Even in summer, the inside of the cave was cool.
Of course, right after entering, it wasn't particularly chilly... but still, once they progressed a certain distance, it was only natural for the air to turn cool.
...Granted, starting with Rei's Dragon Robe, the members of the Crimson Lotus Wings were, in various ways, highly resistant to heat and cold—or simply unaffected by it entirely.
Additionally, with Marina among them, freely wielding Spirit Magic, even on a night that could be called tropical, they wouldn't suffer from the heat.
It was likely because Jaya's people frequented the place.
Light-producing Magic Tools were embedded in the cave walls, firmly securing their field of vision.
They were somewhat expensive light Magic Items, but Jaya gathered customers and earned money in Mejougo nearly every night.
What's more, since the prostitutes working in Mejougo were beings controlled by Slave Collars, things like wages did not exist for them.
The more customers came, the more Jaya profited.
And men, fundamentally, had very strong sexual desires.
With that much income, buying a somewhat expensive light Magic Item wasn't a difficult proposition.
"There's a step there, so be careful."
Rei, advancing at the front, called out the warning.
Normally, Byune the thief would take the lead in such cases, but this time the circumstances were different.
That was because they had been told by Ryutas that there were no traps here.
Thinking about it, it was only natural—if traps were set in a place where the Giants moved, there was a high possibility the Giants would trigger them.
Since it cost the sacrifice of a single prostitute to finally produce a single Giant, Jaya would not want to carelessly injure them.
Moreover, since the idea that this place—where Jaya's people resided—could be attacked was entirely nonexistent, there were likely many who wished to avoid making an already difficult-to-walk cave even more cumbersome.
Also, unlike the artificially constructed Underground Facility in Mejougo, the fact that this was simply a cave repurposed as-is was an issue in this case.
In terms of setting traps, it was undoubtedly easier to set them in this cave than in Mejougo's Underground Facility.
But that simultaneously meant disarming them would require more effort.
Above all, unlike Mejougo's Underground Facility, which had a somewhat established living environment, this cave was not that spacious.
Given that, the cave was entered and exited quite frequently.
Each time, it was deemed a waste to set traps, and so traps were no longer laid.
"Since there are people here, there are no bats or anything like that. Maybe the presence of the Giants has something to do with it?"
Marina muttered, being careful not to trip on the stepped area.
Though, given that there was light, they wouldn't trip on a step unless something extraordinary happened.
Thus, they walked through the cave for about ten minutes. Eventually, they reached the fork Ryutas had told them about.
"Which way shall we go? Will it be the side where Jaya's people are first, after all?"
Elena asked, sporting a beautiful smile, but anyone even slightly sharp would notice that beneath that smile lay a ferocious rage.
Elena was, after all, called the Princess General.
She could never forgive schemes like Jaya's.
Let alone the fact that they had obtained information from Ryutas stating that those in this cave were deeply involved in the Giant operations.
Naturally, Elena was not the only one angry.
They brainwashed women into existence as prostitutes, had them birth Giants, and then killed them.
The other three, as women themselves, could not possibly forgive that either.
...What was surprising to Rei was that Byune was also angry, just like the others.
Since Byune was fundamentally expressionless, that sort of thing inevitably stood out considerably.
Anyway, Rei, asked by Elena whether they would head toward where Jaya was, immediately nodded.
That was partly a judgment that going against Elena right now would be problematic in various ways... but naturally, that was not all.
This, too, was information from Ryutas: the Giants were basically asleep.
Ryutas had various shackles on what information he could relay, but fortunately, there seemed to be no particular issue with that.
(What criteria govern the selection of what information can and cannot be disclosed? I think it would have been better to uniformly classify all information about the Giants as nondisclosable. Well, there's a chance it's a lie, though.)
Rei thought this, but it did not look like Ryutas was lying.
Of course, there was a possibility he possessed the acting skills to lie naturally.
No, considering Ryutas's position of constantly managing his expressions, it would be more appropriate to say that was only natural.
Even so, within Rei, there was a feeling akin to half-certainty that Ryutas was not lying.
There was nothing like evidence, though.
"Halt."
Advancing along the path where Jaya's people were said to be for over ten minutes, Rei muttered softly and signaled to Elena and the others behind him.
Why Rei did such a thing was obvious if one looked down the path.
(Well, since there's only one path, it's natural to be wary of it, isn't it?)
At the end of the path, there were the figures of several men wearing Leather Armor.
However, they were not on alert against an assault; they were simply there as lookouts.
(They don't know about our assault yet? I'd think it would be strange if they hadn't been informed by Ryutas's escorts.)
There was even a man who had opposed Ryutas's decision to surrender and challenged Rei to a fight.
If so, it would not have been strange for them to have been informed of Rei's assault in accordance with that intent.
But from Rei's perspective, the men who should have been ahead showed no signs of being on alert against attackers.
Even if the path curved slightly, if the other side were truly on alert, it would not have been strange for them to spot Rei's party.
Let alone if there were dark spots—this cave was equipped with light Magic Items.
It was nearly impossible to hide oneself in the darkness, as a thief or assassin would do.
"They're clearly letting their guard down."
Elena's voice reached Rei's ears.
