"Hah, I tried to resolve this quietly if possible..."

Fierce White Wind led us back inside, saying this wasn't the place to talk. The same went for the group of Mages who had entrusted me with the quest.

They were dragged inside together without even receiving a proper explanation. Although they didn't get a single chance to speak, they were keeping quiet voluntarily anyway, so I figured it was fine.

"Before I speak, what I'm about to say is classified information, so make absolutely sure the story doesn't spread. Got it?"

'More importantly, I'm more bothered by being dragged here without getting to wash up. Ugh, I feel gross.'

I tried to focus on the conversation as much as possible while picking out pieces of bark and grass caught in my hair. Since the mention of classified information even came up, there was no way this would end as a normal matter.

"For reference, keep it a secret from your party, especially the Priest."

'But it's a secret from the Inquisitor too?'

I stopped combing my stiff hair back with my fingers and stared at White Wind. The person who always smiled radiantly—or like a total lunatic—had put on a cold expression, making her look exceptionally serious.

"I'll reward you sufficiently for the strict confidentiality clause, got it?"

'My concept doesn't strictly move for money, but...'

"You seem to think I'll naturally accept those words."

As long as it was legal, I was mostly willing to listen when offered money, especially when I had nothing in particular to do.

But keeping it a secret even from my party members was a bit much. Since the Archmage was accompanying me, it probably wasn't illegal, but it still felt sketchy.

Even without that, I didn't have a quest window, so the request details weren't exactly clearly displayed either.

"Ten million gals. Wouldn't this much be enough to buy your heavy lips?"

"... Do you think I'd sell them?"

"There's no reason not to. Let's not be too stiff. I'll throw in more once you resolve it."

'However, it was far too much money to refuse.'

I made a subtle expression as I recalled the amount offered in Zakrati.

Of course, strictly speaking, the bounty for Bipurit's head alone was ten million gals, and the reward for driving out the demons was received separately—not to mention I rejected some of it—so it wasn't that they paid too little or this was too much, but...

'More importantly, what on earth is she trying to make me do? No matter how wealthy the Magic Tower is, they wouldn't place ten million gals on a trivial matter. It means this task is just that important...'

'What on earth happened for a snake-hunting quest to evolve into a ten-million-gal request?? Didn't I seriously step into the wrong mess??'

"Anyway, we're all good now, right? Great, then I'll properly start the story."

While I was fiercely agonizing internally, Fierce White Wind confessed the situation.

"First of all, about those plants you saw. They were created by our mistake!"

A massive bomb was dropped right from the start.

"Maybe because the building is old, some mana leaked into the surroundings, and that supposedly affected the local ecosystem or whatever. Water has a higher density than air, so the fact that the mana lingered instead of scattering probably played a part too. Ah, I don't know why the snakes are swarming either, ahaha."

The others showed an even bigger reaction to her subsequent remarks. They stammered with their lips, their faces dyed bright red.

If the speaker hadn't been the Great Sage, they might have immediately voiced their complaints.

"So."

'On a separate note, the Magic Tower really did cause an accident again!'

Seeing even White Wind say she didn't know about the snake problem made me think they genuinely weren't connected to that... but they definitely caused an accident with the plants. They deliberately didn't strongly clarify the snake issue just to cover that up.

'I told you that Mage friend had no right to complain about the Temple and the Adventurer's Guild!'

I showed a rotten reaction at that point. White Wind didn't seem to care in the slightest.

"Since the root cause is the aging building, it'll be over once we just repair it... The problem is, we have to remove the plants to repair the Magic Tower! But if I have our kids remove them, the nature of magic makes it stand out way too much."

Instead, White Wind clapped her hands cheerfully and exclaimed.

"So I want to entrust that job to you. I don't want this reaching the ears of the Temple or the Adventurer's Guild. If this gets out... you know, right?"

I had wondered why I shouldn't tell the Inquisitor, and it was in the exact same vein as not clarifying the snake problem.

'So you want to resolve it secretly behind their backs? Good grief. In that case, the ten million gals request fee is practically more of a hush-money payment than an actual reward.'

Facing a situation where I was suddenly about to change classes to a weed exterminator, I feigned a neurotic reaction.

"... Do you think I'd step up for this kind of trivial work."

"Yep, yep. I know! You wouldn't want to step up for such a trivial and petty task. That's why I offered so much money!"

As if expecting my reaction, Fierce White Wind flicked her finger. Then, the mannequin standing on one side of the reception room moved.

CREAK, CREAK.

CLACK.

