Timmy, Ryan, McKinley. The relationship was that Rhea had been hired by Timis three years ago as an escort, and McKinley hired Rhea, originally from the Mercenary Alliance, from the Mercenary Alliance using Tsutse for this crusade.

Mercenary Alliances are different from Adventurer Alliances and can be involved in wars. Adventurer Alliances rarely ask countries for help, but Mercenary Alliances earn money by sending mercenaries to battlefields around the world. It's a mercenary guild that pays for what you do.

For that reason, they cannot bring a client to the Adventurer Alliance. The territory of the Adventurer Alliance and the Mercenary Alliance is clearly divided, and it is unlikely that two Alliances will be involved in one job without such circumstances.

After Timmy and the others finished a brief briefing, Verlaine started talking about the operation.

"First of all, let me ask you, how familiar are you with the ecology of firefly dragons?

"Don't you know anything about ecology? Originally a monster living in a dangerous volcanic belt, there is a corresponding danger to observing."

I don't know, Timis, I just don't get it. Indeed, she is right, the Fire Dragon ecology is not widely known.

I have been crushed many times in the past by gathering adventurers above A rank and using force. But it was really a gorilla, and it was nothing but a tactical firepower battle.

Then what happens if we bring tactics in there? We need Timmy and the others to understand its effectiveness.

Verlaine takes out a notebook of parchment. And I showed Timmy the cover.

"... 'How to Crusade Fire Dragons Anyone Can Know'...?

"Hmm... are you fooling Miss Timmy? One of these notebooks will help you defeat the Fire Dragon!

Rhea is more likely to get hot than she thought, and she stood up and crammed into Verlaine. However, the ex-Demonic King also grasped Rhea's gaze without moving at all.

"The person who wrote this notebook… Duke Solver is undoubtedly the leading fire dragon researcher in this country. He uses this notebook to successfully crush firedragons with the help of B-rank adventurers alone."

"... Duke Solver... that's a strange name."

"A B-ranked adventurer beats a firedragon… If that were possible, the researcher… Duke Solver would be more famous. And that notebook should be out in the open."

Rhea devours to Verlaine because she is not convinced.

But the notebook is not publicly available - if you look for someone named Duke Solver, you won't find it.

It was difficult to drink calmly next door, so I should have given it a more elaborate pseudonym. Every time I hear the name Duke Solver, I feel like drinking in strange places.

"... that Duke Solver has the power to crush fire dragons by himself, right?

Here McKinley opened his mouth for the first time. I thought it was a hard tone because it was silent, but it was usually a young man's way of speaking. People don't depend on the appearance.

"In that case, I'd like to say that I want to help him... but I don't think that's possible. I can't use that method to reward my daughter."

"McKinley, take care of 'Dear'. How many times do I have to tell you it's Miss Timmy?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry for being rude."

Rhea is serious and McKinley seems to be moderately weak on her shoulders. He finally takes off his hood now. He was a fairly well-dressed man with a haircolor like the middle of gray and black.

When Timis removes the ribbon, it sticks to her mouth, lifts her black, rich hair, and ties it up behind her. It seemed like a ritual to put in her mood, receiving the notebook with the face of seriousness itself and opening the page.

----The hand turning over the page trembles. And it won't stop...

"This... how did you find out about this...?

Timis opens a page and shows it to Ryan sitting next to her. Rhea's eyes were wide open when she saw it.

"... firedragons always drink water three times a day at a given time... The water field is limited and only drinks groundwater that contains certain minerals. Because firefly dragon scales are skin-like and are periodically transformed into new ones by metabolism, minerals are considered essential as nutrients to create new scales...."

Rhea couldn't help but read it out her mouth. I wonder how impressed you were with the contents. It was the same with McKinley looking at it from the side.

"This guy is amazing... Duke Solver, who the hell is he? Thoroughly observing the firefly dragon and analyzing it to the point where it appears unnecessary for the crusade at first sight to identify useful tips. Does this guy play Fire Dragon Research for this guild without even knowing his name...?

Duke Solver's reputation begins to rise among the three. If they say such a notebook is bullshit, it will be troublesome to persuade again, so things are going well so far.

"Did you get it? Knowing the ecology of firefly dragons, where to start a crusade from in the woods, when and where firefly dragons are, and what to look out for in real combat - if you don't know this, the success rate of the crusade will be the difference."

"... to be honest, I didn't think so. Is this an Alliance that specializes in Fire Dragon Crusade? Or maybe he specializes in big monsters...."

"No, it's just that we accomplish the requests that are brought in, and we don't specialize in anything. It is a lucky coincidence that you have the know-how about fire dragons."

In fact, if we hadn't studied the Fire Dragon's movements in the last crusade, that notebook wouldn't have existed.

Two years ago, four guild members who were still in B rank, in a somewhat rough way, were instructed by me to "knock down" a firedragon.

It is confirmed during the examination whether the same method applies. The note reflects a slight shift in the timing of the fire dragon drinking water and a slight change in the terrain of the forest, so the note is dedicated to this operation.

However, it is not sweet enough for C-rank Timis to participate as it is and return home intact. She needs to be ranked 3000-B in battle rating 1840.

