「……So, you came to my place?」

Vosk, sat in front of Rei, who was leaning against the sofa in Vosk’s office, as he asked for confirmation.

Rei nodded in response and glanced over at Essetus and Nakuto, who had both bowed their heads deeply, before speaking.

「Yeah. The Silva family governs Exil, right? Leaving aside the question of lending them a hand or not, I thought it would be fine to at least listen to them.」

「……Ah, damn it. Even though I’m busy with dealing the abnormal species right now. You know that, right?」

Vosk scratched his head as he spat that out.

It would be evening in a few hours and Rei, ELena, Essetus, and Nakuto were currently in Vosk’s office inside the Silva family’s residence.

Of course, as one of the ruling families, the Silva family, which had the Levisor family under their influence now, had a lot of work to do. And, as Vosk himself said, they were also investigating the issue of abnormal species.

As Vosk himself said, he really didn’t have a lot of time to spare.

Even so, Vosk decided to meet with Rei because he had encountered abnormal species on numerous occasions and had provided many abnormal species corpses and other related information.

Of course, Elena Kerebel was also an important person.

Vosk had thought it was going to be about abnormal species when he met with Rei, but it had turned out that a party member of Rei’s acquaintances had been kidnapped and he just wanted to see if the Silva family could lend a hand.

「……So, Rei and Elena, having heard that, what do you want me to do?」

Even though he asked them, Vosk was already thinking of ways to find the men who had kidnapped Tivia.

However, Rei’s response was to shrug his shoulders.

「I don’t care. What these guys asked us for was to introduce them to you. It’s up to you to decide.」

Rei’s words made Vosk’s eyes go wide for a moment, but he immediately turned to Essetus and Nakuto, who were still bowing their heads.

「You two were Essetus and Nakuto, right? And the one who was kidnapped was Tivia. So you’re Sonic Blades. Certainly, a party like yours wouldn’t be taken out so easily. ……Well, fine. So, you don’t have any idea who attacked you?」

「We do not. But, there are definitely people out there that have some grudge against us for the requests we’ve received or want to eliminate us as competition.」

Hearing Nakuto’s words, Vosk tapped his finger on his desk and paused for a few seconds before speaking.

「Actually, it didn’t stand out due to the appearance of abnormal species, but for a while, people in Exil……especially adventurers, have gone missing.」

Vosk’s words made both Essetus and Nakuto expressions tense up as they looked at Vosk.

Vosk continued to explain while receiving their gazes.

「Of course, it’s not uncommon for adventurers to disappear in Exil. They most likely died in the dungeon, or even if they came back alive, the despair of their own powerlessness would make them leave Exil.」

「However, when you enter a dungeon, your dungeon card is checked, and when you enter or leave Exil, your guild card is strictly checked as well?」

Vosk nodded at Nakuto’s tentative question.

However, his expression became bitter.

「It’s true, you’re right, but there’s always a back entry to everything. There are people to enter and leave Exil without checks. The same goes for the dungeon.」

Although he wouldn’t say it out, Vosk was also involved in such back entry paths.

In a Labyrinth City like Exil, where large numbers of people gathered, it was inevitable for such shady organisations to form. Since it was going to happen anyway, he might as well create an organisation that followed what he said first.

Not just the Silva family, the Levisor and Marschel families were also involved in such shady organisations.

「Anyway. I’ve tried to clean up the involved organisations, so they’re probably not the ones. So, if there’s some other factor……it will probably be illegal slave traders or something like that.」

「Then, then what about Tivia!?」

Hearing about the possibility of slave traders, Essetus cried out as he face went pale.

However, Vosk shook his head at the question.

「Don’t worry. I can’t say for certain, but the chance that it’s slave traders should be low.」

「Really……are you sure?」

「Yeah.」

Vosk nodded without hesitation when Essetus asked him for confirmation.

Nakuto must have wondered why as he asked Vosk.

「If I may ask, why do you think that?」

「It’s a simple reason. Even for slaves, a healthy body would normally sell for a higher price, wouldn’t it? It’s one thing to have your party member kidnapped, but an armed slave won’t sell for much unless they draw a lot of curiosity.」

For a moment Essetus wanted to say something in response, but he stopped himself when he realised that Vosk had said it for their sakes.

「Then……why do you think Tivia was attacked?」

「Well, that’s the thing. I don’t quite get it. If they want to catch people as slaves, it’s less dangerous to attack civilians than it is to go out of their way to attack adventurers who have fighting skills. Considering that, there must be a special reason……」

Vosk shook his head at Nakuto’s question.

Regarding the matter of abnormal species and the kidnapping that was just brought to his attention, as one of Exil’s rulers, Vosk couldn’t stand letting people do whatever they wanted in his city. However, even if he wanted to deal with it, the adventurers serving the Silva family were already more than busy enough dealing with abnormal species.

As he thought about it, Vosk’s eyes suddenly stopped at the two people in front of him.

