The tornado disappears right in front of the laymen.
　The tornado, wrapped in lightning, was a force that could be called the superior magic of the wind.
　and, above all, surprisingly, Elena still has the strength to spare, despite all her magic.
　With a connecting sword, Elena seemed to be ready to fight in case of an unexpected eventually,

(As expected of the princess shogun)

　While exclaiming inwardly, Ray is equally prepared for the worst.
　At a distance, Custe, who pulled out a magic spear stuck in the ground, and Ver, who is drawing his bow with an arrow, are equally wary of the enemy.
　While watching the tornado disappear, Elena opens her mouth so that only Ray can hear it.

"Ray, do you know of that monster?"
"No, it was my first monster.However, my insight as an adventurer is not so high, so it is possible that I simply didn't know.What about you, Elena?"
"No, I've never seen a monster before.But it's a monster of that strength.I should be glad to hear that."
"""The ability to blend in with the surrounding scenery that I first saw."If you are ambushed with it, ordinary adventurers will be literally preyed on without realizing nothing.Maybe that's why it didn't spread, and even if we fought normally, that monster was strong enough."
"Well, how much do you think?"
"At least, I think I can say that the Oak King class I have fought in."
Rank B Monster's Oak King class.It's true that my impression is that they are more than B rank and less than A rank."

　Then, when he was talking with caution in case of emergency, the tornado of thunder disappears completely.
　All that remained afterwards was the corpse of a giant mantis that had been cut to pieces by the tornado and burned down by the thunder.

"I've managed, sir,"

　Elena breathes a sigh of relief. Next to her is Ray's death size.So did Custe and Ver.
　In the air of relief right after the battle, Elena gives instructions to everyone.

"Custe, cure Arra with recovery magic.Ver, you've got that mantis magic stone..."

　but Elena could not speak until the end.

"Dear Elena!"

　Couste's voice echoed around her.
　The three of them immediately turned their eyes to Custe, and then to him.

"...what?"

　Ray's voice is leaking without thinking about it.
　The body of the mantis, which had been killed by Elena's magic, should have been lying there.
　No, there is a corpse.However, the proviso "madame" is attached.

"Is it melting?"Yes, as Ray muttered, the corpse of a giant mantis over four meters in size rapidly disappears, producing fine bubbles from everywhere.
　The speed was not so fast as to be instantaneous, but not so slow as to be able to deal with it.
　And from where the mantis melts, there is a pungent smell that sticks into the nose, and the grass growing from the ground turns brown when it touches the liquid flowing out of the mantis' corpse and melts like the mantis' corpse.

"What's going on with this...?"

　Elena was dumbfounded, but no one could answer it.
　Meanwhile, Custe approaches Elena, taking a detour around the place where the mantis was dead.

"Dear Elena, I don't know what it is now, but at least I don't think the smell that comes from there is good for you.Should I leave here immediately?"
"Well, I'm sure,"If possible, I wanted to take a part of it to find out what the monster was like...

　Not even a piece of mantis had disappeared completely from Elena's eyes, and there was no liquid in the surrounding grass.All that remains is a pungent smell.and even its pungent smell would not be long before the wind dissipated.
　A monster who had been fighting until just a few minutes ago, Elena frowns unconsciously when she sees that the monster has disappeared completely.
　It's a sense of strangeness. Yes, it's a strong sense of strangeness that remains in your mind.
　Nevertheless, even if we try to ascertain the cause of the discomfort, there is no longer a corpse of a giant mantis, and if so, we will just spend time here in vainly.

"We're leaving, Custe, and Arla into a carriage."
"Leave it to me,"

　Custe, following Elena's orders, picked up Arla, who had fainted near the carriage.

"Ver, please check the carriage for any abnormalities,"
"Leave it to me,"

　replied Ver, in his usual light tone, examining the cabs and cabins.

"Ray, along with Sett, asks people around him to be vigilant, just in case.It's not just that one mantis."
"All right,"

　Ray nods and, with Sett, distances himself a little from the carriage and concentrates on the surroundings.

"Glu".

　Seto was equally wary of his surroundings next to Ray.
　In the meantime, Ray listens carefully so that he can always give his enemy a death-size shot, but he thinks inside.

(That mantis, at least, doesn't apply to monsters.)

　In the first place, monsters don't disappear as if they're going to blow themselves up.Mystery, monsters, and demons, all living things in the broadest sense, though they are often called.

(And yet, as if the mantis were going to extinguish its existence... wait. What did I just think? Are you going to extinguish its existence? Does that mean you want to hide the fact that it existed?)

　When I was thinking like that, I noticed a sign approaching me from behind, and I turned around.
　There was Ver, who was approaching him with one hand up."There's nothing wrong with the carriage, so we're leaving soon.Mr. Elena told me to call you."

　Ver says with some tiredness, that he is not in his usual light form just after fighting with the huge mantis.
　His words nodded, and Ray, along with Sett, made his way to the carriage.

"Hey, Ray. You're an adventurer, aren't you? What do you think of the mantis?"

　On his way back to the carriage, Ver asks Ray so.Ray shakes his head slightly at the question.

"I'm quite at home.At least the monsters I know don't melt like that as soon as they die."
"Yes, I've fought with monsters several times, but I've never seen them melt as soon as I knock them down."
"...I don't know if it's a monster,"
"What?"

