"...Well now. That was remarkably fast. I thought it would take a bit longer."
Rei's gaze fell on Maruka.
She was sipping the fruit water he had given her while glancing around the room.
"Hmm, so this is the Officer Academy's staff dormitory. It is my first time visiting, but there are remarkably few people about."
Hearing the faint hint of disappointment in her voice, Rei sighed and spoke up.
"It's a holiday—and the middle of the day at that. It's only natural there aren't many people around. The other instructors are probably working on their lesson plans right about now."
"I don't know the details that well, though..." Rei added, which earned him an exasperated look from Maruka.
"You are an instructor as well, are you not? If so, is there no need for you to consider your lesson plans?"
"In my case, I basically just need to run mock battles. And occasionally, I throw in a little something to keep things from getting boring."
"Hmm... should I be pleased that you are doing this unexpectedly seriously? Or should I be angry and tell you to take it more seriously? It is a fine line, is it not? ...Oh, and Rei. Could I have another glass of fruit water?"
"Sure, sure."
At Maruka's words, he produced another fruit water from his Misty Ring and handed it over.
Watching Maruka happily drink the fruit water she had been given, Rei found himself staring off into the distance, wondering why he had ended up taking Maruka back with him in the first place.
Rei, Erinde, and Sardat had been talking in the headmaster's office, but Maruka's sudden intrusion had brought the conversation to a premature end.
Rei had wanted to discuss things in more depth, but when Erinde claimed to have work to do, he couldn't exactly ignore that.
Though Rei didn't believe that for a moment.
(Was it too much of a bother to deal with Maruka? Well, that possibility exists, but I don't think they'd go out of their way to do something like that.)
The relationship between Duke Quento's House, Erinde, and Sardat was not a poor one—far from it. Rei could clearly sense that it was, in fact, quite good.
If that were the case, he couldn't imagine they would treat Maruka—the child of Duke Quento—as a nuisance. It was easy enough for Rei to surmise that there must have been some reason... some topic they preferred not to discuss in front of her, if possible.
(Though I have no idea what that topic might have been. Probably something related to this incident... which would mean it's about the Holy Light Religion?)
As he was thinking while bringing a fresh, juicy fruit he had taken out for himself to his mouth, he noticed Maruka watching him with an envious gaze.
It wasn't just the fruit water—she was also interested in the fruit Rei was eating.
But since she was already receiving fruit water... and had even asked for seconds, she probably couldn't bring herself to ask for the fruit as well.
Seeing Maruka glancing at him timidly, quite unlike her usual haughty demeanor, Rei silently handed her one of the fruits he was holding.
"Mhm! You have my gratitude!"
Saying that with a beaming smile, Maruka reached for the fruit.
Watching her, Rei somehow understood why Erinde and the others had removed Maruka from that place.
No matter how intelligent she was, Maruka was still a child.
They probably hadn't wanted to let a child hear talk about assassins and the like.
(She seems more suited to be a teacher at an elementary school than an Officer Academy, honestly.)
At that random thought, an image of Erinde cheerfully saying, "Okay, everyone! Let's sing a lively song together!" flashed through his mind, and he had to suppress the urge to burst out laughing.
It actually seemed like it might suit Erinde surprisingly well, but he had a feeling that if he said so out loud, he would be on the receiving end of some peculiar retaliation—all delivered with a pleasant smile.
"Hm? What is it, Rei? You have a rather amusing look on your face."
"No, it's nothing. I was just thinking that things have gotten a bit troublesome."
At Rei's words, Maruka's expression turned apologetic—an expression that made it hard to believe she had been happily eating the fruit Rei had given her just a moment before.
"Truthfully, I feel quite apologetic toward you, Rei. I never imagined there would be those brazen enough to pull such a stunt in Gracial, of all places—my father's very seat of power. No matter how cornered they may be by my father, laying a hand on you would change nothing."
"You are mistaken, my lady. It is precisely because you summoned Lord Rei here that we have been able to take countermeasures. Had Lord Rei remained in Gilm, who knows what those within the King's Faction who act as they please might have done... Considering that, one could say it was fortunate that this occurred here in Gracial."
Koan, who had been standing behind Maruka and watching their exchange, spoke up.
Rei nodded in agreement with Koan's words.
"That's right. This incident was bound to happen eventually. It's not something you need to worry yourself over so much, Maruka."
Even so, perhaps because he understood that this attack had nothing to do with the Noble's Faction or anything of the sort, Rei's tone carried a certain reticence.
"Hmm, is that so? As for myself, I feel responsible for having drawn you to this land."
"My lady, I would advise against dwelling on it too much. No matter who it was... even Duke Quento himself could not have anticipated such a situation. Besides, if you consider this incident to be your failure, then you need only make up for it from here on out."
"...You are right. I seem to have become uncharacteristically faint of heart. Very well, I shall properly consider what I can do for Rei. You do not mind, do you?"
Met with that hopeful gaze, Rei hesitated over how to answer.
Honestly, judging from the demeanor of Erinde and Sardat, they seemed reluctant to get Maruka involved in this matter.
Yet here was Maruka, trying to delve deeper into his affairs under these circumstances. Rei's honest feeling was that he would prefer she hold back.
However, Maruka was directing a gaze full of expectation at him, and behind her, Koan was silently bowing his head.
(Is it really acceptable for Maruka's bodyguard to let her charge into danger?)
Rei thought this while observing Koan, but one thing was certain: no matter what he said here, Maruka would not restrain herself.
To keep Maruka out of danger, he had no choice but to quietly accept her involvement.
