A glamorous woman with lustrous silver hair, dressed in a butler's outfit.
Giza, who called herself a daughter of the Sword Goddess, regarded the Witch with her narrow silver eyes.
They were the eyes of a blade.
The Witch had no recollection of her in the butler outfit.
"Pardon me. I have something to ask the Witch. May I?"
"Oh my, whatever could it be?"
"Was it you who defeated Vinu, the Sword Goddess's daughter—the 'Bastion'?"
"No, no, it was Kon's student who defeated her."
"Wof did!?"
"Would you mind if I asked how he managed it?"
"Well, I don't mind at all, but I've heard the young man Wof used a knife from a different sea—is that right?"
"What's this knife?"
Seilan tilted her head, but Giza seemed to have found her answer.
"There are three ways to defeat a daughter of the Sword Goddess. The first is an Authority Relic, held by a user of a Pseudo-Apotheosis Relic. The second is a daughter of the Sword Goddess herself. The third is power from a different world."
"I see, I see. So a knife from a different sea would fall under that third category."
"Precisely. That is the case."
"Makes sense, makes sense."
Incidentally, Wof also possessed a Pseudo-Apotheosis Relic, but he kept quiet about that.
"You're carrying something extraordinary, aren't you. Your student."
"Yep, yep. Kon's prized pupil, huh. By the way, the Sword Goddess's daughter asking you to take out her sisters — that's quite the violent request."
"They can indeed be called sisters. But if they're enemies, I simply eliminate them."
Gier stated coldly.
Seiran sighed and spoke up.
"Honestly, they're just a nuisance. Heizen isn't their playground."
"The immaturity that prevents them from becoming human is also unsightly."
Gier fired off another cutting remark.
"Mm-hmm, so that means you've become human, Gier?"
"That's right. Neither owner nor vessel. I've become human. Ownership and vessels are proof of immaturity. Even calling myself the Sword Goddess's daughter is presumptuous."
Gier looked vexed, adopting an irritated expression.
"But they're still fragments of a god, so they carry troublesome Authority Relics."
"But the most troublesome one, Vinu, has been eliminated."
"That truly was welcome news."
"Well, well. So the one young Wof defeated was that troublesome, was it?"
I wondered.
The witch recalled that, judging from Wof's demeanor, he hadn't seemed to struggle that much.
"The holder of the Authority Relic [Barrier]."
"I see, I see. That would indeed be troublesome."
With those words, the witch identified the Relic's effect.
There are many similar Relics. Ordinarily, it would be called a [Shield].
It covered the entire body in an invisible barrier. Its defensive power was roughly on par with an iron shield, but even so, it was highly prized.
The Authority Relic [Barrier] — Wof claimed an overwhelming victory against it, though granted, he was pushed to get serious.
The man in question has absolutely no idea how impressive this actually is.
"In fact, the other three got away because of this."
"It deflected even my blade — the sheer impudence. But its power is genuine."
"Hmm-hmm. So that's the situation. By the way, this is a commission, right?"
The witch's eyes gleamed with an eerie light.
Seilan silently handed the empty cup to Giza.
Giza poured into the cup with a flourish and placed it before Seilan.
Seilan took a sip and spoke with smooth, practiced ease.
"I'll put up ten million oro for each one taken down."
"Hmm-hmm. Well, that's reasonable."
Neither here nor there. The witch didn't think much of it.
Seilan knew that, which was why she played her card.
"If you take down all three, I'll add a bonus."
"Oh my, oh my. What sort of bonus might that be?"
"Let me see. How about access to the VIP area of the Full Moon Bazaar?"
"Oh-ho, oh-ho. Now that's nice. In that case, I'll take the job."
"The commission is settled, then."
"My thanks."
Gieeza bowed his head.
"Oh my, oh my, getting ahead of yourself. We're not nearly done yet."
They hadn't even started. Seilan shot Gieeza a look.
Gieeza handed over the scroll.
"Everything we know about the three Sword Goddess's daughters."
The witch unrolled the scroll on the spot and began to read.
"Hmm, hmm. Hmm, hmm. Three months ago, six of the Sword Goddess's daughters appeared in the city. So Gieeza isn't one of them?"
"She originally served under Pon. It's been six years now."
"Oh my, oh my... It says the six were brought by a man in a red mask. Now that's interesting—who might that be?"
"There are a few eyewitness accounts, but nothing confirmed."
"As for the man in the red mask—unfortunately, we know he's no longer in Heizen."
"Hmm, hmm. Well, that can't be helped. From there, there have been several engagements. First, Gieeza dealt with one. The second was handled by a man with a mysterious mirror-like face... Now that's interesting—who might that be?"
"No idea."
"We know they were subjugators from the Goulo family. Beyond that, nothing."
