We were led to a large reception room and sat down. As expected—or perhaps unsurprisingly—it was quite an impressive room. It was so luxurious that I could probably live in this single room alone.As I looked around in wonder, Leon entered through the front door.“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Here is the contract. Please take a look.”“Y-yes.”　The contents were almost exactly what I’d already been told, and since there was nothing particularly suspicious, I signed the contract.“Thank you. The contract is now official. By the way, was your name Lily?”“Yep! That’s me!”“I’d like to give you some armor. Do you have any preferences?”“Hmm… I’d like something light and easy to move in!”“So you prioritize mobility. Got it. In that case, I have a recommendation.”He turned to the maid who had been waiting and continued.“Please put that item on her. I’ll leave the rest to you.”“Understood. Please follow me this way.”“Got it!”And so, led by the maid, Lily left the room.After waiting

I had returned from the Denial Trading Company and made it home.It was that night.I was relaxing alone in my room.Just as I was thinking about getting ready for bed,“Zesto! This is awesome!”“Whoa!? W-what’s with the sudden…?”I was startled by Lily, who suddenly burst in through the door.“Oh, it’s just you, Lily… Don’t just barge in like that. You’ll give me a heart attack.”“Ah, sorry. I just got so excited I lost my head!”“I-I see…”　Lily definitely seems more excited than usual today. She must be really happy about something.“It’s easy to move in, light, durable, doesn’t tear, and isn’t tight—I like it more than any clothes I’ve ever worn!”“I-I see…”“Hehehe…”She really does look happy. She’s rejoicing like a child.“I get that you like the armor, but what’s the matter? Did you just want to show it off?”“Oh, right. I just remembered I forgot to thank Zest.”“Did I?”“So…”She moved closer, shook her ponytail, and said with a beaming smile.“Thank you, Zest!”“…Yeah.”I f

The next morning.Leon led us to a building belonging to the Denial Trading Company. There, he guided us to a certain carriage.Standing next to Leon was a bearded man I’d never met before. When he saw us, he spoke up.“Hmm. Are these the adventurers who’ll be providing our escort?”“Yes. This is Mr. Zest, whom I mentioned earlier.”“Hmmm.”The bearded man stared at us intently.“Um, who is this person…?”“Ah, sorry. This is Mr. Brian, who’ll be handling the luggage. I’ve already told him about Mr. Zest.”“I’m Brian. Nice to meet you.”“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you too.”Everyone else exchanged brief greetings as well.It seems we’ve been assigned to escort this man’s carriage.“But you know…”“?”Brian frowned as he looked at us.“Lord Leon. Are you really sure these guys will do? They don’t look very reliable…”“Oh, come on! That’s rude!”Lapis gets angry at Brian’s attitude.“I don’t know about me, but Zest is super strong! He can take down any opponent!”“But you see, you’re still on

I gripped my sword and dashed toward the Dark Lich.“Here I come!”“……!”The moment I closed the distance, I attacked.With a sharp clang, my strike was easily blocked by his scythe.“So you dare attack me without fear…!”“You think I’d get scared over something like this?”We exchanged blows several times, but every strike was blocked.“Ho… impressive skill…”I tried to follow up with another attack, but the enemy moved backward, trying to retreat.But I wasn’t letting him escape.“Don’t run from me!”“Guh…!”I closed the distance again and slashed at him. I kept pressing in without giving him any room to pull away.I stalked toward him like an obsessive hunter.There was a reason for this.The Dark Lich possesses a skill that lets it move at high speed toward the nearest player. If you keep your distance, you risk getting hit by a sudden ambush. It moves incredibly fast, so if you’re not used to it, dealing with it is difficult.But the countermeasure is simple. Just close the dista

After that, we left the cave and returned to the carriage waiting outside.We all got into the carriage and made it safely through the cave.“Ha ha ha! I can’t believe the Grim Reaper is really gone! I just can’t believe it!”Brian said this with a slightly overexcited tone while guiding the horse.“I told you so. I said we’d already defeated him.”“Sorry, sorry. I just thought he’d run away. Since we came back unscathed, you know.”Come to think of it, when we returned from the cave, he turned to look at us with an expression as if he’d seen a ghost. It seems he really didn’t believe us after all.It wasn’t until I showed him the Soul Eater as proof that he finally seemed ready to believe me.“But you’re a mean one, Lord Zest! If you were that strong, you should’ve just told us!”“I told you. You didn’t believe me…”“It can’t be helped. You guys are still D-rank. It’s unreasonable to expect me to believe you.”“Well, I guess so…”“No wonder Lord Leon recommended you. If you’re this r