A large number of adventurers and Guards surrounded the mansion.
Under normal circumstances, investigating a homicide scene would fall to the Guards. Adventurers getting involved wasn't unheard of, but it was still rare.
That such a scene now stretched out before Rei's eyes was, unsurprisingly, because this was the Noble District.
Nobles were a privileged class. An incident in which every last person in the Zolgela Count House's mansion — located in the Noble District where such nobles gathered — had been slaughtered would naturally leave the district's residents anxious. And precisely because they were anxious, they had dispatched their employed adventurers under the guise of cooperating with the investigation, hoping to glean even the slightest bit of information.
For the Guards' part, accepting adventurer reinforcements must have been a reluctant decision. However, they were already short-staffed due to the Expansion Construction. Given that, they had no choice but to accept the help.
...Naturally, outside the Zolgela Count House's grounds, plenty of others had gathered beyond just adventurers — people ordered by their masters to bring back any scrap of information they could find.
Now then, who should I ask for information? ...Still, I doubt the people lingering outside the grounds have anything important. Which means it'd have to be one of the adventurers being kept from entering. It'd be nice if someone I know is here.
As Rei scanned the Zolgela Count House's grounds... he spotted a familiar face.
Not just familiar — it was the very adventurer who had stepped in to mediate yesterday when Rei had clashed with Antelme.
As Rei looked their way, the other man eventually noticed him as well, his expression shifting to mild surprise.
Rei approached together with Set.
"Been a day, huh."
"Yeah. So? What do you want to know?"
Judging from Rei's arrival, the man had likely concluded he was here seeking information. He asked directly, skipping any preamble.
That suited Rei just fine — no need for pointless small talk.
"In that case, I'll be blunt. Was Antelme among the bodies?"
"No, he wasn't." The man answered without a moment's hesitation.
Normally, that kind of information wasn't something you'd casually share. So why had he spoken so readily this time? No doubt because he had witnessed yesterday's incident firsthand.
...There was also the fact, unknown to Rei, that this man had reported the situation to his noble employer, who had in turn filed a complaint with the Zolgela Count House — that likely played a role as well.
"Then Antelme really is the culprit?"
Rei didn't find it particularly questionable that Antelme's body was absent. As an A-Rank adventurer, Antelme possessed considerable ability. Given that, Rei hadn't expected him to fall victim to someone else so easily.
"The Guards think the same. It seems they'd been gathering information about Antelme not just from me, but from others as well."
Antelme had harassed Rei yesterday, wanting Set. But yesterday was nothing special — even while Rei was away in the other world, Antelme had caused problems with several adventurers, always by one-sidedly picking fights.
Because of that, Antelme was resented by any number of adventurers. Hated, even. And that was precisely why information about him had converged on the Guards so quickly.
"So around what time specifically was everyone in the mansion killed?"
Rei asked because of what had happened last night — Set detecting a presence approaching Marina's property. Rei was already half-convinced that presence had been Antelme. The question was whether the mansion's residents were massacred before or after Antelme had come to Marina's grounds.
"The specifics aren't known yet. ...And even if they were, whether the Guards would share that with us is doubtful."
"To the Guards, this case is fundamentally their own jurisdiction. ...And they're not wrong about that."
In the first place, adventurers being this blatantly involved in an investigation was only possible because this was the Noble District. It was, in a word, a product of power. The Guards finding it galling was only natural.
"Come to think of it, on the way here an adventurer told me the Noble District might be locked down. Any truth to that?"
"I haven't heard anything of the sort. Besides, locking down the Noble District at this point would be meaningless, wouldn't it? Antelme's already fled. ...Though if it's about tightening security to prevent a fleeing Antelme from re-entering, that possibility might be on the table."
"That'd be a pain in its own right. Would we end up needing to show Guild Cards to enter the Noble District?"
"I couldn't say for certain. But I can't rule out the possibility."
Rei gave a short "I see" and turned his gaze back toward the Zolgela Count House's mansion.
The real problem is not knowing where Antelme went. Could I track him with Set's Sense of Smell Enhancement? No, that would only work if I had something carrying his scent, and getting hold of that right now is impossible. In that case... I should just set it aside for now. The Treant Forest comes first.
If Antelme came for him, having a Magic Item that could detect his approach would provide peace of mind. In a straight fight, Rei had no doubt whatsoever that he could beat Antelme. As long as he knew the enemy was coming, there were any number of ways to deal with him.
...Though if Antelme accurately grasped his own strength and chose not to fight Rei head-on, things could get complicated.
"Appreciate the information. I should get going."
"You sure? Given what happened yesterday, Antelme will definitely come after you. ...Well, after Set, to be precise."
"Gruu!"
Set purred at the man's words as if to say, I'll be fine!
