"Hmm. This arrow was aimed at Lord Rei...?"
Erinde picked up the arrow from the desk and posed the question to the two people standing before them—Rei and Grink.
Both nodded.
"Yes. Only Rei could have dodged that—an arrow fired from a completely unexpected direction at that speed. If I'd been the one targeted, it would have hit me for certain."
"And a single hit would be the end... huh. Given the potency of this poison, even a grazing wound could prove fatal."
"You know what kind of poison this is!?"
Rei had come to the headmaster's office seeking clues, but he never expected to obtain information this quickly.
He asked, directing a gaze of astonishment toward Erinde.
"Hmm. This poison is called Tears of Heaven. Its primary ingredient is basilisk blood, combined with magical power, poisonous herbs, and monster materials. Those afflicted by it suffer intense agony—as the name suggests, enough to make even heaven shed tears of sympathy—and after three days and three nights of torment, they finally die."
"...What a delightful poison. I never expected someone to come after me with something like that, though."
Rei apparently hadn't thought the poison would be quite that vicious either. He turned his gaze once more to the arrow in Erinde's hand.
"Can a poison that vicious really be obtained so easily here in Gracial? ...It's a far more dangerous place than I thought."
"There's no way that's true!"
Erinde shouted, unwilling to let Rei labor under a misunderstanding about the city they called home.
Surprised by the uncharacteristic outburst, Rei spoke again.
"Then why is a poison like that here?"
"What else could it be but that whoever is targeting Lord Rei prepared it? Naturally, if someone were found carrying such a dangerous substance when entering Gracial, they would be questioned immediately. However, properly identifying this sort of thing requires considerable expertise."
"In other words, the guards missed it."
Erinde nodded reluctantly at Rei's blunt conclusion.
"That would be the case. Other possibilities include bringing the ingredients in separately and concocting the poison within Gracial, or perhaps some other method entirely... Regardless of how it got here, having a poison of this magnitude brought into the school is a serious problem on many levels."
"Moreover, the owner of this poisoned arrow was fast enough to escape from Set."
"Set... that would be Lord Rei's tamed monster, the gryphon, yes?"
"Yeah. Even compared to ordinary animals and monsters, Set's five senses are sharp. Its sense of smell especially."
Strictly speaking, Set could demonstrate such a sharp sense of smell because of its Sense of Smell Enhancement skill, but Rei had no intention of needlessly revealing his hand.
Besides, it was a fact that even in its normal state, Set's senses were sharp, as befitting a high-rank monster.
"A person capable of escaping a gryphon's pursuit... hmm? And who uses a bow... no, surely not. That would be far too obvious, and I can't imagine them doing something so clumsy. In the first place, using poison..."
Erinde muttered as if something had just occurred to them, but immediately dismissed the thought.
Rei eyed Erinde's behavior questioningly, but they shook their head before speaking.
"No, it's just that I have an acquaintance who is skilled with a bow. I hastily connected the bow to that person, is all. Pay it no mind."
"...Are you sure this acquaintance of yours is truly innocent?"
"Yes. That much is certain. In the first place, they shouldn't even be in Gracial right now."
"That in itself seems slightly suspicious, though. Well, whatever. Next topic... though given that the answer is already obvious, I suppose there's no need to ask?"
"Hmm? Whatever do you mean?"
"Well, you mentioned that you always use small birds to patrol the Officer Academy, so I thought there was a chance you might have spotted someone suspicious."
Rei had wanted to ask whether the birds had perhaps seen anyone suspicious, but from their exchanges so far, he already knew not to expect much on that front.
Erinde seemed to understand what Rei was getting at. They nodded with a stern expression.
"True, I was using the small birds to patrol the school today as well. That is a fact. If there had been a suspicious person, I'm confident they would have been found, but..."
"Considering that Set lost track midway through the pursuit, there was probably some kind of trick involved."
Saying so, Rei had a general understanding of what that trick was.
That was because Set had actually encountered one before... or more precisely, had one used against it.
Namely...
"A Teleportation Stone, huh."
"A Teleportation Stone? If I recall, that's a magic item said to have been created by alchemists of the Bestia Empire, wasn't it? And you're saying the one who fired this arrow had one?"
"Yeah. In the first place, that poison called Tears of Heaven is also created using alchemy, right? Considering that, it doesn't seem too far off the mark."
"...In other words, an alchemist is involved in this incident? Or perhaps the Bestia Empire?"
At Erinde's words, Rei tilted his head in thought.
He couldn't imagine the Bestia Empire making a move on him.
The Third Prince's faction, which currently held significant power in the Bestia Empire, knew all too well what kind of power Rei possessed.
Saying that they survived the recent civil war thanks to Rei's power... might be a slight exaggeration, but it was nonetheless a fact that Rei's power had been a major military asset.
Knowing the extent of that power, he couldn't imagine them turning hostile toward him at this point.
Just how formidable Rei was—those of the Third Prince's faction who had witnessed it up close and felt it firsthand understood far better than the people of the Kingdom of Mireana.
In that case, there was no reason for them to lay a hand on Rei without cause.
It wasn't impossible that the Third Prince's father... the reigning emperor, had made the move, but Rei couldn't imagine him doing anything to make an enemy of Rei given the current situation.
(Could it be that my participation in the civil war caused various complications, and that's why they made a move? No, surely not. If that were the case, it'd be more plausible that a certain sister-obsessed someone is trying to prevent me and Vihera from acting together come spring... or something along those lines.)
Thinking that far, Rei couldn't help but feel it was actually a plausible possibility.
