Set was clearly staring at Gauche's main gate, which meant Rei and his companions were heading outside the city.
"Guruu?"
Set tilted its head as if asking what was wrong. Rei stroked Set's feathers while turning his gaze toward his companions.
"What do you think? Do you really believe the assassins' hideout is outside the city?"
Of the two who'd been asked, Zarust tilted his head uncertainly, while Narcus shook his.
Narcus was the first to speak.
"If they're based outside Gauche, they'd be attacked by monsters. That's a given. I can't imagine them setting up a hideout in a place like that, even if it were only temporary."
That explanation was perfectly sound if you thought about it normally. More than that—everyone would have acknowledged it as undeniably correct.
"But this is Set we're talking about. An A-Rank monster Gryphon. Do you really think a creature like that would try to head outside the city for no reason?"
"...That A-Rank monster Gryphon started buying food at a street stall while it was supposed to be searching for the enemy's hideout, you know."
"Urgh—th-that's..."
When put that way, Zarust couldn't argue back.
The one who argued in his place was Rei.
"If Set had lost the trail, it would have made that clear from the start. The fact that it wants to go outside the city like this means we can safely assume the assassins' hideout is definitely outside."
"Guruu."
At Rei's words, Set let out a cry as if to say that was exactly right.
Even hearing that cry... no, perhaps precisely because he heard it, Narcus directed a suspicious gaze toward Set.
The sight of those three and their Gryphon was clearly suspicious.
The surroundings had already grown dark, and the main gate was shut.
Naturally, that meant no one should have been near the gate...
"You three. What are you doing?"
Being regarded with suspicion and called out to by a guard was only natural.
Rei and his group, however, showed no particular signs of panic as they faced the guard who had called out to them.
"I'm the adventurer Narcus. I believe there should be word from the lord to accommodate us?"
The one who stepped forward to speak with the guard was Narcus.
As the man who led Daridora's guards, he was reasonably well-known, and the fact that Daridora had sent a letter to Lord Lyubrand was likely the reason Narcus had stepped forward.
And naturally, the guards had received orders from Lyubrand.
"Forgive me. We've been instructed to accommodate Lord Daridora and Lord Augusto. What can we do for you?"
While feeling displeased inwardly, a mere guard couldn't go against a direct order from the lord.
Narcus understood the soldier's feelings. But if the assassins' hideout was truly outside the city, then doing something about it was an undeniable necessity.
He considered going to Augusto's mansion first to explain that the scent Set had picked up led outside the city, but every moment was precious right now.
The one who could move fastest among them was undoubtedly Set. Next would be Rei, and then himself and Zarust in that order—or so Narcus estimated.
But they couldn't send Set, who could distinguish scents, to Augusto's mansion. At the same time, they couldn't leave out Rei, who could communicate with Set.
Since Narcus himself had pushed himself considerably to be here, he couldn't turn back now. The same went for Zarust.
Both Narcus and Zarust shared the regret of having failed to protect their charges from attackers and allowing them to be injured.
Given that, it went without saying that turning back here was absolutely out of the question.
If that's the case...
What remained was the single guard standing before them.
Since this was the main gate, there couldn't be just one guard on duty. There had to be others—and if so, asking one to relay a message would pose no problem.
"Sorry, but I have a few requests. Could you hear me out?"
Since orders had come from the lord, the guard couldn't refuse.
"Understood. If it's within my power, I'll help."
"That helps. First, I'd like you to let us outside Gauche."
"Are you serious!?"
At Narcus's words, the guard shouted reflexively.
The shout drew several guards out of the guardhouse near the main gate, their faces illuminated by the bonfire's flames, but Narcus simply nodded to indicate there was no problem.
"It's fine. As you know, I'm confident in my skills. Rei is an Alias Holder adventurer with a Gryphon as his Tamed Monster, and Zarust is a well-known adventurer here in Gauche."
"But still! Even so, going outside the city at night... I won't go so far as to call it suicidal, but it's dangerous!"
The guard's words came not from genuine concern for Narcus and his group, but from the fear that if he let them go outside on his own judgment and they ended up dead, he would fall under Daridora's scrutiny.
Knowing that full well, Narcus offered a confident smile.
"There's no problem. Lord Daridora understands that whatever happens in this matter is none of the guards' concern."
Well, the man probably never imagined the hideout they were raiding would be outside the city. Hiding those inner thoughts, Narcus delivered the words, and the guard's attitude softened slightly.
However, the guard's gaze wasn't directed at Narcus—it was fixed on Set.
With a Gryphon present, they figured they could handle whatever came their way. Even seeing it up close like this, the guard could feel the sheer presence Set possessed.
He couldn't accurately gauge its power, but the fact that it was a Gryphon alone was enough to convey something overwhelming.
"...Understood."
"And the second request."
The moment the word "second" left Narcus's mouth, the guard's face twitched.
Naturally. The first request had been to open the already-closed main gate and let them outside the city. After a request like that, being told there was a second... it was only natural to be on guard.
But Narcus smiled as if seeing right through the guard's feelings.
"Don't worry. This one isn't anything unreasonable. Do you know where Augusto-san's mansion is?"
