Walking around Gilm with Set, I browsed the stalls and did some casual shopping.
Observing the town as I went, I found—unsurprisingly—that plenty of people were still talking about yesterday's incident. With that many guards and adventurers mobilized on such a large scale, there was no hiding it.
I understood that well enough. Above all, I'd already seen how many people were gossiping about it that morning during the Gigant Turtle dissection.
"Hmm... but I'd have liked to hear more about other rumors, if possible. ...Don't you think?"
"Guruu?"
I asked Set, who was trotting along beside me, while eating a nikuman from a stall. Since it was made with Orc meat, you could probably call it an "Orc-man." Set tilted his head as if to say he had no idea what I was getting at.
Naturally, Set had eaten some too. While I'd had two, nearly ten had already vanished into his belly.
"Speaking of rumors... come to think of it, this is really late to say, but you did pretty well yesterday too, Set."
"Gurururu!"
Set purred happily at my words.
From what I'd heard, Set had caught nearly ten people who'd fled from the mansions yesterday. Since those escapees had slipped past the guards and adventurers, there was a good chance they would've gotten away if not for Set.
...Though even if they had fled the mansions, there was the question of where they could have hidden.
"Good job. ...Here, want this?"
I held out my half-eaten nikuman—still steaming—toward Set. He gave me a look that asked, "Can I?" and once I nodded to confirm, he stretched his beak out and took it.
The sight of the two of us interacting like that was everyday life in Gilm, and at the same time, it was a scene that warmed the hearts of many who saw it. A few people came over along the way to pet Set, but perhaps reading his mood, no one tried to play with him.
It was a scene that truly deserved to be called peaceful—yet I couldn't fully relax and enjoy it.
That was because I knew the tentacles still existed in the Underground Space.
I had a firm conviction that if those tentacles ever made their way to the surface for any reason, Gilm would undoubtedly descend into panic.
Thinking about it, I simply couldn't feel at ease from the bottom of my heart.
(Hmm. Should I have ignored Ranga's orders and finished off the tentacles right then and there? But as Ranga said, carelessly defeating them might have spread the damage even further.)
The battle with the tentacles had been cut short on Ranga's orders, and I found myself regretting it now. That said, it was precisely because I'd judged that Ranga's opinion had merit that I'd quietly withdrawn at the time.
"Rei! Hey, Rei! Wait up! Rei!"
I was still mulling over yesterday when that voice suddenly reached me. Turning toward it, I saw a guard running my way, looking inexplicably urgent.
His somewhat desperate demeanor made me wonder if another problem had cropped up, but... judging by his face, he was in a rush but not truly desperate. So rather than panicking, I simply waited for him.
"Haa, haa, haa. Finally found you."
"I don't think finding me and Set is all that hard. ...So, what is it?"
Walking with Set had become my standard routine, which naturally made me stand out even when strolling through town. Anyone on the street—or rather, given how Set and I operated, anyone I asked whether they'd seen Set at a stall—could point me out right away.
"I suppose so. That's how I found you, after all. ...Anyway, Captain Ranga just got back from the meeting at the Lord's Manor. He said he has something to discuss with you and wants you to come."
"Huh, that's unusual."
I muttered, looking slightly surprised. Given Ranga's personality, if he had something to discuss with me, he wouldn't summon me—he'd come find me himself.
But apparently my attitude didn't sit well with the guard.
"It can't be helped. Captain Ranga has an enormous amount of paperwork to process from yesterday's incident. Besides, he's been in meetings at the Lord's Manor since yesterday, you know?"
"Ah... right. Sorry, I went a bit too far. I just thought it was unusual, that's all. I wasn't trying to blame Ranga, so don't worry about it."
The guard gave me a skeptical look, but soon let it go.
"Alright. But Captain Ranga really did look exhausted. His wife was worried too."
"...Huh? Ranga's married?"
The unexpected question slipped out before I could stop it. But come to think of it, Ranga had a gentle personality and held the position of Captain of the Guard Force. His face was stern and intimidating, but that sort of thing came down to personal taste. Taken together, there was no denying that Ranga was quite a catch for any woman.
(Actually, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I heard about that before. ...Though I'm not sure if he was already Captain of the Guard Force when he got married.)
He frequently served as a gatekeeper, so it might not have felt real to me, but the Captain of the Guard Force—especially in Gilm, out on the frontier—was a fairly important position. That being the case, it was unlikely Ranga had attained it at a young age. In anywhere but the frontier, I could confidently say it would've been nearly impossible—but the fact that it was even a possibility was probably the very essence of what made Gilm the frontier.
"Yeah, she's a really nice person. Brings him refreshments all the time. When people say someone heals you just by looking at them, they must mean someone like her."
I watched the guard tell me all this with a smile, but when thirty seconds passed and he showed no sign of snapping out of it, I gave him a light nudge.
