"Then, let me tell you about the executives, okay?"
Lena puffed her chest out a little proudly.
She was probably enjoying the chance to play teacher.
"There are two executives besides me. One is an old man named Riken. I don't know how long he's been with the Dawn Alliance, but he's probably the oldest member. Even though he's an old man, don't underestimate him. His swordsmanship is pretty impressive — maybe just a little below mine?"
"Then he is nothing remarkable."
"...Want me to prove right now whether he's remarkable or not?"
"Fufu, I don't mind."
"Stop, stop!"
Sofia and Lena suddenly started throwing sparks at each other, so I hurriedly stopped them.
Were they on bad terms?
Or was it just a compatibility issue?
"Geez, don't interrupt the explanation."
Puffing out her cheeks, Lena continued.
"Riken is fairly strong, but more than that, he's really cunning. A strategist? That's basically his role, and I think he's pretty troublesome."
"So he's more skilled in strategy than swordsmanship... That certainly does sound troublesome."
"The other one is a man named Xenoas. His age is... hmm... maybe around thirty? I've never properly checked, so I'm not sure. Xenoas is even more specialized in combat than I am, and he feels like the kind of guy who only cares about fighting. He can effortlessly wield a gigantic demonic sword and take on over a thousand enemies alone... literally a one-man army."
As she spoke, Lena looked slightly tense.
For someone like her to make that expression, Xenoas must have been even more monstrous than her words implied.
"And as for the Elder, who matters most... I barely know anything. Like I said earlier, I haven't met them very often... actually, even when we talked, magic was used, so I've never directly seen their face."
"Do you know their gender or age?"
"Probably female? As for age... hmm... she seems young, but also old somehow, so I really can't say."
Lena looked genuinely troubled.
She truly seemed to know nothing.
"Do you know anything about the hideout?"
Erin asked that question.
Lena frowned with a thoughtful "Mmm..." expression.
"Hmm... excluding the safe houses, and excluding the shabby places... if we examine things carefully, I think we can narrow it down somewhat. Though while I've been away, they might have added new hideouts, so I can't say for sure."
"Even so, we don't have any other leads right now. Could you tell us?"
"Yeah, sure. It's a request from Fate, after all. Ehehe♪"
"Stop acting all lovey-dovey."
Sofia looked ready to draw her sword...
Or rather, her hand was already reaching for the hilt.
Please stop.
I understood how she felt, but Lena was an extremely important ally.
"Mmm..."
Lena stared intently at the map in thought.
After a short while, she pointed at three locations.
"The northern underground waterway. A warehouse facing the harbor. And the public cemetery. As far as I know, these three are the most likely possibilities."
If it was the headquarters of the Dawn Alliance, then it housed a huge number of members.
It also stored multiple precious demonic swords.
Therefore, they wouldn't use a safe house as their main base.
Eliminated.
It would also be difficult to operate from a small location.
Eliminated.
...And by the process of elimination, these three remained.
"Even then, there are still three possibilities..."
"There is also the possibility that it is somewhere else entirely... Honestly. For a former executive, you're rather useless."
"Haven't you been a bit harsh toward me this whole time?"
"You're my rival in many ways, so I'm simply keeping you in check ahead of time."
"Muu... I just think that if I get the chance, I'd like to steal Fate's lips."
"Absolutely not!"
"Cheapskate."
"..."
Beside the two of them, who were bickering like children, Erin wore a serious expression as she thought about something.
Like Lena earlier, she was staring intently at the map.
"Is something wrong?"
"The public cemetery... are you certain there may be a hideout there?"
"I don't know whether the executives or the Elder are there. But there definitely is a hideout. I've used it several times myself."
"Even though it's just a cemetery?"
"There's a huge underground chamber there. People don't come to cemeteries at night, right? So it's actually a pretty perfect place to hide."
"I see."
Erin nodded as if convinced.
"Do you have some kind of lead?"
"We had several suspicions ourselves... and one of them was this public cemetery."
"Then...!"
"Yes, I believe it is worth investigating."
Was the public cemetery truly the hideout of the Dawn Alliance?
And what awaited us there?
At that moment... I still knew nothing.
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