The lounge of the Beginning Footprint Clan House was famous among Treasure Hunters in Zebuldia.
Being a Treasure Hunter was a lucrative profession. When it came to the income of top-tier Hunters, it was not uncommon for a single hunt to net them as much as a common citizen earned in a lifetime.
Assembling young Hunters ranked among the best even in the imperial capital, and constructed with abundant funding, this Clan House was cutting-edge — an object of aspiration for young Treasure Hunters. Combined with a Clan name that sounded like it catered to beginners, it became a recurring reason why fresh-faced aspiring Hunters harbored grand illusions about the Treasure Hunter profession. Presumably, the Clan Master had calculated such effects when she built this enormous Clan House in one of the capital's prime locations.
And of course, the Sub Clan Master she had recruited was a woman so impressively capable that it was almost puzzling she had never appeared on the public stage before.
"The Clan Master wishes to focus on other matters for a while and has instructed that no visitors be received. I understand the situation, but I must ask you to leave."
Gaark settled himself before the especially large table at the center of the spacious Clan House lounge, and the Beginning Footprint's Sub Clan Master, Eva Renfield, addressed him in a businesslike tone.
Even after retiring, she remained a respected branch director of the Explorer's Guild. There were only so many people who wouldn't flinch in front of the former War Demon — a figure who silenced even crying children. And if the other party was merely a common citizen who had barely absorbed any Mana Material, then in all the vastness of the imperial capital, such a person could be counted on one hand.
Eva Renfield was exceptional. As the right hand of that endlessly elusive Thousand Transformations, managing the Clan and growing it to this scale was proof enough that she was no ordinary person. But Gaark knew well that she had also, at times, counseled Klye and supported him in both personal and professional matters.
At the same time, she possessed a certain stubbornness — once she made up her mind, nothing could budge her. When necessary, she would join Gaark in persuading Klye, but once she decided not to allow a meeting, no amount of threats or gold would change her mind. That temperament was probably one of the reasons Klye had chosen her.
Moreover, unlike Klye, she was the type who argued with cold logic. She was well-versed in imperial law and the Explorer's Guild's regulations. And since the other party was not even a Hunter but a common citizen, the Explorer's Guild's authority had no reach.
The staff she had already brought along were all wearing expressions of resignation. Gaark, for his part, had never considered resorting to violence.
The lounge was packed with Hunters belonging to the Beginning Footprint — Hunters who wouldn't flinch even before the Explorer's Guild's branch director. Of course, even without such Hunters, threatening a common citizen with violence would have been absolutely out of the question.
"If Thousand Transformations worked a little harder, Zebuldia would be twice as developed."
"If Thousand Transformations worked a little harder, I would have collapsed from overwork."
At Gaark's quip, Eva replied without so much as a smile, her expression deadly serious. Gaark let out a small sigh.
The reason Gaark had bothered to come all the way to the Clan House today was to check on the progress regarding the incident at the Martial Emperor Festival.
Given the gravity of the matter, he would have preferred to discuss it face to face, but a message through intermediaries would work fine this time. No new incident had occurred.
Thousand Transformations refusing a meeting meant she judged that a face-to-face meeting was unnecessary. If the other party were just an ordinary Hunter, it would have been worth forcing the conversation — but her calculated brilliance, her uncanny insight, and her near-prescient judgment all had a proven track record. A track record so substantial that even Zebuldia couldn't ignore it.
Two weeks had passed since the incident at the Martial Emperor Festival. The operation to dismantle the secret organization known as the "Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox" was progressing more smoothly than even Zebuldia or Gaark had anticipated.
The enemy was a notorious organization that enforced absolute secrecy. Even after the empire and the Explorer's Guild had been conducting covert investigations, they had barely managed to gather any intelligence. No matter how many nations united to tackle the problem, when the names of the organization's members, their bases of operations — everything — remained unknown, there was very little they could do.
Gaark had braced himself for a prolonged conflict, but the situation had taken an unexpected turn.
Some of the organization's members had defected to Zebuldia, bringing information as their offering. The defector was not an executive, and the intelligence was not particularly impressive in either quantity or quality. Still, a member of an organization that had never let anyone get a tail on them breaking ranks was a significant change.
"Come to think of it, the way the Martial Emperor Festival was settled — it wasn't like him."
"…………"
At Gaark's words, Eva fell silent.
