It took only about ten minutes to reach the Adventurer District.
Aisha's legs were shaking so badly that she collapsed on the spot.
Her knees had completely given out.
So Aisha was afraid of heights.
I'd done something terrible.
"Big Brother, at least run on the ground next time..."
It seemed like a lot of people in my family had a fear of heights.
Sylphie had acrophobia, and I wasn't exactly comfortable with heights either.
Eris seemed to be the only one who liked being up high.
"If we ran on the ground, we'd cause a traffic accident. Come on, let's find Mother quickly."
"Ugh... I can't walk."
"Here, I'll give you a piggyback."
"You won't jump again?"
"I won't jump."
I gave the collapsed Aisha a piggyback ride, and we began our search.
That said, the Adventurer District was huge.
Where should we start looking?
"Big Brother, let's check the taverns. Since it's mealtime, she might be eating somewhere."
"Ah, good idea."
Following Aisha's suggestion, I jogged along the street.
I peeked into the many taverns along the way, looking for Zenith or Gisu.
Since it was dinnertime, the places were packed.
But I didn't need to peep at every single customer's face.
If I asked the staff, I could get through each place much faster.
A woman with a vacant expression and a monkey-faced demon.
They should stand out.
The Adventurer District was still bustling at this hour.
Adventurers returning from quests with their spoils.
Merchants making deals with those adventurers.
Adventurers heading out for a meal after finishing their work.
Inn and tavern staff calling out to those adventurers.
Adventurers—or maybe mercenaries—shouting at each other in fights.
Maybe because of the time, there weren't many carriages around.
That meant the chances of Zenith wandering the streets and getting run over were low.
That was a relief.
"A monkey face? Oh, Gisu? If it's that guy, I saw him at the 'Spring Sunlight Pavilion'!"
Third place in, and I'd hit the jackpot.
Gisu had been in this country for a decent number of days now.
Knowing him, he'd probably have his face plastered all over different places.
"Was he with a woman?"
"A woman...? Hmm, was he...?"
The staff member tilted his head.
Well, the only way to find out was to go check.
I asked the staff member for directions to the Spring Sunlight Pavilion, thanked him, slipped him a copper coin, and hurried over.
I had a bad feeling about this.
---
The area around the Spring Sunlight Pavilion had a rough vibe.
Women who looked like prostitutes lined the street, and men with leering expressions walked by, appraising them.
The red-light district was probably nearby.
So Millis had neighborhoods like this too...
Still, the men were staring at us with curiosity.
I guess a pair with an aura as quiet as ours—me and Aisha—stood out.
"Ha ha! Hey! What kinda play is that?"
"Hey, Big Brother, this is embarrassing, so put me down already!"
I was wrong.
It wasn't our aura. They were just gawking at Aisha getting a piggyback ride.
Once I set her down, the stares disappeared.
The Spring Sunlight Pavilion.
The storefront itself was ordinary, but a rough-looking crowd was coming and going.
Since coming to this world, I'd gotten considerably stronger.
I could walk into places like this without fear.
Honestly, the Rudeus Mercenary Guild office in Sharia was more intimidating.
But the thought that Zenith might actually be inside a place like this filled me with unease.
What the hell was Gisu thinking...
If that guy, in some fit of stupidity, was planning to sell Zenith off to a brothel, I wouldn't spare him no matter how well I knew him.
He could expect to lose both arms and both legs.
"Welcome!"
As I stepped through the entrance, a staff member's lively voice rang out amid the noise.
There was no particularly unwelcoming atmosphere.
The rough vibe was only on the outside—the interior was bright and cheerful.
The clientele wasn't all roughnecks either; there were plenty of ordinary adventurers.
I immediately began scanning the faces of the patrons while approaching a staff member—
"So there I was, showing some real quick thinking, saying to them, 'What if all three teleportation magic circles are traps and there's a separate passage hidden somewhere?'"
Found him.
In the back, a monkey-faced man was knocking back drinks while boasting to a group of young adventurers.
