I asked Fidel to handle the negotiations at the merchants' conference, and Aria and I made our way through Baim.
Aria looked like she wanted to say something, but for now, I had her hold back.
I pressed my right hand to my ear and activated my Skills to scan the surroundings.
My Skills—Dimension and Spec—collected information on the people moving about the massive city of Baim.
To help process the sheer volume of data, I relied on Monica, who was back at the inn.
Since Monica ran on my magic energy as her power source, we were fundamentally connected by a line.
It was as good as constantly using a Connection.
Walking briskly alongside Aria, I murmured.
"Monica, how's it looking?"
A reply came after a moment. It meant Monica had pinpointed the person I'd designated.
"Based on timing, they should be leaving the Guild right about now, heading home. The target is moving from the Eastern Branch. Eight hostiles are making suspicious moves in the vicinity. From their movements—consistent with the intel—I'd classify them as Sweepers."
Eight individuals whose movements stood apart from everyone else.
While skillfully blending in with the crowd, they appeared to be gunning for Marianne's life.
Aria spoke from beside me.
"Marianne's safe, right? I mean, I know we're using her, but it'd leave a bad taste if she got killed. That woman—"
I didn't need to be told. Even though she was a staff member, she was the kind of person who pushed herself to help low-ranking adventurers however she could.
I'd heard that the person she once loved had been an adventurer who lost his life. Whether that was the root of some trauma or not, when Erhard and the others were taken hostage, she'd agreed to cooperate with us.
"I know. I already had Monica reach out to the rest of our allies. They'll be here as backup soon. All we need to do is buy time."
Aria and I ducked into a shortcut toward Marianne's location—a back alley. Unlike the main streets, there were very few people around.
"Aria."
"What? Wait!!"
I backed Aria into a wall and kissed her. I placed my hands against the wall to block her escape and forced my tongue past her lips.
Aria was surprisingly innocent, and explaining the situation would take too long. With no time for that, I kissed her by force, then pulled my mouth away.
My Skill — Connection — linked its line to Aria.
Aria wiped at her lips.
"...Next time, at least warn me first."
"There's no time. I'm going to use a Skill, so don't look too deep. Even Novem and Miranda find it rough. Just keep yourself open to receiving the bare minimum of information. Let's go."
The Jewel began to glow faintly.
When the Fourth Generation's Skill — Speed — kicked in, we took off through the back alleys. I could feel a greater boost to our movement speed than before. Was it because I'd grown stronger, or because I'd gotten better at using the Skill?
I didn't have time to dwell on that as I headed straight for Marianne's location.
On the map forming in my head, I spotted a change in Marianne's movements.
Aria seemed to notice it too.
"Why would she head to a deserted area on her own? That's a bit strange."
I said to Aria.
"She probably scouted the route in advance. Blocking off a road is easy enough, right? Put up some warning signs about danger, and you can guide people wherever you want."
Running alongside Aria, I rushed toward Marianne's location. Just then, an adventurer companion hauling a massive black greatsword emerged from a shop in the back alley, along with someone else.
— Miranda was running across the rooftops of Baim.
Eva was following close behind, but it was Monica leading the charge up front.
Baim was bathed in the last light of dusk, and the sky was about to plunge into darkness.
It was Lyle who had alerted them to Marianne's crisis, and to rescue her, they had left Clara and Shannon at the inn with the Valkyries standing guard before rushing out.
Eva ran across the rooftops.
"This is definitely going to earn us complaints later!"
Some of the roofs were in terrible condition, and as the three of them ran, parts would sometimes crumble beneath their feet. Miranda called out to Eva while leaping between buildings.
"It doesn't matter anymore. Besides, they'd fall apart eventually anyway."
Eva also leaped between buildings, chasing after Monica.
Monica, who was leading the charge, suddenly changed direction.
"The target isn't heading toward the expected point. I'll cut ahead from here. Please follow me."
Despite wearing a frilly maid outfit that seemed like it would make movement difficult, Monica's movements were incredibly swift. Even Miranda and Eva, who had each experienced growth several times, could barely keep up with her.
And it didn't seem like she was even going all out.
She was probably adjusting her speed to lead Miranda and the others to the scene.
"Did she change course? Or was she forced to?"
"That may well be the case. Baim is practically their Sweepers' playground."
Miranda had assumed it was just a troublesome presence making a move.
Adventurer-killer Sweepers, huh. They definitely had Skills, that was certain. Seriously, what were they thinking, killing fellow staff members?
She had heard the rumor that their role was to eliminate adventurers who got out of hand, and that they usually operated from within the Guild.
