Red cloth. It's a common name for people who were making a lot of noise in Gilm before Ray left for Anesis.
　That's not the official name, let alone the fact that they used to call themselves, but they came to be said so because they wrapped a red cloth around their bodies as if they were emphasizing their existence.
　For Ray, who knows at least a little about the Three Kingdoms, it might be a red version of the Huangguan Party, but given what he is doing, it should be called a color gangster.
　However, most of the color gangs Ray knew were from dramas and comics.
　a red cloth that had caused a lot of trouble, from fine trouble to big trouble
　Ray had forgotten all about the existence of red cloth because the events in Annesis were so intense in so many ways.
　We haven't heard about it from anyone else, including Vichela, Bune or Lenora, Kenny or Johanna, whom we met in the guild.
　...however, considering the current guillem called Cobold, who attacks Guillem day and night, it may be natural not to mention the matter of red cloth to Ray.

"Red cloth? ... Oh, come to think of it, Ray hasn't heard anything at all since he went to Anesis. Do you know anything about it in the guild?"

　Guild officials, who are glanced at by Vihela, immediately shake their heads.

"It's a case of Cobold, and that's not the point. But if the red cloth was moving wildly, of course you would hear about it, but if it wasn't there, didn't you stop working? ... I don't know where you stopped working."

　Some red cloths hid their faces, but most kept their faces straight.
　That being the case, everyone remembers the face, of course.
　...however, even in winter guillem there are enough people, so it may be difficult to say that person is one of the red cloths.
　That's what Ray thinks... suddenly he comes up with.

"Isn't it possible that Akafu stopped working because it snowed and it got cold?"
"Because it's cold... well, it's not impossible. Also, if you run in the snow, you might get hurt."

　Because of the cold weather, the activities of red cloth have subsided.
　If you listen to that alone, it's only natural that you'll feel like, "Well...."
　But it's basically a crime for red cloth to cause.
　Snatchers, extortion, and so on.
　That being the case, it is inevitable that the guards will have to flee the guards.
　Gillum's guards can be stronger than their counterparts, as they sometimes deal with skilled adventurers.
　And, basically, red cloth is not that good at it... as long as you are caught by a security guard, it's fatal to have a situation where you can't keep your feet steady because of the snow.

"Well... but in the spring the red cloth will be active again. And... by any chance, is it too much of my opinion to think that one of the Cobolt incidents in Gilm was the work of the red cloth?"

　Vichela and the guild staff were surprised by Ray's words... and soon they both shook their heads.

"No, that's not true. You know, Mr. Ray, the red-cloth guys are good adventurers, but they can't get along right away, or they're low-rank adventurers... do you think they can manipulate it, even though they're low-rank monsters?"
"I agree with that opinion. If there's any possibility, I don't expect that kind of magic or capability, so it's a magic item... do you think the red cloths will get that kind of magic item?"

　If the two of them mess up one after another, Ray will never be able to say his opinion is correct.
　You didn't have to stick to that opinion, because you didn't say that red cloth was causing the Cobold affair in the first place.
　And in fact, what Vihela said was largely convincing to Ray.

"Then, after all, who was one of Cobold's cases?"
"Hey! The man there! Give me what you have in your pocket!"

　I'm afraid it's someone else's work.
　A loud voice echoes around him, interrupting Ray's words.
　If you raise your voice like that suddenly, you will naturally attract the attention of those around you.
　One of the guild staff members who was not talking to Ray was at the center of attention.
　The guild staff, with a stern stare, approaches a young man... in his twenties or so.
　The man tried to say something to the guild staff who were approaching him, but... he thought it was useless to say anything, so he ran away at once and for all.
　There is no snow left on the surrounding ground due to a large number of people walking around to dismantle the Gigant Turtle.
　That's probably why they decided that running might help them escape... but a few people around them caught the guy by the leg and let him fall, and held him back.

"d*mn it! Let go! Let go! You can get a little more! It's this big!"

　He was a man who cried out, but for the men who seized him it was intolerable that he would lose the task of dismantling the gigant turtleneck.
　If the consequences of this man's reckless behavior were only to those who did it, in this case the blame could fall on themselves who worked with him.
　In order to prevent such a thing from happening, then, we could never let the person who did it go.

"Be quiet! What if you hurt me?"
"Yes! You know I'll have some portion of the meat in my gigant turtleneck when I'm done with my work! But why did you do this?"

