The report from the Intelligence Unit was, naturally, passed on to Egg immediately, and from Egg to Daskar.
Outside, it was still dark, and it would likely be some time before the sun rose.
In the midst of that, the lights were on in the Office of the Lord's Manor.
"...The nation of Reblurina? Is that true?"
"Yes. Though it seems it's not Reblurina itself, but rather an organization based there that's responsible."
"Even so, for them to come all the way to Gilm. This can't be just some ordinary organization."
Daskar muttered, clearly displeased, his body wrapped in sleepwear—a so-called nightgown.
In that state, he rested his elbows on his desk.
His foul mood was undoubtedly because he had been woken from his sleep.
He had already been dealing with an increased workload lately due to the expansion project, and it was not uncommon for him to work late into the night.
In fact, today too, the report Egg brought had roused Daskar just as he had finally fallen asleep.
Given that, it was no surprise he was in a bad mood.
Moreover, the report concerned an organization from Reblurina, a vassal state of the Kingdom of Mireana, that had meddled with Gilm.
"That's right. We're currently hearing various details from the captured individuals, but of the three, one was killed as an enemy by Rei... or rather, by an acquaintance of Rei's. Of the remaining two, one became stubborn after seeing their comrade killed right in front of them, and the other lost too much blood and is still unconscious."
Daskar frowned slightly at the word "enemy."
Daskar already had a stern face, but having been woken just as he was falling asleep made his features appear even more ferocious, if one could call it that.
However, the reason he furrowed his brow was not because he found the act of revenge distasteful.
It was simply the judgment that losing one of their sources of information was a painful blow.
But it was also a fact that without Rei and his group's cooperation, resolving this incident smoothly would have been difficult, so there was no one to blame.
In the first place, individuals like Ajas and Jestal had put considerable effort into concealing their involvement in this affair.
Indeed, the reason Ajas and Jestal's operations came to light at all was because of a request from Marina—or more precisely, a request from Rei, relayed through Marina, to investigate Ajas.
Without that request, Ajas and his group would have likely left Gilm as free men by now.
Having thought that far, Daskar drank the water on his desk.
Even at night, the temperature was by no means cool.
The water in the cup was quite lukewarm.
For someone like Daskar, using a cooling Magic Item would not have been difficult, but today he simply wasn't in the mood for it, so he hadn't bothered.
Drinking the lukewarm water and dispelling the lingering drowsiness from his mind, Daskar spoke again.
"So, about this Ajas fellow, was it? Do we know how they were planning to leave Gilm?"
For Daskar, the backgrounds of Ajas and his associates and what they had been plotting were undoubtedly important, but what concerned him even more was how Ajas's group intended to escape from Gilm.
Given the current situation, it was hard to imagine they could pull off something like that easily, which made him all the more curious about how they planned to do it.
"It seems few people know about that. We're currently trying to extract that information from the higher-ups, including Jestal. Please wait a while longer for the details."
"Understood. But please get on that as quickly as possible. I don't know how Ajas and his group intended to leave Gilm, but if it's a method that other organizations could also use, it could be very problematic."
"Indeed. We'll extract the information as quickly as possible."
"See that you do. ...Ah, but don't push the interrogation so hard that you end up extracting false information. That would be troublesome."
"I understand. I don't intend to be that forceful with the interrogation at first. Though, that also depends on how they respond to us."
Daskar nodded at Egg's words.
He used the word "interrogation," but in reality it meant questioning—and torture.
If this were Japan, someone would undoubtedly raise humanitarian concerns.
But in Elgin, not many people would say such things.
"Now then, leaving the matter of their escape from Gilm to the Intelligence Unit... what becomes the real issue is the nation of Reblurina. If this were within the Kingdom of Mireana, there wouldn't have been any particular problem."
Daskar muttered, but a perfect example of that was the Relduct incident.
A Noble Faction Noble who had meddled with Gilm during its expansion project.
He was a member of the Noble's Faction, different from Daskar's Neutral Faction, but even so, since they were both nobles of the same Kingdom of Mireana, taking retaliatory action had been easy.
...Of course, the retaliation was only possible because Rei and Set existed. An ordinary noble could never have done such a thing so easily.
"Even if it's a vassal state, a nation is a nation. We can't just do as we please. ...However, letting this slide would be equally unsatisfying."
This incident would undoubtedly be handled by the Kingdom of Mireana, and if that happened, the spoils—reparations and the like—would mostly fall into the hands of the King's Faction and the Noble's Faction.
The Neutral Faction had recently developed a friendly relationship with the Noble's Faction, but that didn't mean they would receive a share of the Noble's Faction's profits. The answer to that was no.
Daskar understood this as well, so no one would think it unreasonable for him to voice his dissatisfaction.
In fact, if Daskar were in the King's Faction or the Noble's Faction, he would undoubtedly do something similar.
The reason he couldn't was perhaps due to the small size of the Neutral Faction.
But even so, this incident had been directed at Gilm—a city under Daskar's governance.
Given that, he couldn't simply stay silent.
If he remained quiet here, it would be taken as a sign of Daskar's weakness, and he would likely face attacks from even more organizations, other nations, and various other factions.
Moreover, Gilm was the only city located in the frontier within the Kingdom of Mireana, and its geographic position made it an extremely prosperous place.
