"I see. So in the end, he didn't come yesterday."
Marina listened to the account of yesterday's incident as she handed water chilled with Spirit Magic to Rei and Vihera, who had just finished their mock battle.
"Yeah. That said, the fact that Set reacted means..."
"That's right. There's no doubt he came close to this house. I have no idea what Antelme was thinking, coming right up to the house like that."
"His target was Set, wasn't it?"
Vihera stated that, based on what had happened yesterday, there was no other possibility, and Marina nodded in agreement.
"Right. But with Rei and the rest of us here, there's no way he could easily do something to Set. In fact, that's exactly why he understood that and left without entering the premises."
"...What a shame. If an A-Rank adventurer was coming, I would have liked to fight him a little."
For Vihera, who loved combat, she undoubtedly wanted to fight Antelme by any means.
His personality aside, in terms of combat ability, he was undoubtedly first-class.
That was why she showed genuine disappointment from the bottom of her heart.
"Hey, you just had a mock battle with me and that still wasn't enough?"
"A mock battle is just a mock battle, right? If it's an enemy of Rei targeting Set, I could fight without holding back at all. Did you think I'd let such a perfect opponent slip by? ...Well, actually I did let him slip by last night."
Vihera looked slightly displeased.
Vihera possessed extremely high combat prowess, but when it came to detection abilities, she wasn't quite as exceptional.
No, even so, she had much sharper senses than an ordinary person.
But this time, the opponent was Antelme, an A-Rank adventurer, so she probably couldn't detect his presence from inside the house.
Even Rei, who had been outside, hadn't been able to detect Antelme's presence.
The only one who could was Set, who had been with him.
(In that sense, Antelme's Stealth ability is also high, I suppose. ...I wouldn't have thought he was the type to favor that kind of thing, though.)
Based on the personality Rei knew of Antelme, he should have never favored such things.
Claiming it was beneath him.
...Thinking about it normally, an adventurer with such fixations wouldn't live long.
But Antelme had actually been promoted to A-Rank despite having such a personality.
That meant he must have had the ability to manage despite it.
"Anyway, starting tonight we won't have to worry about that anymore, so things will be easier. ...Right?"
"Nngh... shut up... be a little quieter..."
Lying on the table while clutching her head at Rei's words was Nielson.
Rei's voice was probably ringing in her head.
Even during the mock battle between Rei and Vihera just now, she had been clutching her head at the resounding noises... and the reason was the hangover Rei had warned her about yesterday.
For Nielson, she probably never expected to end up in this state.
Rei was somewhat curious about exactly how much Nielson had drunk, but he felt it would be somewhat tactless to ask, so he held back.
"That's why I told you not to drink enough to get a hangover."
Still, he didn't stop teasing her like that.
"Shu-u-u-t u-u-p."
Nielson said that in a voice close to a groan.
For Nielson, her current situation was certainly not amusing.
But the reason she couldn't say anything back... was probably because she was enduring the suffering of a hangover.
"You brought that suffering on yourself. So, there's no problem with the Magic Item matter, right?"
"No problem, so please just a little more..."
"...Marina, wouldn't it have been better to leave her inside the house? Bringing her here is just noisy, and it can't be good for a hangover."
"I thought so too, but she insisted on coming along. What could I do?"
Why?
That question lingered in Rei's mind, and he directed his gaze toward Nielson.
But Nielson, without noticing Rei's gaze, was still suffering from her hangover.
(No point in asking, I guess. At any rate, if we go to the Treant Forest this morning as is, things will probably be problematic in various ways, so we'll need to wait until her hangover settles down somewhat. ...Since we need to bring back logged wood, that means we either leave Nielson here or in the Dragon Robe.)
Thinking that, he immediately shook his head.
If he took Nielson, suffering from a hangover, inside the Dragon Robe while traveling, she might end up vomiting from the nausea.
Rei absolutely did not want that to happen.
"Marina, I'll ask just in case... is there no way to do something about a hangover with Recovery Magic?"
"Impossible."
Marina told him flatly in response to Rei's words.
Rei heard Marina's words, but didn't look all that disappointed.
He probably remembered hearing somewhere that hangovers couldn't be cured with magic or potions.
Of course, if it were something truly rare—something like a potion of which only one existed in the world—it might be able to cure a hangover.
But naturally, Rei didn't possess such a thing, and even if he did, whether he would use something like that to treat a hangover—needless to say, the answer would be no.
For that reason, Rei had no choice but to watch Nielson suffer from her hangover.
"Well then, I'm off."
Saying that, Marina headed for the clinic.
Vihera and Byune had already left for patrol duty as well.
Vihera had thought that if she stayed here, she might be able to fight Antelme... but with work to do, she couldn't stay behind either, and obediently headed for the Guild.
"Well, the ones left behind are the same members as yesterday, huh."
Rei, Elena, Ara, Nielson, Set, and Ielo.
The exact same members as when Rei had returned yesterday.
Though, unlike yesterday when she had been energetically playing with Ielo and Set, Nielson was still suffering from a hangover.
"I have plans to meet with several people after this, but... what will you do, Rei?"
Elena asked while reading some documents, and Rei looked out at Set and Ielo playing in the courtyard before speaking.