The young ones looked a bit sketchy too.
A boy with his hair spiked up into little points.
A long-haired boy with a piercing in his nose.
A girl with narrow, upturned eyes.
Three of them.
No sign of Zenith.
I looked around, and Zenith still wasn't there.
"And sure enough, just like I'd predicted, there it was in the ground—a hidden passage to the boss room..."
When I walked up to the table, Gisu noticed me.
His face said "Oh."
"Gisu."
"O-Oh, Senior! I was, uh, just talking about you, actually. See, guys? That's the 'Swamp' I told you about."
The three of them stared at me with wide eyes.
The girl especially shrank back in her seat, clutching at her chest.
What the hell...
What kind of story had he been telling them?
Well, whatever.
More important were the mountain of questions I needed answered.
Where to start...
Alright, I'd test the waters by bringing up the Man-God's involvement first.
"Gisu... I'm disappointed. I never thought you'd be my enemy."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You heard everything, right? From that dream oracle, from him. Including what I'd do if things turned out like this."
"Whoa, whoa, what are you talking about? Dream? Huh?"
As Gisu tried to play dumb with a goofy grin, I pointed my finger at him and channeled my mana.
A rock cannonball materialized and began spinning at high speed.
*Whiiirrr*—a drill-like sound echoed through the area.
The young adventurers shot up from their seats in alarm.
"Don't move."
They froze with a single word.
Then I looked Gisu in the eye and spoke again.
"Whatever he told you, confess everything. Do that, and I'll at least spare your life."
"W-Wait, are you serious? Stop, stop it—! I'm sorry! I don't know what's going on, but I'm sorry, so please stop pointing that thing at me!"
I moved my finger slightly further away.
Gisu immediately leaped out of his chair and threw himself prostrate on the ground.
Without a shred of dignity, he bowed his head over and over, apologizing profusely.
"I must've done something wrong! I'm sorry! I must've done something to upset Rudeus! But I have no idea what! At least tell me what I did wrong! How can I apologize if I don't know what I did? I'm really sorry!"
Huh?
This wasn't what I'd expected at all.
I was completely taken aback.
Could he not be an agent of the Man-God after all?
I couldn't be sure.
But watching someone who'd helped me before groveling like this right in front of me... it made me feel guilty.
"...What happened to my mother?"
"Huh?"
Gisu looked up and tilted his head.
His face was flushed from drinking, but his expression was one of blank confusion.
If this was an act, it was incredible.
"My mother. Zenith—my mother."
"...? No, I took her around to see the sights and then sent her right back."
"She never came home. That's why I'm here."
When I crossed my arms and said that, one of the boys snickered.
I glanced over and saw Aisha standing beside me, mirroring my pose and nodding.
This wasn't a joking matter, so it was probably just coincidence.
I glared at the boy, and he froze with a little yelp.
"Um... but, I mean... I definitely sent her back?"
"How far?"
"How far? I walked her to the entrance of the Adventurer District. That's where someone from your house came to pick her up, so I handed her off to them."
...Excuse me?
Someone from my house?
Cliff and I had been at the Church headquarters the whole time.
Aisha was out shopping, and Wendy was at home...
No, wait.
Not my house.
"So that would have been someone from the Ratrea household...?"
"Yep, yep! I even checked their crest! Definitely from the Ratrea household."
My pulse quickened.
Someone from the Ratrea household had taken Zenith and escorted her back.
Calm down. Sort this out.
First, Gisu had taken Zenith out.
Why?
"So, why did you take my mother out in the first place?"
"Why? Zenith and you hadn't seen each other in a while, so I just thought we could hang out and chat..."
An impulse, then.
Okay. The story was adding up...
No, wait. Something was off.
"How did you know where Cliff's house was?"
"First, I went to the Ratrea household to ask.
I mean, it's not exactly a place I want to visit, but I figured if I asked them to pass along the message, it'd be fine...
Then they told me you and Zenith were staying somewhere else and gave me that address instead. So I went all the way there."
