Legend

Red cloth. That's the common name of those who were causing all sorts of disturbances in the Guild before Ray went to Anesis.

It's not because it's an official name, let alone because they named it that way, but because it was wrapped in a red cloth somewhere in their body, as if to emphasize their existence, that's how they started to say it.

If you try to lay how much you know about the Three Kingdoms, is that the red version of the Yellow Scarf Party? I didn't think so, but given what I'm doing, that should be called a Ning Loo color gang.

Most of what Ray knew about color gangs was the knowledge he gained from dramas and comics.

A red cloth that was causing everything from fine disturbances to great disturbances.

Ray had completely forgotten the existence of the red cloth because what happened at Anesis was intense in many ways.

We haven't heard anything about it from anyone else, including Lenora, Kenny and Johanna, whom we met in Vihera and Büne, or in the guild.

... Though it may be natural not to have to tell Ray about one of the red cloths, given the current guilds called Cobolt, which raids the guilds day and night after night.

"Red cloth?... Oh yeah, a little after Ray went to Anesis, you stopped listening at all. Do you know anything about that at the guild?

Alliance officials, who were turned to Vihella's gaze, immediately shook their heads sideways.

"It's a big thing about Cobolt that it wasn't the other way around. However, if the red cloth is moving flashly, you naturally hear stories around it, but the lack of it means you stopped the activity?... but I don't know where he went after stopping his activities."

Some of the red cloths hid their faces, but mostly they kept their faces in place.

More than that, naturally, everyone remembers that face.

… although it may be difficult to affirm that the person is one of the red cloths, as there are many enough people even in the winter guilds.

And that's what I think...... and Ray comes up with it.

"Is it possible that the red cloth also stopped the activity because it snowed and got cold?

"Because it's cold... well, I guess it's not unlikely either. And if you run in the snow, you could get hurt."

The red cloth activity went down because it was cold.

If that's all you ask, it would be natural to have the feeling that, uh...

But it's basically a crime for a red cloth to cause.

For example, hiccups, extortion, and so on.

More than that, we naturally need to escape the guards.

Gilm's guards sometimes deal with armed adventurers, so it's not strange to be stronger than adventurers around them in some cases.

And the red cloth is basically not that handsome...... the situation of not having a firm foot under the snow is tantamount to fatal injury than if the guards would have caught up to it.

"I see.... but that would likely activate redcloth activity again in the spring. Besides... Could it really be, but is it too much of a thought for me to think that one of the cobolts happening in the Guild is the work of the red cloth?

To Ray's words like that, Vihera and the guild clerk are surprised...... eventually, they both shake their heads sideways.

"No, that's not it. As I'm sure Ray knows, the redcloth guys are good to have become adventurers, but they're the ones who don't do it soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Do you think those people can imitate a low-ranking monster's cobolt by manipulating it?

"I agree with that. If it's possible, it's more of a magic item than you can expect such magic or abilities... do you think you can get some magic items that the world doesn't know about?

If the two of you keep wasting your time, Ray won't be able to say his opinion is right either.

In the first place, I didn't have to stick to that opinion because there was some certainty and I didn't say that the red cloth was causing one of the Kobolt cases.

Plus, in fact, it's a big deal that what Vihella said was something that Ray was also comfortable with.

"When that happens, I figured someone else would be the one about Cobolt..."

"Hey! The man there! Give me what you put in your nose!

Isn't it someone else's fault?

A loud voice echoes around me so as to block Ray from saying that.

If you raise your voice like that all of a sudden, naturally gather the gaze of those around you.

That's how I was ahead of the gathering of gazes, one of the guild clerks who was talking to Ray.

The guild clerk approached one young man with a tough gaze… as rough as a foothold could be in his twenties.

The man tries to say something to the guild staff approaching him... but he decides that whatever he says is useless, he escapes at once.

There is no snow left on the surrounding ground under the influence of a large number of people walking around to dismantle Giganto Turtle.

That's why you decided that if you run, you might be able to escape...... some of the people around you hook up and let the running man's legs fall and hold that body in.

"Damn! Let go! Let go! I hope you got a little something! They're so big!

That was the man screaming, but if you try to be the men you've seized, it's not bearable that you lose the job of dismantling Giganto Turtle because of this man.

If the result of this man's reckless behavior extends only to those who did it, it is still possible that in this case, the blame will also fall on us who worked together.

If so, in order to prevent such a thing from happening, it could not be imitated in such a way that those who did it were never allowed to escape.

"Ugh! What are we gonna do if the damage hits this way because of you!

"That's right! In the first place, you know you can split some of Giganto Turtle's meat after work today! Why did you do this to me?

Hurry and agitation, irritation. To the man who screams with them, the two men who are holding them back scream with more anger than such a man.