Under normal circumstances, with Koan—a former A-Rank adventurer—serving as her bodyguard, there would be no need to worry about harm befalling Maruka.
However, the enemy possessed an elite unit called Stigma—a gathering of individuals with A-Rank adventurer-equivalent strength. Against them, even Koan might not be able to completely protect Maruka.
No—the difference was that Stigma apparently placed themselves in constant real combat, whereas Koan, while serving as Maruka's bodyguard, had not been in life-or-death battles recently.
As a former A-Rank adventurer, he could effortlessly dispatch the average assassin lurking about.
But against opponents of similar strength to himself, it was a different story.
In a battle between those of comparable ability, one side was someone who had actively been clawing his way through life-or-death situations, while the other, though presumably still training, had not experienced such desperate battles in some time.
If those two clashed, the outcome would be obvious to anyone.
Will he be alright? Rei worried about Koan.
To Rei, Koan was a man he felt a sense of closeness to, and an easy person to get along with.
Koan could properly assess Rei's strength without making the mistake of judging him by his appearance—a rare quality that made him a valuable acquaintance.
Of course, there were others who similarly didn't judge Rei by his appearance, but their numbers were inevitably few.
To such a Rei, Koan offered a reassuring smile as if to say everything would be fine.
"Damn it! Why did the attack fail when we gathered that many people!"
With that shout, a man's fist swung through the air and slammed into the cheek of the man before him, sending him flying.
The man who had been struck crashed into a wall, his momentum arrested. Pressing a hand to where he had been hit, he opened his mouth.
"Th-that's... it was going well up to a point, but partway through, some strange man barged in, and things went in an unexpected direction."
"Hah? A strange man? I don't know what kind of man, but you're telling me the attack failed because one guy crashed in? You said there was absolutely no problem this morning, didn't you? Hah!?"
The one glaring menacingly at the man making excuses was the figure who had been pulling the strings behind those targeting Ealand.
More precisely, the Knight Serving Ealand's Uncle.
...Though, with this personality, there probably weren't many who would accept him being called a knight.
Then again, it was precisely because of this kind of personality that he had likely been assigned to behind-the-scenes work in the first place.
The man who had just been punched was also somewhat well-known in Gracial, but even so, he couldn't bring himself to defy the man calling himself a knight standing before him.
Before the attack on Ealand had begun, he had puffed out his chest with absolute confidence, declaring that it would all be settled today. But that had ultimately ended in failure, and now he found himself pouring fuel on the knight's fury.
(Damn it, what the hell was that man!? If not for him, everything would have gone smoothly... Everyone who came into contact with him has either been captured by the city guards or killed, so there's almost no information... Damn it all! Why did I have to end up like this!)
Pressing a hand to his struck cheek, the man seethed inwardly.
The reason they had been able to obtain the information about this man's failed attack was because there had been someone tasked with monitoring the outcome.
Keeping their distance from the attack site, they were to observe how events unfolded. Even if it failed as it had this time, they were not to rescue their comrades—they were simply to watch how things played out and bring back the information.
That was the intelligence delivered by the man entrusted with such a role.
"Damn it, you useless bastards. Why do I have to work with guys like these? Shit!"
The knight hurled abuse at the man before him while kicking a nearby chair.
The sound of the chair crashing into the wall echoed through the room, but no one showed any sign of coming to investigate.
Naturally. This house had been prepared by the figure behind the knight.
...Or rather, that would have been the case under normal circumstances.
"Hyohyohyo. It seems we hit the mark. Following these fellows was the right choice, indeed."
At that voice suddenly echoing through the room, the knight reacted instantly, drawing the longsword from the sheath at his waist.
The man who had been on the receiving end of the knight's abuse also swiftly drew a dagger from his coat, took a stance, and scanned his surroundings.
"Who's there!"
What answered the knight's shout was the same voice that had been heard just seconds before.
"Where are you looking? Right here. Hmm, I suppose you cannot see us like this. Here, how about this?"
With those words, three figures suddenly appeared in the room.
"Wha—! Shit, when the hell did you get in!"
The knight shouted and swung his longsword—no, tried to swing it, but one of the men who had appeared out of nowhere instantly stepped forward and seized his arm, stopping the movement cold.
Seeing this, the knight's eyes went wide in disbelief.
Given that he worked in behind-the-scenes operations, the man naturally had confidence in his own skill.
Of course, he wasn't so arrogant as to think himself the strongest, but he still believed he wouldn't lose to the average opponent.
And yet, just now, his movement had been stopped the very instant he tried to swing his weapon.
He could understand what had happened.
The man had probably seen the strength flow into his sword hand, or sensed the tell of his movement, and acted on it—at a speed that hadn't even registered to his eyes.
He directed his gaze at the man holding his arm—a man who appeared to be in his twenties.
The moment he saw that face, the knight instinctively understood that he could never defeat this man.
"Who... are you people? Are you Ealand's men?"
"Hm? Ealand?"
At the knight's words, the man holding his arm replied—and at that moment, the man whose presence had been completely forgotten despite being in the same room spoke up.
"An old man and two men... it's them! They're the ones who attacked the man guarding the target!"
"...These three?"
With his arm still held fast, the knight turned his gaze to each of the three in turn.
Every single one of them was overwhelmingly stronger than him.
He could tell at a glance that they were opponents he had no chance against.
For one thing, no matter how much strength he put into it, his arm held by the man wouldn't budge.
That alone made it obvious they possessed unbelievable physical ability.
"Now then, now that you know who we are... how about we form an alliance, shall we?"
At the old man's words, the knight had no choice but to nod.