Until now, Thousand Transformations had defeated every organization, thief, and Phantom that stood in his path through schemes that seemed almost inhuman. Regarding this matter as well, when he had faced the Fox Mask in the arena, his composure had been remarkable — and that was precisely why Gaark and the others had refrained from immediately entering the venue and had instead watched from the sidelines.
That initial delay had led to the Fox Mask's escape, but the whole thing was strange from the start.
If he truly hadn't wanted the Fox Mask to escape, all he had to do was station people at the escape routes. Warriors of extraordinary caliber like Luke and Liliz had been present at the scene.
The arena was also fortified with barriers, limiting the escape paths. Klye would never have failed to notice something of that level, and even if he had absolute confidence in his own plan, the usual Klye would have absolutely stationed people — just enough to barely capture the Fox Mask.
So then, why hadn't Klye sealed off the exits that time? Was he counting on the former Martial Emperor and the numerous Hunters in the venue?
The Fox Mask's escape had revealed a gap in Klye's plan. And yet, the investigation into the organization had shown remarkable progress.
And Gaark reached a single conclusion.
What if — everything had been part of the plan?
What if, from letting the Fox Mask escape to the emergence of a traitor — everything had gone according to Klye's design?
The intruder who had revealed himself at the Martial Emperor Festival was likely executive-class within the organization. Under normal circumstances, letting such a person escape would have been unthinkable.
But if doing so would ultimately benefit their side — then wouldn't Thousand Transformations choose to let them go?
The previously solid organization was now shaking. It was clear that the incident at the Martial Emperor Festival had been the catalyst.
The activation of a Treasure Weapon capable of destroying the world. That must have been unexpected for the organization as well. As a result, some members had decided to abandon the organization.
No matter how massive the organization was, it wouldn't have the power to simultaneously face multiple nations. Emperor Radric Aturm Zebuldia was furious beyond measure and in the mood to purge any uncooperative nobles.
Almost no one knew the truth behind the incident at the Martial Emperor Festival. Not Gaark, not the empire, and perhaps not even the Fox Mask's man — only a single person knew the truth.
He then produced from his coat one of the items he had been asked to deliver and placed it on the table.
Eva's eyes widened. The black stone with its peculiar pattern was one of the most famous Treasure Weapons in existence.
"Lord Franz has asked me to deliver a Resonance Stone. His secrecy is a bit much even for him. He wants me to hand it to Klye. The operation to eliminate the foxes will be conducted under national leadership — they're still discussing what approach to take — but he says to please contact him if anything comes up."
Relying entirely on Treasure Hunters wouldn't do much for the nation's prestige, but they couldn't afford to leave an effective option on the table.
Under normal circumstances, a noble giving a direct line of communication to a single Hunter would have been unthinkable. This was probably a compromise that Lord Franz — who had always despised Thousand Transformations — had come up with, putting aside his personal feelings for the sake of the empire. Klye, had he made one wrong step, could have been charged with the crime of insulting a noble — but as always, he was walking the razor's edge.
Eva stared at the Treasure Weapon for a long while, then gave a small nod.
"…………Understood. I will deliver it to the Master."
"The capital is about to become quite the hotspot."
From his sources, Gaark had heard that a massive bounty had been placed on Thousand Transformations' head. The man had fought and defeated countless thieves before, but this sum was enough to tempt even a Level 8 Hunter.
Of course, Gaark didn't think the man would fall so easily. Klye Andrich was no longer the same person who had come to the capital to become a Hunter.
He had grown stronger. He didn't look particularly different on the surface, but he had built an organization, trained his companions, earned their trust — and now that a war against the "Foxes" had begun, defeat was not an option for the current Thousand Transformations.
The defeat of Klye Andrich would lead to a collapse in morale. Crossing his arms, Gaark continued.
"Eva, there's a possibility that the thieves targeting Thousand Transformations could harm Clan staff. Make sure to take full precautions."
"Those are………words I hardly need to be told now. We have plenty of Hunters stationed here. Besides, from the very beginning, at the Master's instruction during construction of the Clan House, the upper floors were built to withstand an assault. The idea being that during a fight on the first and second floors, the non-combatants could evacuate. Fortunately, it's never been necessary — but—"
"…………I see. Already accounted for from the start, was it………A natural precaution when employing non-combatants, but — it's well thought out."
Having those with power consider the perspective of those without — it was far more difficult in practice than it sounded. Even the Explorer's Guild couldn't guarantee the complete safety of its staff.
