The Ashen Crown estate looked considerably more respectable than Rayleigh had expected from an organization connected to Valletta Grede.
A broad stone wall surrounded the property, separating its gardens and spacious main residence from the older industrial buildings along Orario's eastern outskirts.
The grounds were well maintained, the windows were clean, and several expensive carriages stood beneath a covered shelter beside the stables.
Anyone passing along the road would have assumed the estate belonged to a prosperous merchant who preferred living somewhere quieter than the city center.
Rayleigh had been watching it for nearly twenty minutes, and the number of armed men moving through the supposedly peaceful property was already enough to justify his suspicions.
He crouched on the roof of an abandoned workshop overlooking the eastern wall, keeping his spiritual pressure suppressed while he observed the guards changing positions.
His spiritual perception revealed several people inside the main residence, another group near the carriage house, and a handful of stronger presences moving between the garden and the lower floors.
The estate was clearly occupied, although he had yet to sense anyone resembling Valletta herself.
Beside him, Asfi adjusted the magical lenses of a small observation device before directing her attention toward the carriage house.
"Their guards are pretending to be ordinary employees, but they're carrying military-grade equipment beneath those uniforms. I've also identified three magical alarms around the eastern wall and a separate barrier covering the main residence. Whoever installed that barrier knew enough to conceal its operating crystals inside the building."
Rayleigh glanced at the device in her hands. "Can you disable it without alerting the people inside?"
"Probably, but I'd rather examine the supply connections before making promises. A poorly constructed barrier can be disabled from almost anywhere, whereas a properly designed one will report interference directly to its owner. If they're using the latter, touching the wrong crystal could announce our arrival."
That was reasonable enough for Rayleigh to leave the magical equipment to someone who understood it better than he did.
Asfi had arrived shortly after the Guild contacted Hermes Familia, bringing Talaria, several containers of alchemical equipment, and enough specialized tools to make Rayleigh wonder whether she routinely prepared for situations like this.
She had also made it very clear that the operation was separate from Hermes Familia's ordinary intelligence work and that Captain Lidith had approved her participation.
On the other side of the estate, Ryuu was conducting her own reconnaissance.
She had approached through the abandoned gardens behind the property and released Haineko with almost no disturbance to the surrounding air.
The Zanpakutō's ash spread through the vegetation and slipped beneath doors, allowing her to examine the estate's less visible sections while remaining concealed.
Rayleigh felt her spiritual pressure shift slightly as the ash returned.
A moment later, her voice reached him through the communication crystal.
"I've confirmed seventeen armed personnel and five civilians who appear to be employed as servants. There is also a concealed passage beneath the carriage house, although I haven't followed it far enough to determine where it leads. Two guards are stationed at the entrance, and the people inside have begun moving sealed containers toward the stables."
Rayleigh watched several workers emerge from the main residence carrying reinforced cases.
"They're preparing to leave, then. Keep the servants out of the fighting if we have to move in, and don't let the people near the passage discover your position."
Ryuu acknowledged the instruction.
Shakti was already supervising the outer perimeter with several Ganesha Familia squads, while Ardi and Alise had taken positions along the northern road.
Kaguya accompanied Ryuu on the western side, giving them enough combat strength to handle any resistance without requiring Rayleigh to abandon his own assignment.
He had deliberately avoided bringing a larger force.
The last operation had demonstrated how thoroughly Valletta prepared her escape routes, and filling the surrounding streets with adventurers would only give her people time to destroy records or retreat underground.
This time, Rayleigh intended to learn where the money and equipment were going before anyone realized the estate had been surrounded.
...
The first carriage left shortly after midnight.
Four horses pulled a heavy covered wagon through the northern gate, followed by a smaller carriage carrying two armed escorts.
Their departure looked ordinary enough that anyone watching from the road would have assumed the household was sending goods toward the city.
Rayleigh immediately noticed that the horses were struggling more than they should have been.
Whatever the wagon carried was considerably heavier than its size suggested.
