Having finished their conversation with Ranga, Rei and Vihera exited the mansion they were in.
They had been asked to return to the mansion where they had originally conducted their forced search.
The groups had been divided so that combat power was distributed as evenly as possible. Rei and Vihera, however, possessed abilities that stood out even among the gathered adventurers, which was exactly why Rei's group had fewer members.
That also meant if there were individuals serving as the mansion's guards—hired by Javis—the mansion Rei's group had left behind would be extremely short on combat power.
Naturally, with just the two of them... other adventurers had been assigned as well, but none of them possessed particularly outstanding abilities.
Given that, the current situation could easily become very troublesome.
...Though in truth, that hadn't really changed from the moment Rei and Vihera had gone into the underground space.
"Gururururu!"
As Rei and Vihera headed toward the mansion, they suddenly heard that familiar cry.
Rei turned his gaze toward the source and, just as expected, saw Set.
Crying out happily—truly, from the bottom of his heart—Set rubbed his face against Rei with all his might.
Rei caught the affectionate Set and petted him all over, not playing favorites—his head, his face, his body.
Set clearly reveled in the attention. Purring loudly, he pressed in even closer, begging for more.
"Hey, Rei. ...It might be pointless to say this, but you're standing out, you know?"
At Vihera's words, Rei calmed the delighted Set and looked around.
The mansions throughout this area were all undergoing forced searches by guards and adventurers, but that didn't mean no one passed through.
There was a steady stream of people—messengers coming to consult with the owners of mansions under search, ordinary passersby with no connection to any of it, and the like.
Naturally, the sight of someone playing so wholeheartedly with Set in such a place drew attention.
"Standing out" didn't carry a negative connotation here, though. The looks directed their way were mostly fond or envious.
At the very least, they weren't the kind of stares directed at someone carrying Jabis over his shoulder.
"Hm? Ah, right. Can't stay like this forever. ...We're heading back to the mansion we were searching, but what about you, Set?"
"Guru?"
At Rei's words, Set tilted his head adorably, then let out another cry.
This wasn't the affectionate sound from before—it carried a clear sense of motivation.
Set had been playing with Rei, but he seemed to have remembered his job.
To catch any suspicious people trying to flee from the mansions.
That said, there are quite a few passersby... so finding someone escaping from a mansion might be difficult. Then again, if it's Set, it wouldn't be strange for him to spot a suspicious person with his super senses or something.
Rei watched Set, who was clearly raring to go, and thought to himself.
Perhaps sensing something from Rei's demeanor, Set tilted his head slightly as if to ask, "What's wrong?"
Rei shook his head to indicate it was nothing and reached out to Set once more.
"Alright, then... go do your best."
Rei petted him one last time, and Set purred happily before taking off.
"...As always, I see."
Vihera, who had been watching the exchange, spoke with a mix of disbelief and envy.
From her perspective, the bond between Rei and Set was something she couldn't help but feel envious of.
That was why she had murmured those words just now... but the person she'd murmured about didn't notice her complex expression and simply tilted his head.
"Hm? Did something happen?"
"No, it's nothing. More importantly, let's get to the mansion we were in charge of. It'd be trouble if something happened there while we were gone."
"Did something? Well, if you say so. Let's go, then."
Rei sensed that Vihera was sulking slightly, but without knowing the reason, saying anything careless risked making things worse.
So he let the matter drop and headed toward the mansion they had initially been assigned.
Whether fortunately or not, nothing else happened along the way, and the two of them arrived without incident.
...Though if something had happened just from walking down the street, that would have been a serious problem in its own right.
"Eh? Huh? Rei-san? Vihera-san? Why are you coming from outside?"
The surprised voice came from a guard stationed at the gate to stop anyone from entering or leaving during the forced search.
The guard panicked for a moment—Did I miss Rei and Vihera leaving?!
That was only natural. If he truly had missed them, it would have meant a written reprimand for certain.
But Rei reassured the anxious guard and explained the situation.
"You know how there was talk about the underground space, right? We moved to another mansion through it and came back from there. So it's not like you let us slip past or anything."
"R-really? But why would you do something like that?"
"Ah... well, a lot happened. Anyway, we can go through, right?"
"Yes, I don't mind, but..."
If it had been a stranger or a resident of the mansion, the guard never would have let them through so easily.
But these were Rei and Vihera—famous figures who were participating in the forced search of this very mansion. There was no reason to stop them.
Seen off by the guard, the two entered the mansion.
Near the entrance, maids and servants had gathered and were watching them... but Rei didn't take any particular action in response.
For the maids and servants, having the mansion they worked in subjected to a forced search by guards surely stirred up all sorts of feelings.
