Spring sunlight poured down in a pleasant, gentle warmth.
Beneath that fine weather, Rei and Vihera were being scolded by Marina in the courtyard.
"Listen. This was a mock battle. A mock battle just to get your bodies moving, right? So why did you have to go all out like that?"
"I mean, it's not like I used Death Scythe or the Twilight Spear."
"True. I didn't use Magic Impact Palm either, or my Hand Gauntlets and Foot Guards."
"...Just because you didn't use them doesn't make it fine."
A sigh slipped from Marina's lips.
"Mn..."
Watching the three of them from a distance, Byune opened her eyes just a fraction before closing them again. She leaned back against Set and drifted off to sleep, basking in the spring sunlight.
Noting Byune's expressionless yet somehow blissful aura, Rei and Vihera—both mid-lecture—cast envious glances her way.
"Hey. Eyes forward."
Marina's sharp reminder brought their attention back, and the lecture resumed.
"Besides, Rei, you're always so much nicer to Elena and Vihera than you are to me..."
"Hold on. I have something to say about that. If anything, the one you always rely on isn't me—it's Marina."
Rei watched as the conversation inexplicably veered away from the mock battle. But he sensed that saying anything would only prolong the lecture, so he kept his mouth shut.
As long as it didn't blow back on him, he figured he'd let the two of them hash it out. But just as that thought crossed his mind, a voice reached them.
It wasn't Marina. It wasn't Vihera. And it certainly wasn't the sleeping Byune or Set. It belonged to a third party.
"Excuse meee. Um, is this really the right place? Is Marina-san here~?"
At the sound of that voice, Marina and Vihera froze. Their exchange had long since stopped being a lecture and turned into something closer to a lovers' quarrel.
The sole resident of this mansion was Marina, the former Guild Master, and the estate sat in a quiet corner of the Noble District.
Given that, it was hard to imagine someone had simply gotten lost and wandered here by accident.
What's more, the voice was clearly calling Marina by name.
Mistaken identity was out of the question.
"Who do you think it is?" Rei asked.
"I wonder. Still, she didn't sneak in silently, so at the very least she probably doesn't mean us any harm. I'll go check."
With that, Marina departed.
Watching her go, Rei let out a breath of relief.
Vihera, beside him, felt the same. For now, they were simply grateful for the visitor.
"...So, what do you think it's about?"
"Who knows. We'll probably find out when Marina gets back. More importantly, let's enjoy this brief moment of rest."
Rei nodded at Vihera's words—but in the next instant, his expression shifted as Marina reappeared in the courtyard.
"Rei."
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Perhaps sensing the change in Rei's demeanor, Set, who had been dozing in the warm sunlight, rose to his feet.
That, of course, meant Byune—who had been leaning against him—was roused as well.
Here in the courtyard of Marina's mansion, with Set as her pillow, Byune had been completely at ease, deep in sleep. But Set's sudden movement jostled her awake.
"...Mn..."
Since she had only dozed off after watching Rei and Vihera get scolded, she probably had no idea what was going on at first. She looked around groggily... then spotted Marina's excited figure, tilted her head in confusion, and stood up.
"So, Marina. What was it? Or rather, who was it?"
"You know how we got tangled up in that incident in the back alleys a while back? We settled things by having a local bigwig in that area gather information for us."
"Ah, that's right. So it's intel from that man? The voice just now sounded like a woman's, though."
His relief at the lecture being over was short-lived. The moment Rei learned the information concerned the incident with Asimov—about Precious—his gaze sharpened.
"Of course it is. No matter what, someone from the underworld—a fairly well-known figure in that area—couldn't just walk into the Noble District."
He had a point, and Rei had no choice but to accept Marina's reasoning.
Still, that left him somewhat curious about how the woman who had come to the mansion had managed to get here. Since she had come as that man's messenger, she was clearly no upstanding citizen herself.
But Rei quickly shook his head and shelved the question.
There were more pressing matters. More important things to think about.
Besides, if she's from the underworld, it wouldn't be strange for her to have contacts who can come and go from the Noble District. ...Well, someone with those kinds of contacts would naturally frequent the place, so... could she actually be someone important?
Rei turned back to Marina and asked, his expression serious.
"So, what kind of information did you get?"
"Someone who appears to be Precious is currently heading toward the Slum District."
"...Are you sure? Why would he do something so foolish?"
There was a note of exasperation in Rei's murmur.
It was exasperation at the fact that Precious was heading into the slums—not out of concern for the man's safety.
Rei didn't know exactly what position Precious held within the Spiel Firm.
But given that he had clashed with Tris over the Gilm branch matter, he was clearly no ordinary merchant.
Someone of that standing would have bodyguards. Personal safety wasn't an issue.
The real problem was that Rei suspected Precious—no, he was all but certain the man was the culprit. Under those circumstances, heading into the slums—a place that obviously reeked of trouble—was like walking around with a target on his back.
Especially if he had heard any of the rumors about Rei.
