Red Cloth. That was the common name for the group that had been causing various disturbances in Gilm right before Rei left for Anesis.
It wasn't their official name, nor had they ever called themselves that. They had simply taken to wearing red cloth somewhere on their bodies as if to emphasize their presence, and the name had stuck.
To Rei, who knew a little about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it brought to mind a red version of the Yellow Turbans. But considering what they actually did, "color gang" was probably a more apt comparison.
Of course, most of Rei's knowledge of color gangs came from dramas and manga.
The Red Cloth had caused everything from minor incidents to fairly large disturbances.
Because the events in Anesis had been so intensely memorable in every sense, Rei had completely forgotten about the Red Cloth's existence.
He hadn't heard anything about them from Vihera, Byune, Lenora or Kenny at the Guild, Yohanna, or anyone else.
...Though given the current state of Gilm—besieged day and night by Cobolts that attacked regardless of the hour—it was only natural that no one had bothered to bring up the Red Cloth matter with him.
"Red Cloth? ...Ah, now that you mention it, we stopped hearing anything about them shortly after you left for Anesis. Does the Guild know anything about that?"
The Guild Staff Member, upon whom Vihera's gaze had fallen, immediately shook his head.
"The biggest reason is that we've been completely preoccupied with the Cobolt situation. That said, if the Red Cloth had been acting conspicuously, word would have reached us naturally. The fact that it hasn't suggests they've ceased their activities... Though where they've gone, I couldn't say."
Some members of the Red Cloth had hidden their faces, but most had operated openly.
Naturally, that meant many people remembered what they looked like.
...Then again, even in winter, Gilm was still quite populous, so identifying someone as a member of the Red Cloth would be difficult at best.
As Rei was thinking this, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
"Is it possible they stopped their activities because it got cold after the snow started falling?"
"Because it's cold... Well, I suppose that possibility isn't zero. Besides, running around in the snow could lead to injuries."
Their activities had died down simply because it was cold.
Hearing only that, a skeptical reaction was only natural.
However, what the Red Cloth primarily engaged in was crime.
Snatching, extortion, and various other offenses.
Given that, they naturally needed to flee from the Guards.
Gilm's Guards sometimes dealt with skilled adventurers, so it wouldn't be unusual for them to be stronger than the average adventurer.
And since the Red Cloth were generally not that skilled—meaning capture was inevitable if the Guards caught up to them—having unstable footing in the snow would be nearly fatal.
"I see... But if that's the case, it seems like their activities will pick up again once spring comes. Also... this is just a wild guess, but is it too much of a stretch to think that the Cobolt incidents in Gilm might be the work of the Red Cloth?"
At Rei's words, both Vihera and the Guild Staff Member looked surprised... then simultaneously shook their heads.
"That's impossible. As you already know, Rei-san, the Red Cloth are people who became adventurers but quickly found they couldn't cut it, or those who remained adventurers but stayed at low ranks... that sort of group. Do you really think people like that could control Cobolts, even if they are Low-Rank Monsters?"
"I agree with that assessment. If there were any possibility, it would have to be through a Magic Item, since we can't expect them to have that kind of magic or ability... But do you honestly think people on the level of the Red Cloth could obtain a Magic Item that isn't even publicly known?"
After receiving such thorough rebuttals from both of them, even Rei couldn't insist his idea was correct.
Besides, he hadn't said it with any real conviction in the first place, so there was no need to cling to the notion.
More importantly, Vihera's point was something Rei could readily accept.
"In that case, the Cobolt incidents really are the work of some other—"
"Hey! You there! Take out whatever you stuffed in your clothes!"
Just as Rei was about to say it must be someone else's doing, a loud voice rang out, cutting him off.
Such a sudden shout naturally drew the eyes of everyone nearby.
The person at the center of all those gazes was a different Guild Staff Member from the one Rei had been speaking with.
That Guild Staff Member was glaring sternly as he strode aggressively toward a young man—one who looked to be in his early twenties at most.
The man tried to say something to the approaching Guild Staff Member... but apparently decided it was pointless, because he immediately broke into a sprint.
Because so many people had been walking around for the Gigant Turtle dissection, there was no snow left on the ground in the area.
He must have judged that he could get away if he ran. However, several people in the vicinity stuck out their legs to trip the fleeing man, then pinned him down.
"Shit! Let go! Let me go! It's not a big deal if I take just a little, is it!? This thing is huge!"
The man shouted, but to the men holding him down, the thought that his actions could cost them the job of dissecting the Gigant Turtle was intolerable.
If the consequences of this man's reckless behavior had fallen only on himself, that would be one thing. But in this case, there was a real chance the blame would extend to everyone who had been working alongside him.
Therefore, they couldn't possibly let the perpetrator escape.
"Shut up! What are we supposed to do if your actions cause trouble for the rest of us!?"
"That's right! You know we'll get to take some of the Gigant Turtle's meat once today's work is done! So why the hell would you pull something like this!?"
With voices filled with urgency, frustration, and irritation, the two men holding him down shouted back with even greater fury.
"Now, now, please calm down."
The one who spoke to the shouting men was the Guild Staff Member who had first spotted the man trying to steal part of the Gigant Turtle and raised the alarm.
