『I've erased our sounds with soundproof magic, but be careful not to kick a stone. And it looks like there's a demon guarding the passage, we'll decide how to deal with it once we get closer.』


  『Yes!』


  『Got it!』


  We stealthily progressed through the passage.

  Then I saw the passage curving while probing the mana reaction as we walked.

  And there's a demon at the end after the corner.

  There's only a single demon on the lookout.

  We should reach the city once we got pass it and reached the door at the end.

  『…This is, slipping pass this demon would be a better idea here.』


  A lone lookout like this usually performs safety checks regularly.

  Killing this demon would be the same as telling other demons there's an intruder.

  Let's save that as the last resort.

  『Slip pass… There's only one passage here right? Wouldn't the demon find us just like that…』


  『There's a way if the enemy is alone. I'll cast a spell for that, you girls, walk forward once I give you the signal.』


  I approach the passage's corner.

  A spell to make yourself invisible is enough if you merely needs to deceive a lookout.

  Anything would do if it was humans, but we're up against a demon.

  Demons with sharp perceptions tasked to stand watch could even detect those who have hidden their body and sounds with magic by slight vibrations on the ground.

  I'll be fine on my own, but to let the girls pass here, I've got to meddle with this demon and temporarily cease the demon's perceptions.

  And do that in a way that won't get me noticed.

  『…This is quite far.』


  From the passage's corner to the demon, it's 40 meters away. Unfortunately, Disqualified Crest cannot send magic through walls.

  The passage probably has been structured like this to prevent magic attacks through the walls.

  While thinking that, I made myself disappear with magic, and took a step into the section after the corner.

  Then I set magic barriers slightly above the ground, and stand on it.

  …The demon doesn't seem to notice me at all.

  I stealthily approach the demon as such.

  When you're in close proximity to a demon, their mana perception is the hardest ability to elude.

  If you don't walk with a specific stepping to lower interference on the surrounding mana, simply standing around will expose yourself once you've gotten this close.

  Once the demon is within my magic range… I cast a spell called 『Disturbance』.

  It's a spell that dulls the target's perceptions for a duration of time.

  Ruli and the girls should be able to slip pass the demon without getting found out now.

  『Now's your chance! …The demon would notice you if you tread on the ground so walk on the barrier I've put on the passage.』


  『U-understand!』


  『Got it!』


  The girls then walked toward me while stepping on the barrier.

  Since they're just walking normally, the surrounding mana have been thrown into disorders (especially around Iris)… But the demon doesn't notice it.

  The three passed by the demon just like that and got out of the passage.

  『I-it really didn't notice us!』


  『We were walking right beside it and yet it didn't notice us at all…』


  We arrived at the town while conversing through comm magic.

  By the way, once you're connected through the comm magic, its effect on the surroundings is pretty diminutive, thus there's no problem using it.

  『…They'll suspect us if we're just standing around here. For now, let's look around the town while pretending to shop around.』


  I walk toward the center of the town afterward.

  But still, it's really…


  『This town feels gloomy somehow…』


  『And the adventurers aren't carrying weapon.』


  Alma said the exact thing I thought.

  This town's mood is obviously not normal.

  The populace seems to be mostly humans, but they have gloomy expressions on their faces.

  And the adventurers don't have any weapon with them.

  Restrictions on arms… or not, doesn't seem like it, but ordinary adventurers would have never gone without one.

  There must be a reason behind this.

  『Let's put our weapon away. It would raise suspicion otherwise.』


  『Gotcha!』


  We put away all our weapons into Storage magic in a deserted place, and took another stroll.

  Judging from the stock at the stores, distribution of goods seem to flow just fine.

  If I had to say, medicine selections are not good… or rather, it feels more like they can't catch up with demands.

  Most of the stores selling medicines have empty shelves.

  The few remaining ones are rip-offs.

  The guild came into view while I was thinking that.

  『There's a guild here. Let's take a look at the quest board, I'm also intrigued about the no-weapon situation here.』


  『Maybe there's a lot of quests that don't require you to carry a weapon? I mean, bringing one while doing such a quest would only be a bother.』


  『That's a possibility… But normally, there's less than 10% of quests that don't need a weapon no?』


  Adventurers' job is fighting.

  Monsters could sneak on you even during gathering quests, it's unthinkable why an adventurer wouldn't carry a weapon.

  There are quests for beginners where you don't need to fight (like carrying luggage), but the number should be extremely small.

  『You're right… Perhaps there's a peculiar quest or something.』


  We went inside the guild while having that conversation.

  And over there was… a single quest tag for mining ores.