"Oh, you've come back!"
The voice greeted Rei and his companions the moment they teleported from the magic circle on B7F back to the surface. They had just entered the guild, intending to settle the accounts for their spoils.
When they turned toward the sound, they found a man with a hammer and another with a bow waiting for them. It was Energeia and Menos, the two adventurers Rei’s party had rescued inside the dungeon.
Broad smiles were plastered on their faces. However, these were not smiles of relief that the people who saved them had returned safely; rather, they were grins of joy at the arrival of reinforcements who could bolster their own reports to the guild.
"…I see," Vihera muttered.
"Nn."
Having lived in Exil for quite some time, Vihera and Byune immediately realized what the two men were after and let out soft sighs.
"You look quite exhausted," Vihera remarked.
"Can you tell?" Energeia groaned. "Look, I admit providing information is vital. But having to tell the same story over and over and over and over… it's honestly taking a toll."
"It can’t be helped. They make you repeat yourself to ensure there aren't any contradictions in your account. But… yes, the fact that you’re still here means it’s our turn, isn't it?"
Vihera wore a rare expression of slight distaste as she spoke. Energeia nodded.
"Yeah. Our part is finally finished, so you guys are up next. We stayed here specifically to let you know."
"…I assume that includes me too?" Rei asked, his own expression mirroring Vihera’s annoyance.
Vihera nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Did you think I was going to be the only sacrificial lamb? Well, don't worry. I was the one who actually fought that Stone Puppet, so I’ll be doing most of the talking. Rei and Elena, you two just need to provide supplementary details."
"Is Byune not part of the supplementary group?" Elena inquired.
Vihera gave a small, wry smile and patted the head of the girl looking up at her expressionlessly. "Do you really think this child can handle an explanation?"
"…I suppose not." Elena had no choice but to agree.
Byune had originally been capable of normal speech. However, because she had been venturing into the dungeon alone to earn money since she was a young child, the number of words she spoke in a day had steadily dwindled. She had become increasingly taciturn until, eventually, she reached her current state, where a single "Nn" sufficed for everything.
Even without knowing the full details of her circumstances, anyone who traveled with Byune could see that she settled every interaction with that one syllable.
"Nn," Byune grunted in affirmation.
Seeing her nod, Rei gave up on a quick exit and approached the receptionist at the counter who had been observing their exchange.
"So, as I’m sure you’ve gathered from watching that, they want to hear our story too."
"Yes. Please head to the meeting room on the 2F. It’s the room at the far back where you previously met with Lord Bosk."
At those words, Rei finally remembered that this was the same receptionist who had informed them of their summons by Bosk Silva.
I feel like she’s always getting caught up in our messes… Well, that’s just bad luck, he thought.
Deciding it wouldn't be polite to show his internal pity, Rei gave a small nod of thanks and headed up to the second floor. Elena and Vihera followed, and though she clearly had no intention of explaining anything herself, Byune tagged along as well, apparently deciding she couldn't just go home yet.
When they arrived at the meeting room, Rei ignored the muffled sounds of chatter and occasional shouting from within and knocked on the door.
"Enter."
The response was instantaneous, as if the people inside had been waiting for them. Rei pushed the door open.
In fact, they had been waiting. The gazes of the five men inside the room snapped toward Rei the moment he crossed the threshold. It was a sight that would undoubtedly make a normal person flinch; after all, these five individuals held significant positions within the guild.
However, Rei entered the room without a hint of concern, seemingly indifferent to the weight of their stares.
The reactions among the officials varied. Some nodded in quiet impression, others furrowed their brows in displeasure, and some simply observed with unmoving, analytical gazes.
Most of them, however, quickly averted their eyes when Elena appeared behind Rei. As the daughter of Duke Kerebel—a pillar of the Noble's Faction, the second-largest power in the Kingdom of Mireana—and a woman famed as the Princess General, she was not someone they could afford to offend through a careless stare.
Vihera, known as the Mad Beast, and Byune, the orphan of House Flaut, followed. Though they were only a temporary party of four, every member was a person of note or someone too dangerous to touch lightly.
Given the company, it was perhaps unsurprising that Rei ended up being the most approachable person in the room—a situation that would have seemed like a bad joke to anyone from Gilm.
"Ahem. Thank you for coming. Please, take those seats. We would like to hear the details of your encounter."
Rei and the others sat where prompted by one of the officials, a man in his 40s. Once they were settled, the man, who appeared to be leading the inquiry, spoke up immediately.
"Now then, I presume you understand why you’ve been summoned here?"
His gaze was fixed on Rei. Even for the man in charge, Rei seemed like the safest point of contact.
I never expected to be the diplomat for this group… But then again, with such a "thick" cast of characters in this party, it’s only natural he’d think I’m the easiest to talk to, Rei mused.
He kept the thought to himself—knowing Elena would likely object if she heard it—and opened his mouth to speak.
"I heard from Energeia’s group downstairs. This is about the Stone Puppet we fought, isn't it?"
"Precisely. We’ve heard their account, but we cannot make a formal judgment based on the testimony of a single party. Let me ask you directly: what was your impression of that Stone Puppet?"
The other four officials leaned in, their eyes focusing on Rei. Rei met their gazes squarely but gave a small shake of his head.
