A mysterious hideout was discovered beneath the grasslands.

The atmosphere inside was anything but ordinary. The air itself felt thin and polluted.

If I wished, I could activate Cheat Code Manipulation and reduce everything to ashes with fire magic.

However, for now, I held back.

Since we had no idea what lay inside, it wouldn’t be wise to incinerate everything with magic.

Thus, we proceeded cautiously through the hideout.

“This… feels ominous…”

Yuya muttered, glancing around with a tense expression.

“And to think a hideout was set up in a place like this… Arios, you might have made a huge discovery.”

“Haha… you think so?”

“Yes. At the very least, for a rookie adventurer, this is an extraordinary achievement.”

A huge discovery.

That might indeed be the case.

However, this was far from over.

Since we didn’t know what lurked deeper inside, we couldn’t afford to lower our guard—

“Hm…?”

I narrowed my eyes.

There was something…

Something familiar, something nostalgic.

“Arios? What’s wrong?”

Ray asked, and I pointed a few meters ahead.

“Over there. Do you see anything?”

“Huh… a handkerchief?”

Yes.

It was a handkerchief.

But not just any handkerchief.

Back when I lived in the Macba household, I gave it to a maid I was close to.

She was a crybaby, so I wanted to help her even a little. I gave her a handkerchief with her name embroidered on it.

“……”

I silently picked it up and turned it over, though it was slightly dirty.

The name written on it was—

“Mary…”

“Mary…?!”

Ray, peering at the handkerchief, widened his eyes.

“Isn’t that the maid from the Macba household?! Why is her handkerchief here…?”

“I don’t know. But…”

I had a bad feeling.

Knowing how clumsy she was, I just hoped she hadn’t gotten caught up in something dangerous—

“WoOOOOOOoooon!”

Just then, a beast’s roar echoed.

Turning to the side, we saw several White Wolves again, drooling and closing in as if ready to devour us.

“…Again, appearing out of nowhere.”

Just seconds ago, I hadn’t sensed a single trace of White Wolves.

For them to appear so suddenly once more—

“It confirms it. Something… is lurking here.”

I silently drew my sword.

Lowering my stance, I prepared for battle—

“Wait, Arios.”

Yuya suddenly tapped my shoulder.

“I’ll handle this. You go ahead.”

“What…?”

“Heh, you may have forgotten, but I’m a B-rank adventurer too. I’ll manage just fine.”

Yuya smiled boldly.

But—he must have realized it as well.

Given how the monsters kept appearing out of nowhere, there was no guarantee the White Wolves were the only enemies. Like before, they might continue spawning endlessly.

Which meant fighting them here could cost valuable time.

“Don’t worry, Arios. There’s someone you need to save, right?”

How could I deny him when he wore that resolute expression?

“…Understood. Good luck, Yuya.”

“Good luck to you as well. Leon or Dudley might be great swordsmen, but I believe you are the true Silver Sword Saint.”

After seeing Yuya give me a firm thumbs-up, Ray and I pressed onward.