Days after Ray had a conversation with Marina in the guild. At last, those who had been waiting for him returned to Gilm.
　Ray, who got up a little late as usual, had finished his breakfast and was wondering what to do to-day when a man came from the lord's house and pulled him away in a carriage -- Sett was sleeping in the stable -- and when he was led straight to his office, Elk, Minn and Rodos. In other words, he is reunited with the axe of Rank A party thunder god.

"Oh, Ray. ... I've heard you."

　Elk would always cheerfully say hello, but I guess he's already heard of Theoreum. There was something sanguine about his gaze, and there was a low voice in his call.
　Min, sitting next to such an elk, is calm and unaffected, and Rodos is probably remembering the kidnapping. He had a bitter look on his face.
　Each of them has a facial expression on his face, but Ray bows his head slightly to Dusker and then opens his mouth to Elk.

"I think you have a lot to say, but if things go well with this case, there will be no war for a while. I want you to be patient and cooperate a little."

　Even though the war is over, it's only about the war between the kingdom of Milliana and the Empire of Bestia.
　Elk turns his eyes to Ray, who dares to tell him unspokenly that civil war could break out within the Vestian Empire.
　Elk always looks as if a bad boy had grown up, but now he looks as if he was suppressing his anger.

(I don't think it's unreasonable from the family-friendly elk, but I think you should put up with it.)

　mutter inwardly and look at the min next to him to suppress the angry elk.

『……』

　It's been a while since we communicated in silence. Soon, Min breathes a little sigh and swings his cane down to Elk's head.
　Even so, the reason why it was just a knock was probably because Min understood Elk's feelings.

"Calm down, Elk. In the end, neither I nor Rodos had a problem. I don't think it's necessary to show it under the present circumstances, though I have some thoughts."
"Min! But!"
"Your indignation and the possibility that this country will not have to wage a war for a while. Which one would you choose? If you're a Rank A adventurer, you don't have to think about it."

　Elk has no choice but to shut up at his wife's rational words.
　I know. Which is more important, Dusker's request or the feeling inside me?
　But still... still unable to erase the anger emanating from within him.
　Ray opens his mouth interrupting it.

"I am sure you have heard from Mr. Dusker that he is to join the Teorems before heading to the Empire of Bestia. If you have a lot of thoughts, why don't you let them out then?"
"... Ray, you're making a very bold remark again. I don't know if my Elk would be safe if he really fought, even if he were known as a flash."

　Ray shrugs his shoulders slightly to Min, who tells him while holding his forehead.

"There may be a lot of dangers, but isn't it dangerous to let Elk's anger accumulate as it is? Then I think it's better to let it flow moderately."
"I'm very curious about the degree of appropriate divergence..."
"Mother, it's frustrating to agree with Ray, but I'm sure there'll be extra trouble if I go to the Westian Empire with my father now."

　Rodos, who hadn't spoken a word since Ray came, must have thought it would make sense. Min breathes a small sigh before opening his mouth.

"That's all I can say, is it?" But if two people with different names fight, I feel that if they don't do well, the village they are meeting may disappear."
"It's a village near the Celemus plain, so if you're going to fight, why don't you fight on the Celemus plain, not near the village? No one will say anything there, even if there's some damage to the terrain."
"All right, it's all right. I have a lot to think about, but I'll beat you with a flash of light. though I have no intention of losing."

　Elk also tells Min to pull himself together if he thinks it's no use being more angry.
　Perhaps he didn't want to lose the opportunity to fight Theoreum head on and beat him down.

"... now, may I get down to business?"

　Dusker, who has been listening to the four men in silence, gasps and says so.
　Dusker had many fears that Elk would remain in a bad mood, but he still did not expect to be able to ignore his presence and proceed.

"Yes, I'm sorry,"

　It was Rodos who first bowed in a flurry.
　Min, Elk and Ray then bow to Dusker and look towards him.

"And, yes, I think we've already told the Elks the general idea. We will also be ready in a few days. Elk, how about you guys? I just came back to Gilmoo.
"Oh, that's right. I'll relax today and tomorrow, and I'll be ready in a day... well, three days. Right?"

　Elk looks at his wife in confirmation, but Min nods.

"That's about it, I suppose," I should like to have a day to spare in case something happens to me, but what about that?"

　Asking Min, Dasker shakes his head.

"From here to Goto, where we meet, we don't have much time until the competition starts. ... to be honest, I was going to send someone on behalf of Ray until I heard about this. We've got a lot of stuff on our side, too."
"I see. Then, let alone the rest days, how about getting ready to leave today.
"Then we can't deal with it, I said. My hope is for you to rest today, prepare tomorrow, and leave the day after tomorrow. If you think about handing over the work to your subordinates, it will be the fastest time."

