After Rei and his party left, Precious was once again inside the building.
But the atmosphere now filling the room had changed drastically from before their arrival.
First, the man who had acted as Sleyn's body double alongside Precious was visibly exhausted. He hadn't done anything in particular to Rei. They had only exchanged a few light words—truly, just a light conversation—and yet this was the result.
The guards stationed around the building were in even worse shape, barely able to stand.
"Was that... the Alias-Bearer...?"
Who was it that murmured those words?
Against an ordinary opponent, merely facing them would never cause this level of exhaustion. But Rei the Alias-Bearer was another matter entirely. As someone who regularly fought High-Rank Monsters, the pressure and killing intent radiating from him demanded tremendous willpower to endure, even for underworld figures accustomed to violence.
"...Well? That is the man you underestimated."
Sleyn spoke from his chair, addressing Precious before him. His tone made it clear he wanted to say this was the price of underestimating the man. Facing that look, Precious could only offer a bitter smile.
"Honestly, it was beyond my expectations... but even so, what I must do doesn't change. Could you have your people make a move on Tris?"
"Wait."
Sleyn cut in immediately. Seeing Precious looking up at him with genuine puzzlement, as if asking what was wrong, Sleyn understood that the man before him was serious—that he still intended to press forward even after Rei had appeared and driven the point home.
"Are you insane? Are you seriously going to keep acting after making an enemy of Rei? If you weren't under suspicion yet, that'd be one thing. But from what I saw of him just now, you're clearly being suspected!"
"I suppose so. In the first place, Tris was likely the one who told Rei-san I was suspicious.... But please, rest assured. I have no intention of making an enemy of Rei-san."
From Precious's perspective, Rei was a kind of aberrant individual—no, that was going too far, but he could at least understand that Rei lived by a completely different logic than his own. Against such a person, he had no desire to go out of his way to make the first move. Besides, as things stood, there was no particular need to go after Rei either.
"You're wrong!"
Sleyn shouted, cutting off Precious's reasoning. What lay behind his voice was fear.
If it had been yesterday—no, even just a few hours ago—Sleyn wouldn't have opposed so strongly upon hearing Precious still intended to go after Tris. But now, it was too dangerous.
Because Rei had become aware of their existence.
If they foolishly made an enemy of Rei in this situation, he would immediately recognize them as enemies to be eliminated. And Rei showing mercy to an enemy he had faced was, first and foremost, unlikely.
If they had merely picked a fight with Rei, they might suffer injuries, but their lives wouldn't be at risk. This time, though, was different. Because of what had just happened, Rei had already identified them.
If they made an enemy of Rei now—and if he learned about the attack on the Alchemist—he would undoubtedly come for them. The one called Crimson, who possessed enough power to fight an entire army on equal terms, coming to kill them.
In that scenario, Sleyn had absolutely no confidence they could handle it. That was why he had shouted, cutting Precious off.
"Making an enemy of Rei—fine. They hadn't identified us yet, after all. But... not now. There's absolutely no way we can make any moves in this situation."
"...Why not? I'm not going after Rei-san."
"This isn't about that anymore. ...Tch, do you really not get it? The only thing we can do right now is pull out of here immediately. Without Rei finding us... no, from what I saw earlier, even if he does spot us, he won't make a move right now."
Sleyn weighed whether he should just leave Gilm immediately. He had originally intended to have Precious introduce him to his next employer, collect the reward for this job, and then leave Gilm. But he couldn't afford to stay alongside someone who had made an enemy of Rei and still intended to go after Tris.
If he kept acting with Precious, he'd be dragged into the destruction too. That was absolutely something he refused to let happen. Abandoning the prospect of Precious introducing him to a new employer was regrettable, but going down with him was utterly unacceptable. What was more, if things stayed as they were, his own subordinates could get swept up in it as well.
"Sleyn-san? What are you saying? That sounds almost like..."
"Yeah. I'm leaving Gilm. Ideally right now—I'd want to leave today, but..."
"Brother, that's problematic for various reasons. We have commitments with other organizations."
The one who called Sleyn "Brother" was the man who had stood before Rei as the body double. At those words, Sleyn scratched his head, hiding his irritation as he acknowledged the point.
"I know. Besides, there are guys who want to leave Gilm with me. And it'll take time for the ones we dispatched elsewhere to come back."
Sleyn had planned to leave Gilm using Precious's connections, but since there were those who—bafflingly—wanted to leave alongside him, he couldn't just abandon them. Honestly, he couldn't help wondering why anyone would choose to go with him, but even so, he couldn't leave behind those who looked up to him.
(More so now that we've openly made an enemy of Rei. ...Though I never intended to oppose him openly in the first place.)
He had known they were being targeted by Rei over the Asimov incident. But they had managed to cover their tracks with the Magic Item they'd fortunately obtained earlier, so he never expected to be found out. And yet, here was Precious, struggling to deal with Tris and trying to do something about that. Thinking that far, Sleyn shook his head.
