If a large number of guards and adventurers were walking together, they would naturally stand out.
Even though it was winter and cold, and fewer people were outside compared to spring through autumn, they were by no means nonexistent.
Rather, there were inevitably those who had to go outside for work or shopping... and in that sense, it was only natural that a large group moving together would draw attention.
And once they drew attention, people would naturally wonder why such a thing was being done, and if they spotted an acquaintance among the group, it was only natural to ask them.
"Ah, hey Daul! Hey, what are you guys doing?"
"Ah... sorry. We've got a big job coming up, so I don't have time to chat. I'll drop by your shop tonight, so pour me a drink, will you?"
A male adventurer in his thirties named Daul replied to an acquaintance who was a tavern keeper.
The tavern keeper still seemed like he wanted to ask something, but Daul judged that if he kept talking he would be left behind by his companions, so he left the keeper — who still looked like he had more to say — standing right there and departed.
Given that they were not dressed for walking around town, but were properly equipped with armor and weapons, the tavern keeper could understand that a major disturbance was definitely about to occur.
"...Come back alive, alright! Do that, and I'll treat you to something special!"
Hearing the tavern keeper's words from behind, Daul waved his hand lightly in response and kept moving.
In other places, too, there were several people having similar exchanges.
(Hmm, it's a scene that feels like something out of a movie, but... well, this kind of thing is common in this world.)
Walking alongside Set and Vihera, Rei harbored such thoughts.
Indeed, for adventurers who lived side by side with death... and especially for those active in Gilm, a frontier region, life-or-death battles were not that rare.
Several more people carried on similar exchanges as the group advanced... and before long, because they were approaching the Noble District, the number of people around them gradually decreased.
Some were startled, thinking, A forced search in the Noble District!? — but since they were supposedly not allowed to say where they were heading, no one actually voiced it.
If this had been only a small group of adventurers, someone might have let it slip.
But this time, with guards among them and other adventurers present, they could not so easily slip up and say something they should not.
Moreover, the fact that those present were people who loved Gilm was also a significant factor in this case.
Granted, many did not harbor that strong a sense of local patriotism toward Gilm... but even so, they did not dislike the city, and they had a fair number of close acquaintances within it.
"Oh, it's coming into view."
Amidst all this, Rei muttered as he confirmed that the Noble District had come into sight.
Of course, Rei and his group were not heading straight into the Noble District; they would turn off along the way.
"But it's strange, isn't it? The place we're heading to isn't just King's Faction buildings, right? If so, does that mean the Noble's Faction and the Neutral Faction are also betraying them?"
"I wonder. 'Genuine' might not be the right way to put it, but the ones here aren't necessarily the heads of their families. In that sense, it's probably easier than trying to draw in the actual nobles themselves. ...Besides, since it's not the Noble District, there's also the possibility that wealthy merchants bought the properties."
Even as he said this, Rei found himself questioning his own words about nobles having betrayed them — merchants aside.
This was Gilm. A city governed by Daskar, who led the Neutral Faction.
Given that, the nobles sent by the Noble's Faction were without a doubt individuals trusted by their family heads, and as for the Neutral Faction, it would not be surprising if they fully understood what kind of person Daskar was and how much capability he possessed.
Turning such individuals into enemies so easily was something Rei found very hard to believe.
Moreover, for those who had been active as nobles, the fear they felt would likely be even stronger than what Rei felt.
Considering those circumstances, he could not help but wonder whether this incident was solely the work of the King's Faction... but the fact remained that the person Rei had actually encountered in the Underground Space was someone connected to the King's Faction.
Of course, that was only based on what that person had claimed himself, so there was no way to know the actual truth.
(The documents written in cipher that I found. There were a few other clues too, so it would be nice if we could trace things from there. ...Well, I can't deny the possibility that those clues themselves are dummies...)
In the first place, in the worst case, the man Rei had encountered and who was killed by tentacles had also claimed to be a member of the King's Faction, but there was no telling how much of that was true.
No, the man himself had certainly seemed to fully believe it, but even that could not completely rule out the possibility that he had merely been made to believe as much...
(Well, going that far does start to feel a bit far-fetched, I suppose.)
As he walked along deep in such thoughts, his stride suddenly came to a halt.
It was not that Rei had intended to stop; the people walking ahead of him had stopped, and so Rei also came to a halt.
That said, Rei understood the reason.
After all, from here they could see the mansion that had been subjected to a forced search yesterday, and they could also see the other mansions that were likely connected to the Underground Space beneath it.
(Considering the size of that Underground Space, it wouldn't be a mistake to think it really extends beneath nearly all the mansions in this area. ...Honestly, I'd genuinely like to know how they created such a space in the first place. Some skill like Terrain Manipulation... or maybe Earth-type Magic?)
Listening as Ranga and the guards around him up front explained who would head to which mansion, Rei recalled the Underground Space he had entered yesterday.
For this forced search, they had been told that if they found the Underground Space that Rei's group had entered yesterday, they were to immediately retreat from the spot.
And if retreating proved absolutely impossible and they ended up having to fight the pink tentacles, they were told to prioritize survival by focusing entirely on defense rather than trying to defeat them.
An explanation of the pink tentacles had already been given.
Despite having no fangs or mouth-like features, they possessed the special ability to absorb organs, flesh, and bodily fluids upon mere contact.