But he immediately dismissed the idea.
Because no matter what, he didn't think they would fail to comprehend the folly of making an enemy of someone like him.
Even in the worst case, where Mercureo lost his senses and made such a judgment, Rei figured Theoreme would stop him.
In the first place, if they antagonized Rei, the result could be him riding Set and raining Flame Magic freely from the air.
If that happened, the Bestia Empire would suffer enormous damage.
(They wouldn't actually do something like that... right?)
As Rei was thinking that it would be troublesome if they did, Grink, who had been listening to the conversation between Rei and Erinde all along, spoke up.
"If we're talking about alchemists, would it not extend beyond the Bestia Empire? The Bestia Empire has gained notoriety for alchemy recently, but originally Magic City Ozos is the true home of the craft. I think there's a possibility it may have come from there."
"That possibility can't be denied. But the Teleportation Stone was developed in the Bestia Empire, wasn't it? If that was used, then the Bestia Empire remains the prime suspect, doesn't it?"
Erinde asked while turning their gaze to the arrow on the desk, but Grink shook his head.
"The Bestia Empire may have developed the magic item known as the Teleportation Stone. However, that only means they developed it. In recent years, the Bestia Empire has been rapidly catching up to Ozos in alchemical technology, but Ozos still possesses the technical accumulation built up over its long history as a magic city."
Pausing there, Grink continued under the gazes of both Rei and Erinde.
"In other words, if they know such a thing exists, reproducing something similar wouldn't be impossible, would it?"
"...True. Grink makes a fair point. Indeed, Ozos has a long history of prospering as a magic city. Considering that history, there's a real possibility, as Grink says, that they could have created something similar. In fact, if they could get their hands on an actual Teleportation Stone, Ozos could undoubtedly reproduce it."
At Erinde's words, spoken while tapping the desk with their fingertips, Rei let out a faint breath of relief.
To Rei, the Bestia Empire was no longer simply an enemy nation.
He had made various acquaintances there, and it had become an opponent he would prefer not to fight.
Naturally, if they attacked first, he would fight back.
Because no matter what happened, he did not appreciate being unilaterally attacked.
"Still... Ozos, huh. I've never been there."
"Oh? The Lord Rei who favors magic items, has not? Ozos has all sorts of magic items. Alchemy is highly developed there, and befitting the name 'magic city,' research into magic is also advanced. I think you should visit at least once."
"...When it comes to magic research, wouldn't Samarun be a better fit than me?"
"Ah... in his case, there's a risk he might go to Ozos and never come back. Whether he realizes it himself or not, he seems to be hesitating despite his interest. At the end of the day, he probably has an attachment to this country, which is also his birthplace."
Hearing Erinde's words, Rei wondered, Is that so?
Samarun's intensity of devotion to magic was truly remarkable.
Enough to make one think he was half out of control.
That was exactly why Rei found it puzzling that Samarun hadn't gone to a place called a magic city.
Rei's impression of Samarun was that he wouldn't think twice about discarding his birthplace if it came to it.
"In any case, we can't just leave this matter alone. No, it goes beyond that—we can't simply handle it within the Officer Academy either. Lord Rei is a guest whom Duke Quento invited to his own domain. Given that this guest was nearly harmed, it's necessary to inform Duke Quento as well."
So saying to Rei, a shade of worry lingered in Erinde's expression.
As someone in the position of Academy Headmaster, Erinde would have preferred not to cause distress for Duke Quento... no, for their friend Ronald.
The two were of different races and statuses—a duke's household head and an elf—but the friendship between them was undeniably genuine.
Erinde naturally understood that this friend was currently extremely busy.
Though the person who had created the cause of that busyness was standing right before them now.
"If I recall, Lord Rei has not yet had a meeting with Duke Quento, correct?"
"Hmm? Ah, it was originally supposed to be the day after I arrived here... but it seems he's been busy with various things. Besides, I'm not fond of stiff formalities either."
"...I would expect as much. Considering that, Lord Rei and Duke Quento might not be the best match. However, while he is strict about etiquette and formal manners, he is by no means a bad person. I can personally vouch for that."
"From the sound of that, it seems like you're telling me to meet Duke Quento?"
"That's right. Even for the sake of discussing this incident, I think it would be best for you to meet at least once."
At Erinde's unexpected words, Rei's brows furrowed slightly.
As someone who didn't hold a particularly favorable impression of nobles, Rei had hoped things would just be left vague and the day would come when he could return to Gilm in spring. That was what he had been thinking.
If he were to meet anyone, it would be someone like Maruka, whom he could interact with casually.
"I know that Rei doesn't hold particularly favorable feelings toward nobles, but why not try meeting him without such preconceptions?"
Perhaps sensing this was the right moment, Grink, who had been silently observing the flow of the conversation until now, also made the suggestion to Rei.
"...Like I said earlier, I barely know any noble etiquette. If someone like me were to meet Duke Quento, an important figure in the King's Faction, it would definitely cause a commotion."
"Lord Rei, you certainly are stubborn about this... Very well. Then let's do this. If Duke Quento says he is willing to meet Lord Rei without fussing over etiquette and formal manners—would you agree to meet him then?"
At Erinde's words, Rei thought for a moment... and eventually nodded.
"Understood. Do that. But I'll say it again—I don't want much to do with nobles. If he properly understands that and still says he doesn't care about etiquette and such, then I'll agree to meet him."
"Good, I've got your word."
As if having some sort of plan, Erinde smiled at Rei's words and said so.
...Rei's miscalculation lay in not knowing just how close a friend Erinde was with Duke Quento.