Tooru had taken no more than five steps after exiting the Sugai Dungeon.

Listening to the pattering of raindrops against his vinyl umbrella, he finally set down a sixth step—heading toward the so-called “demonkin” that Tia had beaten to a pulp.

S-rank explorer Souma Kengo, who had introduced himself as such, walked ahead of Tooru alongside Maisaka Risa, the human lie detector. Behind Tooru came Chizuru Kagurazaka, now changed into fresh clothes. Further back was the butler, Kashizaki Jouichirou, and at the very rear—protected by him—Kujou Reiko.

“Uh… sorry, but I’m not really following what’s going on. Apparently the thing she beat up is a ‘demonkin,’ but why was that demonkin trapped in midair inside that stone bud thing to begin with?”

Tooru’s question, not directed at anyone in particular, was answered by Souma.

“When we arrived, Kagurazaka Chizuru was fighting that individual. We knew Kagurazaka, so I subdued the other party first. Just as we were about to sort out the situation, you all came out of the dungeon.”

A middle-aged man with an intimidating build, leather jacket, and hunting cap—yet for no particular reason, Tooru felt no aversion toward him.

He was just blunt and easy to understand.

Even that barrage of questions earlier had clearly been necessary in his mind, which made Tooru feel inclined to answer seriously. He came off as high-handed, sure—but what made him different from Anthem’s manager or that shitty elf? Tooru found himself oddly puzzled.

“Uh… Kagurazaka-san, what did it look like from your side?”

When he casually prompted her, Chizuru’s back straightened so sharply that it was obvious even from a glance over her shoulder—like a subordinate hearing an order from a superior.

“S-Sir! Well… I am deeply ashamed to admit this, but I watched Kujou girl’s stream, and Tooru-sama’s as well. And there, I… became terribly disappointed in myself. Before I knew it, I had left without even my mobile terminal—only the magic bag I habitually carry—and was wandering the town barefoot.”

“……”

Tooru suddenly wished he hadn’t asked—but he endured.

“While continuing to walk aimlessly, I somehow reached a prefectural road, and as I followed the mountainside, I found myself here at the Sugai Dungeon. Perhaps, unconsciously, I wished to see you, Tooru-sama. Without considering the trouble it might cause you, unable even to process my own heartbreak… it is truly pitiful.”

Apparently, she had been heartbroken for some reason.

Still, it was unusual to hear someone speak so clearly and briskly about their own emotional wounds. The return of the honorific “sama” was a little alarming—but Tooru couldn’t help thinking, This girl’s kind of interesting.

“Be that as it may. As I wandered to the front of the Sugai Dungeon, I encountered the demonkin that Tia-dono defeated earlier. Though at first, he appeared to be an ordinary human. He claimed to be a staff member from the Dungeon Agency, here to investigate the entrance after the ‘Dungeon Stampede.’ I found that suspicious. I demanded identification, but he refused. He said he was conducting an investigation, yet he had no camera. The parking lot was destroyed, so it could not be used—but if he had come to investigate, his vehicle should have been parked before that point. The only car present was a rental, likely driven by the Kujou girl’s butler. Hehe… even while wandering in a daze, I remembered such details. Strange, isn’t it?”

A lot of things about that were strange. Chiefly Chizuru herself.

Tooru kept silent and waited for her to continue.

“After some verbal sparring, I asked his affiliation and purpose. His answer was: ‘Affiliation—Evil Secret Society. Objective—world peace.’”

“Truth. Kagurazaka isn’t lying,” Maisaka added calmly.

“I am not particularly skilled at lying,” Chizuru nodded as if it were only natural.

Perhaps that attitude pleased Maisaka, because she let out a small, wry chuckle and shrugged. It was not an unpleasant sight.

Probably, Tooru thought.

For someone like Maisaka, who could detect lies whether she wanted to or not, a person like Chizuru—someone who scarcely even conceived of lying—was likely easy to like.

“Affiliation: Evil Secret Society. Objective: world peace, huh.”

It was so suspicious that it became incomprehensible. If he wanted to deceive someone, he could have told a far more plausible lie. If he simply didn’t want to be identified, he could have refused to answer altogether.

So why bother with something that sounded like childish make-believe…?

While they talked, they reached the vicinity of both assailant and victim, and Tooru finally got a close look at the “demonkin” Tia had beaten senseless.

How to put it… well, he looked like the victim of an assault case.

The area was still scarred from yesterday’s rampaging Orochi, with the asphalt peeled away and bare earth exposed. The man lay there sprawled across it, his entire body battered without exception. Rain had turned him into a muddy mess, and his legs—both of them—were bent at the knees in directions they were never meant to bend.

“…You really didn’t hold back, did you?”

“I mean, demonkin always run away. They say something cryptic, and the moment things start to go south, they bolt—usually after increasing the number of victims. And when you meet them again later, they’re not even stronger, but they act like the previous loss never happened. They’re frustrating in a totally different way from elves.”

Tia’s expression was unusually disgruntled. Tooru gave a vague “Huh,” then shifted his umbrella to cover her as well.

While he was doing that, Souma and Maisaka addressed the man lying on the ground.