Seeing Set's confident demeanor, the man couldn't help but crack a smile. He understood that he should be taking this more seriously. But looking at Set, he couldn't shake the feeling that something of that magnitude was nothing to worry about.
Naturally brightening the spirits of anyone who watched — that, too, was probably one of Set's abilities.
"Set's saying he'll be fine, so I think we're good. See you around."
With a casual wave, Rei departed from in front of the Zolgela Count House's mansion, Set at his side.
Once they'd put enough distance between themselves and the scene, Rei checked on Nielson inside his Dragon Robe...
"Suu, suu..."
She was completely asleep, showing no sign of having heard any of Rei's conversation.
Well, she does have a hangover. Can't be helped. Better than her causing a scene back there.
If Nielson had overheard the discussion about Antelme, her personality all but guaranteed she would have tried to do something about it. That could easily have led to her drawing attention to herself at a place like the mansion, which would have been nothing but trouble. All things considered, having her sleep through it was very much in Rei's favor.
"Let's leave the Noble District first. If security tightens up, getting out might start taking longer."
The Noble District never had a particularly large flow of foot traffic to begin with. A fair number of people came and went, sure, but compared to those streaming into Gilm proper, the numbers were naturally small. That was precisely what made the current activity in the district so conspicuous.
"Gururu?"
Set purred — Are we going to the Treant Forest?
"Yeah. I need to secure that Magic Item first. And I should let Lord Daskar know about this. ...Actually, never mind — the information has surely reached him already without me."
For Daskar, the Noble District was an extremely important area. An incident of this magnitude occurring there would have been reported to him immediately.
Ah, but there's a chance he doesn't know about Antelme specifically. In that case, I should pass this along as early as possible. Which means I need to inform him before heading to the Treant Forest after all.
Reaching that conclusion, Rei stroked Set and spoke.
"Sorry, Set. I'm going to stop by and see Lord Daskar before we head to the Treant Forest. If I don't, things could get messy."
Set purred in understanding.
"Antelme, you say? That man is the culprit behind the incident at the Zolgela Count House's mansion?"
Rei met with Daskar in the Office within the Lord's Manor.
Daskar was always busy in the mornings. On an ordinary day that was true enough, but today brought the added weight of the Zolgela Count House incident. Under normal circumstances, even Rei wouldn't have been able to secure a meeting so easily. In fact, when he'd initially requested one, Daskar's subordinate had told him that the margrave was currently occupied and a meeting would be difficult.
Rei had persisted, asking to be heard somehow — and as leverage, he'd mentioned that he had information regarding the Zolgela Count House incident. That had finally been enough for Daskar to carve out time. Even so, Rei was told from the outset that they couldn't spare long.
Mindful of the constraint, Rei entered the Office, took a seat on the sofa, and immediately stated that Antelme was the most likely culprit behind the Zolgela Count House incident.
"It's only that the possibility is high. I don't have definitive proof. However, among the dead at the Zolgela Count House's mansion, Antelme was nowhere to be found. That alone makes him naturally suspicious. Beyond that, considering yesterday's incident..."
Rei had already briefed Daskar on yesterday's events. With that information in hand, Daskar drawing the same conclusion was far from unreasonable.
"Antelme, huh... What on earth was he thinking, doing something like this? If he'd attacked you, Rei, I could at least understand the motive. But why do this instead?"
"I couldn't say. What I can say is that last night — well past midnight — someone definitely set foot on Marina's grounds. Set detected them."
Normally, trusting such a claim without having actually seen the intruder would be a hard sell. But Daskar knew exactly how formidable Set was. If Set said it detected something, then it had detected something — of that he could be certain.
"Then... should I assume he's already fled Gilm?"
Escaping Gilm under normal circumstances was no easy feat. You'd either have to pay a fortune to a criminal organization in the Slum District, slip out in disguise, or — given Antelme's abilities — simply break out by force. But with the Expansion Construction underway, slipping out from that direction was comparatively easy. True, there were soldiers and adventurers on patrol watching for monsters, just as during the previous Cobolt incident. But for an A-Rank adventurer, evading their detection while on the move was hardly difficult.
In other words, if Antelme had seriously intended to flee Gilm, stopping him would have been next to impossible.
"Hard to say. On the face of it, he didn't just kill his employer — he wiped out everyone in the mansion. That doesn't suggest he's still lurking in Gilm. But then again, considering how fixated he was on me... the real question is how badly he wants Set."
If he didn't value Set that highly, he'd most likely already fled. Even if he had escaped, the Guild's Paired Orbs system would quickly notify other guilds about Antelme's crimes, making it nearly impossible for him to continue operating as an adventurer.
Then again, escaped or not, an A-Rank adventurer causing this much of a stir would be enough for the Guild to take action on their own.
With that thought lingering, Rei continued his conversation with Daskar.
...Meanwhile, Nielson — her hangover apparently still unhealed — remained sound asleep inside the Dragon Robe.