As Rei and his companions had sensed, a large number of adventurers had gathered near the House Silwa estate, ready to mobilize at a moment's notice should anything occur.
When these adventurers saw the group approaching, their sharp, cautious gazes shifted instantly. Some rugged faces softened into smiles of genuine respect for the heroes of last night's battle; others stood dazed, captivated by the beauty of Elena and Vihera—and in some cases, even the women among the crowd looked on in awe. A few cast glares of pure envy, resentful that someone else had snatched away all the glory.
Paying them no mind, Rei and the others reached the gate. After a brief exchange with the familiar gatekeepers, a maid emerged from the mansion to guide them inside.
"It’s rare not to see Sanctions around," Rei remarked casually as they followed the maid through the corridors.
"Yes. Lord Sanctions is currently away on Lord Bosk's command."
"...I see."
It wasn't hard to guess why he was out. Sanctions was undoubtedly running himself ragged to bring the current situation under control as quickly as possible.
Vihera, who had been listening to their exchange, recalled their earlier conversation in the carriage and gave a small nod.
"Indeed. If possible, I’d like for them to keep operating Exil as it is now... Do you happen to know how things are progressing on that front?"
"No, I am afraid I am but a mere maid."
As the maid bowed apologetically, Vihera shook her head to indicate it wasn't a problem. Her thin raiment swayed slightly with the motion, drawing the eye, but the maid kept her professional composure and continued to lead the way.
They moved through the halls until they reached Bosk's office. The maid knocked and announced their arrival.
"Lord Bosk. I have brought Lady Elena, Master Rei, Lady Vihera, and Lady Byune."
Elena's brow twitched at the introduction. The fact that her name had been spoken first meant the staff judged her to be the most important person in the group—not as Elena the adventurer, but as Elena Kerebel, the daughter of Duke Kerebel and the Princess General.
The maid’s expression, however, remained perfectly neutral.
"I’ve been waiting. Come in," Bosk's voice called from within.
The maid opened the door. Admiring her disciplined conduct, Elena stepped into the office, only to stop short.
"Whoa..."
The word escaped Vihera's lips as she followed. It was an understandable reaction. What greeted them was something that could only be described as a tower of documents—or perhaps a mountain of paperwork.
"Oh, you’re here."
Bosk's voice drifted out from behind one of the towers. He apparently couldn't see them either; it was only when he stood up that his face became visible above the stacks.
"That’s one hell of a mountain of paperwork," Rei commented.
"Ah... I can't help it. Between the disaster at House Marstchel and the Holy Light Religion incident, this is the result."
Bosk rubbed his tired eyes, then carefully navigated around the stacks to approach them, making sure not to cause a paper avalanche.
"What, have you not slept since yesterday?" Vihera asked.
"Need... rest," Byune added, stepping toward Bosk and speaking in her short, staccato way.
Bosk gave a wry smile and scratched his head. He reached out and lightly patted Byune's head.
"Don't worry. It wasn't exactly an all-nighter. I managed a nap for a few hours. ...I just wasn't built for this kind of desk work."
"...Eat."
Byune reached into the pouch at her waist and pulled out a sandwich wrapped in paper.
Bosk looked surprised for a moment, but a rough, masculine grin soon spread across his face. He took the sandwich and took a bite.
"It's good."
"Mm."
Byune’s lips curved into the faint ghost of a smile.
It was a stark contrast to the hostility she had felt toward him just days ago. Hearing Bosk speak of his admiration for her late parents and learning how he had been working behind the scenes for her had clearly changed her perspective.
Of course, having tasted every flavor of hardship at only ten years old, Byune knew his words might be empty lip service. However, it was precisely because of that experience that she judged Bosk was telling the truth.
The sandwich was small enough to fit in her pouch, and Bosk finished it in a few bites. He looked genuinely refreshed as he grabbed a pitcher from a nearby table and drank directly from it.
"...Right. Now then, where should we start... Ah, but first, this."
Careful not to disturb the documents, he reached for a case in the corner of the room. He moved away from the paperwork and sat on the reception sofa, placing the case on the table.
Inside were the Paired Orbs they had found in the hidden room of House Marstchel's residence—the items Rei and Elena had come for.
"Is this really okay?" Rei asked to be certain.
Bosk nodded. "Yeah, no problem. I’ve already finalized the procedures. It was a tedious process, so you'd better be grateful, alright?"
In truth, Sanctions had been the one to handle the legalities. Bosk had been buried under a landslide of state reports, handover documents for House Marstchel’s administrative duties, files on House Rebisole, and orders for the Guard Force. Compared to those, the transfer of a magic item was a minor detail he had delegated to his right hand.
Unaware of this, Rei reached for the Paired Orbs. Just as his fingers were about to touch them, Bosk spoke up.
"Wait. I forgot to mention one thing."
"...What is it?" Rei stopped his hand and looked up.
"Actually, I have a favor to ask. In last night's battle, you took Oricule's arms into your Item Box, didn't you? I was hoping you'd hand them over. As evidence to submit to the national government, nothing beats those."
"I see."
Rei hesitated for only a second before retrieving Oricule's hands and both of his second arms from the Misty Ring, placing them on the table.
