「Here it is.」

Rei muttered as he stopped on the street with Set. Though the people passing by gave the boy and his Griffon a wide berth, Rei ignored them and looked up at the large signboard.

Painted on the signboard was a sun setting on the horizon, its fading light dyeing a sheaf of wheat red. It was a literal representation of the inn’s name, the Dusk Wheat Pavilion.

The building itself was about the same size as the other inns Rei had seen on his way from the guild. Traditionally, the first floor housed a bar and dining room, while the second and third floors served as guest rooms. The main difference was the massive stable built at the back of the property, which was large enough to rival the size of some entire inns. Because of this, large merchant caravans with their mercenary escorts, or visiting nobles with their large retinues, frequently stayed at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion. Incidentally, it wasn’t uncommon for a wealthy noble to spend several white gold coins for a single night’s stay.

The heavy wooden door creaked loudly as he opened it. Since it was still early afternoon, the first-floor tavern wasn’t very crowded, with only a few patrons scattered around eating their meals.

「Welcome. Are you just here for a meal, or are you looking for a room for the night?」

A stout, middle-aged woman called out to Rei the moment she saw him enter.

「I’d like a room. I also need to leave my tamed monster in the stables.」

The woman nodded with a pleased smile.

「Certainly, thank you very much. We require payment in advance. It’s 3 silver coins a night, which includes breakfast and dinner. However, if you book for ten days, the discounted rate is 2 gold coins and 7 silver coins. By the way, what kind of tamed monster do you have?」
「It’s a Griffon.」
「……I see.」

Although she froze for a split second upon hearing the word ‘Griffon’, she quickly pulled herself together. Having interacted with rough adventurers and mercenaries on a daily basis, she possessed far more grit than the average resident. She calmly returned her gaze to Rei.

「A Griffon is quite large……including the fees for feed and the extra space required in the stables, it will be 2 silver coins a night. For ten days, it’s 1 gold coin and 8 silver coins.」
「Ah, thanks.」

He nodded and pulled 5 gold coins from the pouch in his robes without any hesitation.

He had already been warned that this was the only inn in the city capable of accommodating Set. Since he didn’t have any other options, he didn’t mind the steep price.

「Thank you. Here are your 5 silver coins in change. I’ll have someone guide you out back immediately. Can you bring the Griffon around to the stables?」
「Sure. I noticed the first floor looks like a tavern. Can I get a meal right now?」
「Yes, you can. However, lunch will cost extra, as only breakfast and dinner are included in your room fee.」

Hearing that, Rei handed one of his silver coins back to her.

「Please prepare lunch for me. I’ll come down to eat after I drop off my luggage and get my Griffon settled in the stables. Please prepare a meal for him as well.」
「Understood. ……It’s a bit late for introductions, but I’m Lana, the proprietress of the Dusk Wheat Pavilion.」
「Nice to meet you, Lana. I’ll be in your care for a while. I’m Rei, and the Griffon waiting outside is Set.」
「It’s a pleasure to meet you both. ……Ah, here he comes. That boy will guide you to the stables.」

Lana called out to a young man who looked to be around twenty years old. Given how similar their facial features were, he was undoubtedly Lana’s son.

「This is my son, Dram. He’s in charge of managing the stables, so you can discuss any specific needs your monster has directly with him. Dram.」

Prompted by Lana, Dram bowed politely. Just like his mother, he wore a warm, honest smile.

「Nice to meet you, I’m Dram. If you’re ready, I can guide you around to the stables right now.」
「Ah. My monster is waiting out front.」
「Alright, please follow me. We have to be very careful when bringing monsters onto the property.」

Nodding in agreement, Rei followed Dram outside. Meanwhile, Lana headed straight into the kitchen to prepare the meals Rei had ordered.

「Uwaa~……what a magnificent Griffon.」

That was the very first thing Dram said when he laid eyes on Set. Hearing that, Rei looked at the young man in genuine surprise.

Ever since they had arrived in the city of Gilm, everyone who saw Set had been utterly terrified. Dram was the first person to look at the massive beast with pure, unadulterated admiration.

「Um, excuse me, is it safe to pet him?」
「Guru~」

Not only was he unafraid, but he actually wanted to touch him. Responding favourably to Dram’s lack of fear, Set gave a happy, welcoming cry.

Rei nodded, a slightly bemused smile floating onto his face.

