Rei and his party received the report just as they were about to leave Asimov's house.
After the mock battle, Arrogan had sighed at the same old gap in ability between himself and Rei, and Culotte could only manage a dry laugh after Rei bluntly told her she would lose to someone as small as Byune in combat.
Maybe I went a little too far? — Rei breaking into a slight cold sweat was, in a way, only natural.
He had thoroughly crushed the fighting spirit of the two people he was trying to entrust with guard duty. No — he hadn't just crushed it. He'd snapped it clean in half.
The mock battle was supposed to be calibrated to their level, but as he wondered whether he should have held back more, they decided to step out of Asimov's house for a bit to gather information. And that was when the woman approached them — the same woman who had brought word that Precious had gone to the slum district.
The information she delivered was that a carriage had crashed into the Spiel Firm's Gilm branch office.
It could have been dismissed as a simple accident or something of the sort, but given the current situation, Rei and his party naturally did no such thing.
Almost certainly, it was fallout from the Precious affair.
With that in mind, Rei and his party broke into a run toward the Spiel Firm's Gilm branch.
"Probably... no, there's no mistaking it. It's Precious's handiwork. There's a chance it really was an accident, or an attack by someone other than Precious, but—"
"And what if it was?"
Despite wearing a party dress that was clearly unsuited for movement, Marina kept pace with Rei even while asking the question.
Of course, that was only because they were running along a crowded street; out in the open, a gap would naturally have emerged. The same went for Vihera and Byune. And above all, Set was holding back considerably.
"I won't do anything. Obviously, if it looks like someone's in danger, I can lend a hand, but—"
Rei had credits with Tris, not debts.
Given that, he had no intention of going out of his way to help.
Unless Tris was willing to hand over evidence or information proving that Precious had orchestrated the series of incidents, that is. Or if a completely unrelated person was on the verge of death — then the chances of him lending a hand would probably be high.
"Well, for a carriage to crash into Tris's shop given the current situation is unnatural in a lot of ways. The likelihood that Precious launched some kind of attack is probably higher. ...But the incident has already happened, so I doubt there are any leads left."
That was Vihera. She called this out while running, the thin garments that a dancer or prostitute might wear fluttering in the wind behind her.
Running behind her, Byune nodded silently.
"Yeah. I know that. But right now I want any information or leads I can get my hands on. There might be a 'what if' possibility, right?"
Given that someone had gone as far as crashing a carriage into the shop, Rei couldn't believe it would end there.
Of course, there was also a very real possibility that it was truly nothing more than a threat. That was something they would need to confirm by actually going to the shop.
As they continued down the road, the number of people gradually increased. At that point, Rei and his party couldn't very well keep running, so they switched to walking.
"Seriously, a carriage crashed into it?"
"Yeah, apparently. But there was no driver? It's a miracle no one died, injuries aside."
"Huh? No driver? Then why was the carriage moving? If there was no driver—"
"Good question. It probably means there's some kind of circumstance behind it. This shop is a branch of the Spiel Firm, a firm that just set up in Gilm, apparently."
"Whoa, seriously? Then shouldn't we stay out of it?"
As they walked along the road, such voices reached Rei's ears. They weren't speaking loudly — just exchanging whispers with the person beside them. But with Rei's hearing, he could more than make out the content of their conversation.
(A driverless carriage, huh. If it was just the horse, it would normally avoid a building right in front of it. Or at least stop. But it did neither, which means... it couldn't?)
Continuing down the road while turning these questions over in his mind, they eventually caught sight of the shop where the carriage had crashed. Guards were already on the scene, investigating.
"Looks like we were a little late getting here."
"It can't be helped. We only found out a carriage had crashed into this place through word of mouth, and then we had to make our way here."
Listening to Marina and Vihera, Rei spotted a familiar face — a guard who had been at the guard station when Asimov was attacked.
The guard must have spotted Rei as well. ...Well, with conspicuous members like Set, Marina, and Vihera present, it wouldn't be difficult for anyone to notice Rei's party.
"Rei, what's going on?"
"Just passing by. More importantly, a carriage crashed into the building?"
"Yeah. The damage was minimal, but..."
The guard trailed off. There were curious onlookers in the vicinity, and utterting important information here would be problematic in any number of ways.
That was what the guard was thinking, but Rei could still tell that something was going on.
"I see. Can I speak with Tris?"
"No, we're in the middle of taking statements right now. Sorry, but I can't let you see him."
"...I see."
From those words alone, Rei understood that this was no simple accident.
Under normal circumstances, it was rare for someone of Tris's standing to appear at the storefront. The fact that he was being questioned despite that meant something must have happened.
Of course, even a normal accident would involve some questioning, so it wasn't necessarily the case — but still.
"Gruu."
Set lightly tugged the hem of Rei's Dragon Robe with his beak. For a moment Rei wondered if Set was hungry, but within the bird's round eyes as they stared up at him, there was a sharp light.
It was not the gaze of Set the mascot that he showed in the city — it was the gaze of Set the monster that he showed out in the field.
That alone told Rei that Set had found something unusual.
