Happy Wednesday!

Heres the chapter, enjoy.

ED: Ignite

It seems that this beastman had some kind of dealings with the demons.

I raised my eyes.

The only demons that I knew of were Aulum and Mahiro, but Ive been called things like an inferior species and low class.

Thats why I thought that they had the same attitude towards other races as well, but was I wrong.

I also spoke with a Ul guild member that Im acquainted with, and I found out that Gram came to this dungeon a few days ago.

I see, thats suspicious.

I nodded in agreement.

If hes employed a strong mercenary, then it wasnt necessary for he himself to become strong.

Or perhaps I should say, from the stories Ive heard, it seems that he was the very picture of a scoundrel. so Id imagine hes a round and rather pompous man who hates moving on his own.

The physiques of these kinds of fellows were definite.

come to think of it, Retices king was, on the other hand, thin. Was he thin because he was like the last boss?

According to that guild member, Gram had put on a large overcoat, covering himself from head to toe. One needed to show their dog tag when entering the dungeon and that was how he found out that it was Gram. if not for that, he would not have known.

It was obviously suspicious.

I gave a wry smile.

Perhaps the overcoat protected him from the monsters.

Yoru said this from on top of my shoulder.

Everyones gazes transferred over from Kurou to Yoru.

What do you mean.

It wouldve offered more protection if the monsters possessed the same strength as those in the demons territory. In this dungeon, the monsters are so weak that they cannot be detected even with magic power. These kinds of weaklings are nothing to the demons, but Mahiro created the overcoat because he was tired of their constant attacks. Magic circles are interwoven into the interior, causing all of the monsters in the dungeon to avoid him.

Yoru answered Kurous enquiry without faltering.

If it was an overcoat that Mahiro created, its effects should be outstanding.

Or rather, were the monsters on the lowest level that weak?

If thats the case, were the monsters in the demon territory that much stronger.

Then its going to be Gram.

Kurou left his seat.

His attitude emphasized that it was the end of the conversation.

I watched Kurou as quickly went off somewhere, and then I turned my attention to the hero.

So, what are you guys going to do after this?

Perhaps the hero did not think that I would start talking to him, he was surprised and blinked his eyes.

The boy who often talked to me, lent a hand to such a hero.

Our goal is to defeat the demon king.

Yoru laughed scornfully at that answer.

You are going to defeat the demon king-sama? Thats ridiculous!

Perhaps he wasnt pleased with that response, veins were bulging on the forehead of the boy who had a monkey on his head and a cat on his shoulder.

Haa? I heard it just now, whats with this cat. Just whos side are you on?

Right, right! You were also arguing with Asahina-kun, whats with that?

The girl with the Kansai accent jumped on the bandwagon as well.

They were quiet up until just now, was it because the scary Kurou was here?

There were a lot of familiar faces and the tension was gone as well.

I am Master-dono and Miss Amelias ally! Master-dono was no match for the second-ranked demon, so theres no way you bastards would defeat the demon king-sama!

You dont know that!

We became stronger as well!

I wanted to see just how much stronger they had become, but the feminine boy who seemed to be a knight was on the verge of tears, so why dont we stop here.

When I saw his teary eyes, the word crossdresser came to mind.

Do you guys want to sleep outside?

When Kyousuke asked this simple question, the two people shut their mouths.

Even though we say that, its to encourage ourselves. I know that, right now, we are no match for him. We came to this town in hopes of finding the skilled blacksmith and dungeon we heard so much about.

That kind of thing happened in the dungeon, so its been barricaded for the time being.

Meaning, they came here for nothing.

Kurou as well, he was in that mood, so he probably wouldnt accept any requests.

However, right now, we cant make use of the dungeon and weve also concentrated on the requests of the Adventurer Guild, so we are not worried about money.

The hero said this as he carefully chose his words.

I was listening to him while covering Yorus mouth to prevent him from retorting.

Thats why, if Asahina-kun is going to follow you, then we want to accompany you as well.

I refuse.

Without thinking, I gave an immediate reply.

Perhaps he had expected this answer, the hero did not give any response.

Kyousuke too. We will not be fighting together, and I do not need anyone who needs to be protected. I dont need a healer right now either.

If we have to protect them, we wont win against the demons.

I glanced at Kyousuke who was biting his lips with his head down, put Yoru onto the desk and got up from my seat.

Theres something that I want to ask Kurou about. Im going to leave for a little bit, so in that time, think about it well. Besides, its illogical to persuade me.

I put my hand on top of Amelias head.

Amelia jumped.

Im fighting for Amelias sake. If Amelia says that its ok, then I wont have any complaints. If youre going to try and persuade someone, then it should be her.

Im counting on you, I whispered this to Amelia, and left the room.

As I did that, the hero and Kyousuke were looking over here, but I ignored it.

It was not an excuse to leave the room. I looked for Kurou as I truly had something to ask him, and while searching for him, I ended up at the smithy next to the house.

Kurou was looking at the various tools, thinking about something.

Kurou.

When I called out to him, he slowly turned around to look at me.

Aah, its you, huh.

I was leaning against the doorway, looking at Kurou.

The moonlight just happened to be illuminating him.

I didnt know what he was thinking about in the dark, but for now, lets settle an important matter.

Theres something I want to ask you.

Kurou frowned.

Sorry, but right now.

What are you most afraid of?

When I cut him off in the middle to say this, Kurous eyes finally regained focus.

He turned his confused gaze towards me.

What are you saying?

Im curious. What are you most afraid of?

I was truly, just curious.

However, I thought that Kurou and I were thinking about the same thing.

Thats why I tried asking him.

If its Kurou, he would probably understand these feelings within my heart.

what Im most afraid of, in this world is,

Kurous gaze turned toward the moon that was behind me.

It was not the sharp gaze that he usually had, but a fragile one.

An extended hand, not reaching.

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