Having left the Gamelions at the training ground, Rei returned to the guild. There, he was greeted by the usual sight of a quiet guild and a crowded tavern.
(No, the tavern is even more crowded than usual.)
Whether it was due to the first snow of the winter, a massive crowd was making a lot of noise in the tavern. Not just adventurers, but many merchants and residents were present as well. Most had likely come seeking alcohol to stave off the cold. Since it was already dinner time, many were also ordering food along with their drinks.
(Where are Milein and her party……?)
Rei looked around for the members of Scorching Wind, whom they had parted ways with when heading to the training ground, but they were nowhere to be seen in the guild. Judging that they had already completed the paperwork for their request, received their reward, and left, Rei headed towards the counter.
There were very few adventurers looking for requests or reporting their completion, and most of the receptionists were busy sorting through documents or chatting amongst themselves. In a setting like this, anyone heading straight for the counter was bound to stand out……so Lenora and Kenny, the two receptionists well-acquainted with Rei, naturally noticed him right away.
「Ah, Rei-san. Good work today. Is this about the Gamelion matter?」
「Good work, Rei-kun. It looks like it started snowing. Was it cold outside?」
Rei smiled in response to the two women asking with bright smiles.
「Yeah, I was surprised by the sudden snow, but I’m glad it didn’t start while we were out hunting Gamelions. That was a huge help.」
「……I heard from Milein-san, but you really went out to hunt Gamelions. Didn’t you defeat a massive number of them in the dungeon? Aren’t you overdoing it a bit? From the perspective of maintaining the Gamelion population as a resource, leaving aside what happened in the dungeon, I’d prefer if you didn’t hunt too many right now.」
Despite Lenora raising the issue with some concern, Rei shook his head.
「No, it’s not like I was the one doing the hunting. I was strictly just helping out. In fact, I didn’t even fight a single Gamelion. All I did was use Set to scout from the sky to find them, and then transport the corpses.」
「……If Set-chan is scouting from the sky, it feels like you’d find them in no time at all, though.」
「Well, it’s Set, after all.」
「Listen to me, Rei-san. Like I just said, please make sure you don’t hunt too many Gamelions as a general rule. If you hunt too many out of temporary greed, it’s going to cause problems from next year onwards.」
「Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. But there were some circumstances on our end too.」
Those circumstances involved being offered high-quality cheese as a reward and helping Johanna and the others get used to living in Gilm, but he didn’t mention any of that. ……Especially since if he gave the cheese as a reason, he knew for a fact he would get a lecture.
「More importantly, Rei-kun, the dismantling of the Gamelions you defeated in the dungeon has progressed quite a bit. What do you want to do about the materials and meat?」
Kenny cut in, seemingly dissatisfied that only Lenora was talking to Rei.
Under normal circumstances, Lenora would have scolded her, telling her to do her own work since it was a busy evening. However, at this time of the year, very few adventurers were active, and Kenny had already finished all of her tasks. Given the situation, Lenora couldn’t really scold Kenny for anything. Rei considered it a blessing as it saved him from getting lectured by Lenora, so he turned his attention to Kenny.
「Heh, it’s finished already?」
「Not completely. How many days do you think it’s been since you handed everything over? Though, it’s a fact that it took more time than expected because so many people went out Gamelion hunting.」
「In that case, I’ll take the magic stones and meat, I’d like the guild to buy up the rest of the materials.」
「Buying up the materials, magic stones, and meat is only supposed to be done after everything is finished, so do you want to just take the meat that’s currently available for now?」
Splitting the transaction into multiple parts might make the paperwork a hassle. The thought flashed through his mind for a split second, but in the end, he lost to the temptation of Gamelion meat and nodded at Kenny.
「Yeah, let’s do that. So, can I receive it right now?」
「Um……hang on a second.」
「Ah, wait, Kenny!?」
Ignoring Lenora’s attempt to stop her, Kenny headed straight towards her supervisor at the back of the counter. Lenora watched her leave with an annoyed expression, but in the end, she didn’t push it any further. Letting out a sigh, she returned her attention to the documents at her desk.
