Around the time Rei and the others began their battle in the slum district, Ara was waiting in front of the magic item shop with Set, doing nothing in particular.
Elena had told her to wait there and inform the guards about the stairs leading underground when they arrived, but the guards showed no sign of coming.
"Seriously, I'd heard Gilm's guards were excellent... but they're certainly taking their time. Don't you think?"
"Guruuu..."
Ara stroked Set's head as she grumbled.
Whether Set was actually listening to her words or not, it simply narrowed its eyes at the sensation of being petted and purred contentedly.
It had already been quite a while since Elena and the others had descended the stairs leading underground.
And considering they still hadn't returned...
"I knew it. Those stairs don't lead to a room—they must connect somewhere else."
Ara had wanted to head down the stairs several times, but if it were just a room, that would be one thing. If it was a passageway connecting to somewhere else, she would undoubtedly end up following after Elena.
And if she did that, there would be no one left to explain the situation when the guards arrived, and they would be left confused.
"It would be nice if Set could talk, though."
"Guruu?"
What is it? Set tilted its head.
It was an undeniable fact that Set understood human speech, but conveying its own intentions back to humans was another matter entirely.
"Never mind. ...Still, this shop has quite a lot of fascinating things."
While stroking Set, Ara's gaze drifted through the entrance and into the shop.
There were a visible number of items that appeared to be Magic Items, and even Ara, who didn't have much interest in such things, was captivated by their sheer quantity.
The axe Ara carried on her back was itself a Magic Item called the Power Axe, but there were several items here that looked far more expensive at a glance.
"It's strange that there are hardly any weapons, though, given all that... but I suppose that's just the kind of shop it is."
What filled the shop was a collection of Magic Items that would be convenient in everyday life.
Naturally, there was demand for that type of Magic Item as well.
Especially among nobles and wealthy merchants—many of them preferred such Magic Items over weapons.
Of course, considering they might also want to equip trusted subordinates with Magic Item weapons, it was also true that many people had need of those.
"That sofa, for instance—I saw a merchant bring something similar to Elena-sama's home, the Kerebel house. It's a sofa that automatically adjusts to the optimal shape when you sit on it and even gives you a massage. I think it cost a few platinum coins..."
There were a few other Magic Items she recognized, but among them were some she had never seen before.
"Is that pot a Magic Item too?"
As someone who prided herself on brewing tea, Ara was very curious about what kind of Magic Item that pot was.
That said, she obviously couldn't just use the shop's Magic Items without permission, so all she could do was look.
As she stood there, her gaze drifting idly into the shop, she eventually heard footsteps approaching.
Turning toward the sound, she found three guards standing there.
They finally came... Ara opened her mouth to address them.
"That was a remarkably late arrival. I expected you here sooner."
Unable to chase after Elena, she had probably been accumulating a fair amount of stress. Though she hadn't intended it, her tone carried a slight edge.
Even so, the guards bowed their heads without any sign of offense.
"We're sorry. A problem came up, and we needed manpower to sort it out."
"...A problem?"
If they had replied confrontationally, Ara could have matched their tone.
But faced with such a polite apology, she couldn't exactly take a high-handed approach either.
Whether the guards knew that Ara was a noble, or because they knew she was an attendant of Elena—the Princess General—their courteous treatment had clearly paid off.
Though Ara thought of herself not as a noble, but as a knight serving Elena.
"Yes. The suspect Rei and the others captured used some strange Magic Item when escaping. Dealing with the commotion required pulling a lot of manpower..."
"I see."
Ara nodded briefly, judging that there was no point in pressing the guards any further.
"In any case, this shop has stairs leading underground, and Lord Rei and the others have already headed down."
"...I see. And what about you, Ara-sama?"
"I was waiting because I needed to tell you about this location. That errand is done now, so I can go, can't I?"
"Understood. We'll send two of our men with you. We don't know what lies beyond those stairs, but it's strange that there's been no word since Rei and the others went down."
"Are you sure?"
A faint look of surprise flickered across Ara's face.
She had been planning to go alone, so the guards' offer to accompany her was unexpected.
Considering the skill level of Gilm's guards, she judged they wouldn't be much of a burden, and returned a nod.
In an ordinary town or village, guards wouldn't be expected to possess particularly impressive strength. But this was Gilm.
It was a place where many adventurers gathered, including high-rank ones, and those adventurers held banquets in taverns night after night or visited brothels in the pleasure district.
Adventurers were hot-blooded and many were short-tempered, so it was hardly uncommon for them to cause trouble.
Disputes over splitting rewards from completed requests were also not rare, nor were arguments that broke out when adventurers tried selling materials to shops rather than the Guild for a slightly better price, only for negotiations to fall through.
The ones who settled disturbances caused by such adventurers, including high-rank ones, were the guards.
Naturally, their strength had to be above a certain standard.
Knowing this, Ara accepted the guards' offer to join her.
"Yes. Maintaining the peace of Gilm is our duty."
"Very well. Let's go."
The guards nodded at Ara's words, and leaving one of their own behind at the scene, they entered the shop.
"Set... no, given its size, it's impossible. It could force its way into the building, but those stairs leading underground..."
"Guruuu..."
At the guard's words, Set let out a disappointed purr.
In truth, if destroying the door was acceptable, entering the shop wouldn't be difficult at all.
And since Set was classified as a rare species of Gryphon, using the Size Change skill would eliminate even the need to destroy the entrance.
