The pinnacle of delvers — only thirty in the world.
Those are the First-Class Delvers. And among those First-Class delvers, there is one called the "Thousand Faces."
Gender unknown. Age unknown. Ends every sentence with "scum."
Can transform into anyone — old, young, male, female. So the commissions they take tend to be the kind where that ability comes in handy in a cooperative capacity.
Their Relic must be [Disguise]. Or maybe [Transformation].
And that Thousand Faces was sitting at the counter drinking, having turned into an elf woman.
I mean, their default look with the plague mask is suspicious enough as it is.
But then again, the more suspicious the outfit, the more you could say it screams delver.
Even so, the fact that they've changed their appearance means something is going on.
They might be in the middle of carrying out a commission.
And to make matters worse, it seemed they noticed that I noticed.
They froze, still gripping their glass of alcohol. Sorry about that.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing—"
Mineha-san looked at me, puzzled.
"Wof-kun. What are you looking at?"
"That's—"
Bid-san followed my line of sight. Not good.
Well, it's not like anything bad happened, but getting caught staring at an elf woman is somehow embarrassing.
Sure enough, Bid had found the "Thousand Faces."
Her gaze toward me cooled for some reason, turning sharp.
She murmured.
"So, the Night King... huh."
"Hey!?"
You can't just say that and move on!
Bid cackled, cruelly amused.
"What's wrong, what's wrong? Little Wof, whatever could be the matter?"
For some reason, Mineha asked in a witch-like imitation.
With her hood pulled low over her face, she looked just like a witch.
"Mineha. Listen to me. It's about the Night King—"
"I already told you, that's not it."
"Night King?"
"It's not!"
"Oh-ho, Lord Wof!"
I'd heard that voice somewhere before.
When I looked, there was a fish-headed... Gymnema Sylvestre... why was he here?
"It's not—not what you think, Gymnema?"
"Urgent business. My apologies. Is Miss Daga around?"
"Daga?"
"Na?"
Daga pops her head out from my shoulder, looking sleepy as she rubs her face.
"Ohh! Ohh! The Queen!"
"Na!"
"Queen?"
"What's this about?"
"What's going on?"
We tilt our heads. Wait—queen?
Gymnema bowed not to me, but to Daga.
"My apologies. I'm afraid I'm powerless after all. Please lend this servant your strength."
"Um, Gymnema, what exactly are you talking about—"
"Na!"
Daga hopped up onto Gymnema's shoulder.
"Oh—Daga!"
"Wof. I'll be borrowing the Queen—rather, Miss Daga."
"Wait—what do you mean, 'Queen'—"
"I'm in a hurry, so if you'll excuse me."
"Na!"
"Hey—!"
With Daga still perched on his shoulder, Gymnema darted off before I could blink.
She really doesn't listen to anyone.
"Hey. What's a Queen?"
"Also, Gymnema. You were talking about a servant, weren't you?"
Come to think of it, back in Rize, Gymnema and Daga were always together.
It's nice that they're getting along, but this feels like something different.
I get the sense that some not-so-nice presence is drifting around.
"W-well, it's still a Class I, so it should be fine."
Probably. Surely.
"That's still the case, huh."
"It's still one, though."
They mutter in unison.
There are plenty of things I'm curious about, but I had no more business, so I left the guild.
Zenzera family main residence. Fourth floor. The head's office.
When the Witch walks in, the person behind the stately desk rises to greet her.
"It's been a while. Laa-Laririi."
Seiran Zenzera, the head of the household,
greeted her
with a bright smile.
"Well, well, indeed. It's been a while, hasn't it, Miss Seiran."
The Witch, too,
With a bright smile,
she returns the greeting.
"..........."
"..........."
The two stare each other down with smiles, without a word.
Seiran Zenzenra. Long golden hair loosely curled and flowing, with round animal ears poking through.
Piercing blue eyes, sharp enough to cut and cold enough to freeze.
A remarkably well-defined, striking face.
She wore a white cape over a frilly dress.
It looked simple at first glance, but the finest fabrics had been used lavishly without restraint.
Two tanuki tails trailed behind her. She was tanuki-folk.
A complete contrast to the plump, gentle image you'd expect from tanuki-folk.
And she was the current head of the Zenzenra family.
"Listen. I'm busy over here. The Full Moon Bazaar, the Forest Wave... events just keep piling up one after another."
"My, my, you work so hard every year, don't you."
The Witch settled onto a sofa in the office.
She sank deep into the seat, using her tail as a cushion.
Seiran sat across from her in the same manner.
"Unannounced visit aside, what brings you here?"
"Oh my, how unwelcoming to a friend who came all this way."
—"Friend"? Since when did you become able to tell jokes that aren't funny at all?
