Several hours after the night raid on the oak settlement had ended and they returned to the bottom of the bobbs, the punitive forces, including Ray, were sleeping like mud.
　Near the carriage where everyone was sleeping, Bobbs was up as a lookout just in case, and next to him Elk sat on the ground carrying all the dishes he had served out of the mistling before he went to bed.

"Hey, Elk. I'm awake on the pretext of watch, so show me a little more motivation."

　Sitting on the ground, Bobbs calls out to Elk, looking around him.
　But Elk replied in amazement, carrying skewers, sandwiches, or steamed fan bores to his mouth.

"You know Seto's keen senses, don't you? As long as he's there, he's hardly afraid of being attacked by the enemy."

　In front of Elk's eyes, Seto lies on the ground and closes his eyes.but it was easy for both Elk and Bobs to imagine that it was not sleeping, but that it was sensing the presence of the surroundings.

"But... or is it all right to eat so much.

　Bobbs muttered, dumbfounded, to the elk, who had already stuffed nearly ten servings of food.

"for I've been fighting all night.When they have all woken up, the great task of stripping is waiting for them in the oak hamlet, and we have not yet found any treasure which they believe was a hoard of oak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

　Elk finally finished his meal and drank up the water in the water bottle and took a breather.

"I'm sure you don't have to sleep?"
"Oh, I don't want you to keep me with those people.You know, when we were driven out a few years ago, we fought for three whole days, and it's as easy as one night."
"...you're not always young, and it's about time you realized it."
"I can't beat the young men,"

　At Elk's words, Bobbs, who breathed out, also choked a nearby water bottle.
　It is a base built on the grass, a little far from the oak settlement, in addition to the bright summer sunshine.There is nothing like a roof that blocks the sun, and it is directly exposed to sunlight, so hydration must be done quite often.

"Is the violent Elk still alive?"

　The violent Elk, a street name given to him when he was still a low-ranking adventurer.The party's name, Axe of the God of Thunder, is now roaring, but Elk, who has just registered as a guild, used to burn Bobbs' hands several times, who was then a Rank C adventurer.
　Elk frowns at the name of the past he wants to forget.Bobbs also looks at Elk with a smile on his face as he talks with his old friend.

"Don't call me that name,"

　As might be expected, he got married as an adult and had children, so he was not happy to be called a violent person.

"Well, you are strong enough now.At least I'm a retired adventurer, and I'm sure I couldn't have made such a wild move without you, especially this request.but it's also true that if you keep trying hard, you won't get the buds down there."
"... Ray?"

　It was not a loud story, so I asked him so quietly.

"Well, that's the case, but... he's a special case, isn't he?What I'm talking about is your son, or something like that's Ray.Do you know, he fought back the stars of the night, which had made a surprise attack on those oaks?"
"Oh, don't do it as expected.though the stars of the night deserve it.""At the very least, it's a mistake that such a fellow should be ranked G.As soon as I get back to the guild after this request is over, I will discuss it and recommend it to the E-rank."
"Hey, two ranks up all at once."
"No, it's three ranks,"
"Bobbs?"
"I'm thinking of taking the D-rank upgrade exam as soon as possible."

　No matter how urgent the request is, it will be substantially raised by three ranks with just one request.I understood the extent to which this was impossible because of Elk, who has been in those ranks.

"...are you serious?"

　Elk looked at Bobbs as if he wanted to ask, "Is he more insane?"
　Bob, however, nodded very little, taking it for granted.

"Of course, he's an adventurer with the ability to beat Rank B's Oak King, and it's too inefficient to keep him in E or F.And..."

　It's a little far away.He turned his eyes to Seto, who lay near Ray's sleeping carriage.

"It's like having a monster rank A Gryphon.I don't think it's strange to have A or B rank."
"Oops!"

　Elk, of course, doubts Bobbs' sanity.But Bobbs grinned like the usual elk.

"Of course not at once.It's true that B and A require a lot of knowledge other than combat capabilities, let alone rank D."

　In addition to the rank A and the rank B, which are said to be top-notch adventurers, it is not uncommon for them to be directly entrusted with requests from the presence of royalty and nobility in each country.There are times when we have to make choices that affect our manners and even our national interests.
　The word "manners" for royalty and aristocracy is not appropriate at all, but he knows the minimum manners.And above all, since Elk's wife Min takes care of the whole area in front of her, the Axe of Raijin is doing it without any problems for the Rank A party.But as far as Bobbs and Elk could see, Ray was not very good at socializing.What would happen if such a person met with royalty or nobility... it's OK if he was reprimanded.But if you're not good at it, you might not be able to continue as an adventurer.It was unthinkable for them to lose so much possibility in such a trifling way.

"And... you know, Elk.Have you ever noticed anything about the body of Oak King?"
"...what did you notice?"

　Bobbs asks, and recalls the body of Oak King he saw a few hours ago.The first thing that caught my eye was not the body that was connected by a single skin.

"A blow to the amputated neck.I just can't imagine how good it would be to have such an opening.I can't do it at least."

　muttered his eyes to his companion, the battle axe, which he had always placed in a position to reach out.
　An axe is a weapon that destroys, not cuts.If he wanted his head to be shattered into small pieces, he could do it with elk, but if he was told to cut it as sharply as Ray did, it would be impossible.
　But Bobbs shakes his head slightly when he hears Elk's words.

