Rei, Elena, and Set were guided to a large warehouse near the guild.

However, it became clear it wasn’t just a warehouse the moment they entered and were wrapped in cool air.

It might be about to rain at any moment, but the temperature outside was still close to 30C.

Rather, the reason it felt so hot outside was due the humidity from the impending rain, but inside the warehouse, Rei was greeted by a cool and dry environment.

Of course, this environment was created using magic items. However, the reason wasn’t to make it comfortable for people inside, it was to prevent monster corpses from decaying.

Still, it was a comfortable environment and Elena took off her cloak and placed it into her magic pouch as he let out a breath.

「Haah……this is a nice place to be in.」

「Gururu~」

Set, who had come with them inside the warehouse, gave a happy cry.

At the same time, the man who had led Rei’s group here trembled for a moment, but he didn’t abandon his job as he led them to the back of the building.

「It’s here.」

In addition to people from the Silva family and guild staff, there was an unexpected person at the place they were brought to.

「Hah, were you the ones who killed the abnormal species?」

A giant over 2m tall and covered in muscle. Rei spoke out when he saw the man carrying his favoured claymore inside its sheath.

「The head of the Silva family was bothered to come out here?」

Hearing Rei’s words, which carried some surprise, the man gave a fearless smile.

「Of course. This is the abnormal species that injured my younger brothers. I really wanted to see it with my own eyes. ……So, that’s the Griffon I’ve been hearing about?」

「Gurururu~?」

Nice to meet you, Set seemed to say with a cry.

Vosk had an interesting look in his eyes in response to the friendly Set.

However, he quickly left that aside as he spoke.

「So, Rei. From what I heard yesterday, I thought that even if you killed the abnormal species, you wouldn’t give use the corpse or magic stone so easily. What made you change your mind?」

When he had asked Rei to subjugate the abnormal species at the guild the day before, he had implicitly agreed that Rei could keep the magic stone for himself. So, why had Rei suddenly decided to hand over everything? Rei shrugged his shoulders as he replied to Vosk.

「Well, there are a variety of reasons……the honest truth is that I just changed my mind.」

「Various reasons……is it.」

To be exact, it was related to the Magic Beast Art, but he couldn’t just say that, so Rei just answered vaguely.

「Anyhow, it’s not a bad thing for Exil, the guild, and the Silva family, right?」

「……Well, that’s fine. I’m sure you have your own reasons. Rather, pass the abnormal species over right away. Do you have it?」

Vosk’s words attracted the attention of the others around him.

Quite a few were suspicious, but some were surprised. It looked like there were quite a few people who had heard that Rei had an item box.

Prompted by Vosk’s gaze, Rei moved to the centre of the room before selecting the corpse of the abnormal species from the list in his mind. Then, the next moment, the huge 3m corpse of the Spear Frog suddenly appeared in the empty space.

It was rare for something to suddenly appear from nowhere, but it wasn’t that astonishing. It was a common sight for those who knew transfer magic and summoning magic. However, it seemed that the rarity of item boxes had made it more surprising.

Before the gazes of those present could focus on Rei, Vosk let out a scolding voice.

「Hey, do what you have to do! There are things that need to be done before you satisfy your personal questions and curiosity!」

As expected of the head of the Silva family, the effect of his voice was outstanding.

Most of the people instantly came back to their senses and started to investigate the deat Spear Frog on the floor.

「Heh, is that what you call charisma?」

「I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. And if it’s charisma you’re talking about, aren’t you even better than me?」

「Well, I don’t know. Right now, I’m just an adventurer.」

「……I guess that’s fine. By the way, what did you think when you fought this guy? After all, it was an abnormal species, was it really abnormal?」

Rei gave a small nod to Vosk, who asked as he watched the large group of people cutting off small pieces of skin, tongue, and other parts, before taking them elsewhere.

「Yeah. I’ve seen abnormal species three times now and fought them directly twice, but there are many things that still puzzle me. To be honest, when I fought them, they didn’t feel normal.」

「Not a normal monster? Of course. That’s why they were named abnormal species.」

What are you talking about? Vosk asked in some confusion, but Rei just smiled awkwardly as he replied.

He couldn’t talk about the Magic Beast Art, so he couldn’t provide clear evidence. That made it difficult to explain.

「It’s a sensation. Set can sense it as well, there’s something unnatural about them.」

「……Guru?」

What? Set, who was being stroked by Elena, turned to look at Rei when he heard his name called. But of course, even if he saw Set like that, it was unclear to Vosk if what Rei said was true or not.

But, considering Set was a Griffon, an A rank monster, he didn’t think what Rei said was completely unfounded either.

In this respect, Rei was somewhat saved by the existence of Set.

「If a Griffon feels that way, then there must be something wrong……」

Although not completely convinced, Rei was relieved that Vosk was starting to consider the possibility.

