Mithril Sleeping In Light Mist

Mithril Sleeping In Light Mist (薄霧に眠るミスリル) is a game event in Mass for the Dead that was released September 15, 2022 to October 1, 2022.

Background
The Adventurer's Guild, which has become active with the help of the Sorcerer Kingdom, takes measures to collect and commemorate the relics of adventurers in order to wipe out the rumors of "prioritizing money" from those around them. The cooperating Sorcerer Kingdom will use Nigredo, a magic caster who specializes in investigations, to deal with this.

Incident
In Momonga's office, as usual Albedo gives a report on the status of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. From her report, the Overseer Guardian states that the status of the repairs on each floor. With the exception of the Golem of Lemegetons made by Luci★Fer all facilities are recovering as planned. In addition the operation of the teleportation traps are postponed, but Shalltear Bloodfallen and Demiurge plan to conduct an experiment at a later date as soon as safety issues are confirmed. The news pleases Momonga on the dungeon's recovery progress, though Albedo admits that the inflow of income that Nazarick has been receiving, contributed to its stabilization. Said income collected through espionage and foreign currency in various places.

Momonga still wants to praise all who have been working hard, not just the ones undercover in the field. Especially Albedo who has done a great job ins turning his and Demiurge's ideas into items with high commercial value. Though he asks her not to push herself to hard for him. Albedo states that he need not worry for her on stress and fatigue, though does have a request. She asks that she extend his mercy to those who are outside, and if he like to the Area Guardians.

From her words Momonga gets where she is coming from in caring for those members of Nazarick acting in the field as undercover agents. As for the Area Guardians, he muses that they are among some faces that he had not seen in awhile. He thanks her for the input and promises to see the Area Guardians once he confirms the recover status of Nazarick. Thrilled by the praise, Albedo asks if Momnga could give her the pleasure of making time to visit the Area Guardians directly. The idea is not bad as to Momonga it would be akin to doing courtesy calls as the head of a company. A Albedo's advice gratifies Momonga as it shows that his subordinate is ever seeking to improve the conditions of Nazarick. To aligns with his view of the desire to create a environment where people who have worked outside in the world feel at ease in the comfort of a "home" as all the NPCs within his dungeon are like his children.

Albedo hearing that mention of a "home" promises to be ready to "assist" when that happens. Momonga after briefly recovering from the embarrassing jolt of emotion then recalls that the protagonist was summoned back to the Adventurer's Guild to meet about the new merchandise the guild was selling. Albedo figures it will be about trying to improve the supply to meet demand. Furthermore the number of meetings related to entertainment items at the Adventurer's Guild is proof that E-Rantel reconstruction has progressed. It seems that domestic affairs and economic affairs are much more complex that the defense of the city. Momonga tells her not to worry as if something happens she and Demiurge can lend their wisdom so that they can ensure the homunculus will bring benefits to Nazarick.

Just when Momonga and Albedo expect good news from their agent in E-rantel, at the Adventurer's Guild, Surako and the protagonist are facing a stern looking Guildmaster Pluton Ainzach informing the Territory Guardian that his measures have gone too far.

Instead of discussing about the plans for the new line of merchandise for the guild, the protagonist and Surako find that new priority item has been brought to the table since they were summoned by Ainzach.

The situation is shared by the guildmaster, explaining that thanks to the Sorcerer Kingdom, through Darkness, the E-Rantel Adventurer's Guild is the exclusive distributor of chocolate sweets. And thanks to the goods the sales have helped to cover most of the guild’s operating costs. On this Ainzach is appreciative as the product as made the guild very busy and drawn more adventurer recruits. However there is now a problem, not one of supply, but from slander by those envious of the guild’s economic boom.

Ainzach goes on to say that the slander, has happened meetings and other occasions, and were mostly trivial jeering coming from other guilds accusing “the Adventurer's Guild has become focus on profits than helping others.” and that “adventurers who were sacrificed behind the scenes were forgotten.”

It’s partly because of the flow of the conversation, but at today's city meeting, Ainzach even received verbal abuse. Hence why he briefly looked at the protagonist with accusatory eyes earlier which he apologizes.

Surako hearing the trouble Ainzach had to deal with is apologetic. Still Ainzach can’t just ignore the accusations and doesn’t want to give the impression that the Adventurer's Guild has become greedy.

