The mass production of magic swords that controlled their wielders.
Rei's grim premonition became reality when he returned to Gilm, having given up on dismantling the Cyclops and finished harvesting the Cobolt materials.
"There's no way he'd do something like that!"
It was still just a little past noon.
Rei and his group had returned to Gilm together with the two adventurers who had been chased by Cobolts, but at the gate where entry procedures were handled, they spotted some kind of commotion.
A sizable crowd had gathered—likely people waiting to complete their entry procedures. Puzzled by the scene, Rei and the others headed toward the source of the voices.
There, a man with the look of an adventurer was being pinned down by several guards.
And not merely pinned—he had been forcefully thrown to the ground, with guards holding down each of his limbs in a highly restrained manner.
The man being held showed no signs of consciousness and wasn't moving at all.
Even so, the surrounding guards kept him restrained without the slightest lapse in vigilance.
"What happened here?"
"Huh? Oh, it's Rei."
When Rei asked a man nearby who appeared to be a merchant in his thirties, the man seemed to recognize his face and didn't look particularly surprised to see Set.
...Though his eyes were visibly drawn to Vihera.
Even so, he quickly caught himself and hastily tore his gaze away from Vihera toward the guards—specifically, toward the man who appeared to be the companion of the pinned adventurer and was making a scene.
"That adventurer being held down suddenly went on a rampage with a dagger. And his body was glowing strangely from the inside—really suspicious."
"...What?"
At the merchant's words, Rei quickly turned his gaze toward the man pinned to the ground.
But just as the merchant had said, there was no sign of any glow coming from within the man's body.
Even so, Rei kept his eyes fixed carefully on the man.
The only one making a scene was the man's adventurer companion. The one being pinned down seemed to have gone limp, lying there listlessly.
He didn't look at all like someone who had just been on a rampage.
(That dagger, huh?)
Rei's gaze landed on the dagger lying on the ground.
The moment he saw it, Rei was struck by an impression similar to the Cyclops's hammer and the Cobolt's magic sword.
In other words, the dagger now in Rei's line of sight was a magic item created by an alchemist from the Bestia Empire... that was the most likely conclusion.
"Please rest assured. I think we can prove right away that he harbored no hostility toward us."
Ranga called out to the excited, agitated adventurer in a calming tone.
The adventurer apparently knew Ranga well. He let out a sigh, his tone shifting from the earlier protest to something more composed.
"...Sorry. I got a little too worked up."
"No, don't worry about it. Your partner suddenly went on a rampage, so it's only natural you'd feel that way. However, I'd like to take him into our custody for now, if that's alright. Of course, we'll examine him once he regains consciousness, and if there are no issues, we'll release him immediately."
"But... no, yeah. Understood. Please do that."
The man started to protest for a moment but quickly retracted his words.
He probably understood that making any more of a scene here would only worsen his own position and that of his companions.
There was also a degree of trust toward Ranga.
Despite his position, Ranga came out here to the gate and worked alongside his soldiers—and that was on top of having already finished his duties as Captain of the Guard Force.
Because of this, Ranga's character was well-known among the residents of Gilm, which was likely why the adventurer relented without pressing the matter further.
"I'm sorry about this. But he won't be charged with anything, so please don't worry. Most likely..."
Ranga paused mid-sentence, his gaze falling on the dagger lying on the ground.
As one guard began to approach the dagger...
"Halt!"
A sharp command—one that seemed hard to believe came from the usually mild-mannered Ranga.
The guard who received those words naturally stopped in his tracks.
"Captain?"
"The cause of this incident is most likely that dagger."
He used the words "most likely," but Ranga seemed certain. He glared at the dagger on the ground with sharp eyes.
"But, um, what do we do? I don't think we can just leave it sitting here. Especially if it's the cause."
"The knight order has an alchemist, and we're summoning him now. So for the time being, don't touch that dagger. Also, have someone form a perimeter around it so no one else touches it either."
"...Understood."
"Alright, this matter is settled for the time being. I'd like everyone to get back to your respective duties. Keeping other people waiting too long..."
At that point, Ranga noticed Rei's presence.
The reason he hadn't noticed Rei until now was probably because Set was positioned a short distance away—because Mirene and Yohanna were doting on him.
Even without Set nearby, the fact that Ranga noticed Rei at all spoke to his high level of alertness.
Still, if he called out to Rei here, some people might suspect that Rei had some involvement in the incident.
Merchants and adventurers had more than their share of sharp individuals... no, it was more accurate to say that one couldn't survive without being sharp.
That was why Ranga settled for a small bow and redirected his gaze back to the restrained man.
No matter how the man had obtained this dagger, that information was something he desperately needed.
Of course, the man who had merely been controlled bore no guilt, so Ranga intended to release him immediately after a physical examination, questioning, and a nondisclosure agreement.
With these thoughts in mind, Ranga had the gathered people line up again and resumed the entry procedures into Gilm.
About ten minutes later, several knights on horseback emerged from within Gilm.
Given that traveling from the lord's mansion on foot would take time, they had likely come by horse.
Seeing a slender figure seated behind one of the knights who didn't look at all like a knight, Rei judged that to be the knight order's alchemist.
"Are we late?" one of the knights asked Ranga.
Between knights and guards, knights naturally ranked higher, but the other party was not a mere guard—it was Ranga, the Captain of the Guard Force.
Moreover, Gilm's knights were generally not the type to throw their weight around. Not that there were none at all, but fortunately, the knight who spoke to Ranga was not one of those rare exceptions.
"No, it's fine. More importantly..."
Ranga replied to the knight and turned his gaze toward the man being held down by the guards.
The man had lost consciousness the moment he let go of the dagger and showed no signs of moving on his own.
