Rei and his party had left Galahat's mansion, but naturally, they couldn't simply walk out of the Noble District without incident.
People who wanted to know what had happened insisted that they stop by the homes of their employers or masters.
Of course, they genuinely wanted to hear the details, but more than that, they wanted to become acquainted with Rei and his party.
Declining their requests while the guards who had come out with the group explained the situation, Rei and his party made their way through the Noble District.
"Before, we never had this many people coming up to us."
Naturally, there had always been people who wanted to get to know Rei.
A B-Rank Adventurer and Alias Holder who also had Gryphon Seto as a Tamed Monster — it was only to be expected.
But considering Rei's personality, no one had ever been that pushy about it.
Well, there were some at first, but as word of Rei's temperament spread, their numbers had dwindled. That was the more accurate way to put it.
So why now? Rei wondered.
Marina smiled and spoke up, answering his unspoken question.
"The information that we were forming a party was already somewhat well-known, right? And if they deployed people throughout the city to gather even a little intelligence about this incident... they would naturally learn that we registered our party at the Guild today."
"Ah... I see. The nobles and other powerful figures take their information gathering seriously."
Rei murmured in understanding, though whether he could honestly accept it was another matter entirely.
"They probably want even a little bit of information about us — about Crimson Lotus Wings. But be careful not to sell our information too cheaply, or people will start to underestimate us."
"...You're right. Byune, don't just follow someone because they offer you food, understand?"
"Mm!"
Byune replied to Vihera's warning with a slightly displeased tone.
Telling her not to follow strangers who offered food — that was the kind of warning you would give to a child.
Of course, Byune was still very much a child in that regard.
For matters other than food, Vihera wouldn't have given Byune that kind of warning.
But when Byune was even smaller — before she had met Vihera — there had been a time when she could barely get enough to eat.
That was likely reflected in her small stature even now, and perhaps because of it, her attachment to food was strong.
She always ate amounts that made one wonder where it all fit in that tiny body.
That was why Vihera had warned Byune not to be lured in by food, but...
"Even if someone tried to tame Byune with food, wouldn't communication be a problem?"
Since Byune essentially only ever said "Mm," trying to extract any information from her would be a real effort.
To smoothly understand Byune's opinions, they would need Vihera there to interpret.
And as for whether Vihera would follow someone like that... it wasn't even worth considering.
"You're right. ...Look, here comes another one."
Rei and his party had been walking down the street when Marina's words drew their gaze to a figure who appeared to be a butler.
The butler must have noticed Rei looking at him. He approached the group and gave a deep bow.
"Excuse me. I believe you are the members of Crimson Lotus Wings. My master would like a word with you. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you spare a moment?"
Marina glanced at Rei with a look that asked what they should do. Rei shook his head.
Seeing that, Marina gave a small nod and spoke.
"I'm sorry, but we're busy right now. Unfortunately, we can't accept that invitation. I don't know what kind of person your master is, but please give them our apologies."
Marina refused flatly.
Rei half expected the butler to persist a little, but without another word, the man bowed once more and departed.
"Huh... I thought he'd say a bit more. Ask who his master was, or something along those lines."
"I doubt there are many people who would try something like that with you at this point. Besides, I'm here too."
Even though she had stepped down as Guild Master, Marina still held considerable influence in Gilm.
She also had a personal acquaintance with Daskar, the lord, so her network was far superior to that of an ordinary noble.
Few would want to commit a breach of manners against someone like her and risk making an enemy of Marina.
...Though if anything, the stronger sentiment was probably a desire not to clash with Rei — a man who showed absolutely no mercy, even against nobles, once he considered someone an enemy.
Not to mention, Vihera loved a good fight, so trouble was more than welcome as far as she was concerned.
Since everyone except Byune possessed extremely high combat capability, anyone foolish enough to antagonize them ran the very real risk of being wiped out in the most literal sense.
"Well, the bigger problem is this. How are we going to find the person Marina encountered? If we don't even know their face, tracking them down is going to be tough."
"That's true. And since their face was completely ordinary, my impression of them has already faded significantly."
"Does that mean you might not even recognize them if you ran into them again?"
"...I can't deny that. But it's also a fact that we have no other leads, right?"
"Hmm... Would it be no good to try asking Asimov, who's at the Guard Force's Guard Station?"
Rei asked Marina with a sliver of hope, but she shook her head as if to say he should know better.
"Whether Asimov actually saw the attacker's face in the first place is already doubtful. ...For that matter, do you really think someone planning to attack another person wouldn't even bother hiding their face?"
Put that way, Rei had no choice but to shake his head.
Fundamentally, this entire incident had been orchestrated to pit the Azoth Firm against Rei.
Given that, Rei couldn't imagine the perpetrator would leave behind clues to their identity.
They might have intended to kill Asimov, but even so, the likelihood of someone careless enough to launch an attack without hiding their face was slim.
"Then I guess we have no choice but to search the hard way, like Marina said."
Thinking of the trouble ahead, Rei looked up at the sky.
Above him, the sun was shining brightly, as if to say that Rei's worries were of no great consequence.