Was it a mannequin, or a marionette? The human-shaped figure walked over with a metallic screech and opened a drawer. What it pulled out from inside was a highly ornate box.

Although it was somewhat flat and short to be used for storing something.

"Or how about this?"

I stand corrected. It was indeed a box used for storage. A necklace, at that.

"A subspace necklace I made myself! It has a volume of 3m³! It would easily fetch over ten million gals if sold, but I can call it even with this!"

'But this is a subspace necklace? Ah, I can't resist an inventory expansion.'

"Are you sure it's okay to give him that?"

"Ahaha. Compared to the Magic Tower being treated as traitors in this city, this much isn't a waste at all."

"Hmm."

"That's why you also agreed to keep it a secret from the Hero, didn't you?"

Leaving the astonished onlookers behind, I received the necklace from White Wind.

With an octagonal chain that made it look somewhat like a snake, looking closely revealed it was densely packed with letters the size of millet seeds. Which is to say, the overall design was quite clunky.

It was even silver, so it wasn't like it wouldn't suit me... Hmm. Why did it have to be a necklace, though? Bandages were enough to wrap around my neck.

"It doesn't matter if you wrap it around your arm like a bracelet, wear it around your neck, or tie it to your foot, as long as it's touching your bare skin. To put an item in, you just have to touch the thing you want to store and have the thought 'I will put it in,' and to take it out, you just need to think about taking it out while leaving enough space."

Fortunately, it seemed I wouldn't need to wear it on my neck. I looked at Fierce White Wind, thinking I could just wear it on my foot or arm.

"It won't work if someone else's bare skin is touching it, so keep that in mind too! It also consumes a small amount of your mana. Well, you have plenty of mana, so it won't matter! Lastly, there's no security lock on it, so anyone else who meets the conditions can use it, so absolutely make sure not to lose it. That concludes the precautions!"

"So, will you take the request?"

White Wind's clear voice looked down on me. Even though White Wind's seated gaze was clearly lower than mine, it felt that way.

"... Tsk. Clarify the scope of the request."

'But whatever. Who could resist an inventory expansion.'

"Ah, right. A contract makes things certain. Do you know how to read?"

"I do."

"Hmm, hmm. Good, good. Then this will be quick."

White Wind had the marionette bring a pen and paper. Her writing speed must have been incredibly fast, as the blank spaces were filled up in an instant.

The basic contract details, special clauses like strict confidentiality, a pledge to transfer the necklace, and the tasks I needed to do densely packed the paper.

Thanks to that, I could clearly understand at least what I had to do even without a quest window...

"Check it over!"

The problem was that I wasn't very familiar with contracts.

I had signed a few publishing contracts before and had a lawyer's help back then, so it was fine, but it was just far too different here.

'So this is why the Adventurer's Guild is necessary.' Feeling the need for the guild, I roughly signed my name.

It was because I judged that there didn't seem to be any particularly toxic clauses, everything that needed to be there was included, and checking any further would only drag out the time.

Above all, the Archmage was right next to me, so there was no way she would have scammed me, right? Usually, trusting like this is how you get wiped out by a scam, but still.

"I've checked it."

'Hah, so it's straight into the quest now. Seeing as she's not taking the necklace back, it seems she's just giving this to me as an upfront payment. Since I've taken it, I should do the work.'

I rolled up the extra copy of the contract that was made and put it in the bag at my waist.

"Ah, are you going right now?"

"I have no intention of dragging out a trivial task."

"Haha. I sure picked the right person."

'Ah, I was wondering why they didn't even give me time to wash up, but it was because they knew I'd be going back in anyway. I feel kind of bitter.'

"Now then, you guys hurry up and go help too! I originally planned to keep it a secret from you as well, but since you've already found out, it can't be helped. It's not bad having a rough excuse either."

But I was still in a better position than them, who weren't even getting compensated for their emotional suffering. I offered them my profound condolences internally as I headed outside.

The sun had not yet set.

SPLASH!

No, the sun had set.

"Ah, you've come up!"

"A-Are you not cold?"

"We bought some food!"

I only came out after clearing about a third of the lakebed.

According to the contract, I didn't need to clear out all the sprouted plants, only the ones covering the building, but since that area was nearly half of it, this was what it led to.

Thanks to that, the sun had completely set, and the moon was floating past the top of my head. My day had vanished in a flash.

"Let's start with a blanket..."

'I've had it rough, but you guys have been through a lot too.'

Leaving the Mages who must have waited here like fixtures while I was submerged, I pulled my body completely up onto the bridge.

Perhaps taking my freezing cold body into consideration, one of the Mages hurriedly ran over with a blanket.

