"Ayase-kun, will this much stone be enough?"

Spread out before me was a massive quantity of white stone, all cleanly cut into uniform blocks. We were at the clearing designated as the future site of the dormitory. I say "clearing," but it was really just the plot right next to Shello-san's house.

Shamash-san had obtained these materials as a reward for helping out at the quarry (though, in reality, Ai-chan and Golem-kun did almost all the heavy lifting). With this much, we could build a truly impressive dormitory.

In the quarry business, the value of the stone wasn't so much in the material itself, but in the labor and danger involved in cutting and transporting it. Since Shamash-san could take over both of those tasks with incredible efficiency, she had become something of an idol at the quarry.

Of course, she didn't work there regularly. However, the combination of Ai-chan's laser for precision cutting and Golem-kun's raw strength for transport generated a work rate equivalent to about a hundred humans. It turned a "small amount" of help into an astronomical volume of production.

The stonemasons' job was usually a slow grind; with Shamash-san handling the cutting and moving the blocks halfway to their destination, the masons effectively earned themselves a half-month's vacation.

Shamash-san got free stone (though it cost her magic crystals), and the masons got half a month of labor covered. Everyone was happy. Thus, Shamash-san had become the quarry's idol.

"What do you think, Oyakata? Will this be enough?"

"With this much? Yeah, it's more than enough. If people had to carry this by hand, it'd take a month."

"I'm glad to hear that. Since this is for the knight corps' dormitory, I brought extra. Of course, I did the work to earn it, but I almost felt bad, like I was taking work away from the stonemasons."

"No, I'm pretty sure the masons are thrilled..."

In a world powered solely by human muscle, it was like she had showed up with heavy machinery.

"Anyway, with this much, we can build a proper stone structure. I wanted to make sure it could withstand a monster attack if the worst came to the worst, so this helps a lot."

Oyakata said.

That was a good point. Since we were near a monster spot, we needed to think about defensive integrity. Though, against a truly powerful monster, a bit of stone might not mean much—after all, Ai-chan's laser sliced through it like butter.

"Shamash-san, thank you. I'll pay you back for the magic crystals you used."

"I was merely doing my duty as your exclusive mage... Though, if you truly wish to thank me, come for a drink with me again."

"Sure, let's do that."

"Is that a promise? Fufu... yatta."

Shamash-san and I grabbed drinks together just the two of us from time to time. Come to think of it, I had been so busy lately that we hadn't gone out in a while.

"But first, we have today's event."

"Ah, right. The welcome party for the newcomers? The new ones are cute, but those former mercenary women are a bit too hot-blooded for my taste. For some reason, they all want to fight me."

Apparently, Shamash-san was also an "idol" to the former members of the mercenary group. Well, I supposed the chance to fight a Demon didn't come around often. Maybe their warrior blood was just itching.

"A mock battle might be okay, but with Shamash-san as an opponent, your magic is too powerful. And if you're being serious, it's not fair unless you include your summoned beasts. Maybe magic-resistance training is a better middle ground."

"True. I don't fancy my chances one-on-one against a veteran warrior without my summons. Unless I'm allowed to call Ai-chan, but she's... a bit too much."

Ai-chan's laser, as Marina described it, was "flash—then sizzle." It would be hard for a human to dodge it the first time they saw it. And if it hit, that was the end.

Shamash-san could use a wide variety of magic and was plenty strong on her own, but her true strength came from her summoning magic.

"Well, I doubt they're that desperate to fight. They probably just catch a whiff of a strong presence and can't help themselves. We can just point them toward Shello-san if they get too rowdy."

I felt a little bad for Shello-san, but when it came to overwhelming strength, he was the obvious choice.

Incidentally, the former Unison members had already tried their luck in mock battles with him. Shello-san was a celebrity among them; in fact, some of them had even fought him in the past.

The result, naturally, was that they were all soundly defeated. Apparently, the only ones who could even stand a chance against Shello-san were Hetty-san or her former Number Two.

As for Hetty-san herself, she and Shello-san had never sparred.

They could, but only if there were someone present who could stop them.

Otherwise, it might continue until one of them died.

Scary...

* * *

"Alright, everyone, today is a feast for friendship, so have a good time! I don't really have anything specific to say. That's all."

Starting from the afternoon, we decided to hold a drinking party with the newcomers (including the former mercenary women). Call it a drinking party, a welcome party, or a mixer—it was, in every sense, a banquet.

The venue was our usual spot: the clearing next to Shello-san's house.

"Yesss! As expected of the Owner! So generous!"

"I mean, isn't this insane? Isn't it just incredible? There's so much food I've never seen before! This is heaven!"

"U-Um... are you sure it's alright for us to have such fancy food and alcohol...?"

"Whoo! Let's toast! Cheers!"

The members' reactions varied, but the former mercenaries were especially hyped. Actually, they're always hyped. Was that just how mercenaries were?

