“That’s Drake.”
Drake appeared.
The morning after the Red Fox Mercenaries set up base camp,
A reaction was detected in the demon scan totem.
So some of the Red Fox Mercenary Corps formed a group and explored the surrounding area.
A strange creature, presumed to be a Drake, was discovered through a telescope.
Elf Priscilla is now on site to make final confirmation.
"It's amazing. I've been researching this place for months and never once have I encountered Drake face-to-face, so to finally be confronted like this."
Victoria, sitting behind Priscilla with Eugene Schneider and Jeanne, couldn't hide her surprise.
Of course, her face still looks relaxed.
But I was definitely surprised.
Her expression is just a natural poker face.
As Victoria said, for months Drake had only shown traces, never even a shadow, let alone a direct appearance.
“Besides, the fact that he showed up like that in this position,”
Eugene Schneider also ventured to see if there was any interpretation to it.
“I think we should see it as something that was revealed with extreme awareness of this side.”
The timing and location of Drake's full appearance are unusual.
It was quite possible that it was detected by chance as it reacted to the scan totem.
However, after forming a pursuit party and chasing after them, they found that they were positioned on a cliff closer than expected and were looking towards the Drake special quest team base camp.
Basically, it seems that they are aware of and conscious of the appearance of the special quest team.
"I agree. In this environment, Drake's sensing abilities must be quite sharp. There are four experts here right now. He must have felt the power."
Priscilina added strength to Eugene's thoughts.
Just like the demons, the demons are also affected by the magical state of their surroundings.
The most affected of these is energy sensing.
"But that's unexpected. Given Drake's image, I thought he'd just rush in and wreak havoc."
“It’s more likely to be a female. Females are more cautious.”
Drake is really stone-hard and is watching after gaining enough distance.
It was Eugene Schneider who was very impressed by the atmosphere.
Priscilla analyzed that this was indeed proof of the Drake female hypothesis she had initially analyzed.
“And one more thing, if you keep in mind...”
But Priscilla's hypothesis seemed to have more to offer.
"Is there a possibility that Drake is curious about something? It's certainly a possibility worth considering. However, this possibility would presuppose that Drake is a more intelligent being than you might think."
That's Drake's individual ability
If it were a normal Drake, the main reason would be the caution Priscilla mentioned first.
This meant that it might be a different story for higher-level Drakes, such as the Shaman Goblin or Goblin Lord.
“It’s nice to see you again, everyone.”
Around noon, a welcome face arrived at the Drake Special Quest Team base camp.
It was Elizabeth, the exclusive magician of the special quest party.
She arrived with a powerful escort, having joined the reinforced rearguard of the Imperial Knights.
Unlike when she appeared in the Imperial Knights Arena last time, she was not wearing a mask.
“Elizabeth? Wow… Your real name is so beautiful, and your face is even more beautiful than I imagined!”
And the name was also revealed.
Since I've already gone with my brother, there's no reason to play Anna Parisian anymore.
Marie, who had been looking forward to meeting Anna Parisian again because her first impression was so good,
I couldn't help but be amazed when I heard her unmasked appearance and her exquisitely luxurious real name.
"I heard that our elf's performance here was remarkable. It's nice to see you again."
Elizabeth, who had fond memories of the Red Fox delegation at the time, exchanged a very lively greeting with Thomas and Marie.
And the elf Priscilla could not be an exception.
Aren't wizards and elves a good match for each other?
“.....”
But Priscilla stared at Elizabeth for a moment.
“Huh? Why are you like that, Elf?”
Elizabeth frowned.
Because it was a reaction that was completely out of the expected range.
As a sorceress, Elizabeth anticipates the opponent's reactions from various angles before making a judgment.
Priscilla's most likely reaction, according to Elizabeth, was a feeling of indifference.
But I never thought of staring at you like this.
“No, I’m jealous.”
Priscilla, who had been staring at Elizabeth for about five seconds, said something truly unexpected.
“Are you jealous??”
Even the 4th dimensional Elizabeth's eyes widened.
“......”
At that moment, Eugene Schneider was looking at Priscilla silently.
‘Hmm... Priscilla...’
And he had a feeling he had a vague idea what was causing Priscilla's current behavior.
“My little brother! Come here and give me a hug!”
Broadway!
After the formal greetings at the center of the camp, the three Obleanga siblings shared a private reunion.
Jeanne, who had been maintaining the weight of a mercenary leader, suddenly changed into the energetic expression of an older sister, and opened her arms towards her beloved youngest sibling, inducing an affectionate embrace.
“Sister~! I missed you so much!”
Wow!