The protagonist though thinks that they should not unnecessarily refute rumors. Rather, it might spread the commotion. Ainzach agrees with the protagonist’s assessment and believes that the situation calls for a calm workaround.

He sees that perhaps they need to focus on recognizing the adventurers who received requests from their guild and bravely died. The guildmaster believes they should take measures to express their condolences and respect to them once again, and to acknowledge them to the outside world.

Surako asks if it entails building something like building a memorial monument? But Ainzach doesn’t what to do something that would need too much cost or else there is a risk that their measures will have the opposite effect. Instead he is thinking of collecting relics and having them on display in the guild so that everyone can remember and pass on the great achievements of the adventurers who lost their lives.

To Surako the idea is plausible as many users come to the reception of the guild every day. If everyone can see the carefully displayed relics, they won't think that Ainzach is throwing away adventurers. The protagonist has some concerns, as the idea should be effective against the people who come to the Adventurer's Guild, but csenses that Ainzach wants to also have another effect.

If Ainzach simply display the relics that have already been collected, he can expect even harsher criticism from other guilds and associations, such as "using the death of adventurers".

The protagonist pictures their response to the public as this: in order to mourn the death of a "companion" in the same industry, an adventurer took this memento home despite the danger. If they advertise such a background at the same time, someone will not hesitate to criticize the display of the relics, which is also the achievement of the adventurer.

In other words, for that reason, Ainzach wants the protagonist to collect the relics of adventurers that are normally difficult to retrieve. Ainzach confirms this to be so, as many adventurers choose this job with a certain degree of preparedness to risk their own lives and that of their companions.

Just because someone with that resolution was sacrificed, Ainzach is all too aware that it is like putting the cart before the horse to seek an act and may cause secondary damage to the mourners. But, if it's the protagonist, then the adventurer should be able to easily collect items left behind in dangerous places.

While considering the guildmaster’s request the homunculus knowing that Ainzach was a former adventurer, probably had feelings of mourning for the fallen adventurers from the beginning. However, it wasn't properly communicated to those around him... so it was a painful choice. Ainzach’s idea is a slightly flawed proposal, but it's also true that this situation was caused by Nazarick’s plan. Rather than proposing more effective means here, it would be more appropriate to first go along with his plan and get around it later.

The adamantite adventurer then formally declares he will undertake the role of presenting myself to the public and searching for relics.

Ainzach is immensely pleased as the sight of the hero of E-Rantel acting in memory of his companions will surely touch the hearts of many. The protagonist the informs Ainzach that in order for that to happen, he will try calling out to Soi. He’s also concerned that if he act alone, it won't be taken as an adventurer's attitude.

Ainzach sees the point as there is a possibility that the protagonist’s fame will only increase. Just wanting to confirm, Ainzach asks if it is okay if he is the one who requested it?

Between them the request should be solicited without any reward, as there may be concerns that the commission fee may be taken as the value of the deceased, and if it is too cheap, there is a possibility that similar requests will occur frequently from the bereaved family in the future. Since other adventurers’ have their own lives and requests these request could be ignored or neglected and could ruin the image of the adventurers. As for who to the request is made, using the name "Adventurer's Guild" will suffice to show the organization's goodwill.

Ainzach agrees to the conditions, though is still willing to pay the for the necessary expenses, and the protagonist will consider it and perhaps formulate a better plan for this type of request. On the topic of what relics to collect, Ainzach wishes to showcase the relics that belonged to a mithril-class team, Kralgra, which was annihilated in the Katze Plains. Upon hearing the name of the team, the protagonist realizes its Igvarge's adventurer team. AInzach understands the protagonist's reluctance, as Igvarge had a difficult personality but his abilities and achievements were worthy of being remembered. So it would be best to retrieve his mithril-class adventurer plate.

The protagonist has mix feelings as his memories of Igvarge as the other adventurer had a burning rivalry with him, due to his jealousy towards Darkness. Though it is ironic that the mourning of the dead of such a man and searching for his belongings would have an effect of touching people's hearts. The adamantite adventurer also remembers that Igvarge's corpse was used as material by Momonga to create an elder lich but is unsure of what happened to the adventurer's relics. Ainzach oblivious to the thoughts of the homunculus, thinking that the accomplishing the request might be in vain tries to apologize, but the admantite adventurer tells the guildmaster not worry as he is interest in locating the relics of Kralgra for the public. The two then decide to end the meeting before rumors of their plans spread.