Normally, the Guild Staff Member should have been the one shouting at the fleeing man. But after seeing him get caught and yelled at by the others first, he apparently couldn't bring himself to add to it. Unlike his earlier shout, he now spoke in a considerably calmer tone.
Seeing the Guild Staff Member's demeanor, the two men who had caught the fugitive and the onlookers around them breathed sighs of relief.
They understood that, at least for now, the Gigant Turtle dissection would not be cancelled.
"For the time being, we'll be taking this man to the Guild... I apologize for the inconvenience, but could you two come with us to make sure he doesn't escape? Of course, we won't treat this as you abandoning your work partway through."
"...Yeah, got it."
"I don't mind either."
After confirming that the two men had nodded, the Guild Staff Member turned his gaze toward his superior—the Guild Staff Member standing beside Rei's group.
The superior simply nodded without saying anything further.
That seemed to be enough. After confirming the nod, the Guild Staff Member headed for the Guild together with the man and his two captors.
A commotion lingered after they departed, but once several Guild Staff Members called for everyone to return to work, the crowd gradually went back to their respective tasks.
"...So, uh, what were we talking about again?"
Rei glanced once at the man being led away for his reckless behavior, then muttered as if he had already lost nearly all interest in the matter.
Judging from Rei's attitude that there would be no penalty for the rest of them, the people who had been near the man also returned to dissecting the Gigant Turtle.
The fact that several of the people in the middle of peeling the creature's hide had gone pale was likely because they had been entertaining the same thoughts as the caught man.
However, now that they had witnessed firsthand what would happen to anyone who tried something similar, only an extreme fool with no regard for consequences would attempt anything of the sort.
In fact, the Guild Staff Members supervising the dissection had noticed those few pale-faced individuals and were watching them closely, ready to spot any suspicious behavior immediately.
"It was about the Red Cloth, right? Rei said something ridiculous about how maybe the Cobolt incidents were the work of the Red Cloth, but then you were about to say that it might actually be someone else's doing... right?"
"Yes, I believe so."
The Guild Staff Member, meeting Vihera's confirming gaze, nodded in straightforward agreement.
Seeing that, Rei recalled the conversation up to that point and continued.
"Yeah, that's right... If the one behind the Cobolt incidents isn't the Red Cloth but some other group, then we need to find a way to catch them. ...Or rather, I don't know how they're controlling the Cobolts, but we need to do something about that too."
"I suppose so. But the real problem is how to find whoever is responsible. We don't even have solid proof that this incident is man-made in the first place."
"If we had some kind of evidence or clue, I could get behind Rei-san's opinion."
Just as Vihera and the Guild Staff Member had said, the idea that this was an artificial phenomenon was nothing more than Rei's speculation.
Since he was making the claim without any evidence, there simply wasn't enough basis to justify an investigation.
"I figured as much. I won't force the issue... But even if it's impossible to have someone else look into it, there shouldn't be a problem if I investigate it myself, right?"
"Eh? Well... that's true, but are you seriously planning to look into it? Naturally, there won't be any reward, you know."
Rei had sensed something was off and was choosing to follow his intuition by investigating on his own.
Naturally, doing so was essentially equivalent to a hobby for him.
As such, no reward would come from it.
If it truly turned out to be an artificial incident and he managed to put a stop to it, that would be a different story.
However, what Rei was truly after wasn't a reward. He suspected that this incident might be caused by a Magic Item.
If it was a genuinely functional Magic Item rather than a decorative one, it was something Rei very much wanted to obtain.
Even if it could only control Cobolts, the fact that it could manipulate them endlessly—to the point where one had to wonder where they were even gathering so many from—meant that, from Rei's perspective, such a Magic Item would have all sorts of potential uses.
For instance, when annihilating Bandits, during a war with the Bestia Empire... or any other country for that matter, or when fighting against a horde of monsters.
Being able to freely command a pack of Cobolts would be an extremely dangerous ability if misused. But if this incident really had been caused by a Magic Item, Rei's honest feeling was that he absolutely had to get his hands on it.
(Oh, Magic Items. Now that I think about it, I completely forgot to hand out the souvenirs.)
The thought of Magic Items reminded him that he had entirely forgotten to distribute the gems containing sealed Healing Magic that he had obtained in Anesis as souvenirs for Marina, Vihera, Byune, and several others.
On the day he returned to Gilm, they had held a party at Marina's house, and after that the matter had completely slipped his mind.
That said, he had served several dishes he had bought in Anesis during that party, so it wasn't as if he hadn't given them any souvenirs at all.
Still, he obviously couldn't hand out souvenirs—including the gems—right here, so he decided he would give them to everyone at Marina's house during dinner tonight.
"For now, there's not much to do during winter anyway. I just thought it might be worth looking into as a way to kill some time."
Hearing it put that way, the Guild Staff Member was convinced.
During the winter season, adventurers were generally extremely idle.
Therefore, even if Rei said he was going to search for some unknown person or tool simply to pass the time, while one might consider it eccentric, it was understandable.
However, Vihera—who knew Rei well—could tell from his demeanor that he was seriously planning to search for whoever was responsible.