The port city of Emoshion was considered a gateway into the Mireana Kingdom. In a room within the city, the heads of the city’s security forces were arguing loudly.

「That’s why! I’m against letting a high ranking monster like a Griffon into this city!」

As a man in his late twenties shouted that, a woman of a similar age sitting opposite him slapped the table with her palm as she shouted back.

「Then, what are you saying we should do!? That thing……the one we’re calling Lemrace, are you saying we should just let it do as it pleases!」

The man who had been shouting at the woman earlier shut up at those words while the rest of the people in the meeting room went quiet.

Lemrace. That was the name of the calamity currently striking Emoshion, the largest port city in the Mireana Kingdom.

Lurking off the coast, it sank ships passing by on it’s own whims. It was completely unknown what it was trying to do and since it never appeared when sinking ships, they didn’t even know what it looked like.

There were reports from some people who had succeeded in fighting it off that they had seen something like a tentacle, but city administrators and adventurers guild believed that they might actually have seen the water spears under the surface.

Finally, the the last card that the city administrators could play was to put out the huge bounty of two light gold coins for someone to kill the Lemrace, a provisional name given to the unknown monster causing this trouble.

It was a painful expense for the city of Emoshion to have to pay, but it was still an acceptable amount compared to the damage they would suffer if the monster continued to sink ships.

The main problem with the damage being caused was that it was irregular. At one point, ships were able to freely access the port for several days before a ship trying to enter the port was sunk the day after.

Because of that, ship owners started to hold onto their goods and stay in port despite running into deficit……only ships running very low on food or water would attempt to enter the port……resulting in the Lemrace continuing to sink ships.

In this situation, an adventurer from Gilm, called the true home of the adventurers guild, was sent to subjugate the Lemrace, a problematic nuisance. Not only was he an adventurer strong enough to receive a letter of introduction from a guild master, furthermore, he was someone who had distinguished himself in the war with the Bestir Empire not long ago. Despite only being C rank, he had also been given the title of Crimson.

It was a fact that many people would have wanted to welcome him with open arms. The only problem was that he had an A rank monster with him, a Griffon.

That was only one of the reasons why the meeting to discuss whether they should accept Rei and the Griffon or isolate the Griffon somehow was so complicated. The decision on whether or not to accept Rei clearly showed the dilemma that Emoshion was currently in.

「The Griffon obeys the adventurers called Rei, it won’t do anything to the general public. No, on the contrary, it’s well liked by the ordinary people……especially the children who were rescued. Considering that, aren’t you being too worried.」

A man in the group that supported letting Rei in said that. However, the group that warned of the dangers associated with letting a Griffon into the city spoke out against that opinion.

「That’s what I’m trying to tell you. The city of Emoshion is the largest port city in the Mireana Kingdom. In other words, we have many residents. I don’t want to say this about the city I live in, but there are many people who might try to do something bad. In the event that someone is stupid enough to mess with a Griffon, that might cause the Griffon to rampage in the city, right? If that happened, the damage might be even greater than the rampant Lemrace.」

「As for that, I’ve already consulted many tamer adventurers.」

「Is that so? From what I’ve heard, he was a crude adventurer, right? What do you think would happen if a titled adventurer went wild in the city? I’ve heard that the adventurer called Rei was just a kid but was very good at using wide range destruction magic. There are rumours that in the last war, the vanguard of the Bestir Empire was burnt up by a fire tornado that he created.」

「That is……but if it’s not an adventurer with that much strength, how is he supposed to kill the Lemrace?」

In any case, the two sides argued over whether Set should be accepted into the city.

At this point, a person who had been listening to the two groups argue suddenly spoke out.

「In the first place, isn’t Rei a mage who specialises in fire magic?」

「Yes, that was what was in the information I received.」

The woman who led the group that insisted that Set should be accepted nodded as she replied.

「……Then isn’t it a bad match for him this time? We haven’t been able to confirm it, but doesn’t the Lemrace stay at the bottom of the sea? With that in mind, he’s an adventurer who specialises in fire magic.」

After hearing that, the meeting room went quiet.

Actually, many of them had thought the same thing. If the monster was like the Kraken that attacked a while ago, it would have been possible to attack it with fire magic. No, in fact, since the Kraken usually stayed underwater, fire magic might even have been the most effective method of attack.

However, it was different in the case of the Lemrace. Although they believed it was confined to the sea, no one had ever seen it. In other words, fire magic would have to be cast into the sea, which was enough to question Rei’s usefulness.

「I’ve heard that he specialises in fire magic, but I’ve also heard he can use wind magic.」

「No, that’s what I’m trying to say. I mean, will he really use wind magic against the sea monster? Certainly, it would be more effective than fire magic, but isn’t fire magic what he’s best at?」

「That is……no, he could boil all the water in the port, no, definitely not.」

She might have realised that she was talking nonsense. The voice of the woman defending Rei gradually grew quiet.