Outside the guild, the protagonist asks Surako if he sounded sarcastic when he promised the guildmaster he would accomplish the request. The undercover slime though states that he sounded sincere as if wanting to repay a debt. Before they conduct an actual search of the Katze Plains, the homunculus wants to confirm with Momonga as there isn't a high possibility that the relics can be found. On that Surako suggests that the Iguva=41 might know as he was created from the corpse of the adventurer and his articles of his former life stored away in the 5th Floor. This gives the protagonist the idea to contact Lupusregina Beta and CZ2128 Delta who are undercover in the Baharuth Empire to ask the lich if he still has the adventurer plate. Under the protagonist's order, the slime then connects a [Message] to the other undercover team.

In the Baharuth Empire, the worker industry has been secretly dominated by the worker team known as Six Arms. At the current hideout of the worker team, three members gathered to respond to the [Message] from the protagonist. Among the three are Lupuregina, CZ and Iguva=41 who are undercover as Regi, Shizuni and Iguva for the Sorcerer Kingdom. Regi asks Iguva to check if he has the adventurer plate on him, but the undead is confused by the mention of such an item. The two undercover Pleiades note that their undead colleague doesn't seem to be equipped with it, nor does he recall his past life as a human adventurer. Curious Regi questions the lich on what he first remembered and is answer that Iguva was before the majestic appearance of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and his summoner the Supreme Being Momonga. Having been given existence by his creator, Iguva was given the status of the Captain of the Ghost Ship. Since Iguva does not have it, CZ suggests many the items that were on the corpse are still stored on the 5th Floor. Regi adds that the plate could still be on the Ghost Ship, though Iguva states that all the items found in the Katze Plains were to be saved at Momonga's order. But Iguva confesses the items only pertained to those of magic and anything else was unrelated. The trio then decide to check the Ghost Ship thinking maybe it was left behind.

Leaving the base, the trio reach the edge of the fog ridden plains, where the lich warns them that they should be on guard as they will encounter undead that are not under the control of the Ghost Ship or Chaos Beast s that slipped into the forsaken lands. However they must proceed forward as it is an order from their superior. Moving forward the three travel through the fog, ignoring the crowds of undead until they arrive at the anchorage of the Ghost Ship. Climbing aboard they are disappointed to finding nothing and leap back unto the plains. Iguva apologizes for his lack of helpful aid though his companions state otherwise. While they depart from the area, unknown to the trio, they are being watched by Malmvist and Peshurian in the fog. Malmvist having spotted the trio leaving the base brough Peshurian to follow the three to see what they were up to. The fencer is curious as to why their team members were at the Ghost Ship. Peshurian thinks maybe they found a new profitable venture and are keeping it secret from them, as the two would have done the same if their shares were reduced. The two then continue to follow their three teammates and report to Zero.

At the Round Table Room, Albedo, Demiurge listen to another report from the protagonist after he returned from E-Rantel. The Floor Guardians after being made aware of the situation find it to be quite troublesome. Demiurge comments that it’s is brought on by humans being utter hopeless fools as they fail to see the many benefits of the booming Adventurer Guild such as increased employment, sadly it’s seems humans can't control their petty jealousy and complain.

Albedo agrees though muses it would be troublesome if they made move that would hurt the protagonist in the future. Demiurge complains that human stupidity often exceeds their calculations. Though both Floor Guardians are confident that is no trouble for their master Momonga who has predicted this situation in advance, and for the sake of their growth will solve it themselves. Unaware of Momonga embarrassment of being labeled a peerless being, Albedo asks the protagonist what kind of plan he has in mind. The homunculus informs the Overseer Guardian his intent to follow the plan of Ainzach and plans to actually start the search for the mithril plate.

Right now Iguva is in the Katze plains, Albedo asks if the homunculus is going to search for the mithril plates and wants to use it for publicity effect? At present, Ainzach’s trust has not been compromised, rather, it can be said that it is a pity that the request is dressed like a loan... so it is unclear whether the relationship will be maintained if the situation gets complicated.

Momonga notes that by doing this the protagonist will showing to Ainzach that he respect’s him. So if the plan fails, the human would probably be hesitant to ask the protagonist to take responsibility. Of course, the protagonist will challenge the request with the intention of succeeding. If they can actually find a mithril-class adventurer's plate, the heroic image of the Dark Warrior will become even stronger.

