Rei had gathered what information he could about the Coobs Viscount House at the Guard Station, but in the end, he learned nothing of further significance. His next destination was the Earth Wall.
Since he couldn't very well assign Guards as escorts, there was a chance that new Red Cloth had been dispatched to destroy the Earth Wall in the wake of yesterday's incident with Glanje.
In truth, Rei had no idea how many Red Cloth members even remained.
It was entirely possible that the survivors he'd seen yesterday were all of them—but equally possible that many more were still out there.
If so, it wouldn't be surprising for their handlers to make a second attempt even after Glanje's failure.
Though the probability is probably low.
Since they were the ones pulling the Red Cloth's strings, it wouldn't be strange for them to have learned that Glanje had clashed with Rei. Given that, if asked whether they would risk further casualties among the Red Cloth, honestly speaking, the answer seemed doubtful.
Of course, if the other side understood that much, it also wouldn't be strange for them to assume that the hideout Glanje knew about—the building rented by the Coobs Viscount House—was now compromised.
"Gruu?"
Set purred, asking what was wrong.
Rei stroked Set's head as he made his way through the city, eventually arriving at the Expansion Construction site.
What he noticed first was the relative absence of battle.
At the very least, the signs of fighting had clearly diminished compared to when he'd visited yesterday.
Which meant fewer Cobolts were making it over the Earth Wall than the day before.
Or... is it the possibility I considered yesterday? That the Cobolts hiding in the gaps between building materials were killed off by other adventurers, and that's why there's less fighting here now?
It was a hopeful observation born more from wishful thinking than evidence, but it wasn't impossible.
Turning the thought over in his mind, Rei pressed on until he caught sight of an adventurer locked in combat with a Cobolt.
That said, it wasn't one of the stronger Cobolts that had been giving people trouble before—just an ordinary one. From any angle, the adventurer had the clear upper hand.
"Hey, Set. That adventurer... which do you think they are?"
"Gruu?"
Which one? Set tilted its head, apparently not understanding the question.
Charmed by the adorable gesture, Rei kept walking as he elaborated.
"An adventurer the Guild asked to subjugate Cobolts, or someone who's still sticking around here on their own initiative?"
Both amounted to the same thing on the surface—fighting Cobolts here. But the former meant fighting on the Guild's request, while the latter meant choosing to stay for reasons of their own.
The former fought to keep Cobolts that crossed the Earth Wall from pushing deeper into the city when no one else was around to stop them. The latter—guarding the Gigant Turtle dissection—meant more Cobolts to fight, comrades to watch your back, and the added perk of Gigant Turtle meat after the job was done.
By any reasonable measure, guarding the dissection was both safer and more profitable. If someone was voluntarily choosing to fight Cobolts here instead, they'd have to be a serious oddball.
...Though when it came to oddballs, Rei himself ranked among the most prominent in Gilm. He was widely regarded as someone for whom you'd be hard-pressed to find an equal in Gilm—no, in the entire Kingdom of Mireana.
"Anyway, if it's the former, fine. But if it's the latter... well, not really my place to say anything."
He muttered the words while observing the adventurer in combat.
The adventurer sidestepped the Cobolt's lunge and, in the same motion, swept his longsword through its neck as he passed. The head sailed through the air like a ball.
That single sharp strike told Rei all he needed to know—if the adventurer fell into either of his two categories, it was the former.
It was simply that clean a cut.
The adventurer seemed to notice Rei's gaze and glanced back. But whether due to the distance or simple disinterest, he offered nothing more than a slight nod in greeting before departing.
He probably recognized Rei but decided there was no particular need to strike up a conversation.
Then again, Rei had acknowledged the man's skill but hadn't particularly wanted to talk either.
Given that level of technique, he's probably here on the Guild's request. ...Though this being Gilm, being skilled doesn't guarantee that's the case.
Perhaps he was a born-and-bred solo adventurer—talented enough, but poor with people. Entertaining the thought, Rei continued through the Expansion Construction site.
In the end, that was the only group he witnessed fighting directly. He sensed signs of battle elsewhere but didn't go out of his way to investigate.
Rei and Set eventually reached the Earth Wall.
"...Hm?"
A broken longsword lying near the base of the wall caught his eye. Such a thing being here was clearly out of place.
The fact that it was broken meant either someone had fought here... or someone had come specifically to discard a broken weapon.
Well, it's not completely unthinkable... but would someone actually go out of their way to do that? And it doesn't look like they tried to destroy the Earth Wall and failed, either.
He hadn't examined it closely, but from a quick glance, the wall showed no signs of being scraped or damaged. He'd considered the possibility that someone broke the sword trying to chip at the wall, but there was no evidence supporting that.
In the first place, while the Earth Wall had been reinforced by Marina and Mail's Spirit Magic, it wasn't so indestructible that a longsword couldn't leave a single scratch.