He watched the vehicles pass beyond the estate wall before contacting Shakti.
"The first shipment is leaving through the northern gate. Let it travel another two streets before stopping it, and keep the escorts alive. If they realize we're investigating Valletta, I want them contained before they can warn anyone inside."
Shakti confirmed the arrangement and redirected two squads toward the northern road.
Rayleigh returned his attention to the estate.
The guards near the carriage house had begun moving more urgently, and several people inside the residence were descending toward the lower floors.
Their movements were organized enough that he suspected the departure had been scheduled rather than prompted by anything the surveillance teams had done.
Asfi finished inspecting the barrier connections and lowered her observation device.
"I found the control circuit. There's a relay crystal hidden beneath the northern wall, and the barrier covering the residence receives its instructions from there. I can disable the relay, but once it stops responding, whoever monitors the system will know something happened."
Rayleigh looked toward the carriage house.
"Then wait until Shakti has the shipment. We can enter immediately afterward."
They did not have to wait long.
Several minutes later, Shakti reported that the wagon had been stopped outside the populated district. Its escorts had resisted briefly before surrendering, and the Ganesha adventurers were examining the cargo under supervision.
The contents were exactly what Rayleigh expected.
Reinforced containers held magical regulators, replacement machinery, Flame Rock fragments, and several sealed document cases.
A separate compartment beneath the driver's seat contained payment records bearing the same company seal found at the pumping house.
Shakti also confirmed that the shipment had been prepared for delivery to another collection point farther east.
Rayleigh made his decision.
"Asfi, disable the barrier. Ryuu and Kaguya take the servants out through the western garden, while Ardi and Alise secure the carriage house. Shakti can bring her people through the northern entrance once the alarm is down. I'll handle the main residence."
Asfi immediately began working on the relay.
Rayleigh watched her open a compact case and select two thin instruments before inserting them into the exposed control housing.
The magical crystal inside pulsed several times as she interrupted its connection to the residence, and the faint energy surrounding the estate wall gradually weakened.
When the crystal finally went dark, Asfi looked toward him.
"You have a short window before the backup system activates. I wouldn't waste it."
Rayleigh was already moving.
Shunpo carried him across the road and over the estate wall, allowing him to reach the main residence before the nearest guard understood what had happened.
The man reached for his weapon when Rayleigh appeared in front of him, but a sharp strike to the side of his neck rendered him unconscious before he could raise an alarm.
Rayleigh caught him by the collar and lowered him behind a decorative stone planter.
He crossed the courtyard and entered through a side door leading toward the servants' quarters.
The interior had been furnished with expensive carpets, polished wooden panels, and enough artwork to make the estate resemble a nobleman's private residence.
Rayleigh passed through a spacious dining room and reached the central staircase just as two armed guards emerged from the corridor ahead.
Both recognized him immediately.
One shouted a warning while drawing his sword, and the other reached for a communication crystal attached to his belt.
Rayleigh raised two fingers.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa!"
A yellow rope of spiritual energy wrapped around the second man's arms and pulled them against his body before he could activate the crystal.
The swordsman charged.
Rayleigh stepped inside the first swing, caught the man's wrist, and struck the side of his knee with enough force to ruin his balance.
As the guard stumbled, Rayleigh drove his elbow into the man's jaw and sent him crashing against the staircase.
The entire exchange lasted only a few seconds, but the shout had already alerted the people upstairs.
Several doors slammed open.
Rayleigh looked toward the upper landing as four more armed men rushed into view.
'Well, so much for being subtle.'
He drew Benihime.
The first attacker vaulted over the railing with a spear aimed directly at Rayleigh's chest.
Rayleigh caught the weapon against his blade, redirected its point into the floor, and kicked the man sideways before the others could coordinate their attacks.
Two swordsmen descended together, attempting to attack from opposite sides of the staircase while a mage remained above them preparing a spell.
Rayleigh recognized their formation immediately.