「Go ahead. It seems Set already likes you.」
「In that case, excuse me……」

Dram cautiously reached out and stroked the smooth, silky feathers on Set’s back.

「This is amazing……it’s my first time touching a Griffon, but his coat is incredibly smooth.」

Dram muttered in awe. Of course, that luxurious, silky texture was unique to Set, as a normal Griffon’s coat was far coarser and rougher to the touch.

「Well, could you show us to his stall in the stables now?」
「Ah, yes! I’m sorry. I’ll guide you there right away.」

Following Dram’s lead, they walked down a wide alley next to the inn’s main entrance until the sprawling stables came into view. As expected of a facility built to accommodate large merchant caravans and mercenary bands, the stables were almost as large as the entire first floor of the Dusk Wheat Pavilion.

「Right this way, please.」

Although the distinct smell of animals and monsters hung in the air as they entered, the stables were meticulously clean, perfectly matching Dram’s diligent personality. Inside, Rei could see numerous horses belonging to the inn’s other guests.

However, the moment Set stepped inside, most of the horses became extremely restless, shifting nervously in their stalls and whinnying in distress. They likely instinctively felt the overwhelming difference in their positions on the food chain.

「Ah, I apologise. As you can see, the other guests’ horses are quite spooked. I’ll set him up in a secluded stall in the back.」

Dram explained apologetically as he led Set to an isolated area furthest away from the horses.

「Here we are. I hope this spot is okay for you, Set.」
「Guru~」

Hearing Dram call his name, Set gave a soft cry of approval.

「……Rei, does Set……actually understand human speech?」

Seeing Dram’s shock when Set nodded, Rei gave a wry smile.

「Since he’s an A rank monster, he can understand most of what people say.」

In truth, while a standard A rank monster possessed high intelligence, it could only vaguely grasp the intent behind human words, so understanding them perfectly like Set did was impossible. However, Dram didn’t seem to know that and simply nodded in profound admiration.

Watching the two interact, Rei called out.

「Dram, I’ll leave Set in your care. Please make sure he gets plenty of food once he’s settled in, as he hasn’t eaten a thing since this morning. I’ve already paid the proprietress for his meals.」
「Ah, yes. Understood.」
「Alright, Set. Behave yourself while I’m gone.」
「Guru~」

Rei gave Set a final scratch behind the ears before turning to leave. As he walked away, Set gave a slightly lonely cry.

「Your meal is ready!」

When Rei re-entered the inn, Lana called out to him from the tavern counter.

「I apologise, but since it’s outside of normal meal hours, I had to prepare this using whatever we had on hand……」

She said, gesturing to the spread. Sitting on the table was a steaming bowl of meat stew, a generous portion of freshly baked bread, sliced cheese, a crisp vegetable salad, and a glass of wine.

Giving in to his grumbling stomach, Rei immediately took a bite of the meat stew. The moment the rich, savoury flavour of the meat spread across his tongue, his eyes widened.

「Delicious.」
「Thank you very much.」

The word had slipped from his mouth involuntarily. Lana beamed with pride and bowed her head.

「Because our rates are higher than most other inns in the city, we place a heavy emphasis on the quality of our food.」

Rei reacted internally when he heard her mention the high price.

(3 silver coins a night. In other words, a room, breakfast, and dinner for 3,000 yen. Honestly, I thought that was incredibly cheap……well, I suppose it’s only natural for there to be a massive difference in the cost of living between modern Japan and a frontier city in a fantasy world.)

「By the way, what kind of meat is in this stew?」

Rei asked out of genuine curiosity. It tasted remarkably similar to the wild boar meat a local hunter used to share with his family back in Japan.

However, Lana gave him a strange look.

「What meat? It’s Fangboar meat, of course. Have you really never eaten it before? It’s a very common staple around here.」

Rei’s spoon paused halfway to his mouth for a split second, but he smoothly recovered and continued eating without changing his expression.

「No, I haven’t. You see, my master told me I needed to train and forcibly teleported me out here using space magic. I only just registered as an adventurer today, so I really don’t know anything about this area.」
「Ah, an eccentric magician for a master. That sounds dreadful. Well, eat up and regain your strength.」

Having successfully deflected Lana’s suspicions, Rei silently searched Zephyr’s knowledge.

(Information on a Fangboar……doesn’t exist. These ancient memories have become completely useless for everyday life. In that case, my first priority tomorrow morning is to gather basic information about the world, either at the guild or a library.)

