The man lay unconscious, bleeding from the groin and foaming at the mouth.
Rei watched him, waiting for the guards to arrive.
But even as he observed the man, he noticed that the sense of incongruity he had felt since arriving in Gilm still hadn't faded.
(Why? Wasn't this man the culprit behind the incident? Or maybe — whether it's magic, a skill, or a Magic Item, I can't say — perhaps the effect simply hasn't worn off yet?)
Rei had taken the man down with ease, but that was only because he was Rei.
After all, this man had concealed his killing intent through some unknown means, yet still managed to close in right behind Rei and drive a short sword into his back.
...That said, the short sword had ultimately failed to pierce the Dragon Robe.
Even so, landing a strike on Rei at all was impressive enough.
It was precisely because the man was that skilled that Rei could accept it if someone told him this man was the mastermind.
He could accept it... but at the same time, it was an undeniable fact that he couldn't bring himself to believe this was over.
"Fohofo... It seems I've caused trouble for a customer."
Turning toward the voice, Rei saw a man with a balloon-like physique.
Until just moments ago, this was the man who had been juggling over ten short swords, darting back and forth with a nimbleness that belied his build.
Now he was apologizing with an expression of genuine regret.
Though his face was painted with clown-like makeup, so Rei couldn't tell whether he truly felt sorry.
In truth, the man's juggling failure — one of the short swords landing near Rei — had been what triggered the unconscious man's attack. Given that, it wasn't strange for the street performer to feel badly about his mistake.
"Don't worry about it. Your performance was genuinely impressive. Something that impressive — it's not surprising to have a small mistake here and there. ...Though if you're going to perform in front of a crowd, I do think it's better to perfect it without any mishaps."
"...I apologize."
The man bowed his head again at Rei's words.
Rei quietly told him once more not to worry.
In truth, Rei's honest impression was that the performer hadn't really been the cause of the incident — he had merely been the trigger.
Given that, blaming the street performer would accomplish nothing, so Rei told him as much.
At Rei's words, the man bowed gracefully, in a manner that seemed impossible for his balloon-like body.
"It seems my actions led to this outcome."
"You think so? I don't think you need to worry that much. Even if you hadn't messed up at that moment, this man had already circled behind me. When you think about it, there's no denying the possibility that the same thing would have happened anyway."
"...Thank you very much."
At Rei's words, the man bowed deeply.
From all appearances, he could only be seen as regretting that his actions had put Rei in danger.
That being the case, he likely felt genuine guilt over the incident.
"Anyway, it was partly my fault for interrupting your street performance."
"No, no — with that kind of commotion, it couldn't be helped. ...Still, it's remarkable that you're unharmed despite being stabbed with a short sword. Is the training different for adventurers, as one would expect?"
"Hm? Did I say I was an adventurer?"
"If you're with Gryphon Seto, it's immediately obvious who you are. ...Isn't that right?"
At the man's words, Rei was convinced.
If he had been acting alone, it might be different — but since Set was with him, it wouldn't be strange for someone to figure out who he was from Set alone.
"When you put it that way, I can't argue."
"Hohoho. With an adorable creature like Set around, it would be harder not to notice him."
Saying so, the man gently reached out toward Set...
"Gurururu."
Set growled in warning at the man reaching toward him.
The man apparently understood that Set was wary of him. He withdrew the hand he had been extending to pet him.
"Oh my, it seems... I've been disliked."
"...It's unusual for Set to dislike someone."
As far as Rei knew, Set basically never refused anyone in Gilm who tried to pet him.
Of course, if there was some reason — someone who intended to harm him, for instance — Set would sense it with what could only be called wild instinct. But at least from what Rei could see, the man didn't appear to be trying to harm Set.
If that was the case, then why exactly had Set been wary of him?
Harboring that question, Rei cast his gaze toward the man.
He had a balloon-like physique, yet moved freely without being hindered by it.
That agility had been on full display during the short sword juggling.
Was that agility what Set had been wary of?
The thought crossed his mind, but if it was simply a matter of being agile, Gilm had no shortage of such people.
(In that case... maybe Set couldn't accept that someone with that build could move so nimbly? Hmm, but would Set really think something like that?)
Rei had been turning the thought over when a voice called out to him right at that moment.
"Hey, Rei! I heard you got stabbed — are you all right?!"
The one who called out with a tense expression was one of several guards who had just arrived.
It was also the same guard who had processed Rei's entry into Gilm and to whom Rei had mentioned that something felt off about the city today.
Having heard from Rei that some kind of disturbance might occur, the guard had rushed over the moment he heard Rei had been stabbed.
To him, Rei replied that there was no problem.
"Don't worry. I did get stabbed, but thanks to wearing... this Magic Item robe, it was no problem at all."
He barely stopped himself from saying "Dragon Robe" aloud and covered it with a vague substitution.
If the name "Dragon Robe" were spoken aloud, people would naturally imagine a dragon.