"Huh? Uh, well, yes."
The guard, who knew of the conflict between Augusto and Daridora, wondered if he was about to be asked to help with something at Augusto's mansion.
But Zarust, who served as Augusto's guard, was also present, and Rei, who was said to be cooperating with Augusto, was here too.
In this situation, were they really going to do something at Augusto's mansion? The question formed in the guard's mind.
Following the guard's gaze and understanding what he was thinking, Narcus smiled and continued.
"Lord Daridora is at Augusto-san's mansion. I'd like you to relay to them that we've headed outside the city. That our destination lies outside."
"...Huh?"
The guard looked as though he genuinely couldn't comprehend what was being asked, but Narcus had no intention of saying more.
That wasn't solely out of a desire to keep secrets—it was also out of genuine consideration for the guard's safety. He didn't think the guard would be targeted, but the possibility existed.
"Well, that much I can manage."
"Good. Please do."
After stating that briefly, Narcus turned his gaze toward Rei, Zarust, and Set, then headed for the main gate.
The guard hurried back to the guardhouse to explain the situation to his companions so they could open the gate.
Opening the main gate at this hour seemed like nothing short of suicidal to the guards. But since a direct order had come from the lord to comply with Daridora's guard requests, they couldn't refuse.
One man headed toward Augusto's mansion while the rest worked to open the gate.
Of course, opening the gate didn't mean opening it fully. Considering the possibility of monsters attacking, they couldn't possibly do such a thing.
Given that, opening the gate meant only the bare minimum—just wide enough for Set, the broadest member of the group, to squeeze through. A truly marginal opening.
"Um, about when will you be returning?"
The one who asked was a guard who would prefer not to have to open the main gate at night a second time. If possible, he wanted them to return after the morning shift change.
Such a thought crossed his mind, but Narcus mercilessly crushed that hope.
"I don't know. It might be tomorrow morning, or we might be back in a matter of hours. Unfortunately, this isn't something we get to decide."
Since he had never expected the hideout to be outside the city, Narcus couldn't say when they would return.
If the hideout were close to the city, they might be able to come back quickly... he thought, but he couldn't imagine the assassins had set up their base right next to Gauche's walls.
If they had their hideout inside the city, I could at least say it'd be over quickly.
This whole situation was clearly beyond the scope of expectations, and honestly, in his heart of hearts, Narcus was even wondering if Set might be wrong.
But that thought was immediately dismissed.
He knew how much power Rei and Set possessed. He couldn't bring himself to doubt that.
Though, to be fair, Rei often did things that seemed foolish from an outsider's perspective. Since Narcus didn't know Rei well, he had simply assumed Rei was a fully competent high-rank adventurer.
"I see... Understood. Please be careful."
Though he said the words, what was written on the guard's face was the hope that they would return after the next shift change.
Understanding the guard's thoughts but aware that they were making unreasonable demands, Narcus didn't press the matter further. He gave a short nod and exited through the open gate.
In an instant, a cold wind typical of the desert night swept over them. Narcus and Zarust wore displeased expressions at the chill.
Amidst that, Set, as a Gryphon, was completely unaffected by this level of cold, and Rei, thanks to the Dragon Robe, didn't feel the cold at all.
Noticing this, Narcus and Zarust cast brief, envious glances at Rei.
Listening to the sound of Gauche's main gate closing behind them, Rei looked up at the sky.
A fair number of days had passed since he'd come to Solrein—and to Gauche, the city that prospered around a desert oasis.
But even so, when he looked up at the desert sky, the light of countless stars filled the heavens, enough to steal his breath away. He found himself captivated by the sight.
Amazing, isn't it. This view alone would have been impossible to see in Japan. ...No, maybe even if you couldn't see it in Japan, you could see it in a desert somewhere?
As he was idly thinking about such things, a sigh mixed with exasperation reached him from nearby.
He turned his gaze in that direction. Zarust, as expected, wore an expression of disbelief, while Narcus wore one that showed he understood Rei's feelings.
Zarust had been born and raised in Gauche, so this scenery was nothing out of the ordinary to him. Even if it was a view that would captivate anyone who came from elsewhere, for Zarust, who had been surrounded by it since birth, he couldn't understand at all why Rei was so moved by an everyday sight.
In contrast, Narcus, who was not originally from Solrein, had been similarly captivated by the sight of countless stars adorning the desert sky when he was recruited by Daridora and first came to Gauche.
Of course, having lived in Gauche for years now, he had inevitably grown accustomed to the view. Still, having had a similar experience, Narcus could understand how Rei felt.
However, it was also true that he couldn't let Rei stay lost in that wonderment forever.
They hadn't come outside Gauche to gaze at the stars. They were here to raid the assassins' hideout—the same assassins who had targeted Daridora and Augusto.
"Rei, sorry to pull you away from the stargazing, but we should start moving soon. Standing still in the desert at night is like hanging a sign that says 'please attack me, monsters.'"
"Hm? Ah, right. Sorry."
"It's fine. I was captivated too when I first came to Gauche."
As Rei and Narcus conversed, Zarust sighed deeply, looking as though he truly couldn't understand either of them at all.