"Well..."

　Ray looks at the scene in front of him and is at a loss what to say.
　At the guild Lenora and Kenny told me to watch out for thieves.
　And it's safe to think it was a flag or something.
　But... it was a half-joking idea, and I never thought I'd really see the thief.
　But it was not Ray with Sett, but an old woman who was walking a short distance from Ray.
　The man who jumped out of the side street tried to take away the bag that the woman had -- a bit of a hard thing to call a bag -- but what was unfortunate for him was that there was Seto there.
　And to make matters worse, the old woman has fed her many times, and she doesn't act like abandoning the other person who loved her.
　As a result, the moment he heard the old woman scream... the moment he saw the man take the bag, Seto ran away and smashed the thief with his paw.
　However, Seto was quite careless, perhaps because he understood that this was the city.
　The thief, who had been knocked unconscious by Seto's blow, had not lost any of his limbs, had his head crushed, or had his internal organs destroyed.

"Grull".
"Oh, thank you. You're a good boy, aren't you?"

　The old woman, deprived of her bag, pats her head thanking Seto.
　Seth probably didn't hate being patted on the head like that, leaving her body in the hands of an old woman and chanting pleasantly.
　And Ray is keeping a watchful eye on the unconscious thief -- who is right to call him a robber -- to not run away.
　I have a feeling inside that it's a flag, but as long as I don't have someone to communicate with, I won't bother to mention it.
　Waiting for the guards to come... suddenly I saw a red cloth tied to the fallen man's arm.
　The red cloth makes me wonder for a moment if I'm tying up my injured arm, but soon I realize it's not blood, it's just a red cloth.
　Relieved -- not worried about robbery, but about the fact that Seto's blow injured him -- Talley looks at the unconscious man again.
　It didn't seem to be particularly fashionable, so I increasingly doubt the man's arm is tied to his arm.
　However, Ray hasn't been particularly concerned about fashion since he was in Japan, and that hasn't changed since he came to Elgin.
　...and usually don't wear dragon robes, otherwise not particularly fashionable.
　No, the misty ring on the right hand is in the shape of a bracelet, so maybe that's the only stylish element.
　At any rate, I doubt that a fainting robber, even with such a ray, is ostentatiously wearing a red cloth around his arm.
　Even if Seto doesn't find him and escapes the scene, he sees a conspicuous red cloth wrapped around his arm, which serves as a landmark and makes it easier to find the culprit.

(Well, that's what I'm trying to do? After all, it's a piece of cloth around my arm. If I run away from here and solve it, there'll be no evidence of it. But... I'm a little worried that I'm so smart.)

　At the same time that I have a slightly unpleasant feeling that I am using my crimson nickname for crime, the guards eventually appear to separate the crowd.
　There are quite a few guards in Gillum, but Ray is acquainted with a lot of guards because of his many experiences.
　The security guard who had just arrived was fortunately an acquaintance of Ray.
　Even if you're a security guard who doesn't know Ray, it's just that you don't know Ray, and as long as you're in Gilm, you know what Ray is like.
　Even so, it's only natural that you think you'd better get to know each other if you're going to talk about the situation.

"You've had a hard time, Ray. No, Seto."

　The guard approaches Ray to ask him if he has heard the whole story from someone who has already come to inform him.
　The reason the attitude is so insincere is probably because the robber has already been completely knocked unconscious by Seto's blow.

"Not at all. It's snowing, and I don't want to bother you like this if possible. ... I wouldn't say if the guards were working harder."
"That's what I'm saying,"

　The guards thrust in Ray's words unconsciously. 　
　But the guard bowed somewhat apologetically after he pushed it into Ray.

"But I understand what Ray says. There's been a lot of people like this these days, and there's a lot of people this year because of the extension work. ... Oh, yes. He's the one, too."

　After bowing to Ray, the guard mutters to him in a caring tone.
　If the guards had acted in the man's face, Ray wouldn't have cared that much.
　But what the guard saw was the man's right arm... where the red cloth that Ray had been concerned about was wrapped.
　Ray asks with a bad feeling about the guards.

"Well, by any chance... these red cloth-wrapped men don't do the same thing over and over again, do they?"

　If you know Ray, you can't believe it and ask him fearfully.
　However, the security guard's response to Ray was to look away.
　Guardsmen know Ray is nicknamed crimson.
　In front of such a Ray, he ostentatiously wrapped a red cloth and tried to forcefully steal the old woman's luggage.
　There's no way it won't hurt Ray's intuition.

"Well... while I was busy with all sorts of things, some very pleasant people came out of Gillum again."

