With regards to the Gamelions, Rei was guided to a warehouse located a short distance from the guild.
It was dark outside, but there were magic lighting items inside the warehouse, and the temperature was also kept at a constant level inside.
Perhaps because there was no wind, it felt much warmer inside than outside. The guild staff member who had guided Rei there let out a sigh of relief the moment they stepped inside.
Incidentally, the guild staff member who guided Rei to this warehouse wasn’t someone Rei was familiar with like Lenora or Kenny, but a middle-aged man in his forties.
……That said, Rei interacted with various guild staff quite often for one reason or another.
He wasn’t a complete stranger as Rei had exchanged words with him at the guild a few times before.
「So, Rei. We would like to conduct the dismantling and material harvesting of the Gamelions here. What do you think? Is this alright?」
「Well, it’s not really up to me to decide that. I’m only providing the Gamelions, the guild is the one actually stripping the materials and butchering the meat.」
「Ah, no, that’s not what I meant……I wanted to ask if all the Gamelions in your item box will fit here.」
Realising he had misunderstood, Rei gave an embarrassed smile and nodded.
「Here is big enough. ……By the way, the guild is gathering the people for the dismantling and stripping materials, right? Do you mind if I ask what kind of people they are?」
Looking around the building, which was spacious enough to be called a warehouse, Rei asked. The guild staff member nodded, indicating it was fine, and spoke.
「Basically, the guild will reach out to those who are skilled at stripping materials. It’s primarily adventurers who haven’t finished their winter preparations yet. There are also butchers who have ties with the guild. Since there are former adventurers among the guild staff as well, I don’t think we’ll have any problems with numbers.」
Can they really gather that many people so quickly? Rei thought, but his assessment was half right and half wrong.
If Rei had brought back fifty Orcs, the guild wouldn’t have been able to gather the number of people needed on short notice.
……Actually, before it would even get to that point, the guild probably wouldn’t have accepted Rei’s request to handle the dismantling in the first place.
However, this time, the job was a little different.
Gamelions, a monster that had been quite scarce and rare this year.
They had since found out that the dungeon was the cause of their low numbers this year, but it was still a fact that Gamelion meat wasn’t that readily available in Gilm right now.
That was likely why the guild accepted Rei’s request.
「That’s a big help for me too. I’ll start taking the Gamelions out now, is that okay?」
「Yes, please do. Ah, if possible, it would be easier for us to dismantle them if you could line them up in order.」
Nodding at the guild staff member’s words, Rei moved as he selected a Gamelion from the Misty Ring’s list in his mind.
The next moment, a Gamelion appeared on the floor.
Seeing that, the guild staff member had a faint expression of surprise.
Even though he knew Rei had an item box, seeing it used directly up close like this was still quite the surprise.
Of course, Rei had used the Misty Ring at the guild many times before when selling materials and magic stones, or retrieving proof of subjugation parts.
Noticing the guild staff member’s reaction, Rei didn’t say anything in particular as he continued to take out the Gamelions one after another.
The Gamelions were soon lined up in order on the stone floor.
Most were around three meters tall, and some even exceeded four meters.
With Gamelion corpses of that size being lined up, it was naturally a spectacular sight.
「This is……amazing. I knew you were a highly skilled adventurer, Rei, but seeing this firsthand really drives it home.」
The guild staff member spoke with genuine admiration.
It was only natural. Lone Gamelions were already C rank monsters, yet so many of them were lined up on the floor.
In other words, it meant that Rei had faced a pack of C rank monsters and one sidedly defeated them without taking even a scratch.
(As expected of an title holding B rank adventurer……I suppose.)
Gilm had many highly skilled adventurers, but if asked how many could do the same thing Rei had done, the guild staff member could only shake his head.
There were a considerable number of C rank adventurers, and even a decent number of B rank adventurers, just one rank higher and the rank Rei currently held. There were also a certain number of A rank adventurers, including those with titles……but if asked who among them could do the same thing as Rei, even the guild staff member would struggle to name even twenty people off the top of his head.
……Though, the fact that there were nearly twenty adventurers capable of handling a pack of C rank monsters on their own showed just how unique Gilm was.
There was no other town, village, or even city with such a concentration of highly skilled individuals.
The only exception was perhaps the Royal Capital.
There were no powerful monsters around the Royal Capital, but due to the sheer variety of requests, including escort missions that were unique to the capital, and the prestige of the Royal Capital itself, it attracted adventurers who were just as skilled, if not more so, than those in Gilm.
(Though, I have no doubt that our overall strength is higher.)
The guild staff member muttered secretly in his heart.
Both the Royal Capital and the frontier had capable adventurers, which was why they held a strong sense of rivalry towards each other.
However, the fact that it was merely a rivalry and not hostility was likely proof that the guild was truly a unified organization.
(Against the Royal Capital’s guild, which boasts S rank adventurers, we used to be inferior in fighting power. But……with Rei, with Crimson here, it’s safe to say our strength is about equal now.)
While the guild staff member was inwardly raising his competitive spirit towards the Royal Capital’s guild, the Gamelions continued to be taken out of the Misty Ring one after another.
The guild staff member had been watching with satisfaction, but towards the end, his cheeks gradually began to twitch.
The reason was that the Gamelions being taken out were increasingly taking on an appearance that could only be described as bits and pieces.
The ones with severed limbs were already the better ones. Among them were Gamelions with severed limbs, severed heads, and even severed torsos.
With the way their internal organs were spilling out from their torsos, it certainly didn’t look like they had been killled normally.
Furthermore, there were quite a few Gamelions whose fur had been scorched, and no small number even had their flesh cooked.