However, that also meant one was safe as long as they did not touch the tentacles, which was why they had been instructed to focus on defense.
"Rei, it's our turn."
"Yeah. ...Set"
"Gruu!"
Rei gave a brief reply to Vihera's words and headed toward the front together with Set.
"Rei-kun and your group, I'd like you to act together with them."
Saying so, Ranga indicated one group.
However, it was clearly smaller in number compared to the other groups.
Just as Rei wondered what was going on, Ranga spoke up before Rei could voice his question.
"The reason your group has fewer people is to distribute combat power evenly. ...If anything, if all of you joined that group, yours would undoubtedly have the highest combat power."
At Ranga's words, the others nearby who had been listening nodded in agreement.
Indeed, the combat power of the two people and one creature — Rei, Vihera, and Set — would be immense.
But that did not necessarily mean it was fine to have so few people... and Rei could not simply accept it.
"I understand the concern about combat power, but I still can't agree with having so few people. Won't we be short-handed for the search?"
Of the two people and one creature, the one creature in particular — Set — naturally could not assist with the search, nor could it easily enter a mansion.
Even Rei and Vihera, while they had no issues as combat power, were not accustomed to searching like the guards were.
Naturally, that would place a heavier burden on the guards.
"I understand that. But the number of guards we can deploy is inevitably limited. Of course, once the searches at other locations are finished, I'll send reinforcements your way."
Ranga, too, would have liked to assemble more guards and adventurers for Rei's group if possible.
But given that the enemy awaiting them was presumed to be formidable, there was an unavoidable need to balance combat power evenly.
...In fact, the reason many guards hoped to be assigned to Rei's team was surely related to that very fact.
If enemies appeared, with Rei and Vihera present, they likely would not suffer any casualties — or so they thought.
"Rei, isn't it fine? At least we don't have to worry about someone else stealing our worthy enemies."
"No, you're probably the only one worried about that. I don't think most people would have that concern."
"Oh, is that so? Well, if you say so, I suppose I'll go along with that for now."
Not looking entirely convinced, Vihera said as much.
Rei was about to say something back to her, but Ranga spoke up before he could.
"Sorry, but could you save the lovers' quarrel for later? Right now, we need to prioritize the forced search."
Called a lovers' quarrel, Vihera looked slightly pleased, but said nothing more.
Rei, too, thinking it would be wrong to hold things up over their own matters, remained silent.
Set, for his part, watched the two of them with a puzzled look, as if asking what was going on.
Seeing how the two people and one creature were behaving, Ranga took it as a sign that things were settled and spoke.
"Then, let's begin the forced search! No matter what they say, no matter what authority they invoke to try to refuse the search, do not back down. I have obtained permission from Lord Daskar. And if anything does happen, I will take responsibility as the Captain of the Guard Force!"
Spurred on by Ranga's words, each group headed toward the mansion they had been assigned.
Rei's group had been assigned the mansion next to the one subjected to a forced search yesterday.
...Of course, even though it was described as next door, the grounds of each mansion were fairly spacious, so it was not as close as neighboring buildings in the city proper would be.
The main reason they had been assigned this particular location was, after all, the fact that Rei had encountered the pink tentacles the day before.
Naturally, there was a high possibility that the Underground Space connected to the mansions in this vicinity, but still, the mansion directly next to the one where a forced search had been conducted when the pink tentacles were first encountered was reason enough for everyone else to avoid it.
"In the end, I think the likelihood of it connecting to that Underground Space is the same no matter which one you pick."
"Oh? But there might be mansions that don't connect to the Underground Space Rei entered yesterday. For the person who owns such a mansion, being subjected to a sudden forced search would be the worst."
"That's... true enough."
Rei found himself agreeing with Vihera's words, but one of the adventurers who would be acting alongside Rei's group, having overheard their conversation, spoke up.
"Besides, since it's a forced search, if they're involved in any kind of crime, they could end up getting arrested for that too, even if it's unrelated to this incident."
"Too brutal."
Being caught as collateral damage in this incident — if that happened, there was no question they would have terrible luck.
Of course, that was only if they were actually involved in criminal activity.
If they had nothing to hide, then being subjected to a forced search should not have been a problem.
(Well, I can certainly understand the sentiment of not wanting to be subjected to a forced search, regardless of criminal involvement.)
Regardless of whether one had committed a crime, having a large number of strangers flood into the mansion where one lived was not something that could inspire pleasant feelings.
"As a guard, I'd appreciate it not having to listen to this kind of awkward conversation."
One of the guards who had been listening to the conversation among Rei and the other adventurers said this with a wry smile.
For the guards, it was definitely a topic that was difficult to know how to respond to.
"Ah... sorry. Was that a poor choice of topic?"
"Not exactly, but considering we're about to start the forced search, I'd appreciate it if you could avoid doing anything that might lower morale. More importantly... it's about time to move. They're waiting for us."
At the guard's words, Rei turned his gaze toward the mansion they were about to search.
Naturally, if guards and adventurers gathered in a spot not far from a mansion, it would be conspicuous whether they liked it or not.
And of course, when such a thing happened, curious onlookers would gather to see what was going on, and at the same time, if the household had a gatekeeper, it was only natural that they would heighten their vigilance.
If it had been a small group like yesterday — relatively speaking, that is — it might have been a different story.
Things would likely not go smoothly.
With that thought, Rei advanced toward the target mansion together with the others.