Elizabeth, wearing the badge of an imperial agency officer, was held in the arms of her second older sister, who was so strong.
Even though she is a genius and a 4-dimensional being, Elizabeth is just a cute youngest sibling in front of her older sisters.
“Oh... it looks good.”
Eugene stood beside the two of them, arms linked, looking delighted.
This man is the one who ate all the siblings right in front of him.
But what can I say? It's true that it's nice to look at.
That's why Eugene is smiling with a genuine fatherly smile.
"You're truly amazing, Unnie. I've always supported you, but honestly, I never thought it would be easy. But seeing you here like this, I can't help but feel proud and surprised."
Indeed, Elisabeth was the kind of person who would engage in such an extreme and shameless act with Eugene Schneider.
Frankly, Eugene Schneider is keeping his mouth shut right now.
He goes crazy when he's having sex, but when he's not having sex, he's about 50 percent back to normal.
So, since he is aware of the fact that he has eaten his sister, he is holding back from making a slip of the tongue during a long conversation.
But Elizabeth Torai had her usual expression without a hint of facial twitching.
He is acting amazingly, as if he is meeting again after a few months.
"Wow! When my sister says this, it really hits home. Our Elizabeth. She's so happy."
Kkoo-kkoo...!
Again, two of these three are the people who had slept next to Jeanne about three days ago.
Without even dreaming of it, Jeanne was happy and hugged her beloved youngest sister even more cherishedly.
She is a woman of few words,
Perhaps he wanted to say that he had such an outstanding younger brother.
Because Jeanne wanted to be the second child of the Obleans family, proud of her outstanding younger brother and older sister.
In a way, this current scene could be said to be the first time that what she had dreamed of so long ago came true.
“My judgment, based on the information I received as I arrived, is consistent with Priscilla’s thoughts.”
With the addition of the Imperial Knights' successor unit, the Drake special quest party was officially launched.
The camp was also built more strongly and the defensive forces were also strengthened.
After a hard day of work, the evening came and a formal meeting of the Drake Special Quest Party, including the sorceress Elizabeth, was held.
First, Farnese, the deputy commander of the Imperial Knights Special Quest Team, summarized and listed the situation so far as if he were giving a briefing.
Then Elizabeth came in agreeing, mentioning Priscilla's words.
"He's quite intelligent. That's probably why he went undetected for months. It's highly likely he was caught in the Scan Totem intentionally. He's either poking it and trying to gauge its reaction, or he's just curious."
The possibility of a highly intelligent Drake was something Elizabeth also kept in mind.
But since the circumstantial evidence was scant, she, being a perfectionist, did not mention it.
However, I was able to be certain through the response to the scan totem.
“If Drake is highly intelligent, what specific disadvantages will this bring to us, Wizard?”
At that moment, Eugene asked what variables the smart Drake was influenced by.
"If you look at close combat, there won't be much of a difference. It's just that they'll likely fight strategically. However, the area where there's a stark difference is magic. The magic they use will be more difficult."
Elizabeth, who answers him,
Drakes cannot use high-difficulty magic like dragons.
However, using magic and defending against magic can be seen as different areas.
There are many mechanisms to defend against magic, but one of them is intelligence.
The lower the intelligence of the monster, the simpler the magic formula and the magic materials that go into it.
“So, are you saying that we should completely reexamine the suppression method we originally planned?”
Victoria, having heard Elizabeth's words, spoke in a very serious tone.
Battles starting from the highest level monsters and above,
Especially in battles fought in a party, the most important thing is magic.
This is probably because close combat takes place after magical buffs or debuffs are set in advance.
Since it is such a core magic, it is no exaggeration to say that Elizabeth's words mean a complete revision of tactics.
“I guess I’ll have to get a quote. I’ll have to poke Drake.”
Elizabeth, cautious about this, mentioned the need for an expedition.
-Buaaaah! -Buaaaah!
After the meeting, Eugene is busy with night sword training.
“......”
And Priscilla was watching the scene.
As always, it seems like he's checking his Sword Expert mana situation.
“Priscilla, can I ask you something?”
Eugene suddenly stopped swinging the greatsword and looked towards Priscilla.
“What is it?”
Priscilla responded with a dull expression.
“Priscilla’s other comments make some sense, but I find it puzzling that Drake seems to have a curious presence.”
As the leader of the assault team of the mercenary captain who must run to the front lines, Eugene is quite absorbed in his work.
So Priscilla's words, which were not interpreted, came to mind and I asked a question.
“......”
Priscilla, having heard the question, looked at Eugene again for a moment.
After that she
“I wonder if they are curious about humans with demon blood mixed in.”
He gave a truly meaningful answer.