The day after the Ray's return to Gillum... the guards show up when they are about to go out and buy some souvenirs for Elena and Arra, who have finished their breakfast at the dusk Wheat-tei and are leaving in a few days.

"I'm sorry, Ray," It's about yesterday. Can you go out with me for a moment?"
"No, I don't mind..."

　I looked at the four men behind me, Elena, Vihela, Arra, and Bune, and they all nod back, saying there was nothing I could do.
　Bune didn't have to go out with her because she wasn't involved in yesterday's affair, but did she decide that it would be boring if only one person remained, or did she have any other ideas... but Bune also goes to the station with the Reys.

"Grull".

　A little dissatisfied was Seto, who had just finished breakfast and still wanted to eat something.
　Is Yero still sleepy or curled up and asleep on Seto's back?

"Look, I'll give you something to eat when you're done with it, so make yourself feel better."
"Grull?"

　Ray gently caresses Seto with a smile as he turns round eyes.

"Oh, since the guards are taking up our time on the way out, they'll probably have a lot of food and rewards over there, I suppose." --that's Gamerion."
"Grull!"

　At the word Gamerion, Seto exclaims.
　...but contrary to this set, the guard twitched his cheek a little.
　It's inconvenient not to feed Seto in this current.
　And, as Ray said, it was true that there were several skewers of Gamerion's meat in the station today.
　To be exact, it was reserved for snacking on the guards who came to call for the Lays.

(Why is Gamerion's meat here? Was it smelling on my body?)

　Strangely enough, he got to the right answer, but he immediately denies it.
　and, as it was decided that Seto would be able to eat Gamerion's meat... he arrived at the guard post, feeling a little depressed.





"Huh? Is there no Langa today?"
"Captain Langa is not in Gilm at the moment, for he has some business to do. Well, I can't tell you the details. and what's the matter with him?"

　One of the most important members of the security forces is a guard who is subtly depressed near the Rays... and looks to the man who has been robbed of the Gamerion skewer he was looking forward to.

"Well, what's the matter?" I don't know what to do. but when I came to this stuffing-room, I gave Seto a skewer."
"You... How dare you say such a thing?"

　A depressed guard tells Ray so.
　He must have figured out what had happened to the scene. The guardsman, who was talking to Ray at first, immediately gets to the point, thinking that any further involvement could cause trouble.
　The speed of judgment around here is either because he works as a guard at a place called Gilm or because he has been with Ray for some time.

"It was yesterday that I called in Mr. Elena and all the others."
"As for yesterday... the stupid attack?"

　When the named Elena asks, the guard nods back.

"Yes. Originally I wanted to explain after I called Mr. Marina, the guildmaster, but I couldn't find the time because I was busy with everything... I ended up sending you a report."
"Oh,"

　Not just Elena, but Ray, Vihela, and Arra reply to the explanation.
　Bune was the only one who didn't seem to speak, but was just watching.
　It's already a little bit more... or, in some ways, winter is already the season.
　Winter gets busy for Gilm.
　For the guildmaster, this season is as busy as the spring when adventurers begin to move in earnest.
　The guildmaster had been away for a few days at such a time of year.
　I wouldn't be as busy as I used to go to the Dark Elf settlement on a world tree, but there was still a lot of paperwork for Marina to process.
　Since yesterday, Marina has been dealing with it and other documents related to the Guildmaster's handover to workers.
　Being such a marina, Elena and others were convinced that they were busy at the moment and could not afford to come here.
　The only thing Bune didn't respond to was that she had hardly met Marina, or that she was originally expressionless.

"I knew Marina wasn't there. And what was the explanation of yesterday's case?"

　The guard nods to Ray's words and then opens his mouth.

"The first thing I want to say is that I succeeded in catching the person who started the case yesterday."
"...what? It's quite early,"

　Of course Ray knows that Gillum's security forces are an excellent group.
　The area was well-deserved, as it was guarded by a guillem full of confident adventurers.
　But it's nothing short of a surprise that it could be solved today, yesterday.

"Oh, well, that's right. Unfortunately, it was not us, but the Knights who settled the matter."
"Knights?"

　Ray has also been involved with the Knights of Gillum several times before.
　Especially in the war against the Vestian Empire a few years ago, he was travelling with the Knights, and some of his close friends.
　Nevertheless, compared with adventurers and guards, I have little to do with them.
　Under these circumstances Ray couldn't make out what the guards were saying.

"Why is there a knighthood?"
"...are you serious? Think of other faces, let alone you, an adventurer." Especially if something happens to Mr. Elena, the friendship with the present aristocracy will easily collapse. And..."

　So the guard, who stopped speaking, turned his eyes to Vihela.
　That alone makes Ray understand what the guardman wants to say.

"Well, if you're not good at it, it's a diplomatic issue."
「……」

　I guess Ray's words were right. A guard man keeps silent.
　The current relationship between the kingdom of Milliana and the Empire of Bestia is not bad.
　The emperor of the Vestian Empire is ambitious, but he still knows how powerful Ray, who is good at dealing with his troops, is, in wars and the civil wars that ensued. 　
　And even the third prince, the heir to the throne, can be said to worship his older sister Vihela.
　If such an older sister were attacked by someone... if she was not good at it, the war could start again.
　There's really nothing I can do about my private life, but I can't understand it from the information I've heard in my biography.

