Once the decision was made to leave Dailas's mansion, Rei and his group sprang into action.
Their chosen method would have caught anyone waiting by the mansion's front doors completely off guard.
After all, they simply smashed through a nearby window and leapt outside.
Rei's group had been on the second floor, but even so, getting out through the windows posed no real problem.
For the armored guards stationed in Dailas's mansion and the adventurers who had arrived as reinforcements, it was undoubtedly a total surprise.
In fact, not a single person rushed to the spot where Rei and his group burst through the windows and emerged.
"Jumping from this height isn't exactly easy, you know," Crow remarked to Rei with an exasperated tone after everyone had landed on the ground.
Dailas's mansion was certainly two stories, but its second floor was vastly different from that of an ordinary house.
Given the sheer size of the mansion, Rei's leap from the second floor was equivalent to jumping from the third or perhaps even fourth floor of a normal home.
It was precisely because the mansion was so large that no one had likely expected anyone to smash through a window and jump from there.
...Though more than that, the reason no one came to where Rei's group had been was probably largely due to Seto's presence.
Currently, aside from Rei and his group, there was no one moving about in the vicinity of Dailas's mansion.
That was likely because Rei and Seto—and after Rei had entered the mansion, Seto alone—had been systematically taking down anyone who intruded onto the grounds.
"Hey, look. There's quite a crowd gathered in front of the main gate," one of the men moving with Rei muttered.
At that, Rei turned his gaze beyond the mansion grounds.
Thanks to the moonlight, the Magic Items illuminating the mansion's surroundings, and above all his own Night Vision, Rei could make out that a fair number of people had gathered in front of the main gate.
The fact that they showed no signs of entering the grounds was probably because they knew Seto would attack them if they did.
"Considering this is the Upscale Residential District, it's only natural that the people living in the neighboring mansions would send someone to check on the situation and see what happened. They're worried about whether the trouble will spread to them."
"Besides that, if Dailas is known as a good person, it wouldn't be strange for some to have come out of genuine concern," Crow added, following up on Rei's words.
Considering Dailas's public face... and thinking back to the maid they had encountered inside the mansion, Crow's words couldn't be called mistaken.
For Rei, it drove home once again just how troublesome Dailas's schemes were.
"The saving grace is that the crowd is gathered near the main gate. If we exit from somewhere else, I doubt we'll be spotted. Besides, if I fly on Seto, that'll be more than enough to draw their attention."
"That would... help, but are you sure? You'll stand out quite a lot, Rei."
"I don't mind. Dailas probably can't make this incident public anyway."
If Rei hadn't stolen the evidence, Dailas might have tried to go public with the incident.
But for Dailas, who had lost his safe, making the incident public would mean the contents of the safe would become public knowledge as well.
Of course, that was assuming there was actually evidence inside the safe currently stored in his Misty Ring.
"I see. ...Sorry about this."
"Don't worry about it. Though I probably don't need to say it, don't let your guard down until you safely reach the hideout. There's a possibility that the assassin guild that raided the hideout last night—or some other assassin guild—might attack."
For Dailas, now that his evidence had been stolen, the possibility that he had been cornered and might attack Fusetsu without thinking of the consequences couldn't be ruled out either.
"I know. We can't relax until we make it back to the hideout safely."
Hearing those words from Crow, Rei was suddenly reminded of the saying, "A field trip isn't over until you get home."
Whether he had been told that in elementary school or read it in a manga somewhere, Rei didn't remember the details clearly, but it felt like a fitting description of their current situation.
"Alright, I'm going to regroup with Seto and head back to the Fusetsu hideout. Since we'll probably arrive first, I'll check the surroundings to make sure there aren't any problems."
With that, Rei split from Crow and the others to move separately.
Reasoning that drawing the gaze of the people in front of the mansion to himself would make it easier for Crow's group to retreat, Rei walked openly across the grounds toward the main gate.
Naturally, Rei's figure stood out.
A fair number of lighting Magic Items were placed throughout the grounds, so the people gathered near Dailas's main gate noticed Rei's presence all the more quickly for it.
If Rei hadn't destroyed the main gate—more precisely, the golem shaped like a main gate—it might have blocked the crowd's view of him, but that gate golem was currently inside his Misty Ring.
With it gone, nothing obstructed the line of sight of those gathered before the main gate.
"H-Hey. Look at that. Someone's walking through the grounds!"
"What? ...You're right. But why isn't that gryphon attacking them?"
"How should I know? There must be some reason for it, but..."
Many among the crowd wondered about Rei's figure as he strode openly across the grounds.
If Rei had taken off his Dragon Robe's hood and shown his face, some among them might have realized who he was.
At present, however, Rei had his hood up, and his features couldn't be made out clearly.
The Dragon Robe's concealment effect also made Rei appear to be wearing an ordinary, unremarkable robe, which was likely a major factor.
As Rei approached the main gate, one person finally steeled themselves and called out to him.
"Wait! Who are you!? What on earth is happening at Master Dailas's mansion!?"
Rei hesitated over how to answer.
It would have been easy to say that Dailas actually had a hidden side, but the problem was whether anyone would believe him even if he did.
