Around the time Ajas and his group reached the conclusion to flee Gilm, Rei was furrowing his brow at the report he had just heard from Marina and Vihera.
The setting was, as usual, the courtyard of Marina's house. Present were the usual members of the Crimson Lotus Wings, along with Ilse—the person at the center of this whole matter.
Ilse, continuing from the previous day, was savoring the array of dishes that had been laid out.
The various dishes Rei had prepared were freshly made foods purchased from stalls and dining halls, stored away in his Misty Ring.
There was also pizza, baked using the Magic Item oven.
For Ilse, who could not earn all that much as an adventurer, the spread before her was nothing short of a feast for the eyes.
Yet even as she enjoyed the food, the words coming from Marina and Vihera's mouths were hardly suited to a pleasant meal.
"So the number of missing people really is increasing," Rei said.
"Yes. Apparently, a fair number of requests asking the Guild to search for missing people have been coming in," Marina replied.
As the former Guild Master, it was not difficult for Marina to gather information on what kinds of requests were being filed. This involved no illegal or underhanded methods; these were requests normally posted on the Request Board, and the information could be learned immediately by asking the Receptionist. Among the Receptionists, there were many who admired Marina.
Furthermore, while Marina was currently an adventurer, she also held the position of Guild advisor. For someone in such a role, gathering information about publicly available requests was a simple matter.
"While on patrol, I saw several people searching for acquaintances," Vihera added, corroborating Marina's words. She had been patrolling Gilm in support of the Guards.
At this dining table, the topic Rei had brought up was indeed Ajas—but before that, he had mentioned the story he had heard from the members of the D-Rank party Mercy's Rain at the expansion construction site, about their companion going missing.
Even Rei was not sure why he had decided to bring it up.
In the first place, all manner of people gathered in Gilm on a regular basis. Among them, there were certainly no small number who went missing for one reason or another. Especially now, with the expansion construction drawing even larger crowds than usual, it would not be strange for someone to lose contact amid the influx.
But... yes, but.
Even so, Rei could not shake his concern over what he had heard from the members of Mercy's Rain.
There was no clear reason for it.
No—the fact that he had been told about the personality of Lyusha, the female member of Mercy's Rain who had gone missing, was reason enough.
"There are probably a lot of what you'd call newcomers, right? If so, isn't there a possibility that someone is targeting those kinds of people and doing something to them?" Elena murmured, savoring a soup loaded with vegetables and bacon.
Her words carried strong persuasive weight. Even though it was located on the frontier... or rather, precisely because it was on the frontier, Gilm was quite developed. After all, with this expansion construction, Gilm's scale was shifting from a town to a city—that alone showed just how much it had grown.
...Though, it was a town ruled by Daskar, a central figure of the Neutral Faction, one of the Three Great Factions in the Kingdom of Mireana. The fact that it had been the size of a town rather than a city was probably what was strange to begin with.
"That's true. There's no doubt that Gilm is a place with many temptations. But... the ones going missing are mostly young women? Of course, there are men among them too, so I can't say it's absolute..."
"Mostly women, huh. In that case, the chances of them being caught up in some kind of incident are probably high after all," Rei muttered with understanding, eating a slice of pizza topped with sausage and summer vegetables.
Needless to say, women were easily caught up in various troubles. Since those who had gone missing were also adventurers, it would be difficult for some random Thug to try anything against them. But if direct force was out of the question, then there were any number of other ways to deal with it. At the simple end of the spectrum, slipping drugs into a meal would suffice. As an even cruder method, there was always the option of attacking in a group all at once. Between surprise attacks and ambushes, the methods were diverse.
"It might be a good idea to ask the Guards about it tomorrow," Vihera suggested.
At her words, everyone present nodded. When it came to assisting the Guards, Vihera might have seemed to be in a subordinate role, but in reality, very few among the Guards could fight on par with her even remotely. Because of that, she commanded a strong presence among their ranks.
Of course, strength alone did not earn unconditional trust and respect from the Guards or other Fleeing Adventurers. However, the fact that she was active as a member of the Crimson Lotus Wings, and that her power had been well-known in Gilm for some time, must have worked in her favor here. Though, the fact that she had been beating down one after another those who harassed her on account of her appearance and clothing was probably also a factor.
"Yeah, go ahead and do that. Things are really busy right now, so I'd rather not put too much of a burden on the Guards if possible."
Those who heard Rei's words smiled to varying degrees. The Guards were busy because adventurers, craftsmen, and even ordinary citizens were flocking to Gilm seeking work. With that many people gathering, disturbances were inevitable. Among them, brawls were particularly common. In fact, the incidents that Vihera and Byune had stopped—or rather, suppressed—during their patrols of the town were most frequently such altercations.
At any rate, the matter of the missing persons was settled with the decision that Vihera would consult the Guards the next day. Rei thought that perhaps the members of Mercy's Rain had already consulted the Guards themselves, but he figured that if they had, so much the better. If the Guards were approached by both newcomers to Gilm and Vihera, who had been active there for some time, they would have no choice but to act.
Besides, I have a strange bad feeling about this. It's as if something is writhing in the shadows... that kind of feeling.