"Store owner, give me some 'saved' milk. And two more."

"Yes, sir."

Saved milk - it will rank one higher than what Manarina drank.

Giant Beast Behemoth Milk. Although it is milk, it has a high preservation derived from Behemoth's extraordinary vitality and is the best of my fortified magic-mediated milk. Without this, you cannot increase your combat rating by 1500.

"... milk? I'm asking for more alcohol...."

"Young lady, don't worry about thinking about drunk. Now let's focus on the request."

"I'll pay you too. I'm not going to feel as crunchy as I thought."

I served McKinley a rum flavoured with a "secret pomegranate syrup", Rhea a "salamander bone wine" and Timmy a vehemos milk.

Looking at the glass sliding on the table, McKinley whispered 'oh', Lia said something, and Timis--unlike her sister, she looked at me and smiled.

"Thinking about my age, is it milk? In the Knights, age is irrelevant."

"It's not too early for your daughter to drink. Instead, have a 'cookie'."

"... a rude man. You think a tavern would be rude?

"Well, isn't that nice? This shop seems trustworthy, and the customers won't be poisoning it. You don't mind if I poison you, do you?

"... no. If this is the way this tavern works, let's go into the town and follow it."

Timis talks and mouths the milk. It's not a trick, but it doesn't start unless she drinks it, so I was able to break through the first journey - I can only tell by the magic, but she's about twice as strong as her original. Still the weakest at this party, it's heavy to serve as a shield in the vanguard.

But I put cookies on for that. The flame walnuts increase the fragrance and decrease the spice as you continue to fry. The flame walnut paste creates a marble cookie - the taste is good, but the dietary effect is completely different from eating flame walnuts.

"Cookies... it's been a long time since you ate them. I'm in the middle of a conversation, but I'll take only one... nh..."

I think she might be more honest than I thought. Or was it because of your youth that you completely trusted this store with just the amount of information in the previous notebook? Still, it's another matter of trusting me as a stranger.

"... delicious. Is this walnut cookie? But it tastes like something I've never eaten before. It's incredibly fragrant and slightly bitter...."

"Thank you for your love, customer."

Verlaine smiled. If Timmy speaks first, the guards follow suit - McKinley looks a little happy, Rhea remains a tough face, but the moment she puts her mouth on the liquor, she feels less nervous.

"* Giggle *, it's so refreshing and sweet. Sometimes this kind of alcohol is good."

"... it's dry and quite good liquor."

Tiger Beasts often live in snowy alpine mountains and get firewood from dwarfs to warm their bodies or make their own alcoholic liquor. For that reason, even if I drank a salamander's bone wine that burned my throat, Rhea was drowsy. On the contrary, I'm going to drink it all up.

"Lya, all at once... as I always say, I'm going to break your body."

"I'm sorry, miss. But this liquor is better than I thought....."

Alcohol lovers are welcome as taverns. As long as you don't get drunk, you can get drunk as much as you want.

It is better to keep only the required amount than it is the place to request, but moderate alcohol has the effect of improving tongue slippage and smoothing negotiations. In fact, Rhea's face became red and the atmosphere was getting softer. It should be strong enough to break down alcohol, but it seems to go around quickly.

"... we're not here to drink. Should I read this note for the Fire Dragon Crusade?

"Yes, basically. But one thing to advise you is that you can only use this note to crush Fire Dragons this time. The forest environment is constantly changing."

"I see. If we can crush them once, that's enough."

This doesn't mean that the request is closed.

I'm interested in Fire Dragon materials, so it's a shame I just knocked them down.

"I have one more condition. We will attempt to capture them, not crush them in this operation. As proof of the fire dragon defeat, I will ask Timis to bring back the scales. The guild will take care of the fire dragon you caught."

As long as we can defeat the Fire Dragon, Timmy's triumph will be considerable. And the Knights aren't very interested in monster materials - if so, Timmy and the others will drink these conditions.

As he read it, Timis nodded and signed the contract presented by Verlaine.

"I was trying to challenge the Fire Dragon without knowing what kind of monster it was... and I appreciate you correcting that ignorance. Even if Lia was strong, I was still immature... I didn't want to lose in the same age of the Knights, but I almost lost myself with pride."

"... I'd like to meet someone named Duke Solver once. If you're not a samurai, you won't be able to write in so much detail about the Fire Dragon movement on this page. Undoubtedly, the person who wrote this wears terrible martial arts."

"The world is wide. Does Mr. Duke come to this store from time to time?

In response to McKinley's question, Verlaine was stuck in words for a moment - she didn't look at me, she narrowed her eyes with long eyelashes and replied with a smile.

"Yes, I come often. I like alcohol very much, but they drink all cheap alcohol."

That way, Duke Solver's reputation rises even further. Among Timmy and the others, he seemed to have been beautifully decorated as someone who was not proud of his high abilities.

― ― But let me say no to one thing, of course, the notebook is a guide to the basics and procedures, and it will not be difficult if the firedragon crusade is completed peacefully and safely.

They will find out in the woods of Belfortune from now on.

The inscriptions in Duke Solver's "Enemy Plan" mean that they will be executed by all means and absolutely as described.