Asimov had been attacked, and the Sleipnir boots were stolen.
Coris had absolutely nothing to do with it, yet he was caught up in the whole affair.
But the one who stopped Rei from apologizing to Coris was Galahat, Chairman of the Azoth Firm.
"Coris, a carriage is an essential tool for a merchant, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Coris nodded gravely at Galahat's words.
In truth, as an active merchant, he traveled with large quantities of goods loaded in his carriage. For any merchant, the carriage was something to be protected above all else—a fact beyond dispute.
To have the Sleipnir boots hidden in his carriage without him noticing was a serious blunder. Galahat told him as much, and Coris accepted the reprimand quietly.
The weight of the Sleipnir boots wasn't much different from ordinary boots. If anything, compared to the metal-reinforced adventurer boots Rei had commissioned at the boot shop, they were noticeably lighter.
Having just one extra pair of such lightweight boots added to a carriage and being told he should have noticed—it seemed to Rei that demanding such a thing was unreasonable. But neither the one delivering the lecture nor the one receiving it appeared to share that view.
"Ah, it's about this. He's getting scolded for not checking whether anything was wrong before moving the carriage."
Mult offered this explanation to Rei, who had been watching Galahat and the others with a puzzled expression.
"Does he check every single time?"
"Yeah. They say it's best to check if possible. Though, if you're traveling outside Gilm, that's one thing, but when moving around inside the city, generally people don't check that thoroughly. Of course, it's a different story when you're transporting something important or heavy."
This time, since the trip involved carrying some goods from a location within the city, Coris likely hadn't bothered with a thorough check. That in itself wasn't unusual.
But because that oversight had led to this incident, as Chairman of the Azoth Firm, Galahat couldn't let it pass without comment.
"Hey, Galahat. Let's leave it at that. It's not really my place to say this now, but I think Coris is almost entirely without fault in this matter."
"…I see. We dragged you into our own circumstances this time. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. The Sleipnir boots are back, so I have no more grievances with the Azoth Firm. However, I do need to properly return the favor to the one who attacked Asimov."
The killing intent that Vihera had suppressed moments ago flickered to the surface for just an instant.
Mult, sensing it, stiffened with a jolt.
Coris, being a merchant, failed to notice the momentary spike. Galahat, as a former B-Rank Adventurer, seemed to have built some degree of tolerance to Rei's killing intent from their earlier encounter.
As a result, only Mult—competent but not quite hardened enough—ended up reacting to it.
"So, what do we do from here?" Vihera asked. "We don't know who orchestrated this, but ultimately they wanted to pit Rei against the Azoth Firm, right? If so, I doubt their objective ends here."
"…Whether their primary target was the Azoth Firm or me will change how we respond."
From this incident alone, it was still unclear which of them had been primarily targeted. But if the same thing happened a second or third time, it would become obvious.
Even if the Azoth Firm is the one being targeted… I don't intend to let them off so easily.
Using him was unforgivable, but more than anything, the act of attacking Asimov itself was something he could never forgive.
It was unclear what the other party had been thinking when they pulled a stunt like this, but he fully intended to make them pay in kind.
"We'll just have to watch and wait a little longer. Normally, between the Azoth Firm and a single adventurer, you'd want to say without hesitation that someone was trying to frame the Azoth Firm… but." Galahat muttered with a sigh.
"I suppose so. The reason this incident has become so complicated is probably because the adventurer caught up in it is Rei, after all."
Given that Rei commanded Gryphon Seto and had spread his name even to neighboring countries, it wouldn't be strange if he had earned grudges anywhere, in any form. Moreover, there were probably those who bore resentment against him for no reason, and it was also a fact that Rei had a personality prone to making enemies.
Considering all of that, it was still impossible to make a clear judgment as to whether the opposing party was targeting Rei or the Azoth Firm.
"Set, can you track the scent on the Sleipnir boots any further?"
The culprit had hidden the Sleipnir boots in the carriage, fine. But naturally, they must have left the carriage afterward.
It was unclear exactly where the boots had been stashed, but if Set's sense of smell could pinpoint that spot, they might be able to track the culprit's movements after they separated from the carriage.
That was what Rei was thinking, but Set fell silent for a moment as if considering something… and eventually shook his head apologetically.
"Gururu."
The reason he couldn't track the scent was unclear, but since Set was saying he couldn't do it, forcing him would be pointless.
If you think about it normally, they'd make sure their trail couldn't be followed in case this plan failed. But if it were a human, maybe. To deceive Set—and Set using the Scent Enhancement skill at that—is there some method that could fool his nose?
As far as conventional logic went, such a thing was impossible. But what if they used an unconventional method?
Right, for example, completely erasing scent with a Magic Item. Or, scent… hm? Scent, scent…
The face of Kakou, whom he had met in the winter, crossed Rei's mind. She worked at a shop that sold perfume—she was, in a manner of speaking, a specialist when it came to scent.
Thinking that Kakou might possibly know of a method to completely erase scent, Rei decided he would ask for her opinion later.
"Chairman Galahat! The Guard Force is here—what should we do!?"
As Rei was mulling over ways to erase scent, that voice echoed through the warehouse.
Hearing it in the midst of such a tense situation, everyone present turned toward the source.
