The mansion where Galahat, Chairman of the Azoth Firm, resided had rooms set aside for the firm's merchants to use freely.
Naturally, paperwork and business transactions were conducted at the Azoth Firm's main headquarters, or at the merchants' own shops and homes.
Even so, having individual rooms in this mansion where Galahat lived was convenient in a number of ways.
When Boluntar had lived in the mansion, he treated it as his private estate alone and never permitted such an arrangement.
After Galahat became Chairman, he decided to put the spare rooms to use on a trial basis... and the reception was excellent.
By now, being granted a room in this mansion was considered a great honor within the Azoth Firm.
Against this backdrop, Rei and his group arrived at Coris's room and began looking around.
"Um, I do have some important documents in here, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't look at those too closely."
"Even so, there might be orders related to this incident written in those documents. I can't overlook something like that."
When Vihera countered Coris's words, Coris—well aware of his weak position—could not press the matter any further.
"Rest assured. Even if I see something here, I won't go telling other people about it."
"...Thank you."
All Coris could do was bow his head to Vihera, who offered what little mercy she would spare.
As they searched the room, Rei opened the window and called out.
"Set! Come here!"
The others in the room cast surprised looks at Rei's sudden shout.
However, Vihera and Byune quickly accepted it as typical of Rei and went back to surveying the room.
"Gurururu"
Less than a minute after Rei called from the window, that cry rang out, and Set's figure appeared outside.
Coris, who feared he might have made an enemy of Rei, saw Set and his face twisted in alarm.
Paying no mind to Coris's reaction, Rei stroked Set's head and spoke.
"Hey, Set. Can you tell whether the Sleipnir boots are in this room? Or maybe pick up the scent of whoever attacked Asimov?"
"Guru... Gurururu"
Poking only its head through the window into the room, Set used the Sense of Smell Enhancement skill to sniff. After a few seconds, it shook its head.
A faint scent lingered on Coris's body, but it was not the scent of someone who had directly touched the culprit—it was merely an indirect, transferred fragrance.
Though Rei could not fully grasp everything Set was trying to convey, he understood clearly that the Sleipnir boots were not in this room.
"I see. So they're not here."
"Gururu"
At Rei's words, Set let out a slightly apologetic rumble.
"There's no need for you to apologize. Just knowing for certain they're not in this room is a good enough result."
Rei's words, spoken while stroking Set's head, ended up pleasing Coris far more than they did Set.
The fact that the Sleipnir boots were not in his room meant that—even if only slightly—the suspicion that he had assaulted Rei's close alchemist had diminished.
"...I see. In that case, yes. The scent definitely led onto the estate grounds, correct? Then how about we check the carriage?"
Rei nodded at Galahat's words.
Naturally, Set had no objection either, and rumbled as if to say let's hurry.
The others had no objections, and Coris was eager to agree as well, wanting to prove his innocence as quickly as possible.
Galahat, Coris, Mult, Rei, Vihera, and Byune then left Coris's room.
Naturally, the sharp-nosed Set accompanied Rei's group as well, making its way from outside Coris's room back toward the main gate.
Having regrouped near the main gate, Rei and the others followed Galahat, Mult, and Coris deeper into the garden... toward the warehouse where the carriage was kept.
As the warehouse came into view, Set, who had been keeping watch on the surroundings from Rei's side, turned its gaze toward the building as if it had noticed something, and rumbled.
"Guru!"
It was not a wary cry, but one colored more with joy.
Rei was not the only one who sensed something in that sound.
"...Phew."
Looking at the warehouse, Rei let out a breath of relief.
Given Set's cry, it was certain that what they were searching for—the Sleipnir boots—was inside.
Galahat and Mult must have noticed Rei's demeanor soften. They felt the tension drain from their bodies to a degree they could not even comprehend.
However... unlike the others, it was Coris who grew tense watching Rei.
If the Magic Item stolen from Rei was at the place they were heading... that meant the suspicion against him had only deepened.
While such thoughts ran through his mind, the group pressed forward and eventually arrived at the warehouse.
Inside was Coris's carriage.
The horse was presumably resting in the stables and nowhere to be seen, but that was not an issue at the moment.
"Set."
"Gururu"
As if immediately understanding what Rei wanted, Set approached the carriage with a rumble in its throat.
The warehouse was empty. Outside, spring sunlight poured down warmly, but inside, the air carried a faint chill.
Stepping toward the carriage in that chill, Set circled it, using the Sense of Smell Enhancement skill to sharpen its already keen nose further as it sniffed the carriage.
Rei and the others who had entered the warehouse simply watched in silence.
Set circled the carriage for a few minutes... before finally stopping on the left side.
This was it. As everyone, including Rei, watched with that thought in mind, Set's next action came as a surprise even to those watching.
Rather than sticking its head into the cargo bed or somewhere similar as they had expected, Set thrust its head underneath the carriage... right around where the axle was.
Naturally, there was not much clearance beneath the carriage... and with Set pushing its neck in, one side began to lift.
Until a few seconds ago, Coris had been worried for his own life. But seeing the carriage on the verge of tipping over, his agitation perhaps stemmed from his instincts as a merchant.
Coris and everyone else watched with bated breath, wondering when the carriage would flip.
