"How is it, Set? Can you track the scent?"
At Rei's words, Set — which had been sniffing the assassin's corpse brought out from the research facility in Daridora's shop — let out a purr, though with some hesitation.
Only Rei understood that the cry conveyed Set's assurance that it would be fine.
The sun had already begun to set, casting everything in a dim gloom. Under such conditions, the corpse had been placed on a simple board in the courtyard of Daridora's shop.
To any onlooker, they would hardly appear to be a respectable group.
The fact that a Gryphon was sniffing a corpse only made it worse.
But... even in such an eerie situation, everyone understood that this was something they had to do.
That was precisely why no one uttered a single word while Set sniffed the corpse.
"So, how is it? Can Set track the scent?"
Rei nodded in response to Augusto, who had asked on behalf of the group.
Seeing Rei's response, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Having gone to all this trouble, if it turned out Set actually couldn't track the scent... there would be nothing they could do, so it was only natural.
If the scent couldn't be tracked now, trying again tomorrow morning would definitely fail as well.
"And what about Lyubrand?"
When Rei murmured and glanced his way, Daridora immediately nodded.
"I've already sent the letter. I've also included a message requesting that it be read as a matter of utmost urgency, so even if something happens, the Guard Force won't interfere with us."
Daridora, who usually wore a nervous expression, was now smiling with satisfaction.
That alone spoke to how perfectly arranged everything was this time.
"Understood. ...Alright then, Set. I'm counting on you."
"Gururururu!"
At Rei's request, Set let out a cry as if to say, leave it to me.
Just as they were about to leave Daridora's shop... they found a single adventurer standing there.
It was someone Rei recognized.
The most skilled among Daridora's guards and the one who served as their leader.
"Narcus, are you alright now?"
"Yes, thanks to the potion, my wounds are fine. ...Well, I won't be able to taste food properly for a while, though."
Narcus muttered with a wry smile, and Augusto, standing a short distance away, smiled bitterly as well.
Having also taken a potion during the daytime attack — one that had temporarily destroyed his sense of taste — Augusto could feel a sympathy that only someone in the same situation could.
"I apologize, Lord Daridora. Normally, as someone hired as a guard, I should be the one protecting you while Rei heads out on the assault, but..."
"It's quite alright. I had originally planned for you to participate in the assault alongside Rei. ...Besides, even without you, all of my guards are skilled fighters. Isn't that right?"
The guards who received Daridora's gaze all nodded with confident smiles.
"...Thank you. Then, will it be just Rei and me participating in this assault?"
"No, me too."
The one who spoke was Zarust, hired as Augusto's guard.
Rei had half expected it, but Narcus turned to look at him without bothering to hide his surprise.
"You? ...What about guarding Augusto-san?"
"That's already been arranged. Daridora...-san and his guards will head to Augusto-san's mansion. It's on the outskirts of Gauche, so it'll be easy to spot anyone unfamiliar."
"The enemy can disguise themselves freely, right? Then I don't think that would be much use..."
"I considered that too. But I've already received permission from both of them regarding this matter."
Zarust's gaze was directed, naturally enough, at Augusto and Daridora.
After glancing their way, Zarust stepped forward with his longsword in hand.
Zarust was skilled with both spear and longsword, but since this was an assault — an assault on the enemy's hideout — he had likely chosen the longsword.
His eyes showed that he absolutely would not back down, no matter what anyone said.
Even though the attacker had blended into the crowd, the fact that they had dealt Augusto a near-fatal blow was something Zarust could never forgive.
By sheer coincidence — truly by coincidence — Rei had happened to have a potion capable of healing even fatal wounds, which had saved Augusto's life. But if Rei hadn't been there, Augusto would undoubtedly have died.
A mistake on Zarust's part that could only be called fatal.
For Zarust, who owed deep debts of gratitude to both Augusto's father and Augusto himself, it was a bitter failure that truly deserved the word "fatal."
To wipe away that failure, Zarust intended to join the assault on the assassins.
As if to say he could never forgive himself otherwise.
(Saying anything more... would be useless.)
Seeing the resolve in Zarust's eyes, Rei realized inwardly that further persuasion would be futile.
(Going to Augusto's mansion to protect Augusto and Cathy is fine, but... what about Daridora's family in that case?)
Rei didn't know whether Daridora lived with his parents... or whether he was married, or living with a lover. He didn't even know if Daridora had children.
But Daridora was the foremost merchant in Gauche.
Rei figured such a person couldn't possibly be living alone, but Daridora didn't say anything in particular.
And since Daridora said nothing, Rei didn't ask.
"Alright then, it'll be the three of us and Set. ...The rest will tighten security at Augusto's mansion, correct?"
At Rei's words of confirmation, everyone present nodded.
Among Daridora's guards, there were some who wanted to join the assault alongside Rei, but they apparently felt that while Zarust was one thing, keeping up with Rei and Narcus would be beyond their abilities.
They showed some lingering reluctance, but ultimately said nothing more.
Thus, Rei, Set, Zarust, and Narcus headed into the night streets, while Augusto departed for the outskirts of town with Daridora and his guards.
It was a scene that could truly be described as enemies sharing a boat.
Though it was night, the sun had only just set.
Naturally, there were still many people about in the city. Under such circumstances, Set — which had become wildly famous in just the past few days — alongside Zarust, an adventurer close to Augusto, and Narcus, who led Daridora's guards, drew plenty of attention.
