After proceeding along the path trampled solid by the giants for about ten minutes, Rei and his party discovered where the giants were located.
"Ah... I see. No wonder it didn't show up during aerial reconnaissance. The forest surrounds it, and the trees hide it from above."
At the end of Rei's gaze was what could only be described as a cave. The entrance stood about five meters high—easily large enough for a giant to walk through without ducking. The width might have been tight for two giants side by side, but a single one could enter without any trouble whatsoever.
Several trees grew around the cave mouth, and just as Rei had said, their canopy concealed it so thoroughly that it would remain invisible even from the sky. This wasn't the result of any deliberate landscaping by Jaya's people—they hadn't planted the trees for this purpose. It was pure coincidence. Even so, the fact remained that the entrance had been hidden, and Rei hadn't noticed it at all during his aerial reconnaissance of Mejougo aboard Set.
Coincidence or not, it was an irritating oversight as far as Rei was concerned.
"But does it really keep going inside? I mean, this cave doesn't look all that big to me."
Vihera had a point. The rocky outcrop housing the cave entrance didn't appear particularly large. From the outside, one could guess there was enough room for several—or perhaps a dozen—human-sized people to hide within. But if asked whether hundreds of three-meter-tall giants, or even more than a thousand, could all conceal themselves inside, the answer was a definitive no.
Rei opened his mouth to respond to Vihera's observation—then suddenly stopped.
He wasn't the only one. Though a beat behind Rei, everyone else also froze, every one of them focusing their awareness on a presence approaching from within the cave. Toward them.
"As for an explanation on that front... I'd say asking him would clear things up, wouldn't you?"
Rei murmured while looking at the cave. His words carried clearly enough for whoever was inside to hear them.
A moment's hesitation at having his presence seen through—then the figure stepped out from the darkness.
"Well now, I certainly didn't expect to be found this easily. Completely caught me off guard."
The voice triggered a flicker of recognition in Rei. He knew that voice from somewhere. Before he could place it, the man himself emerged into the light.
He looked, in some indefinable way, well-bred. The moment Rei saw his face, the name came to him.
"Ryutas... wasn't it?"
"An acquaintance?" Marina asked. From Rei's tone, she judged the man was almost certainly someone he knew—but anyone emerging from a place like this was unlikely to be an ally.
"Yeah. Unfortunately... though I'm not sure that's the right word. He's definitely an acquaintance. I told you before, didn't I? When I came to scout Mejougo with Set, I saved a merchant who was being attacked by bandits."
"You did," Elena murmured, recalling the conversation.
"However, from what I heard, the person Rei saved was supposed to be a merchant. At the very least, he was not someone who would come walking out of a Jaya facility."
"Hahaha, thank you for the rather blunt assessment. But please, don't blame him too harshly? After all, I was concealing my identity at the time."
"Concealing your identity, huh. Well, given that you had multiple escorts trailing you—or should I say, still have escorts trailing you—I figured you weren't just a traveling peddler."
As Rei spoke, he kept his gaze fixed on the depths of the cave. Ryutas put on a mildly surprised expression.
Noticeable—put on, not let slip. He wore the surprise like a mask. The fact that his escorts' presence had been detected was clearly within his expectations.
"For someone of your caliber, my escorts are hardly a factor. And they're supposed to be quite skilled."
There was something subtly different about Ryutas's demeanor compared to their previous encounter. Back then, the meeting had been accidental, and he had been fabricating a persona to disguise his identity. Rei could easily imagine that the personality on display now was the real one.
"Fair enough. For someone based in Reblurina, they're decently skilled."
Decently skilled—but only within the context of a small nation like Reblurina. In a major power like the Kingdom of Mireana, they wouldn't rate nearly as high. The implication hung unspoken in Rei's words, and killing intent flared from the hidden escorts.
Whether they're insulted at having their abilities dismissed, or they're worried that underestimating us will put their charge in danger... either way, it's immature.
Rei and his party knew the escorts were hiding there. The escorts surely knew that Rei knew. To bare their killing intent anyway was short-sighted in the extreme.
Whether or not Ryutas grasped the undercurrents of that exchange, he showed no particular concern.
"Decently, you say. They're among the most skilled in all of Jaya. But to an Alias Holder adventurer, that's merely 'decent'?"
Ryutas looked mildly wounded—but whether the reaction was genuine or just another performance, Rei couldn't say.
One thing, however, was certain.
"I didn't expect you to admit being part of Jaya so readily. I thought you'd dance around it a bit longer."
The moment the phrase "among the most skilled in Jaya" left his lips, there was no ambiguity about his affiliation. For Ryutas to say it outright was surprising even to Rei.
"Is that so? But given that we've run into each other here, I don't think there's much room for obfuscation, do you?"
"I won't deny that."
Ryutas had been at this cave—a shipping point for the giants. No claim of having no ties to Jaya could possibly be believed under these circumstances.