　When a man screams impatiently, impatiently and irritably, the two men who hold him back scream more angrily than he does.

"Well, calm down,"

　To the screaming men, a guild officer who had discovered he had tried to steal a part of the gigant turtleneck.
　Guild officials were supposed to be the ones who wanted to scream at the man who was trying to escape, but before that, they probably couldn't say anything when they saw him being caught and shouted by other men. Unlike when they screamed, they say so in a somewhat calm voice.
　The guild staff's appearance gives relief to the two men who have captured the escaped man and those who have been watching him.
　For the time being, I understood that the demolition of the gigant turtleneck would not be stopped immediately.

"First of all, I'll take him to the guild."I beg your pardon, but will you catch me and come with me so as not to run away? Of course, I will not treat him as having given up his work on the way."
"... oh, I see,"
"I don't care,"

　Confirming that the two men nod, the guild staff turns to their bosses... to the guild staff on Ray's side.
　The guild staff member, who looked at him, nods without saying anything more.
　But that was probably enough. Guild officials, who confirmed the nod, head to the guild with the man captured by the two men.
　After the guild workers left, there was a lot of noise, but when some guild workers told them to go back to work, they each went back to their own.

"... and, um, what did you talk about?"

　A glance at the reckless man being carried away, muttered Ray, almost unconcerned.
　Perhaps Ray's attitude made him feel that there was no penalty against them, but those close to the man returned to dismantling the gigant turtleneck.
　I wonder if the blueness of the faces of some of the men working to skin the gigant turtles was because they thought the same as the other man.
　But now that you've seen what happens if you do it in front of you, unless you're too confident or a fool who doesn't think twice about it, you won't make a strange impression.
　In fact, the guild staff who supervised the demolition noticed the situation of some of them and watched them so that they could understand if they behaved strangely.

"It's a case of red cloth. Ray said something stupid that maybe one of the Cobold's cases was the work of red cloth, but he was going to say that it might be the work of someone else, right?"
"Yes, I think so,"

　The guild staff member, who turns to Vihela for confirmation, nods back to her words honestly.
　As he looks at it, Ray continues, recalling what he had just said.

"Oh, I see. ... If it's not the red cloth that's causing the Cobold incident, we need to catch it somehow. ... or I don't know how he's manipulating it, but we need to do something about it."
"Well, yes, but the question is how to find someone. There's no evidence that this case is man-made in the first place.""I could agree with Mr. Ray if there was any evidence or clue.


　As Vihela and Guild officials have said, it is only Ray's prediction that this is man-made.
　With Ray saying so without any evidence, there was too little evidence to investigate it.

"Well, I wouldn't force you either... but if I'm going to investigate it myself, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"What? Well, that's... but are you really going to look into it? Of course, there's no reward for it."

　Ray thinks he's suspicious and follows his instincts to find out for himself.
　It was only natural, but looking into it... is, to say, equivalent to Ray's hobby.
　That being the case, there is no reward for the act.
　If this incident was really man-made and we could stop it, it would be a different story.
　But Ray's real aim isn't that kind of reward, and he was wondering if this incident was caused by magic items.
　If it's not a decorative item, but a practical magic item, Ray would definitely want it.
　Even if it's just a covolt, it's endless... that's how many covolts you collect from Ray, so such magic items seem to have many uses.
　That's when you destroy thieves, when you're in a war with some other country, or when you're in a war with a herd of monsters.
　Ray's impression was that if you abuse it, it would be very dangerous, but if it really happened with magic items, you'd definitely want to get it.

(Oh, magic item. Come to think of it, you forgot to give me a souvenir.)

　I remember that I completely forgot to hand over the curative magic-sealed jewels from Magic Items to Marina, Vihela, Bune and some others as souvenirs.
　I had a party at Marina's house on the day I came back to Gilm, and I had forgotten all about it since then.
　I didn't give you any souvenirs at all, though, as I served some dishes I bought from Anesis at the party.
　However, I can't possibly give you some souvenirs including jewelry here, so I think I should give them to Marina for dinner tonight.

"First of all, I don't have anything particular to do now in winter. I just thought I could look for someone like that in the sense of killing time."

　If you say so, the guild staff will agree.
　Adventurers are basically very free this winter season.
　If you say that you are looking for something and tools that you don't know whether you have it or not instead of killing time, you must have been convinced even if you think you are mad.
　But Vihela, who knew Ray well, thought he was really looking for him.