A week had passed.
Nothing particularly big happened during that time.
We went sightseeing together, scavenged through the Junkyard, took on requests as a party.
Days calmer than what I'd been used to.
This is what it's all about. This is what I want.
This is exactly what I've been looking for.
Oh, and the Jinryu remnant attack I'd been worried about never came.
Eerily quiet. I guess taking out the ringleader really did make a difference.
Oh right. One thing, though. Hoss and Luma seemed different somehow.
They apparently made up, but something about the distance between them felt off?
The women all seemed to accept it — or were they even happy about it? I wasn't sure.
What surprised me more, actually, was Luma. She said she was closing the Berk cafeteria.
And moving to Hydrangea.
Apparently the restaurant hadn't been doing too well.
She'd made up her mind to leave Heisen entirely.
Life's tough, huh.
There was good news about creating the dungeon, though.
The Zenzera family and the Ogoro family held two meetings, and the Ogoro family got on board.
I heard the Poor Man's Club agreed to it without any fuss either.
All that was left was to talk with the Guild Master of the Subjugation Guild.
Everyone else had their own errands to run, so I'd be meeting him alone.
What kind of person would he be? I hoped he'd be reasonable.
The Subjugation Guild.
Second floor. The Guild Master's office.
"I'm Bazelan, the Guild Master."
"I'm Wof."
Bazelan was a powerfully built man. Maybe around thirty.
His face and arms were covered in countless scars. Ah, good. He looked normal enough.
Basically, he was the male version of a stereotypical guild master. Somehow, that put me at ease.
He had his arms crossed and was looking at me like I was a nuisance, but it was reassuring all the same.
"I've heard the story. So you're building a dungeon."
"Yes."
"Is it true that Haizen's dungeon consciousness is fully cooperating?"
"Yes. It realized things can't go on as they are, and agreed to help."
"...Then I've got no objections. We'll cooperate too."
"Thank you."
"This time around, the Forest Wave has only gotten more dangerous. If Haizen doesn't change things around here, it could get seriously bad."
"...I think so too."
"However. You'll need to take a test."
"A test?"
What was that supposed to mean?
Bazerran continued.
"Word is, you're planning to go to the Forbidden Land, Wof."
"I've been there once."
"I've heard that too. But right now the Haizen Great Forest is locked down. They're still putting together an investigation team."
"Yes. I'm aware."
"With everything going on, you come out of nowhere talking about creating a dungeon and heading to the Forbidden Land."
"We'd like to judge for ourselves whether you actually have the ability to back that up."
"...So this test is for that purpose?"
"That's right. It's probably a pain for you. It's not like we have no information. We've heard plenty about the Witch's apprentice and all that. But there are a lot of people who won't be convinced until they see it firsthand. And from the Hunter's Guild's perspective, you're a newcomer."
That's what happened when you just registered.
Besides, I hadn't exactly taken on many quests either.
Hunters had ranks too. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Omega.
Right now, I was an Alpha-rank hunter.
"Understood. So what kind of test will it be?"
Bazerran grinned.
"A hunt, obviously. You'll accept a quest designated by the Guild. Complete it, and we'll acknowledge you. You'll be free to go to the Forbidden Land. And we'll attach an overseer to that quest. Hey—you can come in."
"Pardon the intrusion."
The person who opened the door and walked in was—a glamorous silver-haired woman dressed in butler's attire.
She had a slender, graceful build — a real beauty.
She lightly closed her narrow silver eyes and bowed — and she was the overseer?!
"This one here is the overseer."
"I'm Giiza. I already know about you, but let me introduce myself properly."
"...H-hello, nice to meet you..."
I just stood there, blank-faced.
W-what's going on?
We were told to leave the rest to Giiza, and left the office.
Giiza walked without a word, and I followed.
Just like that, we left the guild.
"Giiza."
"What?"
I caught up from behind and walked beside her.
"There's a lot I want to ask, but... is Seiran all right with this?"
"Don't worry. She's hired a guard she trusts."
"I see. Then why are you the one serving as the Subjugation Guild's overseer?"
"Believe it or not, I'm a Gamma-class subjugator."
"R-right."
She said it proudly. And yeah, that made sense.
She was the Sword Goddess's daughter. It went without saying she'd be strong.
But the Subjugator was unexpected.
"Personally, I understood Wof's strength the moment he took down that Raada. But as an organization, the guild still finds it hard to acknowledge someone without proof."
"I understand that."
"Sorry about this. Making you go through this whole charade."
"No, it can't be helped, really."
They probably thought some newcomer was getting cocky and overstepping.
On top of that, one of the three great families had collapsed over the witch incident.
From the outside, it looked like—who the hell is this guy?
I knew full well people were looking at me that way.
"About the guild's subjugation requests—"
"Yes?"
"There's actually something I'm a bit curious about."
"Curious about?"
That was where Geezer stopped talking.
He glanced around, then furrowed his brow.
"We're being tailed."
"...Yes."