「In addition. As far as Set can sense, there seems to be multiple magic powers coming from it, unlike ordinary monsters.」

「……Multiple magic powers?」

「Yeah, basically, a monster should only have magic power belonging to itself. If it’s a Goblin, it will have a Goblin’s magic power, if it’s an Orc, it will have the magic power of an Orc. Even though this was a Spear Frog, it had the magic powers of several other monsters inside its body.」

Rei’s words made Vosk’s eyes grow sharp.

Part of his gaze was directed towards the Spear Frog. But that wasn’t all. Part of Vosk’s attention was also focused on Rei.

「If that’s true, then they definitely deserve their name as an abnormal species. There’s no doubt we’ll need to be vigilant in various ways. ……But.」

He stopped his words there and turned his gaze from the Spear Frog to Rei.

「You seem to know quite a lot, don’t you? It’s as if you understand what Griffons say.」

「……Well, I’ve been living with Set since I was little. From the time he was an egg. That’s why I can tell what he wants to say from his cries.」

「Huh? Anyone who has lived with a monster since young can understand what they say?」

「I don’t know if Set was just a good match for me, but I can at least understand each other’s thoughts to a certain extent.」

After Rei stopped speaking, there were a few seconds of silence, where the only thing that could be heard was the voices of those investigating the abnormal species echoing through the warehouse.

The first to break the silence was Vosk.

The look in his eyes was gone, as if the sharp gaze earlier had just been a lie.

「Well, those details are enough. Anyhow, the abnormal species that hurt my younger brothers was killed and handed over in one piece. Furthermore, a high ranking monster like a Griffon felt that something was suspicious. If I try to get any more out of you, I’ll probably end up getting hurt.」

Vosk realised there was more to it, but he didn’t pursue any further. Rei frowned slightly when Vosk said that.

Although he wanted to find out what was with the abnormal species, Rei wasn’t too happy for Vosk to catch onto something about him.

The first time he met Vosk, Rei had thought he was just a typical muscle brain. But after several encounters, he had realised that Vosk wasn’t just that……he was someone who could rule the Labyrinth City Exil……and even if he wasn’t that capable, he could still maintain the city without issue.

「By the way, what do you think the reason could be for there to be several magic powers? What would you say, Rei, as a mage?」

「That’s true. The fact that there are several magic powers means that it isn’t normal. Perhaps someone accidentally or, for whatever reason, artificially created these abnormal species.」

At Rei’s words, the sound of Vosk grinding his teeth could be heard through the room.

Although it wasn’t governed by the Silva family alone, he didn’t like the fact that someone was doing whatever they wanted inside his territory of Exil.

Looking at Vosk and seeing the veins on his forehead, Elena gave a sigh while stroking Set.

(In this situation, it’s probably better not to tell him that the Levisor or Marschel families are likely pulling the threads in this case. Although it hurts that Rei can’t give a clear rationale, he has to keep the Magic Beast Art a secret.)

Rei must have thought the same thing. He opened his mouth for a moment, but eventually closed it without saying anything.

「Oh, first of all, the magic stone! Find the magic stone that acts as the monster’s core!」

「Big brother, we’ve handed the stone to the guild for a while now……」

「Doesn’t matter. There is a difference between searching for something we don’t know and searching with a clear understanding of what we’re looking for!」

In response to Vosk’s words, people started to take action.

As Rei’s group watched on, Vosk pulled out a small cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to them.

「Anyway, you’ve done well. It’s the best it could have turned out for the Silva family. Thank you. Here’s your reward. And two silver coins.」

Inside the cloth bag that was handed over to them, there were two gold coins, a reward for taking up the request, two platinum coins, from successfully completing the request, and an extra two silver coins.

「Is this okay?」

「That’s at my discretion. It’s a request that didn’t go through the guild in the first place. It’s not uncommon for rewards to go up and down a bit. As an adventurer, you know that best, right?」

「I can’t say much since I’ve basically only taken requests posted on the guild’s request board. ……Well, if you’re giving me more, I’ll take it.」

At Rei’s words, Vosk gave a manly smile.

「That’s it, that’s more like it. I’ve gone to the trouble of paying you more to keep you close. You should take as much as you want.」

「……I don’t think it makes much sense for you to tell us that directly.」

Rei replied with some amazement. But the person in question didn’t seem to care about the situation at all as he waved his hand.

「Look, there’s nothing more for you to do today. You can head back. You’ve been fighting in the desert all day. Considering that, you should take some rest. ……That said, you guys have been entering the dungeon almost every day anyway. Regardless, there’s nothing much for you to do here is there? You can do whatever you want for the rest of the day.」

Rei was at a loss for a moment on how to handle to the Goblin Bandit Mage.

However, since he had already absorbed its magic stone, he didn’t think it would do any good to take it out, it would only make him more suspicious. ……In the end, he turned away without handing it over.

「Then, we’ll take you up on that.」

「Sure, I might call for you if something happens again, so keep that in mind.」

Set and Elena followed after Rei with a small nod towards the voice from behind them.

「Well……in any case, whoever has been making these abnormal species needs to pay for what they’ve done. Hey, none of you can miss a single thing that could be a clue!」

『Yes!』

Vosk’s voice and those that answered him echoed through the warehouse.

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