With a thud, a man landed hard on his backside.
Only a thin layer of snow had accumulated on the ground, so his rear was likely getting soaked—but the man's face was contorted in sheer terror. He was in no state to care about the cold.
And that was only natural. Standing before him was Rei, one of Gilm's most famous Alias Holder adventurers.
"Now then. Why don't you tell me about that red cloth wrapped around your arm? Your friends seem to be making quite a ruckus out there... How about you make a ruckus too?"
The ruckus the man's friends caused and the ruckus Rei spoke of—though the word was the same, the man understood full well that the meanings were worlds apart. The "ruckus" coming from Rei's mouth promised nothing but a miserable future for him.
The man had been fairly confident in his brawn. He never expected to lose a fight to just anyone. In fact, he'd once beaten a Woodcutter who bragged about his strength, so it wasn't mere overconfidence on his part. But that was only when facing ordinary opponents. He couldn't possibly delude himself into thinking he could win against someone like Rei.
His misfortune was being caught by Rei in the act of intimidating a young man and trying to rob him. No, being caught was bad enough, but what was far more unfortunate was the red cloth tied around his right arm.
The red cloth he'd gotten from a friend. Everyone who wore it was supposedly a comrade, bound by a promise to help each other out in times of need—a token of friendship, or so they said. Of course, the man hadn't actually believed those words. But all he had to do was wrap the cloth around his arm, and since there was no downside to it, he'd started wearing it.
As a result, there had been a few times when he'd nearly been caught by the Guards while shaking people down, but others wearing the red cloth had tipped him off that the Guards were approaching. He'd always managed to slip away without issue. So today, he'd wrapped on the red cloth with enthusiasm and set out to earn some money through extortion.
And in the midst of all that, Rei had found him—landing him in his current predicament.
"H-hi... I-I don't know anything. I don't know, I swear!"
"You don't know? I just want you to tell me about that red cloth. It's not like you wouldn't know about it, right?"
Rei continued speaking with a smile, using it to apply pressure on his opponent. The smile itself wasn't particularly intimidating, but the fact that he was smiling in this kind of situation hit the man with an overwhelming sense of dread. Under different circumstances, Rei's expression might have looked like an ordinary, friendly smile.
"I-I get it. I'll tell you anything I know! I'll talk, so please, please... help me!"
The man shouted desperately at Rei's words. Perhaps judging that this level of intimidation was sufficient, Rei prompted him to continue his story while still smiling. The smile was there, same as before, but the one Rei wore now was noticeably different from moments ago. Whether the man sensed that or not, he let out a breath of relief.
"Now then. You said you'd talk honestly. So, where did you get that red cloth you're wearing? And am I right to assume that everyone wearing one is a criminal?"
"From an acquaintance. A friend gave it to me. He said if I wrap this cloth around my arm, my comrades will help me out if anything happens. I don't know how the other guys use their red cloths."
"I see. And where does this friend of yours get the red cloths from? Everyone's wearing the exact same thing. Someone must be making them specifically, right?"
"I don't know that much! I just heard that if I wrap this red cloth around my arm, they'll help me out, that's all!"
"......Are you sure? You really don't know?"
Slowly, an anger that bordered on killing intent seeped from Rei's body. For a man who had never been in a life-or-death struggle, even that level of hostility was more than enough to terrify. He frantically nodded over and over.
"It's the truth! I'm not lying! I tried asking about it once before, but I just got brushed off. I haven't thought much about it since!"
At the man's words, Rei's expression soured with irritation.
Finding someone wearing a red cloth, catching them in the middle of a crime, and questioning them—this wasn't the first time Rei had done this. He'd already gone through the same process with several others, but every single one of them had told him exactly the same story this man was telling.
Are these guys just not paying enough attention? No, it feels more like they're skillfully deflecting. Which means... probably...
With a vague premonition that the rest of this conversation would go exactly as all the others had, Rei still asked the man, clinging to a sliver of hope that maybe this time would be different.
"So, who is this friend of yours? Where do they live? Or rather, which inn are they staying at?"
"That's..."
The man tried to answer Rei's question, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything more. Then, with a look of sheer trepidation, he somehow forced his mouth open.
"I don't know. I've never been to his house or his room. We only ever met in town. So where he lives and all that... I have no idea."
Even hearing that, Rei didn't direct any anger at the man. If anything, the feeling of as expected was stronger. Every time he had asked the people he'd encountered so far about the home or inn of whoever was distributing the red cloths, no one had known.
They're being thorough. This definitely isn't just for fun. ...Are they targeting me specifically? No, but... why?
Rei had his doubts, though he certainly understood that there were plenty of people who would want to target him. He just hadn't expected to be targeted here in Gilm. If this had been anywhere else, it wouldn't have surprised him. But this was Gilm—Rei's home base. Most of the people living here were well-disposed toward him, thanks in large part to his relationship with Set.
Of course, there were also people like the man cowering before him, who had come to town for the Expansion Construction.
"P-Please help me! I'm begging you, please... hey!"
