For the time being, Rei and the others decided to leave the mansion. They had gathered enough leads — the corpses found inside, the documents and tools discovered in hidden shelves, and above all, the underground space itself along with the pink tentacles that had emerged from it.
That said, several of the Guards felt that even with this much evidence, getting their superiors to authorize a full-scale investigation of this mansion and the surrounding estates was far from guaranteed.
Still, Rei had insisted on calling off the search, and the reason was simple: those pink tentacles.
If those things — which had given even Rei trouble — somehow made it out of that underground space, the consequences would be catastrophic no matter how he looked at it.
The Cobolt situation is dangerous too, but thanks to the Earth Wall, the number getting into Gilm has dropped dramatically. Which means the pink tentacles are clearly the greater threat right now.
Rei thought this, and the Guards who had actually accompanied him into the underground space nodded in agreement.
Ultimately, the sheer terror of those tentacles was something you could only grasp by seeing them firsthand. Even the Guards, who knew full well how powerful Rei was and heard him call the threat dangerous, inevitably downplayed it in their minds without having witnessed it themselves. That was just human nature.
"Anyway, we need to round up the Guards scattered throughout the mansion. There could still be people defending this place, too."
The Girl Rei had let escape had vanished somewhere into that underground space. He could easily guess she'd fled to another mansion through one of the staircases down there, but events had moved too fast to give chase.
And as long as he couldn't be certain she was the last person in the building, there was a very real chance that other Guards still searching could be attacked.
"Right. Let's get out of here, then. We need to question that man we captured at the entrance, too."
"...Now that you mention it, he was there."
Normally, that wasn't the kind of thing you'd forget so easily. But the pink tentacles had left such a powerful impression on Rei that the captured man had completely slipped his mind.
"Hey, don't forget."
"Sorry. So how are we gathering everyone scattered inside?"
"With this." A Guard pulled out a whistle.
Seeing it, Rei remembered that he'd seen them communicating with whistles before and nodded in understanding.
"So you can relay basic messages with that thing."
The term "Morse code" came to mind, but while Rei knew the word, he had no idea how the system actually worked. Still, he figured the Guards must use something similar, and that was enough to grasp the intent.
"Right. It's a bit loud, so I'll go blow it in the hallway."
Rei watched the Guard leave the room. The moment he stepped into the hallway, the shrill trill of the whistle rang out.
After blowing it in a measured pattern several times — presumably finishing his instructions — the Guard cracked the door open and poked his head back in.
"Orders are out. Let's go."
Rei and the others filed out after him.
As they walked, Rei turned to one of the Guards who had been down in the underground space with him.
"Why didn't you use the whistle when you were under attack earlier?"
If they could relay messages with it, calling for reinforcements during the assault should have been an option.
The Guard shook his head.
"That girl was incredibly strong. Even with three of us, there was no opening to blow the whistle."
"He's right. If we'd done anything careless, probably... no, without a doubt, we wouldn't have just been injured. We'd be dead."
Another Guard nodded in grim agreement with his colleague.
So that's how it was. Rei accepted it and kept walking.
The whistle had done its job. One by one, Guards emerged from side corridors and rooms, falling in with Rei's group as they made their way toward the entrance.
Some of them, having been summoned by the signal, asked whether any leads had turned up. The Guards who'd been with Rei filled them in. In other cases, the Guards traveling with Rei asked the newcomers the same question — whether they'd found anything.
It was only natural. Guards were professionals at this. Finding leads beyond what Rei's group had uncovered was to be expected.
...Though there was no denying that the leads Rei's group had found were by far the most significant.
Before long, they reached the entrance.
Just as expected, the Old Man who had attacked them when they first arrived sat bound under guard, a watchful Guard standing over him.
"Heard the whistle. Sounds like things wrapped up without trouble."
The Guards who'd been searching the mansion nodded to the one waiting at the entrance.
"Yeah. We got plenty of leads. Enough to move our superiors, probably."
Rei felt a flicker of doubt at those words. He'd been told earlier that getting the higher-ups to act on this incident would be difficult.
Then again, that kind of judgment varies from person to person. Some think it'll work; others don't. Nothing strange about that.
He hadn't pressed the Guards for specifics, so he let it go and turned his gaze to the Old Man, gagged and silent.
