The answer came from Nameita. He shouted so loudly it looked as though he might rip his beard out.

"Fishfolk! To think I'd actually meet the fishfolk!"

"Fishfolk?"

"They are a deep-sea race, like the merfolk! Have you never heard the old tales? A kind human falls into the sea, a mermaid rescues him and gives him a gift, then a greedy human jumps into the sea on purpose to get another gift and gets eaten by the fishfolk..."

"Y-you mean they're a cannibalistic race?!"

The dungeon residents recoiled in horror.

Truthfully, Nameita wasn't entirely sure about that part himself. He answered with noticeably less confidence.

"According to the historical records, there was a story about a child who disappeared while traveling with fishfolk..."

"What are you talking about? Why would we eat humans?! We went to all the trouble of bringing a dying child back to the kingdom and saving them!"

The fishfolk warrior protested.

"Indeed. We deep-sea folk live mainly on seaweed, shellfish, and fish."

The Mermaid Queen nodded vigorously.

Nameita immediately corrected himself with scholarly logic.

"Hmm. Historical records based on rumors have questionable reliability. It seems I misspoke. Besides, there is no way Ian would recruit as allies a race that considers humans a staple food."

"That's true."

"This is the harm caused by human-centered appearance bias."

"Quite right. If a beautiful appearance meant a kind heart, Ian could never be a tyrant."

"Well said. Well said."

The dungeon residents reflected deeply on their mistake. They began showering flowers on the merfolk and fishfolk as well, welcoming them warmly.

Watching the scene, the dwarf scholar wiped away tears.

Ah! What a beautiful sight of harmony.

When the welcoming ceremony ended, people dispersed like a receding tide. The guests who had come from distant seas needed time to rest.

The moment the last person disappeared beyond the passageway, one of the fishfolk picked up a petal from the ceremony and put it in his mouth.

"Is this flower edible?"

"There is food prepared inside the field, so it would be best not to eat that flower."

The dwarf scholar answered with dignified politeness, determined to preserve the guests' sense of prestige.

In any case, his task completed, the dwarf slung his pack over his shoulder and departed with the priests assigned to accompany him.

Wearing the demon mask Ian had commissioned and Momisia had crafted.

He was going to persuade the kin who had been separated from them long ago.

His steps were full of hope.

Surely no dwarf could witness and hear of such an inspiring scene and remain without hope.

Dwarves were warriors by nature.

That thought would soon be shattered.

But for now, his party was happy.

Meanwhile, the dungeon remained quietly busy.

The newly incorporated allies had been given time to rest, but some races preferred productive activities over lying around and relaxing.

They wandered through the dungeon, only to be seized either by children or by members of their own race who had arrived earlier.

Most had simply gotten lost, so they were deeply grateful to whoever happened to catch them first.

There were also cases where someone did the catching themselves.

That was exactly what happened with Hikan, vice captain of the elf ranger unit.

The moment he spotted Jenea, he dragged her back to the forest field. Then he gathered the elves sleeping beneath the trees' shade.

"Wake up and sober up already! Didn't you hear that we have to prepare for the second wave?"

"Yessir! Ah, Jenea!"

"Wash your face before you greet her!"

Perhaps it was because of Moiken's personality as both the "First Archer" and the "Ranger Captain," but the rangers tended to become bolder when they were together.

Moiken possessed strengths too great to ignore, but he also had equally significant flaws.

He was emotional and lacked planning.

The fact that he had been sleeping moments ago was proof enough.

The position of vice captain did not exist solely to keep Moiken from running wild.

At least, that was what Hikan believed.

So he intended to assess the situation in place of his captain.

After seating the rangers in a circle, Hikan faced Jenea.

Stay calm.

If not him, who in this ranger unit was going to use their head?

Yet the fact that Ian—who had always appeared whenever a crisis struck and saved them—had told them to retreat into the dungeon was enough to reveal how dangerous the situation truly was.

Hikan struggled to calm his pounding heart.

"Why are the mamool acting so wildly, Jenea?"

Jenea answered as calmly as ever.

"According to Ian, the Demon King has become aware of our existence."

"What?!"

"He corrected himself immediately afterward."

"What?!"

At that moment, Moiken interrupted.

"So what you're saying is this, Jenea. The Demon King is coming. But Ian concealed the truth because he didn't want the humans under his command to panic."

Jenea smiled with satisfaction.

"As expected of Moiken. You understand exactly what I mean."

"As expected of Jenea. You already knew I'd understand."

When had this elf even woken up?

Now that he thought about it, the snoring had suddenly stopped a while ago.

