"Afterwards, Tingyun also revealed a little treasure as their helper, a small awakened lion—the Listen carefully."

""This... so cute!!!" March 7th was instantly smitten by this little adorable creature."

"Star gave March 7th a meaningful look, and the girl immediately understood, quickly putting on a serious expression: "Cough, what kind of treasure is this? What can it do? Can it pounce on Kafka and bite her tight?""

""Hehe~" Tingyun was slightly amused by March 7th and explained: "Yes, and no. This is the Artisanship Commission's biomimetic creation based on my fox clan's five senses, the 【Listen carefully】, its sensitivity is even greater. Whether it's footprints or scent, as long as the characteristic is locked onto, it can sniff out the traces left by the target and track them all the way to the end."

"Afterwards, the few of them confirmed how to use the Listen carefully, and once they had mastered it, Tingyun brought them to Reclusion Harbor."

""Oh, right."

"Before starting the search, Tingyun seemed to suddenly remember something and smiled sweetly at everyone: "Let me say this first, if we really encounter Kafka, please Benefactors feel free to act. This humble one cannot help in any way, all I can do is tremble beside you and cheer you on~""

""You don't want to participate in the battle?" Star asked."

""The Benefactors are formidable, able to fight back and forth with the Mara-Struck. This humble one is merely a minor clerical officer, what if Kafka suddenly attacks and harms someone..."

"Tingyun lowered her beautiful eyebrows, immediately putting on a look as if she were about to cry: "Although the fox clan does not have as long a lifespan as the Xianzhou People, this humble one still wants to live another hundred or so years of peaceful life, please spare me~""

"Fox people are naturally charming, and Tingyun in such a state was even more captivating."

"Oh oh oh—!!"

Looking at the charming smile of the fox girl in the light screen, Kazuma and the male adventurers in the tavern all let out monkey-like cries.

"This, this, this must be Charm! Cute! Too cute!!"

Although Kazuma's teammates were all girls in the prime of their youth, neither Aqua nor Megumin had any femininity whatsoever...

Compared to them, Miss Tingyun in the light screen was simply the perfect adventurer teammate!

"If she could cheer me on, perhaps the buff would be much stronger than that useless goddess's blessing?" Kazuma glanced at Aqua, who had completely stuffed herself and was sleeping soundly, sprawled on the tavern counter.

And on the other side, Megumin was sitting at the same table as Darkness.

Watching the men in the tavern having their souls captured by Miss Tingyun, Megumin wiped the juice from the corner of her mouth and showed a look of disdain.

"Hmph! What's so good about Charm? It's completely not worth learning compared to Explosion Magic! No, I should say, is there any skill worth learning besides Explosion Magic? Absolutely not!"

Although that woman named Kafka was very powerful, Megumin firmly believed that as long as Darkness could block one wave of Kafka's attacks for her, she could seize the opportunity to use Explosion Magic to severely injure Kafka.

"Kazuma, even if Miss Tingyun really appears, you won't be able to keep her in the party, right?"

"She's a merchant, she won't look favorably upon a poor adventurer like you."

After a few rounds of drinks, other adventurers in the tavern started to jeer.

Kazuma, who had had a few drinks beforehand, was flushed red, slightly tipsy. He propped himself up and walked into the crowd, slowly extending his right fist.

"If having money is enough to win Miss Tingyun's favor, then that's too simple."

"My profession is a thief, of course I have ways to get money... *hiccup*, just watch me—"

"【Steal】!!"

While shouting, his tightly clenched right fist slowly opened, and under everyone's gaze, a piece of pink cloth appeared in his hand.

He pulled the cloth open with both hands and held it up to the light...

"Strange, it's not a wallet..."

"Ah ah—Kazuma, you idiot! G-give me back my panties—!!"

Megumin shrieked with a red face, while pressing down on her skirt.

—

"Along the way, they relied on the Listen carefully to find many clues, but the result was that they were constantly being led around by the nose by Kafka."

"Kafka even left them a treasure chest, a hand grenade..."

""This woman is clearly provoking us!" March 7th said angrily."

""Kafka seems to have completely anticipated our every move... Everyone, watch out for traps." Welt reminded them."

"After setting up a perimeter, the few of them continued to follow the Listen carefully forward, but soon..."

""The scent, it's gone?" Tingyun's eyes widened in surprise."

""When the prey's scent disappears, the hunter should be careful—" Kafka slowly walked out from the shadows, coming up behind two Cloud Knights soldiers."

""...Because that is often a sign that the chase relationship is reversing."

""Kafka!" March 7th exclaimed, she hadn't expected Kafka to dare appear so openly and brazenly before everyone."

""These Cloud Knights haven't fallen into the Mara-Struck state... What did you do to them?" Tingyun looked at the two Cloud Knights blocking her path, utterly shocked."

""What a convenient ability... but it probably only works on humans with weak minds, right?"

At the Hero Association Headquarters, Sweet Mask, the Rank 1 A-Class hero, appeared in the S-Class heroes' meeting room with a matter-of-fact attitude.

Although the S-Class heroes, led by Tatsumaki and Atomic Samurai, were quite displeased with his overstepping behavior, considering that it was not a combat meeting at the moment, they decided to turn a blind eye.

""Oh? You mean Kafka's Spirit Whisper won't work on you?" Atomic Samurai sneered coldly, "Sweet Mask, aren't you being too arrogant?"

""You don't even have this much confidence... Atomic Samurai, are you really qualified to be S-Class?"

Facing the A-Class hero's retort, veins bulged on Atomic Samurai's forehead. Silently, his hand was already on his sword sheath, as if he would slice the man who didn't know his place into powder the next second.

""Whether I'm qualified or not, why don't we..."

""Mr. Atomic Samurai!"

Sensing the samurai's strong killing intent, Pig God, who was nearby, quickly put down his potato chips and hurried over to mediate with his large body.

But Atomic Samurai's aura was quite astonishing... One was an S-Class hero, the other was Rank 1 A-Class, neither side was willing to easily back down and concede, and the meeting room instantly became tense.

Suddenly, a violent heartbeat, like an engine, resounded.

KING sat motionless between the two of them. The brim of his hat obscured his eyes, only his facial scar was barely visible.

""Sit down... both of you."

In front of the two powerhouses, KING still maintained his kingly demeanor and spoke slowly.