Adria, being led away by the guards along the main street, remained outwardly docile, as if she had already resigned herself to her fate.
Her arms were firmly held by guards on either side, with more guards positioned ahead and behind her, maintaining strict vigilance to prevent any escape.
To break free under these circumstances, it would not be a matter of Adria doing something herself—only outside intervention could manage it. That was how heavily guarded the escort was.
Indeed, the guards escorting Adria to the station kept watch on her movements while simultaneously staying alert to their surroundings.
Watching both inside and out risked scattering one's focus, but these men had worked as guards in Gilm, a frontier town where many adventurers—including high-ranking ones—gathered. Having weathered numerous crises, they had experienced such situations before and escorted Adria to the station with practiced ease.
But...
(Well now, about time, isn't it? Crimson and the Princess General seem to have moved off.)
Without moving her head, using only her eyes to survey her surroundings, Adria muttered inwardly.
There was not a trace of a serious expression on her face—if anything, she seemed to be enjoying the situation.
Even the movement of her eyes was that of a veteran, scanning the area while ensuring the guards gripping her arms did not notice.
At first glance, such a skill seemed more suited to a thief than a warrior, but preventing one's opponent from reading one's gaze was more than necessary for a warrior as well.
Having confirmed her surroundings with such movements, Adria sprang into action once she judged she had moved far enough from Rei and Elena.
"Hey, can I ask you something?"
The guard gripping her right arm opened his mouth warily in response to Adria's casual tone.
"What is it? Sorry, but I have no intention of hearing any requests from you. If you have something to say, save it until we reach the station."
"No, no, that's not what I'm trying to say. I just have a little something I'd like to ask. I mean, I'm quietly letting you escort me like this, so wouldn't it be fine to talk a little?"
The guard had been about to dismiss Adria's words immediately, but he had learned from past experience that important clues could be gleaned from seemingly casual conversation.
That was precisely why he spoke up while remaining wary of Adria's movements.
"I'll hear you out, but only until we reach the station."
"Hey!"
The guard gripping Adria's left arm sharply rebuked the one on her right.
But the guard on the right sent a glance to his counterpart—a silent message that he would not let his guard down—then turned back to Adria.
"So, what is it you want to ask?"
The guard made sure Adria made no suspicious movements and fully intended never to release the arm he was holding, no matter what happened. In response, Adria spoke with a smile.
"You're gripping both my arms like this, but how's the softness? As a woman, do I have any appeal? Like, enough to make you want to sneak into my bedchamber at night?"
"...Huh?"
Not understanding what had just been said for a moment, a stupefied sound escaped the guard's mouth.
Naturally. He never expected to hear something like that under these circumstances.
If this had come from a prostitute, a dancer, or a woman who prided herself on her looks, he would have reacted with some surprise but without letting his guard down.
But Adria was someone situated at the exact opposite end of the spectrum from feminine allure.
The leather armor she wore made it hard to tell her exact figure, but even so, she had a build that one could barely recognize as a woman's—understandable only when seen up close like this.
On top of that, her hair was cropped very short, likely because it would hinder her movement.
Never expecting to hear a womanly opinion from such a person, not only the guard who had been speaking with Adria but the surrounding guards as well were momentarily dumbfounded.
That instant opening was exactly what Adria had wanted.
A split second in time more precious than any silver coin or gold coin.
The guards' stupefaction lasted only a brief moment—that was certain—but for Adria, that instant was more than enough.
The first thing she did was deal with the guard gripping her right arm.
Of course, "deal with" did not mean kill.
She relaxed her body, moving her arm in tandem with the guard gripping her right arm.
Sensing the movement, the guard reflexively tightened his grip on Adria's arm... and in the next instant, she reversed that movement against him. Before he knew it, the man who had been gripping her right arm had thrown himself to the ground.
"Wha—?!"
Seeing his companion suddenly tumble to the ground, the guard gripping her left arm tensed to pin her down—but a light shock ran through his jaw, and that guard crumpled to the ground as well.
By the time the guards positioned ahead and behind Adria tried to move, she had already pulled a crystal ball about the size of a fingertip from her breast pocket, channeled magic into it, and slammed it against the ground.
The instant the crystal ball shattered, smoke billowed out.
The smoke that engulfed the surrounding area was a magic item created by Zboz—so naturally, it was no ordinary smoke.
Since it was smoke generated by magic, it was of course imbued with magical power.
It was not a particularly large amount of magic—the kind that a mage could easily produce—but magic was still magic.
Even if there had been a guard capable of sensing magic, finding Adria immediately would have been impossible.
Moreover, since the smoke covered the entire surrounding area, the victims were not limited to the guards.
It was evening, and many people were walking through the town, so they naturally fell victim to the smoke as well.
If they had been adventurers, mercenaries, or soldiers—people accustomed to violence—they might have been able to handle the trouble to some degree. But among those walking through the town were many residents of Gilm who had nothing to do with violence whatsoever.
Under such circumstances, it was only natural that those people would start panicking, and the area descended into complete chaos.
Through that crowd, Adria ran, threading her way between people.
With the smoke obscuring visibility, the people caught in it could only feel that something had passed by.
(Since I was found here, I can't go back to the old man's shop now. Which means the old man and Zboz should have already gotten out of the shop. I told them the rendezvous point beforehand, so they should be able to get there without any problems... I can only pray that Crimson and his group didn't burst in before they escaped the shop.)
