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The Needle Beetles were turned into heaps of corpses. Leaving them be, I advanced deeper into the forest for inspection.

These Needle Beetles were Devils brought to this world only by summoning. Even those inside the labyrinth were summoned by the World Tree. In that case, there was a high chance that the magic circle or the user that summoned this group should be nearby too.

I searched around in the circumference for clues, but I could find neither the traces of summons nor any suspicious person.

“So they didn’t come here? I’m not really sure how manipulating the Devils works…”

I returned to the previous location, but there didn’t seem to be any point in further inspection. Rather, I had to think about what to do with all these corpses now.

The carapaces and horns of the Needle Beetles could be used as equipment materials. Hard shells as armor, and sharp horns as weapons.

If I left the materials intact even after defeating such a number of them, it would only make things more suspicious.

The information about these beetles had become known only after Lyell had returned. The only ones who knew were the hunters who were on the scene with Lyell back then. And us, people in his mansion.

But if I strip off the materials for them, it would look like some passerby Adventurers battled them.

Thinking so, I quickly went and retrieved their horns as subjugation proof. The carapaces would actually fetch quite a good price, but it would take far too long to collect them.

It took me nearly an hour to strip off all their horns, and I was all bloody by the time I finished it. It looked like I had to hit the bath one more time.

“So one more bath when I return, huh. What a pain…”

Gadius’ inn had a bathhouse, but the water was drained at night for cleaning purposes. If I ask, they would prepare it though. Gadius knew my circumstances, so I doubt he would refuse. I was a bit hesitant since it felt like I was taking advantage of his kindness, but simply wiping my body would still leave me with a disgusted feeling.

I spread a snuggly folded cloth bag that was popular among Adventurers, then stuffed all the horns in it, and heaved a sigh.

“…And due to that, I’m in this messy state. Please prepare a bath for me.” As I returned to Gadius’ inn looking all bloody, I requested that right away. Seeing me, Gadius frowned and demanded that I explain the situation first.

“It will take some time until the water accumulates. At least explain the situation before that, you fool.”
“O-Okay.”

To start, I summarized the events of the mansion.

At any rate, since summonings were involved in the matter, there was a chance that Kufar was involved. I had to convey that information to Maxwell as well.

“I see. That information does indeed seem like something beyond our means. I would prefer to let Cortina hear this but…”
“I mean, Lyell would tell her, won’t he? But what do you mean beyond our means? Are you saying I’m an idiot?”
“Not that you can deny it, can you?”
“Why?”
“Think about it. There are already traces of your characteristic threads remaining in that forest, but you prioritized collecting the materials.”
“…Oh.”

Looking back, I set a trap there and used my threads to bisect the enemies. The trees that I used as foundation for my threads received a lot of load so they should’ve had a lot of scars remaining.

Even if I pretended to be a random Adventurer by collecting the horns, they’d still realize that it was my work.

“W-W-W-W-What should I do??”
“Stop acting so flustered with that body. It is because you act so appealing that men are constantly approaching you.”
“Why do you know that!?”
“How many men do you think have drowned their cares in the drinks here?”
“So you overheard them, s̲h̲i̲t̲!”

Certainly, an overwhelming number of customers of this inn had confessed to us. And not just the residents of this city, but even passing travelers were approaching us. It stood to reason that they would come to drink themselves dead in this inn that was known to be the safest in the city.

“Anyway, we are talking about that diligent Lyell here. He will quickly let Maxwell know. If we let Maxwell know our story in advance, we can make up a convincing story.”

His words made me realize that fact. Lyell said he’d go to investigate it tomorrow, but he’d probably report to Maxwell tonight. Most likely, he would use the Guild’s contact network to get a hold of him any time tonight.

“I see! Then I should quickly head to the Guild!”
“You made me prepare the bath already, so go in first. I will go and report it in your stead.”
“R-Right. Thanks.”

True, if I rushed into the Guild looking so bloody, it would just lead to unnecessary rumors. It was better to take Gadius up on his offer here. Feeling relieved, I hurried to the bath.

It was a little narrow to call it a large public bath, but it was still far too luxurious for a single person. It drew water directly from the river flowing into the city and boiled it with a magic item, so while it wasn’t a natural hot spring, it still did its job to remove one’s fatigue.

I cleaned off my filth and jumped into the bathtub, and as I floated on the surface, Cortina’s advice from earlier came to mind. I had to act cold to approaching men starting from tomorrow.

“Aagh, what a pain…”

I was starting to feel like retiring to some unexplored regions that no one knew about. I felt like I understood God Hastur’s feelings a bit better now. Though, when it came to that other one, I’d wanna protest that a god shouldn’t be materializing so willy-nilly like that all the time.

As I floated with my limbs spread wide, even thinking started to become a bother. When Gadius returns, he will come to check on me anyway. Thinking so, I closed my eyes.

◇◆◇◆◇

Once Gadius returned after getting in touch with Maxwell, Nicole had yet to come out of the bath. Finding that strange, he took a peek at the bathroom, only to find dizzy Nicole floating like a jellyfish there, but that was a story for another time.