Leading the young lady I picked up astray, making her the happiest girl in the world!

“C-Charlotte… You’re done with the assessment already…?”

"Yes! Luu-chan was a very good girl."

“Wafu!”

Luu proudly showed off the white scarf wrapped around her neck. Pinned with a magic stone, it was proof that the guild had officially recognized her as a tamed monster.

“W-Well, that’s great. By the way…”

Allen lowered his voice and looked into Charlotte’s eyes.

“Did you… hear what we were talking about?”

“No, not really? Just that you all seemed to be having a lot of fun.”

"I see! That's good!"

Allen sighed in relief.

He wanted to confess properly, with everything prepared. It would’ve been a disaster if she found out in a place like this. He tossed a few gold coins onto the table for the drinks and invited Charlotte outside.

“Well then, let’s celebrate. Let’s treat Luu to a steak.”

“B-But weren’t you still talking with everyone…?”

"Don't worry about it, Ojou-chan."

“Yeah, yeah. Goddess should pamper her Fenrir.”

“Is that so…? Fufu, then I’ll gladly take you up on that. Luu-chan?”

“Gau!”

With Luu growling happily and Charlotte smiling beside her, Allen left the Adventurers’ Guild with the pair.

Magus and Groh watched them leave with lukewarm eyes.

Once the three had disappeared into the crowd, someone sighed.

“Man, never thought he’d actually go through with it…”

“Human potential really is limitless…”

The tone of their conversation was less like that of younger brothers and more like children watching their father remarry.

A peaceful, almost heartwarming atmosphere settled in.

But that calm was shattered by a sudden commotion.

The guild doors burst open with a bang, followed by a panicked voice.

"Help! Is there anyone skilled in healing magic...!"

“Ugh… ugh…”

A heavily armored female adventurer stumbled in, supporting a male adventurer who looked half-dead. His armor was in pieces, his sword broken in half. He was barely clinging to life.

Healers rushed over in a frenzy.

The rest exchanged grim looks and whispered.

“Another monster from the Toa Caverns…”

“Yeah… figures.”

“That dungeon was a pain to begin with, but didn’t something really strong move in recently?”

“Yup. It got upgraded from C+ to A- rank.”

Of course, Magus and the others had heard about this exchange.

"...Did you know?"

"...No."

They exchanged troubled looks. They'd been busy with part-time jobs and volunteer work recently, so they'd neglected their adventures.

Naturally, no one knew that something so dangerous had happened around the Toa Cavern.

Everyone was quiet for a while, but...

"Well, it'll be fine, he’s the Demon Lord-sama."

“Yeah. No doubt about it.”

In the end, they came to that conclusion and resumed their usual drinking party.

And so, at that moment, no one heard the battered male adventurer's mutterings.

If even one person had heard those words, they would have turned pale and chased after Allen, desperately advising him to replan for the next day.

As he received frantic first aid, the male adventurer groaned in pain.

The footprints of an animal larger than a cat or dog were clearly etched on his cheek.

“Ugh… why was it there… the Hell Capybara…”