The Imperial Capital Zebuldia was surrounded by thick outer walls as a measure against the monsters that inhabited the surrounding area.
Viewed from above, the city appeared roughly rectangular, centered on the "castle" where the emperor resided. By the nature of its founding, the closer you got to the center, the older the history and the more prosperous the area.
The outer walls were still being expanded in proportion to the city's growth. The areas near the four gates—essential for getting outside—were an exception, but the land close to the walls was the most lawless territory in the capital.
The worst of it was the southwestern part of the capital, where the river ran close by and wall expansion had been neglected for ages.
The streets, as if distilling the capital's darkness, were so narrow they became cramped with just a few people walking abreast, and dim even during the day. Buildings crammed in under the oppressive weight of the thick stone walls were bizarre and complex, as if stitched together with patches—a world apart from the spacious, vibrant central district.
"The Zebuldia Southwestern Decadent District."
A place even ordinary people wouldn't approach in broad daylight. Even the knight order tasked with maintaining order wouldn't set foot here unless something major had happened.
And those who had settled here were likewise marked—many bearing scars on their shins or steeped in poverty.
From former hunters expelled from the Association for crimes committed, to shadowy merchants dealing in contraband that was illegal simply to possess, to secondhand shops peddling questionable goods at prices unthinkable for their true value, to members of criminal organizations, to famous hunters hiding their identities for one reason or another.
Every shade of good and evil, every useful and useless thing mingled together—a crucible of chaos.
To sift out the few valuable things from this required strength, fame, money, and connections. None of which had anything to do with me.
And yet, having come to Zebuldia, here I was now walking slowly through a region I'd almost never entered, glancing around at my surroundings.
I could feel eyes on me. The gazes of children not yet old enough to come of age, peering from between houses. Suspicious stares from upper-story windows of buildings that looked ready to collapse at any moment. Not exactly pleasant, but I had no intention of picking a fight.
Besides, most of those eyes were directed not at me, a plain-faced nobody, but at the beautiful woman walking beside me—Tino.
Tino was dressed lighter than when heading out on an expedition, wearing a skirt instead of her usual half-pants.
But her cautious footwork, her attentiveness, the short sword at her hip, and the "Footprint" tag pinned to her collar clearly indicated her affiliation.
It had been several days since the commotion. Having worked up my nerve, I'd finally left the Clan House for the first time in ages to get the ice cream Eva had told me about.
Even within the capital, the risk of getting caught up in trouble wasn't zero. Going out while my Treasure Weapon wasn't fully charged wasn't advisable, but my craving for ice cream had finally won out over my fear.
That said, I was still within the city walls, and no major incident was underway. With Tino along, I'd be safe enough.
When I'd invited her, she'd come along eagerly without a second thought—a girl whose future I was a little worried about. Now she was scanning our surroundings, tilting her head in puzzlement.
"Mastaa, isn't this the ice cream place?"
"It is. Apparently there's a unique shop around here."
"This is... the Decadent District, though."
"First time?"
"I come here all the time with Onee-sama."
What on earth did they come here for...?
A medium-build man walking unsteadily ahead of us lurched sideways as we passed, slamming into my shoulder. He had gaunt cheeks and dull, listless eyes. He glanced at me once, then tried to walk on—only for Tino to sweep his legs out from under him without any warning.
She caught his arm and, with a swift motion, drove him face-first into the hard pavement. The man groaned in pain.
Tino spoke to me as I stood there, still processing what had just happened.
Her cold gaze was fixed on the man's palm—specifically, on a familiar-looking wallet clutched in his hand.
"Mastaa, he's a pickpocket."
"...That was some impressive work."
I hadn't noticed a thing. I'd nearly been reduced to penniless.
Tino picked up the wallet and looked up at me with furrowed brows.
"This was one of the more obvious ones. ...Could this have been... training?"
"Have I ever had you do training even once before?"
"...Mastaa, do you enjoy bullying me that much?"
Tino's eyes glistening with tears, she ground her heel into the pickpocket's solar plexus.
What she was saying and what she were doing didn't quite match up...
Still, I was glad I'd brought Tino along... and equally glad I hadn't brought Rize.
"This was just a thank-you. It's been a while, and you've been working really hard, Tino."
"Mastaa..."
Tino let out a sweet, deeply moved voice. Best not to mention that I just wanted ice cream.
I checked the map Eva had given me and proceeded down a narrow alley.
The closer to the walls, the worse the lawlessness became. A sour, stagnant smell. Dim, grimy buildings covered in garish graffiti. More men were directing their gazes at Tino's lovely face, yet oddly, none of them tried to approach her.
She'd said she came here all the time—maybe they recognized her and knew better.
Tino, for her part, didn't seem bothered by the attention. She didn't take my hand, but her expression and demeanor were relaxed.
"By the way, Mastaa. About the Tower of Akasha—I heard you let them get away...?"
"???"
"That mage was quite powerful, wasn't he...? He turned out to be a member of Akasha. If Mastaa hadn't taken him down, who knows what would have happened to me..."
"???"
"Compared to Mastaa, he was nothing but dust, of course."
"...Right, right, exactly."
Tino's sparkling, adoring eyes made my heart ache. This was the first I'd heard of any of this. I felt like I was going to throw up.
Rize had been bragging confidently that she'd smoothed things over, so I'd let my guard down. I'd need to have a detailed conversation with her later. Not that I expected that conversation to fix anything, but at the very least I wanted to clear up this misunderstanding. Otherwise, I really would become the kind of scumbag who talked big about handling things himself and then did absolutely nothing.
