Even in the city of Gilm, there are slums They were in the hut where they were about to crumble.

"Well, the guards are getting closer than I expected. if it were the royal capital of the kingdom of Mileana, I would be a little more reluctant."

　A seemingly ubiquitous man in his late twenties smacks his tongue as he looks out through a gap in the hut.
　About five men are in front of the eyes. From the uniform, it was obvious that he was a guard in the city's security forces.
　Fortunately, however, the five men, who seemed to be guards, only briefly looked around and judged that everything was right. ...or maybe they decided that something was wrong and the slum dwellers couldn't get their hands on it, but they just like that.

"No wonder," The other day, Mr. Postgera, who was infiltrating the city, was captured. I guess he was still nervous about the existence of foreign enemies."

　A woman in her early twenties, near him, mutters with a sigh as she looks at the back of a guard who has left.

"If possible, Mr. Postgera would have liked to have it back here."
"Don't be unreasonable. for by the time we came to this city the rumoured alchemist had already been escorted to the royal capital."
"In other words, when it comes to post-gera, we have to leave it to those in the royal capital?"
"...no,"

　a man who shakes his head bitterly at the woman's words

"It's too late for that. According to the information that came a little while ago, those who had infiltrated the royal capital moved to take it back, but on the contrary, they were attacked and killed."
"Oh!? There must have been quite a few shadows in the royal capital?"

　a woman with a look of amazement at her words
　For women, the words were leaked because they knew that they were as good as themselves... or even more skilled than that. I want you to say it's a lie. With that in mind, he turned his gaze to his boss, but the only answer was to shake his head from side to side by side.

"The Rank A party is on a trip, isn't it?" and two pairs."
"Well... the nobles of the royal capital hired adventurers to the extent that they had painted dirt on their faces?"

　What the woman says is true in a way. the lords of the royal capital the king's faction of the largest faction centered around the king, the aristocratic faction centered around the duke of Kelebel. and the smallest of its powers, but still the neutrals who succeeded in capturing the Alchemists of the Vestian Empire and the so-called Trump demon soldiers. Having hired more adventurers when they had their own private armies and knights of their own country was as clear as having made it impossible for them to cope with the situation. This was almost impossible for an aristocrat who valued honor and pride. But the woman was told that the impossible had actually happened.

"I can't believe it..."

　a muttering woman
　But the boss's man casts a sharp look at it.

"It is true that the nobles of the kingdom of Milliana are not united. But it's probably the same with our Westian empire. Even in our country, which is superior to this one, we can't do anything impossible in this way."
"...that'said he.

　a woman who disapproves of a man's words

"More than that," You haven't found the others yet?"
"Yes, everyone is quiet in their hiding place near this hut. I haven't heard from any street guards or knights that they've been found."
"I see. I'll have to keep quiet until this trouble settles down."
"If there were more metastases, I could have escaped."

　At the woman's words, the man takes a stone out of his pocket and opens his mouth looking at it.

"Don't say that. Originally, this magic item, a transition stone, is a very expensive thing to make. Moreover, the number of people who can metastasize is two to three. It can be said that we are behaving in such a big way even if we are given one to us in such a remote area."
"…maybe so." What a mess she has made of her failure in her duties, and that's why we've ruined everything is ruined. Even though I was so confident, I'm going to fail in soliciting, and I'm not going to be caught by my subordinates, but myself. I don't think he was in the same league as the captain."

　She is a dexterous woman who screams in a low voice in spite of her anger, but she shakes herself in spite of the draft coming in through a gap in the building.
　It's as cold as snow. Naturally, the wind blowing around the city will become cold.
　The only good fortune for these shadows would have been a boundary over the city. It's somewhat warmer than it is outside the city.
　But given that the boundary has prevented the summoners in the shadows from flying the flightable monsters they have summoned, we can't just be happy.

"Calm down. Anyway, now I'm hiding until the trouble stops. I don't think we'll be able to keep this tight stance for so long. Even that abominable boundary wouldn't last forever given the amount of magic we consume. probably for a week or so That would be enough to ease the boundary, whether it be those who are searching or those who are searching for it.
"A week?" If that's the case, I'll do something like that.

　when a woman said so Suddenly a man hustles a woman's mouth.

"What!"

　The woman opened her eyes to the sudden action, but soon realized that the man's gaze was directed out of the gap in the building and took a breather.
　At the same time, the woman who followed the man's gaze saw two figures, large and small, wearing a Gryphon and robes, which were more than two meters long.

(Oh!? Stupid! That's!)

　Yes, approaching this place were Ray, who, without doubt, and his servant Gryphon, whose boss and co-worker had been ordered to solicit or kill.

(I don't know who the taller man is, but the smaller one is definitely the target Ray.) Why is it in such a place?!)

　With a chill on her back, she breathes gently. We are already aware of Ray's combat capabilities. Even if all the shadows hidden around here attack, there is probably a huge difference in fighting power.

(Then all I can do now is hold my breath.)

　They took even more precautions as they approached the hut where they were hiding and could collapse at any time.





　Time goes back a little.
　Langa's actions were swift to hear that Seto's sense of smell might be able to track down the attackers who attacked the convoy.
　He took Ray and Sett to the attack site and showed them the wreckage of the horse-drawn carriage.