I'd actually noticed. Since that ambush, I always use Danger Discernment whenever I go out.
Four red dots. They were positioned around us in a ring.
That didn't necessarily mean they were planning anything.
So I didn't take any action.
But red meant hostile. I wasn't letting my guard down.
—Over here. Follow me.
—Where to?
—Somewhere we can talk.
Giza ducked into a narrow alley up ahead.
We zigzagged through it like a maze.
The red dots were giving chase too.
But since they had to squeeze through the same tight passages, their numbers dropped. Down to two.
The rest were holding back, maybe.
—Here.
Is this…a bar?
—They serve more than booze.
What we'd arrived at was a tiny bar.
It was tucked away in what felt like a dead end, with a black door.
The whole place screamed suspicious bar.
And the sign out front read "Ponpoko-tei."
—Huh, this place name.
—You noticed?
—From the Full Moon Bazaar.
The Zenzera family's stall from the Full Moon Bazaar — PomPoko-tei.
They'd had a booth in the mid-level area with a transfer circle to the "Moving Palace."
"That's right. This is the main branch."
"In a place like this?"
"Yeah. The big storefront on the main boulevard is just a branch."
A decoy, then.
The red dot flickered out. So they couldn't follow us all the way to the shop after all.
Or maybe they figured there was no escape from a dead end.
Giza opened the door.
A bell chimed with a light tinkle.
The interior resembled their booth at the Full Moon Bazaar.
Giza said something to a nearby server, and we were led to a private room in the back.
The room was simple — just a small two-person table sitting by itself.
"We can talk freely here. Want to order something to drink?"
"Um, then... I'll have this iced tea, please."
"I'll have the same. Oh — do you want black honey syrup?"
"They have black honey syrup?"
"I put it in mine."
"I'll take mine as-is."
"Got it. Two iced teas, and two small bottles of black honey syrup."
Two small bottles!? What a sweet tooth.
After placing the order, I asked.
"So was it Jinryu remnants you were tracking?"
"That's highly likely. But there's no need to go after them recklessly."
"That's a relief, but..."
"There's precedent for this sort of thing."
"Right..."
"Well, there's no use dwelling on it. If they come at us, we just send them back."
"Right."
"More importantly, let's talk about the actual request. This time I'd like you to head to the subjugation village at the Rotted Finger Rock, south of the Hyzen Plains."
"What's there?"
So there's something called the Rotted Finger Rock.
When I asked casually, Giiiza-san opened his mouth with a somewhat reluctant look in his eyes.
"...I think it's probably a mistake, but... it's a spider."
"A spider..."
"And not just any spider—a Spider Woman."
"Huh?"
Ridiculous. The source of the dungeon anomaly was already defeated.
The Spider Woman should have disappeared. Giiiza-san wore an apologetic expression.
"It's no surprise you're shocked. I received the report myself. I know the reason why the Spider Woman appeared, too. So I understand that it shouldn't be possible. But there are multiple witnesses. On top of that, people were actually attacked, and there were real casualties. Even if it's a case of mistaken identity and it turns out to be some other monster, it still needs to be subjugated. That's the situation."
"...Understood. I'm curious about it too."
"Wof should be fine."
The Spider Woman, huh.
I really hoped it was a case of mistaken identity, but the uncertainty gnawed at me.
At the same time.
Somewhere in a back alley of Hydrangea.
Without warning, space tore open in a perfect circle, forming a gate, and two women stepped through.
"Ura's here!"
A lively-looking beauty with purple hair in twin-tails, purple eyes, and a commanding stance.
She wore an ancient style of female shrine maiden robes.
For some reason, she had the air of someone whose head was missing quite a lot of what should be inside it.
She was brimming with a mysterious confidence that had absolutely zero basis in reality.
Incidentally, the power stance and the fearless grin also had absolutely zero basis in reality.
"Why do I have to come along too?"
A black-haired beauty in a hime cut who grumbled while slouching. She stood nearly 190 centimeters tall.
Her outfit was nothing short of a midnight dress—an elaborate full-body Gothic Lolita ensemble.
Her once-bright eyes had faded to a deep black-purple.
"Wh-what the hell are these things, suddenly showing up? They're huge?!"
"Oh, nothing but gorgeous ladies here, huh? And they're huge!"
"Heh heh heh heh heh... huge compared to us, you say?"
"Huge?!"
The punks who had happened to pass by found themselves staring up at the gothic lolita beauties.
That word—'huge'—was the 190-centimeter-tall woman's landmine.
Whether it referred to her height, her chest, or her rear, the reaction was always the same.
"[Sunspot]."
As she uttered the spell, four black spheres swallowed the punks whole and vanished.
Not a trace remained. A heavy silence settled in.
"Black Hole as always. That was a clean job."
"Praise later, let's just get to the tavern. I want a drink after that annoyance."
"Agreed. My throat is parched."
And so the beauties left the back alley for the main street.
The gate, meanwhile, had disappeared without a sound.