「Um, was it really alright? Leaving those two behind like that?」
After leaving the guild and as they neared the lord’s residence, the knight finally asked Rei.
However, Rei just patted Set as he replied.
「Stopping Lenora while she was like that would have been a bit difficult for me. Besides, if you were going to ask about it, shouldn’t you have asked sooner?」
「Please spare me. There’s absolutely no benefit in sticking your neck into a dispute……no, a battle between women.」
The knight’s personal experience could be felt as he changed his phrasing from ‘dispute’ to ‘battle’.
Thinking that, Rei shook his head as he spoke.
「It’s the same for me. Lenora in that state is especially scary and out of control.」
「……I understand.」
The knight muttered with deep feeling and his words carried a strong sense of reality.
Rei briefly wondered what kind of life the knight walking beside him had lived up until now.
Perhaps noticing Rei’s potentially questionable thoughts, the knight changed the subject.
「Come to think of it, there’s a rumour going around among my comrades that there were Gamelions in the dungeon.」
「Yeah, there were nearly fifty of them in the hall where the dungeon core was located.」
「……Honestly, taking on one or two Gamelions is one thing, but to take on fifty and win normally is astonishing. And Set wasn’t even there with you, right?」
「The dungeon entrance was small, so I had Set wait outside.」
「Guru~……」
Set let out a disappointed cry at Rei’s words.
Perhaps finding Set’s reaction endearing, the knight smiled.
「What else did you think of the dungeon?」
「Even if you ask me what I thought about it……the only dungeons I’ve gone to is the one that’s further from here and the one in the Labyrinth City of Exil. I don’t think those will be much of a reference.」
「No, no, most people never get the chance to go to different dungeons you know?」
As the knight spoke, Rei felt that some of the dignity the knight had when they met at the guild had disappeared.
(Could this be his true self? Maybe he was just putting up a front at the guild.)
While thinking that it must be tough to be a knight, Rei recalled his time in the dungeon.
「Let’s see…… The fact that it was newly formed probably had something to do with it, but anyway, there were a lot of Goblins. If we’re just talking about the number of enemies I defeated in the dungeon, I think there were more Goblins than Gamelions.」
「Goblins, huh. I’ve heard stories about it, but for you to say that, there must have been an awful lot of them.」
「In my case, it wasn’t a problem because I have my item box, but for an ordinary adventurer, I think the wear and tear on weapons would be quite harsh. There’s the issue of physical stamina too.」
The knight could imagine the difficulty of fighting alone. Hearing Rei’s words, he nodded in understanding.
As they talked about the dungeon as they walked, they eventually arrived at the lord’s residence.
There were gatekeepers, but since the ones approaching were a fellow knight and the ever familiar Rei, and perhaps because they had been informed beforehand, they were able to enter without being made to wait, exchanging only light greetings.
「Gurururu~」
Set headed towards the stables as usual as Rei and the knight entered the lord’s residence without thinking much of it.
For Set, calling the lord’s residence his second home……might be an exaggeration, but he was certainly close to being that familiar with the place.
In fact, the old man who managed the stables wasn’t surprised anymore when he saw Set……on the contrary, he even smiled as he let him into the stables.
For the old man in charge of these stables, the horses inside were the objects of his affection, but also subjects that needed strict training.
Compared to them, Set, who had absolutely no connection to the old man, was simply a creature he needed to take care of.
On top of that, Set would fully display his adorableness, round eyes, and friendly attitude, so to the old man, it was almost like taking care of a grandchild.
Welcoming Set with a smile, he gave him some bread he had saved for when he got hungry, just like usual, as he patted him.
「Gururu~」
「Yes, yes, is it delicious? Welcome. You can stay and relax for a while today as well.」
Set generally became attached to anyone who doted on him.
He rubbed his face against the old man and thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of being patted by his sinewy hands.
The sensation varied slightly depending on the person petting him, but apparently, the feel of this old man’s hands wasn’t unpleasant for Set.
Of course, Rei’s hands felt the best to Set.
Even so, the old man’s hands knew exactly where to press when petting him, having handled animals for many years, so it was undoubtedly a pleasant time for Set.
……That said, it didn’t take long for the old man’s subordinate, who was in charge of the area, to look at the old man and Set with an exasperated expression, causing the old man to feel embarrassed and yell back at him.
While Set and the old man were playing, Rei made his way inside the lord’s residence.
It was an office he had visited many times before and had grown accustomed to.
Though he still couldn’t quite get used to the sheer extravagance of the door.
Rei faced Daska as he sat down on a sofa inside the office.
Ranga was also present beside Rei.
As for the knight who had guided Rei here, he had already returned to his duties.
There was black tea and sandwiches prepared by a maid on the table, implicitly indicating that this wasn’t a formal meeting, but rather a private gathering with Daska.
「So, the monsters that appeared in the dungeon were Goblins, Kobolds, Ogres, Orcs, and Gamelions. Was that all?」
「Yes. However, the Ogre was only about half the size of the ones I had encountered before, and in terms of actual strength……saying it was weak might be an exaggeration, but it certainly wasn’t strong.」
「……Hmm, what do you think, Ranga?」
At Rei’s words, Daska took a sip of black tea and asked Ranga.
「Let’s see. As expected, I believe the biggest reason is that not much time has passed since the dungeon was formed.」
「Do you think that’s also the reason the dungeon hasn’t collapsed yet?」
「I do wonder. The dungeon core was taken out, yet the dungeon remains intact…… I do recall hearing a similar story about another dungeon in the past.」
Daska turned his gaze towards Ranga, who spoke as if trying to recall something.
Rei, who was listening to their conversation, also turned to look.