The owner of this mansion knew absolutely nothing about the underground space, so someone among the staff here must know something. For that matter, we still don't even know how they built a hidden staircase to an underground room in the first place.
As long as those questions remained unanswered, Rei couldn't be completely certain there was no one suspicious among the staff.
What had stood out most was that a few of the maids and servants were reasonably skilled fighters.
He couldn't exactly ask people like that whether they were involved in the underground space incident.
Then again, evidence of crimes was found in this mansion, so it wouldn't be strange to question the maids and servants about various things. ...Though that's the guards' job, not mine.
With those thoughts in mind, Rei pressed deeper into the mansion.
His destination was, naturally, the room where the hidden staircase to the underground space had been concealed.
Along the way, he ran into several guards and adventurers and chatted briefly as he went.
"It seems like there was no one else of concern aside from the child who attacked me. Or maybe they just ran because they had no other options."
"Ah, that's possible too. From the attacker's perspective, if winning was impossible, they wouldn't bother trying anything against us."
Most of those who had attacked Rei hadn't seemed to be thinking in terms of odds or cost-benefit at all.
In that sense, the girl Vihera had caught must have had a proper sense of her chances, given that she had fled the instant she saw Rei yesterday.
She'd only been caught because she tried to assassinate the mansion's owner and failed. She hadn't attacked Vihera or Rei directly, which meant her ability to read the gap in strength was quite sharp.
Though if she was going to assassinate that man, she didn't have to do it anywhere near me or Vihera. She could have avoided getting caught that way. ...In that regard, her situational judgment is still immature. Can't be helped, though—she is a child.
Lost in thought, he made his way down the hallway and eventually arrived at the room connected to the underground space.
The guards and adventurers inside were startled when Rei and Vihera suddenly walked in from the corridor.
"Eh? Huh... why from outside? Does the underground space connect to another room in this mansion too?"
For the people in the room, the question of why must have been overwhelming.
That they quickly regained their composure was likely a testament to their experience as Gilm's guards.
"Ah, right. We ended up fighting tentacles in the underground space, but during the fight, Ranga told us to come back. When we came up the staircase from the underground space, it turned out to be a different mansion where Ranga was."
"...I see. So what happened with the underground space?"
"Hard to say. At least when Vihera and I got out, the tentacles were still there. ...What do you think happened?"
Vihera, who Rei had looked to for an answer, tilted her head with a "Who knows?"
"Maybe the tentacles disappear after enough time passes, or maybe they haven't because Rei dealt serious damage to them. Either way, we can't know without going down there and checking for ourselves."
"True. But that raises the question of who goes to look. There might still be someone heading down there who knows nothing about it."
"Hmm, but wouldn't Ranga send word to each mansion about that?"
"Then why didn't a notice come to this one?"
"Because we were here, maybe?"
Rei could more or less understand Vihera's reasoning.
But knowing Ranga's personality, it wouldn't have been strange for him to send someone before they returned.
That said, the underground space was the priority right now, not Ranga. He steered the conversation back.
"In any case, we need to check on the underground space one more time. If the tentacles are gone, we can recover the bodies."
There were a fair number of corpses reduced to skin and bones, and he wanted to bring them back if at all possible.
At Rei's words, one of the guards bowed his head.
"Hearing you say that means a lot to us. Thank you. I don't know who died, but they have families, lovers, and friends waiting for them. Please, at least recover the bodies."
"Leave it to me. ...So I'm going back down to the underground space. What about you, Vihera?"
"Me? Of course I'm coming. ...I'm disappointed I won't be able to fight, but if something happens, more hands are better, right?"
"Appreciate it."
In terms of sheer numbers, adding manpower wasn't difficult. If they brought the guards and adventurers in this room along, there'd be no shortage of help.
But if the tentacles hadn't disappeared, it would almost certainly turn into a fierce battle.
And if that happened, bringing the people here would only mean adding to the body count already lying in the underground space.
Rei had no desire to let that happen.
That was exactly why he didn't want to bring anyone from this room along.
Understanding this, the guards and adventurers wore expressions of disappointment and frustration.
"Alright, we'll be back."
With that, Rei and Vihera gave the guards and adventurers a light nod and descended the staircase to the underground space they had entered not long ago.
As they made their way down, Vihera called out to Rei ahead of her.
"What do you think happened down there?"
"What indeed... It comes down to how much our attacks angered the thing on the other side. Ranga told us not to fight, so honestly, I just hope they're gone."
"...Right."
That Vihera's tone carried a hint of disappointment was, given her personality, surely not just Rei's imagination.
They talked as they descended... and upon arriving, they found that the tentacles were indeed already gone. Rei and Vihera quickly recovered the bodies.