“Yo. I’m S-rank explorer Kengo Souma. I hear you’re a demonkin. Is that true?”

“…Drop dead, idiot.”

Despite being barely alive, the demonkin’s eyes burned fiercely as he glared at Souma and even managed a grin.

Souma ignored him completely. Instead, he kicked the man’s broken leg with considerable force. As the demonkin screamed, Souma continued.

“That’s a nice scream. You said you belong to a secret society whose goal is world peace, right? I’m not sure where to start, but first I want to know whether you’re actually a demonkin. Though I don’t know what a demonkin is, exactly. Still, you consider yourself one, don’t you? Let’s see—you seem tough, so if you weren’t a demonkin, you wouldn’t cry out from pain.”

Without pause, he kicked again.

It was a kick from an S-rank explorer. A dull thud sounded, the man’s body lifted straight up off the ground, then immediately fell back down under gravity.

“—Gh…! Ugh—!”

“Oh? You made quite a nice sound there. Then that means you are a demonkin.”

“D-don’t screw with me, you bastard! I don’t know anything! What the hell’s a demonkin?!”

“False. He knows. And he considers himself a demonkin.”

Maisaka declared it flatly. Souma let out an exasperated sigh, thought for a moment, then continued.

“What a nuisance. Is it true that you belong to a secret society?”

“……”

The demonkin remained silent—so Souma kicked him again. The man lifted slightly off the ground and dropped back down. A helpless groan escaped him. Still looking annoyed, Souma touched the brim of his hunting cap.

“There it is again. I see—so that’s a yes. A demonkin belonging to a secret society. Are you connected to yesterday’s ‘Dungeon Stampede’ in this city?”

“D-don’t… screw… with… me…”

“Truth. He’s not involved. At least this man isn’t.”

Maisaka stated it without hesitation.

Tooru had no idea what criteria she used to detect lies, but since Souma clearly trusted her, doubting it would be pointless.

“Hmm, unexpected. You apparently told Kagurazaka you came here to investigate. In other words, were you investigating a person connected to the Stampede?”

“…Hah… don’t know…”

“False. He knows. My impression is… yes—he has someone in mind who gave Sasamori that stone that erases dungeons.”

“—!”

The demonkin sucked in a breath, but Tooru had no idea what that meant.

Perhaps reading the confusion on his face, Souma shrugged slightly and turned toward him.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t shared that information with you. Since someone like you is bound to get dragged into this sooner or later, you might as well know. There was a person who gave Sasamori Takeshi a black stone capable of erasing a dungeon. The man claimed to be from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office. Sasamori followed his instructions, went to the Kamioka Dungeon, and threw the stone—causing the dungeon to vanish.”

“Cabinet Intelligence… what?”

“It’s an investigative body under the Cabinet Secretariat. Ever seen the term ‘Naichō’ in fiction? That’s what people call it. I don’t know the full extent of the organization myself.”

“Ah… I feel like I’ve heard of it… maybe. So this supposed Cabinet Intelligence guy gave that politician an item to erase a dungeon?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“And… did you confirm that with the Cabinet?”

“We decided it would be pointless to ask without solid evidence. If the man was lying, the Cabinet would say they knew nothing. And if he was telling the truth… they wouldn’t admit it either.”

“Hey, you’ve got a human lie detector right here.”

“You think people in power would willingly stand in front of one? It only works when the subject is physically present. No one’s going to grant this woman any decision-making authority. The fact that she’s constantly sent out into the field tells you everything.”

“Yeah… that’s depressing.”

“You’re allowed to sympathize with me, you know.”

“If I feel like it, I’ll do it before bed or something.”

“…The scary part is that’s ‘truth’…”

Anyway—

Souma’s reasoning sounded logical at first glance, but something about it bothered Tooru. It felt wrong at a fundamental level, like there was a flaw no one had noticed.

“Uh… so, this stone that erases dungeons—how do you use it?”

“It sounds like a joke, but apparently you just throw it into the dungeon entrance from outside.”

“Seriously?”

It sounded ridiculous enough to doubt, but it had to be information obtained through Maisaka ability. Tooru glanced at Tia, confirmed her small nod, and organized his thoughts.

The battered demonkin at his feet.

The man who had given Sasamori the so-called “erasing stone.”

Self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office… but why claim that?

“Uh… sorry if this is a dumb question.”

Tooru started to raise his hand, then realized he was holding a rebar club in it and ended up just rocking his body slightly instead.

Souma made an extremely displeased face, traced the brim of his hunting cap with his finger, then tilted his chin—signaling Tooru to continue.

“Why didn’t the guy who claimed to be from Cabinet Intelligence just do it himself? I mean… throwing a stone into the entrance from outside sounds like an easy job.”

“Ah—”

“Ah…”

Souma and Maisaka both looked as if the thought had never even occurred to them.

Tooru struggled to keep the Are you serious? reaction off his face. He didn’t say it aloud—but it was probably written all over his expression.

How did they not think of something that obvious?

