"H-hey. Where exactly are you taking me? Why a place like this..."
Gaiska's words echoed through the dark street.
The only light came from the moon and stars overhead. There was nothing like the lighting Magic Items found at Gaiska's mansion—just a bare, unlit road.
What's more, perhaps because this area was close to the Slum District, even though it was already past midnight, there were signs that a large number of people were still awake.
Gaiska had trained himself to a certain extent, but that was exactly what it was—to a certain extent.
Had he been trained as thoroughly as the Fleeing Adventurers, or like soldiers—those who made combat their profession—he wouldn't have needed to cower even when faced with the presences lurking about in the surroundings.
But that was only if he had been trained, and expecting the current Gaiska to do so was impossible.
In whatever he did, someone like Gaiska rarely needed to handle things himself.
Such occasions were limited to times when he wanted to avoid others finding out—like when he hired Black Wolf.
Because of that, walking through streets he had never passed through before was an experience he absolutely wanted to avoid.
"Heh heh heh. A man of your stature, Lord Gaiska, afraid of a little darkness like this? Come now, there's the moon and stars for light here. I don't think it's anything worth fretting over."
The words that came from the mediator Plain Man's mouth carried a somewhat provocative tone.
Under normal circumstances, directing such words at Gaiska would be pointless—if anything, it would only enrage him.
If this were the Marquis Seisole's House mansion, those who followed Gaiska's orders, starting with Deotres, would never have permitted such an attitude.
...Though Deotres had already vanished from the Marquis Seisole's House, Gaiska unfortunately did not know that.
Had he known, perhaps Gaiska would have sensed something amiss, at least somewhat.
At any rate, provoked by the guide's words, Gaiska—irritated but unwilling to show any further unseemly behavior—spoke again.
"As if I would be afraid of a little darkness like this. What I'm saying is, why are you bringing me... a noble member of the Marquis Seisole's House, to a place like this? That's all I'm asking."
"Good grief..."
At Gaiska's words, the guide muttered quietly under his breath.
He hadn't expected Gaiska to say something like that here.
This was, needless to say, the Slum District. In other words, there were many people desperate for money, and to such people, the fact that Gaiska was a noble meant they would see him as someone they could abduct and turn into cash.
Saying such a thing here, then, would normally be nothing short of suicide.
...Though that was only if Gaiska were alone.
"Lord Gaiska, let's pick up the pace. To the lot here, you're like a jewel. Linger carelessly and there's no telling they won't use whatever means necessary to get their hands on you."
Perhaps satisfied at being described as a jewel, Gaiska cleanly erased the slightly fearful expression he'd been wearing moments before and smiled with a look of satisfaction.
"I see. I am a jewel, am I? ...Well, that's only natural. To those living in a place like this, it wouldn't be strange for my existence to seem like a radiant sun."
"...Indeed."
Perhaps not expecting his words to make Gaiska feel quite this good, the Plain Man struggled slightly to conceal his inner exasperation.
(A jewel, huh. What an awful jewel. At the very least, it's a jewel I don't want.)
Even as he harbored such thoughts, his experience as a mediator kept him from letting it show on his face. He simply smiled and nodded in return.
"In any case, we can't very well go handing out jewels to the likes of those here, so let's hurry."
"Hmph, I suppose. I would have thought that a jewel like myself must be shown to as many people as possible, though."
Gaiska nodded in satisfaction at the Plain Man's words and said as much, but the Slum District residents who heard those words began to move, their irritation laid bare.
Given that they lived in such a place, most of them held absolutely no good feelings toward nobles.
Despite that, being spoken to in such a manner—could they possibly tolerate it? No, it would be impossible.
Just as some of them were about to step out of hiding to vent their frustration on Gaiska... they stopped just before doing so.
It was a danger they understood precisely because they were residents of the Slum District.
If they had stepped out, they would certainly have died.
The one who would have done it was not Gaiska... but the shabby-looking Plain Man walking alongside him.
Those who realized this, while still feeling irritated with Gaiska, ultimately fell silent without saying anything further and slipped back into the buildings.
Gaiska likely didn't realize such an exchange had even occurred.
The Plain Man, though thinking it a troublesome business, had no intention of saying anything—after all, he was the one who had brought up the jewel talk in the first place.
"Then let's be on our way. There's someone waiting for you, Lord Gaiska."
At those words, Gaiska—who had been in a good mood—felt slightly put out.
Despite having flattered him endlessly about being a jewel, the person the mediator said was waiting for him was clearly someone of higher standing than himself. That much was conveyed plainly.
However, Gaiska, about to voice his dissatisfaction to the mediator, swallowed it at the last second.
...If Deotres and the others had learned of it, they would have been genuinely surprised.
The Gaiska that most people knew was not someone capable of such restraint.
At the end of the day, being in a place like this without a reliable figure like Deotres at his side was simply that unsettling to him.
"Hmph. Very well. Then let us hurry. I have no desire to remain in a place like this any longer than necessary either. ...But I'll ask just in case—the place you're guiding me to isn't somewhere like this, is it?"
