What Rei and Elena saw upon emerging from the hidden passage was a vast underground chamber—one large enough that it could easily have spanned a hundred tatami mats.
It wasn't just the floor space that defied expectation. The ceiling loomed far higher than any underground room had a right to, easily exceeding ten meters.
The space was so immense that it was difficult to believe it was connected to the house where Rei and his companions had just been.
Of course, given the time they had spent walking through the hidden passage, both Rei and Elena had more or less anticipated that something was spatially off.
At any rate, though the two of them had emerged into this enormous underground chamber, the scene that spread before them was entirely unexpected.
The first thing that caught their eyes was a mass of flesh near the center of the roughly hundred-tatami space.
No—in this case, "cocoon of flesh" would be a more accurate description than "mass."
The surface of the flesh cocoon was laced with vein-like structures in various colors—blue, green, yellow, red—all pulsating rhythmically.
The oval-shaped cocoon rested atop what could only be called a pedestal of the same fleshy substance, and from its apex, a pillar-like column of flesh stretched up to the ceiling.
Anyone beholding it would likely feel one thing above all: revulsion.
Around the flesh cocoon stood three figures.
One was Celestan—master of the house where Rei and the others had just been, and the leader of the organization connected to Black Wolf.
Beside him was the butler who served Celestan... and the remaining figure was Deotres, who had posed as Gaiska's subordinate while patiently biding his time for revenge.
Naturally, Rei didn't recognize any of the three. Even so, he understood who the key figures were based on the information Elena had shared beforehand.
"You're Celestan, correct?"
"Yes, that would be correct. To think that one bearing the alias Crimson would know my name... I am honored."
Responding to Rei's words without the slightest sign of agitation, Celestan bowed elegantly.
Beside him, the butler bowed as well, mirroring his master.
"...So you're his butler, then. And? Who's the last one?"
"Gaiska's subordinate. I have seen him before."
It was neither Celestan, the butler, nor Deotres who answered Rei's question, but Elena, standing beside them.
The name Gaiska was not one Rei could easily forget.
After all, he was essentially the root cause of this entire incident.
"Which means Gaiska is here too, huh. But then why was the Marquis Seisole's House trying to storm this place? Were they trying to stop him?"
"Kuku... ha... hahahahahahahaha... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Upon hearing Rei's words, Deotres suddenly erupted into laughter.
As if to say he had never imagined that anything Rei said could be this amusing.
But naturally, Rei couldn't understand at all why his words were being laughed at.
"I'd appreciate it if you could tell me what part of what I just said was so funny."
While readying himself to respond at a moment's notice should fighting break out, Rei addressed Deotres.
Deotres, however, paid no mind to Rei's posture. His laughter continued to echo through the chamber.
Watching him, Elena furrowed her brows slightly.
The Deotres she knew should not have had the kind of personality that would reverberate with such ostentatious laughter.
(Is that man truly the one I know? ...More importantly, if he's here, then where is Gaiska?)
True, Deotres being here made sense.
Given that it was Gaiska who had hired Black Wolf, the presence of his subordinate Deotres was, in a sense, only natural.
But his master Gaiska was nowhere to be seen.
"What has become of Gaiska? He does not appear to be present."
Elena asked quietly, addressing Deotres, who had been displaying what could only be called deranged laughter.
Her voice was not particularly loud, but the mention of Gaiska's name must have struck a nerve. Deotres stopped laughing and turned his gaze toward her.
He wore a smile so unsettling that any ordinary woman would not have been blamed for recoiling—a grin that could fairly be described as sinister. But unfortunately for him, Elena was no ordinary woman. She was a woman who had survived countless battlefields, bearing the alias of Princess General.
Even with Deotres's gaze fixed upon her, she did not retreat a single step. Rather, she returned his stare boldly.
Whether something in Elena's gaze struck a chord, Deotres floated a gleeful smile and turned his eyes toward the flesh cocoon.
"Gaiska... if you mean Gaiska-sama, well, look. He's right there. Though I suppose it can't be helped if you can't hear his voice. It's already become difficult for him to even make a sound, after all."
Keeping his eyes on the flesh cocoon, Deotres spoke.
Neither Celestan nor the butler said anything in response.
Which meant that Deotres's statement was correct.
Turning their gazes back to the flesh cocoon, Rei and Elena observed it for several seconds before finally noticing it.
In the creased folds resembling a chrysalis... though partially hidden, there was a face.
The fact that only a face was visible meant the body was inside the cocoon.
Given such circumstances, it was impossible to consider the person unharmed.
Indeed, the face was in a state that could only be described as skin and bones. From any outside perspective, it was hard to believe the person was still alive.
(No, the fact that he's still alive even in that state probably means the cocoon is keeping him that way. And considering Deotres's behavior, the one embedded in that thing is most likely Gaiska.)
Rei inferred this from the exchange so far and tried to recall Gaiska's face.
But perhaps because he had seen the condition of the person buried in the cocoon, he couldn't easily bring Gaiska's face to mind.
"Just to confirm—the one buried in that flesh cocoon is Gaiska... is that correct?"
In response to Rei asking in Elena's stead, Deotres nodded as though it were obvious.
