Having been to this tavern before, they made their way to the one leading to the underground room where Unchuu hid without any trouble and arrived without incident.
The only ones who came to this tavern were Rei, Elena, and Marina.
Vihera and Byune had stayed behind at the inn, and Ielo had gone to play with Set in the stables.
Upon entering the tavern, perhaps because it was still early morning, the customers were……
(There were some. And from the looks of it, they'd been here since last night.)
They were unmistakably drunkards—five men gathered around a table, still drinking.
Numerous plates of food and cups were scattered across the table in disorder.
Seeing those men, Elena wore a faintly displeased expression, while Marina wore one of helpless exasperation.
Rei too recalled a phrase he had seen on TV or somewhere while in Japan: "Drink, but don't let the drink drink you."
(Well, a tavern is a customer business, and having customers like this is better than having it as quiet as a dead sparrow. As long as they don't bother us, I figure they can do whatever they like.)
Rei quickly lost interest in the still-drinking customers and headed toward the counter.
What was fortunate was that the drunkards were already quite intoxicated and had no composure left to observe their surroundings.
On the verge of passing out, they took no particular action even upon seeing Rei and the others enter the tavern.
In this regard, Rei was probably lucky.
At any rate, upon approaching the counter, the owner he had met before saw Rei and the others and made a surprised face.
"What's going on, at such an early hour?"
You're the one who should be saying that—working at a tavern this early in the morning seems tough too. Harboring such thoughts while keeping his expression unchanged, Rei opened his mouth.
"I need to meet with Unchuu urgently. Things have come up on our end that make it impossible for us to take it easy anymore."
"……Understood."
Even though he was wearing a hood, the owner could apparently tell from Rei's demeanor that this was a serious matter.
Furthermore, since the people who came were the same group as last time, the owner led Rei and the others to the back of the tavern just as before.
Rei briefly wondered whether it was fine to leave the drunkards as they were, but judged that if they were that thoroughly drunk, it should be fine.
The fact that the owner showed no particular concern about them was also a major factor.
And so, just as before, they descended underground, and just as before, the door was knocked with a certain rhythm.
After tens of seconds passed……
"What is it, this early in the morning?"
Saying so, Unchuu opened the door slightly and showed his face.
The fact that bread crumbs were stuck around his mouth was probably because he was right in the middle of a meal.
Upon seeing that not only the tavern owner but also Rei, Elena, and Marina were in front of the door, Unchuu wore a slightly surprised expression.
He probably thought that Rei and the others returning to him again was far too soon.
"Sorry, Unchuu. The truth is, there's something I'd like to talk to you about. Is now alright?"
"I was still in the middle of a meal, though. ……Well, fine. Come in."
So saying, he told Rei and the others to enter the room.
"Then, I should head back up, since I can't very well leave those drunkards as they are. Call for me when you're done with your business."
The owner did not enter the room and returned to the tavern.
It was probably a judgment that, while a short while was one thing, he couldn't leave the drunkards unattended for a long time.
(Well, drunkards act in ways completely outside of one's expectations, so thinking about it that way, it's not an unreasonable concern.)
After a brief glance at the owner's back as he hurried away at a slightly quick pace, Rei and the others entered the room.
Then, just as Rei had expected, several pieces of bread and cheese were placed on the table in the room.
Rei thought that even some stew would have been fine, but considering that might be Unchuu's preference, he decided there was no need for him to interject and stopped himself from saying anything.
"So, what's the matter? Ah, well, sit wherever you like."
This time, unlike when they had come before, the smaller number of people meant everyone simply took a seat in the chairs.
Unchuu carried the remaining bread and cheese to his mouth and washed them down with water from a cup.
"We received a communication yesterday from the person who entrusted us with this current matter. We were urged to settle this case as quickly as possible."
"……That's quite sudden. What happened?"
"You remember the Magic Item I showed you, right?"
"Ah. That……"
He was probably remembering the Slave Collar that Rei had.
As Unchuu nodded, Rei spoke of the content he had predicted.
Rei had slightly hesitated over whether to tell Unchuu, but since he had already spoken of his conjecture to Nokor, who had been introduced to him by Unchuu, he judged there would be no problem.
And in fact, those words alone were enough for Unchuu to understand why Rei was trying to settle this current matter so urgently.
How he had informed the people above of the facts he learned yesterday—that method was entirely incomprehensible to Unchuu, but.
"That's how it is. For that reason, I want to launch an assault on Mejougo today……or at the very latest, by tomorrow."
"……Your reasoning I understand. I understand, but……that's a little, no, quite difficult. The Resistance can't just move immediately either, and we on our end also have various preparations we need to make. Besides……the matter of the Giants is, after all, merely your conjecture, isn't it?"
"That's right. But……I think it's a conjecture with a quite high possibility. Besides, we originally came to this country to retaliate against Jaya. Given that, even if what I predicted yesterday turns out to be wrong, if the Underground Facility is an important place for Jaya, there's sufficient reason to attack it."
At Rei's words, Unchuu fell silent.
That's right—the fact that Rei and the others had come to this country was, after all, to take revenge on Jaya for their own reasons.
He had anticipated that cooperating with Rei and the others would make them a great Combat Power for resisting Jaya, but……precisely because of that, having Rei's group act on their own was something he wanted to avoid as much as possible.
"What is the Resistance saying?"
"We're in the middle of contacting them now. However, even on the Resistance's end, assembling Combat Power will take a corresponding amount of time. If possible, I'd want a few days……if possible, around ten days of time."
"Impossible."