"Is there anything else you've heard about?"
"Um...? Well... like investigating whether there are other research facilities near other Treasure Halls... oh, and whether they might have a major base in the capital—apparently that's still unconfirmed, though..."
...This was huge.
I frowned at how unexpectedly far-reaching this whole thing seemed to be.
What scared me most was the fact that absolutely no information had reached me at all. Sure, even if I heard about it, there wasn't much I could do personally, but I was somewhat involved. And technically, I was the Master. No need to leave me completely out of the loop.
"Did we maybe let those Rabi-ken people get away?"
Was it not Rabi-ken to begin with? ...Were those guys really an Arcane Society doing rabbit research?
They were obviously a bunch of weirdos no matter how you looked at it. What was I supposed to have done? Forget it—just rename yourselves Rabi-ken already.
As I indulged in belated regrets, Tino's eyes went wide and she shook her head vigorously.
"N-no! Mastaa has Mastaa's own reasons, I'm sure..."
"Huh...? No, the Tower of Akasha and all that was the first I'd heard of it..."
"...That's a classic Mastaa joke. Every Hunter in the capital knows about them. They're ranked high on the dangerous organizations list the Association publishes."
Every Hunter in the capital knows about them? So by extension—does that mean I'm not a Hunter?
Had I retired without even realizing I'd retired? Completely?
I let out a deep sigh and decided to toss everything out of my head for now.
"Never even crossed my mind. Well, let's think about it after we get our ice cream."
"Yes! Mastaa!"
Tino—the only source of comfort I had—cheerfully replied with a perfectly carefree expression.
The ice cream shop Eva had tracked down through her unique connections was a hidden gem that even I, who never skipped the sweets section, hadn't known about.
Zebuldia was massive, and I never visited the Decadent District, so there was no helping it—but it was a mark against my credentials as a connoisseur of sweets. Truly vexing.
It was apparently a famous shop even within the Decadent District.
It provided delicious ice cream at rock-bottom prices with no thought for profit, serving the district's children who practically starved themselves to get by each day. There was always a line out front—a shop brimming with goodwill that seemed impossible for the Decadent District to contain.
How they managed to stay in business, whether the ice cream served at such a loss was actually better than what I usually enjoyed—there were several points I was curious about, but I wanted to offer my unreserved praise for their spirit.
I had always believed the greatest cause of conflict between people was a shortage of sweets. The reason Rize was so quick to anger was definitely because she hated sweets. This ice shop's practices could be called a first step toward world peace without exaggeration.
The five hundred thousand Gill in my wallet was nearly my entire net worth. I'd brought it to make a donation to this shop.
Truth be told, I was also planning to open a confectionery once I retired from being a Hunter. I absolutely wanted to hear how they did it.
After more than ten minutes of walking with growing excitement, I arrived at a small shop.
Compared to the surrounding buildings, it was noticeably neat and clean, with no graffiti. Several small children lurked nearby, gazing up at the storefront.
I'd heard there was always a line, but today no one was queuing.
Tino's eyes widened and her lips parted slightly.
"?? Are they closed? I can sense someone inside, though..."
"That's strange... I heard they were open year-round..."
The small window—probably for handing over orders—was hidden behind a gray curtain, its interior invisible.
A small "CLOSED" sign hung beneath it. The sun was still fairly high, so either they'd sold out for the day or they'd hit some unexpected holiday.
My luck had been terrible lately... Was this karma?
There were other places to get ice cream, but... oh well.
They weren't out of business or anything. I'd just come back another time.
"I'll just make the donation and head to another shop..."
"Huh? You're going to make a donation?"
"I am."
Even if I couldn't get ice cream, I respected their spirit. If they were out, I'd try again next time. But there was someone inside, so there shouldn't be any problem.
In front of the fidgeting Tino, I knocked lightly on the small window several times. No response, so I knocked several more times.
The curtain was yanked open with force, and a loud tongue-click echoed out.
The face that appeared belonged to a bearded man. Unremarkable features, but his gaze was far too sharp for an ice cream shop clerk.
"Shaddup! Can't you see we're busy here, you damn brats—A thousand... ten thousand changes?"
"Um...? Who might you be...?"
Was my name too famous? That was odd... I usually did a pretty good job of hiding my face.
But the face was unfamiliar. As I stared, the man's expression drained of color.
"Why are you here—g-get out!"
"Hey, wait—"
The curtain slammed shut, and sounds of frantic scrambling came from inside. Something crashed over, followed by a small shriek.
It's not like I was going to eat him alive or anything... ...Was my reputation really that bad?
Tino blinked at his reaction and tilted her head.
"...Do you know him?"
"Hmm... I feel like I've seen him recently, but I'm not sure..."
He wasn't a Rabi-ken member. Probably not a Clan member either. Going pale just from seeing my face was a bit much.
I furrowed my brows for a moment, then it clicked.
"Ah... He's that guy Rize roughed up the other day."
"...Huh?"
The person who'd been dragged down and nearly killed for the crime of witnessing her rampage. Well, can't really blame him for being scared.
I'd been meaning to apologize next time I saw him. To think he was the ice cream shop owner... What a strange twist of fate.
The money I'd brought for the donation might end up serving as compensation instead. Ah, well, that worked too.
I knocked repeatedly and called out.
"I'm really sorry about what happened the other day. Please open up so I can apologize! Oh, and I'll bring Rize to apologize properly next time. Please open the door!"
I knocked again and again. I waited outside the shop for about an hour, but received no further response, and the curtain never opened. Why not...?