But weapons could break easily enough depending on how they were used. And for an adventurer who neglected equipment maintenance, it was entirely possible they wouldn't even notice a worn blade.
"Gruu?"
Set purred, asking what was wrong. Rei shook his head—nothing—and picked up the broken longsword.
From a layman's perspective, the sword didn't appear particularly worn.
Which means it probably broke in a fight with a Cobolt and they just tossed it here? Well, that's a problem in its own way.
Even if a Cobolt had crossed the Earth Wall, there was no guarantee it would be armed. In fact, when it came to getting over the wall, individuals without weapons had a clear advantage.
So when such a Cobolt landed on this side barehanded, what would happen if it found a longsword lying there—even one with a broken blade?
Naturally, it would use it as a weapon.
"Hm? But there was a Cobolt fighting that solo adventurer earlier."
Recalling the earlier battle, Rei looked down at the broken sword in his hand.
Had that Cobolt been skilled in unarmed combat? Or had it simply crossed the wall at a different point and never noticed the longsword on the ground?
It couldn't be that it didn't want to use a broken weapon because it didn't suit their aesthetic sensibilities, could it?
Amused by the absurd thought, and not wanting to leave the broken sword here for another Cobolt to pick up, he stored it in his Misty Ring.
For a fleeting moment, he considered it might come in handy later—but on reflection, revised his assessment. It probably wouldn't be of any use at all.
If he really had to use it, the metal could serve as a throwing weapon, or he could melt it down to forge something else.
While mulling this over, Rei continued observing the Earth Wall. Then he felt Set's demeanor shift—and in the next instant, understood why.
"Heh. So that's how you get over the Earth Wall. Though, in a sense, it's exactly what I expected."
Whether it heard Rei's mutter or not, the Cobolt that had just vaulted over the wall froze for a split second in surprise before letting out a hostile growl at Rei and Set.
Setting Rei aside, the Cobolt faced Set—a monster clearly far above its own rank—yet showed not the slightest sign of fear or retreat.
That it was no ordinary Cobolt was apparent to anyone at a glance.
But being different from normal didn't mean it was any stronger.
Before Rei could lift a finger, Set moved and snapped the Cobolt's neck with effortless ease.
Dispatched in a single blow, in the truest sense of the phrase.
"Gururu."
Set purred at Rei, demanding praise.
"Ah... yeah. You did well."
With only a slight hesitation, Rei stroked Set and offered the praise.
Set accepted it happily, eyes narrowing in contentment.
"Well, at least I got to see how a Cobolt gets over the Earth Wall. That was worth something."
Saying so, Rei grabbed the Cobolt's corpse by the ankle and hurled it back over the wall.
A Cobolt-like shriek echoed from the other side—presumably the corpse had hit something—but Rei didn't particularly care.
He'd known all along that there were Cobolts on the other side. Hearing screams was only natural.
"Good thing the Earth Wall's fine. Looks like the Red Cloth didn't send anyone else after all."
"Gruu!"
Set purred in agreement.
"Well, I figured nothing would happen."
It was half bravado, but not entirely baseless.
In the first place, despite Glanje having led the Former Red Cloth to destroy the Earth Wall yesterday, he hadn't returned to the hideout to report. He'd simply vanished.
To be precise, Rei had handed him over to Daskar's Intelligence Unit—but there was no way the other side could know that.
As a result, Glanje's failure to return would lead them to conclude that he and his entire group had been killed or captured. From there, it was a perfectly reasonable assumption that the hideout had been compromised.
Which meant they were likely scrambling to deal with that fallout, setting aside the destruction of Rei's Earth Wall for the time being.
It was precisely because Rei had anticipated this that he'd expected nothing to happen.
"Gruu?"
So what do we do now? Set's purr seemed to ask. Rei considered it for a moment.
There wasn't much he needed to do right now.
He'd confirmed the Earth Wall was intact, and the Guards were already keeping watch over the disposable hideout used by those behind the Cobolt incidents.
Helping with the Gigant Turtle dissection was still an option, but if Rei meddled carelessly, he'd likely just get in the workers' way.
"In that case... a patrol?"
Not a proper patrol like the Guards would conduct—more of a stroll through food stalls and eateries, sampling dishes along the way.
Incidentally, he wasn't entirely without the notion of bringing refreshments to the workers at the dissection site.
"Gururururururu!"
Set let out a delighted cry.
Being able to eat delicious food was clearly something Set found tremendously appealing.
"What do you feel like eating? If we're bringing refreshments, soup's the way to go. ...Come to think of it, the pot I used last time should be washed and sitting in my Misty Ring. I can just have them fill that."
Rei generally bought soup by the pot, which meant that once the soup was gone, he was left with yet another pot. He might find some use for them eventually, but there was no denying they accumulated faster than he could use them.
That was why he usually asked vendors to fill one of his existing pots rather than buying a new one each time.
Setting out to buy a hearty, body-warming soup loaded with meat, Rei and Set departed from the Earth Wall.