It had been 4 days since they had left Emoshion. It had taken them a few extra days to return as Rei and Set had hunted some monsters and had to dismantle them.

It was mainly because they had run into a stray group of Orcs along the way and didn’t want them to cause damage to the surroundings……to be exact, they just found it a pity miss out on relatively deliciously Orc meat, even though they weren’t high ranking monsters. Because of that, Rei and Set killed the Orcs and dismantled them.

However, there were no higher ranking species or rare species in the stray group of Orcs, causing Rei to be dissatisfied that they were all ordinary Orcs.

Anyhow, despite the extra time they spent dismantling the Orcs, they still arrived back at Gilm from Emoshion at an amazingly short period of time compared to travelling along the ground. In order not to shock the people travelling near Gilm, after landing near the main road, they walked to Gilm, mixing in with the other travellers.

There were few people who would travel all the way out to the remote city of Gilm, and most of those that did knew of Set. Many of them smiled when they saw Set and some offered him dried meat.

However, it was different for those who were coming to Gilm for the first time……or for those who had only come to Gilm after Rei had left for Emoshion. There were people who were shocked to see a Griffon, an A rank monster, for the first time and tried to run away on reflex. Those that knew that Set wasn’t dangerous explained the situation to them causing them to look towards Rei with doubtful eyes.

Receiving a wide range of glances, Rei finally arrived at the main gate.

It was already summer, so the surrounding temperature was still rising. Still, as Gilm wasn’t in the mountains……or rather, because it was built on a grassland, it wasn’t as hot and humid. Even so, it was still hot, so the people lining up to enter the city were all covered in sweat. Among the crowd, Rei, who was wearing his Dragon Robe that passively regulated its internal temperature, queued up without a sweat. Eventually, he saw the face of a stern man with a beard for the first time in a long time.

「Hey, Rei-kun. It’s been a while.」

「Ah, yes. Now that I think about, I didn’t see you before I left for Emoshion.」

Rei handed his guild card over to Ranga, recalling when he had left Gilm.

Ranga gave a wry smile as he received Rei’s guild card and quickly went through the procedures.

「I was on holiday that day, spending time with my wife and children.」

「……What?」

Rei looked at Ranga in surprise at his unexpected response.

「You, you are married?」

「Yes. To a childhood friend, about 10 years ago.」

「……Is that so.」

What kind of person was Ranga. Rei felt like knew but didn’t know at the same time. He had a stern face but a gentle character and was loved by his subordinates. As for his job as captain of the guards, it was so that he could earn money.

Considering all these factors, Rei found Ranga to be a surprisingly great person.

「Well, all the procedures are done. Welcome back Rei and Set.」

「Gururu~」

Set gave a happy cry at Ranga’s words.

Rei finally recovered from his surprise, stored his guild card back into the Misty Ring and hung the Necklace of Subservient Monster on Set’s neck.

「That said, I’m planning to leave for a while soon……」

Having said that much, Rei remembered his promise to go to the Labyrinth City with Elena in about 2 months time.

「I have plans to go somewhere, but I plan to stay in Gilm for the next two months, so I’ll be in your care.」

「I see. Well, you have made a name for yourself, so I understand that you’d be busy with various things. But, don’t go causing a commotion, okay?」

Rei tried to reply that he wasn’t someone to stir up trouble, but remembering all the disturbances he had caused in Gilm, he couldn’t really say anything.

「Ahh, I know. I’ll be as careful as I can.」

「Yes, please do so. Come on in. The people in the city have been feeling lonely without Set around.」

「Gurururu~!」

Set gave another happy cry at Ranga’s words before entering the city with Rei.

Rei watched Set with a wry smile and briefly said goodbye to Ranga before entering the city.

Seeing them leave, Ranga had a happy smile on his face that turned to a troubled one the next moment.

「Ahh, I know I told them not to cause a fuss……but there definitely is going to be one.」

They were natural trouble makers……no, rather, they seemed to have a trouble inducing constitution. Ranga had no choice but to admit that it was unlikely he would be able to enjoy his time quietly.