"Alright, Captain Becky! If you would!"

"Cap-tain! Cap-tain!"

"Toast! Toast!"

Rebecca-san was egged on by the former mercenaries to lead the toast, and she accepted with a laugh.

They had this rowdy vibe when they were off duty, but they were true veterans—during drills, their movements were perfectly synchronized, showing a surprising level of discipline. I supposed that was the result of Hetty-san's training.

"Ahem. I'll keep it brief. As I'm sure you've noticed, our first big task will be dealing with the Hitotsuzuki. It's not an official job for the Knight Order, but there's a reward involved. Let's enjoy ourselves today and build up our strength. Well then—cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Kampai!"

"Bottoms up!"

Everyone swarmed the food at once.

As usual, I provided all the drinks and ingredients. Since I had plenty of Japanese yen left over from selling the platinum to Mugen-san, I splurged a bit. Considering the current size of the Knight Order, it was a significant expense, but it was the kind of spending that was necessary.

Specifically for the alcohol, I prepared a huge variety. Sake, whisky, various liqueurs, and wine. Shochu and brandy. Beer and low-malt beer. Gin, vodka, rum, and tequila.

Honestly, there was no need to buy this many types, but except for a few, they don't spoil easily, so in the long run, it was a fine investment... Though, looking at how many heavy drinkers we had, I had a feeling it would disappear much faster than I imagined.

As the alcohol flowed, things truly became informal. With the sudden jump in membership, everyone still didn't know each other well. The former mercenaries were unique, but their outgoing nature made them great buffers between the old and new members. It really helped the newcomers, who tended to be a bit hesitant.

"Phew..."

For a while, I enjoyed the banquet, chatting with everyone and exchanging drinks. However, the only men present were me and Schelo-san, since I hadn't invited the Oyakata or his crew this time.

I wouldn't say I felt out of place, but compared to when we were a small group, I did feel a slight bit of social anxiety. Well, I was the owner; I should just sit back and look composed.

I stepped away from the noise and sat down by myself.

Everyone looked happy. Marina was singing songs with Noririn. Elepipi was playing with Miya-miya's hair, and Etowa was discussing complex tactics with Hetty-san. Rebecca-san seemed to have an endless supply of stories to share with her old comrades, while Aurica and Shamash-san were whispering about something with the recruits.

"What's wrong? Sitting all alone in a place like this."

As I was absentmindedly drinking, Ion slipped away from the group and sat down next to me.

"Yeah, just feeling a bit overwhelmed by all that 'girl power.'" "Fufu, you're so young, yet you talk like an old man." "Well, I'm not exactly used to being around women..."

When I muttered that, Ion gave a soft, gentle laugh.

"It's not that funny."

"Fufu, I'm sorry. But truly, you do have that 'vibe,' Ayase-san... Well, I won't say anything tactless, so just do your best."

"Understood."

"How are you getting along with everyone, Ion?"

"Yes, everyone is very considerate of me... they've been very kind. Since that day, I had lived in despair, thinking there was no future left... I was allowed my revenge... and on top of that, to be able to spend such fulfilling days like this is all thanks to you, Ayase-san."

Ion spoke slowly.

She had become quite bright lately, but occasionally this inexplicable darkness slipped through. Maybe this was her true self.

"...Well, as long as you're getting along with everyone, that's good."

We chatted aimlessly for a while and drank. Ion's identity couldn't be exposed, but with this many people protecting her, it wouldn't be easy for anyone to find out.

"Ah! Goshujin-sama! There you are!"

"Diana."

Having clearly had a fair amount to drink, Diana approached with unsteady steps and sat on my other side. She linked her arm with mine, clinging to me with that lack of restraint typical of a drunk.

"Ufufufu. Since there are so many new girls, I have to 'appeal' and show them who Goshujin-sama belongs to, nodesu."

"The dark side of female society, huh..."

It felt like Diana was just spinning her wheels with this sort of thing, but that was one of her charms. Or she was just a drunk.

Despite being a virgin, I had stopped getting so flustered by this level of contact. Well, maybe that was just the alcohol talking too.

"I'll be heading back now, then. Enjoy yourselves, Diana-sama."

"Yeah. Go talk to the newcomers too."

"Of course! I'm a newcomer myself, after all."

Ion returned to the circle, leaving me alone with Diana. Her long hair was touching the ground, so I lifted it up and absentmindedly wrapped it around my neck.

Her beautiful platinum-blonde hair—a color rarely seen in Japan—was so soft and glossy that I wanted to keep touching it forever.

"To do such a thing to a woman's hair... Goshujin-sama is quite bold."

"It was so long it was touching the dirt... Aren't you going to cut it a bit shorter?"

"Hair is a woman's life... Well, if Goshujin-sama insists, I wouldn't be opposed."

"If it's not too much trouble for you, I think it's fine as it is. It's so beautiful, after all."

