"It’s hard to believe. Even when I try to think about it rationally, a difficulty rating of 200— it’s already hard enough to imagine just how terrifyingly strong that would be, to be able to defeat that kind of opponent in just one hit is simply impossible. Even if that was possible the probability would have to be extremely low. Could it be that the event happened more like this, a super high difficulty rating demon appeared and countless teams tried to subjugate it, and the final blow was delivered by the 'Darkness'?"

"If you say it like that, then it sounds a lot more believable."

"I think it’s possible. It wouldn’t be that strange for someone within the adamantite rank to be that strong. The skill range between adamantite rank adventurers can be extremely big."

"So Hekkeran and I are of the same opinion, but elder thinks it really happened as told, is that right?"

"Hya hya hya. I do think of it that way."

"Seeing in person beats hearing a hundred tales. Now I want to meet him at least once… yet at the same time I don’t."

Just as the two of them were about to agree to what Hekkeran had said, the sound of someone getting hit, followed by the cries of a woman, interrupted their conversation.

The workers that were present quickly focused their attention on the source of the disturbance. Some had already drawn their weapons and entered their battle state.

The source of the scream, which came from Eruya’s direction, was one of Eruya’s female companions, who was laying on the ground. Considering the situation, it seemed that Eruya was the one who had sent her flying. His face was distorted with rage, while a fearful expression could be seen on the woman as she begged for his forgiveness.

While desperately trying to suppress the feelings that fluctuated within his chest, the first thought that flashed in Hekkeran’s mind was his comrade—he hurriedly cast a glance at Imina.

Having made up his mind, Hekkeran eliminated the expressions on his face and remained where he was. However, the pressure that was emitted from Hekkeran suggested that if anything further happens, he would definitely be the first to strike out.

Hurriedly, Hekkeran signaled to Roberdyck and Arche, instructing them to stop Imina from taking any independent actions.

Personally, Hekkeran felt the same way as Imina. However, right now he didn’t have the right to meddle in other team’s affairs. Of course, if he really wanted to, there was nothing stopping him from taking action. It was just that he would then be required to take responsibility. Because of reasons like this, the other teams also didn’t show any signs of wanting to be involved and simply expressed their disgust.

In the end, Imina was finally able to come to her senses, and suppressed her emotions. She made a rude gesture towards Eruya’s back and spat on the ground.

"…It seems he can only match his swords skills with the Kingdom’s Warrior Captain. It would be great if he could also match his personality, but that’s just asking for too much. Well then, let’s just end the useless chattering here."

"…I agree. Since Hekkeran has already arrived, it’s time to decide on the most important thing."

"Since that guy has already backed out from this it’s just between the three of us, but who will take the overall command of this operation?"

Suddenly everything became quiet.

There were four worker teams here. The amount of combat potential from the combined four teams could already be considered as something remarkable, however if not properly commanded, much of it would be wasted. No matter how many arms one might possess, if one was unable to make use of them in harmony, it’s no better off than having just a single arm.

Managing multiple teams with a diverse range of personalities was already a difficult enough task to accomplish, to do so without receiving any complaints was even harder. Mistakes that occurred when giving commands could directly result in failure. And if the leader prioritized his own team first, then he could even end up being the target of everyone’s resentment.

To make it clearer, it’s a responsibility that requires ability, yet comes with more demerits than merits.

Knowing this, the leaders quietly waited while studying each other’s expressions. After nearly one minute of silence, the tired Hekkeran made a suggestion.

"Honestly, I think it’s better not to do it this way."

"This will only delay the problem. What if it gets messy once the battle starts?"

"…I propose we dost take turns. This way dissatisfaction can be kept to a minimum. We can also discuss this further after we arrive at the ruins."

"Ah—"

"That’s right."

Thus Greenham’s proposal was accepted by both Hekkeran and Parupatra.

"In that case, let’s use the arrival order to determine the turns."

"What do we do with Uzruth’s 'Tenmu'?"

"It doesn’t matter even if we skip that guy’s turn. After all, he isn’t capable of leading in the first place."

"I can only agree, elder. In that case, the first one to take leadership will be me, 'Heavy Masher', the one who proposed this system."

"We’ll be in your care then, Greenham."

"I’ll be relying on you, young one."

"Understood. However, the likelihood of us encountering dangerous monsters inside the Empire’s territory is almost zero. It’s only when we are in the Kingdom, near the Great Forest, that problems may occur."

"Ah, we should have reversed the order."

The two of them quietly laughed as Hekkeran face palmed himself when he stated that. However, they laughter quickly stopped when they noticed a man was walking towards them.

Light finally started to shine within the Earl’s courtyard when his butler made his appearance. Walking with his back straight and tightened, the butler walked in a manner which reflected the standing of those who served the Earl.

Arriving in front of the workers, the butler stopped and bowed. Although no-one returned his bow, the butler didn’t seem to mind and started speaking.

"Time is up. On behalf of the earl, I would like to express his gratitude to everyone here who accepted our House’s request. There will be two representatives from our House who will be coming along for this trip. Including the adventurers hired for the security of the carriages and a few other things, all together there will be six additional people. The destination is the unexplored ruins located near the border of the Kingdom—from the structure it appears to be a tomb. The designated period for investigation is three days. Additional bonuses will be given out after the Master has confirmed the received goods discovered from the ruin. Are there any questions?"

The details that were given by the butler were almost the same as the initial request. The only new information was that adventurers would be guarding the carriages.

Many were interested in the details about the chosen travel route, but as workers, one quickly learned to differentiate between which questions were allowed to be asked and which weren’t. It was clear that this was something the Earl did not plan to reveal, otherwise it would have already been made public.

If it was a clean request, they would have hired adventurers instead. Since it was dirty work, the requestor obviously wouldn’t reveal everything. Some things were simply safer not to know.

"…Well then, I will be leading everyone to the carriages we have prepared."

Without saying any words, the entire group followed the butler.

Hekkeran’s 'Foresight' was at the very back of the group.