Still, he didn’t hate Rei and Set as he knew from experience that the trouble they caused was often a good thing for the city.

Ranga gave a bitter smile as he realised the city would become busier and that his guards would have more work to do.

 

 

「Oh, Rei! Set as well! I heard that you were out of town for a while, looks like you’ve come back.」

「Kyaa~~! It’s Set-chan, Set-chan. Mum, can I feed Set-chan?」

「Okay, let’s go buy a sandwich at that stall.」

「A-A Griffon!?」

「Hey, don’t draw your sword. Look, he’s wearing a Necklace of Subservient Monster. Set won’t attack people, so don’t worry about it.」

「A tamed monster? That Griffon? ……Hah? Then, that kid must be Crimson from the rumours!」

As soon as Rei and Set appeared on the main street, passers-by, street stall owners and even adventurers had their attention drawn to them.

In any case, Rei had a strong presence and Set was particularly eye catching, so in a sense, it was unavoidable.

In the midst of all this, someone who looked to be an adventurer seemed to look at Set in surprise before approaching Rei.

……Yes, as most of the attention was on Set, he went over to Rei.

He was wearing armour made from monster leather and had a long sword at his waist. He looked like a typical lightly armoured warrior that focused on mobility.

The man spoke with a friendly smile.

「Pardon me, but are you the adventurer that people call Crimson?」

Rei expressed his surprise at the man’s words. He knew what kind of impression his appearance would give other people, so he was surprised that man asked him in such a polite tone.

Anyhow, Rei couldn’t really act rudely to someone so polite, so he took off his hood.

The moment he did that, he felt the heat from the summer sun on his face that had previously been cooled by the Dragon Robe’s passive effect.

(I see, he might be wearing leather armour to help against the heat. If he wore full plate armour in this heat, he would probably get heatstroke and dehydration. And above all……he’s strong.)

Rei gave a small nod as he half instinctively gauged the strength of the man approaching him.

「Yes, I’ve definitely been called Crimson by people. What business do you have with me?」

「Yes. My master would like to meet with you because of the unprecedented contributions you made in the war against the Bestir Empire. Fortunately, my master is currently staying in Gilm, would you be able to meet with him?」

Master. Such words meant that the person in front of him wasn’t an adventurer but someone serving a person. Rei made that judgement in his mind, but it had no effect on his reply.

「I’m sorry, but I have to report back to the guild first now that I’ve returned. It’s impossible for me to see your master right now.」

The Lemrace he had killed had been designated with a bounty and hadn’t been part of a special request given by the guild. However, when he had left for Emoshion, Lenora and Kenny had been worried about him. Rei also wanted to meet with Marina, the guild master. It was with those thoughts in mind that he replied as such, but to his surprise, the person in front of him gave a small smile as he nodded back.

「You went to Emohsion to kill a monster called a Lemrace. I’ve heard about that, so I don’t mind if you visit after you give your report……is that fine?」

Rei was somewhat doubtful at the man’s calm response. However, since the master that the man served was willing to concede this much, it wouldn’t be good to refuse. Rei gave a small sigh before nodding.

「That’s okay. In that case, I’ll come with you after I’m done at the guild.」

「No, that won’t do. I’ll prepare a carriage for you.」

「……That’s fine.」

Rei didn’t know why the man was so polite, but even so, he could tell that the man wasn’t just saying things like that to get Rei’s good will. There were quite a few people in the surroundings, not just residents of the city, who were please to see Rei and Set return, but also people who looked like knights or warriors that served nobles. All of those people were looking at Rei abominably……no, they were looking at the person in front of Rei with those eyes.

Knowing that people were looking at him like that, the man gave a sigh of relief.

It was because he had been able to make first contact with Rei, his target.

(I was lucky.)

