It had been a few days since Rei had tested the effectiveness of the upgraded Poison Claw. During that time, he went around buying and eating food from various stalls while roaming the streets looking for any bargain magic items or the like. Set also played around with Milein after they happened to meet in the streets.

In a sense it was business as usual, including having to deal with adventurers who were new to Gilm and had tried to mess around with him.

Of course, Rei wasn’t just playing around. He had also collected information on the Labyrinth City that he planned to visit soon. He also practised his fighting skills outside the stables at the Dusk Wheat inn.

During that time, as a result of being asked by an adventurer staying at the inn if they could spar, he ended up sparring against more and more people, one after the other. In the end, Rei defeated nearly 20 adventurers in a row for a total of over 50 consecutive victories. The reason why Rei was able to fight 20 adventurers over 50 times was because Rei went easy on them and they took turns to recover while the others were fighting.

In addition, for the adventurers staying at the inn, sparring with a B rank adventurer like Rei was a valuable experience.

The adventurers had a lot to gain from sparring with a B rank adventurer and one with a title……Rei also pointed out his opponents’ mistakes as they were just training. In a sense he was just working for free.

In addition to training themselves, the adventurers were also lucky to be able to make an acquaintance with Rei, a B rank adventurer.

Aside from the adventurers sparring with Rei, the other guests watched them like spectators and some even started betting on how long someone would be able to hold out against Rei.

However, it was finally stopped by the thunderous voice of Lana, the inn’s proprietress.

As for Rei, he had to deal with Lana’s complaints after that.

The day before, a messenger from the guild had come to inform him that the meeting with the nobles had been scheduled and Rei should head to the guild the next day……that is to say, the afternoon today.

「Nobles, huh. I don’t feel like recruiting me would do them any good.」

「Gururu~?」

Set gave a cry as if to ask if that was really true.

However, Rei just silently patted Set’s head as they continued down the main street.

Considering that the guild messenger had told him it would be a dinner party, he didn’t buy and eat anything from the street food stalls that he had become quite well known among.

……However, considering that he would buy a lot of food to store in the Misty Ring, it would be a surprise if he didn’t become well known.

Like that, he continued walking without buying or eating anything and eventually arrived at the guild.

「Gururu~」

With a short cry, Set moved over to his usual spot, he already had his own dedicated space that other tamed monsters and horses wouldn’t approached even when Set wasn’t around. With that, Rei entered the guild as usual.

「Oh, Rei-san. Hello. The higher ups have let me know, so please wait a moment. I’ll get a carriage ready right away.」

Lenora called out to Rei when she saw him.

Normally, Kenny would be there alongside Lenora, but she wasn’t at the counter today, maybe she might have been on holiday.

Lenora spoke a few words to a nearby guild staff member and Rei waited for her to finish before asking her a question.

「I heard that Set can go with me, is that right?」

「Yes, that’s what I’ve been told, so there shouldn’t be any problems. Still, I’m a bit jealous of you. Having dinner with nobles.」

「……I don’t feel like it’s such a good thing though.」

「But, aren’t you interested in the food that nobles eat? It looks so much more delicious than what we commoners usually eat.」

Rei nodded his head in agreement with Lenora’s words.

「Now that you say that, maybe dinner will be good. I’m looking forward to what food will be served.」

「Fufu~, it looks like Rei-san’s interest has been raised. ……Oh, it looks like it’s ready. Please go to the entrance.」

Hearing those words, he thanked Lenora before leaving the guild.

A carriage was already waiting outside the guild, despite Rei only having spent less than 10 minutes in the guild.

It wasn’t a carriage normally used by the guild. Rei had seen guild carriages several times before and this wasn’t one of them. Of course, it wasn’t the garish carriage that looked like it belonged to some noveau rich that he seen during the rank up test either. There was no doubt that it was a guild carriage as there was an emphasis on practicality. However, delicate decorations were engraved in various places that expressed a sense of artistry that would impress viewers.

(Come to think of it, I wonder who actually owned that garish carriage.)

As Rei thought about that, a voice called out to him.

「Please get on. Everyone else is already waiting.」

Following the prompt of the elegantly dressed guide, they boarded the carriage.

Rei was slightly concerned about the various eyes looking at him, but ended up deciding not to think too much about it.

「Then, we’re heading off.」

「Okay, I’ll be in your care.」

The carriage started to move forward after Rei’s response. ……Looking out the window of the carriage, Rei tilted his head slightly after noticing the direction it was going in.

It was because he was familiar with the route. Yes, it was the way to the lord’s residence.

「Are we heading to the lord’s residence?」

「Yes, we are……weren’t you told about that?」

After hearing those words, Rei realised that he had only been told that he was going to a dinner party.

「……Come to think of it, I don’t think I was told that.」

「In that case, yes, the dinner party will be held in the lord’s residence.」

Rei nodded inwardly.

After all, it was easy to imagine that Daska, the lord of Gilm, wouldn’t want to hand Rei over to another power. With that in mind, it would be best for Daska to hold the dinner part at his residence under his supervision to stop Rei from being recruited by anyone.

(Well, I don’t plan on leaving this city. No matter how I look at it, it’s definitely better to stay on the frontier if I want to hunt monsters.)

Rei thought to himself as he looked out the window and watched the scenery pass by.

As he did that, the carriage eventually stopped outside a familiar outer gate, and after a word or two between his guide at the gatekeeper, they went in.

The carriage stopped in front of the gate to the lord’s residence and the carriage door was opened by a guard.

Rei got out before suddenly noticing many eyes on him.

(Well, I’m not the only one, of course.)

To be exact, half the eyes were on him while the other half were on Set.