Marina and Vihera must have sensed the change in Rei's demeanor as well. They closed in beside Rei and Set without letting their guard down. A beat later, Byune also came over.
"What is it?"
"Set."
Marina murmured the name and followed Rei's gaze, which landed on a single woman. She had a shoulder-length haircut, and it would be fair to describe her as beautiful.
But the woman, perhaps noticing that Rei's group was watching her, tilted her head as if puzzled as to why she was being stared at, and eventually walked away from the area.
(What do I do? Follow her?)
His hesitation lasted only an instant. He immediately called out to Byune — the one among them most skilled at stealth.
"Byune, tail that woman. But only within limits — don't push yourself. If there's any sign of danger, break off immediately. We'll track you with Set's nose."
"Mm!"
As if to say leave it to me, she uttered a single word and immediately darted away.
The guard who had been watching Rei's party looked as though he wanted to say something, but he must have understood that speaking out carelessly would be problematic. In the end, he said nothing, called out briefly to Rei, and returned to his post.
"Let's go."
Glancing at the guard, Rei said just that. Set started walking, and the rest of the party followed.
"Unexpected development. ...Well, the culprit returning to the scene is actually pretty common."
"True. But there must have been a lot of surprises for the other side too, right? Otherwise they wouldn't have done something as reckless as crashing a carriage into the shop."
Vihera's words made sense to Rei. Under normal circumstances, such a large-scale — no, such a pointlessly flashy action was rarely taken. It wasn't impossible if it was a turf war between underworld organizations, but the Spiel Firm was a legitimate, above-board operation. ...Though they might have some shady aspects.
"In other words, something provoked it. ...Could that something be us?"
Rei's party had shown themselves in the slum district, ostentatiously displayed their strength, and taken actions that could only be described as threatening.
The original purpose had been to make Precious panic and force him to show his hand — but perhaps Precious's reach had extended not toward Rei, but toward Tris.
Vihera nodded at Rei's words.
"For something like this to happen at this timing, that's probably the case. ...I didn't expect them to resort to this kind of method, though."
"Really? Laying a hand on us is pretty reckless, isn't it? Then as a next step for them, I don't think this was a bad call at all."
Marina's explanation was convincing. Even if Precious himself didn't rate Rei that highly, the residents of the slum district that Precious had enlisted were a different matter.
Since they lived in Gilm, they had a solid grasp of just how strong Rei was. Doing anything foolish here would mean making an enemy of him.
But they also wanted to accept Precious's commission.
Seen in that light, Rei could understand why they might go after Tris rather than Rei.
...In reality, the circumstances were far more complex, but naturally, Rei knew nothing of that.
"Gururu!?"
Set, who had been leading the party, suddenly let out a sharp cry. He would never do such a thing without reason — something had clearly happened. And given the current situation, what had happened required no deliberation to figure out.
"Byune!"
Realizing what it meant, Vihera cried out and picked up her pace.
"Mm!"
With the blade of a rapier whisking past right beside her cheek, Byune transitioned into a counterattack without the slightest sign of panic.
The woman she had been tailing had seen through her effortlessly and launched a counterstrike. At first, Byune hadn't realized the woman was lying in wait, and she had taken a minor wound from the initial rapier strike.
The fact that it only amounted to a cut was likely a testament to the combat training Byune had undergone over the winter.
Though she had been struck first, from that point on the fight was even — if anything, Byune was pressing the advantage.
Compared to the rapier, her short dagger's reach was shorter — though its blade was longer than a typical dagger. And in terms of body size, Byune could still be called a child next to the adult woman.
Byune was at a disadvantage in both weapon and physique, but the gap in reach was more than offset by her quick reflexes and the experience she had gained from mock battles with Rei and Vihera.
"Annoying little brat. Don't you think it's about time you took a break?"
The woman spoke as if chiding her, but Byune paid not the slightest heed to the words as she readied her own weapon — Hakumo.
(The brat's annoying, but what's really troublesome is that short dagger. ...It is a short dagger, right?)
For Keena, the rapier was a weapon she had every confidence in. The very reason she had been able to operate as a freelance assassin was precisely because she had that much faith in her technique and her stealth.
Naturally, as someone working as an assassin, using a weapon she was satisfied with was a given — and the rapier, forged from B-Rank monster materials, possessed enough sharpness to easily pierce something as commonplace as leather armor.
And yet, the moment she briefly brought it into contact with the child's weapon, the feedback told her clearly: if this kept up, her rapier would be destroyed.
(Why does a kid like this have a short dagger like that?)
Clearly longer than a normal short dagger, yet clearly shorter than a longsword — a peculiar weapon. One that was obviously ill-suited for the child before her.
If anything, it would be put to far more effective use in her own hands.
Thinking that, Keena's eyes were drawn to the pure-white short dagger — Hakumo — for just an instant.
"Ow!"
She cried out at a sudden, sharp pain. Glancing down, she saw a slender needle embedded in her left arm — without a doubt, it had been thrown in a momentary opening.
"Annoying little trick."
"Mm."
Putting some distance between them, Keena pulled the long needle from her left arm, tossed it to the ground, and glared at Byune with an irritated expression.