(Well, if I had to say that I had been unconscious for nearly two months about Ambris... if I had to be with you, I wouldn't know what you'd say the next time you saw me.)

　Thinking like that diverts Ray from the subject after a sudden bad feeling.

"So who did that in the end? I don't have any trouble with anyone who might be targeted."

　Ray asks the guard in a slightly derisive tone.
　At that time, everyone in the carriage had enough reason to be attacked for some reason.
　Even Arra, who was a coachman, could be targeted considering that she was a noble.
　Being targeted is very different from being targeted the most.
　The people in the carriage at that time were all above a certain level of skill... no, they were skilled enough to be called first‐class.
　One such person alone lowers the rate of success of the attack, but who is the fool to launch the attack when there are several people, including Ray.
　In response to Ray's question, the guards say the name of the mastermind with a slightly grim expression.

「ライナス・マルニーノ子爵だ」

　知っている名前だろう？
　そう視線を向けられて暗に尋ねられたレイだったが、それに対するレイの答えは首を傾げるというものだった.
　それも誤魔化しているのではなく、本当に心の底から分からないと思っている顔.
　レイから話を聞いていた警備兵も、ベテランと言ってもいいだけの人物だ.
　相手が何かを誤魔化そうしているのであれば、余程の相手でなければ見破ることは出来る自信があった.
　特にレイとの付き合いもそれなりにあるので、レイがそのような腹芸を決して得意としている訳ではないということも理解している.
　それだけに、レイの態度には驚きを隠せなかった.

「知ってるよな？」
「いや、聞いたことはないと思うけど」

　あまりにも自然にレイが口にしたので、警備兵の方も一瞬本当に知らないのか？　と疑問に思う.
　だが、上から降りてきている情報によると、ライナスはレイに対して指名依頼を頼もうとして断られ、その結果多くの損害を被り、それを恨みに思って昨日の犯行に結びついたのだ.
　その情報が確かなものである以上、誤魔化しているのはレイだということになる.

「本当か？　本当に知らないのか？」
「あー……そうだな. そう言われれば聞き覚えが……」

　そんなレイの態度に、別に何かを隠そうとしている訳ではないと判断したのだろう. 警備兵の男は少し呆れたように口を開く.

「こっちの調べだと、お前がマルニーノ子爵と会ったのはつい最近だぞ？」
「……いつだ？」
「お前がギルムを出てダンジョンに行く前だ. 何でも指名依頼をしようとして断られたとか」
「ああ！」

　そこまで言われれば、レイもライナスのことを思い出すのは難しくなかった.
　いつもであればここまで間の抜けたような真似はしないレイだったが、今回の場合はライナスと会ってからすぐにヴィヘラの件について進展があった為、そちらの衝撃で完全に忘れていたのだろう.

「本当に忘れてたのか……相手は貴族だぞ？」
「いや、その後で色々とあったから. で、あのライナスって貴族が結局依頼を断られたのを根に持って昨日の奴等を雇った訳か」
「そうなる. ただし、自分達の仕業だと見つからないように、かなり手を回していたらしいがな. 何人も間に挟んで、その上で雇ったのは冒険者ではなく傭兵だ」
「……なるほど」

　傭兵と冒険者というのは、似て非なるものだ.
　人を相手にして、戦争や……そこまでいかなくても紛争といった行為に参加するのが傭兵だった.
　戦争に参加するという意味では冒険者も違いはないのだから、寧ろ傭兵というのは冒険者の亜種と呼んでもいいのかもしれない.

「けど、傭兵だって冒険者程ではないにしろ、レイの噂くらいは聞いたことがあるでしょ？　これ以上ない程に目立つ人もそんなに多くないんだから」

　不思議そうにヴィヘラが尋ねる.
　レイの相棒のセト、それにレイが愛用の武器としているデスサイズ. それと最近有名になってきている、黄昏の槍を使った二槍流.
　レイをレイと認識する為の情報は、数多い.
　デスサイズや黄昏の槍は街中では持っていないことも多いが、それでもセトという存在は隠しようがない.
　セトをセトだと理解していれば、それがどれだけ自殺行為なのかというのは明らかだった.

「どうやらその辺の情報には全く疎い奴を集めたらしい. 元々、本気でレイを害せるとは思っていなかったんだろう. あくまでも嫌がらせが出来ればそれで十分だと」
「……また、何て言えばいいんだろうな」

　ヴィヘラの疑問に答えた警備兵の言葉に、レイが出来るのは呆れるといったことだけだった.

「レイの気持ちも分かるが、向こうにとっては絶対に自分達がやったと知られるとは思わなかったんだろうな」
「それが、何でその日のうちに解決してるんだ？」

　警備兵の能力については全く疑っていないレイだったが、それでも過剰にその能力を信頼している訳ではない.
　間に何人も挟んだというのであれば、それをたった一日で解決出来るとは思えなかった.

「……ま、こっちも色々とあるんだよ」

　警備兵としては、本来なら自分達で解決しなければならない一件を、草原の狼の力を借りたとはいえ騎士団に解決されたのだから、微妙に面白くはない.
　そんな警備兵の言葉にレイは首を傾げるが、エレーナを始めとして何人かは事情を察したのだろう. 小さく笑みを浮かべる.
　その後は軽く話を聞き……こうして、最後は何とも言えない気持ちになったレイだったが、それでも今回の一件はこうして解決したのだった.