Naturally, even though Rei and his group had come to search the mansion, the owner had no intention of meekly accepting it.
It was one thing that the mansion owner had been among the curious onlookers watching Rei's group from within the estate grounds, but that same owner naturally refused to let them enter the premises.
"Don't mess with me! I'm acquainted with Viscount Danslee of the Noble's Faction! And you're telling me this is a forced search? Do you think you'll get away with pulling something like this?"
The one who said that was a thin man in his mid-twenties.
His face red with anger, he shouted at the guards from beyond the gate.
However, perhaps having anticipated such an attitude, the guards spoke to him in a calming manner.
(The Noble's Faction, huh. Based on what that guy said yesterday, I thought for sure the King's Faction was the one involved in this incident. Could it be different?)
Or perhaps the mansion owner himself wasn't directly involved, but someone working under him was caught up in it for some reason.
Rei scanned the servants gathered around the shouting man, but no one in particular seemed out of place.
At the very least, there was no one who visibly looked suspicious.
Of course, not everyone inside the mansion had come out here.
In the first place, if the servants learned that guards were coming, and if one of them was actually the culprit, it wouldn't be strange for them to be hiding deeper inside the mansion or even making a run for it.
"What do you think? From the looks of it, there doesn't seem to be anyone suspicious, or anyone with the kind of strength that attacked Rei's group yesterday."
Perhaps wondering the same thing as Rei, Vihera asked in a voice quiet enough not to be overheard.
"Now that you mention it, there's no one like that on your end either, huh. Does that mean this place is a miss? No, but considering yesterday's mansion was right next door, that seems a bit hard to believe."
"Which would mean this mansion could be a miss."
"I don't think so. Ranga deliberately chose us and told us to go to this mansion. That's obviously because this mansion is dangerous, don't you think?"
In reality, it might have just been Rei overthinking things, but it was definitely better to assume so.
"Hey now, don't say anything that'll spook us, alright."
One of the adventurers who had been listening behind Rei spoke up with a thoroughly displeased expression.
He had participated in this operation out of a desire to protect Gilm, but that didn't mean he had that much confidence in his own abilities.
At the very least, if he were attacked by the pink tentacles that had given even Rei some trouble, buying time would be the absolute best he could manage.
While Rei and his group were talking, the guards had been informing the mansion owner that this was a forced search.
Naturally, the owner still refused to accept it and continued making a commotion, but...
"Everyone, go ahead."
At those words from the guards, the adventurers like Rei and the other guards sprang into action.
They forced their way into the estate grounds, half-coercively.
There were gatekeepers of sorts, but against adventurers and guards, there was nothing they could do to prevent it, and they allowed the intrusion.
At that point, the mansion owner was still making a fuss, but he apparently realized that there was no way he could stop them.
Leaving the owner aside, the members of the search party proceeded into the mansion.
"Set, I doubt it'll happen, but if anyone tries to flee from this mansion, catch them. That said, capturing them is the best option, but if you determine that you absolutely can't catch them, you can kill them. Is that clear?"
Perhaps having heard what Rei was saying to Set, the mansion's residents directed fearful glances at him even as Rei turned to ask the guards.
Naturally, the guard he asked nodded at those words, further terrifying the residents.
(It's possible some of them might have played with Set in the city.)
Since Set was treated as a mascot in Gilm, there was a possibility that among the residents of this mansion, there were some who had affectionately petted him.
However, if it was a request from Rei, Set would show no mercy, even to someone who had doted on him.
Though he would probably feel that he'd rather not kill them, if possible.
Even so, Set loved Gilm, where so many people doted on him.
For Set, who was often feared simply for being a gryphon in villages and towns he visited for the first time, Gilm was a beloved place.
"Grrrul!"
Leave it to me! Set purred happily.
At Set's demeanor, the mansion owner found himself unable to say anything more.
He couldn't help but think that if he said something here, Set might attack him for that very reason.
The other servants felt the same way; following their master's lead, they stopped moving—and the guards certainly weren't going to miss that opening.
They immediately headed into the mansion, forcefully pushing past the servants who tried to raise protests.
Rei also entered the mansion along with them.
"The top priority, as Captain Ranga also stated, is finding any hidden passages leading to the underground space. Apparently, in the mansion next door, it was a staircase, but it might not be a staircase here, so please be careful. Also, if you find the underground space, do not go deeper inside more than necessary and return upstairs immediately."
Since many people were thought to be incapable of handling the tentacles, that decision was only natural.
Detailed precautions had already been given by Ranga, so after receiving a brief warning from the guards, everyone sprang into action.
Rei and Vihera would be acting together with three guards.
Rei couldn't help but think that it might have been better to split into even more groups, but in yesterday's mansion, there had been several people acting as security—though calling it that was rather ominous—and considering those circumstances, it made sense to move in groups of a few at a time.
"Please wait! Hey, um... this is a problem!"
The maids and butlers employed by the mansion raised their voices to stop Rei and the guards who had entered without permission, but since this was a forced search, the guards did not halt their movements.
That said, that was strictly only the case for the maids and butlers...
"Oops, sorry, but we can't let you through here."