Nodding to that, Rei listened in on the conversation of the soldiers ahead.
"Ah, damn. This cave is so damp and annoying. I wanna change shifts already."
"Don't say that. I don't want to stay in a place like this forever, either. ...I wanna go to Mejougo and hold a woman."
"Speaking of Mejougo... I heard it was attacked or something. Wonder what happened? Weren't the brothels and stuff damaged too? We sent out a fair number of soldiers from here, after all."
It was a little while ago that Mejougo was attacked and most of the soldiers were dispatched from this stronghold.
Fortunately, these soldiers, being on security duty here, were not caught up in it, but because of that, the garrison at this stronghold was now astonishingly thin.
...Even in such a situation, they were engaging in foolish chatter with their colleagues, thinking there was no way this facility could be attacked.
"But isn't it just in case? In the first place, guys who'd defy us... oh, are the survivors of the Resistance causing a riot?"
"Ah... those guys are persistent, too. Even though their combat power should be mostly gone after the last incident."
"Ah, but did you know? Because of that incident, the one leading the Resistance right now is supposedly a pretty fine woman. If you think about it, the guys who went as reinforcements are lucky."
"Hey, hey, that's on the premise we can capture her, isn't it? ...But that woman will just become a prostitute soon anyway, right? Then we can just have her after that, can't we?"
"If I'm gonna do it anyway, I want a fresh one."
"...Considering she's leading the Resistance, maybe she got into that position by using her body?"
"Hey, hey, don't say things that'll crush my dreams. My faint feelings of love are gonna burst, you know?"
Gyahahaha, wahahaha—vulgar laughter echoed.
Naturally, Elena and the others, hearing this, found the men's attitude unpleasant.
To Vihera, who asked with just her gaze, "Shall we?", and to Elena and Marina, who stepped forward in succession, all Rei could do was return a nod.
Since they would have to eliminate those lookouts to proceed anyway, if they were willing to do it for him, he figured he could leave it to them.
Quietly averting his gaze from the fate the men would face, Rei left the elimination of the lookouts to the three.
Thinking that, given the conversation they were having, what was about to happen to those soldiers was nothing but self-inflicted.
Seeing Rei's attitude, Vihera and the others immediately sprang into action.
They ran along the ground without making a sound, approaching the men.
A soundless movement technique that might surprise even professional thieves or assassins.
That was possible precisely because all three possessed high-level skill.
Of course, even among professional thieves and assassins, those with a higher level of ability would have pointed out that there were still some naive aspects to Vihera and the others' movements, and they could have noticed them.
But, fortunately for them... and unfortunately for the soldiers, such individuals were not here.
In the first place, there wasn't even a single thief among the soldiers.
(Well, since Jaya itself is an underworld organization, it's a bit harsh to say everyone belonging to it is a thief... no, maybe that's a bit strict? Well, they're definitely criminals, though.)
Even as Rei was thinking like that, faint—yet heavy enough to understand they were strikes—impact sounds and muffled screams reached his ears.
Though those screams also quickly faded...
"We're done."
Vihera, returning, stated that flatly.
That her expression looked refreshed was probably not Rei's imagination.
Granted, that "refreshed" feeling was naturally not from a sense of satisfaction or liberation from fighting a strong enemy... it was probably closer to the feeling one gets when crushing the source of a buzzing sound near one's ear while trying to sleep at night.
But, unbeknownst to them, Vihera and the others were right there, and having spewed so much that would provoke them, this outcome could be called only natural.
In fact, when Rei heard the talk about the woman leading the Resistance, he too felt irritated, so he had never intended to tell them to hold back against such soldiers from the start, and he could hold no perception other than that it was self-inflicted.
"I see. I think it's fine, but the other soldiers haven't noticed this commotion, have they?"
"Yeah. Marina shrank the sound quite a bit with Spirit Magic, and we were careful not to make it flashy on our end, so there shouldn't be a problem."
At those words, Rei directed his gaze to Marina, and she lightly waved her hand.
(She looks a little tired. ...Well, this is underground, so it can't be helped.)
It was not as bad as the Underground Facility in Mejougo, but it was a cave, and moreover, underground.
While Earth Spirit Magic might be fine, Wind Spirit Magic was likely harder to use than above ground.
"I see, that's a relief. ...By the way, did you extract any information?"
"We didn't. In the first place, they're just riffraff who can only do lookout duty. Do you think they'd know any important information?"
"...That's true."
To the still-aggressive Vihera's words, Rei returned a nod for the time being.
In actuality, he didn't entirely disagree with the thought that since they were stationed here, they might hold at least some information, but he judged it dangerous to say so here.
Though, if they truly possessed some seemingly important information, it would have been a different story, but since Rei could understand that was not the case, staying uninvolved any further was the correct move.
"If they don't have important information, there's no need to stay here any longer. So, shall we proceed ahead?"
"Right. I came here thinking I'd ask, 'Shall we do just that?' So, let's go."
Nodding readily to Rei's words, Vihera left the area.
Rei, following after Vihera, also proceeded through the cave, quietly averting his gaze from the soldiers who were, to say it accurately, half-dead... no, perhaps it would be better to call it eighty-percent-killed.