I arrived in the Lodesto territory via Spatial Transfer, appearing directly at the mansion of the lord, Galilea.
When I pushed the door open and stepped inside, a hulking bald man greeted me with an expression of pure shock.
"Well, look who it is! Master Lloyd and Ren! It's been ages! Hey!"
"It's been a while, Galilea. That lordly getup actually suits you."
"Hahaha, thanks! And what about you, Ren? That maid outfit is starting to look quite natural on you, isn't it?"
"I've been trained by a terrifying senior, after all. Anyway, can we get down to business?"
Cutting the pleasantries short, Ren stepped aside to let me speak.
"Sorry to drop in so suddenly, but I need your help finding someone."
"Looking for someone, are you?"
"Yeah. A boy named Ido. He’s about my age and height, and there’s a chance he spent some time in the underworld as a child. Most recently, he was working as an alchemist in Bertram... does the name ring a bell?"
"Ring a bell? We once had a contract out on that kid. A genius alchemist of unknown origin who rose to fame early on. Once the preliminary investigation revealed the client was just acting out of a petty grudge, I turned the job down."
"Right, killing without a righteous cause is against your code."
Galilea’s Assassin's Guild was an organization built on the ideal of social reform. Because of that, they prohibited the assassination of the innocent. Then again, Ido really did seem to attract an excessive amount of resentment. I suppose an outsider has to be a bit reckless to climb the ladder, but he really should have exercised more restraint.
"In any case, we scrubbed his past pretty thoroughly back then, so I have a handle on his behavioral patterns. I've got a lead on where he might be hiding—places he's likely to go."
"Oh? Where?"
"His usual haunts were a research lab near the castle and a residence in the Central District... and if I remember right, he had a base out in the eastern wasteland beyond the city."
"Ido was heading east when he left the city. There's a high probability he's at that wasteland base. Do you know the exact location?"
"Yeah! You're in good hands, Master Lloyd! I’ll track this Ido fellow down for sure!"
Galilea thumped his thick chest with confidence, but he was dealing with Ido. I didn't think the boy would let himself be found so easily, and in the worst-case scenario, things could turn into a fight. If it came to that, Galilea and his men would be helpless; the gap in combat prowess was simply too vast. It would have been ideal if I could have gone with them, but I couldn't afford to be away from the castle for long.
"I know. I'll call Shiro."
I clapped my hands together. As my familiar, Shiro shared its senses with me. If anything happened, I could rush to its side instantly using Spatial Transfer.
"That little pup? Well, that’d be a big help. If you bring him here, we can start right—wait, what are you doing?"
Galilea’s eyes went wide as he watched me pull a whistle from my pocket. It was a dog whistle. It produced a sound audible only to canines, but since I’d reinforced mine with magic, its range was incredibly wide. I blew into it with all my might, and a faint vibration of air was the only sound that echoed through the room.
A few moments passed...
"Wait, is the floor shaking?"
A thunderous, rhythmic vibration shook the ground—loud enough to be irritating. It seemed my summon had already arrived. The moment I threw open the mansion's massive front doors, a white blur surged inside.
"Woof!"
A massive ball of white fluff pounced on me. I was pinned to the floor, buried under a mountain of pure white fur with a soft poof. Then, a giant tongue gave my face a thorough licking.
"W-What in the world is that!?"
"What do you mean? It’s Shiro."
I sat up and gave Shiro a pat on the head while Galilea looked on, his face a mask of utter bewilderment.
"That little pup was barely a meter tall last I saw him! How did he turn into such a monster?! He's easily over five meters now!"
"Now that you mention it, you really have grown, Shiro."
"Woof!"
Shiro wagged its tail happily. It used to be small enough for me to carry, but now it was big enough to carry me. Apparently, a tamed beast grows stronger and larger in resonance with its master's mana, and Shiro had ballooned in size before I’d even realized it. We were always together, but since I'd been away from home so often lately, I hadn't noticed the change.
"Woof!" "Woof-woof!" "Woof!"
Responding to the barks, Shiro's fur wriggled and stirred, and several small puppies poked their heads out.
"There you are. You guys came too, huh?"
I patted each of their heads in turn. These were Mini-Shiro and Petit-Shiro, magical beasts that had accompanied Shiro when it first joined me. They were still small, but I wondered if they would eventually reach Shiro's current proportions.
"Alright, everyone. I want you to go with Galilea and help him find Ido."
"Woof!"
The barks of Shiro and the puppies harmonized perfectly. Their combat capabilities were nothing to scoff at. If they fought alongside Galilea and his crew, they wouldn't be easily taken down, even by someone like Ido.
"I'll go too. I might be able to track his trail using a potion I brewed recently."
Ren said as she pulled a small vial from her pocket. She had been training hard lately and was now capable of producing all sorts of specialized drugs. With Ren's pharmacology supporting the tracking skills of Galilea and Shiro, even Ido would find himself backed into a corner.
"Alright, I'm counting on you all."
"You got it!"
After saying my goodbyes to the group, I returned to the castle.