Observing the collapsed Gulbert, we were perplexed. Lizlina, in particular, put a hand over her mouth and screamed.

"What's going on!? Are there enemies lurking somewhere? Damn it! Everyone, stay on alert!!"

Upon Guell's command, Amy and the others, armed with weapons, began scanning the surroundings, on high alert.

"Could he have been silenced to keep him from talking... Gulbert, what on earth have you gotten involved in?"

Duke Valdeck opened his eyes wide and spoke while looking at Gulbert.

As I looked at Gulbert's lifeless body, my mind went blank for a moment. However, as soon as I heard Guell's words, I shook my head, pulled out the JERICHO941PSL and my Karambit Knife from my holster, and readied them.

The enemy must still be nearby! Judging by the way the stone spear was lodged, the attack came from the opposite side. Most likely, the enemy is over there!

As I turned my face in the direction the attack came from, I locked eyes with a hooded figure staring at us. In that moment, whether sensing danger or not, they ran towards the back of the alley and fled.

"Guell, there! A hooded person running into the alley! They might be the perpetrator! Please, pursue them!"

I pointed to the alley while saying this, but Guell seemed a bit uneasy, looking at me with a somewhat worried expression.

"Is that so? But, His Excellency's safety..."

"Guell, you're the captain, aren't you? Don't hesitate; give proper orders to your subordinates!"

In response to my words, Guell seemed to realize something and began giving instructions to his subordinates.

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

""""Yes!""""

"Elaina, what... what in the world are you doing?"

Seeing me pull the stone spear out of Gulbert's chest, Guell looked at me with furrowed brows, as if wanting to express his anger.

"Don't worry about me, Guell! Hurry and pursue! I'll catch up later!"

"......Understood. I'll go ahead."

After saying that, Guell, with Keith and Aid, ran towards the alley.

Alright! The stone spear is out. As the resurrection mark hasn't disappeared yet, using a resuscitation medicine should still work.

I opened the menu, took out a resuscitation medicine I had in stock from the storage, and injected the liquid into Gulbert's body.

"To be honest, I don't like this guy, but there are so many things I want to know, so it would be inconvenient if he died."

The reason for doing this was that I recalled Guell talking about Memory Read on the way here.

Memory Read is a magic that reads the memories in the head of a deceased person, and it can read fragmentary memories from just before death up to three days prior. In other words, the reason the person who stabbed him with this stone spear didn't crush his head to prevent memory reading is that there would be no problem if we asked about events within the last three days. However, it would be troublesome if we inquired about events from more than three days ago, so they took care of it right here. That's what I think.

As soon as I confirmed that the liquid in the resuscitation medicine had entered Gulbert's body, I pulled out the injection needle. At that moment, Gulbert's body began to glow faintly, and the wounds started healing. By the time the light faded, he had revived, lying there without any wounds.

"He... he's alive!!? Did you use some kind of secret potion on him?"

"Sorry, Amy. I'll catch up with Guell and the others now, so let's discuss the rest later."

After saying that, I opened the menu again, took out a small reconnaissance drone, and sent it flying into the air. Then, instead of setting it to manual mode, I set it to auto mode to track and follow the suspect. Also, I equipped my ACE32.

'Understood. Searching for target.'

With those words, the drone soared high into the sky.

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

"Be careful, Elaina. We don't know who the opponent is."

"Got it."

Without realizing it, I stopped speaking politely. Responding to Duke Valdeck casually, I ran towards the alley.

'Target confirmed. Tracking now.'

Alright! They're visible on the radar. Now, all I have to do is chase and catch them!

'Caution, danger detected at 11 o'clock. Possible enemies.'

Enemies!? In such a narrow alley? Moreover, the enemy marks are in the same direction as the suspect... What's going on?

"Reinforcements? Or did Guell and the others fall into an enemy trap? ...In any case, I'm going that way already, I'll just have to go and check."

As I approached, Guell and the others were fighting five humanoid monsters.

"Gu-Guell!?"

Guell, while looking at the enemies, responded.

"Elaina!? Sorry, but help us defeat these guys!"

"Understood!"

I can ask questions later! Right now, the priority is to defeat these guys!!

I aimed with the ACE32 and took down one of the monsters with three semi-automatic shots, then did the same to the one next to it.

"Impressive, Elaina!"

While Guell said that, he cut one monster in half with the large sword he was carrying.

"Thunder, dwell in my hands! [Thunderball]"

The humanoid monster hit by Keith's magic seemed to be paralyzed, standing there and trembling slightly.

"Aid, now!"

"Got it!"

Taking advantage of the moment when the monster was immobilized by Keith's magic, Aid finished it off with a sword.

"One left!"

As I aimed at the last monster, it was enveloped in light and disappeared.

"It's gone? ...What the heck is going on?"

'Target lost. Searching for target.'

Huh!? Lost? That can't be. That drone can track even if the target hides inside a building, so unless they destroy the drone or use a jammer, it's almost impossible to escape tracking... How in the world?

"He turned left at that corner! Everyone, follow him!!"

""Roger!""

While I was puzzled, saying that, Guell and the others ran towards the corner.

"Huh? Wa- Wait a minute, please!?"

I also followed behind, peering out slightly from behind the corner to confirm the direction Guell and the others had turned. However, what met my eyes was Guell and the others standing in the middle of the road at a dead end where there was no apparent cover to hide.

I ran up to Guell and asked.

"Guell, where is the suspect?"

Guell looked at me and spoke.

"......Ahh, he got away. The fact that his scent stops here suggests that he probably escaped using teleportation magic."

I see, the drone lost track because the enemy suddenly disappeared and couldn't be pursued.

"But, Captain Guell, if he used a teleportation magic circle, there should be a transfer magic circle somewhere, but... I can't see it anywhere."

"Keith, I think they used a magic paper with a written teleportation spell. As evidence, take a look at this. I found it there."

Aid showed the burnt scraps, and Keith widened his eyes, staring at them.

"Magic paper!? But if it's teleportation magic using a magic paper, he shouldn't be able to travel far. He should be nearby, so let's search this area."

"No, it's impossible. Most likely, after luring us here, he used this magic paper to teleport to a place with a prepared escape teleportation circle. Then, he escaped to somewhere far away using that prepared escape teleportation circle.

The disappearance of the monsters also suggests that there's no longer a need for them to face us, so they were withdrawn. It makes more sense."

"Yeeeah, considering the activation time and the remaining marks of the teleportation circle, that seems reasonable."

"If there was a teleportation circle mark here, we could investigate and follow, but... unfortunately, there isn't."

I don't fully understand what's being said, but basically, did they employ a strategy of luring us here, keeping us occupied with monsters, then using teleportation magic to escape to some other hideout or location, and from there, using long-distance teleportation magic to flee again?

On Earth, it would be like fleeing to an airport by car and then taking a plane to escape overseas, i guess?

"Guell, if we can't pursue anymore, we should go back to Duke Valdeck."

"That's true. Let's meet up with Amy and the others and think about our next move. Also, leave the monsters' bodies, just cut off their heads and we'll come back to deal with them later."

On the way back, I pondered. An enemy so well-prepared couldn't be just a small fry. Moreover, it's strange that they came to dispose of Gulbert so quickly after he was captured. Gulbert must have been dealing with a large organization.

"What... in the world are we dealing with here?"

Guell and the others couldn't answer my question.