(Come to think of it, I heard Rei uses a large scythe……maybe this couldn’t be helped then. Besides, if they’re chopped up like this, dismantling them will hardly take any effort. But those burns…… ah, considering he excels in fire magic, I suppose that’s unavoidable too.)
The guild staff member was surprised for a while, but he eventually got used to the sight as he kept watching.
……Though, towards the end, the corpses became increasingly more piecemeal and charred.
「Well, this is about it……can I ask roughly how long the dismantling will take?」
「……Ah, ah, yes. Let’s see. Just from looking at them like this, it seems the ones lined up at the beginning will take some time since they need to be dismantled normally, but the ones towards the end have their limbs and heads already severed, so dismantling them won’t take much time. However……」
Pausing for a moment, the guild staff member continued apologetically.
「The Gamelions lined up at the end are severely damaged, so the price for their fur will be quite low……is that acceptable? Also, the Gamelions killed using fire magic will fetch a lower purchase price than the ones that died from being cut.」
「Yeah, I don’t mind. I expected that much when I killed them.」
Rei had noticed this while storing the Gamelions in the Misty Ring after the battle, so he had no intention of complaining.
He fully understood that he had gone overboard.
At Rei’s words, the guild staff member let out a sigh of relief as he continued.
「Then, we will contact you once the processing is finished, which should take a few days at the earliest, or within ten days at the latest. Will you be staying at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion?」
「Well, I don’t know any other inns that can accommodate Set.」
To be precise, few other inns with stables capable of accommodating Set had opened as of late.
They were all targeting Set, but at the same time, they were also banking on other tamed monsters.
However, Rei had absolutely no intention of going out of his way to change his usual inn.
In the first place, the Dusk Wheat Pavilion didn’t just have a stable that could accommodate Set, the quality of the inn itself was first rate.
Both the food and the various magic items that were provided made it a comfortable place to stay.
Of course, the accommodation fee was correspondingly high, but for Rei, that wasn’t an issue in the slightest.
「Then, it’s settled. ……Thank you for your hard work today.」
Since there were already some parts of the Gamelion meat he could take back with him, Rei stored them back into the Misty Ring before being seen out of the warehouse by the guild staff member.
「Gurururu~!」
Set, who had been waiting for him, gave a cry, stood up, and ran over to Rei.
When Rei had come to the warehouse, Set had accompanied him from the guild.
There were still people who looked like they wanted to play with Set, but as expected, Rei was the number one priority for Set.
「Guru~, Gurururururu~!」
Rei smiled and reached out to pat Set’s head as he cried out and rubbed his face against him.
Perhaps happy with the sensation, Set gave even happier cries.
They spent their time like that for a few minutes……a sight that would drive a certain C rank female adventurer that loved Set mad with jealousy if she saw it. As they settled down, the two of them began walking back towards the Dusk Wheat Pavilion.
Perhaps they were past the busy peak hours, as the number of customers at the food stalls seemed to have decreased significantly.
They walked down the street, casually buying leftovers from the stalls, until they reached their destination……the Dusk Wheat Pavilion.
「Gurururu~」
Set gave a somewhat sad cry.
He knew that he would have to part with Rei soon since they were nearing the inn.
Even so, Set didn’t throw a tantrum, knowing he would definitely see Rei again tomorrow.
Rei escorted Set to the stables and gave his head one last pat before heading towards the inn.
「Welcome back, Rei. What would you like for dinner?」
When Rei entered the inn, Lana, who had just come out of the dining room, called out to him.
「I got my hands on some good ingredients, and I’d like you to cook them for me. Is that okay?」
「Yes, that’s perfectly fine. What did you bring?」
「A whole Gamelion leg.」
Lana looked surprised for a moment at those words, but she quickly smiled as she replied.
「Well, my, my……I’m sure my husband will be delighted to have something worth showing off his skills on. Even so, a whole Gamelion leg means……did you take on a Gamelion hunting request today? I’ve heard it’s been tough because there are so few Gamelions this year, and Gamelion meat is actually trading at quite the high price. We’ve managed to secure a certain amount here as well, but it’s still not enough for everyone to eat until they’re full.」
「I won’t say tomorrow……but I think a decent amount of Gamelion meat will be on the market in the near future.」
「Then, could it be that you solved the problem of the Gamelion shortage this year, Rei?」
「I can’t say for sure……but probably.」
It was a fact that there was a pack of Gamelions in the dungeon, but if asked if that was definitively the cause of the Gamelion situation this year, Rei could only guess.
That was why Rei answered Lana with a ‘probably’.
「I see. I truly hope that’s the case. Well then, we will serve this Gamelion for your dinner tonight, Rei.」
「Yeah, I’ll leave it to you. Also, if possible, I’d like you to make something for Set with that Gamelion meat too.」
Perhaps finding Rei’s request unexpected, Lana was taken aback, but she eventually gave a small smile as she nodded.
「Yes, understood. Then please wait in the dining room. I will take the Gamelion leg to the kitchen. ……So, where is the Gamelion leg?」
Prompted by Lana, Rei took the Gamelion leg out of the Misty Ring.
Since the Gamelion was a monster based on a rabbit, its legs were visibly well developed.
It was an ingredient that looked like it would be delicious no matter how it was cooked.
Lana’s eyes widened for a moment before she quickly accepting the Gamelion leg from Rei.
……In terms of weight, it must have been close to 30 kg, but the fact that Lana held it without any problem was likely thanks to her experience doing business with veteran adventurers, mercenaries, and merchants at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion.
「Then, I will go deliver this right away. Please look forward to dinner tonight.」
Seeing Lana leave for the dining area, Rei followed behind her as well.