"You, who were reluctant to even enter the Holy District?"
"I wasn't saying I absolutely wouldn't go in. I just said if I wandered around without a reason, who knows what might happen to me. It's not like I was dead set against it."
Gisu's story felt a bit vague.
He was being evasive.
Partly because he'd been drinking, probably, and partly because he was confused.
"..."
But I understood now.
I understood what had happened.
The chain of events went like this.
Yesterday, I'd flown into a rage at the Ratrea household and stormed out of the house.
But as we walked back on foot, someone had been tailing us.
And in my carelessness, I hadn't noticed, which meant they'd learned where we were staying.
That said, the Ratrea family and the Grimol family were political enemies.
Even if they showed up and demanded Zenith be handed over, it would be hard to imagine them getting a warm reception.
And launching a direct assault on the Grimol family would be politically difficult as well.
Even if the exclusionist faction was dominant, a single misstep could become grounds for their downfall.
So the Ratrea family had used Gisu.
A demon-race man who'd bumbled his way to their doorstep, completely clueless.
Normally, someone they'd kick right out.
But he was also a piece that the demon exclusionists would never think to use.
They'd exploited that, getting Gisu to lure Zenith outside.
The reason they hadn't grabbed Zenith immediately after Gisu brought her out was probably because they'd considered the possibility of guards.
But there were no guards.
I was out, and Aisha had left at an unfortunate time too.
In the end, the Ratrea household had gotten lucky and captured Zenith with remarkable smoothness.
After that, they could play dumb no matter what I said.
Gisu?
Never heard of him.
A filthy demon like that? Of course we wouldn't associate with him, or something to that effect.
As for Zenith, all they had to do was hide her somewhere.
Assign one caretaker, and keeping her confined would be easy.
"Hey, hey, Senior, what's wrong...?"
"...No. When you asked for our address, did the Ratrea people say anything to you?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, they said Zenith had just gotten back and must be missing the city, so if she was at home, I should take her out for a bit..."
I couldn't really blame Gisu.
He hadn't known anything.
I was the one who'd told the Ratrea household where we were staying and that we'd be there.
If he'd assumed I was home, then even if the Ratrea family hadn't treated him with open hostility, he wouldn't have questioned it.
When someone fills your head with all sorts of talk in that kind of state, becoming a puppet was only natural.
I was the careless one.
I really should have sent Zenith home today at the latest.
Keeping a weakness like that right by my side had been the mistake.
I should have taken her on a sightseeing trip after everything was settled, quietly and privately.
But there was no point in regretting it now.
The most important thing was getting Zenith back.
"Gisu... actually, here's what happened—"
I told Gisu everything and asked for his help.
In a situation like this, having his abilities would be useful.
Even if he'd been used, he bore a measure of responsibility for this.
Judging from his reactions, I didn't think he was the Man-God's agent.
"...You're kidding me."
When I finished explaining, Gisu had a bitter expression on his face.
"Yeah, I did think something was a little off. At the Ratrea house, they gave me the location without Senior having to mediate at all... I figured Senior had already worked something out with them, but the part about taking her outside was all part of the plan too, huh..."
A small information gap.
That had been the opening they'd needed to exploit.
But everyone made mistakes.
We'd get her back soon.
"Got it. If that's the case, I'm in."
"I'm counting on you."
With Gisu as an ally, we headed straight for the Ratrea household.
Even though I knew it was probably a waste of time.
---
By the time we arrived at the Ratrea household, the surrounding area had fallen completely silent.
Dinner was over, and the neighborhood was transitioning into bedtime.
I'd hurried as much as I could, but traveling with two people in tow meant I couldn't avoid taking some time.
I'd set aside Aisha muttering through half-sobbing tears, "Big Brother, you liar..."
"They're still awake."
The Ratrea household still had lights on.
But the gate was deserted.
There was no doorbell either.
If you wanted someone inside to come out, what were you supposed to do?
Just shout at the top of your lungs?
...How had they planned to receive guests?