「Really? Do recall any of the details?」
「I’m sorry, it was quite a long time ago, so……」
「Hmm, but if the dungeon doesn’t collapse, it’s both troublesome and helpful.」
「Troublesome and helpful?」
Rei asked while reaching for a sandwich, and Daska nodded.
「If the dungeon remains as it is, there’s a possibility that monsters or bandits might enter its ruins and use it as a stronghold. Well, there probably aren’t many with the guts to be a bandit in this frontier, but even so, the possibility isn’t zero.」
「……That’s true. Stationing soldiers there might be fine, but maintaining the current scale indefinitely would be too much of a burden. But if we send less soldiers, we might suffer casualties from monsters.」
Listening to Daska and Ranga’s conversation, Rei nodded in agreement.
「Then, why is it helpful?」
「This is the frontier. We can’t say for sure that a monster outbreak won’t occur. In such a situation, there’s a possibility we could use it as a forward base.」
「……That place?」
「Right. Well, if we were to use it for that purpose, we’d need to properly maintain the inside of the dungeon. Also, as I just mentioned, we’d need to seal the entrance tightly so monsters can’t get inside. As for bandits……well, we don’t need to worry about them too much here at the frontier.」
「As someone entrusted with Gilm’s security, bandits are just as dangerous as monsters, if not more so, though.」
Ranga, the man in charge of Gilm’s guards, muttered with a wry smile.
Still, the fact that he could just smile wryly meant he understood that ordinary bandits couldn’t possibly survive at the frontier.
Most bandits operated around Abuero and Sabrusta, the entrances to the frontier.
Occasionally, hot-blooded bandits would make it all the way to Gilm’s surroundings, but most ended up as monster food. Even if they didn’t, Gilm was full of highly skilled adventurers, so they would be subjugated in no time.
Ranga’s words came from his understanding of all of that.
Rather, the bandits Ranga needed to be wary of were the ones aiming to slip into Gilm itself.
Gilm had its own slums and bad elements sometimes gathered in such places.
「Well, let’s take our time thinking about the dungeon. It’s not something we need to decide immediately anyway. More importantly, Rei. You brought the dungeon core back, right? Can you show it to me?」
Daska directed an expectant gaze at Rei, but Rei could only shake his head.
「I left the dungeon core with an alchemist, so I don’t have it on me right now.」
「An alchemist? Ah, I see. You had a hobby of collecting magic items, right? Is it for that?」
Daska looked disappointed for a moment, but a dungeon core, even from a newly formed dungeon, was undoubtedly an extremely rare material.
Was he going to use it to create some magic item? Rei shook his head again at Daska’s question.
「Not create a new one, but repair……or rather, remake? Something like that.」
「Hmm, interesting. Tell me about it, if you don’t mind.」
Daska placed his teacup on the table and leaned forward, looking at Rei.
「I don’t think it’s something worth worrying about too much. When I fought Noiz during the civil war in the Bestir Empire, I obtained the magic sword he was using……but since the blade was snapped clean in half, I thought I’d have it reforged into a magic spear. Since the dungeon core might be usable for that purpose, I left it with an alchemist introduced to me by an acquaintance who is a blacksmith.」
「……Don’t push your luck again.」
Daska muttered, sounding somewhat exasperated by Rei’s words.
Rei tilted his head at Daska’s reaction.
「Push my luck?」
「Yeah. Changing the blade of an ordinary long sword that isn’t a magic item into a spear isn’t that rare of a story. But turning a magic sword into a magic spear…… of course, it’s not unheard of, but without a considerably skilled alchemist and blacksmith, it wouldn’t be strange for a top-tier magic sword to become a third-rate or fourth-rate magic spear, you know? What you’re talking about is that difficult.」
「……The person himself seemed pretty enthusiastic about it, though.」
Rei was suddenly struck by anxiety at Daska’s words.
But even so, the reason he didn’t immediately rush back to Asimov’s house was because Pamidor, who should have known about these things, had taken on the job.
Rei hadn’t actually met Pamidor that many times.
But seeing the weapons Pamidor forged as a blacksmith, trusting the person who introduced Pamidor to him, seeing how he doted on his son Kumito, and furthermore, talking with Pamidor, Rei’s belief that he was a trustworthy person had grown stronger.
Since it was Pamidor, he wouldn’t say he could do something he couldn’t.
As for Asimov, Rei understood he was an someone that could be called an alchemy maniac, and for that very reason, he wouldn’t take on something he couldn’t do either.
If he did do something like that, he would undoubtedly face severe punishment at the hands of Pamidor.
「Hmm, enthusiastic, huh. If so, he must be confident he can do it. Can I ask which alchemist you asked?」
「He said his name was Asimov.」
The moment Rei uttered that name, Daska and Ranga, who had been listening with deep interest, slightly widened their eyes.
「I see, Asimov. ……It’s true that alchemist should be able to handle something like that. However, it seems it would be difficult to get him to accept a request.」
「Y-Yes. That Asimov is highly skilled, but, well……」
Seeing the two exchange such words, Rei somewhat understood what they were trying to say.
Indeed, considering Asimov’s personality, he wouldn’t accept a request so easily.
Since he was moody, it was probably incredibly difficult to get him in the right frame of mind.
「This time, it seems the deciding factor was that he took an interest in Set’s feathers and fur, and also the dungeon core.」
「……I see, in that case.」
Daska muttered, and Ranga nodded in understanding.
It seemed these two also felt that Asimov was an alchemy maniac.
After that, they talked for a while. Hearing that the people who had come to Gilm with Rei would be moving into the city tomorrow, Rei took out all the luggage he had been keeping for them from the Misty Ring before leaving the lord’s residence.