Listening to these siblings converse often left Hikan dizzy.

"Captain. Perhaps you could explain it in a way the rest of us can understand."

"Hm? Hikan, surely you understood already?"

Moiken said something utterly infuriating.

Jenea nodded.

"As expected of Hikan. He wishes for an explanation everyone can understand."

"So that's what you meant! Very well. I'll explain."

Hikan sincerely wished Jenea would do the explaining instead.

Neither sibling was a particularly gifted teacher, but Jenea was at least better than Moiken.

Unfortunately, Moiken had already begun.

"The demons are violent by nature, but recently we've suffered disasters unlike anything we've experienced before. I thought they were mere coincidences, but Ian undoubtedly realized they were all part of the Demon King's scheme."

"...?"

"So he informed his subordinates. However, the other races are not as brave as elves. After seeing their reactions, Ian had no choice but to claim it was a joke. But brave Jenea saw through it. Isn't that right?"

"As expected of Moiken. Exactly so."

"So in other words, this is all speculation?"

Hikan pointed out.

He had listened intently only to discover they were essentially saying, "Ian made a joke, but we understood his true intentions."

Moiken frowned.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Would Ian joke about the appearance of the Demon King?"

"Well... no."

"Would Ian make an incorrect deduction?"

"No, he wouldn't."

Hikan immediately grew serious again.

One of the nearby elf rangers swallowed nervously.

"Ian's fame has spread across the entire continent. If the demons informed the Demon King about the existence of a Hero, would that creature who descended to destroy the Middle Realm simply ignore it?"

Moiken slammed a fist into the ground.

"What made Ian famous was his good deeds. Our elves have received tremendous help from him as well. Would you allow a Hero who became the Demon King's enemy while helping us to die alone and miserably? The Demon King is coming, and you're going to run away in fear?"

"No!"

"We're not afraid!"

"Good! Jenea, you've seen our resolve. Tell Ian not to worry! We know the truth, and we're on his side!"

"The pride of the elves remains unbroken. I'll deliver the message immediately."

Jenea clenched her fist tightly.

After hearing the message, Ian thought:

No, that's actually true, but...

Wasn't the reasoning process in the middle completely insane?

"That's genuinely encouraging."

"Elves do not forget kindness."

Jenea made sure to praise her own people.

In any case...

Looks like they've got energy to spare if they have time for nonsense like this.

He had probably given them enough rest.

Ian gathered the fully recharged allied leaders in the conference room.

There was a mountain of work to do, but what needed to be prepared immediately had already been decided.

First...

The second defense.

The first thing the allied leaders saw upon entering the conference room was a gigantic sheet of paper spread across the center of the table.

"Pen."

Ian held out a hand.

The little girl in the red cloak pulled a pen from her pocket and handed it to him.

Supporting the paper with one hand, Ian said,

"This is our dungeon map."

A blank sheet?

Before Moiken could ask, Ian's hand moved first.

A straight line appeared across the white paper.

Beginning with a room labeled "Conference Room," he started sketching the layout of the plaza without the slightest hesitation.

The map was impossibly precise.

Every detail of the dungeon's interior structure appeared on the page, along with the dungeon entrance and the surrounding terrain.

The various regions of the Dark Forest were marked with notes such as "Pit," "Hideout," and "Dead End."

As an elf familiar with forest terrain, Moiken instinctively knew the map was accurate. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Ian drew line after line without calculating scale or using a ruler, yet it was as though he were viewing the landscape from high above and reproducing it directly onto paper.

"...!"

The allies stared with mouths agape.

The Mermaid Queen, currently walking on two legs thanks to merfolk transformation magic, nearly slammed her tail against the floor before remembering she no longer had one.

The only times Ian paused were when he seemed to be searching his memory.

Whenever he stopped moving his pen and stared blankly into space, the entire room unconsciously held its breath.

Only Keith continued staring directly at him.

In the blink of an eye, the dungeon map was complete.

"H-how...?"

"Questions later."

Ian returned the pen to the little girl.

Then he extended his hand once more.

"Pieces."

A middle-aged man with long hair tied back like a mane produced a pouch from inside his clothes and handed it over.

Ian overturned the pouch.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

Every time his hand moved, a game piece came to rest at a predetermined position.

Those are... us?

Moiken recognized the features immediately.

The elf piece had pointed ears and carried a bow.

The fairy piece was tiny and possessed wings.

The underwater race was represented by two pieces placed together—one a mermaid, the other a fishfolk warrior.

After positioning every piece, Ian rose from his seat.

"From now on, these are the routes you'll be moving along."

"Memorize them."

"...?!"