"That's not the case. ... Well, I know what you mean.In fact, I've only seen a few sharp amputations in my life.But what do you think I said to him when I asked him about his occupation in the guild's conference room?"
"... now?"
"Wizard, I mean Ray will be able to use magic.But was that Oak King's corpse magically scarred?"

　The question reminds me of the words of his son Rodos.
　It was said that almost all the opponents who tried to get behind them fighting against the Oaks in the east of the village had been wiped out.He said that he might have done something about it with Seto's power, but when he was told that most of the oaks had been burned to death, he could not help but understand that it was Ray who did it.for the Gryphon had no power to manipulate the flame.I mean...

"Hey, did you mean Ray beat Oak King without doing his best?"
"Perhaps you used something like Kamitachi, which is often used in wind magic... ...but as far as I know, Ray should be specialized in fire magic.Perhaps we haven't done our best yet, but... given that Ray, who has the ability to defeat the Oak King in that state, and the Gryphon of Monster Rank A, isn't it strange to think that he is at least as good as A or B in terms of combat power?"
"...if the story is true,"

　Ray looks much smaller and more delicate than his son Rodos, but he thinks his hidden abilities are overwhelmingly superior to his son.At the same time, he smiled as he imagined his son's future struggles with rivalry and rivalry against Ray.

(If you have a rival, that's not a bad thing.and the higher the rivalry is, the more likely Rodos will grow to be an adventurer.I might not be able to overcome or break through that barrier... well, since he's my son, he'll do something about it.)

　Elk is envious of someone like that.

"And, as Elk knows, the adventurer's guild is basically always understaffed,"
"... well,"

　What Bobbs is saying is true.As Elk himself mentioned earlier, there was a request for support from the seaside town through the guild, and the axe of the god of thunder came out.The adventurer's guild is always understaffed...no, to be exact, there are only a few high-ranking adventurers.C-D ranks, or E-G ranks below that, have a certain number.

"Not yet.You're still active, and I'm not as good as you are, but I'll be able to stand at the front when it comes to time, but when I think about the future of my generation and your retirement, I can't help but...."
"Bobbs".

　Elk paused for a moment, but immediately hit Bobbs on the back as if he had recovered.

"Look, if you worry too much, your hair will recede more?"

　Bobbs laughs bitterly when he is told what he is concerned about these days.

"The next generation has my son Rodos.It's Ray, too.Look, you don't have to worry too much.and even though he is still unknown, there are some good fellows.Even low-ranking adventurers will eventually develop their talents."
"Well... oh, I hope so.It seems that he has become uncharacteristically sentimental because he has been on the scene for a long time."
"That's what old people call cold water?"
"You're not much different from me, are you?"

　Let's stop talking and check the position of the sun.
　Basically, as long as there was no such thing as a watch that could be carried around, there was no other way but to time it in the sun.

"Well, I'd like to let you sleep a little more slowly if possible, but it's this hot weather.If we don't remove the parts and materials of the oak as soon as possible, it will be damaged, and there is a possibility that animals and

　He nodded to Elk's words, took out a magic flute from his pocket, and poured his breath into it.Then, the sound of it woke up the members of the punitive force who were sleeping.
　and, though each of them was still in a state of complete exhaustion, he took the provisions and water from Ray's Mistyling into his stomach and headed for the oak hamlet at once.





"Ray, don't you have to go to the village?"

　Ray was the first to be woken up to get supplies in the mystery ring, but after finishing the work, he turned to his voice while dealing with Seto.
　There was Elk, who seemed to be too strong to keep watch without sleep, Min, who had recovered some magical powers, and Rodos, who still looked sleepy.
　There are already only a few adventurers around.Two women who had been rescued from the village of Oak last night should have been here, but Bobbs ordered several other adventurers to ride a horse-drawn carriage to the town of Gillum to inform the Guild of the successful subjugation of Oak, and they were no longer here.

"Yes. All the oaks I've knocked down are in the mistling, like Oak King.I'm going to strip off the material and cut off the testimonial sites after I get back to town."

　Rodos responded to the word "Oak King" with a sharp reaction, but he didn't seem to have anything particular to say if he had already heard of it from Elk.

"Well, that's up to you, I hope.Why don't you do it here?"「……」

　After a few seconds of silence, he breathes and opens his mouth, perhaps because he can't stand Elk's gaze.

"I don't like peeling materials.It's a ripping off of a high-ranked monster, so I'll be as careful as possible because I don't want to fail."
"Cooking, I see.Even Ray, an amazing Rank G adventurer, was not good at something.What's more, ripping it off...

　Ray looks embarrassed to the smiling Elk, but disappears in the following words:

"It's a good opportunity, and I'll give you some tips on stripping it off.Come on, come on, come on.
"Hey, Dad!? If you spend your time here on Ray, what's the reward for us?"
"Why don't you go with Min?for we have no more enemies."
"But!"

　Min presses Rodos' shoulder to make a further argument.

"... no use Rodos, I can't stop this Elk.Let's go alone.Fortunately, there are no more oaks, as Elk says."

　and seeing off Rodos, who was being pulled away, Elk made him take the oak out of Ray's mistling to give him some tips on stripping.