"I don't need it."

Oddly enough, I didn't feel cold, perhaps thanks to the heat pack. Therefore, I rejected the blanket and examined the food held out to me. It was a field of meat.

"..."

"S-Should we go buy something else?"

'... No. It's not like I have allergies, and my personality isn't so rotten that I'd complain about food someone else went out of their way to buy for me.'

Besides, my fullness was practically at rock bottom after skipping lunch and dinner to cut grass underwater.

To begin with, the reason I came up was because the medicine preventing decompression sickness had worn off, plus I couldn't stand the hunger anymore. Even the time to wait felt like a waste, so I decided to just shove it in my mouth.

I chewed and swallowed the food mechanically.

Then, I suddenly wondered where our kids were and what they were doing. I wonder if they even noticed I was missing.

'The Archmage probably explained it well, right?'

'DeB must have had a hard time following the Berserker around, and the Inquisitor is probably too busy practicing her skills. I wonder if they're making sure to eat properly.'

'As for the Berserker... she gives the impression she'll eat well even if no one looks out for her, so she'll be fine.'

"Would you like more?"

Right around the time I was silently finishing my meal while stringing along all sorts of random thoughts, the Mage who had first proposed the request to me asked cautiously.

I immediately shook my head. I felt like I'd get indigestion if I ate any more here.

"Are you really okay with just that..."

'Ah, is it okay to go right into the water after eating? It should be fine. I ate slowly, so I think I rested for about twenty minutes.'

"Uh, are you going back in right away?"

'You bet. I still have plenty of stamina left.'

In addition, there was a clause in the contract about remaining as inconspicuous as possible.

With this method of progress, doing it during the day probably wouldn't be a huge issue... but night would still be better. There wasn't much left, anyway.

So I just took the medicine and promptly dived back in.

I felt bad for the Mages who had to wait here until I came out, but I looked away. I had never told them to stay there.

SPLASH!

The cold lake water of the midnight hour began to wrap around my body.

"Uh!"

However, immediately after someone submerged without consideration for others, one of the remaining Mages let out a scream.

"What, what!?"

"Is there a problem!?"

Were the people around him startled, thinking it was something serious? The Mage who screamed first slowly turned his head with a creak to look at his colleagues.

"I forgot to give him the stone for maintaining body temperature... I-It must have been hours since the time limit on that ran out."

"... You crazy bastard! Some things shouldn't be forgotten!!"

"Hwaaah!!"

It wasn't a major problem.

Meanwhile, the person receiving the brunt of the Mages' worries reached the bottom in a single breath. The water depth, which seemed to be about thirty meters, combined with the pitch-black of night and suspended particles to evoke the image of a night with heavy snowfall.

After landing on the spot where I had cut down the plants, I inspected the remaining areas. The main building was left.

BURBLE.

I kept breathing through the underwater breathing tool as I slowly walked along the exterior wall of the building. And when I faced the uncut plants once again, I lowered my body and swung a sword with a blade roughly forty centimeters long.

A slash surged forward, advancing about two meters. The fact that the plants within that radius were cleanly severed was a bonus.

BLUB.

Afterward, I waded into the cut plants that now only reached my knees.

They were tough things with quite the survivability, as they tangled around my legs even in that state. It wasn't to a degree I couldn't endure.

And when I reached the center of the cleared radius, I pulled out what I had stored in my inventory. This thing, which looked like a pill, was a poison made specifically for these plants.

I heard it roughly acts on mana to work as a poison against things mutated by magic... The reason they asked me to do this despite having this was simple.

They said it was only effective if it was buried in the ground to come into contact with the roots. The problem was that the Mages couldn't cut through the plants smoothly like I could—and even if they did, it would cause a commotion.

For reference, when I asked in a roundabout way if they hadn't thought to improve this, they said it would take a long time. In their haste, they were trying to develop it to be effective just by dissolving it in the water, but they were deeply worried about getting caught by the Temple or the Guild in the meantime.

So it seemed like they had pawned it off on me as soon as I arrived. By using me, the current development was more than enough to resolve things.

Well, that wasn't a very important detail. I was completely satisfied from the moment I received the inventory slot.

SQUELCH.

Regardless, I shoved the pill into the lakebed. Some of the plants covering the exterior wall of the building immediately began to wither.

It covered a radius slightly larger than the area I had cut down.

There was a slight loss, but there were still plenty of pills.

I praised myself for cutting it well by eye and repeated the same process as before.

And just like that, when I reached the center of the main building...

"...?"

I discovered something purple... and hideous... resembling a nest, hidden among the plants. What is this?