They were accustomed to fighting in confined spaces, where the defenders could exploit the narrow staircase to prevent stronger opponents from surrounding them.
Unfortunately for them, that strategy depended on their opponent respecting the same limitations.
Rayleigh disappeared with Shunpo and reappeared beside the mage before her chant was complete.
Benihime's sheath struck her staff and knocked it aside, while his other hand caught the back of her collar and pulled her away from the railing.
He struck her once behind the ear before lowering her unconscious body onto the landing.
The two swordsmen turned too late.
Rayleigh stepped behind them, caught their weapons with Benihime, and forced both blades downward before striking the nearer man across the ribs.
The other attempted to retreat into the corridor, but Rayleigh followed with Shunpo and drove his shoulder into the man's chest, knocking him backward through an open doorway.
By the time the fighting ended, every guard on the staircase was unconscious.
Rayleigh glanced at the damaged railing.
He hoped the Guild remembered to charge Valletta for repairs.
...
Meanwhile, the operation outside had become considerably less quiet.
The carriage house contained a concealed entrance leading into the estate's underground transport network, and the guards stationed there had apparently been instructed to destroy the passage if anyone approached without authorization.
Ardi discovered the arrangement when the first man tried to activate a set of explosive charges hidden beneath the floor.
She struck him across the wrist with Nejibana before he could reach the trigger, while Alise intercepted the second guard attempting to escape through the rear entrance.
The man swung a heavy axe toward her shoulder.
Alise caught it against Engetsu's sealed blade, pushed the weapon aside, and struck him across the stomach with enough force to send him crashing into the stable doors.
"They're trying to destroy the tunnel!" Ardi shouted as two more men emerged from the hidden passage carrying alchemical cylinders.
Alise immediately moved to intercept them.
She kept Engetsu sealed because the carriage house was filled with dry wood, stored oil, and several containers whose contents had not yet been identified.
Releasing the sword's flames inside the building would have been effective against the guards, but it could also destroy the evidence they had come to recover.
Instead, she relied on ordinary swordsmanship.
Her first strike knocked a cylinder from one man's hand, while the second cut through the leather straps holding the remaining explosives to his belt.
She followed with a kick that drove him into the wall before he could retrieve anything.
Ardi caught the other guard attempting to flee toward the underground passage.
A sharp blow from Nejibana's guard dropped him immediately.
By the time Shakti's reinforcements entered the carriage house, the entire security team had been subdued and the explosive charges were being carefully removed from beneath the floorboards.
The concealed passage remained intact.
Ardi examined the opening and contacted Rayleigh.
"We've secured the carriage house. There's an underground freight route leading east, and the people here were ready to blow it up if anyone tried entering. Alise and I are going to check how far it goes while Shakti's people secure the prisoners."
Rayleigh had just reached the second floor when her report arrived.
"Don't go farther than the first junction until Asfi checks for additional traps. Valletta has used this kind of arrangement before, and I'd rather avoid digging either of you out of a collapsed tunnel."
Ardi acknowledged the instruction, sounding disappointed but sensible enough to follow it.
Rayleigh continued through the residence.
The remaining guards were retreating toward the eastern wing.
Their movements drew his attention because they were abandoning defensible positions rather than attempting to hold the upper floors.
Several carried document cases, and one man had a large leather satchel strapped across his chest.
The satchel was clearly more important to them than the expensive furniture surrounding it.
Rayleigh increased his speed.
He reached the eastern corridor just as the guards entered a reinforced door at the end.
The last man attempted to close it behind him.
Rayleigh caught the edge with one hand.
Metal screeched as the reinforced hinges strained against his grip.
He pulled the door open and stepped inside.
The room beyond contained several desks, an enormous cabinet, and a collection of magical communication devices arranged around a central table.
Maps covered one wall, while the others were lined with shelves holding contracts and accounting records.
Five armed men stood between Rayleigh and the largest desk.
Behind them, an elderly human man wearing an expensive merchant's coat was attempting to stuff several documents into a leather bag.