(Since their party member was kidnapped, of course they would desperately investigate the attack. If I provide them with the Silva family’s backing……)

After weighing up the risks and returns in his mind, Vosk came to a decision after a few seconds and spoke up.

「Essetus and Nakuto. You two are well known as the party Sonic Blades and as reasonably skilled adventurers. ……Then, how about this? We, the Silva family, will back you up on this matter. Why don’t you investigate it yourselves? Unfortunately, the Silva family currently doesn’t have any extra resources to spare due to dealing with abnormal species.」

「R-Really!? The Silva family with support us! Hey, Nakuto. If this is the case……」

For Essetus, it was an unexpected offer. He spoke with a smile, as if he had found a ray of hope.

「That’s right. Of course, if you really are helping us, we would like to join the Silva family even after this is all sorted out.」

「……Well, I’m certainly grateful, but……can you trust us, who you’ve just met for the first time?」

Vosk spoke with a grin as he replied to Nakuto, who seemed to be asking for confirmation.

「Rei and Elena were the ones to bring you two here. If you were spies or something, the responsibility would fall on them. In that situation, I would of course be fully compensated by them. ……Is that explanation good enough for you?」

Even though he told them that with a smile, Vosk didn’t think that Essetus or Nakuto would betray him.

From their reputation, which he had heard from his younger brothers, and from what he had seen with his own eyes, they didn’t look like people who would betray others. Even though Nakuto was a thief, his words and deeds held a hint of compassion for his party members.

Because of that, Vosk turned to look at the remaining two people.

「So, what do you plan to do? As far as I’m concerned, it would be a great help if you could lend us your strength. As I said earlier, it’s true that we’re really short on hands right now.」

Rei shook his head and rejected Vosk’s invitation.

「I’m sorry, but we’re just here to explore the dungeon. We only lent a hand this time because we met by chance while exploring the dungeon.」

Elena also spoke up, in tune with Rei.

「I have the same opinion as Rei.」

Vosk seemed to have expected the rejection. Even though he looked disappointed, he didn’t push any further.

On the contrary, Essetus and Nakuto were the ones surprised by the situation. Still, Nakuto didn’t show his surprise, but Essetus’ eye’s went wide as he turned to look at Rei and Elena.

He didn’t expect Vosk’s invitation, as the head of the Silva family that governed Exil, to be turned down so easily.

If he had known Elena’s background, it might have been a different story though.

「If you don’t have enough people, why don’t you ask Byune for help? Since she’s from the Fraut family, you should know each other, right? You might be able to get her to join you.」

「It’s no use. That little girl is only concerned with protecting her residence. I’ve invited her several times before, but as you can see, she’s extremely stubborn. Besides…….ah, no. Never mind.」

Vosk paused his words for a moment before shaking his head, as if thinking of something, and saying it was nothing.

Although he felt is suspicious for a moment, Rei judged that as the head of the Silva family, it wouldn’t be strange for Vosk to have been involved in some sort of conspiracy and decided to not push any further.

「Anyway, unfortunately, Elena and I will be focusing on the dungeon. However, if we find anymore abnormal species in the dungeon, or anyone creating them, we will do our best to capture them or bring them back with a corpse or two」

「Yeah, that would still be helpful. For some reason, you guys are the ones to run into the most abnormal species.」

Rei nodded at Vosk’s words and gave a small shrug before turning to Nakuto and Essetus.

「Well then, it’s time for us to head back. I hope you find Tivia.」

「Yeah. Thank you for introducing us to Vosk-sama. ……Thank you very much.」

Essetus gave a deep bow, followed by Nakuto.

「I’m always happy to have more talented people. If you have another chance, bring over more people and I’ll take over from there.」

With Vosk’s parting words, Rei and Elena left his office and the residence after being sent off by Sanctions, the chief butler.

 

 

「That was an unexpected development.」

Rei muttered after leaving the Silva residence and getting off the public carriage at the main street where the guild was located.

「Indeed. But it couldn’t have been a better outcome for those two. And, under the protection of the Silva family, they will likely not be targeted by any more assailants.」

Elena replied with a nod.

As the two of them walked down the street, the sun was already starting to set and the people walking around them seemed to be filled with liberation after a day’s work with many seeking alcohol to drink as the heat from the day had yet to dissipate.

Within Rei’s eyes, there were people drinking and eating skewers they had bought from nearby stalls. As far as he could see, it was hard to believe that incidents like abnormal species, the collapse of the Levisor family, or attacks on adventurers from the shadows had happened in the city.

Watching the surroundings beside Rei, what pass through Elena’s mind was the figure of Pree, who was obsessed with gems to the point of madness.

However, she quickly shook her head to get rid of those thoughts.

(In the first place, there is no need to attack adventurers, even if she is obsessed with gems. On the other hand, the mysterious party that is creating abnormal species, they don’t need to attack adventurers or ordinary people either. ……Then, has a third party appeared?

With those thoughts in her mind, Elena and Rei proceeded down the bustling main street in the evening.

Seperate from the bustle around her, Elena had bad feeling.

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