“Since they went out of their way to make Sasamori do it, it’s probably fair to assume they wanted information like ‘a man claiming to be from Cabinet Intelligence gave him the stone’ to leak from Sasamori’s mouth. So why do that? The most obvious effect would be to throw you people into confusion. And in reality, you’ve been tying yourselves in knots over it.”

Whether to confirm things with the Cabinet or not.

Who the self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence man really was.

What the so-called “erasing stone” actually was. If there were more of them, how many existed—and where they might be used next. Why trigger a Dungeon Stampede in the first place.

There was no way to know.

They were trying to reason out the unknowable.

“So let’s flip the scenario. Suppose Sasamori never erased the dungeon. Suppose that man did it himself and vanished immediately. The reason the Kamioka Dungeon disappeared would remain a mystery. In that case, what would you have done first?”

“…Most likely we would have come to assess your level of danger,” Souma said. “Either way, you and the Holy Sword wielder would have eliminated the monsters produced by the Stampede. That was a high-priority task. Then we would have investigated the Kamioka and Noumi Dungeons, which appear to have mutated. As for the aftermath, the higher-ups at the Dungeon Agency would have negotiated with the Cabinet and fabricated an appropriate cover story.”

“And then they would have released information to the public,” added Maisaka. “Though, to be fair, that still has to happen now.”

“So… they wanted to delay the official announcement, delay dungeon exploration, or maybe provoke conflict between the Agency and the Cabinet. Or prevent them from cooperating…”

At that point, Tooru realized this was, frankly, none of his business. However it was analyzed, this wasn’t his job.

He let out a long sigh.

Souma gave him a suspicious look, then seemed to shake it off and turned to Chizuru instead.

“…Come to think of it, Kagurazaka—why are you here? No, you explained that. But if you had stayed quietly at the hotel as ordered, the Anthem members would be inside the Noumi Dungeon by now.”

“Hm? Is that so? Nanami did order me to remain on standby, but… now that you mention it, I didn’t have my mobile terminal with me. There would have been no way to contact me. Leader and Midou-san may be worried.”

Chizuru lowered her shoulders apologetically, but the main issue remained completely ignored.

Tooru glanced down at his feet and decided to address the demonkin lying there, staring blankly up at the sky with distant eyes. Reiko and her butler were standing off to the side doing nothing, and it seemed unfair to keep them waiting any longer.

“Hey… demonkin guy. You’re basically cornered at this point, right? It’s only a matter of time. None of these people look inclined to treat you kindly, so you might as well spill what you can and get it over with. You said you’re not allied with the ‘self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence man’… so what, is there infighting among demonkin or something?”

“…Why would you think that?”

The man glared at him.

But no matter how intimidating a purple-skinned demi-human might look, he was still a half-dead wreck lying in the mud. There was nothing to fear. Whatever he tried, Tooru had the distinct feeling he could handle it.

“I mean… if that ‘man who claimed to be from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office’ was a demonkin, then maybe you came to clean up a mess caused by your own people? You’re part of some secret organization working for world peace, right?”

“…What is your name?”

“In this situation, aren’t you supposed to introduce yourself first? If you wanna call me something, call me Tooru. So—Is that stone bastard actually a demonkin?”

“…Yeah. He is.”

“Truth.”

With Maisaka’s assurance, Tia raised her palm toward the demonkin.

A faint light enveloped the man, and his injuries healed before their eyes. The blood at the corner of his mouth remained, but the swelling in his cheek subsided, the cut on his forehead closed, and his broken legs returned to normal.

Not even ten seconds had passed before he was completely restored.

The demonkin didn’t try to flee. He pushed himself upright, then sat cross-legged on the wet ground. For some reason, he kept his gaze fixed on Tooru as he spoke.

“Lugard. That’s my name. I can’t tell you the details. By my judgment, I’m not allowed to. What I can say is… we are not your enemies. Causing Dungeon Stampedes or harming humanity is not our objective.”

“…Truth, huh.”

“So that stone bastard—he was originally one of your people too?”

“…Yeah. Several left our group, with him at the center. If they do things that harm humanity, it puts us—demonkin like them—in a bad position… Besides, we don’t want to harm the humans of this world.”

“Again, truth.”

“What’s the stone bastard’s goal? Why do you think he caused a Dungeon Stampede?”

“I don’t know. But I’m sure he has some kind of purpose. That bastard Girgeil used to be one of our central figures, but…”

“Girgeil—!?”

Tia suddenly shouted, clearly recognizing the name.

Everyone’s attention snapped to the Holy Sword wielder. The moment she nodded with a grave expression—

Beep beep beep—

An electronic tone rang out.

It was Tooru’s mobile terminal receiving a call.

Talk about bad timing, he thought, about to drop his rebar club before remembering he had a magic bag. Still not used to it, he’d forgotten. He stored the blunt weapon in the bag he wore, then pulled the device from his pocket.

Unknown caller.

Man, it’s been nothing but this today, Tooru thought, shrugging toward the others before answering.

〈Is this Tooru’s mobile terminal? It’s me—Irselia Lumiester, S-Rank Explorer. You should be grateful for the good fortune of receiving a call from me.〉

“……”

Click.

Without a word, Tooru ended the call.

His device immediately began ringing again—so that probably didn’t make much of a difference.