Did you hear the news?"
"The tragedy on the 27th floor. Who would've thought those Evilus maniacs had the guts to pull something that big at a time like this?"
"Evilus? I heard people saying the 27th-floor massacre was caused by 'Gale'."
"Are you stupid? 'Gale' has always stayed hidden. Why would she suddenly come out just to slaughter adventurers entering that floor? What, did she think her bounty wasn't high enough and decided to raise it by killing a bunch of people heading to the 27th floor?"
"Uh..."
That reply left the man speechless.
"Even though 'Gale' has been on the Guild's wanted list for four years, can't you see the Guild's attitude toward her? For other fugitives, no matter how high the bounty, the Guild increases the reward every year to attract more information. But when it comes to 'Gale'?"
"All bark, no bite. The Guild issued the wanted notice four years ago and hasn't updated it once. Don't you get what that means?"
"And the day after posting Gale's bounty, the Guild suddenly announced warrants for key Evilus members. What does that tell you? It's the same old routine."
"...Huh."
After that explanation, the man finally understood.
The criminals with the loudest announcements were the ones the Guild truly wanted adventurers to chase. And those who got "wanted" but then had the Guild's focus conveniently shift elsewhere? That was just the Guild putting on a show of 'bounty enforcement.'
The man glanced around. None of the other adventurers at the table disagreed—it was obvious they all knew how this worked.
Still, his confusion lingered.
"But... I remember four years ago, 'Gale' attacked a lot of innocent adventurers."
The seasoned adventurers exchanged glances, then broke into laughter.
"Innocent? You think anyone mixed up with Evilus was innocent?"
"Exactly. If those guys were innocent, then what about the adventurers and civilians slaughtered by Evilus back then? Weren't they even more innocent? Where did they get their justice?"
"If anyone in this world hates Evilus more than anyone else, it's definitely 'Gale.' Her entire Familia was wiped out, and even her Familia God left Orario. That's why she turns into a rabid dog whenever she faces Evilus."
"Right. And this time, Evilus went all out to bait her to the 27th floor. Kid, remember what else was mixed in with the intel we got that day?"
The man frowned, thinking back.
"I remember... there was a broken red longsword with some kind of unique pattern on the blade."
"And do you know who that sword belonged to?"
He shook his head.
"It was the sword of the Astrea Familia's Captain—the 'Scarlet Harnel.'"
"!?"
The man sucked in a sharp breath. He hadn't expected anyone to be that brazen.
If someone actually pulled a stunt like that, anyone with pride would've snapped.
"So yeah, of course 'Gale' went after them."
Now he finally understood why, despite the risk, 'Gale' had walked straight into the trap Evilus had laid for her.
"But I heard that this time, 'Gale' also..."
"Ah, so you really are a rookie."
The veterans around the table immediately caught on to what the greenhorn was hinting at—he was suggesting that 'Gale' had probably killed some adventurers during the incident.
To the seasoned ones, that was just the obvious outcome.
"The adventurers from Rivira weren't just after the Evilus bounty—they were also eyeing 'Gale's' bounty. If they wanted that reward, fine. As long as they had the strength, nothing else mattered."
"Whoever catches 'Gale' gets the Guild's bounty."
"But no one ever said the hunted can't fight back. Especially not 'Gale'. Even though everyone knows she's killed plenty of adventurers in retaliation, the Guild won't step in—it's not their problem."
"I see... So that's why only adventurers from Rivira went after her."
The rookie finally understood why the adventurers around him had no motivation to go after 'Gale'.
Part of it was sheer lack of strength. The rest was that anything involving 'Gale' was a tangled, dangerous mess.
If you caught her, fine.
But if you failed—you might end up dead right alongside her targets.
"Exactly. There's almost no Familia interested in capturing 'Gale'. Plenty of Familia are on good terms with that goddess, after all. Those deities aren't about to go hunting her down, especially when the Guild isn't ordering them to."
"The only ones who move are the greedy types. Everyone else stays out of her way. A Level 4 adventurer isn't someone you mess with for fun."
Every veteran adventurer knew that the former 'Gale' had once been hailed as a prodigy—right alongside the 'Sword Princess'.
Even now, though she couldn't level up anymore since her Familia God had left Orario, that didn't mean your average adventurer could handle her.
Unless someone was so obsessed with money they didn't care about their own life, no one would ever make 'Gale' their target.
The rookie finally understood the situation. Unless 'Gale' went out of her way to get herself killed, no one would dare pursue her.
The Guild's stance was clear: turn a blind eye. As long as she didn't cause trouble on the surface, everyone would just pretend they "didn't see" and "didn't know."
And if some adventurer tried to go after 'Gale' and ended up dead? That was their own fault for not being strong enough. The Guild wouldn't so much as blink.
That was, without a doubt, the Guild's silent policy.
'Looks like that's the end of the elf's matter.'
The man tucked this bit of information away in his mind.
'Judging by the Guild's attitude, they never really saw the elf as a target.'
'And even beyond the Guild... the Captain of the Ganesha Familia seems to share the same stance.'
'It seems the Astrea Familia had quite the good reputation in Orario back in the day.'
Of course, that only applied among the deities aligned with Order.