Daridora had been attacked. The news startled Rei, but naturally Augusto and those around him were even more shocked.
Among them, the first to act was Zarust, who had been hired as Augusto's guard.
With a glance, he signaled for those nearby to conceal Augusto's location from view, then caught up to the rushing adventurer and forcibly brought him to a halt.
"Whoa! Wh-what's the big deal? ...Wait, Zarust-san?"
The adventurer whose movement was stopped apparently knew Zarust's name.
It was only natural — Zarust was a well-known, skilled adventurer in Gauche. His name was widely recognized, so it was hardly strange for this adventurer to know it. However...
"H-hey. Is this okay?" his partner, another adventurer, muttered quietly.
Of course it was a valid concern. The fact that they had been worried about Daridora moments ago revealed the truth: these two were adventurers employed by the Elema Trading Company.
In other words, they were on hostile terms with Zarust, who worked for Augusto.
"No, but... do you think we could win?"
If they forcibly broke away from Zarust here, he would naturally come after them.
At worst, it could lead to a fight, and facing such a skilled adventurer with just the two of them, they couldn't possibly believe they would win.
If that was the case, then it would be better to hear what he wanted and be done with it — or so the adventurer addressed by Zarust must have concluded.
In truth, that reasoning was by no means wrong. Zarust only needed information; he had no reason to go out of his way to make enemies of these two.
Seeming to understand this, the adventurer who had asked "Is this okay?" said nothing further and turned his gaze toward Zarust.
"Glad you understand. ...So, I'd like to ask you something. You mentioned earlier that Daridora was attacked. Is that true?"
The two adventurers exchanged glances.
They were weighing whether it was acceptable to share that information with Zarust, who worked for Augusto. As adventurers employed by the Elema Trading Company, they could not do anything to disadvantage their employer.
But they quickly rejected that line of thinking. The fact that even low-ranking members like themselves had been contacted meant this was a commotion of significant scale. If so, the news of Daridora being attacked would naturally spread before long.
"Yes, it's true. At the very least, the person who brought me the news didn't seem to be lying."
"I see," Zarust muttered.
At that moment, what crossed his mind was the possibility that Daridora had staged his own attack to create an alibi.
However, based on what he had just heard, it seemed unlikely that Daridora had arranged to be attacked merely for the sake of one.
Of course, that was only his impression from observing the two adventurers before him, so the possibility that there was more to the story remained.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Zarust turned his gaze toward Rei.
Rei's response to being looked at was simply to shake his head silently.
Rei was not so clever as to make a complete judgment from that alone. After all, the primary reason he had become famous as a high-rank Alias Holder adventurer was his combat power — he was an adventurer specialized in that regard.
Zarust couldn't read that much from Rei's gesture either, but realizing that no more information could be extracted from the two adventurers, he handed them a few copper coins.
"Sorry for stopping you when you're in a hurry. This is for the information."
"Ah, is it really okay to take this?"
"Eh? Hey, are we allowed to accept this?"
"It's fine. In this case, receiving an information fee is actually better for both of us."
With those words, the adventurer who had hesitated to accept the copper coins reluctantly nodded, and the two gave a small bow before leaving.
After seeing them off, Zarust turned his gaze back to Augusto — to his employer, who had been hidden from the two adventurers by Set.
Incidentally, since the group was not particularly large, parts of Set — his tail, beak, and wings — had actually been protruding from behind the people he was concealing the entire time Zarust was questioning the two adventurers. Fortunately, the two had apparently been in too much of a hurry to notice.
Had they realized a Gryphon was present, they would certainly have noticed Rei, who had Set as his Tamed Monster.
...Without Set, Rei would not stand out so much to passersby. Had he removed his hood, it would have been a different story.
"So, with that settled, it seems Daridora was attacked as well. What do you think?"
In response to Zarust's question, Rei spoke after a moment's hesitation.
"The most likely possibility is that he staged his own attack to avoid being suspected. If only Augusto had been attacked, Daridora himself would naturally come under suspicion."
At Rei's words, nearly everyone around nodded.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't expect such a thing. But given the situation at hand, they felt it was a very real possibility. Especially since they had Rei as a source of Combat Power on Augusto's side — any clear act of hostility would mean nothing but ruin for Daridora.
"I'm thinking the same thing — it's suspicious. To begin with, Daridora had several skilled adventurers employed as his guards. For someone to slip past them and inflict harm on Daridora is hard to imagine."
The guards Rei had seen when he first arrived in Gauche had appeared to be a reasonably capable group. Rei's assessment was that among them were some with strength equivalent to B-Rank, and Zarust, hearing this, nodded in silent agreement.
For Daridora to be attacked so easily with such guards assembled was indeed difficult to believe.
Especially not by someone of this caliber, Rei thought, his gaze turning toward the unconscious man — the one who had attacked Augusto.
If asked whether this man, who had been dispatched so effortlessly by Rei, could outwit a B-Rank Adventurer, Rei would immediately shake his head.
But if that's the case, the fact remains that this same man did slip past Zarust and deal Augusto a fatal blow.
Contrary to Rei's private doubts, Augusto's comrades agreed with his assessment.
