To That Forest ⓶ – The Wof Boy Investigation Team.
The day of the investigation into That Forest arrived.
The Witch had summoned me, and I found myself on the first floor of the Seeker Guild Hydrangea Branch.
I was given a location, but since I’m not a Seeker, I didn’t know where it was.
Maybe I should just ask at the reception desk.
“Oi. Wof.”
“Mr. Agaro.”
The one who called out was Mr. Agaro.
A red-haired Faun man. A Tier II Seeker. Agaro the 【Ruinblade】.
“What’s up? Rare to see you around here.”
“The Witch summoned me.”
“You too, huh? Come to think of it, you’re The Witch’s disciple, right?”
“Y-Yes. I’m her disciple.”
“You, huh? Well, now that you mention it, maybe I can see it.”
What’s that supposed to mean? Hmm?
“You too? Mr. Agaro, were you also called by The Witch?”
“Yeah. Meeting Room 3, right? This way. Follow me.”
As expected of Mr. Agaro, the Tier II Seeker 【Ruinblade】.
With a remarkably confident air, he went to the reception desk and asked, “Oi. Where’s Meeting Room 3?”
He didn’t know? The Receptionist guided us with a bright smile.
Meeting Room 3.
It was the third room from the left on the Guild’s second floor. Entering, we found a sterile space.
Pure white walls. A pure white board at the front. Cheap long tables lined with simple chairs.
There was nothing else. Truly a meeting room. It felt somewhat nostalgic.
“Excuse us.”
“Um, um, Lord Wof!?”
“Juicy-san?”
I did a double-take. A dog sitting politely and primly near the entrance.
And now, that dog had shot to her feet.
There was no mistake. It was the beautiful, black-haired, puppy-eared Juicy-san.
Why was she here? Mr. Agaro tilted his head.
“Oi. Who’re you?”
“I’m Rell-san’s younger sister.”
“Rell’s?”
“Um, um, um, nice to meet you. I’m Juicy=Tasan.”
“Agaro. Tasan? You mean that Marquis house?”
“Um, um, yes. That’s right. That Tasan.”
“So Rell was a Tasan, huh? Well, I’ll be.”
Mr. Agaro gave a wry smile and stroked his stubble.
Juicy-san’s eyes widened.
“Um, um, you know Brother Rell?”
“Yeah, we know each other a bit.”
“Um, um, that’s amazing! Um, Mr. Agaro. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yeah, likewise.”
“By the way, why is Juicy-san here?”
“Um, woof. I was summoned by Lady Witch.”
Well, that much was obvious, but… Mr. Agaro and Juicy-san.
Could they be the members for the investigation of That Forest? What an unexpected selection.
As always, I wonder what she’s thinking.
“Well, well, everyone. Looks like you’ve gathered.”
The Witch herself appeared briskly. She seemed to be in a remarkably good mood.
“Oi. Witch.”
“Um, um, Lady Witch. Good day!”
“Good morning.”
“Na!”
“Hm? What’s that?”
Mr. Agaro looked suspicious. Ah, he wouldn’t know, would he?
I drew my Dagaa Knife.
“Dagaa.”
“Na!”
“Whoa! What the heck is this thing? A Monster?”
Dagaa transformed, and Mr. Agaro took a single step back.
Ah, don’t draw Flame Tongue!
“Na!?”
“Now, now, calm down, Agaro.”
Dagaa fled to The Witch’s chest. The Witch patted him reassuringly.
“What is that thing?”
“It’s kinda my knife, kinda my pet…”
I don’t actually know. What is that thing, anyway?
That thing sleeping on The Witch’s chest.
“It’s Wof’s? Come to think of it, your knife did transform.”
Realizing this, Mr. Agaro relaxed and sheathed Flame Tongue. Juicy-san spoke up.
“Um, um, that’s an amazing sword. Woof woof. Just looking at it feels like I might burst into flames.”
Juicy-san’s eyes sparkled like stars.
Mr. Agaro chuckled softly.
“Heh, little lady. You can tell?”
“Um, yes. Mr. Agaro, could you possibly be… the Ruinblade?”
“That’s what they call me.”
“Um, um, um, I’m so happy to meet you!”
Could she be a fan?
Then, Juicy-san looked at me. Or more accurately, at my hip.
“Um, um, I felt an aura similar to the knife Lord Wof is carrying.”
“Do you mean this knife?”
Ah, this one. I showed her the knife I received from Mr. Agaro.
