“…And that’s what happened.”
“Hmm, that’s what they call a ‘Hyena’.”
“What’s that? Is it a monster’s name?”
After the commotion ended, I finished dinner and came to see the underground information broker. I figured it would be better to share what I knew about Korome, who, in turn, knew about me. Today, unusually, I was the one leading the conversation, not the leader.
“It was probably waiting inside the gate to be wiped out.”
“So, not that they couldn’t get in, but that they didn’t?”
“It’s true that you can’t enter while the fighting is going on inside unless you have an item. But… shut up!”
Indeed, Anju was being noisy, playing around with Hyō behind me. It looked like they were fighting over something, but I felt it wasn’t the kind of playful mischief that young men and women should be engaging in.
“If they were all wiped out, they could enter, right?”
“Yeah, with a group that large, they probably would have made a fortune just by collecting equipment and running away.”
“But there was a considerable distance between the gate and the Quasi Demon Lord. Once you go in, it’s hard to get out.”
“Perhaps they had an item that allowed them to exit? Especially if they were cautious.”
“Then there are individual skills, aren’t there? Anju, could you appraise that female hero, Korome?”
Oh, Anju has ended up pushing Hyō down! This is bad!
“No, I couldn’t.”
“Eh? Why?”
“Um, I think it said, ‘Cannot be displayed due to appraisal concealment’.”
Ah, so she has some kind of special personal ability. Though it could be an item.
“Hmm, in that case, you’ll just have to surpass them.”
“Eh? Shopkeeper, what do you mean?”
“Anju has appraisal, right? If you can surpass the opponent’s level, you can see through it.”
“I see! Then we just need to strengthen Anju!”
“But, is that okay? She might become the strongest in your party.”
I understand what he’s trying to say, but it wouldn’t be strange to say that is already the case in terms of special abilities. I beckoned her over, and she floated towards me obediently.
“Anju.”
“…Yes, Deles?”
“You won’t betray me, will you?”
“…Of course not.”
“Yes, I believe you. I believe you.”
When I patted her head, she seemed happy.
“Hehehe.”
“Understood. For now, I’ll raise Anju’s level.”
“She’ll get even stronger? That’s terrifying.”
Nina was listening silently. Clarice was watching Anju and the others. Helen seemed lost in thought.
“And I don’t understand the Adventurer Guild’s intentions. Why are they being so generous, even though there was a mistake?”
“Ah, about that. You’ll understand when it comes to tomorrow’s auction.”
“Eh?! What do you mean?”
“The Quasi Demon Lord’s magic stone, the key to the round Demon Lord’s Room. You were told to sell them as much as possible, weren’t you? They want us to put all four together in the auction. They’re doing this to make it go smoothly.”
Ah, do they want to defeat the Demon Lord that badly? It’s true that with more adventurers around lately, monsters have become more active.
“In the end, we only have three, and two of them have divided rights. Should we try to get the other one by force before the auction?”
“By tomorrow morning? Don’t push yourself. It’s exactly what the Adventurer Guild wants.”
“Haa.”
“Besides, who knows how long it will take to sell all four and for a new Quasi Demon Lord to be born?”
“True. Even with teleportation, you don’t know where anything is, so you’d want to open the gate properly at first.”
At this point, Nina seemed to notice something.
“So, that’s what it is.”
“You noticed, didn’t you? Yes, it’s exactly that.”
“…The Adventurer Guild is quite something.”
Nina and the shopkeeper seemed to understand something between themselves. Oh, and Helen had returned to our world unnoticed and was nodding.
“Um, Nina, what is it?”
“It’s too late to do anything now. The items have already been handed over to the Commercial Guild.”
“Haa.”
“You’ll understand if you watch tomorrow’s auction.”
“Yes. Also, about the second day’s auction for slaves and Taming Monsters…”
And so, for some reason, we had a strategy meeting with the shopkeeper. As a result, we decided to defeat the last Quasi Demon Lord after the first day’s auction.
“So, we’re not selling the last magic stone.”
“Yeah. Once all the auction days are over, we’ll take a break, and when we’re ready, we’ll go defeat the Demon Lord.”
“By the way, do you guys know? On the final day, there are sometimes items from the first and second days that didn’t make it in time, or items that were bid on but became invalid due to trouble.”
“Ah, that happens?”
“So, even during the real estate auction on the third day, it’s a good idea to at least watch until the end.”
Yes, that’s valuable information.
“Regarding Korome’s information, we don’t have much more to share from this side, but we found out a little about the enslaved girl, Shikada.”
“As expected of an information broker! Please tell us.”
“Ah, she’s fifteen years old. She lived in a seaside town far from this free city. She came to earn money for her sick mother’s medicine, but somehow ended up enslaved.”
“That’s a terrible story. However, she didn’t look like an adventurer at all.”
“That’s what we don’t understand. She’s registered as a Porter, but her profession is apparently concealed.”
Ah, so Korome’s concealment ability can be used on her party as well. She might be quite high-level.
“…I saw.”
“Anju?!”
Clarice, surprised, called out to her in a strange voice.
“You see, the profession of that Shikada girl is…”
Amidst everyone’s attention, the profession revealed was…!
“Crab de-sheller.”
(????????????????????)
