After Augusto's words, Rei spent a few minutes organizing his thoughts... then opened his eyes and gave a nod.
"Understood. Then I'll lend you a hand. Normally, I wouldn't want to get involved in this kind of dispute, but this situation looks bad in a lot of ways."
"...Are you sure? Really?"
Augusto's question suggested he hadn't actually expected Rei to help him.
He had understood that explaining the situation was necessary, but in the end, he had assumed they would have to handle things on their own.
That was what he had thought.
But contrary to Augusto's expectations, Rei had said he would lend him a hand.
It was, without exaggeration, a joy beyond all expectations.
"What? Did you think I'd just listen to the story and then refuse to help? ...Well, depending on the circumstances, that might have been a possibility, but you can rest easy on that front this time."
"Thank you so much!"
Beside Augusto, who bowed deeply, Zarust — who had been silently watching the conversation unfold — also let out a breath of relief.
It was only natural. The possibility that Rei might have given up on them... and worse, even sided with Daridora, had crossed their minds.
In particular, Zarust knew that he was the strongest fighter among Augusto's companions.
And at the same time, he also knew that he only had about as much strength as the guards Daridora employed.
Considering the number of Daridora's guards, there was no doubt that they had been at an overwhelming disadvantage.
But... at this very moment, that gap in combat power had been reversed.
When it came to understanding just how much power Rei possessed, Zarust was likely the one in Gauche who understood it best.
Of course, he didn't think he could compete with Daridora in terms of information, but having seen Rei fight firsthand was significant.
(Well, if it were Daridora's guards, it wouldn't be strange for them to grasp his power just from meeting him.)
He let out a sigh of profound relief at the fact that Rei and... Rei's Tamed Monster, Gryphon Seto, had become their allies.
"Well, just because I've sided with you doesn't mean we're going to fight Daridora head-on right away, right?"
Rei's question was met with nods from both Augusto and Zarust.
It wasn't as though Augusto hated Daridora.
Well, there was a lot he could say about being set upon by Sand Bandits, but in the end, that incident resulted in the loss of a Sand Ship — an extremely valuable Magic Item — to Rei, and the Sand Bandits who were presumably Daridora's pawns were disposed of by his own side, ultimately dealing Daridora a significant blow.
Furthermore, in today's attack, Augusto had his life saved by Rei's potion, while Daridora and his people suffered major casualties.
Perhaps because he had heard about those details secondhand from Rei, strangely enough, there was no hatred toward Daridora in Augusto's heart at the moment.
...Though if Cathy had been harmed, there was no doubt he would have been consumed by hatred.
"Of course. To begin with, Daridora has ties to Lord Lyubrand, the lord of this city, so I can't say we'd win in an open fight..."
Augusto stopped mid-sentence and timidly turned his gaze toward Rei.
Understanding the meaning behind that look, Rei gave a small shrug before opening his mouth.
"I'll tell you upfront — what I'm best at is area attacks. It's not that I'm bad at fighting individuals, but my aptitude is overwhelmingly higher in that direction."
"Meaning?"
"If it came to a serious fight, there's a high probability that Gauche itself would be reduced to ruins. If you're prepared for that, I'll cooperate — but?"
"No, I'll pass."
Having no desire to turn Gauche into ruins either, Augusto immediately shook his head and declined.
Seeing Augusto's reaction, Rei offered a wry smile and nodded.
Rei had no intention of seriously reducing Gauche to rubble either.
If anything, had Augusto nodded in agreement during that exchange, Rei would have been the one left bewildered.
"So, what do we do now? No matter how much you tell Daridora that the Tira Trees are dangerous, he won't listen, right?"
"Right. He's apparently hired a renowned Researcher and entrusted them with research on the Tira Trees. And he likely has enough combat power on hand to respond immediately if anything goes wrong."
"Ah, so that's what those guards were for, too."
Rei muttered as if it had just clicked, prompted by Augusto's words.
Even for guarding Daridora, that many guards seemed excessive.
...Though given how nervous Daridora was, if he could employ them as guards, he would use them without hesitation.
In fact, considering how Daridora had sensed Rei's power during their first encounter and issued a warning, it was by no means a pointless precaution.
Above all, without those guards, Daridora would have undoubtedly lost his life in today's attack.
"In that case, should we try approaching Lyubrand? Even if Daridora won't listen, a lord wouldn't want to take dangerous risks with his own city, would he?"
As a lord, he would never allow his city to be exposed to danger — or so Rei's reasoning went in making the suggestion. But Augusto shook his head at this as well.
"No. Lord Lyubrand has a deep relationship with Daridora. Given everything up to now, Lord Lyubrand must understand that there are problems with the Tira Trees as well. ...The fact that he still hasn't intervened shows just how much he trusts Daridora."
"Then the third force? ...Honestly, it's certain that we should search for them, but I have absolutely no idea where they are. There's not a single lead, either. The only possible lead is... did you get any information from the guy who attacked you?"
The man who had attacked Augusto, been knocked unconscious by Rei, and then brought directly to Augusto's shop.
Since that attacker was the only remaining lead they had, Rei looked at them with expectant eyes... but Zarust sighed and shook his head.
"From what I could gather by questioning him, it seems he was hired by someone. Then he was given some kind of drug that heightened his mood, and after taking it, he attacked Augusto. Judging by his demeanor, he doesn't know any of the details."
"He was hired and then manipulated?"
"Yeah, that's how it looks. ...Honestly, with them hiding their tracks this thoroughly, there's nothing we can do about it."
Just as Zarust muttered that, there was a knock at the door.