"Yeah, there's no way they could slip past Daridora's guards that easily. If so, then as expected—"
"Calm down."
To the men whose blood was beginning to boil, Zarust spoke in a tone that told them to do exactly that.
As Augusto's guard, Zarust commanded deep trust from those around him, and his words had an immediate effect.
"But, Zarust-san! Someone nearly killed Augusto-san! We can't just sit quietly!"
Naturally, there were some who, out of devotion to Augusto, could not be calmed even by Zarust's words.
"Come on, calm down. Regardless of what the other side is doing, we can't leave Augusto-san out here like this. He takes priority."
At Zarust's firm words, the man who had been shouting managed to come back to his senses and nodded.
"Y-yeah. You're right. First, we need to get Augusto-san somewhere safe."
In his current state, Augusto had recovered thanks to Rei's potion, but it was still a fact that letting him rest a little, as a precaution, would be wise.
Additionally, his clothes had been torn by the spear strike and were stained with blood. If he remained in that condition much longer, the guards would inevitably grow suspicious and subject him to questioning.
If that happened, the man who had wounded Augusto would naturally be taken into their custody as well, making it difficult for Augusto, Zarust, and the others to obtain information from him.
Above all, considering what had happened with the Sand Bandits, they could not afford to hand the attacker over to the guards.
"Then, um... where should we take him? Augusto-san's house?"
"Absolutely not!"
The moment someone muttered that, Augusto immediately rejected the idea.
The strength in his voice was such that those around him fell silent for a moment — unbelievable for someone who had been on the verge of death not long before.
Realizing this himself, Augusto spoke again, softening his tone.
"I'm sorry for raising my voice. But if I return home now, it would worry Cathy. I want to avoid that at all costs."
Those who knew of Augusto and Cathy's passionate relationship immediately showed expressions of understanding.
Though his wounds had healed, his clothes bore large bloodstains. To anyone seeing them normally, it would be immediately apparent that Augusto had suffered a severe injury. And if Cathy were to see that, she would undoubtedly be beside herself with panic.
"Then, um... shall we go to the shop? There should be a change of clothes and such there."
"Yes, that would be best. Let us do that."
At the suggestion from a nearby woman, Augusto thought for a moment and nodded.
"Indeed. Let us go to the shop. ...I apologize, but please make sure I'm not seen by anyone around us."
"Ah, no problem. In that case, please take this."
A man offered his own clothing to Augusto. Since Augusto's wounds had already healed, the only thing that needed hiding was the blood on his clothes.
Understanding this, Augusto put on the offered garment over his own. Set, in turn, positioned himself as a wall to shield Augusto from view.
"...Then, let us be off. Zarust-san."
"I know."
Before Augusto could even finish his sentence, Zarust, together with another man nearby, lifted the body of the unconscious attacker.
To any onlooker, it would look like nothing more than carrying a friend who had fallen asleep — or perhaps a friend who had drunk too much.
Even so, Zarust was prepared to respond immediately should the man regain consciousness, and the same was true of the other man carrying him.
As they walked, Zarust turned his gaze toward Rei, who was walking alongside them, and spoke.
"Rei, I'm sorry, but I have a request."
"...Daridora?"
Rei had somehow understood what Zarust was trying to say, and Zarust, whose thoughts had been seen through, nodded without softening his stern expression.
"Please. If Daridora staged his own attack so he wouldn't be suspected of being behind the one on Augusto-san, then he should have some kind of reaction when he sees you. Conversely, if he was genuinely attacked..."
Zarust cut his words off there.
Rei, too, understood what words would follow. Something he had briefly discussed with Augusto before. Namely...
"A third force, huh."
That was right. The fact that both Augusto and Daridora had been attacked meant there was an organization that had made enemies of both of them.
"Indeed. ...Honestly, I find it hard to believe."
Zarust, born and raised in Gauche, was naturally well-versed in the city's affairs. If there existed a force that could be called a third party, he should have at least heard rumors of them.
But Zarust had never heard rumors of any such faction or individual.
If so, then someone who recently arrived in Gauche...
Thinking that far, he immediately shook his head.
Gauche, situated in the middle of the desert, was never a place that attracted many travelers to begin with. Merchants did come on occasion, but even then it was primarily to purchase goods. Adventurers coming to the city was not nonexistent, but exceedingly rare.
Among those who had recently arrived, the first name that would come to mind was— At that point, Zarust's gaze turned toward Rei.
A person who had appeared in Gauche at a time that couldn't have been more perfectly suited.
But he immediately dismissed the absurd notion that had surfaced in his mind.
Of course he did. Rei was someone who had cooperated with them time and time again. Doubting him would have been nothing but foolishness.
"What is it?"
"Ah, no. It's nothing."
Rei had asked Zarust, who had been looking at him and suddenly shaking his head, but was quickly told it was nothing.
"Are you sure? ...Well, fine. Then I'll go find out what happened to Daridora for now. Once that's done, should I head to the shop?"
"...Yeah, come to the shop for now. But if I'm not there, I'd like you to come to Augusto-san's mansion instead."
Nodding at Zarust's words, Rei lightly petted Set, who was still protecting Augusto, and then departed from the scene.