Juicy-san nodded emphatically.
“Um, woof. That’s the one!”
“Heh. Little lady. That’s the knife I gave Wof.”
“Um, um, is that so! They had a similar aura.”
“Heeh, not bad, little lady. The Witch’s choice of personnel is solid.”
“Yep, yep. Puppy-chan here is quite capable.”
“You’ll make a fine Seeker.”
“Um, um, thank you very much. Lord Wof. I got praised. I’m so happy!”
“That’s great, Juicy-san.”
The way she reports every little thing to me… just like the dog I had back home.
It used to eagerly bring me all sorts of things. Though I could have done without the dead mice.
“Alrighty then, shall we begin? Everyone, just sit wherever.”
The Witch placed Dagaa on the table. I sat down next to Juicy-san.
Dagaa twitched his four ears, wagging his tail in time with the sway of The Witch’s tail.
No way, Juicy-san was wagging her tail in sync too. Is that a tail-haver thing?
Mr. Agaro slumped into a chair and asked.
“Witch. Is this everyone for the investigation of That Forest?”
“Yep, yep. This is everyone. I invited the cat too, but she said she was busy with base-related stuff and turned me down.”
Ms. Pachira. I heard she was busy with moving and renovations.
“I see. Well, I know Wof. And I’ve confirmed the little lady’s abilities. A small, elite group. Sounds good to me. Having too many people for investigation teams or subjugation squads isn’t always good anyway.”
Mr. Agaro spoke self-deprecatingly. Was the “subjugation” part about the previous Dungeon incident?
“Thank you, thank you. Anything else? No? Introductions are done, so let’s move on to the first important thing we need to decide. Specifically, deciding on a group name!”
“Hm? Deciding on a group name?”
What’s that about? The Witch energetically wrote in large letters on the whiteboard.
“Yes, yes! Kon’s recommendation is the ‘Wof Boy Investigation Team’!”
“Huh?”
“Hoh. Not bad.”
“Mr. Agaro!?”
“I especially like the ‘Wof Boy’ part.”
“Mr. Agaro!?”
Wait, he’s started drinking?!
“Um, um, um, how about the ‘Lord Wof Investigation Squad’!”
Juicy-san!?
“Hoh hoh. Nice, nice.”
The Witch wrote ‘Lord Wof Investigation Squad’.
“Hoh. Not bad.”
“Mr. Agaro!?”
“I especially like the ‘Lord Wof’ part.”
“Mr. Agaro!?”
He’s definitely drinking.
“Well then, Wof boy. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Suggestions? More importantly… what’s this about deciding a group name?”
Is this really the first important thing we need to do?
“Oh my. That’s because it’s a tradition for investigation teams to pick their own unique names for good luck. For example, the team investigating the town’s Dungeon is called the ‘I’m Gonna Propose to Her When This Investigation is Over Squad’.”
What a flag. Is that really okay? Wait, who’s that?
I turned around, and leaning against the wall with arms crossed was a man who hadn’t been there before.
He had short blond hair, long pointed ears adorned with several piercings.
His golden eyes narrowed into a mysterious smile. He had a slender, tall figure and was wearing lipstick and makeup. A white shirt and yellow trousers. An Elf man.
I recognized him. I think… it was when I returned from the Dungeon incident.
The flamboyant elf who was talking with Ms. Megadia underground.
“Guild Master!?”
“Oh my. You remembered me well. I’m Alance.”
Mr. Alance chuckled softly.
“Uh, I’m Wof. It’s nice to properly meet you.”
“Oh my. You’re The Witch’s disciple, but you seem quite normal. And cute, too.”
“Th-Thanks.”
He winked, and I recoiled slightly.
“Hmm hmm. Agaro, got anything?”
“Huh? Ahh, let’s see. How ’bout the ‘Lord Wof Boy Investigation Team Squad’?”
“Mr. Agaro!? Hey! Isn’t that just mixing the two names?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It doesn’t make any sense!”
“That’s what’s good about it.”
No, it’s not.
Could it be… you don’t actually care, do you?
Well, actually, I feel like it doesn’t really matter either. Guild Master Alance laughed too.
“Oh my. So careless, Agaro.”
“Well, this kind of thing is fine too, ain’t it?”
“I suppose so.”
“…”
No, it’s really not fine, but I couldn’t help raising my hand.
“Um, how about the ‘Dagaa Investigation Team’?”
