"So, can I assume that child was Antelme's doing?"
Asked by a guard at the Guard Station, Rei nodded without hesitation.
"Yeah. Considering he came after me, there's no mistaking that Antelme is behind it. ...Honestly, I never expected him to resort to something like this, though."
From Rei's perspective, he never imagined Antelme would do something like brainwashing a child. Not because he thought Antelme was particularly kind to children — it was simply that, given Antelme's personality, Rei had assumed he would attack him directly.
Rei didn't know everything about Antelme's personality, but from what little contact he'd had, that was the impression he'd gotten.
"He's an A-Rank adventurer, so I'd say he's capable of at least that much. ...That said, my honest feeling is that I wish you hadn't crossed someone like that."
From the guard's perspective, if Rei hadn't clashed with Antelme, this incident would never have happened.
But there was no way Rei could simply nod along to that.
"What, so you're saying I should have just handed Set over to Antelme? In that case, how about you repeat that in front of Set outside right now. If Set agrees, I'll consider your proposal."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm not telling you to go that far."
Perhaps seeing the genuine seriousness — and irritation — in Rei's expression, the guard hastily backed down.
In Gilm, Set was treated as a beloved pet, a mascot of sorts, but he was still a High-Rank Monster. It was precisely because of his gentle and calm temperament that he was handled the way he was now, but what would happen if Set truly became angry?
That was obvious without even thinking about it.
At the very least, someone with a guard's level of combat ability couldn't hope to stand against him.
Admittedly, the guards included those with enough strength to suppress adventurers running amok in the city, and they were by no means weak. But that strength only applied relative to ordinary adventurers — the numerous C-Rank and D-Rank types. They didn't possess anywhere near the ability to fight Set head-on.
Let alone face an enraged Set after suggesting he be separated from his beloved Rei and sent off to Antelme — there was no way they'd walk away from that unscathed.
"Then you probably shouldn't say unnecessary things. Set's five senses are sharp. There's a possibility he could hear our conversation inside the Guard Station."
At Rei's words, the guards' expressions turned to alarm.
The guard who had suggested giving Set away was one thing, but the younger guard who still harbored admiration for adventurers was equally startled.
Set, unable to enter the Guard Station, was naturally lying on the ground right outside, waiting for Rei to emerge. Because of that, they couldn't help but wonder if — just as Rei said — their conversation had been overheard.
"U-um, of course that was just a joke. Right? You think so too, don't you?"
"Hey— senior! Don't drag me into this!"
The older guard immediately tried to pull his younger colleague onto his side, but the younger guard — still in his twenties and older than Rei — instantly protested, telling him not to involve him. As if to make sure those words reached Set in front of the Guard Station.
Rei watched the exchange between the two guards before eventually speaking again.
"Anyway, what's happening with that child? If she regains consciousness, will the brainwashing — or whatever it is, since we don't know for sure — be lifted?"
That was what Rei wanted to know.
How Antelme had managed to do such a thing was beyond Rei's understanding. But since the child had been caught up in the conflict between himself and Antelme, Rei at least hoped she would return to normal upon waking.
"Hmm, honestly I don't know. If anything, wouldn't you, as an adventurer, know more about this than us? You're a mage, and you collect Magic Items as a hobby."
"Well... I suppose that's true."
None of the guard's words were wrong. They were undeniable facts — that Rei was a mage, and that he had a hobby of collecting Magic Items.
That said, it didn't necessarily mean Rei was deeply knowledgeable about Magic Items.
"For one thing, even if she was brainwashed, that doesn't mean a Magic Item was used. It could be magic, or a Skill."
Normally, Rei wouldn't worry about such things. But Antelme was an A-Rank adventurer. Since it wouldn't be strange for him to have some kind of trump card, telling Rei not to be on guard against that would be unreasonable.
(Besides, I assumed it was Antelme's doing just because he came after me, but there are countless people out there who hold a grudge against me.)
The requests Rei had completed so far... or even outside of requests, there were survivors of bandit-hunting expeditions who had suffered losses, and others who had clashed with Rei for various reasons. It was entirely possible that, by coincidence, one of them was targeting Rei at this very moment.
Rei was half-convinced it was Antelme's doing, but he couldn't deny that possibility either.
(That said, it's an undeniable fact that Antelme is the most likely culprit. The real question is whether, if this is his doing, he'll attack us again using the same method.)
Naturally, Rei didn't want to be attacked himself. But beyond that, the thought of someone being turned into Antelme's puppet just to get at him didn't sit well with him either.
"In any case, I want the guards to find Antelme as quickly as possible."
"I know. But the opponent is an A-Rank adventurer. Since we don't know what methods he's using to hide, you understand it won't be that easy to find him."
"I suppose so."
If asked whether an ordinary guard could win against an A-Rank adventurer, the answer was no. Unless some kind of miracle occurred... no, even if a miracle happened, it would be utterly impossible.
