the head of the mercenary guild's branch, and the 'Breath of the Ancient Sage'.
　When I finished talking, Lily rolled her eyes in surprise.

''Amazing ....... It would normally be impossible to reach the 'Breath of the Ancient Sage' in such a short period of time. Ko, who on earth are you ......?
Twenty-nine years old, just an old man passing by.
I don't think 29 is an old man: ......

　You make me happy.
　Lily seems to be a caring child.

I'm not trying to be flattering or anything, I'm just saying, you know, I'm a good, reliable brother, I guess. ......
Thank you. If they're counting on you, you're gonna have to live up to their expectations.

　I clear my throat with a cough and then ask Lily.

'Answer me honestly. Lily, are you related to The Breath of the Ancient Wise Men?
...... Yes.

　Lily nodded with a serious expression.

''The descendants of 'My Lord' worshipped by the 'Ancient Sage's Breath' ...... that's me,''

　Lily then began to tell me more about her background.

　Lily was born into a wealthy trader's family, but she was the son of a concubine and was severely mistreated by those around her.
　Because of her talent for magic, she went to the magic academy in the King's Capital, but it seems that she was kicked out of her parents' home.

　Aside from that, half a year after coming to the royal capital, he had a strange dream.
　An ancient sorcerer - the so-called 'My Lord' - spoke to him.

'That man said. 'You are my offspring,' he said. Help me to resurrect you,' and 'Give me the souls of fools, and I will grant you whatever you wish.' ......

　Initially, Lily didn't believe in the content of the dream at all.
　However, shortly afterwards, members of the "Breath of the Ancient Sage" appeared around her.
　It seemed that they had started to recruit Lily into their organization by one way or another.
　Since she was almost kidnapped, Lily approached the teachers of the Magic Academy for advice.

　However, the response was too cold.

''Our job is only to teach magic.''
"I'm too busy with my research to bring trouble to the table.
An ancient sorcerer?　And you're one of his descendants?　'You need to moderate your delusions.
"You seem to be good at magic, but you don't seem to have any common sense. It's not common for ancient sorcerers to have their souls turned into nothing more than a living soul.
'Ah, yes, yes. There's a lot of kids your age who fall for past lives and reincarnations and other obscure settings.'

　Lily took the story to the guards of the royal capital after this.
　But he was immediately rejected at the door ...... and made up his mind.

I'm not going to be the only one who can help me, but I'll fight on my own.

　Lily was treated coldly at her parents' house, but she only received a good amount of money every month.
　With that, she used it to fly out of the royal capital and headed for the city of Thue.
　For what?
The reason for this is to stop the breath of the Ancient Wise Men and prevent the resurrection of Our Lord.

　According to the information Lily has received, an important ceremony will be held in Thue or Surie.

'This concludes my story. ...... It's hard to believe, isn't it? An ancient sorcerer is about to come back to life.
No, I believe in normalcy.
...... eh.
To begin with, this place is an ancient ruin. Even the sesame slime is the legacy of an ancient civilization.

　Even the reason why I was called the Dragon Slayer is because I defeated the Black Dragon of Extinction, which was resurrected after a thousand years.

''At least I believe Lily's story. ...... or rather, if a child is in trouble, it's only natural to lend a hand as an adult. That's just common sense.
...... treating me like a child, please don't.

　Lily muttered a bit sulkily.
　But her expression was somewhat happy.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more. I'm glad you believed me. I'm glad I told Ko-san, ....... Ugh, giggle.

　I wonder how many adults have pushed Lily away from me in the past.
　She seemed to be so relieved that she began to shed a few tears.

　Eventually, after Lily stopped crying, I asked her a question.　
　He asked me if I knew anything else about the ancient sorcerer ...... 'My Lord'.

　Lily replies.

'He called himself this once before, in a dream. 'Mobius the Great Sage'.

　Mobius the Great Sage.
　I've heard of him before.
　Just as I was thinking that, the Osewa Slimes gathered around.

"Mebius the Great Sage!
I know that man!
Our mother's rival!
You're the guy who used to challenge your mom to a magical challenge and she'd always lose!
I won't let him get away with it!
They were nice in the beginning, but they used to modify our brothers and kidnap us and experiment on us!
There's another ruin a little ways away from here!
The Great Sage Mobius did a lot of research there, so he must have some documentation!
'Master!　If that guy comes back to life, I want you to beat the crap out of him!
Buh-buh!

　The slimes were extremely angry.
　What kind of an outcast was that, Great Sage Mobius .......

　Oh well.
Let's go to this other ruin and find out what happened to Moebius the Great Sage.