No, at this hour, they'd probably turned away visitors from the start.
To hell with it. Here goes.
"This is Rudeus! Is anyone home?!"
I pounded on the gate and bellowed at the top of my lungs.
I couldn't care less about disturbing the neighbors.
It might not qualify as a righteous cause, but I had justification.
If the Ratrea household had kidnapped Zenith, the fault was theirs.
If they hadn't, then the Ratrea servant who'd shown up at Gisu's was an imposter, and Zenith had truly been abducted by someone else.
I'd intended to cut ties with this family, but if someone was impersonating them, that was a problem for them too.
"..."
But there was no answer.
I kept pounding on the gate, shouting ever louder.
The metal lattice gate, struck by the fist of my magical armor, was gradually warping.
"I'd like to discuss the matter of my mother!"
Still no answer.
Maybe I should just smash through it.
"If nobody's going to come out, I'm breaking this gate!"
After giving that declaration, I channeled mana into my right hand.
If they thought a gate like this could stop me, they were sorely mistaken.
"Hey, hey, Senior, wait! Breaking it is a bad idea!"
He stopped me.
My blood was running a little hot.
But I was anxious too.
The other day, Claire had said something about marrying Zenith off and having her bear children.
Find a suitor, hold a wedding, establish a household, have children...
If you thought about it that way, there was no reason to panic.
If I kept an eye on the Ratrea household's movements, I'd eventually find Zenith.
But there was one thing.
If you zeroed in on the "having children" part, something strange emerged.
You put a man and a woman together, toss them in bed, and in thirty minutes flat, it could be done if it was going to be done.
And the word "fait accompli" existed in this world for a reason.
When I found Zenith, something might have already been violated.
I wanted to believe that her own mother wouldn't go that far with her own daughter.
But when you were dealing with a crazy old woman willing to marry off her own incapacitated daughter, you couldn't predict her reasoning.
That was why I had to hurry.
But smashing through the door was rash.
Firing a rock cannonball would do the job in one shot, but the noise would attract people.
I wasn't well-versed in this country's laws, but destroying someone's gate probably wouldn't leave you scot-free.
People would gather, guards would arrive, and if I ended up as a criminal, it would cause trouble for the Pope and Cliff too.
I needed to think ahead.
"Right. I'll use Earth magic to pick the lock and sneak in—"
"And what exactly would you do once you 'sneak in'?"
The voice came from the other side of the gate.
When I looked, five men and women were standing on the other side of the lattice gate.
Three soldiers, one butler.
And one elderly woman dressed in fine clothes.
"What business brings you to our household at such a late hour?"
"..."
Claire Ratrea.
Had she come out because she heard my voice?
Or had she been prepared to receive me all along...?
"Claire... your methods are a bit underhanded, aren't they?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Using Gisu to kidnap my mother."
When I said that, Claire looked at Gisu and furrowed her brow.
"Kidnap? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
"I expected you to play dumb, of course..."
I shot Gisu a look.
He nodded and pointed at one of the three guards.
"That one. She was the one who came to pick Zenith up."
"..."
The guard who'd been pointed at made an innocent face and shrugged.
It was the classic "I have no idea what you mean" expression.
"It is against our doctrine to associate with demon-race individuals. The notion that we would employ such a filthy demon is absurd."
Claire gave Gisu a cold glance and spoke flatly.
"If Zenith has truly been abducted by someone, we will dispatch a search party.
Of course, it's entirely possible that the demon was lying,
so I would like to hear the details in full..."
"Ugh..."
At her words, Gisu groaned and took a step back.
Silencing him, huh?
If I thought about it that way, there was a real possibility Gisu could have been killed tonight.
And if that had happened, I might not have made it this far.
It was a good thing I'd moved quickly.
"So you're saying you have no idea where my mother might be?"
"I do not. Even if I did, you have no claim on our household's charity after severing ties and leaving the Ratrea household behind."
Why did she have to add that spiteful little jab every single time, this old woman...
Was this a strategy?
What did she gain by irritating me?