"... I don't know, Set. Can you follow me?"
"Glu, Glu, Glu, Glu, Glu, Glu.

　In Langa's words, the eagle's head is turned in all directions and stinks. As Ray and Langa hold their breath and watch for five minutes, Seth eventually purges, looking in a certain direction.

"Grull!""Oh!? Did you really find it?"

　Langa exclaims in surprise, asking for it herself.
　Ray was somewhat surprised, but he was not as surprised as Langa, as he often left the night watch to Seto.

"And what shall we do? Shall we call in the guards at once?"
"...I'm sorry, but it hasn't been decided that Seto can track down the attacker completely."
"Glu?"

　a set with a slight tilt of one's head as if to say, "Why?"
　For a moment, Langa's heart feels too guilty for a sad set. Langa, however, could not act as if he were summoning the guards scattered all over the city in a vague situation where he might be able to chase them because of the smell.

"Set, I don't doubt your ability. But it's also true that we can't bring in any other guards."

　Langa caresses Seto gently on the head, saying so.

"And will you show us under that smell, and if I can see with my own eyes that there is really an assailant there, I will have a good cause to gather the guards?"
"Glu?"

　a set of eyes on Ray
　Ray, who was entrusted with the judgment, breathes out and calls out to Langa.

"We don't have to go out of our way to see the enemy. Why don't you leave it to me and go back to the headquarters and wait for the results?"

　Langa shakes her head slightly, though he says something unusual for Ray.

"No, it's because I, the captain of the squad, actually identified the attacker with my own eyes. Regardless of how famous Ray or Sett is, it's bad to say, but he's still only a Rank D adventurer. They have different persuasiveness in their statements they make."
"...I see. If that's all right with you, I won't say anything anymore. Set, please."

　If you're told about your rank, I'm not sure if Ray thinks it's more convincing.

"Grull".

　At Ray's call, they sing deep down their throats and walk straight ahead of them.
　They followed him, but with him, children sometimes come up to feed him or play with him.
　Seth cried apologetically to them, and Langa, who was familiar with the residents, explained the situation and had it taken over for now.
　Fortunately, when it comes to adults, Langa and Ray must have understood that it was something to do with the Knights' attack. They gently give way to Seto without saying anything special.
　And as it is, Seto sometimes stops and looks around him with the gesture of smelling, and continues along the road with a slightly disappointed glance at the stalls and stalls. After about an hour's march, the surrounding scenery turned from Ray's well-known main street to the back street and even into a corner of the slum.

"... this is my second time here."

　a muttering ray while watching the surroundings
　All the buildings are so old-fashioned that I'm worried if we'll be able to pass the snowy winter.

"Have you ever been here?"

　When Langa hears Ray's muttering, he asks back, wondering if it was too late to follow him in silence.

"Oh, at the time of the Azot affair,"
"... oh,"

　Langa laughs bitterly at the answer. It was such a big incident that even Langa, who was in a position to gather security guards, was busy dealing with the aftermath.
　However, it must have been fortunate in a way that even the Knights were able to help them, because they involved alchemists and demagogues from the Vestian Empire. I was so busy that I thought I might have fallen for that busyness.

"Anyway, the assailant would be hiding about here." There are so many vacant houses. I don't think there'll be any inconvenience in hiding."

　look around mutteringly

(And... for an empty house, there's a lot of traffic.) This isn't all an assailant, and there are probably slum dwellers... well, what should we do? Besides, at this point in time countless eyes are being directed at us. whether this is a look of vigilance at those who came to the slums or at the guards who came to catch them.)

　He turned his eyes to Langa, but he didn't seem to notice Ray's perceived gaze. But he must still be feeling something. He changed his usually gentle eyes and turned his eyes sharply to the surroundings.

"As far as I can feel this atmosphere, the whole area around here may be suspicious."
"I think we should be the first to look into places like this that are easy to hide. In fact, Seto's sense of smell has reached this point. --isn't the security looking into it?"

　Ranga nods with a wry smile at Ray's obvious question.

"The slums around here are more hostile to the powerful than to the people of the city. So if you're going to go through the slums, you've got to search them all at once without taking time. That would naturally require a great deal of manpower. ...I'd have looked into the city, and if I hadn't found it, I'd have looked here in the end. Some of them may have come to see what's going on in the slums, but I guess they're just looking around the entrance."
"It's a man's business. I see."

　Originally, adventurers play a central role in the streets of Gilm. Naturally, there are quite a few guards in case the wild adventurers cause trouble, but there are still not as many as the adventurers.

(Especially in this case, it seems that a lot of people are being used for information gathering and so on.) It may be understandable given the need for a certain number of people to keep the city safe and secure, and the rest of them are investigating. It's impossible to carry a large number of men like the police."

"Well, that's no use," For the time being, I realized that the whole area around here was suspicious. Then I'll go back to the guard and get a man to move... oh my gosh!"

　Feeling something flying towards him as he speaks, he quickly wields a misril knife at his waist. Several daggers tumbled to the ground with a squeaking metallic sound.

"To find our hideout so easily... to be called a Gryphon?" I'm afraid you'll play with us for a while."

　With the words, nearly twenty figures emerged from the surrounding buildings that had nearly collapsed.