　The murmur was only in his mouth, and Ver seemed unable to catch it, so he asked again, but Ray pretended not to hear the question and headed for the carriage.





"Here we are, and we shall start at once."Even if there is no evidence, it is an abnormal situation.There must have been a Guild's office around the dungeon?"
"Yes, that's what we've got,"

　He must have been awakened from a faint, and he answered Elena's question, as if she had been somewhat dazed.

"Oh, my dear Ray... I'm sorry to drag you."

　And as soon as he saw Ray, he quickly bowed his head.
　Ray, apparently ashamed to have fainted at the blow from the mantis, smiled bitterly.

"Don't worry, that mantis was at least as good as a Rank B monster.It is inevitable that they will be disappointed if they do it without prior knowledge."
"But..."

　At best, it's pure, and at worst, he laughs bitterly, saying that he's the only one who's fainted.
　In fact, the giant mantis could not blame or laugh at Arra because it was beyond the standard if all four sickles could carry out attacks like transparency or flying.

"Why don't you think that Arra proved his strength and danger, and that he didn't do any more damage?"
"Dear Elena..."

　Comfortingly... or rather, the truth-tongued words made her turn to Elena.

"Oh, what's with your usual energy?If you're the mood maker of this unit, the mood will only get dark. And if you think you made a mistake this time, you can pick up the mistake next time.No? At least I would think positively like that, and that's why I like it."
"Yes, I see! I'll be of service to you next time!"

　After hearing the encouragement of the intoxicated Elena, Arra recovers almost immediately, smiling bitterly at the scene, and then speaking again.

"Arra, can you order tea? It's for everyone.""Yes, immediately,"

　Arra nods to Elena's words and heads towards the kitchen, which is composed of magic items.
　and Elena saw him off with a soft smile.

"You're close."
"Huh? Oh, I'm sure it looks like that.for I am a queer woman who, in her capacity as a Duchess, is in war.I don't have many female friends.and there are many nobles who wish to win over me, but so are those who, like Arra, love me purely.Maybe that's why Arra is so precious to me. ... I'll tell you, that doesn't mean I have Arra on my side. You know exactly how good she is, do you?"

　The words of Elena remind me of the first time I met her in the town of Gilm.
　There is nothing remarkable about the sharpness or speed of a blow.But his strength.or perhaps a blow of strength is a blow that must be called a blow of strength.

"The strength of that force is certainly a very advantageous factor in close combat,"
"Yes, but I must ask Arra to be stronger as a knight of my faith.and I'd have nothing to complain of if that part of the rush had come to pass."

　Ray and Elena were talking in this way, but before long a cup of tea was gently offered to them.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, here'
"Good work, sir. ... Now, let us all listen for a moment.It's about the mantis....what did you think?"

　Elena's words make Ray, Arla and Custe look stern in the carriage.
　It was surprisingly Custe who first spoke.After moistening his mouth with tea, he glances at the spear.

"At least I couldn't fight alone and handle it.No, rather, if I think back on that battle, I think I would have been dragging Mr. Elena's feet."
"That's the same with me.I fainted at one blow before I could drag myself."

　Arra responds to Custe's words with a wry smile.
　Considering the slump, Arra is probably the reason why she is quick to recover.

"It's the fighting power, but the most troubling thing is its ability to be transparent.Moreover, I and Seto were late to notice their presence because they were so thoroughly waiting until we approached them.For some reason I could not detect the smell with Seto's sense of smell, and it would be difficult for an ordinary man to deal with the blow of a sickle from that transparent state."
"Well, that ability to be transparent, as Mr. Ray says, is extremely troubling.Actually, I was taken unawares by that blow.It was mostly luck that prevented that blow."

　Compared to speaking to Custe, Arra agrees with Ray in a somewhat firm tone.

"The attack was difficult because the body was covered with a crust, and there was another way of attacking Ray with the same kind of wind magic as he said.

　muttered Couste, moistening his mouth again with tea.
　Basically, he tries to ignore Ray's presence, but when it comes to work, it's a different story.

"And the most unusual thing is after he knocks it down.It's the kind of person who melts his or her body and disappears his or her existence after defeating her.It's not an ordinary monster.Ray, you were a disciple of a wizard, don't you know anything?"

　Ray immediately remembers his settings after hearing Elena's words.
　However, the setting is only a setting, not a reality.

"Wait a minute.I'll remember if anything happened."She tells Elena that and brings out Zepail's knowledge for the first time in a long time.
　Then, in a few seconds, Zepail's knowledge is the only one that can be found.

"I'm not sure about this, but... or maybe this way I can explain the mantis phenomenon."

　Everyone, including Elena, looks surprised at Ray's words.
　Even for Elena, it was probably a question she had just said.

"What is it like?"
"If that mantis was like an alchemy-made artificial creature.In that case, in the process of making the mantis, it is possible to incorporate a device to destroy evidence so that if the mantis were to die, the alchemist's skill would not be leaked from the corpse."
"...I am not familiar with alchemy, but is that possible?"
"I can only say that there is a possibility.I learned very little about alchemy from my master.Even with my current knowledge, I just remembered hearing something like that in conversation."
"Well, it's better than no clue.Let's just let the Guild's office know about the mantis when we get to the dungeon."

　After that, they discussed the mantis in some ways, but there was no evidence that the corpse had disappeared in the first place, so there was no more opinion than Ray's dubious idea.
　And that evening.The coach and carriage reach the dungeon and the surrounding villages.