Could it be... that she was the Man-God's agent?
I couldn't read her intentions...
Or maybe she genuinely didn't know?
In that case, was Gisu lying?
But why would Gisu lie?
He was a liar, sure, but he wasn't the kind to tell lies that would hurt people.
"Claire..."
"What is it, Rudeus? If you don't believe me, you're welcome to search the mansion yourself."
Claire snorted and fixed me with a frigid stare.
Was she confident I wouldn't find anything?
Or had Zenith already been moved elsewhere?
"If there's nothing else, please leave. You are no longer associated with the Ratrea household, are you not?"
"..."
I must have been wearing a bitter expression.
The person in front of me was suspicious, yet I had no way to verify it.
We were supposed to be having a conversation, but words wouldn't come.
I was worried about Zenith.
But I couldn't bring myself to believe I could extract her location from this old woman in front of me.
The thought even flickered through my mind—why not just kidnap Claire and force her to reveal where Zenith was?
No, not just think it. Why not actually do it?
There was no evidence. Just Gisu's word.
But if the Ratrea household really had kidnapped her...
Wait, wait. Calm down.
First: dialogue.
Playing dumb had been expected from the very beginning.
"You're saying Mother has... some connection to the Ratrea household...?"
"That girl is my daughter. A mother has a duty to look after a child who has strayed from the right path."
"And that duty extends to forcing her into a marriage against her will?!"
"..."
"I'm Zenith's son too. My father told me, 'Protect your mother even if it means dying.' It's my duty. I'm responsible for her until I die. So please, give her back..."
"..."
Claire didn't answer.
She simply averted her gaze, as though she couldn't bear to look at me anymore.
Why that expression?
Did she, too, have her own reservations?
Some awareness that what she was doing was wrong?
Therese hadn't called her a bad person either.
There was just a little misalignment between us.
That was it.
Yes.
If I just showed more patience, talked properly, and drew out her real intentions...
"The guards have arrived."
No.
Claire hadn't averted her gaze.
She'd been looking down the street.
From that direction, a group of guards was running toward us with lanterns in hand.
"If you intend to continue this exchange any further, I will report you as a trespasser. What will you do?"
I glared at Claire.
Cold, stubborn, unwilling to listen to a single thing I said—I glared at this old woman.
In my mind, an image formed: taking this old woman hostage and demanding Zenith's return.
A gate like this was nothing to me.
I could smash through it, grab the old woman by the scruff, lift her off the ground, and scream at everyone around, "Bring Zenith here right now!"
It wouldn't take two seconds.
An instant.
But would that actually bring Zenith back?
Look at her cold face.
The other day, I'd gone on a rampage.
From what I'd heard later, I'd sent six or seven guards flying.
Right now, there were twice as many guards around her, plus the ones still running toward us.
And yet she'd come out here, separated from me by nothing more than a single gate, and was standing tall—
"...I could kidnap you right now and force you to tell me where Zenith is."
"Go ahead and try. If you think that will bring Zenith back."
Saying something like that with such defiant composure.
Where did that courage come from?
She knew what I was capable of. She knew I'd go on a rampage if pushed far enough.
Did she not care what happened to her?
Why would she do something like this?
Damn it. I couldn't read her intentions.
Did she want to provoke me into a rampage...?
In front of the guards' eyes?
"Claire, you haven't been receiving dream oracles or anything like that, have you?"
"...Excuse me? What's this about all of a sudden? Oracles?"
For just an instant, Claire's cold composure cracked.
A blank, confused expression. One that genuinely had no idea what I was talking about.
Just like Gisu's face moments ago.
This was different.
She wasn't the Man-God's agent.
But that expression vanished just as quickly.
"...Hmph."
She turned her face away from me and looked toward the approaching guards.
"This is the Cathedral Knights, Bow Group, on city patrol! We heard a loud commotion—is something the matter?"
"These people—"
"Understood. We'll be leaving for tonight."
I forced out those words as though wringing out the last of my reason.
---
On the way back.
