The day of the investigation into the forest.
I'd been summoned by the Witch and was on the first floor of the Delvers' Guild, Hydrangea branch.
She'd specified the location, but since I'm not a delver, I had no idea where that was.
Maybe I should ask the reception desk.
"Hey. Wof."
"Agaro."
The one who called out to me was Agaro.
Red-haired and fair-skinned. A Class II delver. Agaro of the Doom Sword.
"What are you doing here? Don't see you around these parts often."
"I was summoned by the Witch."
"You too, huh? Come to think of it — you're the Witch's apprentice, aren't you?"
"Y-yes. Her apprentice."
"That does sound like you. Well, if she said so, then I guess it is."
What's that supposed to mean? Hmm?
"Wait — Agaro, you were summoned by the Witch too?"
"Yep. Third meeting room, right? Over here. Follow me."
As expected of a Class II delver — Agaro of the Doom Sword.
He strode up to the reception desk with absolute confidence and asked, "Hey, where's the third meeting room?"
He didn't know either? The receptionist smiled and directed us cheerfully.
Third meeting room.
On the second floor of the Guild, third door from the left. Inside was an impersonal space.
Stark white walls. A stark white board up front. Cheap long desks lined with simple chairs.
Nothing else. A proper meeting room. Something almost nostalgic about it.
"Excuse me."
"M-Master Wof!?"
"Juishi?"
I had to look twice. Sitting primly up front — a dog.
And now standing up with a burst of energy — a dog.
No mistake. That was Juishi, the beautiful black-haired puppy girl.
Why was she here? Agaro tilted his head.
"Hey. Who's that?"
"Rel's younger sister."
"Rel's?"
"H-h-hello! I'm Juishi Tassan."
"Agaro. Tassan — that noble house?"
"Y-yes! That's right. The Tassan family."
"So Rel was a Tassan, huh? What a surprise."
Agaro chuckled and rubbed his scruffy beard.
Juishi's eyes went wide.
"You know my brother Rel?"
"Yeah, we've met. Acquaintances."
"Oh my! Agaro, it's so nice to meet you!"
Was she a fan?
Then Juishi looked at me. Or rather, at my waist.
"I felt a similar presence to the knife Master Wof carries."
"This knife, you mean?"
Ah, this one. I showed her the knife I'd received from Agaro.
Juishi nodded emphatically.
"Yes! That one!"
"Oh? Well, I'll be. I gave that knife to Wof."
"Oh my, so that's how it is! It had a similar aura."
"Huh. Impressive, kid. The Witch's choice of members was solid."
"Mm-hmm! The puppy girl is quite the capable one."
"She'll make a fine delver."
"Th-thank you so much! Master Wof praised me! I'm so happy!"
"Juishi, congratulations."
She reported back to me one-on-one about everything. A real house puppy.
Whenever something happened, she'd come running to me with it. Please, no more dead mice.
"Well then, well then, shall we get started? Everyone, sit wherever you like~"
The Witch set Dagaa down on the table. I sat next to Juishi.
Dagaa wiggled all four ears and wagged its tail in rhythm with the Witch's tail movements.
And — could it be? — Juishi was wagging along too. Was this a tail thing?
Agaro slouched lazily in his chair and asked:
"Witch. Is everyone here for the forest investigation?"
"Mm-hmm! Everyone's here. I invited Pakira too, but she's busy with base-related stuff, so she turned me down~"
Pakira. I'd heard she was busy with moving and renovations.
"Fair enough. Well, I know Wof, and I've confirmed the kid's abilities. Small but elite. Sounds good to me. Investigation parties and subjugation squads — too many people is more trouble than it's worth."
Agaro was being self-deprecating. The subjugation remark probably referred to the anomaly in the last dungeon.
"Oh my, quite right. Anything else? No? Then introductions are done, so let's move on to the very first important thing we need to decide. Namely — the team name!"
"Hm? Team name?"
What? The Witch cheerfully wrote in large letters on the whiteboard.
"Here we go! My recommendation is 'Wof's Investigation Party'~!"
"Huh?"
"Not bad."
"Agaro!?"
"I especially like the 'Wof' part."
"Agaro!?"
Wait, is he already drinking!?
"M-m-maybe... 'Lord Wof's Investigation Team' would be better?"
Juishi!?
"Oh my, nice, nice~"
The Witch wrote "Lord Wof's Investigation Team" on the board.
"Not bad either."
"Agaro!?"
"I especially like the 'Lord Wof' part."
"Agaro!?"
He's completely drinking now.
"Alright then, Wof. Got anything?"
"What do you mean — first of all... what even is a team name?"
Was this really the most important first thing to decide?
"Of course! It's tradition for investigation parties to choose their own name for good luck. For example, the party investigating the dungeon in town calls themselves the 'I'm Proposing to That Girl After This Investigation Party'~"
What a flag. Is that okay? And who even—
I turned around, and there was a man leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, seemingly having been there the whole time.
Short blond hair with long pointed ears, several piercings.