(That’s rare.)
Rei muttered internally at Lenora’s reaction. Normally, she would rely on pure physical force to drag Kenny back. Then again, in terms of raw physical ability, Lenora as a human was no match for Kenny, who was a Beastkin. In that sense, it wasn’t that Kenny usually went easy on Lenora……it was more like the result of their daily dynamic.
「Come to think of it, Rei-san. Have you decided on any plans for this winter?」
Perhaps noticing Rei’s gaze on her, Lenora looked up from her documents and questioned him.
Rei shook his head at her question.
「No, I don’t really have any specific business, so I plan to take it easy. This past year has been busy in all sorts of ways, after all.」
In spring, there was the war with the Bestir Empire. In summer, he fought the Lemures in Emosion and explored the dungeon in the Labyrinth City of Exil. In autumn, he participated in the fighting tournament and civil war within the Bestir Empire. Those were just the major events, counting the minor incidents made the list even longer. It was far from something an ordinary person would experience consecutively within a single year. In terms of density, it was a succession of massive events that an average adventurer might not experience in several years, or perhaps their entire lifetime. Because of that, it was only natural for him to want to rest comfortably through the winter.
Knowing exactly how much trouble Rei had been dragged into, Lenora let out a small sigh before speaking.
「It’s true that you’ve been dragged into all sorts of trouble, Rei-san, so it might be a good idea to take a good rest. However, make sure you don’t rest so much that your body grows sluggish and you can’t move when spring arrives…… I think it would be best to exercise every now and then.」
「That would certainly be a problem. Thanks for the advice. I’ll make sure to move my body properly from time to time.」
Saying that, he still needed to head outside Gilm to hunt monsters to act as food for Set. Of course, he had enough money to ensure Set could eat to his heart’s content, but he still believed it was best to avoid wasting funds. Furthermore, keeping Set cooped up in the stables all winter, or at most letting him walk around the city streets without being able to move around with all his might, would undoubtedly cause him stress. Considering those factors, heading outside Gilm to hunt every now and then was an absolute necessity.
「Ah, come to think of it, a request came from Baron Cisne stating that if you were available, he would like to submit a nominated request……what do you want to do?」
「Baron Cisne? ……Ah, Baslero.」
Lenora’s words reminded him of the child he had given combat training to just last winter. Though it was called combat training, it was nothing like the serious training he had put the guerrilla force through. It was strictly at the level of teaching the absolute basics. That was only natural, considering his trainee was a ten year old child. If he had put the kid through the same training as the guerrilla force, there was a high probability it would have left him with some kind of combat phobia.
「Yes, that’s the one. It was a nominated request last year too. This one has come in as a nominated request as well……what would you like to do?」
Rei hesitated slightly at Lenora’s words, but eventually nodded back.
「Okay, let’s do it then. Since snow is falling and everyone will be heading into a proper break, it’s a fact that I’ll have nothing to do until spring anyway.」
「In that case, I’ll send a message to their side……what about the schedule?」
「I’ll leave it to them. I’m basically free every day anyway.」
「I see. Well then……」
Just as Lenora was writing something down on the documents, Kenny returned.
「Alright, Rei-kun. I got permission……hm? What’s wrong, Lenora?」
「Look at this, a nominated request for Rei-san.」
「Ah, come to think of it, there was one. Are you accepting it, Rei-kun?」
「The snow has started falling, and I’m free every day anyway.」
「Hmm……well, I haven’t heard any bad rumours about Baron Cisne, so it should be fine. Well then, shall we head to the warehouse? Seriously, being free with no work to do isn’t always a bad thing, is it?」
Throwing a shawl over her uniform, Kenny stepped out from behind the counter through the staff exit and pulled Rei’s hand. Lenora watched Kenny leave with a somewhat exasperated expression. In reality, it was a fact that things were quiet right now, so there was no issue with Kenny leaving the counter in this situation. Provided she had permission from her supervisor, of course.
