Rei, Set, and the guards walked toward the Noble District.
Their destination was the base of whoever was believed to be the mastermind behind the Cobolt incident.
Not a disposable hideout like the one Gran had known about, but their true base.
Of course, given the enemy's cautiousness, it wouldn't be strange for them to have other bases besides the one they were heading to now.
In any case, Rei's group was moving toward that base—but they weren't all walking together.
If Rei, Set, and a large number of guards moved as a single group, they would naturally stand out.
That was why Rei and Set wandered around as if casually snacking on street food, while the guards changed into plainclothes and split into several groups to move separately.
The reason for this level of caution was, after all, because the enemy was believed to possess high intelligence-gathering capabilities.
The biggest concern was the possibility of a traitor among the guards, but this time they had acted swiftly after obtaining the information, and the guards were monitoring each other during the operation, so the likelihood of information being leaked to the enemy was considered low.
(Well, if there are multiple people connected to the enemy and they're cooperating... then I can't deny the possibility that our information has already been leaked. But considering how quickly we acted, there's a good chance we haven't given them time to respond... at least, that's what I want to believe.)
Eating a skewer he had bought from a stall, Rei scanned his surroundings.
Perhaps due to the nature of their profession, the guards didn't stand out in any particular way; at a glance, they looked like ordinary passersby.
Their ability to blend in indicated that they were accustomed to this kind of work.
(Come to think of it, I remember seeing undercover police cars in those TV police specials back in Japan. Maybe it's something like that. ...Or rather, maybe it's more like plainclothes security guards?)
As he walked down the street reminiscing about his time in Japan, the stalls naturally began to decrease in number—likely because they were approaching the Noble District.
Among the nobles, there were those who could not tolerate having things like food stalls near where they lived.
Of course, there were those who were accepting of it, but their numbers were few.
"Rei, it's about time."
One of the approaching guards came up beside Rei and spoke briefly.
He wore ordinary clothes that made him look nothing like a guard, but his expression had shifted from that of a civilian to that of a guardsman.
It wasn't just the guard who had spoken to Rei; the others were the same.
Perhaps because they were approaching the Noble District and the number of people around had decreased, they all gathered near Rei instead of remaining spread out.
There were still a few passersby, but upon seeing Rei and Set, they would simply think "so that's how it is" and pass by without paying any particular attention.
If Rei and Set were around, it wouldn't be strange for anything to happen.
It was certain that people thought this way.
Rei had a few things to say about that, but since it was convenient for the moment, he kept his complaints to himself.
Proceeding together with the gathered guards, the target building soon came into view.
Being close to the Noble District, it was a fairly impressive mansion.
At the very least, it was not a building that an ordinary person could easily purchase.
"That mansion?"
"Yeah. ...Assuming what that Red Cloth guy said wasn't complete nonsense."
"Complete nonsense, huh. There's a possibility he took that approach to save his own skin, but... that man only sensed danger to himself after he'd already let the information slip to me, right? Or maybe he sensed the danger and pretended to know nothing... no, that doesn't fit either."
As if agreeing with Rei's words, the surrounding guards nodded.
If they had spoken to that man even briefly, they would have immediately understood that he wasn't the type to think that far ahead.
It was obvious that he had the impulsive personality he appeared to have.
That was precisely why he had followed such a foolish order as destroying the earth wall.
"Anyway, let's just sneak in. I'll ask just to be sure, but this is fine, right?"
The guard Rei asked nodded quietly.
The question was whether it was acceptable to proceed without something like a search warrant, but for guards, this level of boldness was an everyday occurrence.
After all, in Gilm, where a large number of adventurers gathered, there were many incidents that couldn't be resolved without taking such measures.
...Naturally, if they went ahead and did something like this only to find out the people were completely uninvolved, they would be made to bear the appropriate responsibility.
This time in particular, while not the Noble District itself, it was an incident at a mansion located close to it.
If what the Red Cloth man had said turned out to be nonsense, the guards present here would definitely be held responsible.
Even understanding that... the guards still had no intention of calling off the operation.
Even if it was only a monster like a Cobolt, having someone in Gilm who could manipulate them in large numbers was clearly dangerous.
When spring came, the population increased, and the expansion construction resumed—if Cobolts surged in large numbers then, it would obviously become a catastrophe.
As guards, given the high likelihood of such a dangerous situation occurring, bearing the responsibility themselves if it turned out to be nothing was a small price to pay.
Additionally, it wasn't as if the guards had no ulterior motives.
When the risk was high, the return was naturally large as well.
If they could capture the mastermind behind the Cobolt incident here, it would be a significant boost in their performance evaluations.
Even so, from Rei's perspective, he could only think that the risks were overwhelmingly higher than the rewards.
(For all their talk, they're good-natured... or maybe they just have a strong sense of responsibility as guards... something like that.)
Looking at the nodding guards, Rei smiled wryly and accepted it.
"Then let's go."
"Yeah."
At Rei's words, the guards nodded... and one of them spoke up.
"However, you should be careful. From what I can see, that mansion has plenty of places that look convenient for hiding. In other words, if anything happens, they could lie low somewhere and wait for us to pass, or depending on the situation, they might even launch a surprise attack."