"Well, please calm down"

Saying that to the screaming men was the guild clerk who found him trying to steal some of Giganto Turtle and screamed.

Originally, it was the guild staff who wanted to scream at the man who tried to escape, but before that, I guess I couldn't say anything when I saw that the other men had caught me and were screaming at me. Unlike when I yelled earlier, I say so in a somewhat calm voice.

The two men who captured the man who escaped, and those who were watching what happened around them, are also relieved by such a guild official.

In the meantime, I understand that Giganto Turtle will not be dismantled immediately.

"In the meantime, the man will take you to the guild... sorry, can you catch him and come with me so he doesn't run away? Of course, I wouldn't treat it like I threw a job on the way out."

"... oh, okay"

"I don't mind either."

Make sure the two men snort, and the guild clerk turns his gaze to his own boss... to the guild clerk on Rays' side.

Alliance officials with that gaze on them just nod, saying nothing more.

But I guess that was enough. The guild official, who confirmed the nod, heads to the guild, along with the man caught by the two men.

That's how the guild clerks were all over the place after they left, but still when some of the guild clerks tell them to go back to work, each one goes back to his or her job.

"... so, uh, what were you talking about"

A glimpse of a reckless man being carried away, and Ray squeaks at you almost without looking concerned anymore.

You decided that there was no penalty for such Ray's attitude towards ourselves, and those who were near the man also went back to dismantling Giganto Turtle again.

Are some of the faces in Giganto Turtle's behavior turning blue because they were thinking the same thing as the other guy?

Most of all, I wouldn't do a strange imitation if I wasn't an extra confident person or an idiot who didn't think about it later than I was shown in front of me what would happen if I did that.

In fact, the guild staff overseeing the dismantling around them noticed how those few were doing, because they watched closely so that they could tell as soon as they acted strangely.

"It's about the red cloth. Ray said something stupid about maybe one of the Kobolts could be the work of the red cloth, but I figured he was trying to say it could be the work of someone else...... right?

"Yeah, I think so"

Alliance officials, gazed at Vihera with the meaning of confirmation, honestly nod back at the word.

To that appearance, Ray goes on to talk, also remembering the last minute story.

"Oh, you did.... If it's not the red cloth that's causing the Cobolt incident, we need to capture it somehow. I don't know how you're manipulating Kobolt, but we need to do something about it."

"I guess so. But the question is, how do we find that person? In the first place, there is no certainty that this case is artificial."

"If it's any evidence or clue, I can agree with Mr. Ray."

As Vihela and guild officials have said, it is only Ray's prediction that this is artificial.

It was too ill-founded to look into it, beyond what Ray was just saying without any evidence.

"I guess. I'm not saying I can't either.... but I can't get someone to look into it, but if I'm going to look into it myself, there shouldn't be a problem, right?

"Huh? That's, well....... but are you really going to look into it? Sure, but there's no reward for that, is there?

Ray thinks he's suspicious and follows his instincts to find out for himself.

Naturally, looking into it... if you say so, it equals Ray's taste.

There is no more reward for the act than it is.

If this is really an artificial case and we could stop it, I guess the story will be different again.

Nevertheless, Ray wasn't really after the kind of reward, because he thought maybe this one was happening by magic items.

If it's not the kind of decoration, but the kind of magic item that you can actually use, it's something that you would definitely want for Ray.

Even to the extent of a cobolt, it seems like there are many uses for such magic items, even from Ray's point of view, because it is possible to manipulate as many cobolts as possible from where they are collected.

That's when you exterminate bandits, or the Bestian Empire... no, otherwise, when you're at war with some country, or when you're at war with a bunch of monsters.

It would be a very dangerous effect if abused in terms of being free to treat a flock of cobolts, but if something like this really happened with a magic item, it was Ray's feeling that he definitely wanted to get it.

(Ah, magic item. With that said, you forgot to give me the souvenirs)

From the magic items, I recall completely forgetting to give the enclosed gems of healing magic obtained in Anesis to marinas, vihelas, beaunes and several others as souvenirs.

On the day I got back to Gilm, I had a party at the marina's house, and since then, I've completely forgotten.

However, I also served some of the dishes I bought from Anesis at the party, so I didn't give them any souvenirs at all.

Nevertheless, I can't exactly give you some souvenirs, including gems, on this occasion, so I reckon you should give them to me at the marina's house for now, at dinner.

"In the meantime, I don't have much to do right now in winter. I just thought I could try to find someone like that, even if it means I'm half free."

If you say so, Alliance officials will be convinced too.

Basically, adventurers are very free this winter season.

Beyond that, if you were told to look for beings and tools that you don't even know if they're there or not, instead of crushing your spare time, you would have been convinced, even if you thought they were drunk.

But Vihera, who knows Ray very well, wondered if she was seriously looking for him to see how Ray was doing.