Right now, inside Gilm, there were many people trying to draw Rei to their side……even if that was impossible, many nobles were trying to at least make an acquaintance and many people had been ordered to contact Rei. Those who wanted try and force Rei to join them by holding people Rei was close to hostage had already been dealt with by the Prairie Wolves, led by Egg, and Marina, the guild master’s, schemes. The only ones left were those who wanted to contact Rei without using dirty means. Still, the large number of peopel that still remained in the city was a testament to how big of an impact Rei had in the war with the Bestir Empire.

Even if it was a coincidence, the man had still been able to come in contact with Rei before any of the others, so he continued to speak while thanking his good luck in his mind.

「Should we get going? I also have some business at the guild, would you mind if I accompanied you?」

「Ah, sure. It looks like you have your reasons for this and I don’t mind. Set, let’s go.」

「Gurururu~」

Set came back to Rei with a hotdog wrapped in paper in his beak as he gave a cry.

Seeing the hotdog wrapped in paper, Rei turned to look at the stall. However, the stall owner just waved his hand in response. Apparently it was for him.

Rei raised his hand to show his gratitude before taking the hotdog from Set’s beak.

Crispy on the outside, the texture of the bread, boiled sausage and sour source blended together to entertain Rei’s tongue.

Surprised by the unexpected delicious taste, Rei quickly finished eating it and headed towards the guild with Set as he talked with the man.

Along the way to the guild, city residents, adventurers, merchants and other people who wanted to solicit Rei called out to them continuously.

「Rei-san is well liked by everyone in this city.」

「It’s more him than me.」

Rei stroked Set’s head with a smile at the man’s words.

Set’s eyes narrowed as he received Rei’s comfortable strokes.

「I’ll see you later.」

「Gururu~」

It had been a while, but Set understood what Rei meant and moved to the waiting area for tamed monsters before lying down.

「He seems to be quite clever……」

Hearing the man murmur that, Rei nodded naturally.

「That’s right. That’s because Set is a high ranking monster, so it’s smarter than most people. And, as you just saw, he can understand what we say just fine.」

「I see. That’s why you were able to ride through the battle field like man and horse as one. Although, that said, man and horse as one isn’t an expression that fits a Griffon.」

「That’s true. Well, I’ve got my own business to do and you have yours.」

「Leave it to me. I’ll prepare a carriage and will call out to you when I’m done with my business.」

Rei entered the guild as the man called out to him from behind. And as he entered the guild……

「Ah-! Rei-kun, when did you get back!?」

As soon as Kenny saw Rei, she waved at him with a smile.

Next to her, Lenora bowed with a small smile, happy that Rei was safe.

The adventurers in the guild as well as those at the bar turned to look at the guild entrance on reflex after hearing Rei’s name.

For better or worse, Rei was a high profile personality in Gilm.

However, Rei ignored those looks and pretended he didn’t see them as he headed straight for the counter.

「It took a bit longer than expected, but I’m back. The Lemrace was successfully subjugated.」

「That’s right. I knew you wouldn’t fail to collect the bounty, even if it was a monster.」

「But, you seemed to be worried about Rei-san every day?」

「Mgh-, i-it was the same for Lenora, right? Hey, Rei-kun. Did any weird bugs try to get to you in the port city?」

「……Weird bugs? No, there weren’t any insect monsters……」

Rei tilted his head at Kenny’s words. Seeing that, Kenny gave a sigh of relief.

「More importantly, is the guild master in? I’d like to say a few words with her.」

「The guild master isn’t in right now. She went to the lord’s residence. I’ll let her know later that you’ve come back.」

「Is that so? Then, please do that. That said, has Daska-sama returned?」

「Has he? I heard he was busy with various matters in the Royal Capital, but……」

Kenny replied as she shrugged her shoulders lightly.

At the same time, her large chest shook, causing other adventurers to look at here. However, Rei continued to speak without paying any attention to that.

「In that case, I’ll leave greeting the guild master for later.」

「Hey, hey, Rei-kun. What kind of place was Emoshion?」

Like that, Rei spent the next 20 minutes talking with Lenora and Kenny.

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