While Rei and his companions were holding a mock battle in the courtyard of Asimov's house, Tris was in the Spiel Firm's office, listening to a report from a subordinate.
"I see. So Precious still hasn't shown his tail, then."
"Yes. The people around Precious are more troublesome than expected."
At his subordinate's words, Tris let out a sigh and took a sip of chilled Fruit Water.
To the average person, a Magic Item for cooling things was extremely expensive, but for Tris, who had been entrusted with the Spiel Firm's Gilm Branch, it was something he could afford if he stretched a little.
Moreover, he considered the expense worthwhile if it allowed those working for the firm to do their jobs comfortably.
Right now, however, Tris was in no position to savor his cold Fruit Water.
The investigation into the scheme — to pit Rei against the Azoth Firm and make it look like Tris's blunder — had made almost no progress.
The greatest obstacle, as the report had just indicated, was the people surrounding Precious.
The men Precious had brought as escorts and close aides were interfering with Tris's investigation.
Not openly, of course.
Their subtle interference could only be described as extremely troublesome.
"Turning them to our side... is out of the question?"
"Yes."
Tris murmured the words as if to confirm, but the subordinate who had brought the report nodded without hesitation.
Those around Precious were people from the orphanage that Precious — more precisely, his family — had operated for generations.
For orphans, death was more common than survival.
And among orphanages, there were those that saw orphans as nothing more than tools for their own businesses. They worked the children like slaves and pocketed the proceeds. Some even viewed orphans as objects to satisfy their desires.
Compared to such places, the orphanage run by Precious's family provided proper meals and didn't subject its charges to unreasonable treatment.
Because of that, those who came from the orphanage felt a strong sense of trust toward Precious.
...Though the education they had received there no doubt played a significant role as well.
Either way, the possibility of the orphans betraying Precious to side with Tris was nonexistent.
"I knew this already, but it is troublesome indeed."
"For the time being, we're continuing the investigation at a pace that won't alert Precious or his escorts..."
He trailed off — a clear sign the investigation was not progressing as hoped.
Precious, for his part, had found even this level of scrutiny troublesome enough to request Sleyn's cooperation.
"It can't be helped. Keep at it a little longer. In the current situation, we can't afford to have Rei-san go on a rampage. We need to sort this out before that happens."
"Yes. We'll do everything we can. ...However, regarding the Slum District..."
At his subordinate's hesitant words, Tris nodded to show he understood.
Several days prior, Tris had of course received word that Precious had made a conspicuous trip to the slums. And that Rei had followed him there.
When he first got that information, he wondered whether Rei intended to go after Precious's people in the Slum District. But at the time, he had no subordinates available to dispatch there, and ended up a step too late.
He immediately sent someone familiar with the Slum District from among the personnel hired in Gilm, but by then, the situation had already resolved itself.
Even so, the intelligence gathered confirmed that what had happened in the Slum District was merely Rei keeping up the pressure, and that no actual harm had been inflicted on Precious.
"We're working on gathering personnel for that area as well. We'll assemble them as quickly as we can and reassign them there, so for now, please do your best with what you have."
"Yes, understood. Then—"
The man cut himself off abruptly.
Then, as if wary of something, he scanned his surroundings.
Seeing his subordinate react that way, Tris had no difficulty grasping what was happening.
Tris was, at his core, a merchant — not a man who lived by the sword. But being entrusted with the Gilm branch meant he had weathered his share of desperate situations.
His subordinate's reaction alone told him the current situation was anything but good.
"Precious?"
"Hard to say. I can't be certain yet. But considering the circumstances, there's no mistaking it."
Drawing a short sword from his coat and moving close to Tris to be ready for anything, the man stayed on alert.
Tris apparently judged that this was no time to be sipping Fruit Water either. Though he couldn't fight an attacker directly, he stood so as not to get in his subordinate's way.
"Is anyone out there? Come!"
As his subordinate's shout echoed through the room, two men immediately entered through the door.
They were the guards who had been posted in front of it.
Holding longswords and wearing grim expressions, they checked on Tris. Confirming he was unharmed, a faint look of relief crossed their faces.
But right at that moment, a tremendous impact shook the branch, and a scream rang out simultaneously.
It was fortunate that nothing had happened in Tris's room, but that scream was clearly no ordinary matter.
"Tch. So they weren't after me — they came for the store. Ruscur, go check on the shop floor. South, stay here with me and guard Tris-sama. There's a real chance that scream was a diversion."
"Sir!"
"Understood!"
The man called Ruscur bolted from the room, while the man called South took up position at Tris's side.
"Edistool, what do you think? Is this Precious's doing after all?"
At Tris's words, the man who had been issuing orders to the guards — Edistool — nodded promptly.
"Most likely, without a doubt. Unless Tris-sama has earned someone else's enmity and they've come after him, that is."
"...I can't rule that out, either."
The Spiel Firm — or rather, Tris himself — was well aware that some of his business dealings had been rather forceful.
So if asked whether he had made no enemies at all, he couldn't honestly nod.
At the same time, if asked whether anyone hated him enough to launch a direct assault on the store, he couldn't honestly nod to that either.
(Or could it be not an attack at all, but an accident or something...?)
