As we basked in the praises of the surrounding adventurers, the presence of Neguro Takuto, who I had sent flying, vanished completely.

The adventurer party that went to check on him returned with the report: "We searched, but we couldn’t find him."

I wasn’t suspicious of them—they weren’t accomplices. I’d already sensed a faint presence circling around the area, someone who had come to retrieve Neguro. It was clear that someone had been observing from a distance, ensuring the “Hero” wasn’t so easily eliminated.

“Should we skip tomorrow’s trip to the castle gate?” I asked.

“No, we’re going,” Rio replied firmly.

“But after what happened today—”

“I’m fine. Besides, showing up unfazed right after what they tried will have a bigger impact on them, don’t you think?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Seriously, I’m okay.”

As she spoke, Rio devoured her hearty dinner of stew with gusto. After making it safely into the city, we were now enjoying a meal in a private room at an inn. She didn’t look unwell, but the fact that she had been critically injured and nearly killed still weighed on my mind.

“Alright, I trust you,” I said with a sigh.

Her determination was clear. As long as I gave everything to protect her, there shouldn’t be any issues—or so I hoped.

Still, our enemies’ unexpected attacks had caused us too much trouble. How could we guard against them better?

I found myself casting detoxification spells on our food before eating.

If only there were a magic spell to detect malicious intent… That would be ideal. Could such a thing exist? Maybe I shouldn’t dismiss the idea outright—this was a world with skills for practically everything.

In retrospect, the capital was essentially enemy territory. Though we’d come for information gathering, we hadn’t prepared nearly enough. Our overly optimistic mindset needed to change.

Living in peaceful Japan had softened us more than we realized.

“For now, let’s just get some rest after dinner,” I suggested.

“Yeah,” Rio agreed.

“Let’s make sure we’re fully prepared today,” I said the next morning.

Today was the day we’d return to the castle gates.

Whether or not the Third Princess Lily Arclight had received our message was irrelevant. We’d announced our visit, and whatever awaited us, we were ready to crush it.

I made sure we were better prepared than yesterday. If Rio had been properly armored, she wouldn’t have been stabbed. With her Dragon Scale Robe—made from tightly layered dragon scales—most weapons wouldn’t even scratch her.

“Let’s sort through the gear Master gave us,” I suggested.

“Good idea. There might be something better than what we usually wear,” Rio replied.

Rio began going through the equipment she had collected, while I focused on donning my own armor. Of course, I strapped the Ancient Red Dragon Scale Shield securely to my back.

I wasn’t much for shields, but having it as a backup didn’t hurt.

“Hey, Shu, look at this!”

“What’s that?”

She pulled out gauntlets that covered the hands and extended up to the elbows, with a striking green and blue gradient. They looked metallic but didn’t seem affected by my Magnetic Field, and the fists were embedded with something resembling magical stones.

When I tried one on, it initially seemed too big, but then—

“Whoa!”

It adjusted to fit my arm perfectly.

“This is... classic magical gear,” I muttered in awe.

“Wow, that’s cool!”

“It really is. Perfect fit,” I said, marveling at how seamlessly it adapted.

Removing it, I noted how it returned to its original size.

“Is there a matching gauntlet for the other hand?” I asked.

“Let me check.”

Rio rummaged through her Dimensional Box, a space-efficient storage system that consumed mana based on the size of its opening.

“Hmm… I found another one, but it’s red and yellow,” she said.

I tried the red gauntlet on my left hand, and it also adjusted to fit snugly.

When I knocked the fists together, there was a faint glow as mana surged through them.

“These feel incredible,” I said.

“They look strong too,” Rio agreed, before returning to her search.

These gauntlets, with their mana-conductive properties, seemed like the perfect choice. Using an Appraisal Spell, I identified the green one as the Shining Dragon Gauntlet and the red one as the Crimson Dragon Gauntlet.

Pouring mana into them revealed their properties: the green gauntlet was attuned to wind and water, while the red one resonated with fire and earth. Their versatility would undoubtedly come in handy.

Meanwhile, Rio dressed herself in a soft, white shirt that carried faint traces of mana. She layered it with sturdy chest armor.

“Good. Defense is critical,” I noted, recalling the hard lesson we’d learned yesterday.

“Hey, Shu,” Rio called. “Look at all these white shirts. Think I should wear this one?”

“What the… Why are there so many?”

“These were Master’s! He said they were just underclothes and told me to change as often as I wanted.”

An Appraisal Spell identified the shirt as Metal Spider Silk Shirt—hardly a typical piece of underwear.

“...Fair enough,” I muttered, resigning myself to the absurdity.

Fully equipped and ready, we headed for the castle gates once more.