"I’m sure you’re aware, but Elena and I only arrived in Exil recently. It hasn't even been a week. Today was our first time descending to B6F, so naturally, it was my first time fighting a Stone Puppet there. That said, we fought a normal Stone Puppet shortly after, and it was clearly different from the specimen Vihera engaged. I’ll leave the specifics to the person who actually fought it."
Rei glanced at Vihera, who was sitting next to him.
The seating order from the end of the table was Elena, Rei, Vihera, and Byune. Elena hadn't liked the idea of Vihera sitting next to Rei, but given the formal atmosphere of the room, she had recognized it wasn't the time for such complaints and had reluctantly remained silent.
Vihera nodded at Rei’s lead and began her explanation.
"I'll take it from here, as I was the one who actually fought it. To be blunt, that Stone Puppet was vastly different from the norm. First of all, its body was overwhelmingly larger. It was a full head taller than Elena—roughly two meters in height."
A collective stir went through the senior guild staff. Since they were conducting an inquiry into the anomaly, they had researched standard Stone Puppet data beforehand. Nowhere in the records was there mention of one exceeding two meters. That fact alone was proof of an irregularity.
They had heard the same from Energeia, but hearing it confirmed by famous adventurers like Rei and the Princess General carried entirely different weight. It was as if they were finally ready to believe it in earnest.
"And second," Vihera continued, "a normal Stone Puppet has a body composed of simple stone. While swords might struggle, weapons like axes or hammers can deal damage relatively easily. But the one we fought was nearly unscathed after taking a direct hit from a hammer; it only lost a few surface chips. Its body wasn't made of ordinary stone. Rei."
"Right."
Following Vihera’s cue, Rei reached into the Misty Ring and produced a fragment of the Stone Puppet’s body.
What he placed on the table looked like an ordinary stone at first glance. However, one of the officials immediately noticed something off. He reflexively stood up and approached their end of the table, picking up the fragment and examining it with intense focus.
"Is this… Magic Metal? No, there are still traces of stone. Does that mean… it was in the process of becoming Magic Metal?"
"Correct," Vihera said with a smile.
However, her brow furrowed slightly when she saw one of the other officials let out a sigh of relief.
"I see. In that case, the problem isn't as severe as we feared," that official remarked. "Can we not simply classify this as the appearance of a Rare Species of Stone Puppet?"
Several others began to nod in agreement, their tension visibly dissipating, until the man holding the fragment spoke up.
"I think that’s a bit premature. Magic Metal usually forms over a vast period of time. Looking at this fragment, this transformation happened quite recently. That suggests a high probability that some sort of external anomaly is at work."
It takes a long time to make Magic Metal? Now that I think about it, it was the same with the Flame Ore, Rei thought as he listened.
He recalled the Flame Ore created when his powerful magic had wiped out the Harpy Nest. That had been a near-miraculous accident caused by several factors aligning perfectly. Even if Rei tried to replicate it, creating more Flame Ore would be incredibly difficult.
"So you’re saying the Stone Puppet they fought wasn't just a Rare Species?" one official asked.
"Likely not. Of course, it’s possible its body started turning into Magic Metal purely by chance, but…"
"Does that mean an anomaly is occurring within the labyrinth itself?"
"Have there been any similar cases before? At the very least, I’ve heard nothing."
"Neither have I. We’d have to dig through the ancient records to be sure, but this might be a first."
"Wait… could it be related to how deep adventurers have reached recently?"
"What is the current deepest recorded floor?"
"I believe it was about two months ago when the B-Rank party, Arbor's Edge, reached B33F."
"B33F… a significant milestone."
"But even so, it would be strange for an anomaly to manifest on B6F just because someone reached B33F. I don't see the connection."
As the five men began to argue among themselves, ignoring their guests, Rei cleared his throat to get their attention.
"Regarding that… we might have encountered a similar anomaly on a much shallower floor."
The discussion among the senior officials stopped dead. They turned toward Rei with gazes filled with dread, weariness, or a desperate hope that he was joking. Undeterred, Rei continued.
"On B3F, we encountered a Sword Bee that was clearly different from the others. To be specific, it was nearly three times the size of a normal specimen, and it was issuing tactical instructions to the other Sword Bees."
"Impossible!" one official cried out.
His shock was understandable. Sword Bees were simple insect-type monsters that acted on instinct. At the very least, none of the staff had ever heard of a "Queen Bee" capable of directing its swarm with such intelligence.
"It’s a fact. Unfortunately, the body was heavily damaged during the fight and only the torso was intact. When I brought it to the guild here, I was told it couldn't be purchased, so I’ve already disposed of it."
"Then… isn't it highly likely that it was an Unknown High-ranking Species or a Rare Species?"
The man who had shouted earlier shook his head at his colleague’s suggestion.
"B3F is a floor crawling with beginners. The sheer volume of people passing through there is enormous. It's… difficult to believe an Unknown High-ranking Species or a Rare Species could go undetected for so long. Of course, it’s a matter of probability, so we can't rule it out entirely, but…"
The official trailed off. After some further discussion among themselves and hearing more details from Rei about the creature they assumed was a Queen Bee, the inquiry for the day drew to a close.
The guild staff gave them strict orders not to spread the news to avoid a panic based on speculation. This was followed by a negotiation for the guild to purchase the remains of the Stone Puppet Vihera had defeated.
Since Vihera had killed it alone, the ownership was hers, and Rei stayed out of the bargaining.
In truth, Rei had wanted the Magic Stone… but he knew better than to ask for it given the current circumstances.