"But wouldn't there be orders from above regarding that?"
"More or less. We've been told that if we find Antelme, we're to notify the Guild immediately. ...However, do you think the target would wait around while we take our time doing that?"
"Hard to say. I suppose that depends on the person. ...With Antelme's personality, he probably wouldn't wait."
If it were Vihera, she might wait in order to enjoy a fight with a strong opponent. But Antelme struck Rei as having a very short temper — so short-tempered that he absolutely could not tolerate things not going his way.
"Which is exactly why, even if someone finds him... the moment he becomes aware of it, that guard is likely to die. Isn't that right?"
Rei couldn't find words to reply to the guard's statement, because he understood that this incident was a difficult situation in every sense of the word.
After a moment of silence, Rei spoke.
"For now, the one Antelme is after is me. ...Or more precisely, Set. In other words, he's likely to appear before me through some means. If that happens, the guards won't suffer any casualties."
So Rei told them — but considering cases like this one, where someone was brainwashed to assassinate him, it wasn't necessarily guaranteed that Antelme would come directly to him.
Rei knew that too, but the fact remained that, in the current situation, Rei was the only one who might be able to lure Antelme out.
...Just then, while talking with the guards, Nielson suddenly tapped his body from inside the Dragon Robe.
How much longer are we staying here?
She was telling Rei, through her tapping, that she wanted to return to Marina's house and move around freely.
Rei realized that he had been at the Guard Station for a fair amount of time. He was even surprised that the whimsical Nielson had waited quietly for this long.
(Or maybe she was sleeping inside the Dragon Robe? And then woke up, and since she was bored, decided she wanted to head back to Marina's house? ...Yeah, that seems entirely plausible.)
From Rei's perspective, that explanation was actually more convincing.
In any case, staying at the Guard Station under the current circumstances meant he couldn't predict when Nielson would reach her limit. Given that, he needed to leave as soon as possible.
"Well, quite a bit of time has passed... I'll be heading back now. If I'm in the Noble District, Antelme might show himself to target me."
"You think? ...Yeah, you're right. I'll pray that's the case."
At the guard's words, Rei gave a light wave and exited the Guard Station.
Upon returning to the Noble District, things were naturally not business as usual.
The incident at the Zolgela Count House was common knowledge, and the adventurers employed as guards radiated hostility. Perhaps because they had earned enough trust from the Guild to work the Noble District, they were on edge but not fighting among themselves for no reason.
...Even so, watching them remain constantly ready to respond should their opponent make a move, one couldn't possibly call it normal behavior.
"From the nobles' perspective, they probably never imagined such an incident could happen in the Noble District, so this level of vigilance is only natural," Rei muttered as he walked.
Naturally, the adventurers patrolling the Noble District directed their gazes at Rei as well. The fact that they didn't actually take any action was likely because they fully understood who he was. At the very least, there was no one who didn't recognize Rei, unlike Antelme.
Thanks to that, Rei wasn't inexplicably harassed...
(That said, it's true that this atmosphere isn't very pleasant. Fortunately, Marina's house is on the edge of the Noble District, so it shouldn't be too affected by all this.)
Normally, there were adventurers who would exchange a few words with him, but even those adventurers, today of all days, showed no sign of wanting to talk. Rei understood the feeling, so he didn't particularly blame them.
It was known that the one responsible for the Zolgela Count House incident was an A-Rank adventurer. There were many adventurers trusted by the Guild, but even they, if asked whether they could fight an A-Rank adventurer head-on and win, the answer would be no. Not "difficult" but "impossible" — and that was where the absolute barrier called the rank gap made itself apparent.
...Of course, there were people in the world like Rei who, despite being B-Rank, could fight and win against Elk, an A-Rank alias-holding adventurer, so it wasn't as though a Low-Rank Adventurer could absolutely never defeat a High-Rank Adventurer.
"For now, there's no doubt that we need to settle the Antelme situation quickly."
"Then, are you going to settle it, Rei?"
As if hearing his mutter, Nielson asked from inside the Dragon Robe.
Rei hesitated slightly at her words. It was true that he wanted to settle it himself. But the problem was that he had absolutely no idea where Antelme was. If he could find him, he would charge in that direction right this instant.
"I want to settle it, but I can't do anything if I don't know where he is. ...Do fairies have any magic or Skills like that?"
"Excuse me, what do you think fairies are?"
Nielson spoke in an exasperated tone from inside the Dragon Robe.
From Rei's perspective, since fairies played all sorts of pranks, he thought it wouldn't be strange for them to possess some unusual magic or Skill... but unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.
"Impossible, huh? That's too bad. ...In that case, I guess I have no choice but to wait for someone to bring a report that they've found him, or for him to show up in front of me directly. ...Not that I'm enthusiastic about it."
What came to Rei's mind was the brainwashed child.
Whether Antelme still had the means to do something similar again, Rei didn't know. But if he did, finding the situation unpleasant was only natural.