"Hee hee. That sounds like it came from a spy's report, does it?"
The witch moved her finger across the scroll with the feeling of turning pages, smiling wryly.
"Yes, nothing. Part of it is that I can't dig too deep. But I suspect they might be something like a trump card."
"Hmm, hmm. Hmm. So the young man Wof took down the third one, which leaves three remaining. As for information on those three... Oh my, oh my, oh—there's nothing in this scroll at all."
"They went underground. Heizen's darkness runs deep."
One of the Three Great Houses of the deepest darkness.
When the head of the Zenzera household spoke, his words carried a strange sort of conviction.
"Well then, well then—did you consider the possibility that they've already left Heizen?"
"That was considered too. But there were three signatures detected. They're in Heizen. We went after them, but they'd already fled. There were traces of a hasty escape. They were probably caught off guard as well."
"So there were still more of them, huh."
The witch spoke as she rolled up the scroll.
Seiran watched her do so and picked up the teacup.
"Are you trying to say they have some kind of objective?"
"Well now, well now—wouldn't the two of you know that already?"
"I don't."
"I wouldn't know."
They answered immediately.
The witch placed the scroll on the table with a casual roll.
It was obvious she was hiding something.
But the witch was keeping secrets too. And she had no intention of revealing them.
The game of fox and tanuki would never end.
The negotiations over trade and commissions were finished.
They chatted while finishing their tea, and then the witch departed from the Zenzera household.
The trade city of Heizen. The southernmost district. The ruined church.
A chapel that no one approached.
Through the shattered stained glass, a single ray of light fell upon the red altar.
Three human figures were illuminated for just an instant.
"Honestly, shouldn't we just leave this city already?"
One of them says with a sigh, sitting on a broken pew.
"No. If we run from here, we'll be running forever!"
The second, standing before the altar, erupts with fury.
"That's how it's always been up till now..."
The third murmurs, seated on the backrest of a broken pipe organ.
"Exactly! That's exactly why — why we search for it right here and actually get our hands on it."
"Does it even really exist?"
"It does. That man in the red mask said so."
"Oh, that guy."
"Wait. You actually believe someone like that?"
"We have no choice but to believe!"
A sigh escapes.
"The problem is where to look."
"One of the Three Great Families, maybe?"
"Or the Great Forest."
"Full Moon Bazaar, perhaps?"
"The Three Great Families are... hostile to each other. Especially the Zenjela and Gouro families — they're outright enemies."
"Giza, and the man with the mirror face..."
"Traitors and Unknowns. Oh right—there was one more Unknown. The one that killed Vinu."
"........."
"Then what about the Jinryū family? The next head is supposedly someone named Baarou."
"I looked into him briefly, and he's completely rotten. A disgusting maggot of a man."
"That doesn't matter. If anything, being that vile makes him useful."
"Guene... are you serious?"
"I'm not just serious—there's no other choice. Lube."
".........What about Jumi?"
"It doesn't matter to me. Once you've decided, I'll follow along."
"Then it's settled."
"...I suppose we have no choice..."
"I'm leaving everything to you, Guene."
"Yeah, leave it to me. I'll definitely find the 'Talisman's Eternal Egg' and get my hands on it!"
Guene declared with full conviction.
The trade city of Heizen.
The eastern harbor. The docks.
"Phew~ ah~, we finally made it."
"That was long. The boat ride."
"I'm wiped out."
The three of them grumbled to one another as they stepped off the ship.
"Nabel. You hungry?"
The tall, green-haired young man with a spear addressed the black-haired boy with wolf ears and a tail.
He was a wolf-kin — a subrace of beastfolk — with a round shield and sword strapped to his back.
"Honestly, I am rather hungry…"
For some reason, it was the blonde elf woman who answered instead.
She wore a white robe and carried an ash-wood staff.
Hearing the two of them, Nabel — the wolf-boy — nodded.
"Then let's grab a bite to eat first."
"Sure."
"Alright."
"Well, I know a good place. We can eat there — if they've still got anything, that is."
"Come to think of it, you're from Heisen, aren't you, Coran?"
"More or less."
"Huh? I thought you were part of a caravan?"
"Born in Heisen, raised in a caravan since I was seven. My old man used to run one of Jinryuu's trading companies, but when leadership changed, he quit and joined a caravan instead."
"So that's how it happened."
"Yeah, I don't really know the details, and I haven't been back to Heisen since. I never planned on returning even after becoming a delver, but that's life for you — you never know how things will turn out."
Coran smiled with a complicated look on his face.
Plancy asked, sounding only half interested.
"Hmm. So where are we headed?"
"It's a bit of a walk from here, but it's called 'Berku Eatery.' It's cheap and good."
"Then let's go."
The three of them were a party of Rank IV delvers.
Their name was 'Cerberus Thorn.'