「Kenny, make sure you don’t stay out too late.」
「Yes, yes, I know. See? This is why nagging sisters-in-law are such a pain.」
「……Who are you calling a nagging sister-in-law?」
「Uh oh. The sister-in-law is angry. Let’s go, Rei-kun. We’re eloping!」
「Kenny!」
Kenny spoke loudly on purpose to ensure Lenora could hear her, pulling Rei’s hand as she headed straight for the guild entrance.
「Wow! Wow! I’m so jealous!」
「No, no. That’s not jealousy, that’s pure envy.」
「Kenny-chan, elope with me too!」
「Damn it, why is Kenny going with a guy like that……」
「I mean, he’s got good features, he’s a B-rank adventurer at that young age, and he has a title. ……It would be impossible for him not to be popular.」
「Shut up! Don’t go giving a serious answer all of a sudden!」
Leaving behind the raucous cheers echoing from the tavern, Rei was pulled along by Kenny as they stepped outside the guild.
The first sight that greeted the two as they emerged was……
「Set-chan, how about this one? Or maybe this? Ah, this skewer too……」
It was Milein feeding Set food she had likely bought from a nearby street stall. And she was doing it right out in the falling snow.
Under normal circumstances, Sulunin, who acted as Milein’s guardian, would have been around, but since they had already finished their escort request, he was probably enjoying his free time. For a split second, Rei thought about calling out to Set, but seeing Set happily being patted by Milein, he left them to it.
Of course, there was no way Set would fail to notice Rei’s presence. When his round eyes turned towards Rei, Rei gave a light wave to signal that he would be out for a bit. Being able to understand a simple signal like that showed just how deep the bond between Rei and Set truly was. If Milein or Johanna ever found out, they would undoubtedly writhe in pure jealousy.
「Oh, is that fine, Rei-kun?」
「I’ll be back before long anyway. More importantly, let’s hurry to the warehouse.」
「Well, if you say so. Then let’s enjoy a little date, shall we?」
Teasing him with those words, Kenny pulled Rei’s hand and headed towards the warehouse. Just as Kenny had said, it took hardly any time at all to arrive.
Since they had been moving through the falling snow, Rei brushed the snow off his hood and Kenny did the same for her uniform as they stepped inside the warehouse. Kenny was wearing a shawl, but her uniform had a wide open neckline. While it was warm inside the guild thanks to magic items, it was naturally freezing outside with the snow coming down. Wearing such a revealing uniform even in these conditions showed she held herself to certain standards. The fact was that Kenny’s uniform was highly popular among the adventurers visiting the guild. In that sense, she was simply doing her best as a receptionist who acted as the face of the guild.
「Now then, let’s head on inside. I’m sure you’ll be surprised.」
Listening to Kenny’s words as she wore a mischievous smile, Rei scanned the interior of the warehouse……and just as she said, he was genuinely surprised. The Gamelion corpses that had completely filled the warehouse floor were mostly dismantled, their materials stripped away, and their magic stones taken out.
Given the massive 3m frames of the Gamelions, almost the entire warehouse floor had been buried when they were first brought in, but that was no longer the case. Of course, not every single Gamelion had been processed yet, so a fair number of corpses were still lined up. But in place of the processed Gamelion corpses, piles of meat, materials, and magic stones were laid out instead.
「I’m certainly surprised. ……It’s quite a spectacular sight looking at it like this.」
Even now, several adventurers were busy dismantling and stripping materials near the remaining Gamelion corpses. Their movements were precise, and their efficiency could definitely be called far more experienced than Rei’s.
「Come on, Rei-kun. Let’s choose the Gamelion meat you’re taking with you.」
Nodding at Kenny’s words, Rei reached his hand out towards the Gamelion meat.