She had thought it might be a rumor designed to exploit the psychological hesitation people would feel upon realizing a familiar face was one of the Sweepers, making them unable to come down hard on fellow staff. But now that they had actually made a move, Miranda figured this was a chance to confirm the truth.
Eva looked worried.
"Will we make it in time? Even if we do, there's only five of us counting Lyle. Do you think they'll back down?"
The three of them jumped up onto a taller building, then leaped from there toward a lower one.
Monica spoke.
"If things stay the way they are, the Chickens will reach the scene first. If they plan to run, that's when they'll bolt. Not that I think they'll lose in a fight, though."
Monica answered Eva's question in her usual detached manner — polite to everyone except Lyle.
——Marianne had taken a slightly longer route than usual, because the signboard she always passed on her way back had been propped up across the road, blocking it off.
The sign even had a handy map drawn on it, politely directing travelers to use this other path instead. Having been born and raised in Baim, she found it odd that she'd never used this route before.
After finishing her work at the Guild, she changed out of her uniform in the changing room like always and stepped out through the back entrance in her civilian clothes.
She sometimes headed home with others, but today the rest of the group had been called aside by their supervisor, so Marianne ended up leaving first.
Shouldering her bag and walking down the dim street, she tilted her head.
"Did I take a wrong turn? But there weren't any forks before this point, were there?"
She was sure she'd followed the route drawn on the map, yet she'd arrived at a dead end. It was one of those narrow alleyways formed by the buildings lining up on either side.
The dead-end spot was strangely spacious.
When she turned around to retrace her steps, a woman in black garb wearing a white mask stood there.
Marianne stepped back in surprise, then looked upward. The design was slightly different, but a group dressed in the same black outfit with white masks was peering down at her from the rooftops.
Marianne was a Guild employee.
She'd heard all sorts of rumors, and among them were whispers about the Sweepers. To keep adventurers in line, the Guild's method was to spread rumors that mixed lies with bits of truth.
Seeing that uniform, Marianne understood immediately that they were Sweepers. She let her bag drop and lowered her gaze.
"...It's not as if I have nothing to feel guilty about."
She'd been used as leverage through Erhard — Marianne had handed over information about adventurers planning to ambush Lyle and his party. That was a clear act of betrayal against the Guild. She'd known exactly what she was doing.
It wasn't as if she hadn't harbored the naive hope that she might not get caught. But it seemed the other side had been more competent than she'd expected.
Marianne looked at the Sweeper standing before her. Through the slits in the white mask, crimson eyes were staring back at her. She knew at once who it was.
The build of the body, and those crimson eyes behind the aura.
"...So it was you. I had a feeling. There was always more to it than just being a favorite of the boss — that alone never fully explained things."
The Sweeper in the white mask picked up a knife and spoke. The voice — it was Tahnia's, Marianne realized. The mask made it sound different from usual, but she knew it was Tahnia nonetheless.
"I'm sorry, Marianne. I never disliked you. But this betrayal of the Guild... I can't overlook it this time."
The other Sweepers surrounding her were probably from another branch. They stood watch, making sure Tahnia would finish the job.
"...That sign too — was that you?"
The idea that the Sweepers had prepared the sign to lure her here struck Marianne as almost funny. Tahnia nodded as she watched the faint smile on Marianne's face.
"You'll be found here having been assaulted. We've prepared the culprit too. Some rough adventurer who's always been violent — he'll take the blame."
Marianne hugged herself, gripping her own arms as she struggled to keep her trembling legs standing.
"...Fine. Just make it quick. Finish it before I do something pathetic out of fear."
Escaping from the Sweepers was impossible for Marianne. She closed her eyes, waiting for the moment Tahnia's blade would kill her.
But then—
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
A violent shout. Marianne opened her eyes to see Erhard lunging at the Sweeper before her. Behind him were his companions, weapons drawn, pushing past Erhard and Tahnia to surround Marianne with their blades raised. Facing their backs — these were the adventurers she had once looked after — Marianne cried out.
"What are you doing?! Run! These people are—"
And then, Erhard — who had been kicked away — caught Tahnia's strike with his greatsword and blasted her back with brute force.
Tahnia nimbly spun through the air and planted her feet against the wall. Then, as if the wall were the ground, she stood upright. The sight — as if gravity itself didn't apply to her — left even Erhard momentarily bewildered. But he spoke to Marianne.
"I know. Sweepers, right? So what? We still owe you one."
Marianne heard those words and imagined that Lyle must have told him everything.
"...You heard? But even so, you're all wrong. Ordinary adventurers have no chance against the Guild, no matter how they fight."
And it was the very moment Tahnia was about to make her move.