And to invest money in it, when the Hunters who contributed those funds might push back — yet despite appearing not to think about such things on a daily basis, she gave clear instructions where it mattered. It showed she was doing her job as Clan Master.
"Our defenses are airtight. We focused our resources on the third floor and above, so the first and second floors aren't as heavily fortified — but the reasoning was that if the fighting spilled over, they'd be destroyed anyway, so there was no point."
"Is that………really how it works?"
At its core, the Beginning Footprint was supposed to be a Clan with weak Clan Master authority. Wasn't there a problem with unilaterally involving member Hunters in counterattack forces?
For a moment, the question crossed his mind, but Gaark shook his head and convinced himself.
Speaking as the head of the Explorer's Guild's imperial capital branch, he probably shouldn't say this — but if common citizens were going to die, it was far better to have the Hunters fight with their lives on the line. Those with power must protect those without it. That was one of the founding purposes of the Explorer's Guild.
"If anything happens, contact the Explorer's Guild as usual. We'll do everything we can on our end."
"Yes. When the time comes, please count on us."
The conversation finished, and Gaark stood up.
Gaark had no time to spare either. First, he needed to investigate whether any Fox agents had infiltrated the Explorer's Guild's staff or the registered Hunters. Just thinking about it gave him a headache. He had been appointed branch director on the basis of his charisma and his experience as a Hunter — detailed investigative work was not his forte.
Heaving a great sigh as he contemplated the work awaiting him back at the branch, he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the entrance.
"Ah, Eva, there you are — I was looking for you about a visitor expected today……… Wha— Gaark!?"
"!? Klye!?"
Strolling through the lounge entrance with a triumphant grin was none other than the Beginning Footprint's Master himself — Klye Andrich, the very person whose meeting had been refused moments ago.
Their eyes met, and silence spread across the lounge. The Explorer's Guild staff Gaark had brought along stared wide-eyed at the smirking Klye who had just appeared.
Focused on other matters………? Told not to let anyone in………? And did this guy just say "wha—"?
Even Eva looked at Gaark with an expression of helplessness. When the person whose meeting you'd just refused showed up grinning like that, even the most capable Sub Clan Master in the world would wear the same face.
Klye furrowed his brow, glancing around as he approached.
"What? Were you in the middle of talking to Eva? Sorry about this, but I've got an important guest coming later today——"
"…………"
It's YOU I came to see.
Just as he was about to shout that, the lounge windows shattered spectacularly.
Glass fragments rained down, glittering as they fell. Despite having long retired from being a Treasure Hunter, Gaark's dynamic vision clearly caught what had flown through the window.
Instinctively, he dropped into a fighting stance.
It was a single arrow. A long, thick, golden arrow.
The arrow pierced through the lounge window as if it were nothing, and drifted — almost lazily — toward Klye's forehead, where it embedded itself as though drawn in by a magnet.
And then, as always, it bounced off as though it had hit an impossibly thick wall.
"!? Wh— what?"
Klye's voice — feeling absolutely no pain or impact.
While Klye stood there stock-still, the Party Hunters in the lounge, roused by the sudden disruption of their peace, swiftly assumed combat positions.
"!? What is that!? Liliz!? Luke!?"
"It's an attack!"
The absolute defense of Thousand Transformations.
It was reasonable to assume that Klye Andrich, the Treasure Weapon collector, possessed the Barrier Ring — and the attackers had accounted for that as well.
Klye picked up the fallen arrow and looked around in confusion. An arrow thick enough to blow off the head of a mythical beast. Its arrowhead was razor-sharp — and something resembling a small black box was attached to it.
The Barrier Ring was powerful, and precisely because of that, countermeasures had been devised for it. The fundamental rule of assassination was to ensure a kill in two strikes.
What you strapped to an arrow in situations like these was well-established. Thousand Transformations certainly knew this, but Gaark instinctively stepped in front of his subordinates and raised a warning shout.
"Klye, it's a bomb!"
"!? Gaark, catch!"
With a light toss, Klye swung his arm and hurled the arrow at Gaark.
Completely caught off guard, the arrow spun end over end as it skidded across the floor toward him. Klye moved with a smoothness that seemed almost rehearsed — leaping and slamming into Gaark in a tackle that shielded Eva.
"AAAAAAAAAAH!? Was THIS the visitor!?"
Crossing his arms into a defensive posture, Gaark's vision went white as heat and impact blasted through his entire body.