However, when it came to the stairs leading underground, there was no telling what lay beyond.
Having someone scout ahead was one option, but whether that was feasible in the current situation was questionable at best.
"Alright then, Set. I'm going now, so wait here, okay?"
Ara stroked Set's head as she said this, then descended the stairs leading underground together with the guards.
"Now then, go ahead and entertain me!"
Near the shack deep in the slum district, the battle was finally about to begin.
The first among Rei's group to charge toward the enemy was, as one would expect, Vihera.
Closing the distance toward Dias—the man whose entire face was covered by a beard—she channeled magical power into her gauntlets, generating claws as she approached.
Dias, ready to meet her, took up his own weapon, a claymore, and waited expressionlessly for Vihera to close in.
Seeing this, Vihera judged that he was accepting her challenge and put even more force into her legs as she kicked off the ground—but in that instant, a chill ran down her spine, and she kicked off the earth to leap sideways.
With the sound of air being torn apart, an arrow pierced the spot where Vihera had been standing a moment before.
"Oh myyy? You dodged that one. As expected of Vihera-sama, you really are skilled...!"
Adria, calling out in a tone that was impressed yet somehow provocative, leaped sideways just as Vihera had done seconds earlier.
Right after, something pierced the spot where Adria had been standing—just like the hidden arrow she had fired at Vihera.
It was the tip of a longsword, connected by steel wires that had undergone numerous magical treatments.
The only difference was that, unlike the arrows Adria had fired, Elena—who wielded that weapon—flicked her wrist, causing the embedded blade to withdraw and return to her hand.
The whip-sword, Mirage. It was the weapon Elena excelled at wielding, a Magic Item also called the symbol of the Princess General.
"I'll be your opponent. ...The fact that you address Vihera with an honorific means you're from the Bestia Empire. There's no mistaking that, is there?"
"Hmm, I wonder? Still, between that incident in town and now... you keep getting in the way. Honestly, it's not fun... at all!"
Adria pointed the hilt of her longsword toward Elena and channeled magical power into it.
But before that effect could manifest, Elena moved.
"Don't expect a hidden weapon to work twice on someone who's already seen it!"
Having watched that weapon used in the surprise attack on Vihera, Elena understood that Adria's weapon could fire arrows stored inside the hilt using magical power.
And considering the thickness of the hilt, the number of arrows it could hold was two... three at the very most, even pushing it.
That was why Elena tried to close the distance in one burst to seize the initiative—but...
"Oh, too bad."
Facing Elena as she approached with Mirage in hand, Adria showed no sign of panic. She even smiled, waiting to receive her.
In that instant, Elena spun around almost entirely on instinct.
At the same time, arrows fired from the hilt of the longsword Adria was holding.
Not just one or two—three, four, five... the arrows fired in rapid succession ultimately exceeded ten, baring their fangs at Elena.
"What!?"
Elena reflexively swung Mirage, utilizing its whip-sword characteristics to sweep it in a circle before her.
Every arrow Adria had fired was struck down by Mirage's blade and clattered to the ground.
"Heh... your reflexes are quite impressive."
"...How? You've clearly exceeded the number of arrows that could fit inside that hilt."
Elena, returning the Mirage she had been spinning as a shield back to her hand and restoring it to its longsword form, asked with suspicion.
But Adria simply smiled at Elena and spoke.
"Did you really think I'd go out of my way to tell my enemy about my own abilities? If you want to know that badly, try solving the mystery yourself!"
The moment she shouted, she began firing arrows one after another from the tip of the hilt while closing the distance straight toward Elena.
It wasn't because she thought being closer would give her an advantage against Elena's whip-sword.
"Adria! Why are you closing the distance!? With that weapon, you could attack from range!"
Behind Paul, the magic item shop owner, who had his shield raised toward Rei, Zboz shouted at Adria.
Even as he shouted, Zboz looked for any opening to throw one of the glass bottles on his belt at Rei.
"Flying Slash!"
It wasn't exactly a matter of fighting fire with fire, but Rei swung his Death Scythe and unleashed a flying slash.
The slash tore through the air as it flew, but when Paul channeled magical power, ice formed around his shield.
The Flying Slash cleaved through the ice... but by cutting through it, its trajectory was diverted, and it flew past Paul and Zboz.
"A shield that generates ice, huh? Tch. What a troublesome trick."
"I know from intelligence that you excel at Flame Magic. And do you really think I, an alchemist, would face someone like you without taking any countermeasures? Rei... I intend to have you experience hell on earth before you die."
Zboz's eyes, as he looked at Rei, were filled with such intense killing intent that it seemed impossible for a mere alchemist to produce.
Receiving it head-on, Rei slung his Death Scythe over his shoulder and harbored a question.
(Why does he hate me this much? There's no doubt this is my first time meeting this alchemist. If so, then it must be the war that happened last spring, or perhaps the civil war in autumn... now, which one is it?)
There were also other instances where he had fought assassins from the Bestia Empire, and times he had thwarted schemes without even realizing it.
To the hardliners of the Bestia Empire who opposed the Kingdom of Mireana, Rei was nothing short of a God of Plagues.
Unable to figure out the reason he was being hated, Rei decided to ask directly.
"So, you seem to resent me quite a bit... but this is our first meeting, isn't it? Why do you hate me so much?"
"Because you... because you are the enemy of His Highness Cabajid, that's why!"
Blowing away his usual polite tone, Zboz shouted in a voice drenched with hatred.