The warm spring sunlight might have been perfect for a nap.
But knowing he was about to undertake what would likely be a fruitless effort, he couldn't help but find it all troublesome.
Ah, how he wished he could just take a nap in the shade somewhere...
The fact that such thoughts crossed his mind was undoubtedly because of the work that lay ahead.
"Oh, but... maybe it won't come to something that troublesome."
Marina murmured this suddenly.
Her words carried the tone of someone who had a hunch.
"What do you mean?"
Before Rei could open his mouth, Vihera asked.
A ground-level information-gathering campaign was, naturally, not to Vihera's taste.
That was why she had found hope in Marina's suggestion that they might be spared such trouble.
No, it wasn't just Vihera.
If anything, Byune — who was poor at talking to people — was staring even more intently at Marina.
"To put it simply — this was someone who went out of their way to tell me that this incident was orchestrated by someone trying to pit Rei against the Azoth Firm, right? I don't think they'd assume contact would only happen once."
"In other words, if we wait, they'll approach us again?"
Marina nodded in response to Rei's question.
"Probably, at least."
"Then do we even need to search? Couldn't we just wait somewhere sunny in the city, taking it easy?"
"...If they see us relaxing, wouldn't they be more hesitant to show themselves?"
Rei tilted his head at Marina's thoughtful words, as if to ask if that was really the case.
The person who had given Marina information had surely done so because they didn't want to be enemies with Rei and his group.
If that were the case, wouldn't they reach out if they knew Rei was searching for them?
When Rei said as much, Marina shook her head.
"If things were as you're thinking, then sure. But what if it's someone who wants to make absolutely sure we clash with the person behind this incident? They've already given us the information, so I don't think they'd come offering more at this point."
"So we really do have to search, huh... What a pain."
"You're right. It would be best if the person who planned this whole thing just came out and showed themselves quickly."
Vihera wouldn't have minded fighting an enemy, but searching for a person — someone whose face she couldn't even remember, described only as "ordinary" — was nothing but a hassle.
Also, while Vihera was acquainted with Asimov, she wasn't as close to him as Rei was.
"Good work today."
Vihera looked bothered, but when someone called out to her as they were leaving the Noble District, she had enough amiability to give a small wave in return.
The person who called out wouldn't normally do such a thing, either.
But it was already common knowledge that the one who had charged into the Noble District was Rei, and while the reason why he had done so hadn't yet spread, there was no one who wanted to make an enemy of Rei at this point.
The very fact that Rei was leaving the Noble District unharmed was enough to conclude that he bore no blame for this incident.
Of course, even if someone wanted to subjugate Rei, the question was how many people could actually accomplish that.
Not to mention, besides Rei, they currently had extremely high-combat-capability members like Set, Marina, and Vihera.
Even Byune, who had the lowest combat ability in the group, was not to be underestimated when it came to the single area of suppression using Long Needle.
Additionally, she had Hakumo, the short dagger forged from Silver Lion materials.
Though it was called a short dagger, its blade was longer than that of an ordinary one.
A single strike from Hakumo could easily slash through an average opponent — no, even a somewhat superior one.
In other words, while Byune's strength was the lowest among this group, she was by no means someone to be taken lightly.
With such individuals passing through, an ordinary adventurer could do nothing more than offer a brief greeting.
Whether Rei and his party understood this or not, they simply gave a light nod to the adventurers who greeted them and left the Noble District without further interaction.
"Now then, first... should we head to the main street, as expected?"
"I wonder. If they're going to approach us, they naturally wouldn't want to be seen by too many people. ...Well, even if someone sees them, they'd vanish from memory right away."
"In that case, somewhere with fewer people... like a back alley or somewhere like that?"
"Probably."
Marina nodded at Rei's words, and the group headed not for the main street but toward the back alleys.
Byune rode on Set's back, looking around with her usual expressionless face.
Marina and Vihera observed their surroundings as they walked through the alley.
...Normally, if someone unfamiliar walked through a back alley, they'd be hassled by all sorts of people.
Especially with someone like Marina or Vihera present — women who could fittingly be called peerless beauties — many would try to accost them.
But right now, in this place, there was no one foolhardy enough to try such a thing.
As residents of Gilm, they naturally knew of Rei's existence.
Gilm was a city where many adventurers — and skilled ones at that — gathered, so even those called thugs couldn't just attack anyone and everyone.
If they harassed someone who was completely beyond their ability to handle, it would mean their own ruin.
That was exactly why such people had a sharper eye for judging an opponent's strength than the average adventurer, and what's more, many of the individuals gathered here were famous in various ways, so there was no need to even investigate their capabilities.
"Excuse me, can I ask you something?"
"Y-Yes!? What is it?"
The man looked like a rough character at first glance, but when the one addressing him was Rei, he couldn't respond the way he normally would.
It was unpleasant for Rei to see the man looking somewhat frightened, but judging that gathering information took priority for now, he pressed on.
"Do you know of anyone around here with an ordinary, unremarkable face?"
"Huh? No... unfortunately, I don't..."
The man gave that answer, but...
"Are you perhaps looking for me?"
A voice suddenly echoed through the back alley.