(No, there's no way this guy hadn't thought that through. In the first place, if he just needed us for something, he wouldn't have come here in person. Which means... he really did intend to draw me in deeper from the start, huh.)
He could understand the sentiment. Precious had brought along quite a few personnel, but this was still Gilm. Because Tris had established a branch here, it had effectively become Tris's sphere of influence. Given that, it would be difficult for Precious to gather combat power within the Spiel Firm's own territory. He could naturally hire other firms, adventurers, or mercenaries if he wanted. But doing so openly would alert Tris.
That was precisely why he had hired underworld figures like them. People from the underworld would be harder to detect than hiring the Fleeing Adventurers.
That much was fine. It was fine, but... coming openly to the Slum District while under suspicion from Rei was something Sleyn could not accept. In other words, Precious intended to gradually entangle them through attrition. That was likely the intent behind his actions.
"Sorry, but I'm not sticking around for your suicide mission. This partnership ends here."
"...Are you certain? Cutting ties with me here would mean the introduction letter I promised you..."
"Yeah, I know."
For Precious, that introduction letter was something akin to a trump card. It was precisely because he held that card that Sleyn had cooperated and carried out the attack on Asimov. The plan was to make it appear as though the Azoth Firm was clashing with Rei, and expose the Spiel Firm's involvement in the process. As a result, Tris would be forced to take responsibility—and ideally, Precious would step into the vacancy himself. That was the goal.
But now, the very tool he was using for that purpose was about to slip from his hands.
Naturally, Sleyn wasn't the only combat power Precious had his eye on. He had built up a certain level of influence in Gilm's Slum District, but he wasn't the only player there. Groups with comparable influence and combat power existed in any number. But the reason Precious had connected with Sleyn was that Sleyn was the most honorable—or rather, he valued honor and duty.
In the Slum District, there was no shortage of those who would deceive or kill anyone who came to them with a request. In that sense, Sleyn, who faithfully carried out the terms of a contract, was a rare find.
In terms of sheer combat power, Precious had indeed brought many people with him to Gilm. Personnel from the orphanage he had inherited from his father, as well as others obtained through various connections. But those people were valuable combat power to Precious, not disposable assets. That was exactly why he had come to the Slum District seeking forces he could afford to throw away.
For that Precious, having Sleyn walk away like this was something he had to prevent by any means. Judging that the introduction letter alone would no longer suffice, Precious produced a fist-sized leather pouch from his breast pocket and set it on the table.
A sound echoed through the room—not the clink of Gold Coins, but something different, lighter. Everyone present, including Sleyn, turned their eyes to the table. From the mouth of the pouch, jewels of various colors were visible—red, blue, green, yellow, purple...
About twenty in all. By any reasonable standard, these were not items one would bring to the Slum District.
"What do you say? I'll offer these jewels as payment. Won't you stay in my employ a while longer?"
Givnan, one of Precious's guards who had been watching the scene—a man raised in the orphanage who felt deep gratitude toward Precious—nearly cried out in surprise, but another guard stopped him. The value of the jewels on that table was considerable. Givnan couldn't help but wonder why Precious would give such things to people like them.
"Let's see. I don't know exactly how much those jewels are worth. But if you're putting them out like this, there's no doubt they're the real deal."
"Indeed. Naturally, there are no fakes among them. They are genuine, high-quality jewels. Take them to a shop and you could exchange them for Platinum Coins... no, perhaps even Light Gold Coins. Well? I'll pay these as your reward."
It was a reward that, under normal circumstances, anyone would accept without hesitation. Even factoring in some danger, the value of the jewels before them more than compensated.
...Yes. Under normal circumstances. And if it were only some danger.
"Sorry, but I decline."
For Sleyn, it was one thing if his true identity had not yet been discovered. But the moment Rei had stepped right up to this building, it could no longer be called "some danger." He had shown the body double, but there was no telling how convincing that had been. At worst—no, it was better to assume it had been seen through completely.
Under these circumstances, being told to make an enemy of Rei in exchange for these jewels was, by Sleyn's common sense, simply unthinkable. If anything, it seemed wiser to kill Precious and his guards right here, seize the jewels, and flee Gilm for another city.
Of course, Sleyn had no intention of doing such a thing, even though he lived in the Slum District. Because betraying his own pride like that would undoubtedly bring regret later.
"Wha—!? ...Are you serious!?"
Precious clearly hadn't expected to be turned down under these terms. He could only mutter, dumbfounded.
"Yeah. That's how bad the situation is right now. Sorry, but we're pulling out. Naturally, since we're cutting ties here, I won't ask for that introduction letter. We'll leave Gilm immediately and start over somewhere else... somewhere Rei doesn't exist."
At Sleyn's words, Precious's guards sharpened their gazes. Their master had been pushed to say this much, and still these men intended to walk away halfway?
"Let me make one thing clear."
Before any of the guards could speak, Sleyn preempted them.
"This is the Slum District. ...Our turf. If you're going to make a move, do it knowing that."
Faced with that declaration, Givnan and the rest of Precious's guards could not act.