"......What!? Is that true!?"
Upon hearing that Asimov had been attacked, Pamidor fell silent for a moment as if unable to comprehend what Rei was saying, but the next instant, he roared.
It was a voice so loud it seemed it would reach not just inside the forge but the ears of anyone walking outside.
"Rest assured, Asimov is safe."
Seeing Marina, Vihera, and Byune covering their ears from the shout—and Kumito, who had been caught right next to Pamidor when he let loose—Rei told him just that.
Pamidor breathed a sigh of relief knowing that, at the very least, Asimov was safe.
"Sheesh, knowing that guy, did he use some Magic Item to drive them off?"
At those words, Rei considered for a moment playing along and saying that was exactly what happened.
But the reason he had come here in the first place was partly to have Byune's Hakumo professionally maintained, and more importantly, because there was a very real possibility that the Pamidor family could be targeted by Precious's agents.
If he were to claim here that Asimov had actually used a Magic Item and easily driven the attacker away, it could prove fatal for Pamidor.
(Well, Pamidor probably doesn't need to worry, but... Kumito is a different story.)
With an appearance befitting the grand boss of bandits and a sturdy, muscular body forged through years of blacksmithing, he had a physique that made anyone think he would unquestionably win against someone who had just become an adventurer off the street.
No, not just novice adventurers—even a fairly seasoned veteran would find it difficult to best Pamidor.
But that was strictly true for Pamidor alone.
His family... his child and wife, unlike Pamidor, were nothing more than ordinary people.
Considering the possibility that they could be targeted, Rei couldn't afford to gloss over Asimov's situation here, so he shook his head at Pamidor's question.
"No, honestly, if we'd been even a few minutes later entering Asimov's research room, he probably would have died. It was that severe of an injury."
"......What?"
What came from Pamidor's mouth was a voice of pure surprise.
He probably never imagined that Asimov would end up in such a state.
But at the same time, he found the statement questionable, as it contradicted Rei's earlier claim that Asimov's life was not in danger.
Kumito had also been to Asimov's house with Pamidor several times, so they were fairly close.
Hearing that such an acquaintance had been attacked, sustained a near-fatal injury, and yet was somehow safe, the boy was confused by it all. However, for now, he simply watched the exchange between his father and Rei in silence.
"What do you mean? Isn't what you're saying full of contradictions?"
"Not really. If you think about it normally, he definitely should have died, but I happen to have a variety of Magic Items on me. Among them was a potion capable of treating Asimov, who otherwise would have died as things stood. ......Though it was quite expensive."
Compared to a potion made from World Tree materials, it was still something that could be purchased if one had the money, but even so, he had used an extremely expensive potion to save Asimov's life.
......Potions ranged from cheap ones that cost only a few Copper Coins to ones so expensive that they cost Platinum Coins, or even ones that couldn't be bought even with Light Gold Coins.
Potions made from World Tree materials were truly the epitome of the latter.
For the record, a potion costing a few Copper Coins only had enough effect to not even fully heal a light cut.
Considering that, one could imagine just how valuable the potion Rei had used to recover Asimov from a fatal wound really was.
(He's helped me out a lot with the Twilight Spear, the oven, and the Sleipnir boots, but should I still bill him for the potion? ......Well, knowing Asimov, he'd probably just hand over a potion with an even greater effect than the one used on him.)
Being a highly skilled alchemist, crafting a potion was no difficult task for Asimov.
Rather, he probably already had a stock of potions ready and it seemed likely he would hand them over immediately.
"Ah, so it was thanks to a potion."
Fortunately, Pamidor showed a look of understanding at Rei's words.
Kumito still didn't seem to fully understand, but he probably decided it wasn't a problem as long as his father was relieved.
Judging that Asimov was safe, he didn't say anything further.
"......Anyway. This is where we get to the main point."
"Huh? The main point?"
"Yeah. The reason Asimov was targeted this time was probably... no, almost certainly, collateral damage from me."
"Collateral damage, you say?"
"Yeah. Do you know of a firm called the Spiel Firm? ......No, since Tris himself came here to directly ask you to hand over Hakumo, there's no way you wouldn't know."
At Rei's words, Pamidor recalled a time not so long ago... when it was still winter.
He nodded.
"Ah, there was that guy, now that you mention it. ......Wait. Then, did that guy named Tris attack Asimov?"
"No. To be precise, it was someone who envies that Tris. I don't know if you know this, Pamidor, but that Tris is the person entrusted with managing the Spiel Firm's Gilm branch."
Being told that much, Pamidor was able to understand what kind of reason had led to this incident.
And precisely because he understood, power surged into the muscles he had forged through his daily blacksmithing, making those around him feel as if his entire body had grown a size larger.
"In other words, you're telling me that idiot Asimov got caught up in some petty jealousy?"
"Unfortunately, yes. By the way, it seems they wanted to make it look like I intentionally clashed with the Azoth Firm, and that Tris was the one who orchestrated it."
"......Hoh."
A low voice.
Contrary to his ferocious appearance, Pamidor was a man who cared deeply for his comrades, his friends, and his family.
For such a man, hearing that his friend had been caught up in a conflict born from petty jealousy was something he could by no means tolerate.