In a situation like this — with such a large crowd gathered, in a place where there was a high likelihood that others were still out to assassinate him — there was no way he could let that name slip.
If it had been just the guards, he might have explained about the Dragon Robe.
"I see, that's a relief. ...Still, to think the unease you mentioned would be this accurate. Honestly, it was completely unexpected."
"Yeah. And... it's not over yet."
"...What?"
With the man who had attacked Rei lying unconscious — though "unconscious" was a gruesome understatement of his condition — the guard had assumed the attack was over.
Yet Rei was saying otherwise.
The guard directed a sharp gaze at Rei, prompting him to continue.
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple. The sense of incongruity I felt when entering Gilm — it hasn't faded. Even now, it's exactly the same. If that man was the source of it, don't you think that's strange? ...Well, if some kind of Magic Item is producing this feeling, I suppose it's possible."
Among Magic Items, there were those with a function that kept the effect active until a predetermined time.
In Rei's mind, it was essentially a timer function.
If it were that type of Magic Item, it wouldn't be strange for the effect to persist even after the user lost consciousness.
(That said...)
He gave the unconscious man a quick once-over, but nothing about him suggested he was carrying any kind of Magic Item.
Of course, since it was only a quick glance, the possibility that something was hidden where Rei couldn't spot it couldn't be entirely ruled out.
"I see. In that case, we'll need to extract whatever information we can from him. ...But first, he'll need treatment."
The guard must have finally gotten a proper look at the unconscious man.
Seeing the man bleeding from the groin and foaming at the mouth, he muttered with a slightly strained expression.
Being male himself, the guard knew exactly how excruciating the pain of being kicked in the groin could be.
Looking at the unconscious man, he had probably imagined what it would be like to suffer the same fate.
"You... how could you bring yourself to do that. You're a man too, aren't you? And yet, to actually..."
"Even if you say that — I was suddenly attacked in the middle of watching a street performance. Putting aside how things are now, at the time there were plenty of spectators around... huh?"
While explaining to the guard, Rei had been about to ask the street performer to corroborate his story — but when he glanced around, the performer was nowhere to be seen.
Right up until he had started talking with the guard, the man had been right there, carrying on a normal conversation.
"What is it?"
"No, the street performer was right here until just a moment ago... but he's disappeared."
"Ah, now that you mention it, he was here. That... how should I put it. Right, the round one."
"Yeah, yeah, that sounds about right."
While agreeing with the description "round," Rei figured the street performer probably had some reason for not wanting to get involved with the guards.
Gilm, situated on the frontier, drew all kinds of people with all kinds of circumstances.
Among them, it wouldn't be strange for some to have shady backgrounds.
(Could that street performer have been an accomplice of this assassin...? No, unlikely.)
Set had been wary of him, and it was certain that the performer's juggling failure had triggered the man into action. Even so, from what Rei could see, he didn't think the performer was a companion of the unconscious man.
If they were accomplices, it wouldn't have been strange for him to have helped the unconscious man escape, or to have silenced him to prevent him from talking.
Considering that no such action had been taken, Rei didn't believe the man was an accomplice.
"Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you could extract whatever information you can from this man. ...Though given that the unease persists, I can't deny the possibility that a new source of information might come along."
"At times like this, I'm never sure what to say."
Rei — targeted by an assassin, yet not perceiving it as a threat and viewing it only as an information source.
Honestly, if the guard were in a similar situation, he didn't think he could stay this relaxed.
(Comparing an adventurer and... no, comparing myself to Rei is the mistake.)
An alias-holding adventurer versus a mere guard.
Considering that difference, the gap between them was only natural.
"Anyway, be careful. You and Set are important figures in Gilm. Especially Set."
"I wish you'd said me there."
Rei replied to the guard with that, but he also understood the significant role Set played in Gilm.
Thanks to Set's effect as a mascot-like presence, many people were filled with energy.
There were also those who refrained from wrongdoing because they couldn't bear to face Set afterward, and Set himself patrolled the streets, stopping those caught committing misdeeds.
Many people came to Gilm wanting to meet Set after hearing rumors about him.
As an A-Rank Monster — no, a Rare Species who wielded a variety of skills and was recognized as an S-Rank-equivalent monster — it was only natural that researchers and alchemists would be eager to meet Set.
What's more, Set understood human speech and had a docile personality.
At the very least, he was vastly different from wild monsters that would attack people without hesitation.
"Guru?"
Set, hearing his name called, tilted his head as if to say, "What is it?"
He had been slightly upset about failing to detect the opponent who had targeted Rei — or more accurately, had already attacked him — beforehand, but he seemed to have recovered somewhat.
Stroking the head of the approaching Set, Rei spoke.
"As long as the unease persists, delivering the felled trees is out of the question. We'll walk around a bit more."
"Guruu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a happy cry.
For Set, having failed to find the person targeting Rei this time, he was likely thinking that next time for sure he would.
Rei smiled at Set's demeanor, bid farewell to the guard, and left the scene.