The guard who saw Rei and his party enter the guard station exchanged a few brief words with them before immediately leading them to where Asimov was resting.
The room they were led to appeared to be an overnight quarters used by the guards.
Rei had expected to be taken to something like a treatment room, so he was slightly surprised.
But when told that actual injured parties were currently resting in the treatment room, he had no choice but to accept the arrangement.
(Besides, Asimov was targeted. If so, it's better to have him sleep in this kind of room — it also serves as a place to hide him if someone comes after him again.)
Looking at Asimov sleeping on the bed, that was what Rei thought.
Asimov had suffered a wound severe enough to appear fatal, but thanks to the high-quality potion Rei had used, the injury had already healed completely.
"He still hasn't woken up, even though his wound is healed," Vihera muttered as she looked at Asimov.
"Probably because the wound was so deep. A potion can close the wound, but it doesn't restore lost stamina. He's likely sleeping to recover what he's depleted."
"Is that how it works?"
"...Why is it that Rei, who used the potion, doesn't know this?" Marina muttered with an exasperated look at Rei, who had asked the question almost reflexively.
"I mean, I've hardly ever used potions in the first place."
It wasn't as though Rei had never used one at all.
But he had no experience recovering from a wound as severe as Asimov's with a potion. More importantly, his own body possessed a Recovery Ability far stronger than normal, so even after healing from injuries, he had never experienced a lack of stamina.
"Hm?"
Listening to Marina's explanation, a thought suddenly occurred to Rei.
Setting aside the severity of the injury — today was originally supposed to be the day he went to pick up the Sleipnir boots he had entrusted to Asimov.
In other words, Asimov had been performing the final inspection of the Sleipnir boots. And given how deeply fascinated Asimov had been with them, there was a real possibility he had been so devoted to his work that he'd barely slept.
If that were the case... perhaps the reason he still hadn't woken up, despite his wound being healed, was simply sleep deprivation.
That was what Rei ended up thinking.
"Should we wake him up?"
"Don't. I know what you're thinking, Rei, but even so, it's better not to do something like that in his current state."
"No, but—"
We came here to get information from Asimov anyway, didn't we? That was what Rei's look implicitly conveyed.
Marina understood that as well. But given the depth of the wound Asimov had suffered, forcefully waking him would be problematic in more ways than one.
The idea that he was simply sleeping from exhaustion was, after all, nothing more than a guess on Marina and Rei's part.
There was also a chance that some other reason kept him unconscious.
...Though to Rei, it still looked like he was sleeping simply because he was sleepy.
"So we're just going to wait here until Asimov wakes up? That's a bit boring," Rei said.
Vihera and Byune nodded in agreement.
This was, after all, an overnight quarters — a room for soldiers to sleep in — and there was nothing here to help pass the time.
If so, simply waiting here felt like a waste of time, and Rei was certainly not the only one who thought so.
"Right. But hearing the information from Asimov directly is undoubtedly the best option. I think it's better to wait for him to wake up. If we push things here and something happens to Asimov later, that would be terrible, wouldn't it? Besides..."
Marina paused mid-sentence and, though she was probably unaware of it herself, looked around at Rei and the others with an alluring smile.
...At that moment, a guard who had remained in the overnight quarters — presumably because this was still the guard station — saw Marina's smile and turned bright red, looking down at the floor.
Rei could somewhat understand how that guard felt. But fortunately — or perhaps in this case, he should say thankfully — he had been traveling with Marina for a while now, so even when exposed to her unconscious smile like this, he had grown more steady in his composure.
Of course, that didn't mean he could always remain perfectly calm.
"Today is a memorable day — the day our party was formed. Though getting caught up in this kind of commotion on the very day we formed the party was a bit unexpected."
The flirtatious glance she directed at Rei vividly conveyed whose fault it was that things had turned out this way.
Given that Rei was aware this incident had been caused because of his reputation, all he could do was quietly avert his gaze.
If it hadn't been for Rei's notoriety in the first place, this incident wouldn't have happened.
"But if Rei hadn't been involved in this matter, someone else might have been caught up in it instead, right? In that case, isn't it more likely the whole thing would have turned into an even bigger disturbance?"
"...Wait. So you've actually figured out the reason?" A guard who had been listening to their conversation cut in.
His face was still slightly flushed from Marina's smile moments ago, but the current conversation was apparently something he couldn't afford to miss.
"The discussion at the Azoth Firm chairman's mansion has circulated to us as well. But we still haven't been informed about who exactly orchestrated this incident."
"Ah, that. Well, it's only circumstantial evidence — we don't have definitive proof."
"That's fine. This incident... it's fair to call it a challenge to the Guard Force, the very ones protecting the security of Gilm."
At the guard's words, Rei glanced at Marina with a look that asked, "What should we do?"
Under normal circumstances, Rei wouldn't have felt inclined to share information, treating their business and the guard's as entirely separate matters.
But he also knew just how hard the guards worked to maintain peace in Gilm.
That was why, when the guard appealed to him from the bottom of his heart, Rei couldn't bring himself to flatly refuse.
...The fact that Rei had a more-than-friendly relationship with the Guard Force was undoubtedly a factor as well.
"Right. I think it's fine to tell them. The Guard Force is reliable when it comes to gathering information — it is their specialty, after all. Though that's on the condition that we're the ones who resolve this matter."
The guard, to whom Marina had directed a questioning look, wore a conflicted expression.
For him, that proposal was not something he could easily accept.
