The morning after the Anomaly Species hunt was concluded, Rei and Elena, who were staying at the Golden Wind Inn, made their way down to the dining hall for breakfast.
Rei noticed a peculiar buzzing of conversation in the room, but what truly caught his eye was the dish several patrons were eating for breakfast. That is to say...
"Wait, is that udon?"
Yes, there was no mistaking it; the dish those customers were eating was udon. While the toppings and the broth differed slightly from what Rei remembered, it was undeniably the same noodle dish that had—presumably for the first time—been introduced to Elgin.
"Oh, are you familiar with it? It only recently made its way to Exil. Word is it was originally devised in Gilm, that famous frontier city."
"...I see."
Upon hearing the waiter's explanation, Elena caught the reason for Rei’s surprise and gave a small nod.
Gilm and Exil were separated by a massive distance. Traveling between them on foot would likely take a traveler several months. She assumed Rei was simply stunned that a recipe conceived in Gilm had already traversed such a distance to reach this city.
That was certainly part of it, but not the whole story. Udon was a dish that Rei himself had introduced to the world. Whether it was the sheer novelty of the dish or the talent of the cooks, udon had quickly become a staple in Gilm and its surrounding territories. Even so, seeing the results of his culinary influence reach all the way to Exil was enough to leave him staring with his mouth slightly agape.
(I wonder if seafood okonomiyaki is going to spread across the country eventually, too?)
Musing on the thought, Rei decided to give it a try. He and Elena ordered the udon and took their seats.
A few minutes later, the food arrived. Because the noodles were quite thin, they had been boiled in no time. The waiter placed two donburi bowls filled with noodles, toppings, and broth before them.
As expected of a high-class inn, every ingredient was of the finest quality. It featured meat from an Armored Sheep—a C-rank monster found on the lower floors of the dungeon—and rare Alraune Sprouts. Everything had been simmered in a rich, savory sauce. Despite the heavy seasoning for a morning meal, the flavor was so exquisite that it made one want to eat indefinitely.
(It’s udon, sure, but it's a far cry from the stuff I know.)
The udon Rei was familiar with mostly consisted of the kind served in cheap public cafeterias. What he was eating now, however, was an opulent delicacy created by a first-rate cook who had spared no effort or expense.
"Hoh, this is delicious."
"Yeah. At this level, it looks the same, but the taste is practically a different thing altogether."
Using a fork, Rei tasted the noodles alongside the meat, which retained a pleasant springiness before melting away the moment he bit into it. Following his lead, Elena enjoyed her noodles with the Alraune Sprouts. They both fell into a focused silence, and within ten minutes, their bowls were empty.
Rei finished the last of the soup with a spoon and let out a satisfied sigh. Only then did he have the mental leeway to pay attention to the commotion around them.
"Is that story for real!?"
"Yeah, no mistake. As soon as I woke up and heard the news, I sent one of my men to check it out. It burned to the ground, alright. Took several of the surrounding buildings with it, too."
"But why? There wasn't supposed to be anything flammable in that area..."
"Who knows? But they say bodies were found everywhere, so it definitely wasn't an accident. It was likely a raid."
"A raid? But was there even anything worth hitting over there?"
"That's the thing. Apparently, the warehouse at the center of the fire was one House Silva was renting."
"Hold on. You mean House Silva? Then..."
"Yeah. There's bound to be a bloodbath when they start retaliating. Word is most of the bodies belonged to adventurers serving House Silva."
"...It's going to get ugly."
"Yeah. Honestly, it might be best to get out of Exil fast. I’d rather not get caught in the crossfire of a vendetta."
"Maybe we should do the same? But just leaving Exil right now might make House Silva suspect us..."
"We've got to choose for ourselves. Either stay here and risk getting swept up in the retaliation, or leave and risk being treated as suspects."
Similar conversations were taking place all over the dining hall.
Since the Golden Wind Inn was a well-known luxury establishment, most of its patrons were wealthy merchants, nobles, or high-rank adventurers. Consequently, many were huddled with acquaintances, discussing how to avoid the turmoil that was about to engulf the city.
"...Elena."
"Yes, I hear them. But... a warehouse?"
Elena frowned as she replied to Rei's call. Both of them already knew. They knew exactly which warehouse the people were talking about—the one that had burned down and was now a graveyard.
It was the very facility where they had delivered the Spear Frog Anomaly Species the day before.
"If that warehouse was attacked, the one behind it is probably..."
Rei trailed off, turning his gaze toward Elena. She gave a silent nod, confirming that her thoughts were the same. Both agreed that whoever was creating the Anomaly Species had likely raided the warehouse to ensure evidence destruction.
(But... which one is it? House Rebisole or House Marstchel? Both families were buying up magic stones, so it wouldn't be strange for either to be responsible.)
Rei organized his thoughts, but they led him to only one conclusion.