"Thinking about it normally, it's a foolish move. But..." Vihera paused, perhaps arriving at the same conclusion. "Shouldn't we consider that he's doing it intentionally, fully aware of that?"
"Right. If he's doing it knowing he'll be found... is he trying to lure us out?"
"I see. But does he really think he can handle us with his combat power?"
Rei knew that the party he led, the Crimson Lotus Wings, was an outlier in every sense of the word.
And when it came to being an outlier, their combat power topped the list.
Aside from Byune, every member was a formidable fighter on their own. Rei, who excelled at wide-area annihilation magic, couldn't fully unleash his abilities in the middle of the city—but even fighting normally, he was more than powerful enough.
Marina's Spirit Magic could be used freely in the streets, and Vihera, as a martial artist, could fight without any issues even in cramped spaces.
And while Byune was essentially out of the combat roster, in a place like the city, she could leverage her Agility to serve as a capable fighter.
As for Set, it went without saying.
Despite all that, were they really trying to lure them out under these conditions? At Rei's words, Vihera shook her head.
"That, I don't know. But they have to understand that as things stand, every passing moment works against them."
"Would they really make a move knowing they'd lose, though? I can understand feeling stuck, but picking a fight you can clearly see you'll lose? That only makes sense if they've got absolutely no other options."
Merchants were, fundamentally, a shrewd lot, quick to read the situation.
There were those who couldn't, but such merchants usually disappeared before long.
Rei couldn't believe that Precious, who held a fairly high position within the Spiel Firm, an organization of considerable size, lacked even that level of foresight.
"...Sitting here thinking about it won't help. Either way, they came out to us. So let's corner them psychologically, as planned."
"Right. If something happens in the Slum District, we just smash whatever that something is."
At Vihera's words—born from confidence in her own and the group's strength—everyone present nodded.
Even Byune, who lacked confidence in her own strength, could use a thief's Agility to slip away from the battlefield before ever getting in Rei's way.
Marina, who had appointed herself the party's brake pedal in a group that had none, had no objection to Vihera's stance.
Even if something did happen, she was confident the members of the Crimson Lotus Wings could handle it through sheer force.
"Right. Let's go. Staying here talking will just waste time."
And so, the B-Rank party led by Rei—the Crimson Lotus Wings—departed Marina's mansion and set out for the Slum District.
Around the time Rei and his group were heading toward the Slum District, the very man they were targeting was walking down the road without any visible sign of vigilance.
The people around him wore clothes so shabby that comparison was impossible.
No—many couldn't even be said to be wearing clothes at all. They were merely wrapping rags around their bodies.
"Lord Precious, if you're coming to a place like this, you could have left it to us. Was there really any need for you to come yourself?"
One of the bodyguards flanking Precious muttered as he kept a wary eye on their surroundings.
"Not at all. One must show proper sincerity to a guest. If we're to have a long-lasting business relationship, you could call such actions essential."
"But you said you couldn't move... didn't you say so yourself?"
"Indeed. But circumstances change. Particularly in this case—the other side's interests and mine have aligned."
"Aligned... you say?"
The bodyguard, ready to draw his longsword from its sheath at a moment's notice, puzzled over Precious's words.
He had been appointed as Precious's bodyguard that spring.
Raised in an orphanage that Precious privately funded, he had previously worked as a D-Rank Adventurer.
The feelings he held toward Precious were pure goodwill.
Most people raised in that orphanage were directly employed by Precious. To this man, he was nothing short of a benefactor.
Through various circumstances, he had chosen the path of an adventurer rather than working directly under Precious, but that didn't mean he was ungrateful. In fact, taking this bodyguard post had reunited him with countless familiar faces.
That was exactly why he worried about what business Precious could possibly have in a slum like this.
He knew, of course, that Precious was involved in all manner of shady dealings.
But for him—and for everyone who had grown up in that orphanage—there was a shared sentiment: so what if Precious committed a few misdeeds?
They had survived as orphans because he existed.
If forced to choose between Precious and anyone else, they would pick him without a second's hesitation.
That was how deeply they trusted, respected, and cared for him.
His honest feeling was that he wished Precious would leave dealings in a place like this to him.
"Givnan, what's wrong?"
"Ah—no, nothing."
Catching himself lost in thought while walking, the bodyguard—Givnan—shook his head.
The Slum District was familiar territory to him.
This was his first time in Gilm's slums, but places like this were the same everywhere.
Without extraordinary luck, those who let their guard down would be devoured.
At worst, he had even heard stories of people being eaten—and not as a metaphor, but in the most literal sense.
In such a place, he chastised himself for letting his guard slip even for a few seconds as they pressed on through the slums.
"...!?"
A man suddenly appeared ahead, blocking their path. Givnan and the other bodyguards reached for their longswords—
"My, Sleyn-san. It's been a while. I look forward to working with you today."
—but at the sound of Precious addressing the man in a warm, familiar tone, they stopped cold.