Dailas had hidden his true face this thoroughly. Naturally, Rei didn't think they would believe whatever he said under these circumstances.
That said, claiming without any basis that Dailas had simply been attacked wouldn't convince anyone either.
After a moment's hesitation, Rei stopped near the main gate and spoke.
"Dailas picked a fight with me... more accurately, with us. He was good at hiding his true face, but not perfect. This situation is the result. Though whether you believe that is up to you."
What Rei ultimately offered was an ambiguous statement.
If they believed it, fine.
If they didn't, that was fine too.
That was the thinking behind his words.
In fact, those who heard it were half-doubting... no, more like one part believing and nine parts doubting.
Without paying any mind to the bewildered crowd, Rei passed through the main gate.
Once he moved to a spot out of sight from the gate, Seto was naturally there waiting.
"Gurururu!"
Having sensed Rei's presence, Seto immediately bounded toward him.
Even while running, the gryphon was careful not to step on the numerous adventurers scattered across the ground—an impressive display of awareness.
Given that Seto was over three meters long, his weight was naturally considerable.
If he accidentally stepped on an unconscious person's body, a simple "sorry" wouldn't begin to cover it.
It could very well result in a literally life-threatening injury.
Seto understood that, and since Rei had told him to avoid killing wherever possible, he was being careful not to trample anyone.
"Looks like you worked pretty hard out here. Thanks for heeding my request. Thanks to you, I managed to get what I was after too," Rei said.
"Gururururu," Seto purred happily at Rei's words.
Rei stroked Seto as he spoke. "Business here is done, so let's head back. Unlike when we came, we'll be flying back. That's no problem, right?"
"Gurururu!"
Leave it to me, Seto's purr seemed to say.
Rei mounted Seto's back as the gryphon crouched down, and rather than taking a running start, Seto launched into the air from a standstill.
With quite a few people collapsed on the ground around them, even a few steps of a running start would have inevitably meant stepping on someone.
That was surely his concern.
Seto ultimately moved to a spot slightly removed from the main gate.
Naturally, relocating there meant the people gathered in front of the gate could clearly see Rei and Seto.
Among those who spotted Rei riding Seto, a few finally realized who had walked past them moments ago.
"Crimson Rei!?"
A stir ran through the crowd.
At the suddenly spoken name, many of those in front of the main gate buzzed with commotion.
Since Gryphon Seto had been here all along, it stood to reason that his master Rei should be nearby too, but... even so, they apparently hadn't recognized Rei.
Rei and Seto paid no mind to the commotion around them.
In the end, all the people gathered in front of Dailas's mansion could do was silently watch as Seto, carrying Rei, soared away.
"Alright, Seto. Now we head to the Fusetsu hideout in the Slum District. But just to be safe, let's keep an eye out for enemies on the way. There's a chance—a real, slim chance, but the Dolan Workshop or Dailas might be sending combat forces our way."
Whether they even had enough combat power left to do that was something Rei himself doubted.
The Dolan Workshop had already lost many of their adventurers, and most of those sent to Dailas's mansion had been defeated too.
Dailas probably hadn't expected to suffer this much damage himself.
However, precisely because he hadn't expected to take damage, it wasn't out of the question that he might be planning to attack the Fusetsu hideout again tonight.
(Even if he had that intention, I think he would have pulled his combat forces back once he heard his mansion was under attack, though.)
In other words, Rei's decision to stay alert and observe the Slum District from the air was primarily a precaution.
And indeed, even while flying over the Slum District and scanning the ground for suspicious figures, there was no one to be found.
...More accurately, there appeared to be several individuals causing trouble in the Slum District even in the middle of the night.
But that was unrelated to this incident—nothing more than the daily disturbances that occurred in the Slum District.
"Guru? Guru, gururururu."
Seto purred toward Rei in apparent confusion.
Just as Rei couldn't find anything looking down from the sky, Seto apparently couldn't spot anything suspicious either.
"Yeah, you're right. Sorry. Honestly, that was my mistake. Looking outside in this situation doesn't seem to serve much purpose."
After apologizing to Seto, Rei asked him to head back to the hideout without worrying about the ground below.
At those words, Seto immediately beat his wings and took to the night sky.
Seto was purring as he flew, but he didn't let out the kind of earth-shaking roar that echoed across the surrounding area like when he used King's Intimidation.
Even so, several people in the Slum District looked up and caught sight of Seto flying through the night sky, bathed in moonlight.
Naturally, Seto was completely oblivious to the gazes directed his way.
Flying over the Slum District, they reached the hideout in the blink of an eye at Seto's speed.
He killed his momentum by beating his wings as he descended, then touched down on the ground.
Naturally, the Fusetsu members standing guard near the hideout were startled by the sudden arrival.
Given what had happened the previous night, it was only natural that they would react swiftly, thinking it might be another raid.
They instantly readied their weapons... but upon recognizing Rei and Seto in their line of sight, they let out visible sighs of relief.
"It's you, Rei... Please don't surprise us like that. So, does your return mean the operation was a success?"
The fact that they immediately assumed the operation had succeeded upon seeing Rei return was likely because they knew his strength.
And indeed, Rei nodded in agreement with the man's words.