"Why?" Lilith asked, questioning why the artifact couldn't be given to anyone.
"This artifact, or what you call the Gauntlet of Rebirth, is an artifact we stole from a Seraphim who was alone in the forest."
"What...?!" Lilith said, shocked when she heard this. She hadn't expected the artifact to belong to a Seraphim, or one of her race. "Why did you steal from him?"
Then, the man answered with all his honesty. He wasn't lying at all; he was simply revealing something that already existed within him.
That's why he chuckled for a moment before finally—
"...Do I need a clear reason to steal?" he replied, briefly, with a sly grin at the two of them. In fact, it surprised Lilith and Iris to see his true nature.
"...!"
"And also... Why do you seem worried about the Seraphim whose artifact I stole?" Jill asked, her face filled with mockery. "Is... He one of you?"
"...?!" Both of their eyes widened again, and they gasped for a moment.
Infori muttered to himself. (They stole that artifact from a Seraphim? How outrageous. But...)
He then thought for a moment, seeming to recall something related to the Seraphim who carried the gauntlet artifact called the Gauntlet of Rebirth.
(...I don't know why I seem to remember something.)
Then, the man named Jill turned to his boss and whispered to him. As if wanting to end this conversation without any leaks.
"What do you think, Takechi? They already know, and they'll tell everyone about us if we're left alone."
Their boss, aka the man named Takechi, responded with a sigh as he closed his eyes.
"Haaah..." Then, he opened his eyes again. He glared at Lilith and Iris. "Looks like I have to stop pretending to be a nice person..."
He then drew his sword from the sheath on his back and pointed it at Lilith and Iris.
"...then, exterminate them," they said, as they slowly walked toward Lilith and Iris. Their gazes were filled with confidence that they could definitely kill them both. They walked in unison, a single step away from each other enough to make Lilith and Iris even more wary.
"Tch...!"
Infori intended to just watch, but for some reason, something made her feel uncertain...
(I just wanted to observe, after all, the abilities of the Seraphim are not to be underestimated. The power of a Seraphim is still largely unknown to other races, including the Nephilim. But...)
Infori stared at Lilith's face, which looked terrified—no, more like a face that hadn't expected this to happen (again).
(She might not be terrified of them, but she still seems to have no idea what reality truly means. So, for some reason, I'm very doubtful, even though her abilities are far superior to those impostors.)
Infori thought again, racking his brain, trying to find something that would help.
"...?"
At this moment, Infori finally remembered something that had happened recently. It wasn't a scam, but a genuine transaction. Without any embellishments of sacred duty or deception like what had happened before.
"!"
(Ah...! I remember now!)
Lilith and Iris felt cornered, still not expecting this to happen. They both held their swords at their left sides, but didn't immediately draw them.
"...!"
"Look at that, they seem to have guts," said Jill, teasing the now-cornered group.
"Hey, you guys! Stop right there!" a man's voice suddenly rang out, making Takechi, Jill, and their companions halt in their tracks. Lilith, Iris, and Infori were also shocked.
Lilith and Iris turned around and finally saw the man who had spoken. A blond-haired man with light blue eyes, wearing a black shirt and a black coat, the attire of a captain of the Knightley Queen in Storm Queen City.
He came here with several knights behind him, also members of the Knightley Queen.
"...?!"
"Knightley Queen——?!"
"Why are they here...?!"
"That's Flynn Deschain, the youngest captain of the Knightley Queen! What are we going to do?!"
The man then realized something after looking at Lilith and Iris.
"...?!"
He then pointed, not at Lilith and Iris—but at Takechi and the others. "You Nephilim are guilty. You deserve to be punished by the storm, but for now—let me make you understand the true meaning of the storm!"
The threat immediately frightened them all.
"...?!"
Infori, who saw this, was worried about his situation, worried that the Knightley Queen would find him here.
(It'll be terrible if they find out.)
Then, he glanced at Lilith for a moment. Then, his gaze shifted to the bag Takechi had dropped.
(There it is...!)