"Sorry about this. If I tell the state about the Man-Demonification on my own, they won't believe me. If there were a corpse, it would be different, but..."
Bosk trailed off. Rei had been the one to obliterate Oricule—who possessed an incredible regeneration ability—without leaving so much as a scrap of flesh behind. Bosk realized that mentioning the lack of a body might sound like he was blaming Rei for being too thorough.
"No, I don't mind. They might have been useful as materials, but proving the danger of the Holy Light Religion is more important."
"I appreciate it."
Bosk apologized once more and wrapped Oricule's four arms in a nearby cloth, pulling them aside.
"Then these Paired Orbs are officially yours, Rei. Take them."
Rei accepted the case and picked up one of the Paired Orbs. He ran his hand over it, confirming the flow of magic power, then handed the other to Elena.
"Just to be safe, let’s test them."
"Hmm? Yes, let's. Is the usage the same as a normal magic item?"
Rei nodded at Elena’s question and funneled magic power into his orb. A moment later, Rei's face was projected onto the orb Elena held.
"Since only I'm channeling magic power right now, it's a one-way connection. If you want your voice to reach me, you'll need to activate your orb."
Elena nodded and gently funneled her own magic power into the device. Immediately, Elena's face appeared in the orb Rei was holding.
"Can you hear me?"
"Yeah."
Since they were standing right next to each other, they could hear each other naturally, but seeing the clear image and hearing the voice from within the orb brought a satisfied smile to Elena's face. It was a radiant, beautiful smile that dazzled even Bosk.
"Right, well, moving on. Vihera, Byune, what do you want for your rewards?"
Bosk spoke quickly to cover his distraction. Vihera thought for a moment and shook her head.
"Let me think about it for a while."
"Mm." Byune nodded, agreeing with Vihera.
"Understood. ...For now, Rei and Elena are settled. Is that right?"
"Yeah. ...Wait, is there more?"
"Of course. I need to hear the details of what happened before I joined you at the residence. ...Normally, I'd have someone of lower rank handle the questioning, but given who you are..."
Bosk let out a weary sigh. Specifically, Elena was the problem. If he delegated the questioning of the daughter of Duke Kerebel—the famous Princess General—to a subordinate, people would start looking for hidden political motives.
Bosk usually didn't care about such trifles, but the timing was terrible. Of the three families that governed Exil, two were now mired in scandal. The only saving grace was that House Silwa had resolved the matter with the help of House Flaut. If only passing adventurers like Rei had solved it, House Silwa would likely have been punished for failing to notice the corruption in the neighboring houses.
"So, what's the business?" Rei prompted.
Bosk shrugged and turned his gaze toward Byune.
"I won't beat around the bush. I'll just say it straight. ...Byune, have you thought about reviving House Flaut?"
"Reviving it?" Vihera asked from beside her.
Byune herself tilted her head slightly, looking at Bosk for an explanation.
"Yeah. As I said before, House Marstchel is almost certainly going to be dismantled. I'll be pushing for that myself. Sacrificing people to create jewels... if they hadn't done that, they might have survived. But the truth is already leaking out from the adventurers who were there last night."
Bosk sighed, mentioning he had ordered them to keep quiet. He knew, however, that it was impossible to truly stop the rumors unless he killed every witness—something he had no intention of doing.
"Only a few know the details right now, but it's only a matter of time."
"I suppose so. ...Ah, I see," Vihera said, nodding in realization. Elena followed suit.
Rei, still looking confused, prompted Bosk to continue.
"In short, House Rebisole might pull through, but with House Marstchel gone, we'll only have two governing houses left. That’s bad for stability; the residents will get uneasy. To avoid that, I want House Flaut to take House Marstchel's place as a governing family."
"Though it might all be for nothing depending on how the national government interferes," Bosk added with a shrug.
"...Will think."
After a few seconds of silence, Byune gave her answer. Bosk breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't an immediate refusal and bowed his head slightly.
"Sorry."
There was a wealth of emotion in that single word. Deep down, Bosk didn't want to burden the child of his benefactors with such a request. But for the sake of Exil’s future, it was the best possible move. He had chosen his duty as the Lord of House Silwa and asked her to step back onto the public stage.
"...That reminds me, how is the situation with the Holy Light Religion?" Rei asked, trying to shift the heavy atmosphere.
"I’ve dispatched the Guard Force and adventurers from House Silwa. ...According to the reports, they were completely in the dark about Oricule’s activities. They were apparently stunned by the news and are cooperating quietly with the questioning."
"So the Holy Light Religion in Exil had two separate command structures," Rei noted, sensing how troublesome the fallout would be. Since it was a religious matter, he had no intention of getting involved and was content to let Bosk handle it.
They talked for about an hour regarding the incident and the cleanup efforts. When yet another stack of documents was brought in, Rei and his companions took their leave.
A few minutes after leaving the mansion, Vihera suddenly stopped and turned to Rei.
"Rei, I’m sorry to ask this now, but... will you fight me? Not a game like before, but a real duel. With everything you've got."
She spoke the words with a look of absolute seriousness in her eyes.