That Augusto and Daridora were at odds was common knowledge in Gauche.
And yet, here were the guards of both men walking about together with Set — it was only natural that they stood out.
Among the three humans and one Gryphon, the one who stood out the least was, surprisingly, Rei.
Wearing the hood of his Dragon Robe concealed his distinctive feminine face, which made all the difference.
Even so, walking beside Set meant he couldn't avoid drawing a certain degree of attention.
"So, Set. Are you tracking the scent?"
"Gururururu."
At Rei's words, Set let out an energetic cry. However... the destination Rei and the others reached by following Set was a skewer stall, grilling meat loaded with spices.
"...Hey, Rei. No matter how you look at it, I don't think this is their hideout..."
Zarust offered, with a tone that said he was just checking.
Narcus nodded as if agreeing with Zarust's words.
In this case, the one who deserved pity was the stall owner.
One moment a Gryphon suddenly appeared before his eyes, and the next it was purring at him.
For Rei, who was accustomed to Set, he understood that the cry meant Set wanted to eat, that it looked delicious. But for the stall owner, who knew almost nothing about Set, it sounded like a threat display.
Apparently noticing the stall owner's distress, Rei hastily produced a Silver Coin and handed it over.
"Give me as many skewers as this will buy."
"...Huh? Oh, understood. Just a moment, please."
As if he hadn't been terrified mere seconds ago, the man quickly reached for the skewers.
In that respect, one could say he was quite the merchant.
After receiving more skewers than could be held in both hands, Rei passed some to Set, ate some himself, and handed portions to Zarust and Narcus as well.
The two had been steeling themselves for the assault on the assassins' hideout, but if it was called a pre-battle morale boost, they couldn't very well refuse.
Though somewhat reluctant, they all finished off the skewers.
Naturally, the one who ate the most was Set, and even the stall owner looked a little surprised.
"Hey, Rei. Can we really get to where we need to go like this?"
Zarust asked with a hint of doubt, and Rei shook his head.
"Hard to say. That part is entirely up to Set, so asking me puts me in a difficult spot."
"If we can't ask Rei about Set, then who can we ask?"
Narcus, who had been silent until then, nodded in agreement with Zarust's exasperated mutter.
Since they had been psyching themselves up for the coming battle, that feeling was probably all the stronger.
As if pressed by the two of them, Rei turned to Set, who was looking satisfied after finishing the skewers.
"Hey, Set. Shouldn't we get moving soon? At this rate, we're just wasting time."
"Guruu..."
Set let out a somewhat apologetic cry.
Even from an onlooker's perspective, Set's demeanor was enough to evoke sympathy.
"Come on, settle down. It'll be fine as long as you do this seriously from here on out. ...Sorry for the commotion."
After giving the stall owner a brief apology, Rei began walking again with Set in tow.
Behind Rei and Set, Zarust and Narcus followed — still wondering whether it was really all right to keep following Set like this, yet pressing forward nonetheless.
The one among the group who harbored the most doubts about Set was Narcus. Zarust didn't harbor doubts as strong as Narcus's.
This was largely because Zarust had witnessed Set's power firsthand.
"Can we really keep going like this? ...I can't say I have much confidence."
Even so, those words came from Zarust's mouth because of Narcus, who was casting suspicious glances at Set.
By asking first on Narcus's behalf, Zarust intended to alleviate at least some of that suspicion and unease. At Zarust's words, Rei shook his head.
"I think I mentioned this before, but whether the scent can be tracked comes down to whether the scent still remains. ...Well, it just so happens we arrived at that stall guided by that very scent."
"Hearing that, how are we supposed to feel reassured? I really can't trust this."
"Even so. Since there's no other method, we have no choice but to rely on Set, right? I mean, there's always the option of patiently asking around to find their hideout, but... I think everyone understands how difficult that would be."
When put that way, since it was the truth, Zarust had no choice but to fall silent.
With Set's sense of smell being their only lead, having no choice but to rely on Set was simply a fact.
"Alright. ...But please. Even as we stand here, Augusto-san might be targeted by assassins."
"With Lord Daridora's life also in danger, we can't afford to be too optimistic on our end either."
They were likely expressing concern for Augusto and Daridora. Zarust and Narcus both urged Rei on.
(I understand what they're saying, but being blamed for it here... well, it's about Set, so I suppose it's not strange that I'd be the one taking the blame.)
Keeping an eye on his surroundings, Rei stroked Set, which was sniffing for the assassin's scent.
Set seemed to enjoy being petted and happily surveyed the area while being stroked.
It was likely using one of its skills — Sense of Smell Enhancement. Eventually, Set suddenly fixed its gaze in one direction and purred.
"Did you find it?"
"Guruu!"
Set responded to Rei's words, and hearing that, Zarust and Narcus's eyes lit up.
Despite everything they had been saying, somewhere in their hearts they apparently hadn't truly believed Set could track the scent.
It was close to being a side effect of Rei himself — an Alias Holder adventurer who, despite his reputation, normally gave off not the slightest hint of such an aura.
However... as they proceeded in the direction Set led them, eventually Zarust, Narcus... and even Rei himself began to have doubts.
"Hey, wait. At this rate..."
"Probably, yeah."
Zarust and Narcus exchanged words, and Rei too began to question the direction Set was heading...
"Guruu!"
Set purred in front of Gauche's main gate.
In other words, that meant the assassins' hideout was located outside of Gauche.