The smell of char hung in the air.
There was no need to wonder where it was coming from. It drifted from what could only be described as the former Zboz, lying a short distance away from Rei.
"......So it's over. All things considered, that was pretty rough."
Rei murmured to himself as he deactivated Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, his gaze drifting toward the sunset, which had already sunk about eighty percent of the way below the horizon.
Twilight was fading, and night would soon set in. For the slum district, this was when the most dangerous hours began.
Of course, no one would be foolish enough to try anything against Rei and his companions in their current state.
The slum district was vast yet claustrophobic. With so many people desperate just to survive, information spread at remarkable speed. To those people, Rei—and everyone with him—were clearly existences that would bring certain ruin upon anyone foolish enough to cross them.
The fact that there might still be a handful of people reckless enough to attack without weighing their own abilities... well, that was precisely what made the slum district what it was.
Even so, such individuals had to be few and far between.
"So, Rei. What do we do now? We can't just leave these three as they are."
Vihera asked while deactivating her gauntlet claws and greave blades. Her gaze fell on the three captives: Dias, whose right arm had been torn off along with his leather armor; Adria, still pinned face-down under Elena's foot; and Paul, whose body was almost entirely engulfed by the Thorn Spear's thorns, leaving only his face untouched.
Aside from Adria, they were all injured, though none of the wounds were fatal.
(Well, that Dias guy will die if we leave him like this. But I suppose that's a necessary expense.)
The mastermind behind the recent string of magic item-wielding monster incidents in Gilm was already dead, but these were his accomplices. Rei judged that it would cause problems for Daskar if they died too, so he pulled a potion from the Misty Ring.
It wasn't an especially expensive one—just enough to keep Dias alive until they could hand him over to the guards. After that, the Guard Force could handle the rest.
"Vihera."
"What? ......Are you sure?"
Taking the potion, Vihera seemed to understand what Rei was implying. She asked whether it was really all right to treat him.
"Yeah, even for interrogation purposes, it's easier on the guards if there are more of them alive. ......Besides, I don't dislike skilled fighters."
"Hmm. Well, if you say so, I don't mind."
A faint smile played across Vihera's lips as she spoke—no doubt because she shared that sentiment. ......Actually, given her love of combat, that feeling probably ran even deeper in her than in Rei.
While watching Vihera administer the potion to Dias, Rei turned his gaze toward a spot a short distance away, where the Wind Scale lay on the ground.
It was true that he didn't dislike skilled fighters. But it was equally true that the Wind Scale was one of the bigger reasons he'd bothered to save Dias.
(Daskar said I could keep any magic items I wanted, but they'll probably want to inspect them at the very least. ......I should secure this one for now.)
Given that this entire incident was caused by an alchemist, there was no question that the Guard Force or the Knight Order would temporarily confiscate the magic items used in the battle for investigation. Rei understood that was only reasonable given the nature of items capable of hijacking a person's body. At the same time, having successfully resisted the hammer's attempt to take over his body when he first obtained it, he was confident he could handle such items without issue.
Asimov apparently shared Rei's interest in the Wind Scale. The moment he judged there were no more enemies to fight, he broke into a run toward the claymore lying on the ground before Rei could even move. Byune followed behind him, presumably acting as his guard.
Rei hesitated for a moment over whether to stop Asimov, but settled for calling out a warning.
"Asimov, a lot of the magic items Zboz made have body-hijacking abilities. That claymore didn't show any signs of taking over its user, but don't touch it carelessly."
He didn't actually stop him—just issued a caution. Under normal circumstances, it would have been wiser to intervene. But Asimov was a skilled alchemist; Rei figured he would act with that knowledge in mind. At the same time, he couldn't entirely dismiss the thought that examining Zboz's creations might provide some useful reference for the spear he was currently commissioning from Asimov.
"I know. I am an alchemist, you know. You don't need to worry about that."
"......I hope so. Anyway, the question is what we do from here."
Leaving Asimov to his examination of the Wind Scale, Rei turned his thoughts to their next steps.
"Normally, causing this kind of commotion would bring the guards running immediately, but......"
If this weren't the slum district, that might have been possible. But here, they couldn't count on the guards showing up.
"Which means......we'll have to bring them in ourselves?"
At Vihera's words, Elena scanned their surroundings.
Dias's bleeding from his right arm had at least stopped, and he could be moved without difficulty. Paul was still bound by the thorns. Removing the Thorn Spear would require treatment for the puncture wounds, but he too could be moved.
And the last person......Elena's gaze fell on Adria at her feet.
Even if she couldn't see Elena's face, Adria must have sensed the look, because she spoke up, still trying to find some way out of her predicament despite being unable to move.
"I don't have any intention of doing anything more, so I'd appreciate it if you took your foot off me already......is that a no?"
"No."
Elena rejected the request without a moment's hesitation.
Perhaps not expecting to be turned down so quickly, Adria briefly showed surprise before speaking again.
"Why not? I know my own abilities better than anyone. If I tried to fight you now, I wouldn't stand a chance. I wouldn't even be able to run. So there's really no need to keep stepping on me, is there?"
