We stood in bewilderment, watching as Grubert suddenly collapsed, and Lizrina covered her mouth in shock.

 

"What the heck is going on!? Are there enemies lurking somewhere? Damn it! Everyone, stay alert!" Guell shouted, his command sparking Amy and the others to grab their weapons and begin scanning the area vigilantly.

 

"Could he have been silenced to keep him from talking... Grubert, what have you gotten yourself into?" Duke Valdeck's eyes widened as he looked at Grubert.

 

Seeing Grubert's lifeless body, my mind momentarily went blank. But upon hearing Guell's words, I shook my head, immediately springing into action. I drew my JERICHO 941 PSL and Karambit knife from my holster.

 

"The enemy must still be nearby! Judging by the angle of the stone spear, they must have come from the opposite direction. They're likely over there!" I pointed towards the direction the projectile came from, locking eyes with a hooded figure staring back at us. In that instant, sensing danger, the figure dashed towards the depths of the alleyway.

 

"Guell, there! A hooded figure fleeing into the alleyway might be the culprit! We must pursue!" I pointed towards the alleyway, but Guell seemed unsettled, casting a slightly anxious glance in our direction.

 

"What? Is this true? But, the Duke's safety..." Guell hesitated.

 

"Guell! You're the captain, aren't you? Don't panic, give appropriate orders to your subordinates!" I urged him.

 

Realizing something, Guell quickly turned to his men and began issuing commands.

 

"Keith! Aid! Follow me! Amy and Lizrina, protect the Duke!"

 

"Yes, sir!"

 

"Erlaina, what are you..." Guell's expression turned to one of anger as he saw me removing the stone spear from Grubert's chest.

 

"Don't worry about me, just go after them! I'll catch up!" I reassured him.

 

"...Understood. We're moving." With that, Guell, accompanied by Keith and Aid, dashed towards the alleyway.

 

Good! The spear's out. Since the resurrection marker hasn't disappeared, using the resurrection potion should do the trick.

 

I opened the menu, retrieving the resurrection potion I had in storage and injected it into Grubert's body.

 

"To be honest, I'm annoyed with this guy, but there's so much I need to ask him. I can't afford for him to die."

 

The reason I'm doing this? I remembered Guell mentioning Memory Read on the way here.

 

Memory Read is a magic that allows reading memories from a deceased person's mind. It can read fragmented memories from just before death up to three days prior. So, whoever stabbed him with this spear didn't crush his head to prevent us from asking about events within three days, which would've been fine for us. But anything beyond three days would've been a problem, so they disposed of him here, I think.

 

Confirming that the liquid from the resurrection potion had fully entered Grubert's body, I withdrew the syringe. In that moment, Grubert's body began to emit a faint glow as his wounds healed. By the time the light faded, he was breathing again, lying there in a pristine, unblemished state.

 

"He's... he's alive! Did you... use some kind of secret potion?" Amy asked incredulously.

 

"Sorry, Amy. We'll catch up later. I'm about to join Guell and the others." I said, before reopening the menu and retrieving a small reconnaissance drone, sending it flying into the air. Setting it to auto mode to track the perpetrator we found, I also equipped my ACE32.

 

"Understood. Scanning for target," the drone responded as it soared into the sky.

 

"Well then, everyone, I'll be off."

 

"Be careful, Erlaina. We don't know who we're dealing with," Lizrina cautioned.

 

"Got it."

As I replied to Duke Valdeck-sama, who I had stopped adding "-san" to his name for some time now, I dashed towards the narrow alley.

"Target identified. Pursuing."

Alright! Now I'm visible on the radar. All that's left is to chase and catch them!

"Caution, danger detected at 11 o'clock. Possibility of enemies."

Enemies?! In this narrow alley? Moreover, the enemy marker is pointing in the same direction as the perpetrator... What's going on?

"Reinforcements? Or did Guerl-san and the others fall into that enemy's trap? ...Either way, the direction is the same. I have no choice but to go and see."

Upon arriving, I found Guerl-san and the others battling five humanoid monsters.

"G-Guerl-san!?"

Guerl-san answered while keeping an eye on the enemies.

"Erleina! Sorry, but lend me a hand in defeating these guys!"

"Understood!"

I can ask for the reasons later! Right now, defeating these guys takes priority!!

I aimed my ACE32 and took down one that caught my eye with three semi-automatic shots, then took down the one next to it with another three shots.

"Well done, Erleina!"

Guerl-san said to me as he cleaved one of the monsters vertically with his large sword.

"Thunder, reside in my hands! 'Thunderball'!"

The humanoid monster hit by Keith-san's magic seemed to be paralyzed, standing still and shaking slightly.

"Aid, now!"

"Yeah!"

As Keith-san's magic immobilized the monster, Aid-san slashed it down with his sword.

"Just one left!"

As I targeted the last monster, it vanished in a flash of light.

"It disappeared? ...What the heck is going on?"

"Target lost. Searching for target."

Huh!? Lost sight of it? That can't be. Those drones can track even if hidden in a building, so unless they're destroyed or jammed, losing track should be nearly impossible... How did it vanish?

"It turned left at that corner! Everyone, follow!!"

"Roger!"

While I was puzzled, Guerl-san and the others said so and ran off, turning the corner.

"Wait! Wait up, please!?"

I also hurried and turned the corner, using the obstruction as cover to peek. However, what I saw with my own eyes was Guerl-san and the others standing in the middle of the road at a dead end with no hiding spots in sight.

I rushed to Guerl-san and asked.

"Guerl-san, where's the culprit?"

Guerl-san looked at me and began to speak.

 

".... Ah, they got away. If their scent stops here, they likely used teleportation magic to escape," Guerl muttered.

Indeed, the drones lost track as the enemy vanished suddenly.

"But Captain Guerl, if they used teleportation magic, there should be a transfer magic circle somewhere, but... we can't seem to find it anywhere," Keith observed.

"Keith, they probably used enchanted paper to write the teleportation spell. Look, this was found there," Aid presented charred remains, catching Keith's wide-eyed attention.

"Enchanted paper!? But if they used teleportation magic with enchanted paper, they couldn't have gone far. They should be nearby. Let's search the vicinity," Keith suggested.

"No, it's not possible. Most likely, they lured us here, then used the prepared teleportation circle to escape. Then, they likely used another long-distance teleportation circle to flee again," Guerl theorized. "The monsters are gone because they no longer need to engage us. That's the most plausible scenario."

"Hmm, considering the activation time and the remaining emblem of the teleportation circle, that line of thought seems reasonable," Keith agreed.

"If there were an emblem of the teleportation circle here, we could have investigated and pursued, but... it's a shame," Aid lamented.

I struggled to keep up with their discussion, but essentially, they deduced that the enemy lured us here with monsters while they secretly teleported elsewhere using a hidden place, then fled further with long-distance teleportation. It's like escaping to an airport by car and then fleeing overseas by plane, right?

"Guerl, if we can't pursue anymore, let's return to Duke Valdeck's place," Keith suggested.

"That's a good idea. Let's meet up with Amy and discuss our next steps. And let's leave the monster corpses intact for now; we'll come back to deal with them later," Guerl decided.

As we retraced our steps, I pondered. An enemy this meticulous couldn't be minor. Moreover, it's strange for them to act so quickly after capturing Grubert. Grubert must have been dealing with a significant organization.

"What... what exactly was I up against?" I voiced my question, but Guerl and the others couldn't provide an answer.