Consolidating his plans, he polished off the bread, salad, and cheese before finally draining the glass of wine. By the way, even though he currently inhabited the body of a 15-year-old boy, he finished the wine without feeling the slightest bit buzzed. It seemed Zephyr’s organisation had engineered the body with an incredibly high alcohol tolerance.

「Phew……a lot of things happened today.」

Rei sighed as he entered his assigned corner room on the second floor. While the inn’s rates might have been considered expensive for a frontier city, he had absolutely no complaints. The room was spacious and immaculately clean, furnished with a sturdy bed and a comfortable futon. He could tell the futon had been freshly sun-dried just by the crisp scent of the fabric.

Taking off his Dragon Robe, he muttered to himself as he collapsed onto the soft bed.

「Come to think of it, when I look up information tomorrow, I should definitely check the current calendar. Relying on Zephyr’s outdated knowledge is just going to cause more confusion.」

The vast reservoir of Zephyr’s knowledge resting in Rei’s mind could only be used as a loose historical reference at best, especially regarding modern common sense. In fact, he decided he needed to actively re-educate himself, as relying on his ancient preconceptions could prove dangerous in the present era.

「As for magic……I wonder how much modern magic has changed.」

As he muttered into the quiet room, the Misty Ring on his right arm caught his eye. Seeing it, he immediately remembered the wagered money and items he had seized from Vargas a few hours prior.

Pushing himself up, he accessed the inventory list in his mind, retrieved the four heavy coin pouches, and emptied their contents onto the bed. After counting the sprawling pile, he found a total of 4 white gold coins, 8 gold coins, 15 silver coins, and 9 copper coins.

「If this was just what they were carrying on them, I wonder how much they have stashed in their rooms.」

Rei muttered. He was completely unaware that this pile of coins literally represented the entirety of Vargas’s party’s combined assets.

「It seems exploring dungeons is quite lucrative……assuming you’re competent, at least.」

Dungeons were teeming with various monsters, meaning an endless supply of valuable magic stones and materials to harvest. If he could constantly hunt monsters, he could earn a massive amount of money……it was easy to see why dungeons were so attractive to adventurers. However, it certainly wasn’t a ‘low risk, high return’ endeavour, as a significant amount of combat strength was absolutely required to survive.

What troubled Rei the most was the fact that dungeon corridors were notoriously narrow. While normal adventurers wouldn’t have any issues fighting in close quarters, wielding his massive 2m long Death Scythe alongside the equally massive Set would be incredibly difficult in confined spaces.

「We’ll hold off on the dungeon until we’ve improved our combat power a bit more.」

Reaching that conclusion for the time being, Rei scooped the coins back into their pouches, stored them in the Misty Ring, and then pulled out the weapons he had confiscated from Vargas.

One long sword. Two daggers. A bow and a quiver of arrows. And finally, the heavy battleaxe, which was the only magic item among the loot.

Checking their details, the long sword was simply registered as an ‘Iron Sword’, the two daggers as ‘Iron Daggers’, and the bow as just a ‘Bow’. The magic battleaxe, however, was registered as a 『Power Axe』.

Being able to accurately identify the items was an incredibly convenient hidden function of the Misty Ring. The specific names of the weapons were neatly displayed in the mental inventory list. Thanks to this, Rei realised he could safely identify unknown items simply by storing them in the Misty Ring and reading their registered names.

After inspecting the mundane gear, he let out a sigh and returned them all to the Misty Ring.

The long sword and the Power Axe could serve as reliable backup weapons if he ever found himself in a confined space where the Death Scythe was a hindrance. His high-performance mithril knife already served perfectly as a close-quarters dagger. As for the bow, even though he had zero experience using one, he could theoretically use it to pepper approaching enemies from a distance before switching to the Death Scythe for melee combat.

「Well, I’ll keep the long sword on hand for emergencies. I can probably just use the iron daggers as throwing knives. As for the bow, the arrows, and the Power Axe……well, there’s no need to decide what to do with them right now.」

Thanks to Vargas’s involuntary donation, Rei had a considerable financial buffer. Deciding it was a necessary expense, he spent 3 copper coins to have a tub of hot water brought to his room. After thoroughly scrubbing the grime of travel from his body, he slept peacefully until dinnertime.

By the way, dinner that night consisted of a thick, juicy steak from a monster called a Kelpie, served alongside a rich stew made from its offal.

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