Rei and Vihera, who had carried the corpses up from the underground space, received the thanks of the guards and adventurers.
The dead were already dead, but they had recovered the bodies of comrades. Expecting people not to feel grateful for that would have been unreasonable.
...Though Vihera, who had harbored the thought that—just maybe, really maybe—they might be able to fight the tentacles, wore a slightly disappointed expression at the fact that no combat had ultimately occurred.
That said, even if the tentacles had still been there, Ranga had ordered them not to engage, so Rei would have stopped her anyway.
"Yeah, uh. I get that you're grateful. So, what do we do from here? We captured the enemy boss—the mastermind behind this whole incident—at their hideout beyond the underground space and handed him over to Ranga. Doesn't that mean there's no point in searching this mansion anymore?"
Even as he said this, a fair amount of criminal evidence had already been found in this mansion, so Rei's honest feeling was that he'd prefer they continue the forced search as-is.
Of course, the evidence gathered so far was probably more than enough to arrest the mansion owner already.
(Could it be that the exact same kind of evidence of wrongdoing is turning up at all the other mansions too...? No, that can't be right.)
Earning enough money to live in a mansion like this came with all sorts of hardships—something even Rei could understand.
That was precisely why he also felt it wouldn't be surprising if the owner had turned to crime.
If this were a mansion in the Noble District, one could chalk it up to generational wealth, but here that excuse didn't fly.
"Regarding the underground space, that may be true, but with all sorts of criminal evidence turning up elsewhere as well, we can't just overlook it."
"I see."
Rei didn't particularly object to the guard's words and simply nodded.
He figured that now that this much evidence had already been found, even if a little more turned up, it wouldn't have much to do with him.
When he turned his gaze toward Vihera, she was scanning the room without any particular interest in the current conversation.
"What is it? Did you spot a book that caught your eye?"
Calling this room a library would be somewhat of an exaggeration, but even so, a fair number of expensive books would normally line its shelves.
He'd asked thinking she might have found something of interest among them, but Vihera shook her head.
"No, it's nothing like that. ...To begin with, do you really think I'm the type to read books?"
At Vihera's words, the adventurers and guards who had been casually listening in nodded in understanding.
Indeed, looking at Vihera—dressed in the kind of flimsy attire a dancer or a prostitute might wear—it was hard to imagine her curled up with a book.
Even those who knew her battle-loving personality would have a hard time picturing her reading for pleasure.
However, Rei knew that Vihera was a former princess of the Bestia Empire.
Given that, it wouldn't be strange at all if she read books.
Of course, the fact that Rei was the only one who knew this was the problem.
"Ah... yeah. For now, it's probably safer to just say you don't read, so let's go with that. ...So, what should we do from here? Guard duty after all?"
Aside from the girl Vihera had captured, no other attackers had surfaced so far.
But that didn't guarantee no one else would come, so guards were absolutely essential.
(Thinking about it, this group was assembled counting on the combat power of Vihera and me, so wasn't it actually pretty dangerous while we were down in the underground space?)
The thought crossed Rei's mind.
Fortunately, nothing had happened while they were away, but that was surely pure coincidence.
That said, it was also a fact that the underground space was the most dangerous area, so Rei's actions were by no means a mistake.
Alternatively, he could have gone to the underground space alone and left Vihera above ground... and things might have turned out differently.
But considering Vihera's personality, there was no way she would have tolerated that.
She would have been more likely to insist that Rei stay behind while she went to the underground space by herself.
If that had happened, Javis and his crew aside, she would have undoubtedly lost if she had fought those tentacles.
It was the kind of ability you could call a first-encounter killer—similar to Set's King's Intimidation.
And with the added bonus that its effect grew stronger the closer one got to the spatial rift.
It was precisely because Rei had been there that they hadn't suffered any fatal casualties.
"...Yeah. In the end, the way we did things was fine."
"What's this, all of a sudden?"
Vihera questioned Rei's sudden mutter.
But Rei shook his head as if it were nothing.
"No, it's nothing. Anyway, if we're going to search this mansion further, we should get moving. ...What's the plan?"
In response to Rei's question, the guard began assigning the people present to what he deemed appropriate roles.
Given the size of the mansion, and the fact that most of the suspicious areas had already been checked, their numbers had actually grown compared to the start.
Amidst all that, Rei and his group continued the forced search... and they would end up investigating various things in that mansion until nearly evening.
"Hmm. ...Vihera, don't get too carried away, okay?"
That night, while eating a meal in Marina's courtyard as usual and talking about the day's events, Marina said this after hearing what Rei and the others had done.
The others present—Elena, Ara, Byune, and the rest—also nodded at Marina's words.
For the record, Set and Ielo were running around playing in the nighttime courtyard and weren't listening to the conversation.
"I know that. But it's also a fact that the fight with those tentacles was quite entertaining, you know?"
"...What do you think would have happened if Rei hadn't shown up?"
Elena addressed Vihera, who showed no sign of reflection, with exasperation in her voice.
