Having finished the exchange with Melan at the tavern—an encounter that could only be described as unpleasant for both Rei and Ilse—the two of them left the establishment.
"I'm sorry, Rei-san. For dragging you into that unnecessary business."
Ilse bowed her head to Rei.
If Ilse hadn't been involved in this matter, Melan would have never butted in. Understanding that was exactly why she bowed her head.
"Don't worry about it. Given how things looked, you would have clashed with him eventually anyway."
There was no doubt that Melan disapproved of revenge. But if Ilse hadn't been acting alongside Rei, would Melan have gone so far in refusing to accept her desire for vengeance?
That was Rei's honest impression after leaving the tavern—after talking with Melan.
Whether Melan himself was aware of it or not was unclear, but the gaze he directed at Rei carried a sharp edge.
Of course, one reason for that hostility was probably the fact that Rei was helping Ilse with her revenge. But at the same time... there was no mistaking that Rei's close relationship with Vihera—Vihera, whom Melan had fallen for at first sight—played a major role.
"Is that so? Hearing you say that does put me a little more at ease, though."
At Rei's words, Ilse smiled faintly before her expression tightened once more.
"Rei-san, we've wasted time here, but we should get going soon."
"Yeah, you're right. Set's waiting too. ...It'd make things easier for us if they showed their tail, though."
Exchanging words as they walked, they made their way through Gilm.
Set, circling at an altitude of one hundred meters, would normally be difficult to spot. But while inferior to Set, Rei possessed sharper senses than an ordinary person, so finding it was not difficult for him.
That also meant that Set, whose senses were even sharper than Rei's, could locate him all the more easily.
"Gururururu!"
With that cry, Set descended to the ground, flapping its wings.
Under normal circumstances in Gilm, this would have been absolutely impossible—an action only feasible because of the ongoing expansion work, which allowed free aerial entry and exit.
Those nearby who heard Set's cry were startled for a moment, wondering what had happened. But once they recognized the familiar sound, they immediately returned to their daily routines.
The workers who had come to Gilm seeking employment in the expansion project saw the reactions around them, concluded that it probably wasn't a problem—or perhaps forced themselves to accept as much—and likewise went back to their tasks.
Paying no mind to the surrounding commotion, Rei stroked Set as it landed on the ground.
"Gurururu, guruguru."
Being stroked by Rei, Set purred happily.
Ilse watched the two of them from a step back.
After a few minutes passed, Rei finished stroking Set and spoke.
"So, Set. Do you know where Ajas fled to?"
"Guru!"
Set let out a cry as if to say leave it to me, then set off down the street to guide Rei and Ilse.
A thought crossed Rei's mind—what if, during the time he'd been interacting with Set, Ajas had already slipped away from wherever he was hiding? But even if Ajas tried to flee under the current circumstances, he would inevitably be seen, and Rei was certain that Set would have no trouble tracking him down.
Guided by Set, they arrived at an inn, but...
"Here, huh..."
The disappointment was clear in Rei's voice.
Naturally—this was the very inn mentioned in the information about Ajas that Rei had received from Marina, or more precisely, from Egg through Daskar.
Rei had hoped that Set might have tracked Ajas to his prepared hideout or somewhere in that vicinity. That would have been the best-case scenario.
There's no way he doesn't have a hideout, right? If he'd actually reformed, that possibility might have existed, but... judging from his attitude, that's definitely not the case.
On the surface, Ajas presented himself as a capable, approachable adventurer. But considering his demeanor when listening to Ilse's story, he absolutely did not appear to have reformed. If he had, he wouldn't have abandoned his work midway and disappeared in the first place.
Unable to bear the guilt, maybe? ...No way.
Looking at Ajas's demeanor when he spoke with Ilse, it was painfully obvious he felt nothing resembling a guilty conscience.
Given that, the fact that he had been maintaining a outwardly pleasant personality meant there had to be some reason behind it. Rei's conjecture—something he was half-convinced of already—was that it was impossible for Ajas not to be plotting something.
In other words, a base of operations for carrying out whatever he was scheming was absolutely necessary.
Don't tell me he doesn't actually have such a place, and he's been planning and executing everything from the inn? ...No, that can't be it.
He was hiding his true nature and deceiving those around him. Naturally, he wouldn't do anything to break his careful, cautious stance, no matter what he was doing.
Though for Rei, it would actually be more convenient if Ajas was conducting his business from the inn, since he could seize evidence immediately.
"Well, we've come all the way to the inn, but... if they haven't made a move yet, things get a bit tricky."
"You're right. ...Personally, I'd like to storm the inn as we are, but I suppose that's not an option either."
"Calm down. It might be unavoidable given what happened with Melan, but you're getting a little too aggressive."
Rei couldn't entirely deny that he never expected to hear himself say such a thing.
After all, he—Rei—was known for having an extremely aggressive personality. To be precise, it wasn't that he was aggressive toward everyone, but rather that he was aggressive toward anyone who became his enemy.
Once someone turned hostile, whether they were a noble or not, or a person of some other social standing, he wouldn't hesitate to attack. And the fact that he actually had the power to back that up was a major factor.
For someone like Rei to be told to watch it because he was being too aggressive would undoubtedly surprise anyone listening in.
