Chapter 4

"If you're not doing anything, that's fine. ... As expected, you're not going to do anything strange on the first day, are you?"

"Krest, do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Well, various things, you know. But putting that aside for now, did you notice anything suspicious from Elise?"

"For now, I don't think there's any problem. Really, don't you think you're being too suspicious?"

"No, but I was thinking, maybe she came here to investigate us."

"Investigate?"

"To assess our abilities and report back to the upper realm to have us eliminated. Or perhaps to find an opportunity to take me back to the upper realm..."

"From what I've heard, the upper realm is in a really tough situation right now. They probably don't have the resources to spare for something like that. Besides, Elise is quite strong, you know?"

"...Is that so?"

We hadn't discussed that much, so I didn't know the situation in the upper realm. In response to my question, Sphie nodded.

"Elise told me that dimensional holes are appearing everywhere, and a massive number of monsters are appearing. Dealing with them is a huge challenge, and another child who was evaluated by the oracle is working hard on it."

"...Mina?"

"A woman?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, don't be too unfaithful, okay?"

"Whose perspective is this, anyway?"

Sighing, I thought to myself. If what Elise said is true, they probably wouldn't take such actions just to eliminate me. However, if the upper realm is in such a difficult situation, it's not impossible that they sent Elise to bring me back urgently. But as Sphie said, sending Elise to the lower realm at the cost of weakening the upper realm might not be a good strategy.

"Anyway, Krest said not to be hostile, but I'm fine with her. I think she can be accepted as a resident without any problems. She doesn't seem to have any prejudice against demi-humans."

"...Well, Elise doesn't really care much about what others think of her."

"That's good. I don't dislike her either."

Elise is also good at socializing. But if Sphie says this much, maybe Elise doesn't have any ulterior motives?

I don't know.

What she's really thinking.

"Anyway, thanks. Get some rest."

"Huh? What about my reward lick?"

"We never made that agreement."

I pushed Sphie out of the room, and she reluctantly left. For now, I can only observe her for a while.

A few days passed.

I had asked the townspeople to let me know if Elise did anything suspicious, but no bad reports came in.

Originally, being a noble, she seemed a bit unfamiliar with daily life, but she had adapted somewhat over these few days. There was no sign of her communicating with the upper realm, and it's not even possible to send letters from the lower realm.

Did she really come to the lower realm with genuine intentions?

I'm not sure.

Moreover, the demi-humans don't seem to have a bad opinion of her. She uses her skills freely and shows her capabilities, so there might be no need to be wary.

"Your wound is fully healed now."

Elise is skilled in healing magic, support magic, and defensive magic. Her healing magic can instantly heal even significant injuries, and those who receive her support magic see their abilities increase by about twice as much.

Her defensive magic is so sturdy that it can withstand average attacks. If Elise were to become an enemy, it would be quite troublesome. While Elise herself isn't particularly skilled in combat, her overall ability, including her support for others, is quite formidable.

I also joined in the surveillance, but there were no major issues. Soon, there will be a gacha update, and I need to prepare for it. I've accumulated a lot of gacha points by hunting new monsters, centered around the ogre base.

Once I finish hunting the monsters I discovered last time, I will have a total of 30,000 points, enough to complete a new gacha. The question is, as usual, whether to max out all the skill levels in the current gacha.

Honestly, now that Assassin is maxed out, I don't think it's necessary to force it. After all, Assassin can be seen through by opponents of similar level.

So, I was considering skipping this gacha.

I observed the town for a while, but Elise hasn't done anything suspicious to the demi-humans, so I think I can move around freely now.

Thinking this, I returned home, prepared my equipment, and was about to leave when I met Elise, who was just arriving.

When she saw me, her expression brightened. Her overly honest reaction still feels unfamiliar.

"Krest, where are you going?"

"I'm planning to go outside the town to hunt monsters."

I've been watching Elise recently... If she were to take any action, I'm probably the only one who could stop her. I've been worried about that, so I wanted to take a break today.

"May I accompany you?"

"...Sure, no problem."

I hesitated for a moment but agreed.