"If Rei hadn't come... right. It might have been dangerous. But at the same time, there's also a chance I could have managed it somehow."
There was a quality to Vihera's words that made it seem like she wasn't just bluffing.
And knowing how sharp Vihera's combat instincts were, no one could definitively call it mere bravado.
"...Even if you feel that way, Vihera, the people watching had quite a lot to say about it... that's what we'd like you to understand."
When Marina followed up on Elena's point, Ara and Byune nodded in agreement.
Rei nodded at those words too.
That was how dangerous Vihera had looked during the fight with the tentacles.
Considering that everyone present—even Set or Ielo—would have been casting worried glances her way, Vihera apparently couldn't stay defiant either, and she nodded quietly.
"You're right. I did cause you all some worry. ...I'm sorry."
The way she apologized was by no means just for show.
It wasn't for show, but those present still had the conviction that if a similar battle occurred next time, Vihera would do the exact same thing.
The thirst for combat wasn't something Vihera could control on her own.
Of course, the fact that she didn't just charge headlong at enemies with no chance of winning—some reckless, blind rush—was probably the only saving grace for those watching.
Rather than thinking things through, she led herself to the best outcome through semi-instinctive movement. That was simply the kind of person Vihera was.
"Sigh. For now, it's fine. ...So, have you heard how this incident is going to be resolved?"
Marina changed the subject at Vihera's words.
She was essentially saying to consider the matter closed for now.
Rei and the others had no objections, and they went along with the new topic.
"How it'll be resolved, huh. We captured Javis, the mastermind behind this incident, so it's essentially over. ...Though I don't know whether that Javis is really the mastermind, and the tentacle situation in the underground space still needs to be dealt with."
Rei and Vihera knew that Javis himself had claimed to be the mastermind of this incident.
But that was only Javis's word, and the possibility that he was actually protecting someone else was extremely high.
Rei expected that the guards under Ranga's command would clarify those matters through their ongoing investigation.
(If Javis was a body double or something, even if it came to light later, the real one would probably already be long gone from Gilm.)
Even so, somewhat—truly only somewhat—Rei had a feeling that this Javis was the real deal.
From his brief interaction with the man, Rei didn't think the Javis that Vihera had defeated had the sort of personality to willingly serve as someone's body double.
Of course, the more closely a body double resembled the original, the harder they generally were to distinguish.
What's more, since Rei and the others didn't even know what Javis looked like, they couldn't know whether the one they'd captured was the real Javis... or whether the mastermind of this incident was actually Javis at all.
Rei figured the guards would clear that up by interrogating those connected to Javis among the people captured during this operation.
For now, they'd caught someone claiming to be the mastermind, so the rest was up to the guards.
"So? How was it at the locations other than where you were? Those connected to this Javis person were naturally present at the other mansions too, weren't they?"
Elena asked with evident interest, and Rei and Vihera exchanged a glance before Rei spoke.
"Yeah. I heard that even at mansions other than the one we went to, some of those types attacked or tried to flee and got captured. They should be able to gather plenty of information from them too. ...Though ultimately, it seems like it'll all point back to the King's Faction."
"I'd expect so. Or rather, I think that's the best option."
Marina said this while drinking soup loaded with vegetables, in response to Rei's words.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Think about it. The Neutral Faction has currently built a friendly relationship with the Noble's Faction. It's not quite an alliance... but at the very least, they're not hostile."
"I see. I can certainly understand what Marina is saying. Given that the Neutral Faction and the Noble's Faction have that kind of relationship, pinning it on the King's Faction is undoubtedly the best option. Besides... the current situation is certainly not an amusing one for the King's Faction either."
"Right. And besides, there actually was someone who testified about the King's Faction, wasn't there?"
While conversing with Elena, Marina directed her gaze toward Rei.
Rei nodded at her words.
However, the man who had claimed to be a member of the King's Faction had already been killed by the pink tentacles.
Given that, they couldn't exactly have him testify about the incident.
(As a result, though... the dead tell no tales, huh.)
For the King's Faction, it was probably a fortunate turn of events.
Thinking that, Rei spoke up.
"There was. That said, he was killed by the tentacles, so I'm the only one who heard it."
"Nothing to be done about that. ...I mean, no one would normally expect tentacles like that to exist."
The frustration seeping into Vihera's tone was probably because she was remembering today's battle.
"Be that as it may. ...For the Neutral Faction and the Noble's Faction, blaming the King's Faction as the mastermind is the best option. I really don't think I'd call it the best option, though."
"Exactly. Of the three factions, the two other than the largest one are on friendly terms, so naturally, all the blame gets directed at the largest faction. ...Though, considering Daskar's personality, I don't think he'd fabricate evidence to force it into being the King's Faction's doing."
Everyone, including Rei, could accept those words from Marina, who had known Daskar since childhood.
At the very least, everyone present could agree.
Since they all had frequent opportunities to interact with Daskar, it was only natural they all felt the same way.
Nobles often had a different true personality from their public one, but in Daskar's case, everyone present knew he had a straightforward, almost impulsive personality in the best sense of the word.