There was no one in the guild master’s office except for Rei and Tirage. As Tirage brought a cup of plain water to his mouth, he spoke first.

「After Marina-san’s call, I asked the thieves that were available to move out to look for places where Elk’s family could have been held. However, we have very few thieves, so I also asked some others who could move discretely, such as rangers and archers, to search as well……」

As Tirage said that, he shook his head left and right apologetically.

「As expected, it’s a bit too difficult to find them in such a short period of time. I’m sorry, but I haven’t heard anything back yet.」

「No, don’t worry about it. I didn’t expect you to be able to catch their tails right away because they’ve been trained professionally.」

「……The Bestir Empire?」

Tirage brought a cup of plain water to his mouth as he gave a deep sigh. He held a bitter expression.

It was as if the hot water he was drinking was something very bitter.

「To be honest, I knew that there were quite a few people from the Bestir Empire lurking around the city. But, I didn’t expect them to take such a bold action.」

「I wonder if they’re starting to get impatient over there. Fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve gotten in the way of the Bestir Empire many times. I think they can no longer ignore me……that’s the state of things.」

「I see. But, if that happens, there are dangers in various ways. I don’t know what they will try to do when cornered.」

Tirage said those words with a sigh. As a guild master, he wanted to say some things to Rei, who had brought unnecessary commotion into Abuero. However, as a citizen of the Mireana Kingdom, he was grateful that Rei had managed to stop the schemes of the Bestir Empire. There was also the request from Marina, who had taken care of him many times before. And, above all, to intimidate high rank adventurers to follow their orders was something he couldn’t forgive as a merchant who believed in honest deals.

「So, what do you plan to do if you find their hideout? Marina-san said to leave it to you……」

If possible, we want to play a part as well. Rei was slightly worried at the implied meaning of Tirage’s words.

Of course, Tirage didn’t mean to steal Rei’s credit. The reason was that although it was technically an external issue, it would still be seen as something happening inside the city of Abuero.

Even if they were just trying to gather information by sending out thieves or people with covert operations experience, that was just behind the scenes. If he didn’t do anything officially in the open, he wouldn’t be able to show his face as the guild master of Abuero.

Although Rei didn’t know about the circumstances, he still nodded after hearing Tirage’s words.

「Let’s see. All you have to do is to surround the area so that none of them can escape. I’m going to have Set waiting in the sky, but even if he has good night vision, it’s still night. Moreover, since it’s inside the city, I’m not sure if I would be able to capture them all if they tried to escape under the cover of darkness.」

「I see, I understand. I’ll make the arrangements right away. As soon as we find their hideout, we’ll surround it.」

Saying that, Tirage stood up from his sofa and signed a few pieces of paper that were at the top of his office desk. As soon as he finished that, he reached for a bell that lay under the table.

Chireen~, a high pitched ring was heard several times. Before long, there was a knock on the office door.

「Pardon me, Guild Master. Did you call?」

「Yes, please come in.」

After Tirage spoke, a woman entered the room.

She was in her mid 20’s, had bright green eyes and had her hair tied up into a ponytail. Rei’s first impression on seeing the woman was that she gave off the firm impression of a secretary.

She matched the image of a secretary that Rei had in his mind from the dramas and manga he had seen when he had still been in Japan.

「Verde-kun, I want you to gather up the people listed in this document as soon as possible.」

The secretary……a woman called Verde, turned to glance at Rei and gave a small nod before receiving the documents.

「I’ll gather them immediately……but Ogre’s Heart as well?」

「Yes. They have the minimum level of skill and a lot of people.」

「……I understand. I’ll follow the Guild Master’s instructions.」

She nodded at Tirage, but her expression didn’t change at all. She remained calm……or rather, it might be better to say she was expressionless.

But, Tirage seemed to be used to Verde’s reaction and smiled before bowing his head.

「Please. I’ll leave it to you Verde-kun.」

The Guild Master bowed his head as he requested some work from his secretary.

Normally, this would be a scene that would make people feel uncomfortable. But, it seemed that their positions had reversed due to humble appearance of Tirage and the expressionless Verde, making it look natural to Rei.

Verde probably didn’t realise Rei’s thoughts, but glanced at him again regardless.

Their eyes only intersected momentarily, but Rei clearly saw Verde’s eyebrows move slightly as she maintained her expressionless face.

However, as soon as she returned to her usual dead pan state, she left the room with the forms in her hand.

In fact, Verde had the ability to feel magic power. The fact that although she could see magic power, she only moved her eyebrows slightly when looking directly at Rei, who had enormous magic power, showed how expressionless she was.

「I’m sorry. Verde-kun is not a very friendly person.」

Maybe he noticed Rei and Verde’s glances meet or maybe he was just following up, Tirage gave and amiable smile.

「Don’t worry about it. If he can do his work then I don’t have any problems.」

Rei told him not to worry about it as he brought a cup of hot water to his mouth.

(No, wait. If he has a secretary, shouldn’t Tirage get her to brew the tea or something?)

Though he thought that to himself, Rei decided not to ask about it since the topic at hand was more important.

「So, if you have any precautions when going to capture the Bestir Empire’s spies, could you tell me about it?」

「Mm? Ah, ahh. Let me think……」

Replying to Tirage’s words, Rei spoke as he remembered his experiences up to now.

「That’s right. The people I fought had a magic item that allowed them to teleport, so I think it’s better to take them away as soon as you capture them. However, those magic items are valuable, so I don’t know if they will have them.」

「……Spatial transition magic? That’s a surprising magic item……」

「It’s a stone about 5cm in diameter, smashing it against the ground using magic power seems to activate the teleportation spell. However, there are several disadvantages. For example, the transfer distance isn’t that great, it’s one use only and a magic circle needs to be prepared at the transfer destination in advance.」

「I see. I’ll keep that in mind when mobilising the adventurers. Anything else aside from that?」

As expected of a guild master, Tirage’s eyes remained calm as he prompted Rei to continue.