　Min nods to Dasker, who beats his desk rhythmically with his fingertips.

"I see, sir, that I shall be right with Mr. Dusker,"
"Well, that's a relief. and then Ray."

　Dusker's gaze is directed at Ray, while Elk, Minn and Rodos' gaze is directed at Ray.

"You said I was heading to Goto one step ahead... but wouldn't it be all right if we were to leave together, considering Sett's speed?"
"No, I want to make the greatest possible impact on the Westian Empire. If we leave here together as my bodyguards, there is a possibility that the information will be conveyed to the Empire of Bestia."
"...hasn't he caught all the spies from there?"

　Dusker shakes his head with a wry smile when he asks Ray, recalling what could be called last year's secret battle.

"It certainly would have been so at the beginning of this year. But it's been a long time since then, and above all, you've stood out too much in the spring war. With that in mind, it's certain that some of the best players, not just in the Westian Empire, have entered. --however, there are eggs, so there are very few."

　Ray is convinced by the remark.
　Ranga and Knights came to Ray to cheer on the expeditionary force, but at that time he never encountered Egg, who was now in charge of the back of the Larkes frontier.

"But are you after me?" In that sense, it must have been a waste of time."

　a little smiley ray
　After the war, they return to Gilm, and within a short time they head to the port city of Emosion, where they pass the rank-up examination and quickly head back to the labyrinthine city of Egjir.For those who wanted information about Ray and Sett, it was a result of being swayed in many ways.
　In that regard, Marina, the guildmaster, was perhaps one of the best at directing Ray to Emosion.

"Well, there's a way to gather information without Ray. It's also important to collect information from the people of the city."
"Well, Elk is right, too. There is no doubt that there is a lot of information about Ray."
"... Is that all right? It's rumored that Ray is Dusker's sword."

　Rodos asks Dusker, shy of others.
　For Rodos, Ray had been a foreign being since they first met.
　At first, he was only recognized as a low-ranking adventurer, but he was surprised to see that Gryphon was subservient to him, and in addition, he was successful in defeating Oak King in the attack on the Oak Village that took place shortly afterwards.
　And, after all, it had to do with the incident, that he was taken hostage and Ray fought with his father, who was a Rank A adventurer, and Ray won.
　It is an embarrassing memory that I heard from the father of the person concerned, but I still couldn't believe it and listened to it again and again.
　But Ray has risen rapidly and is now ranked B above himself in rank C.
　At this point Rodos couldn't help but admit Ray.
　Rodos, a self-confessed mother, could never have been honest with Ray, who was interested in his mother.

"If I were to say yes or no, of course it's not good or bad. But this kind of talk will never come out. It's impossible for me to tell them not to share Ray's story with others. When Seto is there, there's nothing more to talk about than that."
'Certainly,'

　The three axes of the god of thunder at the scene answered in unison and agreed with Dusker's opinion with all their might.

(If you think about it, it would be more reasonable not to be rumored at the time of the Gryphon's carriage.)

　with such a murmur in one's heart

"I'm glad you understood it. Now, let's get right to the point of actual action."
"Actual actions? Didn't you explain them already?"

　Ray, who had seen Elk in a bad mood since he entered the room, took it for granted that he had finished explaining all this.
　But Dusker shakes his head with a wry smile, apparently different.

"All I told you was a rough outline. We haven't talked about who will actually do what."
"I see. So how do you act?"
"To put it simply, when I enter the Empire of Bestia -- from Goto to the capital of the Empire of Bestia through the Seremuth plain -- Ray and the Elks guard me." The second princess and the flash are two separate acts."
"Yes,"

　The purpose was to rescue the third prince, the lord of Theorem and the younger brother of Vihela. That being the case, it would only be a foolish idea to work with ourselves who need to act as a standout. When Ray decided so, he nodded to Dusker's words, as did the Elks. nod silently

"And when I enter the imperial capital of the Empire of Bestia, I'll ask Ray to participate in the competition."
"As for that matter, please start with the preliminary round, not the seed."
"...why? The preliminary round is Battle Royal, so it could be a lot of trouble."

　Some may think that it would be impossible to do it alone with a crimson opponent, but others may be willing to do it in large numbers, or they may be willing to take revenge on soldiers who died in the war. Or they could lose by other factors.
　The greater the number of people, the greater the uncertainty.
　But Ray shakes his head slightly at Dusker's words and then opens his mouth.

"What I do is to draw the attention of the upper echelon of the Westian Empire. If I were to participate in the preliminary round of Battle Royal, it would be quite popular."
"I see,"

　After a few seconds of contemplation, Dasker nods and opens his mouth.

"If that's all right with Ray, so be it." And now, next... "

　That's how we were going to settle the matter.