This causes Demiurge to smile as they are "effectively using the death of the victim to increase the reputation of their organization", which is not a bad idea for humans and it doesn’t hurt to try even if he hates to admit it. Now as for the mithril plate it seems that the results of having Lupusregina and CZ confirm that Iguva was a no go. However Momonga takes a necklace with a plate from his Item Box revealing he was in possession of the plate. Momonga explains that order to store the corpses in the 5th floor, he had to strip them of their equipment, as there was the possibility that dead adventurers were wearing valuable equipment. As a result, he was able to find only one mithril plate.

Demiurge lauds his master for his preparedness but still three plates remain unaccounted for as Kragra was a four member team. Momonga states that all the corpses were decapitated so the necklaces holding the plates may have fallen off somewhere in the Katze Plains. This is troubling to Albedo as many days have already passed since the creation of Iguva and the plate could have been picked up by someone else.

That concern is especially true. However, the metal used for the plate seems to be reasonably rare and valuable among humans. If it's picked up, it's likely that the Adventurer's Guild will find out about it when it's exchanged for cash.

The protagonist believes that it’s worth a try to check with the guild through his connections, but though even if some people like Clementine keep an eye for it, it’s still possible that the plate could end up on the Black Market and could to another country for cash.

Demiurge realizes that this means that the protagonist will have to search the Katze Plain without knowing if the plates there or not. In spite of the tiresome effort it will still deliver the image of impressing those around him that he is a 'hero' who searches for belongings for his comrades. Though the positive image will benefit him, the protagonist doesn’t want to waste time of idle searches.

To Momonga, bove all, people's minds are fickle. Ainzach’s idea may instantly evoke sympathy and emotion in people, but if it continues for a long time without any results...there will be little benefit.

The protagonist stated that Momonga is correct, as this time it's just him, Surako, and Solution. If the top two members of the guild continue their search, how will the other adventurers' appearances be perceived by the public, and what kind of emotions will spread around them...? From this Demiurge suggests maybe it may spark something in the small human hearts.

With that concern in mind, Momonga feels bad for the protagonist in having to carry out work that may never end and will probably be a source of serious stress for him. He wants to do something about it, but...as of now all he can say is to keep doing his job.

Albedo sensing Momonga’s stress makes a suggestion of using her sister to help. As Momonga understand is she refers to Nigredo, who ever since Shalltear's mind control incident happened, been keeping watch over the area around the Katze Plains from the start. The name though is unfamiliar to the protagonist, which causes Momonga to explain that Nigredo Is Albedo's older sister and possesses special abilities for investigation, such as gathering information. If what you're looking for is in existence, she’ll find it instantly.

Momonga also note that this relates to what he and Albedo just talked about concerning the Area Guardians and feels it is a good opportunity to commit to the idea. Albedo adds that her sister will be very pleased with seeing Momonga’s face. She then invites herself to go along with Momonga to see Nigredo, to ensure the meeting goes smoothly.

The group composed of Slimeko, the protagonist, Albedo and Momonga then head to the 5th Floor to meet Nigredo. During the trip, Momonga asks Albedo if she is cold as she is only wearing the formal dress wear as the Prime Minister of the nation. The Overseer Guardians states that there is no problem and took the opportunity to wear the dress to show off to Nigredo.

As for the protagonist and Slimeko, they are comfortable thanks to the cold-weather items Momonga lent in time of preparation for an expedition to the Azerlisia Mountains.

For Momonga the cold doesn’t affect him, though warns his entourage that the cold inside Nigredo's "Frozen Prison" will become even stronger. If they suffer any problems they should report it immediately. His consideration is well met by the homunculus. Momonga looks forward in seeing Nigredo as is Albedo. The protagonist and Slimeko are curious about the Area Guardian, and given that Nigredo is Albedo's sister, Slimeko assumes that she is as beautiful. Momonga hesitantly adds that Nigredo is similar with some surprises, but doesn't elaborate as once they meet her, they will understand.

They eventually enter the Frozen Prison and move towards Nigredo's room. Once they get closer, Momonga and Albedo turn serious as if steeling themselves. TO the surprise of the protagonist and Slimeko, Albedo is given a baby doll from a pale hand that emerges from a nearby wall. The group then go to Nigredo's room. Before going in, Albedo hands Momonga the doll. Upon entering, the are met by the sound of crying babies and see a cradle in the middle of the room, alongside a hunching figure. Albedo and Momonga approach cautiously as if expecting something to happen. Soon enough the figure being shaking angry, claiming that its not right. She takes a baby doll from the cradle and the tears it apart to Slimeko's alarm. The walls of the room then begin to have heads of crying babies emerge which Momonga explains are Carrion Babies, that were placed in the room by Tabula Smaragdina. The figure soon notices them, blaming them for taking her 'child'.