Several soldiers blocked Rei's group's path as they said this.
They weren't quite on the level of soldiers employed by nobles, but there was no doubt they possessed considerable strength.
"Step aside. We are acting in our official capacity as guards. If you obstruct us, we will be forced to deal with you coercively as well."
"I understand what you're trying to say. But I'm employed to be here too. If you were guests invited by the master of the mansion, that'd be one thing, but I can't step aside for anyone else. Even if the other party is an alias-holding adventurer."
Seeing the way the soldier said that while looking at Rei, it seemed the soldier knew about Rei and Vihera.
Even so, considering his current job, he had no intention of stepping aside, even for an alias-holding adventurer.
"You're a much more serious guy than I expected. But since we're here to conduct a forced search, we can't take your circumstances into account."
Saying that, Rei stepped forward in front of the guards.
The guards didn't want to be rough with the soldiers before them if they could help it, but they couldn't just back down either, so they left it to Rei.
"Don't be too rough on them."
"Yeah."
Rei gave a brief reply to the guard's considerate words and began walking forward.
The soldiers readied their longswords and short swords, bracing themselves against Rei as he advanced toward them... but in the next instant, Rei kicked off the floor and closed the distance.
His speed was such that the guards couldn't properly follow it, and the soldiers barely sensed his presence and swung the weapons in their hands.
There was no hesitation in their strikes.
If those blows landed, a life would be snatched away in an instant.
However, there was no way they could go easy when facing Rei, and he had the resolve that it couldn't be helped if he was to do his job.
That said, even those strikes couldn't land on Rei. He effortlessly dodged the blow and buried his fist in the soldier's torso.
"Guh!"
Letting out a short groan of agony, the soldier was instantly robbed of consciousness and crumpled to the floor.
It wasn't just one, of course; the other soldiers also lost consciousness one after another and collapsed.
An exchange that lasted less than a few seconds.
With just that, all the soldiers had lost consciousness and ended up lying on the floor.
"Sorry."
Muttering quietly, Rei glanced down at the soldiers collapsed on the floor... then turned his gaze toward the guards.
"For now, there's no one left to get in our way. All that's left is to search this mansion, so what's the plan?"
"First, we'll split into groups of a few each. I'd like Rei and Vihera to act separately if possible, is that alright?"
"I don't mind, but what about you, Vihera?"
At the guard's words, Rei asked Vihera.
Vihera, who received the look, thought for a few seconds and eventually nodded.
"Understood, that's fine. It's a bit of a shame, since if I stayed with Rei, it felt like strong enemies would come to me on their own."
"It's not like I have some kind of ability to attract strong enemies."
Rei replied with those words, but considering how many troubles Rei had been caught up in so far, normally more people would agree with Vihera's opinion.
In fact, many of those who had been listening around them were nodding at Vihera's words.
Perhaps judging that he had no chance of winning if he said something here, Rei averted his gaze slightly and opened his mouth.
"So, who's the fool who wants to act with me, where there's a high chance of strong enemies appearing?"
"I'll go."
"Then I'll go too. Can't let you be the only one with a disappointing experience. Besides, if Rei's around, no matter what we're attacked by, we'll at least be able to make it back alive, right?"
"Ah, whatever, do as you please. But don't expect me to lift a finger if you guys get caught up in something. If you're fine with that, then follow me. And what about the rest of you?"
Rei asked, looking half-resigned, at the adventurers other than himself and Vihera.
However, those adventurers all shook their heads in unison.
It wasn't that acting with Rei would directly lead to death, but rather it was purely a matter of numbers.
The guards splitting up to act separately naturally meant that adventurers would be needed to escort them as well.
If so, there wasn't necessarily a reason for other adventurers to join the group acting alongside the massive combat power that was Rei.
Rather, since Rei alone was sufficient combat power, it would be more effective to deploy adventurers elsewhere.
Told this by the remaining adventurers and guards, Rei wore a conflicted expression but nodded in understanding.
With that, the members who had entered the mansion split into small groups and began to move.
The maids and butlers thought about stopping them, but having witnessed the sight of the soldiers being knocked unconscious in a single blow, they couldn't make any careless moves. However...
"Hey, what are you doing! Hurry up and throw those people out of the mansion! I, your employer, am ordering you! Do you understand what that means?"
For the mansion owner, having people—even if they were guards—strutting around his mansion as if they owned the place was naturally not something he found amusing. And with adventurers among them to boot, it was utterly unacceptable.
Above all, because this was a sudden forced search, there were multiple pieces of evidence of past misconduct still inside the mansion.
Having the guards find them was something that absolutely had to be avoided.
That said, since the highest combat force employed by this mansion had already gone down before Rei, there was no way to resolve this by force.
In the end, he could only make a scene without being able to take any effective measures.
Normally, if something like this happened, he could just call for the guards and that would be that.
Or he could ask a noble he was on good terms with for help.
But that was only when the other party was ruffians or the like; having guards conduct a forced search of his own mansion was completely unexpected.
In the end, the mansion owner wore an expression of despair, wondering what he should do... and then left the scene with a resolved look on his face.