The female investigator turned out to be a crime investigator under the direct supervision of the King.
(Oh boy...)
Why did she have to go and blow her cover in a situation like this? Jin D thought.
The spectator stands were descending into absolute pandemonium.
Before long, the organizers would surely take action, likely dispatching operatives to this waiting room to silence any witnesses.
"Well, whatever. Reiko, go secure the list of underground gambling affiliates that Laojun found."
"Right away."
Reiko dashed out of the room.
Her destination was the hidden room on the opposite side of the arena.
The "Peeper" telescope used by Laojun was exceptional for intelligence gathering, but it was incapable of retrieving physical objects.
Normally, that was a task for the Shinobi Squad or the Quinta.
This time, however, it fell to Reiko.
Shrouded in Invisible and propelling herself through the air with her force generator, Reiko crossed the arena hall in under a second and reached the far side.
With a single punch, she obliterated the secret door leading to the hidden room and slipped inside.
Fortunately for the syndicate, no one was stationed there, allowing Reiko to approach the safe without having to neutralize anyone.
Embedded within the wall was a massive safe fitted with a 30-centimeter-thick steel door.
To Reiko, however, steel was practically made of paper.
"It should be inside here."
Denting the safe door with a single kick to wreck the locking mechanism, Reiko ripped the heavy door clean off with brute strength.
"As expected, the roster kept in the back is a dummy."
Laojun had warned her about this in advance.
"Here it is."
The genuine article had been stashed inside a hidden compartment in the ceiling of the safe.
Having secured the true roster, Reiko ignored everything else and hurried back to Jin D.
"I have retrieved it."
A mere twelve seconds had passed since she departed.
With the evidence in hand, all that remained was dealing with the ringleader and his associates.
Four men lay unconscious in the waiting room, currently being bound by the female investigator and her attendant automata.
Four more operatives remained, including the announcer. Their positions were up above the spectator stands.
"Investigator."
Jin D called out to her in a low voice.
"What is it? I'm a little busy right now," the female investigator replied, sounding thoroughly exasperated as she finished tying up the fourth man.
"I found this lying around."
Feigning as though he had merely stumbled across it in a nearby desk, Jin presented the ledger containing the list of affiliates.
"Wait... What is this?! This is incredible! With this, we don't even have to capture every single one of them today!"
The female investigator beamed with delight.
Meanwhile, acting on instructions relayed by Laojun, Hope took advantage of the panic in the arena as spectators stampeded toward the exits to round up the four remaining targets.
With a powerful leap, he sprang directly into the announcer's booth.
"Eek!"
Knocking out the man handling the commentary, Hope scooped him under his arm and carried him down to the arena floor.
That left three executives, one of whom was the ringleader himself.
Two of the executives were subdued in short order.
However, the boss was flanked by security golems, preventing a straightforward surprise attack.
"Impudent pest! Don't you dare think these security golems are the same as ordinary junk!" the boss barked.
"To me, they are all the same."
An instant after Hope delivered his retort, the boss let out a choked gasp—
"Guh-ack!"
—and crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
At the exact same moment, the security golems on either side froze in place.
Using his Magic Canceller to force the security golems to Stop, Hope had simultaneously driven a "gentle" punch straight into the boss's solar plexus.
"Well, that wraps that up."
"Yes, My Lord."
In the Hourai Island command room, Jin breathed a sigh of relief.
"This was supposed to be a little getaway with Elsa. How did it end up like this?"
"That's because you can't resist sticking your nose into trouble, Jin."
The voice replying to Jin's grumbling belonged to Reinhard.
He had apparently come to take a look after noticing all the commotion in the command room.
"Still, I couldn't just sit back and watch that happen."
"I understand how you feel."
Reinhard added that he, too, would have been furious to see golems being abused for such purposes.
"Well then, we'll leave the rest of them in your hands."
As Jin handed the captured underground gambling affiliates over to the investigator, she looked at him with an expression tinged with awe.
"...Just who are you... No, who are all of you?"
"Just ordinary travelers passing through... though I doubt you'd believe that."
The investigator gave a silent nod.
"...I am Jin Nidou, the Third Generation Magi Craft Meister."
Having little choice, Jin D introduced himself alone.
The weight behind that name immediately proved its worth.
"You are that...!"
As expected, she was utterly astonished.
"That explains why you have such peerlessly powerful golems under your command."
"I really only intended to take a brief trip. I'd prefer not to cause a huge stir, if you understand what I mean."
"...Yes, of course."
"In that case, can I count on you to handle the cleanup for these guys?"
"Certainly. After all, you captured them for us and even handed over the roster."
Hearing her assurance, Jin D felt a wave of relief.
"Then I'll leave everything to you....If anyone asks, you're welcome to use my name."
"Thank you very much."
Having said all he needed to, Jin D turned around to retrace their steps.
Even across a sheer vertical climb of over 100 meters, an automata's body knew no fatigue.
In the blink of an eye, Jin D, Elsa D, Reiko, and Hope scaled the staircase, half-shattering the locked door as they burst into the open air above.
The gatekeeper stationed there had long since fled upon hearing the uproar below, and not a single employee from Hotel Lenore was anywhere to be seen.
"So the entire hotel was in on the underground gambling ring..."
Jin wondered if the management had changed; only a year or so ago, the establishment had been running a perfectly legitimate business.
Witnessing the rot that took hold when left to simmer in a lukewarm peace largely untouched by the Magic Federation, Jin couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment.