Deep within the City of Gilm, in the heart of the slums, several individuals huddled inside a cottage that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
"Tch. The guards are moving faster than I expected. If this were the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Mireana, they’d be far more sluggish."
A man in his late 20s, who appeared unremarkable enough to blend into any crowd, clicked his tongue as he peered through a gap in the cottage wall.
His gaze was fixed on a group of about five men. Their matching uniforms made it clear they belonged to the city's Guard Force.
Fortunately, the guards did little more than cast a cursory glance around the area. Perhaps they found nothing suspicious, or perhaps they simply decided that the slum residents weren't worth the trouble of a confrontation. Either way, they soon moved on.
"It can't be helped," a woman in her early 20s murmured with a sigh, watching the guards retreat. "Postgera-sama was captured just the other day. They must still be on high alert for any sign of external enemies."
She let out another heavy breath. "If it had been possible, I would have liked to rescue Postgera-sama ourselves..."
"Don't talk about the impossible. By the time we arrived in this city, that rumored alchemist had already been transported to the Royal Capital."
"So, are we simply leaving Postgera-sama's fate to those stationed in the capital?"
"No," the man replied, shaking his head bitterly. "That's already a lost cause. According to reports I received a short while ago, our people in the capital attempted a rescue, but they were wiped out instead."
"What!? But there were supposed to be a significant number of Shadows stationed in the Royal Capital!"
The woman’s face contorted with shock. She knew that the operatives sent to the capital were at least as skilled as they were—if not more so. Her outburst was instinctive; she wanted to hear him say it was a lie. She looked to her superior for reassurance, but his only response was a silent, somber shake of the head.
"Apparently, two separate A-Rank parties were involved."
"No... the capital's nobility actually hired adventurers? Even knowing it would tarnish their reputation?"
In a sense, the woman’s disbelief was justified. The nobles of the Royal Capital were deeply divided: the King's Faction, the largest faction; the Noble's Faction led by Duke Kerebel; and the Neutral Faction, the smallest of the three—the very ones who had successfully captured the Bestia Empire alchemist and the beast soldiers. For nobles who commanded their own private soldiers and the national knights to hire adventurers was a public admission that their own forces were inadequate. To a class that prioritized pride and prestige above all else, such a move was normally unthinkable. Yet, she was being told that the unthinkable had happened.
"I can't believe it..." she whispered.
The man turned a sharp, rebuking gaze toward her. "It's true that the nobles of the Kingdom of Mireana can't unite. But the same can be said for our Bestia Empire. If our country, superior as it is, cannot achieve unity, there is no way a nation like this could."
"...I suppose you're right," she conceded reluctantly.
"More importantly," the man continued, "have the others stayed hidden?"
"Yes. Everyone is staying quiet in their respective hiding places near this cottage. I haven't received any word of anyone being discovered by the city guards or the knights."
"Good. We have no choice but to lay low until this noise settles down."
"If only we had more Teleportation Stones, we could have escaped long ago."
The man pulled a stone from his pocket and stared at it. "Don't complain. These magic items are incredibly expensive to produce. Even a single stone can only teleport two or three people at most. Being granted even one for a mission out here in the frontier could be considered a grand gesture of generosity."
"Maybe so... but honestly, everything went sideways because that woman failed her mission. She was so full of herself, yet she couldn't even handle a simple recruitment. She lost her subordinates and got herself captured. I can't believe she was considered a captain of the Shadows."
The woman vented her frustration in a sharp whisper, but a sudden draft through the cracks in the wall made her shiver.
It was cold enough to snow, and the wind cutting through the city was freezing. Their only stroke of luck was the barrier deployed over the city; it kept the temperature slightly higher than it was outside the walls. Of course, that same barrier made it impossible for the Shadows' summoner to launch any flying monsters, so the advantage was bittersweet.
"Calm down. We just need to hide until the heat dies down. They can't keep up this level of security forever. Even that cursed barrier must consume an immense amount of magic power; they won't be able to keep it active indefinitely. Give it about a week. By then, the barrier will be gone and the search will have slackened."
"A week... I suppose we can manage—"
The man suddenly slammed his hand over the woman's mouth.
"!?"
Her eyes went wide, but she immediately saw him staring through a gap in the wall. She went still, holding her breath. Following his gaze, she saw a gryphon over two meters long accompanied by two robed figures, one large and one small.
(No way! That's—!)
The ones approaching were none other than the target their colleagues had been ordered to recruit or kill: Rei and his tamed monster, the gryphon.
(I don't know the tall one, but the small one is definitely the target Rei. Why is he here!?)
A chill ran down her spine. She knew all too well what Rei was capable of. Even if every Shadow hidden in the area attacked at once, the gap in combat power was so vast they wouldn't stand a chance.
(All I can do is stay quiet and pray they pass by...)
As she watched them draw closer to their dilapidated cottage, one step at a time, she focused every ounce of her will on erasing her presence.
A short while earlier.