He considered the possibility, but Tris's instincts, honed over years as a merchant, told him the chances of that scream at this particular moment being anything other than an attack were slim.
"For Precious, this seems awfully quick to act. What do you think?"
"I'm not sure. Perhaps he judged that he'd made a complete enemy of Lord Rei after the Slum District affair and decided to seize the initiative."
"...It really stings that we were slow to send people to the Slum District."
"It couldn't be helped. We never expected Precious to have connections there in the first place. Precious didn't arrive in Gilm until spring — much later than you, Tris-sama."
"Even so, for him to build contacts in the Slum District so quickly — aside from Precious and his people being competent, it must have meant there was something in it for the residents. He probably paid them handsomely."
Tris muttered, the flesh of his cheeks jiggling as he spoke. Edistool nodded.
Then the office door opened, and Ruscur appeared.
"It looks like a carriage crashed into the store. The horses appear to have been thrown into a panic by something—"
Mid-explanation, Ruscur's words cut off abruptly — and a horn seemed to sprout from his forehead.
No — the impression that it was a horn lasted only a fleeting moment.
Realizing it was not a horn but the tip of a long, slender thrusting weapon — a rapier or estoc — Edistool stepped forward to shield Tris.
A beat later, South understood what had happened: his partner had been killed by an attack from behind.
Watching Ruscur collapse to the floor, eyes rolled back, South charged after Edistool.
"Hehe. Sorry, but my part is done here. Let's hope we don't meet again, alright?"
A woman with black hair cut at shoulder length.
Her features were well-proportioned, though she was no peerless beauty by any stretch.
That thoroughly ordinary-looking woman wore a smile as she swept her rapier.
The cerebrospinal fluid, blood, and other bodily fluids clinging to the blade splattered across Edistool's face.
Edistool didn't so much as flinch. He closed the distance with the woman.
But the next moment, she slammed something onto the floor and filled the room with smoke.
"Guh!"
Edistool's movement stalled for just an instant — and in this case, that instant was fatal.
Before he knew it, the smoke had vanished completely, and the woman along with it.
"Tch. She got away."
"Edistool-san!"
At South's words, Edistool nodded and turned his gaze back to Tris.
"I never expected them to make the first move at this stage. What do we do?"
"You're right. This incident has some suspicious aspects. The other side must understand that resorting to force only makes it easier for Rei-san to step in. So why would they do such a thing? ...Edistool, I'll ask just in case — did you recognize that woman?"
At Tris's question, Edistool shook his head.
"I know most of Precious's people by sight, but not all of them. It's very likely she's someone they've kept hidden. Or else..."
He glanced down at Ruscur's body on the floor, then spoke again.
"As I asked before, there's a possibility this is someone other than Precious's people. What do you think?"
"I have no particular suspects who would go this far... but I can't say it's impossible, either. More importantly — please treat Ruscur with respect."
Tris hadn't known Ruscur for very long. He'd been hired after arriving in Gilm, so it had only been a few months.
Even so, as a fellow member of the Spiel Firm and a comrade — however briefly — the man deserved a respectful burial. That was Tris's way.
Edistool understood and gave a small nod.
"Damn it! Who the hell would do this?!"
South slammed his fist against the floor.
He hadn't been in a party with Ruscur, but they had been friends for years.
There was no way he could stay calm after watching his friend die before his eyes.
Tris glanced at South and once again wore a troubled expression.
(Why go this far, truly? After pulling something like this, Precious can't possibly turn back. Did he know that — and still feel he had no choice but to act?)
It wasn't yet confirmed that this was definitively Precious's doing, but Tris was half-convinced.
At the same time, the question gnawed at him.
Why resort to such a crude method?
An overt attack on the store — as that thought formed, he recalled the scream.
Ruscur, who had gone to check on the shop floor, had been silenced by an assassin before he could even finish his report.
"Edistool, please go check on the store. I'm concerned about that scream as well."
"But—"
Edistool, who would normally follow Tris's orders without hesitation, now balked.
Naturally. Ruscur, who had just been killed, was roughly as skilled as South.
One of them had been caught off guard from behind and slain in a single blow.
If that woman reappeared while he was away, who would protect Tris?
She had already fled, but the possibility that she had feigned retreat only to attack again couldn't be dismissed. It was only natural for tension to drop the moment an attack ended.
Understanding what Edistool was trying to say, Tris thought for a moment and then spoke.
"Very well. Then I'll come along."
"Wait—please, wait!"
Edistool begged him not to walk into the open where the assassin could easily target him, but Tris shook his head.
"I trust you, Edistool. Now, let's go. If something has happened at the store, I'm the one responsible, and I need to see for myself—"
"Tris-sama?! Fine — South, we're going too!"
"Huh? Ah, yes! ...See you."
With a brief farewell to Ruscur, South followed after Edistool.
What they found was a carriage that had plowed into the store.
Fortunately, while there were people with minor injuries — bumps and scrapes — there appeared to be no deaths or seriously wounded.
"Everyone, calm down. First, we'll treat the injured. Please confirm the safety of our customers. And anyone who's free, get that carriage out of the store."
Tris issued instructions, and the chaos around them gradually began to settle.