The witch gave a soft chuckle, pulled a sphere from inside her robes, and set it on the table.
Seiran's gaze shifted to the sphere.
"As it happens, I managed to get my hands on a light sphere from the Hayahn Trading Company."
"...Is it real?"
The witch pressed the switch on the light sphere. It glowed and floated into the air.
Seiran's gaze was pinned in place.
"Well now, what do you think of that?"
"---How many do you have?"
"Let me see, let me see. One hundred thousand."
"I'll buy the whole lot for two billion oro. What do you say?"
"Hmm, hmm. That's a bit steep, wouldn't you say. How about six billion?"
The witch raised the price.
"That's genuinely too high. Four billion."
"Hm-hmm, hm-hmm. That's a little much too. How about five billion, then?"
"...Four and a half billion."
"Well, well. Let's call it a deal, shall we?"
"Deal. I'll take you to the warehouse later. You hand over the cash then. With you, if I put it off, who knows what you might pull."
"Mm-hmm. Now that's what I call trust. That was a fine deal."
The witch nodded with satisfaction, and Seiran, though visibly miffed, rang the bell.
A maid knocked, entered, bowed, and was told to bring tea.
Before long, steaming teacups were set before the witch and Seiran.
"So the main topic is about your apprentice?"
"Ho ho. You didn't think this was the real topic, did you?"
"Of course not. You always put on a sideshow first. We've got our own intelligence, you know. It was surprising enough that you took on an apprentice, but he's a man, two meters tall, a womanizing good-for-nothing, and on top of that he's making moves on a first-class 'impregnable fortress'? What is even going on?"
Hearing this, the witch burst out laughing.
She clutched her sides and laughed and laughed.
"Oh my, oh my, how amusing. Young Wof's reputation has reached all the way here."
"Boy?"
"That's right — still just a boy who hasn't even reached adulthood."
"What do you mean? Was it all lies?"
"No, no. Everything except the two meters and the good-for-nothing part is true."
"So then, he really is making moves on the 'impregnable fortress'?"
"Well now, it wouldn't be wrong to think so."
"What even IS your apprentice?"
"Very, very... dependable."
"......Hah."
She exhaled and brought the teacup to her lips.
"By the way, by the way, Seiran. How's this year's Forest Wave?"
"I think it's the same as always. As far as we can tell, there are no anomalies in the Great Forest. Right now we're swamped with the Full Moon Bazaar. That side seems fine for now too, but something always happens during the Full Moon Bazaar. You can't let your guard down. Oh, speaking of which, there's a Kuun Hunt in Hydrangea, right?"
"Oh my, oh my. A Kuun Hunt, you say?"
The witch twitched her fox ears with interest.
"They've made contact with the Gouro family and it looks like they're joining the Forest Wave. Probably collaborating with the Gouro subjugation squad."
"Mm, mm. Of all the families, it had to be the Gouro. 'Martial faction' sounds impressive enough, but what they actually do is no different from common thugs."
"It's just rumors, but apparently they're seriously going after 'the Marked.'"
"Mm, mm. I see. The Marked of the Hyzein Great Forest... that's the only monster 'the Sword of Swords' ever failed to slay, you know."
The witch laced her fingers around her teacup.
She lightly closed her eyes and let the amber liquid touch her lips.
Seiran's expression clouded over at once.
"That's the first I'm hearing of this. Is it actually true?"
"Of course, of course. An indisputable fact."
The witch set down her tea.
Seiran grumbled that she could have mentioned it sooner if that were the case.
Then the witch gave Seiran a light tease to deepen their friendship.
"You really have been stubborn ever since we were little!"
"Now, now—oh, right, right. There's something I want."
"Something you want?"
"Well, if you have one. A legendary automatic washing machine. I actually forgot to build a laundry room, you see."
"Automatic washing, you. Those are things you order from the Royal Capital. Though, there is a brand-new one at the northern Hyzein villa."
"Oh my, oh my. Then I'll be taking that.
"I'm not using it, so I don't mind, but I'll tell them to bring it over later. Where are you staying right now?"
"Well now, my disciple's uncle's place, you see. But I'd like it brought to Kon's shipyard."
"That's fine... your disciple's uncle's place?"
Miss Seiran tilted her head slightly.
The witch wore a knowing smile.
"Well now, it seems it's a house built on land that Miss Seiran once lost a bet on and sold for dirt cheap, they say."
"Oh, that house!? More to the point—how do you know about the bet!?"
"Well now, it was ages ago. You were drunkenly grumbling about it when you were tipsy, you see."
"Guh—a moment of carelessness I'll never live down. But hold on. Why that house?"
"Well now, because it's where my disciple's uncle is hiding out."
"Huh, an uncle!? That guy had nephews and nieces!?"
Seiran screamed.