Diana's hair really is beautiful, no exaggeration. Rather than hair, it's like delicate thread made of gold.

"Is only my hair beautiful?"

"There it is. You're definitely drunk."

"Hey, hey. How is it nodesu? Goshujin-sama?"

"You're beautiful besides your hair, too, Diana."

"Oof."

"Don't 'Oof' me. What are you making me say, seriously..."

"...I'm getting embarrassed, nodesu. Since the Mirror was fixed, I feel like Goshujin-sama has become much kinder to me, nodesu."

Had I? I felt like I had always been like this.

"...Anyway, everyone's so energetic. I was planning to disband when it got dark."

"...Still, everyone's full of energy. I was thinking we'd wrap up when it got dark."

I looked over at everyone still eating and drinking heartily.

It was already dusk, but they didn't seem anywhere near finished. It made me wonder if they had a lot of bottled-up stress. This looked like it could go on all night.

"As it gets darker, the moons become more visible nodesu."

"Yeah, really. Speaking of which, it's almost Hitotsuzuki."

As Rebecca-san mentioned during the toast, we were going to help deal with the monsters spawning in this area as the Knight Order. I thought the newcomers would mostly be support, but the core members and former mercenaries would be fighting on the front lines.

"Look, the two moons are already that close. I think by tomorrow, it will be Awasezuki, nodesu."

The two moons of this world, Linklumie and Misumikandallu.

When these two overlap, the Alignment begins. It's like a lunar eclipse between the moons. When this starts, the monster spawn rate increases.

Actually, the pace had already picked up significantly. Apparently, they didn't spawn at night (probably a game-logic leftover), but during the day, they spawned about once every two hours. Even so, this area was supposedly mild in terms of frequency and strength. Maybe because it was close to the city?

"So Hitotsuzuki and Awasezuki are different?"

"Yes. During Awasezuki, the spawn frequency just increases, but during Hitotsuzuki, when the moons completely overlap, powerful monsters spawn almost endlessly. It should be almost exactly like what we experienced at Lucraella nodesu."

"The same as that, huh... We were on the edge back then. I'm a bit worried, but we can prepare, so it'll probably be okay..."

Back then, Shamash-san had closed the entrance to the pit where they were spawning, and the last monster, Arges, was a meathead type, so we managed. I didn't know how it would go this time.

Well, that was why we were preparing.

"Actually... this time, the alignment of the stars is unclear, so we haven't been able to determine the type of Hitotsuzuki yet. Normally, we'd know by this time..."

"Type?"

"Even just saying Hitotsuzuki, there are several types depending on the star positions around the moons, Goshujin-sama."

"Now that you mention it, I think I've heard this before. Something about a pendulum or such."

I had a vague memory of some strange names.

Someone probably named them based on star patterns.

Or maybe they were names from the game era.

"Mou! The five types are Mio-tsu-Kushi (Channel-marks), Ouma-ga-Toki (Dusk in Twilight), Yatsu-no-Tama (Eight-Brave-Beads), Furiko-Otoshi (Pendulum Fall), and Shigan-Meguri (Globe-Trotter) nodesu. I taught you this before!"

"I can't possibly remember all that..."

Furthermore, I had no intention of trying. I could just ask someone who knew.

"So, is it bad if we don't know which one it is?"

"If it's Channel-marks or Dusk in Twilight, it's no problem, nodesu. But if it's Pendulum Fall, it might be dangerous if we don't prepare more thoroughly."

"Is that the one with the strongest monsters?"

"I heard that a 'Guardian Knight Armor' spawned here once before; the Hitotsuzuki back then was Pendulum Fall."

"Ah... the one where there were casualties."

Casualties... Deaths. Deaths were bad.

But it was also something we had to face. That was why the country made proper preparations.

For example, Shello-san and Rebecca-san didn't seem to work much, but that was because Shello-san received a decent salary from the government as a resident Exorcist; the hunting loot was just extra pocket money.

So, naturally, preparations for this year's Hitotsuzuki were already complete. I helped, but it was mostly handled by Shello-san and a government official.

After all, the Hitotsuzuki is a long haul—lasting one to three days. You just keep killing monsters as they spawn, one after another. You can't let a single one escape. A breach in the line is unthinkable. That's why there was a frantic rush to prepare warriors and supplies.

On top of that, the Grand Temple assigned one elf to each spot. Spirit stones were limited, but they were provided by the state. Honestly, the preparations were extremely thorough. They even had siege weapons ready for large monsters.

Shello-san said the Knight Order's presence was a big help, but even without us, they were preparing to handle it.

"Anyway, let's wrap this up soon. It's getting dark."

"Okaay. Then we'll continue back at the mansion nodesu."

"How did it turn into that...? Well, whatever."

Feeling the warmth of Diana leaning close to me, I returned to the group.

In the end, the drinking continued even after we returned to the mansion, lasting almost all night.