"Calm down."
Pamidor, burning with anger, came back to his senses at Rei's words.
That single phrase made him realize. Rei was angry just as much as he was... or perhaps even more so.
"I got dragged right into the thick of this whole mess myself. Naturally, I have plenty of thoughts about that, and I intend to make the one who set this up pay an appropriate price. But... as you know, it was my acquaintance Asimov who was targeted."
Rei paused his words there, and his gaze shifted. It was directed not at Pamidor... but at Kumito.
As Pamidor's son, it was safe to say Kumito and Rei had a good relationship.
Above all, because Kumito was so attached to Set, among all the children in Gilm, Kumito's relationship with Rei was particularly strong.
......The fact that Rei had saved Kumito from being bullied when they first met might have had something to do with it, too.
In any case, leaving Pamidor aside, if Kumito were to be targeted by someone, it would be truly problematic.
Unlike his father, Kumito was an ordinary child.
(If I called him an ordinary person here...... Pamidor would probably get mad at me, though.)
Rei briefly thought such a thing, but without letting it show at all, he continued speaking.
"I can't imagine the one who ordered the attack on Asimov doing the same thing, but if that's the case, there's a very real possibility that you all could be targeted too. Of course, it's not just Pamidor who would be targeted."
"......Pamidor will be fine, but what about your other acquaintances?"
Rei's movements stopped at Vihera's words.
All things considered, Rei had met a great many people in Gilm.
Notifying every single one of them about this incident and telling them to be on guard would be physically impossible.
If he included people running food stalls, the number of those who could be called acquaintances of Rei and Set would only increase further.
"That means...... we can't afford to do anything that takes a long time, then."
"Exactly. ......Besides, I don't think you're capable of holding back that long, Rei."
Marina nodded as if to say she understood everything about Rei.
In truth, given Rei's personality, he wasn't the type to quietly wait for the right moment.
Rather, the fact that he hadn't already charged straight at Precious right now could be called a show of restraint.
"......So it comes down to evidence after all. If I had some kind of proof, I could turn him into rust on Death Scythe right this instant, though."
"Right. It hurts not to have that. If we had been able to capture the one who attacked Asimov, things would be different, though."
If they had traced things back from the captured attacker, it ultimately should have led to Precious.
Of course, Rei understood it wasn't as easy as it sounded, but still... if only they had been able to capture him back then, Rei thought, and then suddenly realized something.
"Evidence? That's right, if the reason we can't do anything to them is because we have no evidence, then doesn't that mean they can't do anything to us without evidence either?"
It wasn't what you would call a particularly remarkable reversal of perspective.
But for Rei, whose nature leaned more toward attack than defense, taking the initiative to act was undoubtedly more his style.
Taking actions that left no evidence, needling Precious to throw him off balance.
Vihera nodded happily at Rei's proposal.
But Marina put a halt to Rei's words.
"We still can't be certain that Precious was really the one behind this incident. If we provoked Precious just like you said, and it turned out it wasn't actually him... that would be disastrous, wouldn't it?"
"Are you...... saying there's a possibility that Tris is lying?"
"Yes. I don't think that possibility should be dismissed. That's exactly why we need to find decisive evidence. In the first place... it's possible that the Spiel Firm has absolutely nothing to do with this incident."
With the situation having come together this far, that possibility was unthinkable.
Rei thought so, but when he realized that Marina herself understood that yet was still saying it out loud, he had no choice but to sheathe his spear for the time being.
"But then what do we do? Are we just going to take this one-sided beating and wait to see what they do? When we don't even know when we might be attacked like Asimov?"
"I'm not saying all of your ideas are bad. If there's no evidence, they'll probably hesitate to lay a hand on us, too. ......But the degree to which we needle them is the issue."
Marina then explained.
Rather than inflicting decisive damage on them, they would apply pressure while leaving virtually no actual harm.
In other words, Rei's plan involved dealing direct damage to the other side, but Marina's plan involved dealing psychological damage.
"Psychological...... for example?"
"Let's see. When Precious is walking, you could deliberately walk past him, stop, and stare at him."
"......That's awful."
Pamidor, who had been listening to the conversation from the side, muttered in distaste as he imagined the scene.
If Precious was the one who had orchestrated this incident, that would be a significant psychological blow.
At the very least, if someone did something like that to Pamidor, with his family to think about, he would have no choice but to take some kind of action.
"If that's the case, then as long as we don't harm him directly, what about attacking the ground right next to where Precious is walking, or something like that?"
What crossed Rei's mind was using Flying Slash on the ground right beside Precious as he walked down the street.
Rather than attacking him directly, what would happen if they attacked the spot where he was walking? But...
"You'd better not do that. If by some chance this incident wasn't Precious's doing, it would give him the perfect excuse."
"......Do we really need to think that far ahead? Either way, the Spiel Firm is definitely involved in this incident, right?"
"That's only what Tris claims. No, I do think they're involved in some form, but as long as we can't say it's certain, it's better not to do anything that would give the other side a handle against us."
After that, Rei, Vihera, and Marina continued to throw out various ideas, but in the end, they concluded that even if it wasn't direct, they should avoid doing anything that could cause injury.