I walked through the Residential District with my spirits in the gutter.
My thoughts were going in circles.
I knew I wasn't being calm.
An uncontrollable rage and frustration churned inside me.
"..."
In the end, I still had no idea where Zenith was.
But from that exchange.
From those silent looks and deflected answers.
I was certain.
Claire had used Gisu to kidnap Zenith.
That was without a doubt.
I'd made my share of mistakes... but she hadn't even offered a seat at the negotiating table. She'd kidnapped Zenith unilaterally, played dumb, and shut me out.
Damn it...
"Hey... sorry about this. I'm the one who messed up."
"No, Gisu. This isn't your fault. You came to the Holy District—which you didn't want to enter—because you were thinking about my mother."
"Y-Yeah..."
It wasn't Gisu's fault.
He'd just been used.
The timing had been too perfect, but that was how it went.
"Gisu... can you find my mother?"
"It's not impossible, but it won't be easy."
"I figured..."
Gisu was a demon.
Even just walking through the Residential District like this, the soldiers we passed gave us suspicious looks.
Sneaking around the Residential District and Holy District under those conditions would be tough.
I didn't have any direct leads for finding Zenith.
"..."
But even without direct methods, there were plenty of indirect things I could do.
If they were going to play dirty, using underhanded tactics without regard for the means...
Then I had my own ideas.
From today onward, Rudeus Greyrat was the enemy of the demon exclusionist faction.
Claire, you brought this on yourself.
Just you wait...
"Aisha, Gisu... I need you to help me with something dangerous."
"Of course I'll help, but... Big Brother, what are you going to do?"
Aisha asked, looking worried.
I looked down at her and said:
"I'm going to kidnap the Divine Child."
Gisu jumped to his feet.
"Whaaaat!? What's with the insane suggestion out of nowhere!?"
He rushed over and grabbed me by the shoulders.
"That's insane!"
"The Ratrea household has deep ties to the Temple Knights. The Temple Knights are part of the Cardinal faction. The Cardinal faction has been expanding its power by backing the Divine Child, right? Then a hostage exchange would be most effective with the Divine Child. They might be willing to discard anyone else, but with the Divine Child, Mother is guaranteed to come back..."
Besides, I couldn't think of anyone else who'd be usable as a bargaining chip.
If they'd resorted to kidnapping, I wanted to return the favor in kind.
"Sure it'd be effective, but think about the consequences! Even if Zenith comes back safely, you'd make an enemy of the entire Millis Holy Kingdom!"
I didn't care about the Millis Holy Kingdom.
I'd crush them with Orsted's force and Ariel's political power.
I'd give up my activities in this country.
Zenith mattered more to me.
Fighting the Man-God was important, but I had no intention of sacrificing the person I most wanted to protect.
"Senior might be able to get away with it, but I'm a demon! They already know I'm involved after what happened back there—I'd definitely be killed!"
Gisu's anguished voice.
The word "killed" cooled my head just slightly. I became rational again.
The Ratrea household, and by extension the Temple Knights—if I made enemies of them, I'd be fine, perhaps, but those around me would be put in danger.
There was an entire legion of people like those I'd met that afternoon.
Who knew what they'd do.
The Pope might not be a problem, but Cliff would be targeted for certain.
Come to think of it, in the future diary, the ones who killed Aisha and Zanoba had been Millis knights.
That meant making an enemy of Millis meant even returning to Sharia wouldn't be safe.
On top of that, it would undoubtedly cause major problems for future developments.
Millis believers were everywhere across the Central Continent.
Every time the mercenary guild tried to operate, they'd face interference.
The Millis faith, which should have been an ally from the start.
If we remained at odds with them and then Laplace was revived...
The one who'd benefit most would be the Man-God...
No, even the Man-God wouldn't have anticipated me going so far as to kidnap the Divine Child.
This was just paranoia.
Either way, kidnapping the Divine Child was a bad move.
No... wait.
The Pope had also been hinting that he wanted something done about the Divine Child.