Momonga explains that this is Nigredo to the protagonist and Slimeko who are horrified at the grotesque face of the woman. Whilst the two are terrified of the Area Guardian, Momonga and Albedo are unperturbed of the rising aggression by Nigredo, with Momonga commenting how much Albedo looks like her older sibling. The protagonist seeing their calm behavior realizes that the two have done this before. Just as Nigredo rushes to attack them with a pair of shear, Momonga presents her the baby doll Albedo gave him, telling her this is her child. The effect is immediate and Nigredo quickly calms down, accepting the new doll and placing it the cradle. Having calmed down, Nigredo then greets Momonga to her abode.

After the frenzied ritual that Momonga conducted with Nigredo, Albedo greets her sibling, showing the Area Guardian the dress Momonga gave her as the official dress of the Prime Minister of the Sorcerer Kingdom. Nigredo congratulates Albedo. She turns to the newcomers and inquires who they are, to which Albedo introduces them as Nazarick's undercover agents who externally are known as diplomatic representatives of the Sorcerer Kingdom. The two agents exchange greetings with the Area Guardian. Momonga provides some information about Nigredo of being a product of Tabula's taste in horror movies, musing that their reaction, particularly Slimeko's was priceless.

To start Momonga thanks Nigredo for her continued help in investigating the entities responsible for brainwashing Shalltear. Nigredo feels such words are wasted, though states in disappointment that she is still unable to identify who is the enemy. Momonga understands and states that she is doing more than enough by doing surveillance. Its learned that Nigredo acts behind the scenes in providing intel to the covert teams outside Nazarick to confirm their safety.

Being such an asset, Momonga thanks her and apologizes her for the lack of opportunity for her to leave her post in the Frozen Prison though the Area Guardian does not feel constricted but is happy that Momonga is considerate. Seeing how her master is seeking her abilities, Nigredo asks what the situation is which Albedo then asks they need her help in locating something. Albedo then asks whether the target is inanimate or animate? And Momonga asks that they need her help in locating ID plates in the Katze Plains. He then hands her the mithril plate he obtained from one of Kralgra's corpses. Nigredo confirms that they wish to seek an inanimate target and then readies to cast her magic. She activates multiple highest spells at a quick pace and informs her comrades that she has found three of the plates in the plains. Studying her magical projections, the protagonist is relieved that the plates are still there and haven't been stolen which means his retrieval can be achieved. There is one catch, Nigredo senses that two of three of the plates are in one location, but the third is a distance away....and moving. Momonga then casts [Crystal Monitor] to scry the location of the mithril plate. Through the screen, the group see the plate, hanging on a sharp edge of Skeletal Dragon.

Later at the Adventurer's Guild, the protagonist, Slimeko, resuming her alias as Surako, and Soi return to meet with Ainzach to inform him that they located the relics through the aid of a certain magic caster. They don't go into detail, only that they know the approximate location of the items of their search which thrills the guildmaster. Soi comments that it is to be expected of the magic casters of the Sorcerer Kingdom, asking her team if that their magic caster ally must be pretty powerful like the wizard from the Empire. This is confirmed to be true, further delighting Ainzach about the support the protagonist has from his homeland.

The protagonist brings a proposal regarding the current mission and possible its future. He suggests that Ainzach he enter into a "join charity project with the Sorcerer Kingdom" in the retrieval of relics. In the future, the protagonist expects more such searches of relics from adventurers. The justification for this is from the perspective of the people in E-Rantel the Sorcerer Kingdom is still seen as a foreigner and newcomer. On the other hand, the surrounding situation is still unsettling. Cooperation with other nations is essential. For the security of his nation, they could can that showing goodwill is important. They show that the Sorcerer Kingdom will take requests from bereaved families and friends of adventurers.

To the protagonist he goes on to say he feels sadden by every loss of his fellows in the guild, and senses that Ainzach feels the same way when they discussed about it last time. The words greatly touch Ainzach as they are the words of a hero. Of course the the protagonist is merely reciting a plan by Demiurge and Albedo to take advantage of human stupidity. And gives another heartfelt speech of how he was unable to address the collection of relics due to the many mission he had to prioritize to earn money before becoming an adamantite adventurer. If he were to show that he was doing charity work, then this will no doubt make those who shamed the Adventurer's Guild quiet and embarrass themselves.