"Hey, come back to earth. I get the picture. Let's hurry up and go see Ranga. He's busy, right? We can't stand around here forever."
"Hm? Oh, right. ...Yeah, good point. Let's get going, then. Come on, hurry up."
The guard's attitude rubbed me the wrong way slightly, but I judged the conversation would never progress if I let it continue, so I set off with him.
"Still, Ranga was really in meetings all night since yesterday? ...Was it because of the Underground Space, after all?"
"I think so. I haven't heard the details myself, though. Naturally, there were probably other things they needed to discuss too, but the Underground Space must have been the top priority. ...Honestly, I'm curious how they managed to build that kind of underground space without anyone noticing."
Judging from his tone, this guard had probably been inside the Underground Space himself. Making that assessment, I nodded in understanding.
"I'm sure they used magic or something. ...Normally, if there was a huge underground space like that, it wouldn't be strange for the mansions built above it to collapse."
At those words, perhaps imagining the mansions in that area collapsing en masse, a grave expression came over the guard's face. I spoke up to reassure him.
"Don't worry. Like I said, there's a high probability magic is involved with the Underground Space. That's why even under the current circumstances, there are no signs of any collapse."
Even so, for just a moment—truly just a moment—I wondered whether the Underground Space was being maintained in its current state because of those tentacles.
(Wait. If that were the case, then defeating the tentacles could... depending on the circumstances, cause the magical effect to disappear and make the mansions in that area collapse?)
Since I was about to see Ranga, it might be worth asking about that. With that in mind, I walked on with Set and the guard... and eventually arrived at a Guard Station I'd never visited before.
Of course, never visiting didn't mean I'd never seen it. As a Guard Station in Gilm, I'd naturally passed by it many times—but this was my first time actually stepping inside.
The guard out front glanced at his colleague, then at me and Set, but whether due to a reserved nature, he did nothing more than give a small bow. The guard who'd come to fetch me was clearly used to that reaction and headed inside without paying it any mind.
After telling Set to wait nearby as usual, I entered the building.
Inside the relatively large Guard Station, several guards were busily at work—presumably swamped with processing the aftermath of yesterday's forced search.
"Rei, this way."
The guard led me to the back of the building, to a room that clearly belonged to someone important. It wasn't as grand as Daskar's office, but.
"Excuse me, Captain Ranga. I've brought Rei."
"Ah, come on in."
A voice answered from inside after the knock. The guard gestured for me to open the door and enter. When he made no move to follow, the thought "is that okay?" briefly crossed my mind—but since he didn't react further, I decided saying anything more would be pointless and stepped inside.
"You look tired."
Those were the first words out of my mouth. And it was true—there wasn't quite a mountain of paperwork on the desk, but there was a considerable amount. Ranga, working through it all, showed clear fatigue compared to his usual self.
But looking at him, a question surfaced in my mind. He'd been in meetings all night, so of course he'd be tired. But that should have been the extent of it. As the Captain of the Guard Force, Ranga must have pulled all-nighters before—maybe not frequently, but often enough. So why was he this exhausted? The question came out before I could stop it.
Hearing my words, Ranga let out a deep, heavy sigh.
"Of course I'm tired. Honestly, I never expected that much criminal evidence to surface from yesterday's forced search. I'd say it was several times what we initially anticipated. Thanks to that, all sorts of groundwork and coordination became necessary. Plus, we had meetings about the Underground Space as well."
After signing the document he'd been reading and setting it aside, Ranga turned his gaze back to me. The weight in that gaze made it clear he had serious business—that was why he'd called me here. Of course, I'd known there was some reason for the summons, but I was now half-convinced it went beyond what I'd expected.
"So? The fact that you went out of your way to call me means something happened, right? Can I hear what it is?"
"Yes. It's about the Underground Space."
"...Specifically?"
"The Underground Space will be left as-is for the time being. Also, since there's a possibility the tentacles could go on a rampage and emerge from the Underground Space if we don't provide them with anything, we'll be offering sacrifices."
"Sacrifices?"
Seeing my brow furrow slightly at the word, Ranga spoke again before I could say anything.
"Those offered as sacrifices will be people already imprisoned for crimes committed in Gilm. Only those whose executions have been confirmed."
At that, I closed my mouth, which had been about to open. If they were sacrificing innocent civilians, I would have voiced my displeasure. But criminals—specifically those whose executions were already decided—being used as sacrifices? I had no particular objection. Whether it was distasteful or not... of course it was unpleasant.
Instead of voicing my displeasure about the sacrifices, I asked about something else.
"So if you're feeding them sacrifices, that means Cobolts will keep appearing. ...Until when?"
"We'll resolve it as quickly as possible. So until then, I need you to keep at it with the current arrangement for just a little longer. Also, just in case—really just in case—could you keep in mind the possibility that monsters other than Cobolts might appear?"
At Ranga's words, I reluctantly nodded.