"Yes, of course. Whether I can say it's worthy of you, Lord Gaiska... I'm not sure, but I've prepared things as best I can. I don't think you'll be disappointed."
At those words, Gaiska cast a brief, suspicious glance.
Mind you, that suspicion was not born from thinking the mediator was deceiving him. It was simply doubt about whether the other party could properly provide hospitality fitting for him.
The Plain Man understood that he was being regarded with such a gaze.
But rather than being genuinely suspected of anything, he thought that a gaze of that level was nothing—and in fact, he accepted it with delight.
At any rate, the two of them proceeded down the road... and after passing through a street lined with numerous dugout huts, a single house came into view.
It was not large enough to be called a mansion, but it was a house that seemed utterly impossible to belong in a Slum District like this.
Because the surrounding structures—though calling them that was questionable—were what they were, the house stood out remarkably.
"This house... is this the place you were talking about?"
"Yep. A certain person is waitin' for you here, Lord Gaiska. I expect they'll lend their help regardin' this matter too."
What "this matter" meant was obvious without even thinking.
In other words, it likely referred to the business of preparing the compensation to pay Black Wolf.
Or, there was a possibility it also referred to the very act of antagonizing Rei.
Exactly how far it encompassed, even Gaiska didn't know. He didn't know, but... even so, there was only one person left for the current Gaiska to cling to.
Naturally, Gaiska himself did not think of it that way.
If anything, it wouldn't have been strange for him to want to say that the other party should be grateful for the chance to lend him their power.
...Even so, he had enough discretion not to voice such things here.
That said, the fact that he couldn't completely hide the feelings within him was very much like Gaiska.
"Lord Gaiska, let's head in."
"Ah."
Nodding at those words, Gaiska headed toward the house.
But along the way, Gaiska suddenly noticed something.
There were no guards anywhere to be seen.
Not even a Village Gatekeeper's figure was visible anywhere.
If this weren't the Slum District, that wouldn't have been particularly strange.
But this was the Slum District.
There were many people desperate for money, and because of that, having no one guarding the house was nothing short of baffling.
"Hey, is there no one on guard?"
"That's right. There ain't no fool stupid enough to think about breakin' into this mansion. If there is... it'd probably be someone who just arrived in Anesis."
The Plain Man's words carried strong confidence.
An attitude as if to declare that no matter what happened, the people here would never raid this house.
Gaiska felt a slight question at those words, but he didn't press the matter further.
He understood that whatever he said in his current situation would be meaningless.
"I see. Then I look forward to seeing who's in this house."
It was half bravado, but just this once, it seemed effective.
That was only what Gaiska thought—whether it was actually effective was completely unknown.
At any rate, having come this far, Gaiska couldn't very well not enter the house.
Having already harmed those at the Marquis Seisole's House mansion, he couldn't simply return to the Marquis Seisole's House empty-handed without any gift.
In reality, even if Gaiska returned to the mansion with a gift in hand, Zaskal would never forgive him.
That was only natural.
To hire a skilled assassin to attack Rei, he had tried to convert the mansion in Anesis—a vital location—into money, and when that was discovered and he was placed under house arrest, he slipped out of the mansion with an unknown accomplice.
Furthermore, harming the residents of the mansion... those who served the Marquis Seisole's House.
Gaiska had ordered him not to kill anyone, but the Plain Man, while outwardly complying with those words, had intentionally taken several lives.
That was a scheme to ensure Gaiska could never return to the Marquis Seisole's House, but unfortunately, Gaiska hadn't noticed.
He didn't suspect for a moment that the man guiding him would do him harm.
Whatever the matter, he was convinced that he himself... that he, with noble blood flowing through his veins, was absolutely in the right, and that this man followed him.
"Then please, step inside."
Opening the front door, the Plain Man welcomed Gaiska into the house.
Seeing the look on the Plain Man's face, Gaiska felt a chill run down his spine for some reason, but he convinced himself it wasn't because he was terrified of the man before him... or of the house itself, but simply because it was winter and cold, and he stepped forward.
Upon entering the house, what spread out before him was a rather unexpected sight.
Well, the very fact that this house existed in the Slum District was unexpected in many ways.
However, judging from the scene before him now, no matter what he did, he couldn't act recklessly. Such a thought surfaced in Gaiska's mind.
Of course, that was only what Gaiska thought; if he actually tried to take action, it would have been possible.
That said, above all, he couldn't stay cowering like this whatever he intended to do.
He inhaled and exhaled to calm himself.
In his current situation, whatever he did, Gaiska had a strange conviction that he wouldn't be able to move properly.
Therefore, he needed to settle his nerves.
Then, once again, Gaiska turned his eyes to the scene before him.
Furnishings that had no business being in a Slum District... no, that even Gaiska had rarely seen—magnificent pieces, one after another.
So much so that if someone told him this was a museum, it wouldn't be strange to believe it... such was the sight.
"...Am I dreaming?"
Gaiska's murmured words drifted away to nowhere... as if they had been swallowed up by the countless furnishings around him.