The mercenary guild headquarters, located in the capital of the Maia Kingdom.

A place where mercenaries looking for requests, clients looking to place requests, and other people with various purposes busily came and went.

A series of news hit the place like a storm.

"What did you say?!"

From inside the guild headquarters, a man's voice echoed loudly.

He seemed to be on the phone with someone using a magic orb, and his voice was unusually loud.

People whispered.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know."

The ears of the people who were coming and going in the first-floor lobby of the headquarters perked up at the man's voice that was leaking outside.

Most of the people here knew his voice, and the owner of that voice was not usually a loud speaker.

It must be shocking news.

"He subjugated the A-rank magical beast Hydra? And alone?"

As expected, it was shocking news.

"He took down Hydra by himself?"

"Who on earth?"

The mercenaries who heard his voice whispered among themselves.

"Did Gustan of the Greatsword come back?"

"I don't know. The Red Witch might have returned."

"It's obvious. One of the Sherwood members must have caught it, right?"

"Hasn't Sherwood been disbanded for a while? Am I mistaken?"

"They just disbanded, it's not like all those monsters went into hiding."

"Hmm. It's unlikely that the high-nosed knights would have stepped up."

The mercenaries poured out their own speculations.

But there was more shocking news than that.

The mercenaries' murmuring was cut off by the man's continuing voice.

"...What? A new platinum rank has been born?"

"...!"

The mercenaries exchanged glances with their eyes wide as saucers.

"...A new face?"

"A new face suddenly appears here? At this time when the monster wave in the north is not far off?"

"Was there anyone like that?"

"I know, right? I don't think there was anyone who stood out."

"He might be from a foreign country."

"How many years has it been since a platinum rank appeared?"

"I think it's been at least 3 years."

"Wasn't the last one the unbelieving saint?"

The peaceful lobby of the guild headquarters quickly became as noisy as a swarm of bees.

And for good reason, because the birth of a platinum rank was no small shock.

What is a platinum rank?

It is a rank one step above the gold rank, and although the step is one, the gap is enormous.

If the difference between silver rank and gold rank was the difference between a puddle and a pond, the difference between gold rank and platinum rank was the difference between a pond and a lake.

Then who are the owners of that platinum tag?

They are those who have surpassed the human realm.

A genius among geniuses.

Those who tear through the limits of the human body with their small bodies and hunt the monsters that should have eaten them.

The owners of a terrifying power that twists the laws of nature with force.

The world calls them heroes, those who have become monsters to catch monsters.

"Be quiet. I think he's about to say who it is."

At those words, the noisy lobby instantly became quiet.

And a little later.

...Creak.

The door opened, and a middle-aged man with a slightly dazed face came out with a thick cloud of cigarette smoke.

The man was holding a thick cigar.

The gazes of the people in the lobby all gathered on him.

"Venter. I heard a new platinum rank has been born?"

"Who is it? Is it someone we know?"

"Tell us. I'm dying of curiosity."

The middle-aged man called Venter took a deep drag on his cigar and then blew out the cigarette smoke, and then he uttered a single word.

"...Sherwood."

People blinked their eyes at the unexpected answer.

"Sherwood?"

"Didn't all of Sherwood already have platinum tags?"

The mercenaries exchanged glances and questioned each other.

Whether they were confused or not, the man called Venter slowly took a puff of his cigar, and then he uttered a certain name with the smoke that came out.

"Ashuban Sherwood."

"What?"

"The new leader of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps, Ashuban Sherwood, is the owner of the new platinum tag."

At Venter's calm words, a moment of silence occupied the place, and then a shock like a tidal wave hit the guild headquarters.

"What...!"

"Crazy!"

"Wasn't that a fake?"

"I've never heard that name before? That guy succeeded Gustan?"

"Ashuban Sherwood...! I've heard of him! Was he the Ashuban of the Half-Sword who's been making a lot of noise lately?"

"Wasn't it a false rumor that the Golden Fighter and the Spirit User Who Brings Disaster had returned?"

The commotion spread like wildfire.

***

After returning to Milestone, I was caught by Boris for a while and had to be buried in all sorts of paperwork.

I don't even remember how many pages I filled out.

My head is spinning. I'm dizzy...

I don't know why it's so complicated.

I caught an A-rank magical beast, that's enough.

Why does the owner of a platinum tag (in training) have to fill out such trivial documents?

If it weren't for Boris, who pointed out exactly where to write and clearly explained what to write, I would have run out, saying I don't need a platinum tag.

The Heavenly Demon, who had lost interest, had disappeared somewhere for a long time.

I saw him making a fishing rod by cutting a tree in my mindscape last time, so is he leisurely fishing by the lake? Where are the fish to be caught?

"Here. Fill it out."

"...."

How can Boris do this head-splitting work every day without going crazy?

A miracle occurred where I, who was a lazy, foul-mouthed person, suddenly looked up to Boris with respect.

Boris, who was busily flipping through the documents, frowned and looked at me when he felt my gaze.

"What are you staring at?"

I asked with pure respect.

"How can you do this every day? I feel like I'm going to go crazy just being stuck here for a few hours."

Suddenly, I looked at Boris's eyes.

This guy's eyes weren't normal either.

Why are there no normal people around me?

"No, have you already gone crazy? Have you spun around so many times that you don't feel the need to spin anymore?"