"That's right. Did you know? The Marquis Seisole's House, if you trace their history back, apparently performed work such as sealing away opponents they couldn't defeat themselves. That work was recognized by the nation, they became nobles, and now they hold the rank of Marquis. In other words..."
Deotres spoke with theatrical suspense, but having been told that much, Rei could more or less grasp the situation.
"So that flesh cocoon is also something Gaiska's ancestors sealed away?"
At those words, Deotres seemed to nod... but instead shook his head with exaggerated force.
"Wrong. It's the same in the sense that it was sealed away, but it wasn't the ancestors of the Marquis Seisole's House who sealed it—apparently it was someone else. However... even if it was someone else, the fact that it was sealed is the same. In that case, by using someone of that bloodline... breaking the seal isn't difficult."
Of course, because I used rather forceful methods, Gaiska felt like he was dying—literally—more times than I can count, though.
Saying so, Deotres wore a smile of genuine delight from the bottom of his heart.
As if nothing could possibly bring him greater joy.
Judging from Deotres's demeanor that further conversation would yield nothing worthwhile, Rei shifted his gaze to Celestan.
"So? Why did you do something like this? You're the one who controls the Underground World of Anesis, aren't you? What's the point of pulling a stunt that could destroy Anesis itself?"
What exactly the flesh cocoon was, Rei didn't know.
But the fact that it had been sealed meant it was naturally dangerous. Deliberately breaking its seal was essentially like a parasite killing its own host.
Of course, even though they were currently active in Anesis, Rei didn't believe the organization itself would vanish if Anesis were destroyed.
Even so, pulling such a stunt would surely bring far more harm than good to the organization Celestan led.
(I don't know how dangerous that flesh cocoon really is, but based on my impression from talking to him, it seems like it would fall somewhere in the realm of a nuclear weapon.)
That was merely the impression Rei had received. The reality might have been different.
But judging from Deotres's behavior, he didn't think he was far off the mark.
"Even if you ask me why... well, let me see. Would 'because I wanted to try it' be an acceptable answer?"
"...You did it because you wanted to try it? I don't know exactly what that flesh cocoon is, but even I can understand that it's dangerous. Dangerous enough that if you slip up, you could get caught in the fallout and die yourself from breaking the seal."
"Ah, there's no need to worry about that. I've naturally attached a shackle to ensure it doesn't do anything to me."
A shackle. That was what Celestan claimed, but there was no way Rei could believe him.
Based on past experience, if an opponent like this said they'd attached a shackle, it was all too easy to imagine that shackle being broken without effort.
"...Originally, I didn't come to this house to do something like this, you know."
"Oh? Then for what purpose?"
Showing what appeared to be genuine interest in Rei's murmur, Celestan inquired.
Facing him, Rei spoke without hesitation.
"You were the mediator for Black Wolf, right? I came to obtain documents and the like related to that connection—evidence, in other words. Though it's no longer necessary at this point."
Gazing at the figure presumed to be Gaiska, embedded in the flesh cocoon, Rei delivered this declaration.
With the matter of the flesh cocoon, there was no doubt that Duke Kerebel's House could not simply overlook Celestan and his associates.
(Honestly, I have absolutely no idea what he was thinking, pulling something like this. I don't know, but... even so, the option of just leaving things as they are doesn't exist.)
To Rei, Duke Kerebel's House was a far cry from the insignificant nobles scattered about.
It was Elena's house, and its head was—though it was odd to put it this way—even from Rei's perspective, undeniably capable.
His demeanor was by no means poor. When Rei had first met him, there had been a considerable display of intimidation, or rather, the kind of imposing aura befitting a noble, but.
"Well now, I wonder what that could mean. ...However, it is certain that I harbor hostility toward you. I would like to avenge Black Wolf, after all."
To Celestan, Black Wolf was a business tool, but at the same time, undeniably an irreplaceable existence.
He should have hidden the information of Black Wolf's death as thoroughly as possible. Given that no one had been watching that battle, there was no way Celestan should have known. He shouldn't have known—and yet, since he had explicitly spoken of avenging Black Wolf, it was certain that he did.
(There was absolutely no one at the site of that battle. Which means... someone inside Duke Kerebel's House leaked the information? Well, even Duke Kerebel's House probably doesn't receive absolute loyalty from every single person working for them.)
As far as Rei knew, most of the people working for Duke Kerebel's House were satisfied with their positions and sincerely swore loyalty to the family.
But that was only as many people as Rei knew of.
"Avenge Black Wolf, huh... It would help us out if you could tell me how you came by that information."
"Do you truly expect me to tell you that? If so, you have greatly underestimated me."
"...I figured you'd say that. Then let's change the subject. The traps in this house, and the hidden passage from that room to here. You set those up, right?"
"Yes, of course. Regarding the traps, the house itself serves as a kind of Magic Item. As for the hidden passage..."
Ceasing his words there, Celestan turned his gaze toward the flesh cocoon.
He said nothing, but what he meant was obvious without needing to think about it.
"I see. ...And here's my last question. You've prepared this flesh cocoon... and apparently broken its seal, but what do you intend to do from here?"
In response to Rei's question, Celestan merely offered a faint smile and returned no words at all.