"Is that so? It's true that you can't escape as things are. But if you were free to move, wouldn't you be able to flee? ......Very well, let's search her while we have the chance. Byune."
"Mm."
Byune, who had been keeping watch near Asimov for any remaining threats, gave a brief acknowledgment and turned toward Elena when called.
"Sorry, but could you check whether she's hiding any magic items?"
"Mm."
Nodding, Byune headed over to Adria.
Right now, Byune was the most suitable person for the task. Being a thief, she had a decent eye for appraisal—and more practically, it would be inappropriate to have men like Rei or Asimov conduct a body search on Adria.
As Elena watched Byune pat down Adria and pull out various magic items and ordinary tools concealed in all sorts of places, she turned her gaze toward a shack a short distance away.
It was the shack Ielo had spotted from the sky. The slum district's maze-like layout had forced them to hire a guide to find it, but......
"Rei, are you not going to investigate that shack?"
At Elena's words, Rei also looked toward the shack. Asked whether it needed investigating, the answer was obvious—it should be checked.
Making that judgment, Rei called out to Asimov, who was absorbed in the Wind Scale.
"Asimov, got a moment?"
"What? Sorry, but I want to focus on this right now. If you need something, it can wait until I'm finished examining——"
Asimov shot back immediately, turning his attention back to the Wind Scale and resuming his inspection.
Watching this, Rei let out an exaggerated sigh after a brief pause.
"Is that so. That's too bad. I was thinking of going to investigate that alchemist Zboz's hideout. But if you're busy, I'll go by my——"
"Wait."
"Whoa!"
Rei had been about to say he'd go alone, but before he knew it, Asimov was standing right beside him—truly, in the blink of an eye, without making the slightest sound.
Rei stared at Asimov in astonishment. He'd had no idea the man was capable of moving like that. For a moment he was at a loss for words, but Asimov's voice snapped him back to his senses.
"Come on, Rei. You're going to that shack, right? I'm coming too, so let's go."
"......Ah, yeah."
Reading the eager gleam in Asimov's eyes, Rei thought he understood.
(So he's the type to pull off things well beyond his actual abilities when something catches his interest. ......Maybe it's a good thing he chose to be an alchemist.)
If Asimov had ever taken an interest in thievery and thrown himself into it, a massive bandit gang would probably have been born.
That was the thought that crossed Rei's mind, though even so, he couldn't quite picture Asimov working as a bandit.
"Rei, come on, you're going, right!"
"Alright, alright. I got it, so stop rushing me."
Asimov had the outward appearance of a respectable adult, but watching him now brought to mind a child who couldn't resist reaching for the candy.
In any case, Rei was also curious about what kind of magic items might be hidden in Zboz's hideout, so he followed after Asimov.
When Adria saw this, her mouth curved ever so slightly—just the faintest hint of a smile. But since she was lying face-down, no one noticed.
After leaving the battlefield and arriving in front of the shack, Rei acknowledged to himself that he did, in fact, have a strong interest in what lay inside.
The moment he reached for the door, he caught sight of the shack swelling from within. Almost purely on reflex, he grabbed Asimov's clothes and launched himself backward, dragging the man with him.
"Gueh!"
The sound of Asimov's clothes being yanked reached Rei's ears, but it was drowned out the next instant by a deafening roar.
The moment Rei's feet hit the ground, the shack exploded.
Not caught fire—exploded. That was the only word for it.
"Tch!"
Clicking his tongue, Rei dedicated himself entirely to defense, using the Dragon Robe to shield against the countless fragments of the shack hurtling toward him.
Fortunately, Asimov was behind him, so positioning himself as a shield wasn't difficult.
Shard after shard slammed into the Dragon Robe. But the Dragon Robe was a magic item forged from the scales of a centuries-old dragon, layered between dragon leather. Its physical and magical defense were extraordinary—being struck by fragments of a shack wasn't enough to break through.
The impact, however, was another matter entirely.
Even with the Dragon Robe absorbing the brunt of it, the shock traveled through to Rei's body with every hit.
If he'd had Death Scythe out of the Misty Ring, he could have spun it like a shield to deflect the debris. He could have cast Magic Shield to defend himself. Neither would have been difficult.
But since they were here to investigate, Death Scythe had remained stored inside the Misty Ring.
Calling that carelessness......would be harsh.
In any case, taking the fragments of the shattered shack at close range, one after another, Rei endured the pain radiating through his body while directing his awareness toward Asimov behind him.
Asimov was fundamentally an alchemist devoted to research—not someone who could move reflexively in combat. He could use a certain degree of magic, but even that required chanting.
In other words, there was nothing Asimov could do in this situation——or so Rei thought, when the impacts suddenly lessened.
Rei couldn't fathom what had happened. But had he turned around, he would have seen the bracelet on Asimov's wrist glowing with blue light.
Asimov couldn't reflexively cast spells or dodge attacks. But he could flow mana into the magic items he wore and activate them.
The blue circular barrier that materialized over an area several meters wide, encompassing them both, had the effect of slightly reducing the momentum of the shack fragments raining down upon them.