Mindful of the unease in his heart, Rei decided to set the missing persons discussion aside for now and opened his mouth.
"So, about Ajas..."
The moment his name was spoken, Ilse's demeanor shifted. However, that was something Rei had expected, so he said nothing of it.
"I probed him again today, but as expected, he's not going to show his hand that easily. It's also true that I'm not particularly good at that sort of thing to begin with."
Rei already held the conviction that Ajas was Ilse's enemy—or at the very least, that he was definitely putting on a facade. But without any evidence to prove it, he could not simply take forceful action.
"It would be convenient if Ajas were connected to the missing persons that came up earlier," Vihera said, sounding thoroughly annoyed.
If that were the case, two problems would be solved at once—but they could hardly just assume so without any evidence.
"That would make things pretty easy, though. Anyway, Ajas must be aware that I'm suspicious of him for various reasons. After that, it would be simple if he'd just do something careless and show his hand."
"If he made a careless move, we'd be able to act on our end too. It's a bit unfortunate that he won't."
"...Should I just confront Ajas directly myself?"
The one who spoke was Ilse.
To that, Marina immediately shook her head.
"You should not. Ajas doesn't know why Rei has singled him out. No, of course, he might be able to guess based on his own past actions through his conversations with Rei, but he still shouldn't have any certainty."
"But, Marina-san. If Ajas learns that I'm here, I think he would make some kind of move."
"That's true. But... the problem is that your own combat ability is low, Ilse. What would you do if Ajas attacked you? Of course, if one of us were by your side, we could handle it. But... I know this isn't what you want to hear, but we're all busy with various things right now too."
Marina was vague in her phrasing, but the substance of what she was saying amounted to the fact that they did not have the time to focus solely on Ilse during this busy period.
At Marina's words, Ilse quietly averted her gaze. She did not think her revenge was a more important matter than Gilm's expansion. Even so, from the bottom of her heart, she could not help but want to prioritize her revenge—and there was nothing she could do about that.
Sensing that the atmosphere had become somewhat delicate, Rei voiced something that had just occurred to him.
"Marina, with your Spirit Magic, could you do something like setting up an alert if Ilse is in danger? And also, so that we can know where Ilse is at all times..."
"Well... it would be a bit difficult, but it's not impossible. However, if I do that..."
Marina hesitated, then closed her eyes as if thinking something over. Eventually, with a smile that said she had no choice, she spoke.
"I'll be pushing myself a little, but if we're talking possible or impossible, then it's possible. However, that means there's also a chance the expansion construction might be delayed somewhat."
"...I see."
Rei, who was fundamentally moving between various locations; Set, who was solely handling aerial watch; and Vihera and Byune, who were patrolling the town. Just like those three and one creature, Marina was working at the expansion construction site. Marina, who wielded Spirit Magic freely—to a degree that even fellow Spirit Magic users found unbelievable—was a tremendous asset at the construction site.
Making Marina push herself would naturally mean the burden would be shifted somewhere.
The question is, just how much of a burden that would be.
If it was within an acceptable range, there would be no particular problem. But if it became something irrecoverable—well, not quite that far, but if it could lead to a major situation, then naturally they would have to prioritize accordingly.
Marina, who had been watching Rei waver, eventually muttered that it couldn't be helped and opened her mouth.
"Alright. If Rei is this invested in this girl, then I suppose I'll put in a little effort too."
"Are you sure?"
Marina, who had been reluctant up until a moment ago, had for some reason suddenly changed her tune, and Rei gave her a puzzled look. Meeting his gaze, Marina nodded with her usual radiant smile.
"Yes, there's no problem. However, for the effort I put in, I'd like at least a reward."
"...Even if you say that. What should I do?"
The word wages briefly crossed Rei's mind, but in the first place, where they were right now was Marina's house. Considering that it was a house in the Noble District, there was no way she was struggling for money.
Also, Marina, who had been the Guild Master until recently, had naturally received compensation for that role. The Guild Master was the top of the Guild—and the top of the Guild in Gilm, a frontier town. Her compensation was naturally a substantial amount, and she held a sum equal to or greater than Rei's own, which was enough for a family to live in leisure not just for one lifetime but through ten reincarnations. Of course, it was not stored as Gold Coins or Silver Coins, but converted into things like gemstones.
The fact that Marina's house was protected by Spirit Magic also served as a security measure in that sense. ...Though Marina herself was not particularly interested in money. Being a Dark Elf, her desire for financial wealth was not that high.
At any rate, the reward that Marina said she wanted—Rei could not quite imagine what it would be.
As if taking pity on him, Vihera spoke up with a somewhat exasperated expression.
"...One date with Rei. Something like that, right?"
"Huh? Is that enough? If so, I don't mind that."
"Then, may I also request a da-da-date with Rei as a reward? After all, I have been restraining the Noble's Faction's recklessness."
Elena stumbled slightly over the word date, but Ara looked at her with an expression that seemed to say, Well said!
"Oh, then I suppose I'll also request one date."
Vihera, who had been listening to Elena's words, chimed in, and in the end, Rei found himself promising dates to Elena and the other two—in exchange for Ilse directly contacting Ajas.