Everyone was in high spirits as they were travelling back to Gilm in the carriage.

「I’m really glad we had Rei come along with us. In the end, we managed to hunt three and a half Gamelions.」

One of the men spoke up as he reflected on their day’s hunt.

Rent puffed out his chest as he responded.

「That just shows my foresight.」

「……Look. If you can get Rei to join, there’s obviously going to be no issues with combat power at that point. It’s not really foresight, more like a sure thing? Well, I’ll still give you credit for bringing Rei along, though.」

「Guh, i-it’s a bit hard to tell if that’s a compliment or not.」

Rent muttered with a complicated expression at Johanna’s words.

Originally, the main of goal of this Gamelion hunt was for Rent to appeal to Johanna. Despite that, with Johanna’s attitude being like this when it mattered most, Rent couldn’t exactly call the Gamelion hunt a success. Even if they had succeeded in bagging three and a half Gamelions, half of one being shared with Beast’s Fang, thanks to Rei and Set’s cooperation.

「……」

One of the men silently patted Rent on the shoulder. Rent fell into a complicated mood at his consolation. Setting aside the fact that the others knew how he felt about Johanna, Rent really wanted Johanna herself to notice his feelings. However, Johanna showed absolutely, completely, and utterly no sign of noticing Rent’s feelings to a strange, almost unnatural degree.

(Well, the reason for that is probably Set.)

Rei thought of his partner, who was walking outside the carriage window. It was obvious that Johanna’s affection was directed not toward a human man, but toward Set.

「More importantly, don’t forget to prepare a place to dismantle the Gamelions once we get back to Gilm. They won’t rot no matter how long they stay inside my item box, but you guys want to turn them into cash as soon as possible, right?」

「Hmm? Ah, don’t worry about that. We’ve already secured a proper place for dismantling. Once we’re back in Gilm, we plan to head straight there.」

Rent replied without seeming to notice that Rei had changed the subject. No, if anything, Rent probably welcomed it as a way to escape from reality.

「Gamelion meat……If you really want to experience its true charm directly, simply grilling and eating it is the best. Though boiling it is delicious too.」

「Like skewers?」

「That’s good too, but I think just cooking it normally on a hot plate is tastier.」

Listening to the conversation, which had turned into a culinary discussion about Gamelions before anyone noticed, Rei also spoke up, unwilling to compromise on this one point.

「I’d recommend a stew, though. That technically counts as boiling as well.」

The stew he had eaten at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion last year flashed through Rei’s mind. The potato-like vegetables were soft and flaky, and though the meat was stewed, it had a nice, tender chew to it, filling his mouth with juices. The natural sweetness of the vegetables was thoroughly dissolved into the soup, and the addition of a few beans to accentuate the taste was a wonderful touch.

「……Yeah, the stew at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion was the absolute best.」

Rent nodded in agreement at Rei’s words. Johanna and the other former members of the guerrilla force couldn’t understand as they had never been to the Dusk Wheat Pavilion, but Rent, who knew the taste, had no choice but to agree. However, Rent didn’t just agree with everything Rei said.

「Stew is great, but Gamelion meat served as a topping for udon is delicious too. Especially the udon at The Satisfied Stomach, you can’t miss out on that.」

「Ah, yeah. That’s true.」

Realising that Rent apparently didn’t know he was the one who had introduced udon, Rei gave a vague reply. The fact that Rei had introduced udon was a piece of information known to those in the know, but it seemed it hadn’t spread to general adventurers yet……or at least, Rent didn’t know about it.

「I see. They all sound delicious. Rei, could you tell us of any places that serve good Gamelion dishes?」

At the words of one of the men, who had been listening to Rei and Rent’s conversation, Rei thought for a moment before speaking.

「My top recommendation is definitely the dining hall at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion. It’s an expensive inn for Gilm, so the food is appropriately delicious. Also, The Satisfied Stomach that Rent just mentioned is an excellent shop that’s tasty, cheap, and quick to serve your food. I’m sure there will be various other places serving Gamelion dishes once the meat becomes more widely available. Oh, the street stall food is quite good too. Skewers are the most common, but the grilling and seasoning vary quite a bit depending on the stall.」

「Heh……then next time……」

Just as he was about to finish his sentence, the man in the driver’s seat opened the small window connecting to the carriage and spoke with perfect timing.

「Hey, Gilm is in sight.」

「Oh, we’re back. Carriages are fast and comfortable, aren’t they.」

When Rent looked out the window, he could see the outer walls of Gilm as the sun started to set. With Gilm in sight, the people inside the carriage raised happy voices.

「Alright, we made it back to Gilm safely.」

「It hasn’t been that long since we arrived in Gilm……but even so, seeing it like this makes me feel like I’ve returned home.」

「Well, it’s the frontier, so I guess that’s only natural?」

They must have been tense for one reason or another. The moment Gilm came into view, they began chatting even more cheerfully than before. When they finally arrived at the gates of Gilm, there were several adventurer parties with Gamelion corpses loaded onto their handcarts, likely because many others had gone out to hunt Gamelions just like Rei’s party.

(Ah……that party.)

Looking out the window of the carriage, Rei suddenly noticed a familiar adventurer party. It was the group of three adventurer parties he had seen earlier, where one party drew the Gamelion’s attention while the other two circled around to its rear.

「Hmm? What’s wrong, Rei?」

Rent asked curiously, likely noticing that Rei was staring at a specific spot.

「No, it’s nothing. More importantly……」

After speaking that far, Rei suddenly realised through the carriage window that many gazes from the surroundings were directed at them. Some members of the group of adventurer parties Rei had been looking at moments ago were now casting curious glances toward the carriage.