"This is him... and the magic item in question?"
"It's over there."
No one was allowed near the dagger lying a short distance from the man, with the guards maintaining strict vigilance.
Even if someone tried to approach the dagger, it would be impossible without first dealing with the guards.
The guards remained vigilant, watching the surroundings so they could stop anyone at a moment's notice.
"Go ahead," the knight said briefly to the alchemist.
The alchemist gave a small nod and dismounted.
Even though he belonged to the knight order, as an alchemist, he probably didn't ride horses regularly. Even having been given a ride by a knight, his dismount looked somewhat unsteady.
Still, he managed to get to the ground without tumbling off, took a small deep breath to steady himself, and began walking toward the dagger.
Seeing Ranga nod, the guards who had been protecting and watching over the dagger yielded their position to the alchemist.
"Hmm... I see. Technically, it's not that impressive... but they made up for it with a twist? But why is it asymmetrical rather than... if so, was this intentional?"
The alchemist muttered while examining the dagger on the ground.
His appearance—muttering to himself and reaching conclusions on his own—was rather eerie to onlookers.
But the person muttering showed no sign of caring about his surroundings whatsoever.
If anything, the knights—who were being watched by the crowd while their colleague behaved like that—looked somewhat embarrassed.
Still, it was probably tolerable because there were fewer onlookers than before. The ones looking their way were mostly the guards, and the people processing their entry into Gilm were hidden behind the wall formed by the guards.
However, just because it was bearable didn't mean they wanted to endure those stares indefinitely.
One of the knights, thinking this, called out to the alchemist.
"Hey, Wor. Come back already. If you're going to analyze that dagger, you don't have to do it here. Take it back and do it in the research lab."
"...But this magic metal should be quite rare. Using it for something disposable? But by using this magic metal... hmm? Ah, oh. Sorry. I got carried away."
He must have finally come back to his senses at his colleague's words. The alchemist named Wor quickly responded.
"Come on, if you understand, then get ready. Let's grab it and go, quick."
"Yeah, got it."
At the urging knight's words, Wor produced some kind of cloth from his pocket.
Naturally, since an alchemist was producing it, it was no ordinary cloth.
It had been specially processed using magic to provide some degree of protection against mental attacks on the user.
It was only a modest defense at best, and if the dagger contained a powerful form of mind control, it wouldn't be able to block it. But even such cloth required rare materials to create, so it wasn't something that could be easily produced.
Wor draped the cloth over the dagger, gently touched it through the fabric and immediately pulled away... and upon sensing no issues, this time he kept his fingers on the cloth for several seconds. Confirming there were no ill effects, he gripped the dagger through the cloth.
The surrounding knights held their breath as they watched Wor, but when Wor gave a small nod while holding the dagger, they finally breathed sighs of relief.
"Looks like it's safe."
"Somehow or another... it seems the ability to dominate the wielder isn't as powerful as I thought it would be."
At Wor's words, the surrounding knights and guards let out sighs of relief.
"Alright, let's go right away then."
Nodding at the knight's words, Wor tried to mount the horse while holding the dagger wrapped in cloth... and realized that with the dagger in hand, he couldn't move freely. But he somehow managed to straddle the horse's back with the help of the knight who had given him a ride there.
"Then, Ranga. We'll be taking our leave. Please be sure to handle that matter with the utmost strictness."
"I know. As the Captain of the Guard Force, I have no intention of letting dangerous individuals into Gilm."
As long as the alchemist was operating, Gilm was the most convenient place to procure food and other supplies.
The alchemist was undoubtedly on guard, but humans needed to eat.
(Though if they have skilled companions, there's a possibility they're eating monster or wild animal meat...)
He thought this, but that didn't mean they could afford not to stay vigilant, and Ranga strengthened his watch to prevent the alchemist from entering Gilm.
"What a troublesome thing to pull. With the Cobolt incident, I figured there'd be others..."
In Rei's room at the Wheat Inn at Dusk, there were two people besides the room's owner: Vihera and Byune.
They had returned to Gilm with Mirene, Yohanna, and the others, but considering the scene they had witnessed at the gate, no one felt like throwing a celebration party for completing the request, so they had parted ways midway.
The subjugation proof parts and materials were carried by Yohanna and the others working together, so the Cyclops subjugation request would be successfully completed—which was the one piece of good news for Rei.
"If magic items capable of controlling monsters can be mass-produced, that would be troublesome, wouldn't it?"
"Mm."
Byune nodded in agreement with Vihera's words.
Rei couldn't deny that either.
No significant damage had occurred so far, but if this were done on a larger scale, Gilm and its surroundings would become dangerous in more ways than one.
But as if to dispel Rei's anxiety, Vihera continued.
"But for now, don't you think we don't need to worry that much?"
"Hmm? Why's that?"
"Because if they could really control monsters completely, it would be causing a much bigger uproar, don't you think?"
At those words, Rei recalled the opponents he had defeated or encountered so far.
The Cyclops, the Cobolts, and the human.
The only incidents Rei knew of that were likely caused by the alchemist behind this matter were those three, but he quickly understood what Vihera was getting at and agreed.
"Now that you mention it... if they could completely control monsters or their wielders, they'd either proceed more secretly, or conversely, cause a massive uproar."
"Right. Whether it was the Cyclops or the Cobolts, it felt more like they were controlling the wielder—or rather, putting them in a berserk state. I only saw what happened at the gate after the man was already pinned down, but based on our past experiences, it's probably the same."
"Then what about an alchemist sending a swarm of controlled monsters to attack Gilm... something like that?"
"Probably not, I think."
At Vihera's words, a sigh of relief escaped Rei's lips, and he felt reassured that, for the time being, there was no need to worry about Gilm.