After accepting the quest "Liberation of the Occupied Town," Shiori and Chika left the Wilderness Town and headed to "Northtrale City"—a quest-exclusive field now accessible after accepting the quest.

"We’ve arrived... and there it is. The occupied town."

"Looks like it, big sister."

The field features of Northtrale City were as follows: the area immediately after entering was not yet a town, but a desolate wilderness surrounded by cliffs. About a kilometer straight ahead stood a town with a rectangular outer wall.

After confirming the town’s location from the elevated starting point, Shiori and Chika initially thought to head straight there—but then they noticed several tent-like structures standing on a cliff about 500 meters away, using rocks and other obstacles to conceal themselves from the town’s view. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"What is that...?"

"It looks like something interesting is going on. Let’s stop by before we go to town, sis."

Since this was a quest-dedicated field, it wouldn’t be surprising for some kind of event to take place here. Having made that decision, the two headed that way. A few minutes later—with no monsters around—they easily reached the tents.

"Hmm... what brought you here about...?"

Standing in front of the tent was a man holding a crude spear. When he noticed Shiori and Chika approaching, he turned a wary look on them... then, slightly frozen by their beauty, he slowly asked the question.

"Um... we received a quest in the Wilderness Town..."

"We heard that the town has been taken over by monsters..."

In response to his wariness, without raising their weapons, Shiori and Chika calmly explained why they had come. The man’s expression softened slightly, and he turned his gaze toward the tent behind him.

"I see... so you came after seeing the quest. We are the ones who posted it. In that case, please come inside for a moment. We’d like to give you a more detailed explanation."

"Yes, understood."

Guided by the man, Shiori and Chika went inside the tent. Inside, several men stood around a table, armed with swords and spears, creating a tense atmosphere.

"Huh? You guys... Hey, who are those girls?"

"It seems they came after seeing the quest. Please explain the plan to them."

"They...? I see... That’s very kind of you. Please come this way."

"Oh, yes."

"Right here."

The men inside looked at Shiori and Chika with wary eyes when they entered, but after the guard explained the situation, their guard lowered and they shifted positions so the two could see the table. Under the men’s gaze, the two stood in the cleared space.

"I see, so you two... Nice to meet you. I’m Kairi, the leader of the group that issued this quest. First of all, thank you for accepting the quest. You don’t look like you could fight at all, but... I can tell. You’re both very skilled. I’m grateful that people of your caliber have come to help."

"My name is Kouki. Nice to meet you."

"It’s Suchan. Nice to meet you."

"My name is Hosha."

"I am Chirus."

"It’s Ryachi."

"Nice to meet you. I’m Shiori."

"My name is Chika. Nice to meet you."

As Shiori and Chika sat across the table from Kairi and the other men introduced themselves, Shiori and Chika gave their names in turn, then turned their gaze toward the table.

On the desk was a map of the town’s interior covering the entire surface, with red circles marked in several places. Furthermore, the map was cluttered with various objects, including what appeared to be some kind of game piece.

Perhaps sensing their gaze, Kairi began to speak slowly.

"Alright, Shiori and Chika. Let’s start by explaining the situation from the beginning. First, assuming you came here after checking the quest—I think you already know this—currently, Northtrale City is under the control of a group of monsters belonging to the Demon Lord’s army. Our objective is to defeat those monsters and liberate the town."

"We have confirmed that it’s a type of monster resembling an ogre. There appears to be a leader monster—a demon—and about twenty to thirty of its subordinates scattered throughout the town. As for their specific types and abilities... we haven’t been able to confirm them."

"We were lucky enough to escape the town when it was taken over, but the vast majority of the inhabitants are still not allowed to leave and remain trapped inside."

"The residents have every aspect of their lives controlled by the monsters. We don’t know exactly what’s happening in there, but... we can imagine it’s something terrible."

"I’ve confirmed that the demon’s subordinates are regularly bringing food in from outside the town. If that food is being properly distributed to the residents, there’s no need to worry about starvation... but even so, time is of the essence."

"It’s easy to get into town from the outside, but once you’re in, you can never get out again. In other words, we absolutely have to defeat the Demon Lord’s army monsters."

"...You are both young and, above all, very beautiful. If you get caught in town... you’re guaranteed to face terrible consequences. Therefore, we won’t blame you if you abandon the quest and go home now. What will you do?"

After listening to Kairi’s explanation came the final question: did they want to participate? Shiori and Chika answered without hesitation.

"I won’t abandon the quest. I’m prepared for the consequences."

"We will fight alongside you."

"...Thank you. I appreciate it."

"That’s a great help. Really."

"Thank you. Thank you."

"Thank you, Shiori and Chika..."

The men bowed their heads in response to Shiori and Chika’s words and began expressing their gratitude.

"Now, let’s begin our strategy meeting."

"How should we fight?"

While receiving those words of thanks, Shiori and Chika placed their hands on the map on the table and began strategizing how to approach the battle.