"For now, once Nielson's hangover improves a little more, I plan to go to the Treant Forest. We need to bring the Magic Item, after all."
"Hmm. Antelme, huh... I know I shouldn't say this, but it's known that I am here. Despite that, do you think Antelme will come?"
Elena held the alias of Princess General and was the only daughter of Duke Kerebel, who led the Noble's Faction.
If someone tried to break into a house where such a person resided, it would cause massive damage to Antelme... as well as the Zolgela Count House employing him, and the King's Faction.
Thinking about those circumstances normally, it was safe to assume he wouldn't come.
However... the problem was that this was only the case if Antelme possessed common sense.
He had the strength to be promoted to A-Rank, yet mentally he was that of a typical noble.
Thinking about it normally, it was hard to believe such a person would carefully consider things like factional politics.
"Normally he wouldn't come, but if it's the Antelme I met, there's a high chance he will. ...The troublesome thing is."
As they were talking, Nielson must have settled down somewhat. She pushed herself up into a sitting position on the table and spoke.
"Rei, let's go soon."
"Are you okay already?"
"If you ask whether I'm fine, I really can't say I'm fine... but still, from what I've been hearing about the current situation, it seems I can't afford to take it easy."
"Sorry about that."
"It's fine. If I rest in the forest, this condition should improve a little too."
Whether she genuinely meant that or was pushing herself, Rei couldn't tell.
But since Nielson said so, he accepted it.
"Got it. Then that's what we'll do. ...Elena, that's the situation, so I'm heading to the Treant Forest."
"Umu. ...I'm sure you'll be fine since it's you, but be careful of Antelme."
"Leave it to me. I don't know what he'll do, but if it comes to that, I'll respond accordingly."
The possibility of Antelme trying to steal Set and attacking... was low, but not zero.
After all, last night too, Set had sensed someone coming close to Marina's house.
Given that, if he did attack... Rei had no intention of showing any mercy in dealing with it.
Since the opponent was an A-Rank adventurer, there was no room to hold back.
"Hehe, I'm not worried about that either. I believe that if it's you, you could certainly handle it even if Antelme attacked. ...In that case, the pitiful one would be the other side, though."
"No, calling the attacking party pitiful is... honestly, I'm not so sure about that."
As far as Rei was concerned, if the opponent was attacking, he figured they would naturally be prepared for what happens when repelled, and given that they were the type to do such a thing in the current situation, he recognized them as someone who should unquestionably be defeated.
"Lady Elena may not look it, but she genuinely worries about you, Lord Rei."
Hearing Ara's words, Rei still harbored some doubt about whether that was really true, but he proceeded with his preparations to head to the Treant Forest.
"Grruu."
While walking through the Noble District... Rei felt an atmosphere that was somehow different from usual.
It wasn't just Rei—Set seemed to sense the same, purring in a cautious manner while surveying the surroundings.
"Hey, what's wrong? Something seems off."
Nielson, who had been suffering from her hangover inside the Dragon Robe, must have noticed the strange atmosphere even in her state.
Or perhaps she sensed it through some fairy-specific sixth sense.
"I don't know. But something definitely happened, that much is certain. That's why I'm going to gather some information from other adventurers. Nielson, absolutely do not say anything."
Nielson showed a displeased look at Rei's words, but quickly erased it.
She was already in poor condition from her hangover.
If she was told to just stay quiet without saying anything, that was actually what Nielson wanted.
"Got it. Then tell me if you find out anything. I'm going to sleep here."
Saying that, she drifted off to sleep to forget about her hangover.
Even though it was still morning, the temperature had already exceeded thirty degrees, typical of summer.
Rei and Nielson didn't have to worry about that thanks to the Dragon Robe's simplified air conditioner.
(This atmosphere... is the heat related too? ...No, it's been hot all along. If so, I don't think this level of temperature would create this kind of atmosphere. Then what is it?)
As he harbored such questions, a familiar adventurer came from the other side of the road.
Rei had never spoken to him directly, but he had seen his face at the Guild several times.
"Got a minute?"
"Y-yeah. It's about this atmosphere, right?"
The adventurer, permitted to work in the Noble District, also had sharp instincts.
From Rei's demeanor, he understood what Rei wanted to ask and preempted him.
"Yeah. What happened? Given this atmosphere, it must be something serious."
"Yeah, something serious. At the Zolgela Count House mansion in the Noble District... the adventurers employed there, the residing nobles, the maids and butlers—everyone was killed."
"...What?"
Rei's surprise was partly about the incident itself, but also because the name Zolgela Count House rang a bell.
"The Zolgela Count House?"
"Yeah. ...I don't know who did it, but it was a gruesome act."
"Everyone wiped out... then how did anyone find out?"
"Apparently, someone who had an appointment with a person living in that mansion visited and discovered it. It was supposedly a horrific scene."
"I see. Thanks for the information."
"No, don't worry about it. More importantly, this is going to be a major incident. You'd better be careful too, Rei. Depending on the situation, we might not be able to leave the Noble District."
Saying that, the man walked away.
(Everyone at the Zolgela Count House was killed? Did Antelme do it? Or since it's everyone, does that mean Antelme was killed too...? Either way, I don't have enough information. No choice, I'll go check out the scene.)
Making that decision, Rei headed for the Zolgela Count House together with Set.