A red-haired woman burst in at incredible speed, spear at the ready, and charged toward the wall behind Marianne and the others—where no one stood.
It was Aria. She had lunged forward and driven her spear into the wall where nobody was. And then, from that spot where nothing had been, a man clad in black materialized, scattering blood in all directions.
He held a knife in his hand—he had been about to kill Marianne and the others.
A figure was slowly walking into the enclosed space between the buildings. This one had blue hair—the talk of Baim. It was Lyle.
We'd come to rescue Marianne, but it seemed we'd made it in time.
The invisible enemy whose presence had been confirmed using the Second Generation's Skills was now pinned to the wall by Aria's spear. Aria, having drawn the sword at her hip, stood warily watching the Sweeper embedded in the wall.
I had a pretty good idea who the Sweepers were.
"Miss Tahnia, that's quite the dangerous outfit you're wearing. But a Skill that lets you cling to walls? That seems surprisingly useful."
Without answering, Tahnia crouched against the wall and lunged at me with a slash. But then a Sweeper fell from above.
While those around us were stunned, Aria and I didn't flinch.
"Let's stay on guard—they might not come down for a while."
A battle must have broken out up above, because we could hear the sounds of a struggle—crashing and clanging as the building's ceiling was torn apart.
The Sweeper who'd fallen had an arrow embedded in its head. Eva had taken it out. Every so often, the building shook violently as sand, dust, and debris rained down.
That was because Monica was swinging her hammer around up there.
Seeing how things had turned out, Tahnia began to retreat. She ran along the wall and fled. In the midst of all that, I issued a command to Monica.
"Monica, don't let the Sweeper who just escaped get away. She's from the Eastern Branch. That'll seal the deal."
Then, while continuing to fight, Monica replied.
"Understood. By the way, aren't you going to ask me if I'm okay after I got stabbed with a poisoned knife?"
"...You. Since when do you care about stuff like poison?"
"Heh, even the Chicken's starting to catch on. Well, I'm happy either way—whether you worry about me or call me out on it."
I realized the most effective counter to a smug Monica was to ignore her entirely. Up above, Miranda had caught two of them in sticky threads and was strangling them with wire.
Everyone seemed to have troublesome Skills, but while Monica was absorbing the enemy's attacks, Miranda and Eva were apparently whittling down their numbers.
Aria let out a sigh.
"Laiel, from where I'm standing, it looks like you're talking to yourself."
I had been distracted by what was happening above, and when I finally took in the scene around me, I managed a wry smile. From anyone else's perspective, I really did look like I was muttering to myself.
No wonder Erhard and the others were wearing such awkward expressions.
Marianne sank down where she stood.
"...This is terrible. You dragged them into this."
Marianne shot me a glare. I understood that too. I had wanted to protect Erhard and the rest, but in the end I had dragged them into a situation they couldn't turn back from.
Then Erhard sheathed his great black sword and spoke to Marianne.
"That's not what happened. I was the one who said it. That I wanted to help. I... no, we never... we never thanked you, Marianne. We had no idea you were doing something this dangerous just to help us. So—"
As he spoke and those around him began thanking Marianne as well, she shook her head.
"You don't need to thank me. I was just doing it for my own satisfaction. That's why... you all could have just stayed the way you were."
Marianne sat with her knees drawn up to her chest. I looked up at the sky. The sounds had faded—it seemed the battle was over.
And then, in that place, Erhard spoke.
"Marianne, I... I had feelings for you. You were so kind to a bunch of idiots like us, teaching us everything so patiently. You encouraged us. That's why I—"
Marianne stood up and turned a smile toward Erhard. But she looked a little sad, and she shook her head.
"Thank you. I'm glad you've all become fine people. But... I've already made up my mind. I'm not going to fall for an adventurer again. So go find someone new."
Perhaps the conclusion Marianne had reached—having once fallen for an adventurer and then lost them—was simply that she would never fall for one again.
While those around them were tearing up, Erhard was smiling through his tears.
"...I see. Well, can't be helped. Can't be helped, right!"
Mireia, watching the scene from within the Jewel, looked delighted.
"My, quite the coming-of-age moment. A pure relationship unlike anything in Lyle, isn't it?"
While thinking that I had ended up like this mainly because of the Successive Heads within the Jewel—and above all, because of you—I rolled the Jewel between my fingertips.
Aria came to my side and nodded.
"Let's go recover the Sweeper masks. We'll use them to get the Guild to summon us."
Aria looked at me, exasperated.
"You really are... I almost feel sorry for the Guild for making an enemy of you."
While Erhard and the others were living out their youthful days, we set about acquiring the cards we needed to tackle our messy negotiations with the Guild.