But fortunately, even when Set pulled its head back out, the carriage did not tip over.
It had rocked violently, but seeing it settle, Coris let out a breath of relief. And then—
"Rei, look!"
"...Yeah."
Looking in the direction Vihera pointed—seeing Set's beak clutching something—Rei felt relief from the bottom of his heart.
What Set held in its beak was unmistakably the Sleipnir boots, which Rei recognized well.
For something said to have been reinforced with Silver Lion materials, it looked no different from afar... but there was no mistaking that what Set carried was the Sleipnir boots.
"Hmm. Judging by that, it seems certain that what Set is carrying is the item in question."
"That's right."
"But... if they were hidden inside the carriage, that would be one thing. Hiding them underneath the carriage, though—doesn't that seem odd? It turned out fine this time, but if the carriage had been moving, it wouldn't have been strange for those boots to fall off at any moment."
Galahat's words were an undeniable truth.
In fact, even though Set had retrieved them so easily—nearly tipping the carriage over due to its size—if the carriage had been traveling normally through the city streets and beyond, the Sleipnir boots hidden underneath could have fallen to the ground at any time.
Would someone risk making an enemy of Rei, only to hide the stolen Magic Item in such a place?
If asked that, under normal circumstances, the answer would be no.
Of course, there was also the possibility that the thief had stolen the Magic Item from Asimov without knowing it belonged to Rei.
(No, that's unlikely.)
Rei immediately dismissed the thought that crossed his mind for an instant.
In Asimov's research room, there had been several Magic Items besides the Sleipnir boots Rei had entrusted to him.
Magic Items that, if sold, would have let someone live comfortably for years without working, scattered about casually.
Among all of those, the thief had specifically targeted only Rei's Sleipnir boots. That meant it was not a random burglary, but undoubtedly a theft aimed from the start at the Sleipnir boots Rei had entrusted to Asimov.
"In that case... is Coris really just an ordinary person caught up in this incident after all?"
"That's right. But then a new problem arises. Why would someone go out of their way to steal the Sleipnir boots and hide them in Coris's carriage? And underneath the carriage, of all places? It wouldn't have been strange if they'd fallen off on the way to this mansion."
Vihera voiced her question in response to Rei's words.
Indeed, that doubt was valid.
The Sleipnir boots that Set held in its beak were a highly valuable Magic Item.
Furthermore, Rei's Sleipnir boots were the work of the legendary Alchemist Esta Nor, an item that could fetch a Light Gold Coin in the right market without raising any eyebrows.
Hiding such a thing in a place where it could disappear at any time, anywhere, was impossible to justify, even without taking Coris's character into account.
"Just to be sure—there isn't some kind of hidden compartment under the carriage for things you wouldn't want people to see... right?"
"There isn't!"
Coris immediately denied Rei's words.
Now that his suspicion might finally be cleared, he absolutely wanted to avoid doing anything that might make him look guilty again.
"If you'd like, you can check underneath the carriage yourselves."
Since he stated it so firmly, Rei figured it was probably true. But at Galahat's request to confirm with his own eyes just in case, Rei crouched down and peered under the carriage.
Rei understood that this was to prevent any later disputes where someone might claim there had actually been a hiding spot.
Even so, he complied with Galahat's suggestion straightforwardly, judging that he should verify it himself for good measure.
In the end, there was no such mechanism beneath the carriage. It was only confirmed that the Sleipnir boots had indeed been in a position where they could have fallen off at any moment.
"...In that case, it's highly likely that Coris was used by someone."
Watching Set hand the Sleipnir boots over to Rei, Galahat muttered with a grim expression.
Now that the Magic Item had returned to Rei's hands, it was fortunate for Galahat as well that the need to make an enemy of Rei had evaporated.
However, the question of who had orchestrated such a scheme remained unresolved.
They had tried to pit Rei against the Azoth Firm.
That was likely the aim of this incident—Galahat and indeed nearly everyone present understood this. But when it came to who had actually done it, no one could name a culprit.
Though its influence had waned compared to before, the Azoth Firm still ranked among the largest firms in Gilm.
Precisely because it was such a firm, the Azoth Firm had no shortage of rivals, enemies, and those bearing grudges, whether justified or not.
Especially now, with spring having just begun, many merchants besides adventurers were streaming into Gilm.
Merchants looking to purchase frontier goods and visiting the Azoth Firm were by no means few, and among them were even some who attempted to deceive the firm.
Considering all that, if asked whether there was any specific party who might bear a grudge, Galahat could not confidently shake his head.
"Someone out there is playing a very interesting game with us."
With the Sleipnir boots returned, the initial anger and panic had faded from Rei. But he had not forgotten that Asimov had been wounded.
What's more, he had been caught up in a behind-the-scenes struggle among merchants who had nothing to do with him.
There was no way he could let this go so easily.
"Rei, calm down. There's no point in getting angry here and now, right? First, we need to find whoever orchestrated this incident. If you want to vent your anger, that can wait until after."
Seeing anger surge from Rei's body like a wavering flame, Vihera spoke in a calming tone.
Rei had been clad in such intense anger that not only Coris, but even Mult and Galahat—a former B-Rank Adventurer—had involuntarily frozen in their tracks. At her words, Rei reined in his fury for the moment.