Walking down a back alley, not far from the library in Gilm, Rei finally found the building he was looking for.
「Right, Set.」
「Guru.」
At Rei’s call, Set gave a cry as if to say he understood and lay down in a spot that was mostly hidden from the surroundings.
If one ignored his size and the season, the sight of him lying there could easily be mistaken for a curled-up cat.
……If cats had wings growing from their backs that is.
With a quick glance at Set, Rei opened the building’s door.
In an instant, a warm, no, hot air enveloped Rei, completely opposite to the cold outside.
Frowning slightly at the heat, Rei checked to see if anyone was around before shouting loud enough to be heard at the back of the shop.
「Pamidor, are you here?」
「Yeah, I’m here! ……What, it’s just you, Rei?」
A man who looked like nothing short of a hardened criminal at first glance came out from the back of the shop while saying that.
Not only did he have a brutal-looking face, but his physique was muscular enough that he looked like he could easily lift someone Rei’s size with one hand. He looked more like a bandit than an actual bandit.
Perhaps because he had been forging just now, his forehead was covered in sweat, adding to his intimidating aura.
That must have been the source of the heat when the door opened.
Knowing exactly what kind of person Pamidor was, Rei wasn’t particularly bothered by his appearance as he called out.
「What do you mean, ‘just you’? I’m still a customer, you know. ……Is Kumito not here?」
「Kumito is out. What, you call yourself a customer, but you actually came looking for Kumito instead of me?」
「No, it’s nothing like that. I was just asking.」
「Well, whatever. So what’s your business? I heard from Kumito that you were back, but you aren’t the type to go out of your way just to say hello, right?」
At Pamidor’s words, Rei gave a small shrug and pulled the magic sword out from the Misty Ring.
Well, since it was broken in half along the blade, it was more accurate to say it was two pieces of a former magic sword.
In any case, Rei pulled the magic sword out and handed it to Pamidor.
「Hey, this is……quite the piece of work, isn’t it?」
「I suppose so. I know at least that much. It was used by an S rank adventurer, so it’s not just any ordinary weapon.」
「S rank!? From where?」
「The Bestir Empire.」
Hearing Rei’s brief reply, a single name immediately came to Pamidor’s mind.
「Noiz, the Immovable, huh.」
「Yeah. I had a bit of business in the Bestir Empire, and we ended up fighting.」
「……And his magic sword was broken, which means……you won?」
「No, more like he let me go.」
「Heh. So even you couldn’t do much against an S rank opponent.」
「I managed to put up some resistance, at least. But if he hadn’t retreated……」
He probably would have lost.
Pamidor inwardly felt a sense of admiration as Rei swallowed the rest of his sentence.
Rei was definitely strong. He was strong to the point where an ordinary adventurer couldn’t do a thing against him.
Pamidor himself was nothing more than a blacksmith, but as a highly skilled one, he understood just how strong Rei was.
He had also heard about, although he hadn’t directly seen, Rei’s strength when he clashed with the Azoth Firm.
Pamidor understood that it was difficult for someone with that much strength to admit they were weaker than someone else.
「Even so, you managed to break the Immovable’s magic sword. That alone feels like a minor feat to me.」
He stared intently at the pieces of the magic sword in his hand.
Looking at the blade, broken cleanly in two, he could understand the sheer destructive power behind the blow that had caused it.
「I’ll say this first……I’m just a blacksmith. If we’re going to reforge a magic sword, we’ll need the help of an alchemist or a mage well-versed in this sort of thing. What do you want to do? Will you leave it with me for now? Once I finish my current work, I’m planning to head over to an alchemist’s place.」
「Ah……right. To be honest, I kind of want to tag along, but I’m planning to head to the dungeon soon.」
While replying to Pamidor, Rei also felt a certain appeal in meeting an alchemist.
Because Gilm was a frontier city, it attracted many alchemists seeking rare materials.
Of course, their level was probably lower compared to the Bestir Empire, which poured national resources into alchemy, or Ozos, known as the Magic City.
Even so, Rei wanted to meet a proper alchemist.