"Bottom line — this mansion and the surrounding ones are going to be investigated. Might not sit well with you, since you were the one defending this place, but that's how it is."
"Mguuuh!"
The Old Man tried to respond, but with the gag in place, that was obviously impossible.
Rei briefly considered removing it. But the risk was clear: the man could bite his own tongue and kill himself before uttering a single word, denying them any information. That wasn't a gamble Rei could take.
"Alright. Now we just need to get back to the Guard Station in one piece. Someone might try to take this guy back — or recover whatever evidence we found in there. Stay sharp."
Even so, Rei wasn't the least bit worried about an ambush.
Inside the mansion was one thing, but outside, Set would be with them. Rei's senses were sharper than any normal person's, and Set's were sharper still. Any assassin the mastermind sent would be useless against the two of them together. That was just a fact.
The Guards seemed to understand this too. They nodded in visible relief, hauled the bound Old Man to his feet, and stepped out of the mansion.
"Grrrrrl!"
Right on cue, Set — who had apparently been waiting near the entrance — charged at Rei with a happy purr.
Under normal circumstances, a creature of Set's size barreling toward you would be pure terror. But to Rei, Set was a partner he trusted with his life — in a sense, another version of himself. So while the surrounding Guards flinched at the sudden charge, Rei simply caught Set without batting an eye.
"Whoa, easy... No need to be so dramatic. We weren't apart that long. You big baby."
He stroked Set as the creature rubbed its face against him, but the smile on Rei's face robbed the words of any real conviction.
"More importantly — while we were inside, did you see anyone slip out?"
The mansion they'd entered was unquestionably connected to the surrounding estates through the underground space. But nobody would willingly use a place where those tentacles might appear. Which meant the most likely escape route was through some back exit.
Well, there could've been a hidden passage that none of us found, and they used it to get to another mansion. It's possible.
He kept stroking Set as he thought it over.
"Grrrl."
Set purred contentedly, soaking it all in.
But eventually, Rei's hand stopped.
No more petting? Set's round eyes turned up toward Rei in silent appeal. But Rei couldn't afford to linger.
"Sorry, Set. Petting's on hold for now. Once this is over — no, at dinner. I'll give you all the attention you want then."
"Grru!"
Set purred happily at the promise.
Rei pulled his hand away and turned his gaze to the Guards, then to the bound Old Man.
"Alright, let's move. First stop's the Guard Station. We need to sort through the intel, report up the chain, and go over the evidence."
And so they set off toward the Guard Station, leaving behind a search that had yielded substantial results — and just as many new mysteries.
"Hmm. So you got to fight someone strong, Rei."
Dinner time. In Marina's courtyard, as usual, Vihera listened to Rei's account of the day and sounded openly envious.
While she'd been stuck fighting Cobolts — or killing time, having lost the mood for combat entirely — Rei had apparently stumbled into a fight with powerful enemies. That was the source of her frustration.
From Rei's perspective, though, the honest truth was that aside from the pink tentacles, none of the opponents had been strong enough to call formidable. They'd certainly been dangerous for the Guards, which made it awkward to know what to say to Vihera.
"I guess. They were tougher than Cobolts, sure, but nothing that'd make you want to seek them out, Vihera."
Vihera's expression shifted to one of uncertainty. Even hearing that, she still wanted to test herself against them.
Eventually, though, she seemed to accept that the moment had passed. She let out a small sigh.
"So what are the Guards going to do now? Can they actually act on the evidence and testimony you found?"
"Hard to say. Nothing's decided yet. The upper ranks probably need to deliberate."
"Figured."
Marina cut in from the side. As the Former Guild Master, she still maintained solid connections with the Guard Force, and she was clearly predicting how they'd respond.
Beside her, Elena nodded in agreement.
That said, there was no denying they didn't have the luxury of deliberating at their own pace this time.
The Cobolt situation was concerning enough, but the real worry — the one shared by Rei and the Guards alike — was what would happen if those pink tentacles Rei had encountered underground made it to the surface. That would be a catastrophe, plain and simple.
"But the mansion they raided today is sealed off, right? ...Not that they've managed to seal the other mansions connected through the underground space."
"Yeah, there are complications with that part. If you take the stairs in the underground space, you can apparently come out inside the other mansions too. Seems like that would simplify things, but apparently it's not so easy."
Elena and the others listening couldn't help but furrow their brows at Rei's words.