Golden eyes narrowed in a sly smile. Tall and slender, wearing lipstick and makeup. White shirt and yellow pants. An elf.
I recognized him. That was... right, from when we returned from the dungeon anomaly.
The elf who'd been talking to Megadia underground.
"The Guild Master!?"
"My, you remember well. Alance, dear."
Alance giggled.
"Um, Wof. Nice to properly meet you."
"My goodness, the Witch's apprentice and yet so normal. And cute too."
"Th-thanks."
Being winked at made me take a small step back.
"Hmm-hmm. Agaro, anything to add?"
"Hmm? Oh, right. How about 'Wof's Investigation Party Squad'?"
"Agaro?! Isn't that just two of them mixed together?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"It doesn't even make sense anymore."
"Isn't that exactly what makes it good?"
It's not good.
Could it be... that none of them actually care?
Well, actually, they probably don't. Guild Master Alance was smiling too.
"My, how irresponsible, Agaro."
"Well, something like this has its charm too."
"True."
"..."
It wasn't good at all, but I couldn't help raising my hand.
"Um, what about 'The Dagaa Investigation Group'?"
"Na?"
"Hmm-hmm. Dagaa Investigation Group~"
The Witch wrote it on the whiteboard. Wait, it's tiny. The letters are way too small.
"Alright, alright, we'll pick from these three! Let's put it to a vote — raise your hand if you like it! First up, proposed by Wof: 'The Dagaa Investigation Group.' Alright — one vote, Wof himself. Next, proposed by Agaro: 'Wof's Investigation Party Squad.' Zero votes~"
Agaro?! The proposer didn't even raise his own hand!
"Next, next — proposed by the puppy girl: 'Lord Wof's Investigation Team.' Zero votes~ And finally, proposed by me: 'Wof's Investigation Party.' Four people and one creature~ And that's decided!"
Four people?! Wait — when did the Guild Master raise their hand!?
And one creature — Dagaa?! Wait, it's holding its paw up... you've got to be kidding me.
And Juishi proposed her own name but didn't vote for it...
What a sham. This was a fixed race from the start!
And so, the investigation party for the forest was officially named "Wof's Investigation Party."
Next came the matter of compensation. This time it was a Guild commission — but not from the branch. From headquarters.
Meaning it was a request from the Grand Guild itself.
Rewards were prepared according to delver class.
Needless to say, the compensation for me and Juishi — who had no class — was ridiculously low.
Well, I'd expected as much. As long as we got something, that was fine.
After that came an explanation of the forest.
There was an abandoned village in the forest. A village that had worshipped an evil deity.
The Witch told us how it was destroyed in a large-scale subjugation by delvers and knights.
Guild Master Alance added some supplementary information.
No matter how much they investigated, they couldn't determine which evil deity the village had worshipped.
That suggested it was a very obscure, very niche evil god.
"My, but the village chief's name was on record. Hargan, apparently."
Hagen? No, Hargan.
"Hmm. That's a rare name."
"I don't think I've heard it before."
"Yeah. Sounds like it's from the northern regions. Havgan or Annuv or something."
"So is Hargan actually Havgan?"
"No idea."
Right. Ha.
"My, and there was a Legendary Relic in the Guild vault that resonated with the forest. When it rang, it meant someone had entered the forest~"
"Huh, I'd heard rumors about that. So it was true?"
"That's right. Though knowing didn't help us do anything about it."
Alance smiled wryly. Fair enough.
As a Guild, all they could do was declare it off-limits. They couldn't enforce anything.
Come to think of it, there was a period when they'd built a small cabin nearby and stationed a lookout.
But within a week, the lookout had vanished, so they'd done nothing since.
"Oh my, what kind of Legendary Relic was it? I'm curious!"
"A flute, right?"
"No, it wasn't. It was a goblet. And 'ringing' isn't quite accurate. It was more like the overlapping screams and grievances of countless spirits, sounding like a flute's melody. It shattered when it was released."
Right. The screams and laments within that goblet, carrying on and on like the sound of a distant flute.
That abomination — I still didn't know what it truly was.
But it was definitely connected to the evil deity worship.
And guarding it had been a horde of skeletons... and a black knight.
Even now, I still shudder when I think of it. The monster that defeated me for the first time.
I'd grown stronger since then... or so I thought.
How would I fare against that black knight now, without my Doom Sword or Ambrosius?
"Wait, in the first place — why did the Guild even have something like that?"
Agaro raised the question. Yeah, why did they?
"My, that goblet was brought in by Alhazard Abramirin — the current Grand Guild Master — back when he was this Guild's Master."
"Seriously? That old man was the Guild Master here?"
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Not many people know, but it's true."
I was a bit surprised. So that was the connection — which was why he'd personally issued the commission.
"Well, well, that about covers it. The investigation into the forest is currently scheduled for three days. If anything comes up, we may extend it~"
"Yeah, from what I'd heard, that sounds about right. No news is good news."
"H-hmm. That's exactly right."
"Seems that way..."
The forest had been liberated by me.
So there should be nothing there. Nothing at all.
...This isn't a flag, is it?