When they saw Set purring in an empty location, the three people present — including Rei — initially didn't understand what Set was doing.
It was only natural. They had left Gauche and traveled through the night desert to find the assassins' hideout... or perhaps their headquarters, and yet the place where Set stopped was completely empty.
Could there be something in the surroundings? Thinking that, Zarust and Narcus looked around.
But all they could see from where they stood was a vast expanse of desert illuminated by soft moonlight.
"Underground?" Narcus suddenly wondered aloud, casting his gaze down at the sand. But there was nothing resembling an entrance there.
Still, if the enemy's hideout was here, underground was the only possibility.
"No, but... how are we supposed to search from inside there? Are you going to have Set handle that too?" Zarust muttered, but there was no way Narcus could answer that.
Watching the two of them, Rei glanced around once more, confirmed there was nothing suspicious, and turned his gaze back to Set.
Meeting Rei's gaze, Set rubbed its head against Rei's body, begging to be praised.
Judging by Set's demeanor, it hadn't lost the scent — it was clearly indicating through its behavior that this was genuinely their destination.
(If that's the case, the assassins' headquarters should be here... but where?)
While stroking Set, who had been nuzzling against him, Rei looked around in puzzlement.
In Rei's mind, it was already an established fact that the assassins' headquarters was here.
That was how strong Rei's trust in Set was.
But... even Rei, looking around, couldn't find the assassins' headquarters.
It wasn't as if the thought Zarust and Narcus had raised — that the headquarters might be underground — was entirely absent from his mind.
However, what Set was looking at was not the sand on the ground, but the surrounding scenery.
In other words, if Set was sensing something, it wasn't underground but in the space above ground.
(What is it? ...Something I can't comprehend but Set can detect... Magic? If so, then some kind of Magic Item, or magic, or something like that is making it invisible to us? Magic... magic, huh.)
Having organized his thoughts, Rei decided on his next course of action.
But before taking that action... with a faint hope that maybe, just maybe, he called out to Zarust and Narcus.
"Just to be sure, does either of you have the ability to see magic, or sense magical power, or anything like that?"
At Rei's question, the two naturally shook their heads.
"If I had a rare ability like that, I'd be a lot stronger."
"There were a few guys like that before I came to Gauche, but I'm not one of them. And I don't think there was anyone with that kind of ability among the guards employed by Lord Daridora either."
"I see. Then I guess I have to handle it myself. ...Not that I'm very confident."
Muttering this, Rei pulled out from his Misty Ring the weapon that served as his symbol — Death Scythe.
Seeing Rei holding the large scythe, Zarust and Narcus both reached for their own weapons.
Zarust used both a spear and a longsword, but since they were assaulting an assassin group's hideout this time, he had his longsword in hand.
...He probably never expected that he'd end up going outside Gauche when he volunteered to join the assault on the hideout.
Narcus also held a longsword.
However, the difference in quality — or rather, the class of the weapon itself — between his and Zarust's was visible at a glance.
This was likely the fruit of the high compensation he received from Daridora.
Daridora's guards were originally skilled adventurers hired from surrounding nations.
Among them, Narcus held the position of leading the guards, and naturally received higher compensation from Daridora.
"Are you ready? No matter what happens, don't let yourselves be surprised or let your guard down."
At Rei's words, perhaps understanding that what was about to happen was far from ordinary, the two nodded silently.
Confirming that, Rei began pouring magic into Death Scythe.
The amount of magic was equivalent to what a typical mage could produce by straining their very life.
...However, Rei had the Ring of the New Moon equipped, which concealed the amount of magic he wielded. So even if someone could sense or see magic, they wouldn't be able to understand what Rei was doing.
Even while being infused with an amount of magic close to the limit for a typical mage, Death Scythe showed no signs of trouble.
If this had been some ordinary Magic Item, it would have undoubtedly caused some kind of abnormality.
"What Set is looking at is, at first glance, an empty space. ...But if Set detected something, it means there's something emitting a scent... something that only Set could sense."
Words slipped from Rei's mouth as he raised Death Scythe.
Along with those words, Death Scythe was raised high...
"If it's the same magic, then with my magic... I can slash through it!"
With those words, Death Scythe was brought down.
True to the name Grim Reaper's Blade, it was a strike that seemed to guide all things... and all people to death.
The effect that strike produced was overwhelming.
What should have been nothing but desert illuminated by the moonlight suddenly cracked as if a fissure had formed in space itself... and in the next moment, with a sound like shattering glass, the space itself shattered.
What appeared behind the shattered space was a village.
In front of that village stood nearly twenty people.
Every one of them looked like an ordinary person you might find anywhere, and their clothing wasn't the leather armor and similar protection that adventurers wore.
Because of that, the sight of the group in front of the village each holding longswords, daggers, spears, and other weapons Rei had never seen before was a bizarre spectacle.
"Just as I thought. ...I don't know how they managed to completely hide a village where such a group lives from human eyes, but it seems certain that this is the assassins' headquarters."
Since they had hidden an entire village, this couldn't possibly be a temporary hideout.
As Rei stated this, one of the people in front of the village stepped forward.
Among the many people of average build, that man was clearly abnormal — his height easily exceeded two meters, reaching two and a half.
Furthermore, what he gripped in his hand was a chain, and attached to the end of that chain was an iron ball nearly one meter in diameter, as if to demonstrate the man's power.