The idea is well received by the guildmaster, but still has concerns that the critics will accuse the guild of profiting from the relationship with the Sorcerer Kingdom. Soi does not think that it will be a problem, as the critics then will not be able to openly criticize, on the contrary they might try to avoid hostility. Plus having a relationship with the Sorcerer Kingdom will be interesting to say. The protagonist adds that he had many measures go through the guild and Princess Renner from behind the scenes, and believes that the same could be done between his nation and the other guilds to find some beneficial ground.

Secretly the protagonist hopes that by showing a positive model of relationship with the Adventurer's Guild will open the eyes of the other guilds to develop a cooperative one as well, deepening the connection with the Sorcerer Kingdom, and as Demiurge predicts will give then more control over the humans in the city. The reasoning is enough for Ainzach to accept. Soi acting as the money concern teammate of Darkness asks about the pay for the charity work, and is given incentive by the protagonist on a portion of the profits of the chocolates sold by he guild. Since the money from the sales is for the operating expenses, Ainzach is happy to divert the funds to the team for their work. Everything set the team of adventurers the plan to make preparations to head out to the Katze Plains.

Night falls, and the team returns to the hotel suite they rented. There the group applaud each other for their performance in convincing the human guildmaster in accepting the proposal. Soi expects that the protagonist wants to make a public appearance of going out into the plains. The protagonist affirms this as he wants to make a show in front of members of the Slane Theocracy and also Saint Clementine tomorrow so they can witness the guild's new charity work. Surako is happy things worked, as thanks to the protagonist, not only will they raise the reputation of the Sorcerer Kingdom but to receive a portion of the profits from the Adventurer's Guild. The homunculus cannot take all the credit as he had the help of Albedo and Demiurge, and does not forgot Nigredo contribution in locating the remaining mithril plates. The team then promise to do their best for the next day.

The next morning, Darkness sets out to the Katze Plains, where their march is witness by the people in the fourth wall of the city. After the team met several key figures. Clementine greets them, wishing the team luck in their quest. The team decked out in their best equipment then swear to the crowd that they will retrieve Igvarge's mithril plate.

Darkness reach the Katze Plains, arriving at scene where two of the three mithril plates are. The fog though makes locating the items difficult to see, but Soi and Surako manage to find the plates. The team note that all that remains is the plate stuck on the Skeletal Dragon. Soi comments that then though they managed to accomplish this much, going out of their way to find the actual items wasn't really necessary as they could have just forged them. Surako agrees but states that they needed to make a display of their search so as to retain the trust of Ainzach and the Adventurer's Guild with the Sorcerer Kingdom. Soi suddenly receives a [Message] that they were expecting, concerning Lupusregina and CZ and reports that making camp won't be necessary as they can now locate the dragon.

At the base of Six Arms, shortly before the [Message] was sent to Darkness, Regi and Shizuni are being questioned by Malmvist, Peshurian and Zero on their off the books activities. Malmvist asks the women why they were searching through Iguva's belongings? Regi and Shizuni try to play innocent stating it was just curiosity. When pressed for answers by their teammates, the dup then confess it was for money. They reveal that they heard some special information that the Adventurer's Guild started collecting adventurer plates to be used as relics hence why they were perusing Iguva's stuff as they can get a reward from the bereaved families. Malmvist understands why Iguva would hoard the plates of his victims, though is confused as why the Adventurer's Guild was doing such a thing. Zero sees through the scheme as charity work conceived by the protagonist for public relations to cover up the Adventurer's Guild's booming business. Regi reports that she spotted the protagonist and his team in the Katze Plains, probably seeking a mithril plate of a fallen comrade. Zero and his male teammates are not interest and wonder what would happen if they manage to retrieve the plate first. Six Arms then take the initiative to acquire the plate and head towards the Katze Plains.