"Augusto, I brought some tea. Is now a good time?"
The door opened and Cathy peeked in.
True to her words, Cathy was carrying a cup of tea for each person present, and Augusto would never dismiss his beloved wife's thoughtfulness.
"Ah, of course it's fine. I'm glad you came. Just being able to see your face seems to blow away all the fatigue in my body."
An instantly formed sweet atmosphere.
At that atmosphere, Rei and Zarust exchanged looks of distaste.
Zarust felt a strong debt of gratitude toward Augusto's father, and a deep friendship toward Augusto as well.
But... even so, he could never imagine wanting to be in the same space as Augusto and Cathy.
Rei felt the same way.
Staying at Augusto's mansion as he was, it meant being subjected to such displays from the two of them on a regular basis.
He would prefer not to watch those kinds of exchanges, but as long as he was staying at this mansion, he had no choice but to endure it.
That was why, with the thought that he at least didn't want to be caught up in that atmosphere when it wasn't necessary, Rei spoke up.
"I was actually just getting thirsty. Glad you brought tea. ...Though it's not the kind of tea I usually drink."
Cathy, brought back to herself by Rei's words, finally ceased her exchange with Augusto and began handing out cups of tea to Zarust and Rei.
As Rei had said, what was in the cups was, by his understanding, something close to milk tea. ...Milk tea with a number of spices added to it.
The sweet aroma and the complex scent of spices intertwined, creating a uniquely distinctive fragrance.
Taking a sip, the rich umami of milk, spices, and sweetness — a complex blend of flavors — delighted the tongue.
The spice blend used in this milk tea was Cathy's own original mixture.
Because of that, the only place in Gauche where one could enjoy this milk tea was this mansion. ...Unless, perhaps, someone invited Cathy to a tea party or something of the sort.
"I'd love to stay here a little longer with Augusto, but it's about time I go. ...Don't push yourselves too hard."
"Ah, of course. With the tea Cathy brews for me, I feel refreshed and all my fatigue just flies away!"
Augusto flashed an energetic, vibrant smile, but Cathy's concern did not fade.
Due to drinking the potion, Augusto's sense of taste had been effectively destroyed — but for the sake of his beloved wife, he didn't let a single trace of it show on his face.
(Well, considering he was stabbed in the stomach and nearly killed today, that's probably understandable.)
He was probably trying to hide it from Cathy, but by the time Rei had gone to Augusto's shop to gather information about Daridora's situation, Cathy was already there.
Even if he were told she had sensed Augusto's danger through a Sixth Sense or a woman's intuition, Rei wouldn't have been surprised, seeing how lovey-dovey the two of them were.
Nevertheless, Cathy seemed to understand that the current discussion was important to Augusto, so after confirming her love with Augusto for a shorter time than usual — though still several minutes — she left the room.
"Now then. About that third force."
At Augusto's face and demeanor shifting in an instant, Rei muttered with a hint of exasperation.
"Your switch is pretty fast."
"Of course. This matter is that important."
"No, that's not what I meant... sigh, fine. So about the third force — is there really no faction you can think of that might be involved?"
Judging that saying any more would be pointless, Rei pressed the question.
Augusto looked at Rei as if wondering what on earth he was talking about, but when Zarust gave a small cough, he came back to himself and spoke while thinking it over.
"Hmm... as I said earlier, I really have no recollection of any such group. Daridora does a lot of forceful things, so there are probably many who dislike him. Zarust, do you have any ideas?"
"...No, unfortunately I don't. If the attack on Augusto was a diversion, then Daridora was the real target, and this side was the kind where it didn't matter whether it succeeded or failed."
"Or... what if both sides survived this attack, and the intent is to make them suspicious of each other and escalate the conflict?"
Rei voiced the idea that had just occurred to him, but immediately shook his own head and dismissed the notion.
"No, that's wrong. If that were the case, there would be no need at all for the attack on Augusto to succeed. Rather, they'd need to make it fail — otherwise, when there's already a gap in combat power between the two sides, the difference in strength would only grow larger."
"That's true. ...For me, regardless of the various reasons, the fact that Augusto was attacked by a guy like that was the critical problem."
"That's exactly it. You could have neutralized an enemy of that level before he even reached Augusto, right? So why did you just let him attack?"
At Rei's question, Zarust let out a frustrated sigh.
"It's nothing more than an excuse, but there were too many people. He blended into the crowd and approached. ...Moreover, the single thrust he unleashed had considerable power behind it."
"Hm? The strike had considerable power? ...When I fought him, there was no sign of that at all. He was practically indistinguishable from some amateur off the street."
"...What?"
Zarust voiced his confusion at Rei's words.
He must have realized that there was a discrepancy between the information they each held. The two of them hurriedly began exchanging information.
And the more they exchanged, the stronger their doubts grew.
Zarust had seen the strike unleashed at Augusto with his own eyes and stated that the spear's power, speed, and sharpness were such that even he would barely manage to block it. Meanwhile, the man Rei had encountered wasn't quite at the level of some random amateur, but as an adventurer, he certainly couldn't be mistaken for a high-ranked individual.
"...Zarust, is it possible you mistook him for someone else? There was a certain amount of time between when he attacked Augusto and fled, and when I caught him, right? He could have swapped places with someone who looked like him during that window."
"No, that's... hard to say. I'm not sure. There was blood on the spear's tip, but that could just be transferred along with the weapon."
As a result of exchanging information, the mystery only deepened... but each harboring their own doubts, the three of them — including Augusto — continued discussing the mystery of the man.