If I played my cards right, I might be able to crush the Ratrea family and the Cardinal faction while retrieving Zenith.
Allying with the Pope's side wasn't such a bad deal.
When it came down to it, if I wanted to sell the Ligeia dolls, this was a path I couldn't avoid.
Siding with them at this point might not be what Cliff truly wanted, but he should understand.
If I had any misgivings, it would be about Therese.
Therese, the Divine Child's bodyguard captain.
Twice now—ten years ago and yesterday—she'd saved me. Repaying that kindness with hostility...
...Damn.
"Aisha, what do you think?"
I should get Aisha's opinion too.
She'd been looking serious and troubled as well, but she looked up at my words.
"I think kidnapping the Divine Child goes too far."
"Yeah."
"It's not like the cool, composed Big Brother I know... I think."
Your Big Brother wasn't all that cool and composed to begin with.
But if she was saying that, it meant I wasn't being rational right now.
When you weren't rational, you were prone to mistakes in judgment.
She was right...
Okay, calm down. At least think with a clear head.
First, assuming the Man-God was behind this was overthinking it.
Whenever he was involved, my paranoia spiraled out of control, but this was fundamentally a problem between me and the Ratrea household.
For now, that was all it was.
Claire's reaction made it unlikely, but there was still a small possibility that Claire was trying to get me to punch her, thereby turning me against the Cardinal faction...
But regardless, I was on the Pope's side.
If she wanted to pull something like that, she'd get more results by having someone from the Pope's camp do it.
Having Claire do it would be counterproductive.
As things stood, even if I suspected the Man-God's involvement, the best I could do was kill everyone I deemed suspicious—and that was about it.
Everyone around me right now was someone I couldn't kill.
And I'd already learned from the Siuron incident that suspicious people might not appear right in front of me.
Overthinking never led anywhere good either.
So for now, I'd proceed on the assumption that the Man-God wasn't involved.
"Got it. Kidnapping the Divine Child is going too far. I'll drop it."
Besides, I didn't need to resort to drastic measures immediately.
I'd already asked the Pope for his backing.
Therese, too, had been friendly today, from the feel of things.
If I talked to them both in detail, they might serve as a bridge between us.
There was still plenty I could do before resorting to a desperate gamble.
That was the whole reason I'd gone to the Church headquarters today.
Even if that stubborn old woman had some hidden agenda, in the middle of all this chaos, she wouldn't hastily marry off her daughter to some strange man she'd just met to create a fait accompli.
That would be far too careless, especially after going to all the trouble of kidnapping her that way.
If she had, I would have rased the Ratrea household to the ground without hesitation—no, calm down. Force was the last resort.
"I've got plenty of people I can consult. Let me start by reaching out from multiple angles. The Ratrea household is going to make moves of their own soon, anyway."
When I said that, the two of them let out a sigh of relief.
They seemed to have judged my answer as rational.
"But just in case, Gisu, could you look into finding my mother's location? I know it'll be tough, but... use people if you need to. I have money."
"Got it."
"What about me? What should I do?"
When I'd turned to Gisu, Aisha clenched her fists tight and asked.
Maybe she felt responsible too.
"...Then Aisha, I'd like you to find a building we can use as a mercenary guild branch office."
"Huh!? Shouldn't I be looking for Mother Zenith?"
"I want to set up a communication stone tablet and an emergency teleportation magic circle. I also want to hear Lord Orsted's opinion on the Man-God's possible involvement."
"Ah, right... yeah, that makes sense. And after that?"
"Help Gisu look for Mother."
"Got it!"
Aisha nodded firmly.
With just Gisu alone, the search would be tough, but with Aisha teamed up with him, they'd be unstoppable.
I felt an almost unfair sense of confidence that they'd find things no one else could.
"...But if Mother really is in serious danger, I'm going to act without worrying about the consequences. So both of you, be ready to run if the time comes."
"Yeah."
"I know."
The two of them nodded firmly.
Tomorrow, I'd head to the Church headquarters once more.