Unknown to the human workers, they are being observed from afar in the Frozen Prison, by Albedo and Nigredo. Whilst commenting on the workers' movement, Nigredo asks about the dress that Albedo had changed out of. Albedo states she wanted to show Nigredo is but asks her older sister what was the deal with the workers moving out? The two continue to observe and see that the workers have refrained from going to the Ghost Ship where Iguva is stationed. Everything though is as predicted by the protagonist and Albedo spouts that its due to human stupidity knows no bounds as the humans probably wanted to keep Iguva out of the loop as they didn't want to share the rewards. A foolish move as the area is teaming with not just undead but Chaos Beast s. Albedo then orders Nigredo to contact Iguva on the Ghost Ship. Nigredo though states that locating the ship is more difficult than the plates but will do her best. Nigredo seems happy with the work as she now has time to be in the company of her sister which the feeling is mutual in Albedo's case.

Deep in the Katze Plains, the adventurers of Darkness move forward in search of the undead dragon, on the lookout for any surprise attacks from undead. Regi soon runs out of the fog, followed by the rest of her teammates in Six Arms. Zero emerges from the fog and greets the adventurers, calling it a great coincidence that they are meeting in such a place. Soi exclaims that she though Zero died in the Melting Pot with the other workers and is disappointed that he still lives.

Ignoring the jab to his being, Zero introduces himself and his new team. The leader of Six Arms tells the adventurers that he heard all about how the protagonist has become a hero in E-Rantel, but that its a pity his skills are being wasted in searching for belonging so dead adventurers. Before their conversation can continue, Regi and Shizuni alert the teams that they have company. A horde of skeletons appear from the fog that had been chasing the workers. The workers annoyed that their pursuer have caught up then go on the offensive destroying the skeletons. The horde appears endless and run the risk of overwhelming not just Six Arms but also Darkness. Zero proposes that the two teams work together to fight the undead, while the offer should usually be unexpected from someone who was once an enemy, the members of Darkness know better as the encounter with the workers was planned from the started through the aid of Nigredo. They of course keep the information to themselves and accept Zero's offer as a show of good faith.

Once the undead in the immediate are destroyed, both groups then settle down to rest. Regi and Shizuni make a show of being greatly impressed by the protagonist's skill, which catches Malmvist's attention as he assumed the two would have seen the adamantite adventurer in action since they originally fled from E-Rantel. Regi and Shizuni though claim to only have seen him in action rarely while in the fortress city. Both groups exchange information, with Darkness telling Six Arms that they aim to retrieve the last mithril plate that their magic caster acquaintance pinpointed to be located in a nest of a Skeletal Dragon. Zero hearing that makes him comment that the name of the Sorcerer Kingdom wasn't just a simple moniker, commenting it must have excellent magic casters at its disposal. The protagonist adds that the workers may have been chased by the undead horde because they were close to the undead dragon's territory. Hearing that the plate is in a nest of a powerful undead, Regi and Shizuni suggest that they give up as they don not want unnecessary trouble. Peshurian supports the idea to withdraw as they cannot possibly defeat a dragon. Not only that according to the information for Darkness's magic caster, the Skeletal Dragon has amassed may corpses, making the undead gather around it.

The obstacles that are laid before the adventurers, stun Malmvist and Peshurian as they can't understand why the protagonist would want to risk his and his teammates life there since he already is so popular. Soi admits that is a bit foolish, considering that there is no reward, but its vital that they go and claim the plate. Zero finds the thought of the adventurers making the effort to reclaim their lost comrades' relics a bit romantic, but he has another idea in mind. Zero stating while he came looking for a fight, nows offers to lend a hand to Darkness, to the surprise of those present. The protagonist and Soi try to explain that there is no reward for this recovery and they state that even if they succeed they will not give Zero the mithril plate.

Of course Zero has no more interest in acquiring the plate. He is doing this for his benefit as even if Six Arms leave the area, chances are they will encounter trouble from the dragon's undead horde, so it makes sense to eliminate the dragon since they are present. Not only that since the adventurers are seeking an adventurer's memento from the Skeletal Dragon, there should be other treasures collected by that undead. Malmvist seeing where his boss is going is talking about the Skeletal Dragon's hoard as even though its undead, its still a dragon a species with a penchant for collecting treasure. Besides the way Zero sees it, if there is no treasure, his team will still earn money for the number of undead they subjugated and get paid as workers. The proposal is not bad to Soi, and just when the protagonist is about to agree, heavy footsteps begin to sound throughout the area. A looming figure of a Skeletal Dragon appears behind the group followed by a mob of undead creatures the number as an army. Since their target has come to greet them, both teams agree to fight together, with Zero promising to have his team clear the small fry and allow Darkness to deal with the dragon.

Aftermath
TBA