Once Ranga heard that Seto might be able to track the attackers who hit the prison carriage using his sense of smell, he moved with impressive speed. He led Rei and Seto to the site of the ambush and pointed out the charred carriage wreckage.
"...What do you think, Seto? Can you find a trail?"
"Guru, guruu, gurururuu."
Seto turned his eagle head in every direction, sniffing the air. Rei and Ranga watched in silence for five minutes until finally, Seto let out a low rumble from his throat, his gaze fixed on a specific path.
"Gurururuu!"
"!? You actually found something!?" Ranga exclaimed, surprised despite being the one to suggest it.
Rei was impressed but not quite as shocked as the captain; he often trusted the night watch to Seto, so he was well aware of the creature's keen senses.
"So, what now?" Rei asked. "Do you want to call in the rest of the Guard Force?"
"...No. As much as I'd like to, we can't be certain yet that Seto is tracking the actual attackers."
"Guruu?" Seto tilted his head, looking slightly hurt.
A pang of guilt hit Ranga as he saw the gryphon’s dejection, but he couldn't justify mobilizing every guard in the city based on a hunch.
"Seto, I'm not doubting you," Ranga said, gently stroking the creature’s head. "But I can't call out the other guards based on this alone. Please, lead us to where the scent goes. If I can confirm with my own eyes that the attackers are there, I’ll have the authority I need to call for reinforcements."
"Guruu?" Seto looked at Rei for approval.
Rei sighed and looked at Ranga. "If it's just a matter of confirming the enemy, you don't need to be there personally. Why don't you head back to headquarters and let me handle the scouting?"
Ranga shook his head at Rei’s uncharacteristic concern. "No. It has to be me. If the Captain of the Guard Force reports seeing the suspects, it carries weight. No matter how famous you and Seto are, you're still just a Rank D adventurer. I have the authority that you lack."
"...Fine. If that's how you want it, I won't argue. Seto, lead the way."
"Gurururuu."
Seto gave a low trill and began walking, leading the two men through the city. As they went, children occasionally tried to approach to offer Seto food or play with him. Seto gave them apologetic cries, while Ranga—whose face was well-known to the locals—explained the situation and asked them to clear the way.
Fortunately, the adults seemed to realize something was afoot when they saw the Captain and Rei together. They moved aside without a word. Seto continued to sniff the air, occasionally casting a longing glance at the food stalls and open-air shops they passed, but he never lost the trail. After an hour of walking, the main streets gave way to back alleys, and they finally arrived in a corner of the slums.
"...This is my second time in this area," Rei muttered, looking at the decaying surroundings. The buildings were ancient and fragile, looking as though they might not survive the winter.
"You've been here before?" Ranga asked, having grown tired of the silent trek.
"Yeah. During the Azoth Firm incident."
"Ah... I see," Ranga replied with a wry smile. That incident had been a nightmare of paperwork and post-processing for the Guard Force. They were lucky the Knight Order had stepped in to help since the Bestia Empire was involved, or Ranga might have collapsed from exhaustion.
"In any case, this looks like a perfect place for attackers to hide," Rei said. "With all these empty houses, they’d have no trouble finding a hole to crawl into."
He scanned the area.
(Empty houses, sure... but there's a lot of 'presence' for a deserted street. I'm sure most are just slum residents, but... how should we handle this? I can feel dozens of eyes on us. Are they wary residents watching outsiders, or the suspects watching the guards?)
He glanced at Ranga. The captain didn't seem to sense the specific gazes Rei felt, but he was clearly on edge. His usually gentle eyes had turned sharp and alert.
"Given the atmosphere, I'd say this whole area is suspicious," Ranga agreed.
"A place like this should have been the first place you checked," Rei pointed out. "Seto's sense of smell led us straight here. Did the Guard Force not even bother looking?"
Ranga gave a pained smile. "The people in these slums are hostile toward the city—or rather, toward anyone in power. If we wanted to search this place, we'd have to do it all at once with a massive amount of manpower. We checked the city first, and if they hadn't been found, we would have come here eventually. Some guards might have checked the entrance, but that's about it."
"A manpower issue. I see."
Gilm was a city of adventurers. While there were enough guards to keep the peace among the rougher elements, their numbers were nowhere near the adventurer population.
(Especially since they’re stretched thin with information gathering right now. Between maintaining public order and running the investigation, they’re at their limit. It’s not like they have the resources of a modern police force.)
"Well, nothing to be done about that," Ranga said. "At least we know this area is the key. Let's head back to the Guard Force and gather whatever men we can—tch!"
Mid-sentence, Rei heard the high-pitched whistle of something cutting through the air. He reacted instantly, drawing the Mithril Knife at his waist. With a series of sharp metallic clangs, he deflected several daggers, sending them tumbling to the dirt.
"To find our hideout so easily... I suppose I should say, 'as expected of a gryphon.' It's a pity, but I think I'll have you play with us for a while."
At those words, nearly twenty figures emerged from the crumbling buildings surrounding them.