"Anyway, they must have a base somewhere other than here. I'd like to crush that too if possible. ...For you, who seeks revenge, it might seem roundabout, though."
"No."
In response to Rei's words, Ilse immediately shook her head and voiced her denial.
Having been admonished by Rei for being too aggressive, she had regained at least some composure. Though she had calmed down, it went without saying that her desire for revenge against Ajas hadn't vanished.
"I don't know what Ajas is plotting, but having that scheme crushed right before his eyes would be far more frustrating for him, wouldn't it?"
Saying this with a faint smile, Ilse's entire demeanor had clearly changed compared to when they first met.
Is this also what they call falling to darkness? Well, the incident with Melan was definitely the cause, but... what a troublesome thing to do.
If there had been some mistake with the Ajas situation, and he had actually reformed—or if it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity—who knows what would have happened.
Understanding that such a thing was practically impossible, Rei nonetheless found himself entertaining the thought.
"Right. Whatever he's plotting, if the other party... hm? Who's that?"
Noticing someone approaching, Rei called out.
Currently, Rei and his companions were standing in the shadow of a building. Of course, since there was enough space for even Set to conceal itself, it wasn't a spot where they were completely impossible to find.
"Rei-san, it's been a while."
Saying that, the man bowed his head.
But Rei didn't recognize him and only tilted his head in confusion.
Who is he? I feel like I might have seen his face somewhere... maybe.
Still, since he sensed no hostility from the man, he decided he wasn't an enemy for the time being.
"Who are you?"
"Ouch. I figured you'd forgotten me. I sort of suspected as much from how you just looked at me. I'm Dahl, formerly a member of the Prairie Wolves."
"...Ah, now that you mention it, you were there, weren't you."
Rei recalled that when he first made contact with the Prairie Wolves, this man might have been among the members present.
"Glad you remembered. So, what are you doing here, Rei-san? Well, given that you're here, I suppose there's only one reason."
The man's gaze shifted from Rei and his party to the inn—the inn where Ajas was presumably staying.
Seeing that, Rei understood what the man was getting at. No, given that he was Egg's subordinate, Rei could have predicted as much.
Originally, Rei had asked Marina to have Daskar investigate Ajas. Naturally, Daskar, having received the request, would take the matter to Egg, the professional. Thinking along those lines, the current situation wasn't hard to piece together.
"Guess so. ...So what did you come here for? Don't tell me you just came to say hello."
Rei wasn't optimistic enough to believe that one of Egg's subordinates had coincidentally shown up right when they arrived at a spot overlooking Ajas's inn.
At Rei's look, Dahl nodded.
"Yes. Actually, I have something to discuss with you, Rei-san. ...And you would be Ilse-san, correct? It's a matter that concerns her as well."
Ilse's face showed surprise at Dahl's words, as if to say me too?
She had assumed that even if there was business to discuss, it would be with Rei.
But Dahl nodded in response to her unspoken question.
"Yes. I believe it will be a story of interest to both of you."
Hearing that, it was obvious what the discussion would be about.
Even so, Rei couldn't immediately agree to the proposal.
"I'm sure you understand, but we can't leave here right now. I assume you understand why?"
"Yes, I understand. So, in your place, I'll leave a few of my people here. How does that sound? Of course, if there's any movement, we'll let you know immediately."
"...I see."
If they would watch the inn in their stead, that wouldn't be a problem.
Having made that judgment, Rei turned his gaze to Ilse beside him.
Ilse hesitated under Rei's look.
The enemy she had searched for over the course of years was right there, just ahead.
If so, she wanted to stay and observe the inn herself, ready to act the moment anything happened. It was only natural for her to feel that way.
But as if seeing through to Ilse's inner thoughts—no, actually seeing through them—Dahl spoke up.
"Ilse-san, I think you'd better hear this out if possible. If you do, it will surely make your revenge easier."
"...Is that true?"
Ilse murmured, sounding slightly doubtful.
That the person before her knew her goal was revenge wasn't particularly surprising. After all, she had spoken about revenge and related matters in public places on multiple occasions, so that much was to be expected.
Besides, since Rei trusted him, she felt that even if he knew her purpose was revenge, he wouldn't do anything unnecessary. At the very least, she could believe he wouldn't behave like Melan, who had done nothing but tell her that revenge was wrong.
"Yes. Without a doubt. ...Or rather, we can't thank you and Rei-san enough."
"Huh? Thank us?"
For a moment, Rei wondered where that had come from, but... he quickly understood that Ajas must have been plotting something.
"Yes. Actually, he—more precisely, he and his two companions—were doing something quite troublesome for us. And what brought it to light was the investigation into the surroundings of a man named Ajas."
"Ah... I see."
Rei recalled how he had asked Marina, then Daskar, then Egg to gather information in that chain.
"Seems you understand. ...Originally, we were planning to handle this matter on our own, but..."
Dahl paused there, and a smile—no, a wry smile—crossed his face.
It was a smile that could only be called wry.
Originally, this matter was supposed to be settled by Egg and the members of the Intelligence Unit alone.
But with Rei now involved, if they tried to settle it on their own carelessly, there was a possibility of clashing with him.
That was merely a possibility, not a certainty. It wasn't certain, but... if there was even a slight chance of clashing with Rei, they couldn't overlook that risk.
That was the reason Dahl had shown his face here.