“Na?”
“Hmm hmm. Dagaa Investigation Team, you say.”
The Witch wrote it on the whiteboard. Hey, it’s tiny. The writing is small.
“Alrighty then, we’ll decide from these three. Let’s do a majority vote. Raise your hand if you like the name. First, proposed by Wof boy, the ‘Dagaa Investigation Team’. Okay. Wof boy. One person. Next, proposed by Agaro, the ‘Lord Wof Boy Investigation Team Squad’. Okay. Zero.
Mr. Agaro!? How can the proposer not raise their hand?
“Next, next, proposed by Puppy-chan, the ‘Lord Wof Investigation Squad’. Okay. Zero. Alrighty then, finally, proposed by Kon, the ‘Wof Boy Investigation Team’. Okay. Four people and one animal. Okay, it’s decided!”
Four people? Hey, Guild Master, what are you doing?!
One animal? Dagaa!? Huh, you raised your hand… you.
And Juicy-san didn’t even raise her hand for her own suggestion… come on.
What is this? This whole thing was rigged!
And thus, the name for the investigation into That Forest was decided: ‘The Wof Boy Investigation Team’.
Next, about the reward. This time, it’s a Guild request, but not from a branch, from the main headquarters.
In other words, it was a request from the Grand Guild.
Reward money has been prepared according to Seeker rank.
Naturally, the reward for Juicy-san and me, who aren’t ranked like that, is incredibly low.
Well, I knew that, so as long as we get even a little, that’s fine.
Next was an explanation about That Forest.
There’s an Abandoned Village in That Forest. It was a village that worshipped an evil god.
The Witch explained that it was destroyed in a large-scale subjugation operation by Seekers and a knight order.
Here, Guild Master Alance-san added a supplementary explanation.
No matter how much they investigated, it’s unknown which evil god they worshipped.
From that, there’s a possibility it was quite a minor and obscure evil god.
“Oh my. But we did find the village chief’s name. It’s Hargan.”
Hagen? No, Hargan, huh.
“Hmm hmm. That’s an unusual name.”
“Um, um, I’ve never heard it before.”
“Yeah. It sounds like it’s from the northern regions. Like Havgan or Annuv.”
“Then, is Hargan like Havgan?”
“Dunno.”
Right. Haha.
“Oh my. Also, in the Guild’s vault, there was a Legendary item that resonated with That Forest. When it rang, we could tell if someone had entered That Forest.”
“Huh, now that you mention it, I heard a rumor like that. Was it true?”
“Yes. Though even if we knew, there wasn’t anything we could do about it.”
Alance-san gave a wry smile. That makes sense.
As the Guild, they can only declare it off-limits; there’s nothing they can do to enforce it.
Come to think of it, apparently, they even built a hut nearby and tried posting a guard for a time.
But the guard disappeared in less than a week, so they haven’t done anything since.
“Um, um, what kind of Legendary item was it? I’m interested!”
“A Whistle, right?”
“No. That’s wrong. It was a Chalice. Besides, saying it ‘rang’ isn’t quite right. That sound was countless screams and grudges overlapping, making it sound like a whistle. It broke when the place was liberated.”
That’s right. The screams and cries of grudge from within the Chalice sounded like a distant, distant whistle.
Even now, I still don’t know what that horrifying thing was.
But it was definitely related to the evil god worship.
And protecting it were hordes of Skeletons and… the Black Knight.
Even now, I sometimes recall it and shudder. The first Monster I ever lost to.
I’ve gotten stronger since then… I think.
How well could I fight that Black Knight now, without [Generous]?
“In the first place, why did the Guild even have something like that?”
Mr. Agaro voiced his question. True, why did they have it?
“Oh my. That Chalice, you see… it’s said that Alhazardo Abramelin, the current Grand Guild Master, brought it here back when he was the Master of this Guild.”
“Seriously? That old man was the Guild Master here?”
“Was he really?”
“Yes, not many know about it, but he was.”
I was a little surprised. So that connection is why he made the request directly, huh.
“Well, well, that’s about it. The investigation schedule for That Forest is currently planned for three days. We’re anticipating it might be extended if anything comes up.”
“Yeah. Sounds reasonable based on what we’ve heard. If there’s nothing there, then that’s fine too.”
“Um, um, yes. That’s right.”
“Right…”
I liberated That Forest.
So there shouldn’t be anything there. Nothing.
This isn’t a flag, right?