But hearing the story from Rei and his party here also meant there would be a significant development in the investigation going forward.
After wrestling with it briefly, the guard eventually gave a nod.
"I think that's acceptable, but... the truth is..."
To be honest, if at all possible, he wanted to solve it themselves — that much was certain.
But in Gilm during this season, multiple incidents occurred, and the guards had to rush around dealing with all of them.
After all, this incident — if you set aside Rei and his party's involvement — was simply a case of a single alchemist being attacked.
In particular, Asimov's injury had already been healed with a potion, and the stolen Magic Item had already been recovered.
Of course, there was a possibility that the Sleipnir boots weren't the only thing stolen, but based on the flow of events so far, it was almost certainly the case — that was the impression shared by both the guards and Rei's party.
Objectively speaking, it was better to accept Marina's proposal.
Even so, it was undeniably an unpalatable situation for a guard to swallow.
Nevertheless, considering his duty to protect Gilm's security, he concluded that accepting the proposal was the best course of action, and spoke up.
"I can't make that judgment on my own. I need to consult with my superiors. So please give me a little more time before I can give you an official answer. However... even so, if there's anything we can do on our end, we'll lend a hand. How about it?"
At those words, Rei thought for a moment... then looked to Marina, Vihera, and Byune, seeking their opinions.
Marina judged that was fine, and Vihera, though looking slightly dissatisfied, also nodded.
Byune didn't seem to care either way, her expression showing no particular change.
"Understood. Then—"
"Nngh? What's all the noise... shut up."
Rei was about to say he would accept the proposal, but cutting in as if to interrupt him, a voice rang out.
There was no need to think about whose voice it was.
After all, only one person had been sleeping in this room.
"Finally awake, I see. You sure slept in."
"Huh? ...Rei? Hm? What's going... —!?"
Asimov got that far before he apparently recalled what kind of situation he had been in.
He hastily looked around and checked his own body.
But, naturally, there was no wound.
Rei had used a potion to heal it, so of course there wouldn't be.
"How much do you remember?"
"Rei? And..."
Seeing that the people present included not only Rei but also Marina, Vihera, and Byune — and noticing the guard as well — Asimov's expression filled with surprise.
"This is the Guard Force's station. You were pretty badly injured."
"Badly injured? No, but—"
"I used a potion. You should be grateful."
"...Ah, right. I remember now. Yeah. I was inspecting the Sleipnir boots when I suddenly took some kind of impact... and then I must have lost consciousness."
At the word "suddenly," Rei furrowed his brow slightly.
If he took those words at face value, it meant Asimov didn't remember the face of his attacker.
"In other words, you didn't see the culprit's face?"
"Yeah. ...More importantly, if you're wearing the Sleipnir boots, does that mean they weren't stolen?"
The fact that, upon confirming his own condition, Asimov immediately turned his attention to the Sleipnir boots Rei was wearing was perhaps exactly what made Asimov who he was.
"They were stolen. But the guy behind this incident didn't actually want to steal the Sleipnir boots — he just wanted to use them as bait to lure me in."
"What!? Th-Then how did you get the Sleipnir boots you're wearing now!?"
Asimov asked with such intensity that it was hard to believe he had just woken up moments ago.
That intensity was so great it was impossible to think he had been asleep just a few minutes prior.
It might be called the hallmark of an alchemist, but at the same time, from the perspective of an ordinary person, it wasn't as if there weren't thoughts to be had about it.
However, Rei knew what kind of personality Asimov had, so he spoke without showing any particular surprise.
"Don't worry. The guy who planned this aimed to pit me against the Azoth Firm. To do that, he hid the Sleipnir boots in a carriage belonging to someone from the Azoth Firm. Thanks to Set, I managed to recover them."
With that, he once again showed Asimov the Sleipnir boots he was currently wearing.
"These are the genuine article — the pair you modified for me. By the way, I got them back and I'm wearing them normally like this, but is there any problem with that?"
"Right. When I checked them, there were no issues. But since they were stolen once, I think it's best to inspect them thoroughly."
"Got it. It'd be impossible right now, so—"
"I'm fine."
Cutting Rei off before he could finish, Asimov thrust out his hand, demanding to see the Sleipnir boots at once.
"...Are you sure?"
"Yeah. No problem. So hurry up and show me."
When pressed that far, Rei decided to quietly hand over the boots.
He hadn't had any issues while wearing them, but since they had passed through the hands of an unknown person, there was no guarantee some kind of tampering hadn't been done.
Of course, thinking about it normally, Rei and his party had arrived not long after Asimov was attacked, and from there they had tracked the boots relying on Set's sense of smell with almost no delay.
It was naturally unthinkable that whoever took them had the leisure to do anything strange to the Sleipnir boots — an item crafted by Esta Nor, said to be the greatest alchemist in history.
But even so, since the boots had been in the hands of someone whose identity was unknown, Rei wanted that aspect thoroughly checked.
"...Hm, I see. ...In that case..."
For several minutes, Asimov intently handled the Sleipnir boots, channeling magic into them to verify something.
And when he raised his head, a smile spread across his face.
"No problems. The modifications came out perfectly too."
"I see... that's a relief. So, I know it's a bit late to ask, but what changed with the modifications?"
"Yeah. Up until now, you could only take about two or three steps in the Sky, but from now on you can reliably manage five or more."
"...That sounds modest, but it's actually an incredible improvement."
Recalling the kinds of battles he had fought using the Sleipnir boots up until now, Rei spoke with quiet conviction.