「Is it fine for Set to come along as well?」

「Yes, I have been informed that it is fine.」

Rei asked the person who brought him here just in case, but was told that it would be fine. After entering the lord’s residence with Set……a maid eventually approached them and spoke with Rei’s guide.

The guide nodded before turning towards Rei.

「I’m sorry, but we’re running a little late, so I’ll bring you straight to the meeting room, is that fine with you?」

「That’s fine, but is it okay to wear what I’m currently wearing?」

Rei asked as he looked down at his Dragon Robe.

The Dragon Robe itself was a high quality magic item, but since it had the effect of concealing it’s uniqueness, many ordinary nobles might not realise how good of an item it was. But……

「It’s fine. If they can’t see what’s special about your robe, they don’t have the qualifications to try to recruit you.」

Rei’s eyes widened slightly at those words.

The guide wouldn’t have been able to say those words unless he had been able to see through the Dragon Robe’s concealing effect.

「So, this way please.」

With those words, he led Rei to a door.

Behind the door was the garden area of the lord’s residence. And……

「Umu, you have arrived. I have been waiting for you!」

It was Marka, who was wearing a pale green dress.

Of course, there were many nobles other than Marka. As far as Rei could see, there were almost 30 of them. Some were familiar faces, like Alnicht and Orkide, but the rest of them he had never seen before.

Most of the nobles were talking as they stood or eating the food placed on plates that were arranged on the tables in the garden.

It was basically a garden party.

「This is……」

After Rei had heard it was going to be a dinner party, he had expected a meal that would require formal manners.

However, what he saw was nothing like that. It was more like a house party held between friends. It wasn’t even a party held inside the building, but a standing party held in a garden, which was why the atmosphere felt so relaxed.

In fact, while some of them were wearing dresses like Marka, many others were wearing casual clothes. Among the escorts of the nobles attending the party, Rei could see mages in robes, knights in armour and warriors with swords.

Fortunately, none of the mages seemed to be able to directly sense magic power, so there were no scenes of surprise at Rei’s magic power, which had become somewhat of a regular occurance at such occasions.

(I see, it’s true that my outfit doesn’t stand out too much.)

As Rei thought that, a man came over to him.

「Hahaha. How is it, are you surprised? Well, I don’t like dealing with etiquette or things like that either. It’s easier to stand, talk and eat freely.」

「Thank you for inviting me, Daska-sama.」

Rei gave a bow towards Daska, who walked over with a bold smile on his face.

However, Daska waved his left hand, the one not holding his wine glass, as if he didn’t care.

「I’ve already told you. You don’t need to worry about etiquette. At least not here. I’m going to introduce you to everyone, so come over here for a moment.」

With those words, Daska brought Rei and Set over to the centre of the venue, the centre of the garden.

The nobles who had been enjoying their conversation and food, or enjoying the sights of the summer garden, started to notice them.

No, rather, the nobles here had all gathered to meet with Rei and Set, so it would be strange if they didn’t notice them at all.

「Pardon me, everyone, could I have your attention please. As you can see, Rei, the leading factor of this gathering, has arrived. Next to him, as many of you may know, is his tamed monster, Set, the Griffon. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a Griffon before, but I’m sure you’ve at least heard of it. Griffons are called the reapers of the sky, but Set is quite docile and won’t hurt anyone. ……However, if any of you try to hurt him, that’s a different matter. I’d like you all to keep that in mind.」

Any noble with a difficult personality would have complained at Daska’s words. Or maybe they would make a fuss over how a monster like a Griffon was let into the venue.

However, any nobles who were likely to cause problems had already been filtered out of this gathering. Because of that, those that remained had already collected sufficient information on Rei and Set in advance and knew that Set, a Griffon, was included as part of Rei’s evaluation. In fact, in the war with the Bestir Empire, where Rei had gained a title, it wouldn’t have been possible to cause great damage to the enemy vanguard without Set.

And, having collected information on them within Gilm, they knew how friendly Set was. Because of that, the nobles accepted what Daska told them without any complaints.

……That said, even if the escorts of the nobles who were participating knew that Set was friendly, they still prepared themselves for the worst case scenario.

「Thank you for your invitation to such a wonderful gathering today, Margrave Rowlocks. ……Rei, it’s been a few days. How have you been doing after your promotion to B rank?」

After Rei and Set were introduced, someone immediately approached them.

The reason why the person approached them without worry was because they knew Rei. It was Alnicht, who had been with Rei and the others during their rank up test.

Rei noticed Alnicht’s attitude was much milder than it had been during the test and was surprised for a moment before immediately realising.

(So his attitude during the rate up test really was a facade.)

「Yo, how are you doing.」

As if following after Alnicht, Orkide raised his hand as he greeted Rei with a languid expression on his face.

Alnicht’s cheeks twitched as he called out his friend’s attitude.

「Hey, Orkide. If you’re going to greet someone, it should be Margrave Rowlocks first.」

「Hahaha. I don’t mind. It’s a casual gathering today anyway. Otherwise I wouldn’t have called Rei here in the first place.」

「……I’m sorry, Margrave Rowlocks. My friend here……」

「Ouch-, come on Alnicht. Get your hand off my head.」

Orkide protested against Alnicht, who forcibly pushed his head down, but Alnicht ignored him of course.

After seeing their exchange, the other nobles started to feel like they could speak with Rei and many of them called out to him.

That said, since Rei had already declined an invitation to serve under Duke Quent, they mostly focused on getting to know him rather than recruit him.

 

 

While Rei dealt with some of the nobles, Set was fed by others and enjoyed his time at the dinner party eating delicious food or being petted.

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