Ruck. Thinking Alone.

I woke up the next morning and Grulf was sleeping next to me.

He was on his back and showing his belly.

“…Really, is there even a wild animal in you…”

“…Grr…ff… Mrrm…mrmm…”

His mouth was moving as if he were eating something in his dreams.

I petted him near his arms.

“Groofff.”

He began to kick his hind legs. It looked like he thought he was scratching himself.

It was pretty funny.

While I scratched him, I began to think.

I had destroyed three bases for the dark ones since returning to this world.

The first was the Vampire Lord base I had crushed with Shia, Ario and Josh.

The second was the High Lord base I had attacked with Eric, Goran, Shia and the beastkin.

The third was the base with the Evil God head.

As for bases inside of the royal capital, I suppose there was the Kabino house and Marquis Mastafon’s mansion.

Those should probably be considered local branches.

“So, what are the things we still don’t know?”

I said out loud. It was to organize my thoughts.

“Grrr.”

Seeing Grulf’s carefree sleep-face made my mind feel sharper.

It was likely that Marquis Mastafon’s steward was the one behind Kabino.

As the steward of a marquis, you would be able to do all kinds of things.

“However, it would not be easy to move the police…”

Marquis Mastafon was a great noble who had once been Lord of Financial Affairs.

But that was years ago.

Though, he had been working until recently in a role related to finances.

“The police officers answered to the Ministry of Home Affairs… I doubt they worked well with the Ministry of Finance.”

Perhaps there were nobles within the Ministry of Finance that were under the influence of the dark ones.

That would be very dangerous.

“That’s about all we know about the dark ones who have entered the royal capital…”

The next thing to consider was the organization of dark ones.

There were High Lords and below them, Lords. And under them were numerous vampires.

We had killed two High Lords.

One had been trying to attack the city.

The other was trying to revive their Evil God.

Both of them seemed like they were in a rush.

They had been carrying out their plan over a long period of time, but then seemed to move suddenly.

Eric and Goran said they thought it was because of my return.

But was that really the case?

“The more important thing is likely the reason that I was able to come back.”

I was able to return because I had killed all the devils and the Devil King.

Ten years ago, we had defeated the Devil King together. It took ten years for that Devil King to return.

It was traveling through the place between dimensions and trying to enter our world again. But I killed it.

Perhaps they had summoned the Evil God head to take the place of the Devil King.

The Devil King was a demigod that served the gods. He wasn’t a god himself.

And the head of a god was probably enough to replace a king.

“What were the dark ones trying to do…”

Normally, you would think that they wanted to rule this world.

The problem was their method.

“In the first place, is there nothing above a High Lord?”

Was there no possibility of there being a Grand High Lord for the vampires?

If there were, where were they and what were they doing?

“…It’s very troubling.”

There was a lot we didn’t know.

“Grr?”

Grulf had awakened at some point and was tilting his head as he looked at me.

“Grulf, you’re awake.”

“Groof-groof!”

I scratched his fur and he wagged his tail happily.

For now, I should just wait for the investigation to finish.

Until then, I would just kill time by killing goblins.

That was what I decided as I left the room.

When I entered the dining room, Milka noticed me immediately.

“Ah, Mister Locke! You’re awake! Will you have breakfast?”

“So you have breakfast ready? That would be great.”

Milka had prepared some breakfast. It was bread and a fried eggs.

I was very thankful.

“Milka. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it! It’s my job!”

“Where’s Eric and Goran?”

“They got up at dawn and went home.”

“I see. They’re both very busy, after all.”

I said, and Milka looked at me with a serious face.

“What is it?”

“Mister Locke. Are you in fact a really important person?”

“Maybe a little. What made you think that?”

“Well, they were calling that old man the king, after all.”

“Oh, so you noticed. Yes, Eric is the king.”

“So he really is the king. I hadn’t known.”

And then she looked at me again.

“So, what do you do, Mister Locke?”

“I really am an Adventurer.”

“Hmm…hmm…”

“Don’t tell anyone, but I’m actually quite good at it.”

“Yes, even the king relies on you!”

“Exactly.”

“I see…”

Milka seemed satisfied with this explanation.

But then she looked worried.

“Oh, have I been very rude to the king up until now?”

In fact, she had been very, very rude up until now.

“I’m getting very worried!”

Milka said as she petted Grulf’s back.

“…Grrr…”

“Well, don’t worry about it. You can just act as you always act.”

“I can?”

“Eric will usually be visiting us in disguise. So it won’t do to be overly polite, anyway.”

“Is that so! That’s a relief!”

Milka said as she hugged Grulf around the neck.