　Ray doesn't mean to say that red is all his color either.
　Still... still, the nickname crimson wasn't earned by himself, but by Ray's presence.
　Some of those who have fought are naturally not to be liked, but others are worthy of respect.
　That's why Ray couldn't be amused to hear that such a group of people wrapped up in red cloths... and that they repeatedly committed what he called minor crimes, rather than acts of bandits.
　The guards can't help looking up at Ray's appearance.
　The faint snow falls on the guard's face, cools his head with the coldness, and then reopens his mouth.

"Calm down for now. They're just little ruffians, though they're wrapped in red cloths. That's the kind of guy that Ray often knocks down outside. That's not the kind of guy that the notorious high-ranking adventurer cares about."

　He was a security guard who asked Ray to calm him, but those who heard it said nothing in particularly.
　...this is not to say no to the guards, but simply because they are absorbed in their thoughts.

(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)

　Seeing Ray like that, the guard decides he can't do anything more.
　However, there is no doubt that security guards were also a nuisance to gangsters who recently pretended to be blackmailed or robbed.
　This would have led the guards to investigate more seriously if they had acted like killing people.
　But the group with the red cloth around their arms did not know if they were aiming, if they had no courage, or if there was any other reason, but they never acted like they were going to kill anyone, or they never acted like they were going to target a person of status.
　The red cloth group always targets the elderly and the weak like this.

(I'm sure some organization is pulling strings behind the scenes, but... what is the advantage of going out of their way to make Ray angry?)

　The guards question this, but now they think it's better to settle the situation, and they call out to the old woman who is stroking Seto nearby.

"Grandma, could you come to the station, for I should like to hear a little from you?"
"Me? That's fine, but... wouldn't Seto-chan get in trouble.
"Oh, it's all right. All Seto did was catch a criminal. He gets compliments, but he doesn't get in trouble."
"That's good, Seto."
"Gruly!"

　The old woman caresses me with joy.
　The guard was watching one of them, but he also approached Ray, who seemed to be still thinking about something.

"Look, Ray. Come back to your senses. I need to ask you what's going on."

　Ray gazes at the guard's words with a sigh.

"I'll ask you, why are these guys left unchecked? It's a security guard's job, isn't it?"Ray is not particularly angry.
　No, I'm angry at the people wearing red cloths, but not at the guards.
　Still, the guards gently look away, perhaps because of Ray's strong gaze and their own weakness, they feel guilty about the situation in which criminals are rampant.

"You know that the number of guards isn't enough in today's guillem."
"Oh, I know, but that's not enough, so you must have hired an adventurer to look around as an aid to the guards?"
"...yes,"
"But why haven't they been caught?"
"I think they've got a lot of information about where they're going."
"I see. I mean, are there any guards or adventurers connected to these guys?"

　Still, Ray imagines that it's probably not the guards, but the adventurers who are connected to the red-clad crowd.
　There are clearly more adventurers than guards in terms of number, and many adventurers are now gathering in Gilm under the influence of extensions.
　All the adventurers in the crowd are not supposed to do evil.
　Of course, some of them are of poor quality, and it's safe to give information to people in red cloth for some reason -- basically gold.
　Not only Ray who said it, but also the security guard who said it, nods back.

"He earns nothing of pocket money."
"... by the way, by the way, there's no particular problem with my catching them.
"Ah... it doesn't matter if you care or not, but it's not the job of a notorious high-ranking adventurer?"
"I know. But they're kind of...."

　At least it would have been different if it were not red but other colors, but the obvious use of a red cloth... and the impersonation in Ray's base guillem was strangely offensive to him.
　Perhaps he understood Ray's idea somehow, the guard says nothing more about the matter and turns his eyes to the old woman who loves Sett.

"Grandma, will you come with me to the station?"
"Oh, no problem. ... Is Seto with you?"

　The old woman patting and asking, the guard loses a little strength.
　I've had a tense conversation with Ray until a few seconds ago, and I feel even more drained.

"Ray will come, so of course Seto will be with you."
"Well, let's go, then, shall we?"
"Gruly!"

　At the old woman's words, Seto screams and stands up.
　In the meantime, several guards follow suit and talk to the guards who had been talking to Ray until now, and they take the man who is still faint.
　I'm sure the reason I'm carrying it with some rough hand is because I'm trying to trouble you at this busy time.

"Well, Ray, I'll have you come, too. ... And just in case, don't forget that you can catch those red cloths, but if you do that when you're doing nothing, I'll have to catch you at worst."

　If you're going to catch someone who's committed a crime like this, there's nothing wrong.
　But if just being there does something about those who wear red cloth around their arms, it is no wonder that Ray will be caught.
　It was a delicate question, though, whether they would appeal to the guard, given the dark side of the red cloths.