……As far as improper alchemists went, he had encountered one during the incident with the Azoth Firm a while ago.
「Hmm, I won’t force you. In that case, I’ll take care of it on this end, so drop by tomorrow or whenever you’re free.」
「Understood. I’ll drop by when I get back from the dungeon then. I’m counting on you.」
Despite his villainous face, Pamidor was a man who valued duty and obligation.
Knowing that he was highly skilled, Rei had no reservations about leaving the magic sword to him.
However, the main reason was that the magic sword was just something he had picked up along the way.
If it were the Death Scythe……or even something he used regularly like the Thorns Spear, Dagger of Flowing Water, or Nebula’s Eye, he would definitely have gone to meet the alchemist together with Pamidor.
Furthermore, if it were something made by Esta Nord, like the Dragon Robe……he probably would have headed to the Imperial Capital back in the Bestir Empire or Ozos, assuming it couldn’t be fixed here.
Because he had only acquired Noiz’s magic sword by chance, Rei just thought that it would be nice if he could use it again.
「Yeah, leave it to me. A magic sword used by an S rank adventurer sounds like it’ll be a good job for me too.」
Receiving Pamidor’s words at his back, Rei stepped outside.
「Guru~?」
Seeing Rei come out of the shop, Set approached with a cry, as if asking how it went.
Rei patted Set’s head and prompted him to get going.
「It’s a long shot, but he said he’ll show it to an alchemist to see if anything can be done. Anyway, our business here is finished, so……let’s head to the dungeon. I don’t know if we’ll be able to clear it today, though.」
「Gurururu~!」
Set purred happily at Rei’s words.
He understood that he might not be able to enter the dungeon himself, but he seemed happy just to be able to fly alongside Rei.
Walking through the city with Set, they were naturally called out to by various people, but they eventually reached the gate.
「Hey, Rei. You too, Set. Heading out of the city?」
The guard who had handled Rei’s paperwork when he returned to Gilm called out to him.
The peak time for people passing through the gate had already passed, so he was probably quite free right now.
In fact, while it wasn’t completely empty, there were only a few people undergoing the procedures to leave the gate.
「I’m heading to that dungeon I heard about the other day.」
Wow. The guard frowned as he expressed his thoughts.
「You really have some strange tastes. Didn’t I tell you what kind of place it was?」
「Yeah, and I gathered a lot of other information too. But even so, I want to check it out at least once.」
「……Well, you’re a high rank adventurer with a title, so I doubt anything I say will be of any use……but be careful. Actually, it’s that dungeon, so maybe there isn’t even a need to be careful.」
「That’s not necessarily true. A dungeon is a place where you never know what might happen.」
Rei handed the guard his guild card, taken from his Misty Ring, along with the Necklace of Subservient Monster from Set’s neck, and asked him to process the paperwork.
Because there were so few people, the process was finished quickly.
「Well then, do your best.」
「It must be tough out here in the cold, but keep at it.」
Calling out to the guards braving the cold when it could snow at any moment, Rei left Gilm with Set.
Normally, he was asked to refrain from flying near the gates, but fortunately, there was hardly anyone around right now.
「Alright Set, let’s go.」
「Gurururururu~!」
Set gave a loud cry in response after Rei got on his back. After a few running steps, he flapped his wings and soared into the sky.
Rather than flying, it was more like he was running through the air.
The few guards near the gate could only stare in speechless distraction at the sight.
「Set, the dungeon is that way. Just fly straight.」
Set flapped his wings, heading in the direction Rei indicated.
With every flap, they covered a considerable distance.
By flapping continuously, their speed increased even further.
Normally, the sky at this time of year would be freezing cold and it wouldn’t be strange to be shivering instantly. But Rei had his Dragon Robe, and Set was a Griffon, so they weren’t bothered by the cold in the slightest.
Watching the scenery on the ground rapidly pass by, Rei was once again reminded of how amazing Set was.
When traveling on the ground, one generally followed the roads, but roads were rarely perfectly straight.