Boris snorted.

"In my eyes, you mercenary corps guys are more amazing."

"What's so amazing about us?"

"You beat up scary monsters with a smile, how can that not be amazing? It's even marvelous, really."

"Hmm. Is it that much?"

"I'm the normal one and you guys are the crazy ones. Who's calling who crazy?"

"...."

Boris, who was clicking his tongue, suddenly pointed at me with his finger.

"Among them... you."

"Me?"

"Among them, you are especially outstanding. You're a needle in a pocket, really."

I nodded solemnly.

"It should be so. Because I'm the leader."

"You crazy bastard."

Anyway, since he said I'm the best, it must be a compliment.

Boris handed me a document.

"Here, this is the last one. Sign here."

"Oh? Is it finally over?"

"Your work is done. I still have a lot left."

I sent him my support.

"Cheer up, Boris. Don't lose to a piece of paper, Boris."

"Shut up."

"...."

I ignored Boris's grumbling that he couldn't rest because of me, and then I scribbled my signature on the document.

"Done?"

Boris took the document and gave me a dismissal order.

"I don't need you anymore. Get lost."

"Yay."

I escaped the mercenary guild, dancing with my shoulders, and returned to the hideout.

Bang!

"The leader is here!"

When I came back, the guys were gathered together, spreading honey on bread and eating diligently.

Our Miho, who should have been taking a nap by the window on the second floor, was also munching on bread, and Schmitt, who had returned from a mission, was also holding bread with both hands and eating it heartily.

'...These guys.'

The leader came back after going through hardships outside.

Are you sucking honey?

"Ashuban. Come and eat quickly."

Shushruta said to me, munching with her puffed-out cheeks.

"The sweetness is unusually delicious."

What's with the unusually delicious?

"Is there any left for me?"

Mary, who was diligently spreading honey on bread, came over and handed me a plate.

"Here you go!"

As expected, Mary is the only one who takes care of me.

I praised Mary and took the bread, which was covered in honey.

"As expected of our Sherwood's ace, the indispensable core member, the housekeeper of Sherwood. If you're not here for even a day, the mercenary corps won't run properly."

"Hehe."

Mary giggled.

At that moment, Linda's voice pierced my ears.

"Devil, this is delicious! Let's eat together!"

When I looked closely, Linda was located a little away from the place where they were sitting in a circle and eating honey. Lying on the floor.

"Heehee!"

She was hugging the hornet wine like a lover with a flushed face.

...It seems she drank it straight without diluting it.

I quietly warned Mary.

"Mary, don't eat that. Tell the other kids not to eat it either."

Mary nodded.

"Yes. Anyway, everyone saw Linda eating it deliciously and didn't even look at it."

"As expected of our members."

They're quick-witted.

Because what Linda says is delicious is a case where it contains a strong poison, they seemed to have figured it out and ignored it before I even warned them.

I was relieved and happy that they wouldn't be scammed anywhere even if I wasn't there.

"Move over, you brat."

Since there was no place to sit, I pushed Miho, who was taking up a lot of space, to one side and then sat down.

As I was eating bread, Shushruta said, as if she had forgotten.

"Ah, by the way. The results of the component analysis you asked for came out."

And then she handed me some paper, and when I looked at it, unfamiliar terms once again made my head spin.

Ugh. The nightmare of documents is reaching out its evil hands again.

"Ugh."

As I was frowning and looking serious, Hud, who was spreading honey on bread next to me, poked her head in and asked.

"What component analysis?"

"Before, when I went to hunt a beast-like human, there was a case where he actually transformed into a beast."

"What, really?"

"It's happening here and there... it's a chaotic world. I don't know how much more chaotic it's going to get. Anyway, before he transformed, he drank a black potion. I asked for a component analysis of that."

"Really? Let me see..."

Since I couldn't understand it even if I looked at it, I handed her the paper to look at it in detail.

Hud's eyebrow twitched as she read the analysis results for a moment.

"...What is this?"

"What is it?"

"The other components are often seen when making potions, but 90% of this is magical beast's blood?"

"What?"

As Hud said, 'magical beast's blood' was included in the item list at the bottom.

When I looked at Shushruta, she nodded readily.

"That's right. At that rate, it's no different from just drinking magical beast's blood."

"...."

I was at a loss for words.

Are there now crazy people who even drink the blood of magical beasts?

The activities of magical beasts are already prominent, and now there are even humans who transform into magical beasts.

What is this if not a mess?

"...The Dark Heaven Cult, was it?"

They must be the ones who need to be beaten to death.

I put it in my head for now.

The Dark Heaven Cult. The Dark Heaven Cult. The damn Dark Heaven Cult.

"Ah, and one more thing."

Shushruta said, spreading a generous amount of honey on her bread.

"Didn't you ask me to look into cases of crime where they send advance notice?"

"I did."

After bringing Hud back, I had casually mentioned it to Shushruta, who was continuously gathering information about the other Sherwood members.

Because I only knew of one phantom thief who announced his crimes in advance.

"A case of a notice crime has recently occurred."

Halt.

I put down the bread I was about to bring to my mouth.

"...Where is it?"

I focused on Shushruta's mouth.

Schmitt and Hud also seemed to have guessed who it was, and their gazes turned to the same place as mine.

"Milgard, the capital of the Maia Kingdom."

(End of Chapter)