"You did well to find this place. I am Resonance, the one who leads these people. ...But what will you do now that you've found this village? I never expected the barrier protecting this village to be destroyed, but even so, if you don't return, the information about this village won't spread."
The man who called himself Resonance had the appearance of a middle-aged man in his thirties to forties, but contrary to that, his manner of speaking was extremely old-fashioned.
Feeling a sense of incongruity from the discrepancy between his appearance and his speech, Rei opened his mouth.
"So this is the headquarters of the assassin group, correct?"
"Hm. Even if I said no here, you wouldn't believe me, would you?"
The words that came from Resonance's mouth were nothing other than an acknowledgment of Rei's words.
In response to Resonance, Rei turned his gaze toward Set.
"My partner tracked the scent of the assassin who attacked us and led us all the way here. I can't exactly believe you if you say that's wrong. Especially since, by whatever means, you were hiding an entire village — that makes it even harder to deny."
"Guruuu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred happily.
Rei, who trusted it this much, was an extremely important partner to Set.
It understood that Rei trusted it, but voicing it aloud must carry that much more significant meaning.
"...A gryphon, eh. You are the worst incarnation for us."
Resonance muttered this with a sigh, and despite facing a gryphon, he showed not a trace of fear.
No, it wasn't just Resonance — the large man speaking with Rei — but the others as well.
Standing before Rei's group were about twenty people in total.
In terms of numbers alone, they far outnumbered Rei's group, but in terms of combat power, Rei's group — a small elite force embodied — was superior.
In other words, despite understanding that if a direct fight broke out, Rei's group would unquestionably win, not a hint of fear existed on their faces.
(What is this? They're not flinching at all in this situation? What's going on?)
While listening to the conversation between Rei and Resonance, Zarust reached for the scabbard at his waist, ready for combat to break out at any moment.
That the people before them were abnormal was something he couldn't help but understand simply by facing them like this.
It was the same for Narcus, not just Zarust.
With hands reaching for their weapons, ready to draw from their scabbards at any moment, the two watched the course of the conversation between Rei and Resonance.
"It may be the worst existence for you, but to me, it's a reliable partner. ...Now then. Assuming you are assassins... why did you target both Augusto and Daridora?"
Having said that much, Rei immediately shook his head and spoke again.
"No. If it were just Daridora, the reason for being targeted is perfectly understandable. It seems he's been doing all sorts of underhanded things. But why involve Augusto in that?"
At such blatantly frank words, Narcus's cheek twitched for just a moment.
He probably had things he wanted to say in response to the assertion that Daridora, whom he served as a guard, was doing underhanded things and therefore deserved to be targeted.
Of course, Narcus knew that Daridora had been committing all sorts of misdeeds.
The fact that he had handed over the Sand Ship to the Sand Bandits to attack Augusto was, quite frankly, nothing to be proud of.
But... even such a Daridora took good care of the people he took under his wing, and above all, the fact that he had contributed to Gauche's development was an undeniable truth.
But to Rei, Daridora was merely an opponent who had been hostile to Augusto, and now nothing more than a temporary ally he had joined forces with.
The only thing Rei felt any goodwill toward Daridora for was giving him the Sand Ship.
...Not that Daridora himself had any intention whatsoever of giving Rei the Sand Ship.
If anything, Daridora's impression was stronger that he had been robbed of something he had lent to the Sand Bandits.
Even so, the fact that he didn't complain — couldn't complain — was likely because having it become public knowledge that he had lent it to the Sand Bandits would be troublesome — though it was already an open secret among those who knew the circumstances — and more importantly, because he did not want to make an enemy of Rei.
In this regard, it could be said that he was different from the head of a certain trading company who had previously tried to obtain Set and the Misty Ring.
"Involve... hm, involve, is it. I see, so that is how you perceive it."
Rei inwardly tilted his head at Resonance, who displayed an expression of surprise as if he had been told something unexpected.
(What? It's like he's saying that until I mentioned it, he didn't think we were thinking that way... Could it be that I was misunderstanding something? No, but considering their actions up until now—)
Holding Death Scythe in hand, Rei judged that saying anything more would only provide information to the enemy and fell silent.
Toward such a Rei, Resonance twisted his mouth into a smile.
"I see, I see. Now that you mention it, looking at it from the outside, it wouldn't be strange for it to appear that way. Pardon me. How careless of me... but do you think I would go out of my way to tell information to my opponent?"
In response to Resonance, who asked while wearing a smile, Rei likewise floated a smile and opened his mouth.
"Well, you know... before dying, or something like that."
"Kuku, well said. You never had any intention of dying in the first place, did you?"
As if suppressing laughter welling up from the bottom of his heart, Resonance tightened his grip on the chain connected to the iron ball.
In response to Resonance, Rei also floated a smile and tightened his grip on Death Scythe.
Drawing in the chain that rang with a clinking sound, Resonance spoke with a smile.
"Very well. Then let us do this. Try defeating me... no, try defeating us, the People of the Hundred Faces. If you do, I shall tell you why we also attacked Augusto."
Saying that, Resonance pulled the chain hard... and in the next moment, the iron ball floated into the air and began to swing around.
"So it comes to that after all. Fine. I understood that it would come to a fight regardless. ...But having said that, if we win, you'd better tell us properly."
"Hahaha. Do as you... please!"
Along with his shout, Resonance swung his arm wide... and as if following that movement, the iron ball spinning through the air came hurtling toward Rei.