As a nation, the Kingdom of Mireana needed to handle the matter, but at the same time, the Neutral Faction also needed to respond separately—that was Daskar's thinking.
"But, Lord Daskar. Reblurina is quite far away, you know?"
"Yes, I'm well aware."
Partly because Gilm was located in the frontier of the Kingdom of Mireana, it would take over a month by carriage to reach Reblurina.
That meant they couldn't just send a single person.
Whether they intended to crush the organization behind this incident or otherwise, they would need a certain level of Combat Power.
The one saving grace, at least, is that we're not going as a nation. Since we're going to deliver punishment for this incident, there's no need to send someone like a diplomat. ...Though when it comes to deciding who to send, that's where things get tricky. The first candidate would be...
What came to Daskar's mind was, naturally, Rei.
Partly because Rei was deeply involved in this incident, but more than anything, Rei had Gryphon Seto as a means of mobility.
At Set's travel speed, the journey to Reblurina wouldn't take that much time.
Of course, when Rei traveled long distances, he usually ended up getting lost, being attacked by Bandits, attacking Bandits, or stopping at villages and towns along the way.
However, Set's travel speed was so overwhelming that even if Rei did all of those things, it wouldn't be a problem at all.
So overwhelming that even a Dragon Knight riding a Wyvern couldn't match it.
But I've been asking far too much of Rei lately. The expansion project is one thing, but I can't even begin to guess how much I'll need to pay him in compensation. Should I really ask even more of Rei?
Daskar was also aware of just how much of a burden he had been placing on Rei lately.
Fortunately, Rei didn't seem particularly concerned about fatigue, but that was simply because he was Rei.
If an ordinary Young Mage were told to do the same work Rei did, they would undoubtedly say it was impossible.
What Rei was doing was on that level.
Furthermore, the role Rei played in the expansion project was an extremely significant one.
Sending Rei off to Reblurina here would place a major burden on the expansion project.
Knowing that, Daskar hesitated.
"What about having someone else ride Set... how about that?"
"That probably won't work. From what I heard before, Set only allows Rei to ride him. In fact, the women in Rei's party can't ride Set, so they travel by clinging to his legs."
"Now that you mention it, I did hear something like that before."
Since riding Set wasn't an option, they couldn't just borrow Set and send someone else to Reblurina.
Daskar's plan fell through at the very first stage.
"Besides, even if someone could ride Set, I don't think Rei would lend him out, and more importantly, I can't imagine Set separating from Rei."
"...You're right."
Egg understood the strong bond between Rei and Set. At the same time, he also understood that Set was extremely clingy.
Asking a Set like that to leave Rei and go to another country—there was virtually no chance that would be accepted unless under extraordinary circumstances.
"Which means... it comes down to asking Rei again, doesn't it?"
"But if we ask Rei, won't that affect the expansion project?"
"Probably. I think so too. But... if we just sit here with our hands folded, whoever's getting cocky will reach for Gilm even more."
At Daskar's words, Egg wore an exasperated expression.
The Intelligence Unit was already stretched to its limits as it was. If, on top of that, more people started pulling similar stunts, it was certain to exceed the Intelligence Unit's capacity.
"I thought the Count Relduct incident would have served as a good deterrent, though."
"It should have served as one. In fact, there are no Noble Faction members operating in the shadows right now. ...Of course, whether that's the effect of the deterrent or because the Princess General is here, I can't say for sure."
Though he said that, in his heart of hearts, Daskar knew it was because of the Princess General—Elena.
If a Noble Faction Noble took suspicious actions in a place where Elena was, it would smear the face of Duke Kerebel, who led the Noble's Faction.
Should that happen, expulsion from the Noble's Faction was a real possibility.
As long as they were reaping significant benefits from operating as part of the Noble's Faction, they couldn't possibly do such a thing.
...Of course, there were those who acted on emotion.
As long as the possibility of such individuals lashing out couldn't be ruled out, it wasn't as if Elena's presence guaranteed absolute safety.
"In any case, I'll speak with Rei soon... do you think you can arrange a time?"
Given his recent workload, it wasn't something he could readily agree to if asked whether he could easily make time.
But since he was asking a favor, Daskar wanted to explain things to Rei himself.
"Yeah, you've been really, truly busy with all sorts of things, haven't you."
Egg communicated with Daskar frequently, so he understood just how much work Daskar was handling on a regular basis.
"But if that's difficult, how about submitting a request through the Guild Master?"
"...Well, that would be the quickest way. But still, I've been pushing Rei rather hard lately, and I'd prefer to explain it to him directly."
He understood that work was busy, but if he was going to make a request of Rei, he needed to fulfill his obligations properly.
If he used Rei like a convenient tool, eventually Rei might give up on Gilm—abandon Daskar, and relocate his base of operations elsewhere.
No, as a worst-case scenario, Rei might even resort to assassinating Daskar.
Rei possessed the kind of power to singlehandedly take on an entire army.
If he truly moved to assassinate Daskar, preventing it would be extremely difficult.
What's more, if Rei were to turn hostile toward Daskar, Rei's companions would likely turn hostile as well.
Marina, who had a long history with Daskar, might take a neutral stance—choosing not to participate in the attack while also not lifting a finger to stop it, but...
No, let's not even entertain such reckless thoughts. If that became reality, there'd be nothing I could do about it.
Muttering that in his heart, Daskar resolved to make time to speak with Rei as soon as possible.