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A golden monster. I can guess what its true identity is, so I silently switched with Ciel to confirm with Mother Fii.
She can only respond with yes or no in general, but since I’m only asking if it’s an Artificial Divine Messenger, that won’t be an issue.
And as expected, it really is an Artificial Divine Messenger.

Rhavelt seems to have had the same thought process, as he quickly turned to Ciel, staying true to the promise of informing us if news of an Artificial Divine Messenger ever appeared.
With Ciel’s eyes meeting his, he must have taken it as a sign, as he then spoke out.

「Lady Cielmer, can we ask you to wait until we can gather all available information?」
「Alright.」

I’ve already informed Ciel that it’s an Artificial Divine Messenger, but if we tell Rhavelt about it, he’ll likely ask why we even know. Then we’ll have to explain Mother’s sorcery or magic and whatnot, so we’ll just keep this to ourselves.
Besides, the only information we have right now is that an Artificial Divine Messenger appeared.
Will it have the appearance of a wolf like before, or is it different? What kind of abilities does it have? It’s always best to have more information than less.

Also, since there’s currently an uproar at the den, we likely wouldn’t be able to get in easily even if we hurry there now.

And so we decided to wait. It took me a bit of time to notice that Shusii was restless in her chair.

「Um, it’s the monster Cielmer…Lady Cielmer is looking for, right?」
「Right.」
「Then are you going to fight it? Will you be fine?」
「Yeah. I already defeated one.」
「Even so, please be careful.」

After that exchange, since there’s nothing else for her to do, we had Shusii go home.
The relief on her face upon hearing that was memorable, but it must have been nerve-wracking for her when Grand Master Rhavelt guided her out of the room.
It’s a bit weird to see her so nervous with him since Ciel should have more authority within Central… but, well, it’s probably a matter of familiarity.

After Shusii left, we waited for a while until more information finally arrived:

・A golden monster invaded the den from the outside.
・It mowed down hunters as it went deeper inside, resulting in multiple casualties.
・Hunters of C-rank or more should be able to run away from it with relative ease.
・It appears to have captured a considerable number of hunters.
・The monster’s name is ‘Artificial Divine Messenger’.
・Entry to the den is currently restricted.

That’s the gist of the situation. The moment the Artificial Divine Messenger was mentioned, Rhavelt turned his eyes to Ciel.
After that, Rhavelt called for someone and ordered the publication of a permit. It’s probably something to help Ciel enter the den without delay. That’ll help a lot.

On our end, since it’s an Artificial Divine Messenger, we are by no means reluctant to fight it.
Rather, we even requested that they find those for us, so staying put is not an option.

“We’re counting on you.” As Rhavelt said so and handed over the published permit, I heard a loud voice scream “It’s a golden… spider monster!”

◇

『A spider… is it now…』
『A spider it is, apparently…』

As Ciel walked along the path leading to the den, both she and I let out heavy sighs.
I anticipated the possibility of it not being a wolf this time, but of all things, it had to be a spider.
We have no fond memories of spiders, which is why Ciel’s footsteps are heavy.

We’ve been crossing paths with crowds of hunters fleeing from the den for some time now, but it’s nothing compared to the prospect of having to see a spider.
Among these hunters, some warned Ciel of the danger, but she paid them no heed. A few even reached out in an attempt to stop her, only to be repelled by my barrier, forcing them to go back on their way.

It was a bit distressing, but considering their actions stemmed from concern for Ciel, it doesn’t feel too bad.
I do feel some level of guilt, though.

Reaching the den’s entrance, there was what appeared to be a Hunter Guild staff member stopping a lone hunter. The hunter, aiming to gain achievements, kept yelling to be let inside. Meanwhile, the guild staff resolutely replied, “Until enough information can be gathered, the guild cannot allow entry of hunters lower than B-rank.”

Though we’ve already been informed, it seems that they really were blocking entry. The Hunter Guild sure acts quickly.

A crowd of onlookers had gathered, staring coldly at the adamant hunter.
Strangely, there was someone among the onlookers with a large amount of magic power, but it wasn’t as much as ours, so there was no need to worry.

While the hunter constantly seemed on the verge of using force to get past the guild staff, he doesn’t. Perhaps he feared doing so would lead to his demotion?
I vaguely remember it being written in the rules.

Ignoring their exchange, Ciel headed to the entrance. Then, completely ignoring the still-arguing hunter, Ciel casually hands her permit to the guild staff. Since only those below B-rank were barred, Ciel could enter normally with her rank, but the people probably wouldn’t believe it. The guild staff might figure it out on his own, but presenting the permit would surely make the process smoother.

The guild staff had a look of annoyance upon receiving the permit, but it quickly turned to surprise, and he promptly let us pass. Seeing this, the argumentative hunter stared at Ciel indignantly.

「Why can this little girl go when I can’t?」
「It’s because she’s Mistress Fiiyanamia’s adopted daughter. As a hunter, you should put more effort into information gathering.」
「Who the he-… Ice Witch!?」

The hunter angrily replied to the lady who appeared from among the onlookers, but upon seeing that it was Carol, his face was overcome with shock.
He nearly picked a fight with an A-rank hunter, so that reaction was only natural.

Guess who’s back! Hi Carol!

It’s nice to see how the guild master and the guild as a whole was quick to act. Also, poor Shusii is just there, quietly sitting next to Ciel not knowing how to react or what to do. Good that she can finally go home after all she’s been through today, lol. As for our princesses… well, good luck with the spider… Oh, and it’s just a short line, but I like how Ain monologued about people who were trying to keep them from going to the den out of worry. It’s rare for nameless background characters to show kindness in stories, so it’s nice to see. Ain kept them away, though. Well, let’s see how this argumentative hunter will fare against Carol, lol.

Now then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay healthy, stay safe, and have a nice day~!