Admiring the calmness in Tirage’s eyes, Rei spoke again.

「Have you heard of the term Demon Soldier?」

「……Demon Soldier? Not, it’s my first time hearing it.」

「It’s a new weapon developed by the Bestir Empire, or rather, a new kind of soldier……in short, they are soldier that can use the power of monsters through alchemy.」

「……」

「As their name suggests, their appearance is far from human. For example, they might have a shell covering their body or tentacles growing from them. However, while becoming a Chimera of sorts, they have considerable strength. If there are only spies in this city, you don’t have to worry about Demon Soldiers, but keep in mind that you have to be on guard against them.」

「……I understand. I’ll let this be known.」

At the same time that Tirage nodded, the sound of knocking on the door echoed through the room again.

「Please come in.」

Entering the room at those words was Verde, Tirage’s secretary, who had just left the room earlier.

Bowing her head lightly, she spoke with no expression.

「The people who were searching around have returned. They said they found the targets in a building in the slums.」

「I see, that’s great. Call the person who scouted there up hear right away. I want a detailed account.」

「I understand. Please wait a moment.」

Verde nodded at Tirage’s words and left the room.

Seeing her leave, Rei spoke with some admiration.

「To be able to find the spies from the Bestir Empire in such a short time, they must be an excellent adventurer.」

「What, this is a city on the border between the frontier and the inner kingdom. Even if they aren’t as good as the adventurers from Gilm, they can’t survive here without a certain level of skill.」

Having said that, he wasn’t going to feel bad after having the adventurers in his guild praised. There was a happy smile on Tirage’s face.

Then, after talking for a few more minutes, the sound of knocking echoed through the office again.

After Tirage gave his permission, five people entered the room. One, of course, was his secretary, Verde. The other four were the adventurers who had found the whereabouts of the spies. Rei turned to look at them. Then, at that moment.

「AHHHHHHHHH-!」

The four adventurers looked at Rei and raised a cry simultaneously.

「You’re the one from Gilm!」

「Yes, yes, the one with the Griffon!」

「Ara~ ara~. This is unexpected.」

「Absolutely. I never thought we’d meet again in such a place.」

The warrior at the front with scale armour gave a shout, followed by the warrior with the poleaxe, the warrior with the spear and the female archer.

「……You know them?」

Rei thought for a bit before nodding towards Tirage, who was surprised at the attitude of the four.

「We know each other, or rather we’ve seen each other before. We’ve met several times. Azure Blades, was it?」

「Ah. Yes. We’re a rank D party, Azure Blades. I didn’t think we would meet in such a place.」

「Rank D? Didn’t you say you were rank E last time?」

Rei asked, but the man spoke with a smile when he heard that.

「We’ve taken the rank up test since then. We were all promoted to rank D. So we’re now the rank D party, Azure Blades.」

「I see. My congratulations then.」

「Ahahahaha. Well, from now on, it will be our time.」

「……」

The man laughed loudly before eventually noticing Verde’s ruthless gaze piercing into him. His laughter gradually diminished.

And, as if grasping the timing, Tirage spoke up.

「Well then, since we don’t know each other’s names yet, could you introduce yourselves?」

「Ah, yes. Guild Master. Well, I’m Bilt. As you can see, I’m a warrior. My weapon is a long sword. I’m the leader of Azure Blades.」

To escape Verde’s cold gaze, the man with brown hair in his late teens, wearing scale armour, introduced himself.

Next to him, a man who could be described as muscular, in his late teems and holding a poleaxe took a step forward.

「I’m Begriff. I’m a warrior and my main weapon is a poleaxe.」

The man who called himself Begriff spoke with a macho smile.

Next to him was a woman who looked to be a little older than Rei and held a spear. Her face had a boyish feeling to it rather than a feminine one and was full of energy.

「I’m Birke, As you can see, I use a spear. I’m also Bilt’s sister.」

Lastly, the archer in her mid 20’s, who appeared to be the oldest among the members of Azure Blades. Probably so that it wouldn’t get in the way when she pulled her bow back, she had short cut blue hair that only reached her ears.

「Carla. I’m the one who’s mainly been moving around for this case.」

As he shook Carla’s offered hand, Rei spoke up.

「I think you know me, but I’ll introduce myself anyway. I’m Rei, a rank C adventurer from Gilm. You’ve been a great help this time in various ways.」

After everyone’s introductions, everyone except Verde took a seat on the sofa.

Only Verde stood back behind Tirage.

「Well then, can you tell me about the details first?」

Nodding at Tirage’s words, everyone turned to look at Carla.

「I found them in one of the buildings in the slums. ……About six months ago, a group called the Gilgmon family started a fight with Ogre’s Heart.」

「……Oh, is it there?」

It must have been an event that he hadn’t been very happy about. Tirage’s eyebrows frowned lightly.

Rei tilted his head in puzzlement as he remembered that the name Ogre’s Heart had been mentioned by Verde earlier.

「Yes. It was the case that Ogre’s Heart caused a big scuffle and was made to pay a fine. There were two people, a man and a woman, on the second floor of the building near the place where the incident happened. There were on the floor tied with rope. There were also three other people nearby, dressed in black.」

As Tirage listened to the report, he turned to look at Rei. Rei returned his look with a silent nod.

「There’s no doubt. That’s the place.」

Rei muttered, looking like a carnivore that had found its prey.

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