Even watching the man beg so desperately for mercy, Rei felt no particular sympathy. After all, the young man this fellow had been trying to extort had also bowed his head and pleaded with Rei to spare him. Despite that, this man hadn't been willing to let his victim go. If Rei hadn't happened to pass by, he would have undoubtedly robbed the young man.
"Demanding from others what you wouldn't do yourself... honestly, I question that. ...Well, I suppose I'll stop scaring you. Come on, let's go."
"Huh? Um, go where...?"
"To the Guard Station, obviously. I already told the guy you were shaking down to head there. The Guards are probably on their way here right now, so I'm handing you over to them."
"Wha..."
The man's face went slack with disbelief. He'd assumed that since Rei had threatened him like this, he wouldn't actually be turned over to the Guards.
I don't know why he thought that... but judging by his reaction, he was probably genuinely convinced of it.
With a look of exasperation, Rei grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck and tried to drag him out of the back alley—
"Rei!"
A voice called out suddenly. But Rei, who had been called out to without warning, showed no surprise. He simply turned his gaze toward the source of the voice and, seeing the person he'd expected—a Guard—he broke into a smile. It was the smile of a man relieved that he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of dragging his captive all the way to the Guard Station.
"Over here. You heard about it from the extortion victim, right?"
"Yeah, that's right, but..."
The Guard's eyes landed on the red cloth wrapped around the right arm of the man whose scruff Rei was holding, and he shot the captive a look that said just as I thought.
Several days had passed since the first incident involving someone wearing a red cloth had come to light. In that time, the number of red-clothed individuals Rei had captured had already exceeded ten.
And yet their numbers showed no sign of decreasing—likely due to the psychology that even if they knew it was a crime, there was nothing to fear if they did it as a group.
The old "if everyone jaywalks together, nobody's scared" mentality, huh...
Rei thought back to his time in Japan. Of course, in Japan today, there were plenty of drivers who'd plow right through pedestrians crossing on a red light, convinced they were in the right because the light was red. If a crowd tried to cross against the light in front of someone like that, it would be a disaster.
And the people wearing the red cloth were likewise careening toward a disaster in the presence of someone like Rei. Still, driven by a baseless confidence that they alone would be safe, their criminal activities had only continued to increase.
No—if anything, it seemed to Rei that incidents had been on the rise ever since he'd started actively going after the red-clothed group. In reality, the current situation was the result of Calles pulling strings behind the scenes after judging that Rei had taken the bait. But Rei was completely unaware of this. He did suspect that someone was intentionally escalating the unrest, given the existence of whoever was distributing the red cloths.
"Here. I'm handing this guy over. You can question him on your end."
"Sigh. All right. This is part of the job, after all."
Perhaps deciding that anything more he said to Rei would be a waste of breath, the Guard quietly took custody of the man. Truthfully, the Guard had plenty he wanted to say to Rei. But it was an undeniable fact that minor offenses had spiked dramatically over the past several days, and with the red-clothed group harboring perpetrators and helping them escape, the arrest rate had been dropping. Under these circumstances, it was only natural that the Guard was more than happy to have Rei's help, however unconventional.
Minor offenses... huh. I suppose we should be grateful it's stayed at that level for now.
As a Guard, feeling glad about a surge in violent crimes like extortion—even minor ones—was hardly commendable. But compared to a string of heinous crimes like murder, the current situation was the lesser evil. That was the Guard's honest sentiment. And of course, it was precisely because the crimes were minor that the red-clothed group was so willing to lend a hand. If they were asked to help someone escape after committing murder or to cover up evidence, there certainly wouldn't be as many people cooperating with such casual attitudes. Well, there'd still be some, but the numbers would definitely drop.
"Then I'll leave him to you. I'm going to do another round of patrols."
"All right. But wouldn't it be better to take a patrol request from the Guild first?"
"I thought about that. But at times like this, it's better to move around freely on my own."
That reasoning was somewhat lost on the Guard. Moving in numbers was a fundamental principle for the Guards. This difference was likely due to Rei having operated solo for so long, and to the fact that each of his party members was individually skilled at operating on their own.
"I won't say anything more. Just be careful. Someone's clearly pulling strings behind the scenes."
"Yeah, no problem there. I'll be careful. Thanks for the warning."
With those final words, Rei walked away. The Guard watched him go, marveling at the fact that there were still fools in Gilm brazen enough to pick a fight with him. He imagined the fate that awaited such people and felt a flicker of pity.
So many had tried to cross Rei before. After all, he had Set the Gryphon as his Tamed Monster, possessed an Item Box—one of only a handful in existence—and held numerous other Magic Items besides. Magic Items like Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear—anyone with even a passing understanding of their value would covet them by any means necessary. Someone of that ilk was probably behind this too. And yet, a tragic end surely awaited them regardless.
Anyone in Gilm should know that it's better to stay on Rei's good side rather than make an enemy of him. Which means... whoever's behind this came from outside Gilm. I just hope the damage doesn't spill out into the streets.
The Guard silently imagined the fate of the mastermind whose face he didn't even know, then hauled the captured man back toward the Guard Station.