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Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Kabur & Silavin
When Kousuke and his group returned to the base of operations, they were greeted by Bart and his group, who had come to check on them after the monster attack was over.
“Hey, how’s it going?”
Bart’s question was not to Kousuke but to Layla.
This did not mean that he was ignoring Kousuke; he was simply giving priority to Layla, whom he had known for a long time.
“We took down both the leader species and the monsters that were around it.”
Layla, on the other hand, deliberately did not tell him at this point that another leader species was waiting for them.
Bart was not the only one who withheld the information, as there were other adventurers present.
Layla did not hear about having more than one leader species, at least not from the other adventurers, so she did not know whether she could spread information about it.
The adventurers cheered when they heard Layla’s response.
They had not expected to be able to defeat a group of monsters, including a leader species, with only a merchant escort to begin with, so it was only natural.
In fact, they had done more than even that.
“I see. Well, thank you for your efforts. Let’s go back to the base for now.”
Bart responded in that way for the time being.
However, he knew from his long association with Layla that she had something else in mind when she responded.
But he also knew that this was something that could not be said here.
Therefore, he decided that the first thing to do was to return to the base and calm down.
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Kousuke and his team headed for the tent in the center of the base and were greeted by Karl, who had a stern expression on his face.
“So, what exactly happened?”
Carl asked Kousuke directly, not Layla.
Carl was there at the meeting with Gazeran, so he knew that Kousuke and the others were aiming at the leader species.
“We have defeated them.”
“I see.”
Carl let out a huge sigh at Kousuke’s brief answer.
Of course, it was a relief.
“…To be honest, I had given up.”
“Hahaha. Since everything is fine, let’s just rejoice for the time being.”
Carl chuckled at Kousuke’s easy going reply.
“That’s right.”
“Anyway, the head of the department should be waiting for the results, so why don’t we give him a report first?”
“Oh, yes. Then, please come this way.”
Carl finally remembered when Kousuke mentioned it, and with a startled look on his face, he quickly entered the tent.
“Oh. Did you finish defeating that thing?”
This was the first thing Gazeran said when Kousuke contacted him using the communication device.
Gazeran had not expected to fail in defeating the enemy from the beginning.
“It’s over.”
“Oh. Thanks for your hard work. So, what happened to the merchants?”
If there was any damage, he thought, it would be to the merchants, who would be attacked by the monsters that Kousuke and the others had allowed to escape.
As for the merchants, Kousuke did not know what the damage was.
Kousuke turned his gaze to Bart.
“We haven’t received any damage to our cargo, except for a few adventurers who were seriously wounded and a few who were slightly injured.”
“I see. That’s great.”
Hearing their answer, Gazeran also seemed relieved.
After that, we had a detailed discussion with Schmidt about future plans.
Because of the damage the adventurers had sustained, it was decided to wait two days and move toward the northern city the day after, rather than immediately begin the move.
Originally, the trading party itself took into account the delay, so there were no problems with food or other supplies.
Even though there were some seriously wounded, it was decided to depart two days later, since no one had to return to the town immediately.
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After the meeting was over, Gazeran called the key members of the group together.
Currently remaining in the tent were Kousuke and the others, Carl, Bart, and Layla.
“So? So what really happened?”
Gazeran suddenly asked Kousuke.
Carl and Bart nodded their heads.
“Oh, you noticed?”
“Of course I did. How many years do you think we’ve known each other?”
Gazeran had noticed Kousuke’s implication in their earlier exchange.
The fact that he didn’t clearly say it right then and there made it clear that something was up.
In addition, he also noticed that Kousuke’s tone of voice was different from before.
He did not reveal himself as a God, but he showed those present that he was in a suitable position.
In fact, Carl and the others who noticed this had surprised expressions on their faces.
Layla, who had been watching the defeat of the leader species up close, was convinced that this was to be expected.
“I see that too. Anyway, there were two of them on the watch, even though they were the leader species.”