"But wouldn't you at least try? For that matter, why come out the front entrance? If you wanted to flee, I'd imagine there'd be other hidden passages."
"Oh, gathering intelligence? You're quite thorough. Well, there's no harm in telling you—the only entrance and exit to this cave is the one you're looking at. There used to be several others, of course, but... well, I think you can guess."
Ryutas trailed off with a pointed look. Rei didn't need a moment to grasp what he meant.
"Giants, huh."
"Correct. Not all the passages leading outside were large enough for giants to pass through, but even the ones wide enough for a person would be easily destroyed if a giant went on a rampage. So this is the only way in or out."
"That's critical information. You sure it's wise to hand it over so easily?"
The disclosure was far more forthcoming than Rei had anticipated. He couldn't take it at face value, of course—but that didn't change the fact that it was vital intelligence. So why give it away? The question was a natural one. Elena and the others, hanging back to observe the exchange, were wondering the same thing.
But Ryutas only smiled.
"In the first place, someone of your caliber has made it all the way here. Anything else we try to hide will be found out in short order, won't it? Under those circumstances, I'd rather share what I can and hope for leniency once I'm in your custody. Wouldn't you?"
"Young Master!"
One of the escorts stepped out from the shadows of the cave wall. The man clearly hadn't expected Ryutas to spill their organization's secrets so casually.
He was in his forties or perhaps fifties, with a stern, weathered face. He glared at Rei's party while chiding Ryutas from the corner of his eye.
"What are you saying to people like these! The Young Master is the one who will carry Jaya's future on his shoulders! Please have the decency to remember that!"
"That's easy to say, but with Rei and his party standing here, I'd say quite a lot is already beyond our reach. Even if I tried to fight, do you honestly think we could do anything about them?"
"That's..."
The man who had spoken was an escort—he made his living reading the strength of opponents. And from where he stood, the gap was glaring. Rei and his party possessed power that dwarfed his own and his subordinates' by an overwhelming margin.
If Ryutas refused to talk here, combat was inevitable. And if it came to that, their defeat was certain.
Even so, as a man who owed everything to Jaya, he couldn't simply bow his head and go along with this.
"Young Master, I understand what you're trying to say. But I grew up in Jaya. I cannot accept what you're proposing."
"...I thought as much."
A flicker of genuine disappointment crossed Ryutas's face—then vanished, replaced by his usual faint smile.
"So. What will you do? You understand that even if every one of you attacked at once, you'd be no match for Rei and his party, don't you?"
"I understand that. But... even so, I..."
The man drew a short blade from the sheath at his waist and assumed a stance. It was a clear act of hostility—but the blade was aimed at Rei, not Ryutas.
Good.
Rei was quietly relieved. Ryutas seemed willing to cooperate, and he was clearly someone who could shed light on the details of this operation. Rei wanted to avoid getting someone like that killed if he could help it. If he himself was the target, he was confident he could handle whatever came his way. This was, if anything, the outcome he'd been hoping for.
"So? What about the rest of you? If you want to go down with this man, I won't stop you."
One by one, in response to Rei's words, they stepped into view. From Rei's vantage, it was obvious that each and every one of them was sharper than the standard Jaya elites.
"More volunteers for a losing cause than I expected. You don't exactly command much loyalty, do you?"
"How rude." A pause. "...Though watching this unfold, I'm afraid I can't exactly deny it."
Rei had sensed roughly ten presences in all. Two remained at Ryutas's side. The other eight had written him off and now stood between Rei and their master.
It would have been stranger if Ryutas hadn't started doubting his own leadership. The sweat beading on his forehead had nothing to do with the summer heat—it was the sweat of a man watching his subordinates abandon him. At least, that was how it looked from where Rei stood.
"All right, then. Once I deal with these men, you'll give me the information I need. That's the deal?"
"That's right. Though I should mention—we have our own circumstances. There are some things I simply can't tell you."
At those words, Rei's mind went back to the man at the Underground Facility. The one who had died the instant he tried to speak.
"Ah... I see. So that curse-like magic is on you too."
"..."
Rei had muttered it half to himself. But for some reason—some reason he couldn't fathom—Ryutas was staring at him with an expression of naked, dumbfounded shock. As though he'd just seen something—or someone—that defied all belief.
For a man who constantly wore masks and never let his true face show, it was an extraordinarily rare sight.
"What is it?"
Rei found the expression puzzling and held Ryutas's gaze, waiting for an answer.
"Don't you dare underestimate me!"
The sight of Rei standing before him with the most colossal opening imaginable must have gouged at the man's pride. Gripping his short blade, he closed the distance in a single explosive lunge.
He had confidence in his skill. That confidence was precisely why he'd been entrusted with guarding Ryutas. But to be treated as though he didn't even exist—that, he absolutely could not forgive.
That lunge, charged with fury, was without question the finest step the man had ever taken in his life.
It was simply his misfortune that the person standing before him was Rei.