Standing there was not the Village Gatekeeper, but a man around twenty years old. He wore leather armor, and a sheath containing a longsword hung at his waist. He looked like an adventurer at a glance—and since he was actually an adventurer employed by the Azoth Firm, that impression was correct.
"The Guard Force? What do they want?"
"Ah… yeah, that's probably because of us. We ran all the way here from Asimov's house."
"Even through the Noble District?"
Rei nodded in response to Galahat's conflicted expression.
It was true that his blood had been running hot, and he couldn't help but feel he should have acted with a bit more restraint. Even so, if he had carelessly given the enemy time, the Sleipnir boots might have disappeared.
If the same thing happened again, he would do the same. He had that much self-awareness. But since he had undeniably caused trouble for Galahat, he offered an apology.
"Sorry."
"No, it's fine. We still don't know whether you were the target this time, or the Azoth Firm. Given that, it's also a fact that things were resolved quickly because you acted fast. However, I need to inform the Guard Force about this incident—could you come with me?"
"Yeah. There are things I want to ask the Guard Force too."
Rei had asked Marina to move Asimov to a safe location and then notify the Guard Force. If so, the Guard Force members who had come here might know something about Asimov's condition.
Naturally, since he had already used a high-quality potion to heal the wound, he wasn't worried about Asimov's life. But if he could hear the circumstances of when Asimov was attacked, it might provide some clue.
With those thoughts, Rei followed Galahat toward the main gate. Naturally, Vihera, Byune, Set, as well as Mult and Coris, followed along.
Coris in particular, even though his own carelessness had played a part, was purely a victim caught up in this incident. Thinking of it that way, it wasn't strange for him to want to know what was going on.
This whole incident was a thorough mess in many ways, but considering that I was able to form a connection with Rei-san and the others, it's a net positive on the balance sheet.
Coris had been caught up in the situation, but in his heart, he felt this incident wasn't merely a disadvantage for him. No—given that he had suffered no real tangible harm, from a merchant's perspective, he even considered it a complete windfall.
And so, contrary to his outward expression, Coris was calculating the profits gained from this incident—when he suddenly noticed Byune staring at him. He hastily shook off the thought.
A merchant who wouldn't get up without profiting even from a fall was one thing, but if it became known that he was thinking such opportunistic thoughts in this situation, it was certain to cause all sorts of trouble.
Rei was someone whom merchants across all of Gilm wished to forge connections with. If his own blunder ended up severing a precious tie, that would be no laughing matter.
Especially since Rei felt he had wronged Coris in this incident, he should be able to expect at least a little flexibility when it came time to do business.
"Is something wrong?"
"Mm."
At Coris's words, Byune uttered only a single syllable and then followed after Rei and the others.
Coris felt a slight question at Byune's demeanor, but nonetheless, he headed toward the main gate.
What greeted Rei, Galahat, and the others as they arrived at the main gate was a group of nearly twenty people.
There were Guard Force members, adventurers who had seen Rei and his party sprinting toward the mansion, and even private soldiers sent by nobles with quick ears who had caught wind of Rei's situation, all there to gather information.
"Chairman Galahat… and Rei? Um, we received a report that Rei was running through the Noble District at a tremendous speed, but…"
The man speaking was likely the one managing this incident among the Guard Force. A man in his forties muttered in confusion as he saw Rei and Galahat arrive together.
From the look of this, has the matter regarding Asimov not been reported to them yet?
Rei felt a twinge of disappointment at the man's demeanor.
Of course, not that much time had passed since they had arrived at the Noble District. Without a communication method like a telephone, they would need to gather information through documents or messengers. But there hadn't been time for any of that, and Marina hadn't known either when Rei and his party had burst out of Asimov's house and headed for the Noble District.
As a result, information sharing hadn't been done properly—and that was probably what had led to Rei's disappointment.
"It seems we caused you all some worry, but as you can see, there's no problem. A minor issue arose between Rei and us, but it's already been resolved."
Galahat wanted to explain the situation to the Guard Force if possible, but this incident wasn't fully settled yet. In a place where others could see—where, indeed, the hands of whoever had orchestrated this might be lurking—he couldn't simply hand over their information so easily.
Of course, that meant he would need to properly inform the Guard Force later.
"I… see? We received a report that Rei was running through the Noble District at a tremendous speed, so we came to check, but… well, if everyone is safe, then that's for the best."
For the Guard Force, they wanted to avoid a disturbance in a place like the Noble District—especially one where someone like Rei went on a rampage—as much as possible.
The adventurers and private soldiers also breathed sighs of relief. Anyone who knew Rei's true strength would have felt the same.
"Hey, hey, hey, why are you all so relieved? What could a little runt like this even dmmph!?"
One of the onlookers tried to say something, for some reason provoking Rei—but his mouth was immediately and forcefully covered by another person nearby.
"Sorry, please don't mind him. He just arrived in Gilm and doesn't understand anything."
The gazes directed at the flustered man were a mixture of exasperation, pity, and sympathy.
That was only natural. No one expected anyone to pick a fight with Rei in this place. Some thought, Can't you tell the difference in strength? while others genuinely sympathized with the misfortune of having such a colleague. Various people harbored various thoughts.
"So, for now, it's fine to say there's no problem, correct?"
"Yes. Right, there's something I'd like to discuss, so could just the Guard Force members step inside the mansion for a moment?"
At Galahat's words, the man leading the Guard Force nodded, even while thinking that this was going to be troublesome after all.