If there was a mountain, it would go around it. If there was a valley, it would go around it. If there was a river, it would go around until a section narrow enough to be crossed could be found.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say the paths were winding.
But when Set flew, none of that mattered. He could just fly in a straight line.
And his speed was on a completely different level compared to traveling on the ground.
「Ah, Set. Turn right at that pile of stones on the road.」
「Gurururu~!」
Prompted by Rei, who had spotted the pile of stones serving as a marker to leave the road, Set gave a cry and changed directions.
As they flew straight away from the road, they eventually saw several tents pitched on the ground. It was their destination, the dungeon.
The tents were likely used by the soldiers stationed here.
Normally, it was a distance of a few hours by carriage, but they had arrived in about ten minutes after taking off from Gilm. This truly demonstrated the sheer speed of Set’s flight.
And that was even while enjoying a stroll through the sky, not even flying at full speed.
「Tents, huh. ……Using tents at this time of year must be pretty brutal unless they’re magic tents.」
If it were a magic tent, they wouldn’t feel the cold outside air.
But ordinary tents didn’t have such functions, so naturally, they would still need to sleep in proper winter.
Some of the people tending a campfire near the tents noticed something……or someone approaching from the sky.
The soldiers reflexively reached for their bows, but upon realising it was a Griffon flying towards them, they immediately lowered them.
……However, the fact that they didn’t place their bows on the ground meant they were ready to intercept immediately if the approaching Griffon wasn’t the Set they knew.
Though, if it really were a Griffon other than Set approaching, the bows and arrows the soldiers had wouldn’t be of any use……in fact, it would probably only serve to anger it.
Seeing Rei riding on the back of Set as he landed on the ground, the soldiers finally lowered their guard.
Rei dismounted and called out to the soldiers.
「I’m an adventurer, Rei. I’m here to clear the dungeon……」
「Is that you, Rei!?」
Before he could finish his sentence, a voice called out.
Turning his gaze towards the sound, Rei saw a middle-aged man with a stern, bearded face.
It was Ranga, the captain of Gilm’s guards. Currently, he was stationed here, leading the soldiers in keeping watch for any monsters emerging from the dungeon.
He must have been on a break, as he had just stepped out of a tent. Rei smiled as he spoke to him.
「It’s been a while.」
「Guru~!」
As if echoing Rei’s words, Set also gave a cry.
Perhaps finding the interaction amusing, Ranga smiled and raised a hand slightly.
「It really has been a while. From what you just said, are you here to clear the dungeon?」
Rei nodded in response to Ranga’s question.
「I heard it was a small dungeon, so I felt like trying my hand at it. If I can clear it today, great. If not, I still want to experience what kind of place it is. Is entry restricted or anything?」
He had heard that adventurers were normally allowed to enter dungeons, but Rei asked just to be safe.
At Rei’s words, Ranga nodded as if it were obvious.
「Of course not. But I hear this dungeon doesn’t offer much in the way of rewards……if you’re fine with that, that is.」
「I already heard about that while gathering information, so it’s not a problem. Well then, without further ado…… Ah, I’ll be having Set wait outside, is that alright?」
「Hm? Ah, I see. With the entrance to that dungeon, it would be impossible for Set to get inside. Yeah, I don’t mind. However, monsters do occasionally come out of the dungeon, so when that happens……」
Understanding what Ranga wanted to say, Rei gave a small nod.
「If monsters come out, I’ll have Set fight them too. Even if I don’t say anything, he knows what to do.」
「Gururu~!」
As Set purred as if to say ‘Leave it to me!’, not only Ranga but the other soldiers breathed sighs of relief as well.
Since they lived in Gilm, they naturally all knew about Set.
That was why they were relieved, knowing they wouldn’t have to be busy dealing with the things that would come outside for a while.
The monsters that came out of the dungeon weren’t very strong. No, they were clearly weak, but there was no telling when they would appear…… Furthermore, since this was the frontier, the monsters attacking from the surrounding area were actually much more formidable than those coming out of the dungeon.
They understood that with Set around, they wouldn’t have to worry about those monsters either.