Gazeran did not immediately respond to that report.
In the past, there had never been two leader species at the same time.
And this time, not only were there two of them, but it was as if they were taking turns.
Even those who are not Gazeran would be surprised.
Carl and Bart, who also heard the report for the first time, are holding their breath.
“…So you took them both down?”
“Of course we did.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Gazeran did not doubt in the slightest that Kousuke had failed to defeat them.
He even thought that if Kousuke and the others had failed to defeat them, no one else would be able to do it.
“Ah, that can’t possibly be…”
Bart muttered petrified when he heard that the leader species were taking turns.
But Layla, who was standing next to him, shook her head from side to side.
“Unfortunately, it’s true. Besides, they were both defeated.”
Hearing Layla’s answer, Bart gulped and looked at Kousuke and the others.
Even after all this time, he finally realized what Kousuke and the others were capable of.
No, he only realized that they were far beyond him, but he didn’t understand exactly how far away they were.
When it came to just one of the leader species, they were certainly still able to take them down in the past.
Some adventurers have later been called heroes because of this, and not only in group battles.
In this sense, it would have been within the bounds of common sense if only one of the leader species had been defeated.
After all, adventurers train every day with such heroes as their targets.
Kousuke and his group, however, had accomplished far beyond that.
On their own, Kousuke and his group could deal with any number of monsters.
Considering this, one could not even imagine how powerful a leader species could be when it was the one leading a huge number of monsters.
In reality, Kousuke’s group did not even give them a chance to work together.
Layla did not dare to tell him that.
Even she, who had actually seen and participated with them, still could not believe it.
Aside from their thoughts, Kousuke and Gazeran continued their conversation.
“Did you bring back the leader species?”
“Of course.”
Gazeran knew that Kousuke and the others had a Magic Tool more advanced than any item box.
He didn’t expect them to go to the trouble of leaving a monster corpse behind, but he made sure to check just in case.
“Make sure you bring it back. It will be a fine research subject.”
“I know.”
Rare monsters, not just leader species, would be the subject of research by the adventurers’ department.
This research started from what kind of materials they could be used for, to what kind of ecology they have.
In fact, the research actually helped the Adventurers’ Department in their efforts to defeat these rare monsters, making them extremely valuable samples for the department to study.
For the future, Gazeran really wanted to secure them.
“Is there a problem with Crown taking care of the leader species this time?”
Gazeran asked, and Bart did not reject it.
Since it was Kousuke and his group that killed the leader species in the first place, Kousuke and his group held the rights to the materials.
If there’s anyone other than them who had any claim to it, it would be Layla, who had participated in the attack, but she declined because she thought she had been of little use to them.
However, Kousuke decided that it would be a bad idea, so Kousuke decided to split some of the money he was going to receive.
After deciding on a few things like that, the flood came to an end without incident.
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Bart had visited Gazeran’s room at Crown headquarters to report on the recent event.
“I’m not sure if it was lucky or unlucky, but I’m glad the damage wasn’t too bad.”
Gazeran told Bart, and Bart agreed with him.
It was nothing but coincidence that they were able to control the flood without a single death.
Gazeran looked at him with a smile, and Bart decided to ask him boldly.
“Those guys… Who the hell are they?”
This was a question he had been dying to ask until he got here.
Gazeran stared at Bart.
“What’s the point of asking that?”
“That’s… I’m just asking, but those guys aren’t normal. How come those guys are out there in plain sight?!!!”
If someone was capable of taking down a leader species without injury, it would be normal for word to spread.
However, Bart had never heard of an adventuring party with such a capability.
“It’s simple. These guys aren’t usually active as adventurers. This time, they joined the escort team to relax.
Gazeran’s mouth was full of crazy words.
“Relax…”
“Well, you should be glad to know that there are people of that ability hidden around here.”
Gazeran’s words were blunt, with nothing further to say.
Hearing this, Bart understood that he could not pursue the matter any further and nodded his head, letting out a sigh.
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