"House Rebisole."
"That certainly seems the most likely. However..."
Elena hesitated to nod. She had never met Pri Masterche, the head of House Marstchel, but the rumors suggested she was far more competent than Shaffner Levisol.
Taking that into account, she naturally assumed a blatant raid intended to destroy evidence and silence witnesses would be Shaffner's handiwork. And yet, despite how obvious it seemed, Elena couldn't quite believe that was the correct answer.
It was a subtle sense of incongruity—something that circumstantial evidence alone couldn't explain.
"What's wrong? Something on your mind?"
"...There is, but I have no proof."
Unlike Elena, Rei was fully convinced that this was a clumsy, desperate move by House Rebisole—exactly as the real mastermind had intended.
"So... what should we do? If this had nothing to do with us, I'd just stay out of it."
Rei sighed and took a sip of chilled fruit water from a cup on the table. If the raided warehouse had simply been a monster research lab or some other House Silva facility unrelated to them, he wouldn't have given it a second thought and would have headed to the dungeon to continue conquering B12F.
However, the facility attacked was the one currently studying the Anomaly Species. As a practitioner of Beast Magic, Rei could not simply overlook this.
"You're right. In that case, shall we pay House Silva a visit? We were the ones who took down that Anomaly Species in the first place. It wouldn't be unusual for us to inquire if the facility holding its corpse was attacked. Besides... there are a few things I'm concerned about."
Elena’s main motivation was the lingering feeling of unease, but her suggestion was a welcome opportunity for Rei as well. He knew all too well how much of a problem the spread of Anomaly Species could become for him.
"True, let's head over. Even for Bosk Silva, I’m sure he’ll want to secure as much combat strength as he can get his hands on right now."
Having changed their plans from a dungeon crawl to a visit to House Silva, Rei and Elena finished their breakfast. Since they weren't going into the dungeon today, they let Seto and Ielo accompany them as they stepped out of the inn.
"...It’s only to be expected, I guess, but there are a lot of people looking for a fight."
Ten minutes after leaving the Golden Wind Inn, they were walking through the city as usual, but the crowds on the Main Street seemed restless. The tension was palpable, mostly stemming from the presence of adventurers who were radiating bloodlust.
Men serving House Silva, those who owed the family a debt of gratitude, and those who simply admired Bosk Silva were flooding the streets. The fact that no brawls or riots had broken out yet was a testament to Bosk's formidable leadership.
"Indeed. But even so, there seem to be no signs of actual fighting yet."
Elena nodded in admiration, having noticed the same thing. Both she and Rei were accustomed to combat as an adventurer and a knight, so the presence of hostile warriors didn't bother them much. However, to the average citizen, these adventurers were a terrifying threat; the commoners moved with hunched shoulders, walking as fast as they could to avoid being harassed.
"Anyway, nothing’s going to move forward until we settle this. House Silva's place was in the north of Exil, right?"
"Yes."
The moment Rei mentioned House Silva, the surrounding adventurers snapped their heads toward him. However, it was fairly well-known that Rei and his companion were on good terms with the family, so most of them quickly looked away.
A few who were unaware of their identity tried to step forward to confront Rei for speaking the name so casually, but they were quickly pulled back and quieted by other adventurers who knew better. Even these aggressive warriors weren't looking to pick fights with just anyone; they were hunting for the ones who had dared to strike at their benefactor, so no one went out of their way to harass Rei or Elena.
Boarding a carriage similar to the one they had used after leaving the Rebisole estate, they moved through the buzzing city toward the northern district.
Fewer eyes than usual were fixed on Seto as the griffon followed the carriage, likely because the citizens and Silva-aligned adventurers were too preoccupied with the looming crisis.
"It’s the same even here. I expect it will stay like this for quite some time."
Elena sighed as she watched the scenery through the carriage window. As they traveled north, the number of adventurers radiating hostility only grew. Since they were entering House Silva's primary territory, it was a predictable development.
(If things go sideways, this whole place feels like it could explode.)
Rei thought to himself as he watched the streets. House Silva was a gathering place for hot-blooded types—a fact made clear by his very first encounter with Bosk in a restaurant. With so many of them prowling the streets for suspicious individuals, a single misunderstanding would likely force one to fight every Silva-affiliated adventurer in the area.
(I don't think I'd lose, but... it would definitely be a massive pain in the ass.)
With that thought, he stepped out of the carriage. Before them stood the Silva estate.
As the home of one of the Three Houses Governing Exil, the building possessed a necessary grandeur. It was a massive structure, so large it seemed almost at odds with Bosk’s rugged, simple personality. It was easily a match for the House Rebisole estate they had visited previously.
Two gatekeepers, standing over two meters tall and clad in full plate mail, stood watch at the entrance.
Rei addressed them directly.
"I’d like to request an audience with Bosk regarding last night's incident. Please tell him I'm here."