"Ah, right. Outside, Set would spot places where enemies might be hiding, but if they pull something like that inside the mansion, it'd be a bit troublesome. The fortunate thing is that there don't seem to be any Red Cloth members here."
The guards each reacted to Rei's words... but since everyone naturally understood they couldn't stand around forever, they positioned themselves in front of the mansion's gate while remaining prepared to respond to a surprise attack at any moment.
If this were the Noble District itself, or a mansion where people lived more openly, it wouldn't be strange to have a gatekeeper... but unfortunately, there was no one of the sort here.
Given that, they didn't bother calling out from outside the gate. They entered the mansion grounds through the gate directly.
Normally, if someone entered a mansion's grounds without permission, it wouldn't be strange for someone from the household to come out immediately.
But at present, there was no sign of anything like that.
"No one's coming out. Either they haven't noticed us at all, or they're waiting for us inside. ...Which do you think?"
Rei asked, but the guards weren't particularly familiar with this mansion either.
No, rather, they directed glances at Rei that seemed to say he should be able to predict the answer, since he had interacted with the Red Cloth man who had provided the information about this place, even if only briefly.
But even if they had interacted, it was only for about an hour... no, only a few dozen minutes at most.
Rei's honest thought was: with only that degree of acquaintance, what could he possibly predict?
In any case, Set and some of the guards stayed outside the mansion, preparing to deal with anyone who might try to escape through a back door or window.
The rest of the group reached the front door to enter the mansion.
"I didn't expect there to be no response even after coming this far. Did they think they could bluff their way through by pretending no one was home?"
"Who knows. It's not impossible that they're doing exactly what you said, Rei. But... to think they could wait us out with a stunt like that. Once they're found out, there's no talking their way out of it."
"Or maybe they just didn't notice someone was coming?"
Listening to the guards' conversation, Rei knocked on the door as a matter of courtesy.
He didn't think anyone would actually answer, but still... or so he had thought, until...
"Eh?"
The first to make a sound was Rei, the one who had knocked.
He had been convinced that no one would come to the door, so he was startled when he sensed someone approaching from the other side.
He had judged that no one would do something as brazen as coming out openly—which made the surprise all the greater—and seeing Rei's reaction, the guards grew suspicious.
But before they could ask Rei why he was so startled, the door opened. ...It wasn't Rei who opened it, but the person inside the mansion.
"Yes, who might you be?"
The one who appeared was an old man.
He was dressed in immaculate clothing, and his appearance was such that anyone would believe it if told he was a butler.
"..."
Rei quietly turned his gaze to the guard beside him.
He asked with his eyes, "What do you think?" but his gaze was heavy with bewilderment.
Naturally. They had come here believing it was a base likely connected to the mastermind behind the Cobolt incident, the one pulling the strings behind Red Cloth—and the person who came out looked like nothing but a butler.
But the guard to whom the look was directed was also at a loss for how to respond to Rei's bewildered gaze.
According to the Guard Force's records, this mansion was currently up for sale and was supposed to be unoccupied.
That was precisely why they had judged it to be a suitable location to use as a base, but... it was safe to say this was a completely unexpected result.
"Ah, excuse me. I'm with the guards, but isn't this mansion currently vacant?"
"With the guards, you say? Despite your attire..."
It wasn't strange for the old man to cast a suspicious glance at the guard who had addressed him, considering they were all in plainclothes.
The guard was stung by that point, but another guard standing next to the one facing the old man somehow managed to come up with an excuse.
"Actually, taking advantage of the fact that this mansion is vacant, there have been reports of suspicious persons around here lately. However, as you know, this area is close to the Noble District, and if this many guards moved together in such a location, the suspects might notice and flee. That's why we came in plainclothes."
"I see. But, um... as you can see, this mansion is currently occupied—my master purchased it. ...Has word of that not reached the Guard Force?"
"No, it hasn't. That's exactly why we thought this was an empty mansion. What we can think of is that with the commotion of the expansion construction, the year-end and New Year's disruptions, and large-scale events like the Gigant Turtle dissection, perhaps the notification got delayed."
Rei shot the guard a glance that seemed to ask, "Are you really including the Gigant Turtle dissection in that list?" but the guard casually brushed it off.
"I see. Gilm has been busy lately, after all. Then there's no issue with this matter, is there?"
"...No."
The one who spoke in response to the old man's words was Rei.
There had been something off about what the old man in front of him had said.
What exactly about this perfectly ordinary exchange had felt wrong, even Rei couldn't say.
He couldn't say... but still, there was definitely something that didn't sit right.
After all, it was an exchange where even the guards hadn't sensed anything amiss, so they also directed questioning looks at Rei, who had suddenly spoken up.
"Rei?"
At the guard's words, Rei thought for a moment... and then it dawned on him why he had felt something was off about the old man before him.
"Why do you smell like blood?"
It was such a faint scent of blood that an ordinary person probably wouldn't have noticed it.
Because Rei's body had been created by the Zephyle Clan, granting him sharper senses than a normal human, he had been able to detect that scent of blood.
At Rei's words, the old man stiffened.