「Of course, the Lemrace is definitely a formidable enemy for Emoshion. But, I don’t think it’s reasonable to boil all the water in the sea just because of that. Even if it were possible, we wouldn’t want to do that. If that happened, all the fishermen who have to go out to sea or those who go fishing in the area will have their source of income cut off. We would also have to guarantee the ships berthed in the port and that will all cost a lot of money.」

「That’s……but captain. Then what do we do? As a famous adventurer, there’s no doubt that he has real skill. And he’s also an adventurer who has a referral from the guild master of Gilm. Are we just going to tell him to go back because his Griffon might cause issues?」

A letter from the guild master of Gilm. When those words were said, the decision was set.

Marina Ariansa was a Dark Elf with much influence.

「Tch, that’s true. If you bring that up, there’s not much I can do. ……It can’t be helped, give him access to the city.」

『Captain!』

As the decision of the man called the captain echoed through the room, many voices sounded out. However, those voices were split into those filled with disappointment and those filled with joy.

「But!」

The captain continued in a sharp voice to draw the attention of the people who were in dismay or exultation.

「No matter what you say, even if he has a referral letter from Gilm’s guild master, we don’t need to make a big fuss of it. Treat him like any other adventurer who has come for the bounty. The same for the Griffon. Same as all the other adventurers with tamed monsters. Let Rei know before he enters the city that if anything happens it’s his responsibility. Of course, don’t forget the Necklace of Subservient Monster.」

At those words, some left the room in delight and others in disatisfaction as they went to carry out their tasks.

Seeing his subordinate off, the captain gave a deep sigh.

「Seriously, I don’t mind that the higher ups don’t trust in the abilities of this city’s adventurers, but thanks to that, we haven’t had any time to rest from all the trouble caused by the adventurers who’ve come for the bounty. It’s fine to put a bounty on the monster, but can’t they at least give us more manpower?」

The number of adventurers who came from surrounding cities multiplied greatly after the bounty had been put out. In addition to that, a large proportion of adventurers were rough people. With so many gathered, it was only natural that disturbances would happen. Because of that, the guards in Emoshion had been busy from day till night for quite a while.

The man, the captain of the guards, hadn’t seen his four year old daughter in the past few weeks. Every day, she would already be asleep by the time he came back from work and he would be gone in the morning before she would wake up.

「Ahh……I’m going to be late tonight again.」

With the Lemrace appearing and sinking another ship today, there was no doubt that he wouldn’t be able to see his daughter again today. His head fell onto the table with a deep sigh.

 

 

「We’ve kept you waiting, Rei-san.」

On the deck of the rescue ship that had returned to harbour, Rei and Set met with two people.

One was a woman with a friendly smile while the other was a man who seemed like he was glaring at Rei. Both of them were in their twenties.

「I’ve certainly been waiting a while.」

It had been about three hours since the rescue boat had returned to port and the sun was already starting to set. Of course, the rescuers had long left the ship, only Rei and Set were still on the deck. Of course, the ship’s captain was still on board as he had to stay around as long as Rei was still on the ship.

The sailors had also finished their work at the port and most had gone out to bars or brothels.

「I’m sorry. There were various things that had to be discussed. ……So, as you might have guessed, it’s not simple to just let a Griffon into the city.」

「Guru~?」

Knowing they were talking about him, Set turned his round eyes towards the woman as he gave a cry.

「-!?」

The man behind the woman suddenly took a few steps back and held his breath at Set’s sudden action.

And, likely seeing that his movements had been noticed, he spoke out with a red face.

「L-Listen up! I’ll allow you to enter the city, but if you cause any trouble, it will be all your responsibility! Don’t forget about that and don’t cause us any trouble!」

「Hey, what are you saying all of a sudden. ……I’m sorry, but the situation is more or less as he said. The Griffon……Set. It has permission to enter the city.」

Saying that, she handed over a Necklace of Subservient Monster in her hands to Rei.

「We received the referral letter from the guild master of Gilm and there’s no problem with that either. However, the treatment of tamed monsters is still the same as any other adventurer. I’m sorry about that, but please understand that even with the letter of introduction, that won’t change.」

「That’s fine. I didn’t expect special treatment to begin with, so that’s okay. Set won’t do anything to bother people.」

「Gururu~」

It’s as Rei said of course, Set seemed to say as he gave a cry.

Seeing Rei stroke Set’s head, the woman gave a sigh of relief while the man continued to look at them suspiciously.

「Then, I’ll complete the procedures here, can you pass me your guild card? The letter of introduction did talk about you, Rei-san, but even so, rules are rules.」

「Ah, I don’t mind.」

Hearing that, Rei took his guild card out of the Misty Ring from under his robes.

The two guards received it and continued with the city entry procedures following the rules.

The impression Rei got from the two of them was that the woman held a favourable attitude towards him while the man looked highly suspicious of him.

However, it wasn’t like the man hated Rei himself. Rather, he was just expecting a well known adventurer like Rei to end up causing trouble within the city while the woman viewed Rei as more of a force against the Lemrace, a yet unknown monster.

In any case, there was no doubt that both of them were thinking about the best for Emoshion, which was why they were still able to work with each other without any awkwardness despite their opposing attitudes.

Within 5 minutes the procedures had been completed and the woman returned the guild card to Rei.

「The procedures have been completed. Welcome to Emoshion, the largest port city in the Mireana Kingdom. We welcome you Rei-san. I hope you enjoy your stay in this city.」

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