Thinking about the rendezvous point was tiresome, but considering the enjoyment that surely awaited her afterward, she could endure it.
(I finally got Zboz motivated after all this effort. It wouldn't be worth it if I didn't get to enjoy things a little more. And besides, those two might get to enjoy themselves on their end too.)
Picturing the enjoyment that awaited her after reuniting with Zboz and the others, Adria broke free from the smoke-filled area and kept running.
The area enveloped by Adria's smoke recovered its calm only after several minutes, once the smoke had cleared completely.
And though no one present noticed, the entity that had been trailing Adria ever since she was handed over to the guards continued to follow without losing sight of her as she fled the smoke.
Rei, Set, and Elena—the two humans and one griffon who had handed Adria over to the guards—had arrived in front of the shop that sold magic items.
There, Vihera, Byune, and Asimov were standing watch to ensure no one came out of the shop.
Vihera widened her eyes at Elena's sudden appearance, and Byune—usually expressionless—revealed a rare, if slight, expression of surprise. Asimov was simply dazed, his eyes captivated by Elena's beauty.
"It's been a while, Vihera. ...And it's good to see you're as energetic as ever, Byune."
"Oh? We've talked a few times through the Paired Orbs, haven't we? Considering that, I wouldn't say it's been that long, would you?"
"Talking through Paired Orbs and meeting in person are different things."
A lighthearted exchange of smiles.
Elena and Vihera—two women whose beauty was at a level where anyone looking could confidently declare there was no one more beautiful—standing together brought a splendor to the surroundings, as though a grand flower were in full bloom, despite this being a back alley.
The one who felt that most acutely was undoubtedly Asimov.
Ordinarily, Asimov had almost no interest in women, valuing his research far more, and visited brothels only occasionally. But now, his eyes were glued to both Elena and Vihera.
If it had been only Vihera, Asimov would have felt something, but he would rarely have let it show.
But the moment Elena was added to the picture, it was as if a synergistic effect took hold, stealing his consciousness and making it impossible for him to look away.
Seeing Asimov in such a state, Elena turned a questioning glance toward Rei, silently asking who this person was.
Since he was the only one here she did not know, the gesture was only natural.
Rei, receiving Elena's glance, turned his gaze toward Asimov and spoke.
"This is Asimov. He's an alchemist, and he's been helping us out a bit with this matter."
"I see. Well then, I look forward to working with you. I am Elena."
"Ah, y-yeah."
So captivated by Elena that his words came out incoherent, that vague reply was all Asimov could manage.
Asimov was generally oblivious to worldly affairs, not even knowing Rei's alias "Crimson," but he did know the alias "Princess General."
Under normal circumstances, hearing the name Elena and seeing her appearance would have been enough for him to realize that the person before him was the Princess General—but Asimov at this moment was in no state to comprehend such a thing.
Having finished her greeting with Asimov, Elena turned her gaze toward the shop that Vihera and Byune had been watching.
Then, at the goblin bone decorating the side of the door, her neatly shaped brows furrowed in displeasure as she spoke.
"A goblin skull, huh. ...Bad taste."
"It's a shop that sells magic items, so it's probably related to that. ...So, did anyone come out of the shop?"
In response to Rei's question, Vihera shook her head.
"I had Byune check just in case there might be a back entrance or something, but apparently this is the only way in."
"I see. ...Well then, I wonder what's inside. Ideally, the alchemist in question would be in there."
Given that a woman likely connected to the alchemist had been here, there had to be some kind of clue.
With that thought in mind, Rei opened the shop's door.
At that moment, the eyes of the goblin skull decorating the side of the door flashed briefly, but the light was obscured by the glow of the sunset, and no one noticed.
"...No one's here, huh."
Rei peered inside the shop and announced.
His tone was laced with as much doubt and suspicion as could be.
Since the woman from earlier—Adria—had come out of this shop, the shop owner, whom Rei had met before, should naturally have been inside.
But looking around the shop, there was no one in sight—not even a presence.
"You were properly watching this door, right?"
At Rei's confirming question, Vihera and Byune both nodded.
Of course, Rei did not seriously believe that these two had let the owner slip out unnoticed.
It was merely a question asked for confirmation.
Knowing that, Vihera and Byune had probably nodded so readily.
"In that case, I can only think there's some kind of escape route somewhere that no one knows about..."
"But at the very least, there's no hidden door in the walls of this building, okay? Byune checked, so there's no mistake about that."
"Well, it's hard to imagine a hidden door that even Byune couldn't find."
Rei also had confidence in Byune's skills.
Before partnering with Vihera, she had dived into the Dungeon solo.
Judging from a thief's perspective, she undoubtedly possessed a certain level of skill.
If there were a hidden door that even Byune's eyes couldn't find, it would be something Rei himself could not discover either.
(Set's five senses might be able to find it, though.)
Thinking of his partner, Rei pointed at the ceiling and asked Byune.
"You didn't just check the walls—you checked up above too, right?"
"Mm."
Byune replied shortly, as if to say it was obvious.
Since it was a single-story building, for someone of Byune's ability, getting onto the roof was no difficult feat.
"Walls are a no-go, and so is the roof. If there's no magic circle for using a Teleportation Stone either... then the only place left is here, isn't it."
Rei lightly kicked the floor, indicating to everyone that the hidden door—or the entrance to an escape route—must be right here.