「It feels like we’re drawing quite a lot of attention.」

「Of course we are. Going out to hunt Gamelions in a carriage is pretty unusual, and more than anything, Set is right outside. In other words, it’s obvious who’s riding inside this carriage.」

「……I see.」

Johanna, who had been watching the exchange between Rei and Rent, suddenly spoke up.

「Rei, you really lack awareness of how famous you are. It wouldn’t be strange to be famous just for having Set-chan with you.」

「No, I get that my name is out there and I stand out. I just don’t really feel it.」

It was just like Rei to still drag along his sensibilities from his time in Japan in moments like this.

「And besides……」

Just as Johanna was about to say something more.

「Set-chan, Set-chan, Set-chan! Have you been well!?」

A voice suddenly echoed from outside the carriage, causing Johanna to freeze. Moving like a broken doll, she turned her gaze outside the carriage. There, she saw a person she had never met before stroking Set’s head and feeding him some dried meat from her hand.

If it were just that, it wouldn’t be a very unusual sight. Set was a popular figure in Gilm, doted on by all kinds of people including adventurers, soldiers, knights, and merchants. Yet even so……though Johanna herself didn’t understand the reason, the exact moment she saw that person doting on Set, she felt her cheeks twitch.

Then, almost reflexively, she threw open the carriage door and leapt outside.

「Hah……so it’s come to this……」

Watching her leave, Rei couldn’t help but sigh. Just from hearing that voice earlier, Rei already knew exactly who was outside. The person who stood at the absolute pinnacle in Gilm when it came to doting on Set. And facing her was the person who had come to Gilm from the Bestir Empire for the sole reason of wanting to be with Set. Of course, Rei realised that this wasn’t the only reason Johanna had come to Gilm……to the Mireana Kingdom. However, he also understood that it was one of her main reasons.

At any rate, neither of them would back down to the other when it came to doting on Set, which was why he fully realised that a clash might occur if these two ever met……

(Why on earth is Milein outside Gilm at this time of year? I heard she had already saved up enough funds to get through the winter.)

While feeling thoroughly fed up internally, he reconsidered that since Johanna could move freely around Gilm, an encounter with Milein was bound to happen sooner or later anyway.

(I should just be glad it happened outside the city instead of in the streets……Look at it that way. If those two end up fighting here, at least there won’t be any collateral damage to the surroundings.)

Rei considered it a small blessing as Rent snapped back to his senses inside the carriage and turned his gaze toward Rei.

「H-Hey, Rei. Was that just now perhaps……」

Rent was an adventurer from Gilm as well. Naturally, he knew about the person who doted on Set and that she was the leader of the C-rank party, Scorching Wind. Unlike Rent, the other former guerrilla force members inside the carriage had no idea what was going on.

……As for the man in the driver’s seat, he was so caught up in the incredibly tense atmosphere outside that he couldn’t even move.

「Yeah. It’s probably exactly what you’re thinking, Rent.」

「S-Shouldn’t we stop them?」

「……I suppose so.」

With extreme reluctance, Rei stood up……then, his gaze suddenly shifted toward Rent.

「Hey, Rent. Don’t you think it would be best for you to go out there in this situation?」

「What!? Are you telling me to go die!?」

Rent raised a voice of vehement protest at Rei’s words. Under normal circumstances, others might have questioned his response, but for someone who understood the situation outside the carriage, it was by no means a joke.

For a brief second, Rei wondered if he really had to go out to a place that could quite quickly turn into a bloodbath, but since the reason for the potential bloodbath was Set, he judged that he had to step up. After confirming that all the magic items he regularly wore were properly equipped, he stepped outside the carriage.

In that instant, Rei felt as though he could sense a heavy, suffocating thickness in the air, and its source was naturally Milein and Johanna as they stood facing each other near Set. Behind Milein, he could also see Ekril and Sulunin, looking completely helpless.

『……』

As the two stood in silence, locking glares with each other, Rei spoke up.

「You two, cut out the bloodlust. You’re scaring Set.」

Bringing up Set’s name instead of just telling them to stop was the right move.

「Guru~……」

Set tilted his head as if asking ‘What’s wrong? Are you fighting?’.

At Set’s cry, both Milein and Johanna averted their gazes as if snapping back to reality. Turning their attention back to Set, they realised his round eyes were filling up with an anxious expression as he watched them, prompting them to quickly shake their heads.

「O-Of course not! We’re not fighting at all, so don’t worry, Set-chan!」

「Yeah, exactly. Look, we get along great.」

The two slung their arms around each other’s shoulders in front of Set. Both Milein and Johanna wore beaming smiles, but out of Set’s line of sight, Milein was pinching Johanna’s side while Johanna stomped on Milein’s foot. Neither of them let a hint of the pain show on their faces, keeping their smiles firmly in place.

Seeing this, Set finally looked relieved and gave a happy cry.

「I feel like I’ve just witnessed something truly terrible.」

Watching the two of them attack each other beneath their superficial smiles, Rei could only offer a resigned laugh and wait for their turn to clear the entry procedures into Gilm.

……Sulunin gently patted Rei on the shoulder and shook his head as if to say there was nothing they could do. In that exact moment, Rei and Sulunin undoubtedly shared a profound mutual understanding.

Then, as if to cool down their heated heads……or perhaps to formally acknowledge their battle instead, snow began to drift down from the sky. Though it was the very first snow of the winter, Rei felt neither joy nor sorrow about it whatsoever.

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