Rei flatly rejected Unchuu's words.
He had originally been thinking of launching the assault even from today onward.
Even at maximum concession, tomorrow……was Rei's honest feeling.
"But then the Resistance won't be able to prepare their Combat Power."
"That's fine on its own. What I want the Resistance to do is, after all, simply to ensure that the women brought to Jaya in Mejougo don't suffer unnecessary harm."
"……I can't possibly imagine the Resistance would accept that?"
"Probably not."
They had been desperately conducting activities on their own to counter Jaya all this time.
Despite that, Rei and the others, who had come from outside the country, would ignore the Resistance and attack Jaya on their own just like that.
And they themselves would only act to prevent damage from spreading to the surroundings.
From the Resistance's perspective, it would amount to asking what everything they had done up until now was even for.
That it was something they could by no means accept was something Rei could understand as well. He could understand it, but……if asked whether there was any need to specially accommodate the Resistance, he would immediately answer no.
If they couldn't keep up with his group's actions, then they should just do what they were capable of doing.
That was Rei's honest feeling.
That was exactly what Rei hoped for from the Resistance.
"But if the Resistance doesn't accept, that's a separate concern."
"……At worst, there's a possibility you could end up making an enemy not only of Jaya but of the Resistance as well, you know? Are you still fine with that?"
"Whether it's fine or not, it's not particularly good. But if our movement is delayed because of that, the Giants will increase by that much, and the women being forced to work as prostitutes will die, won't they?"
"That's……"
At Rei's words, Unchuu spoke vaguely.
In fact, from Unchuu's position, the sooner Jaya suffered devastating damage, the better.
"For that reason, we may attack Mejougo as early as tomorrow morning, if possible."
"……Understood. I'll tell the Resistance to mobilize as quickly as possible. So, please consider the Resistance's circumstances as much as you can. You don't particularly want to worsen your relationship with the Resistance out of preference, do you, Rei?"
"Yeah. But if the Resistance can't move……or won't move, we have no intention of hesitating in our actions."
At Rei's words, delivered half as a firm instruction, Unchuu nodded.
"Your business is already done, right? In that case, I also need to contact the Resistance, so sorry, but would it be alright if I have you go home now?"
"Yeah. We'll be at the Silver Fruit Inn, so contact us if anything comes up. Though I can't promise we'll be there forever."
At Rei's words, Unchuu nodded with a "for the time being" sort of impression.
Inside Unchuu's head, he was probably already thinking about how to contact the Resistance and assemble Combat Power as quickly as possible.
After a brief glance at Unchuu, Rei and the others stood from their seats.
Upon exiting the tavern that led to Unchuu's room, the time had already shifted from morning to closer to midday.
(One thing after another, we were in Unchuu's room. Past ten o'clock, huh.)
After checking the time with a pocket watch taken out from the Misty Ring, Rei considered what should be done from here on today.
(I'd like to show my face in Mejougo again tonight. I want to meet with Sharia and obtain even a little more information. Food and such as payment for information……no, right. I should bring clothes that won't make her look like she's wearing prostitute's clothing.)
Since he had left a fair amount of food last time, it should last for several more days.
Of course, if she did something like eating freely to her heart's content, the food might run out……but he couldn't imagine Sharia would do such a thing in her current situation. ……No, rather, he didn't want to imagine it, if he was being honest.
If he was to bring something, Rei's thinking was that it would be better to bring normal clothing so that she could act immediately whenever something happened.
The assault on Mejougo that Rei was thinking of carrying out by tomorrow at the latest.
If she were to escape by taking advantage of that, being seen in an appearance like a prostitute would unquestionably lead to trouble—that was certain.
In the first place, what Rei and the others were doing was, after all, the destruction of the Underground Facility in Mejougo.
It wasn't as if their goal was to annihilate Jaya, who effectively controlled Mejougo. After all, what Rei and the others had been commissioned to do by Daskar was retaliation.
(Thinking about it that way, I have a feeling Vihera might end up looking quite suspicious.)
Vihera, clad in a sheer garment through which the other side was visible, was dressed in an outfit that one could accept being called that of a prostitute.
Though considering that beauty, one could by no means think of her as an ordinary prostitute.
"Oh my."
As they were walking down the street, Marina's voice suddenly came through.
What is it? Turning his gaze toward Marina, Rei looked in the direction of her gaze and……though he still had his hood on, he pressed his hand against his face from above.
The reason being that there, a person all too familiar was engaged in a grand brawl against several men.
That person was……Vihera, the very person he had been thinking about just seconds ago, clad in a sheer garment that evoked dancers and prostitutes.
The sight of her unleashing an exaggeratedly overblown blow and sending a man who looked like an adventurer flying was clearly behavior that showed she was playing around.
If Vihera punched in earnest, men of the level she was fighting would lose consciousness in a single blow……no, they would lose even their lives.
Furthermore, if she were to take them down in earnest, she had a skill called Magic Impact Palm that could destroy an opponent from the inside merely by touching them.
Even without going that far, it should have been easy for her to knock an opponent unconscious with minimal movement.
The fact that she was fighting so blatantly was clearly because she was playing around.
(Ah……why is she doing something like this. In the first place, if she stands out……no, that's beyond the point now.)
Rei and the others had entered Rossi under their real names without particularly hiding their identities.
Given that, whether she did something attention-grabbing here or not, there wouldn't be much of a difference.
"Rei, shouldn't we stop Vihera for the time being?"
"……Yeah."
Nodding at Elena's words, Rei took a step forward to stop the playing Vihera.