Now that the private request had been decided upon, rather than staying where they were, it was better to proceed with the request formalities. Rei headed toward the guild together with Marka, Coan, and Set, a group of three people and one animal.
「Oho, this skewer is delicious. Fumu, shopkeeper. I desire another.」
「Hahaha! ‘Desire’, is it? I’m no match for you, little lady. Here, it’s freshly grilled and hot, so be careful.」
「Umu. Freshly cooked food really is delicious. Furthermore, eating it like this while snow falls has quite a nice atmosphere.」
「Gurururu~」
Beside Marka, who ate her skewer happily, Set also ate a skewer as he gave a happy cry.
……Indeed, despite Marka’s status as the daughter of Duke Quent, rather than using the carriage she had ridden in when arriving at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion, she was now walking normally through Gilm.
More than that, she was buying food from stalls as she walked, just as Rei and Set always did.
Furthermore, unlike when she arrived at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion, her clothes had changed to something of good quality yet modest enough that no one would take her for a noble.
Looking at Marka now, while someone might think she was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, hardly anyone would think she was a noble……let alone a duke’s daughter.
If anyone did, it would only be someone who had seen and known Marka as a noble before.
「Little lady, you’re with Set-chan? How lovely. ……Here, eat this too.」
「Mm? Is it alright?」
「Yeah, yeah. Not a problem at all. Our sandwiches are quite different from what you’d eat around here, you know?」
「What? Really? Then I shall gladly accept!」
Marka took a vigorous bite into the sandwich she received from the stall owner.
At that moment, sauce squeezed out from between the sandwich slices and got on her cheek, but she continued eating without minding it in the slightest.
Seeing her look so happy just from eating brought natural smiles to the faces of the people walking nearby.
「Is this alright? Even though you’re supposed to be incognito, she’s standing out quite a bit.」
「Ahaha. Well, if anything happens, I will protect her. Besides, with you and Set here, no one would dare lay a hand on her.」
Rei and Coan also continued walking while eating skewers, and after stopping to buy food from stalls a few times, the group arrived at the guild.
「Umu, umu. Gilm is truly wonderful. If I were to do something like this in Gracial, it would definitely cause an uproar.」
「In Duke Quent’s main city, if Marka-sama, the only daughter of Duke Quent, walks around outside, it is only natural that she would stand out.」
「I know that, though.」
「Gururu~」
Upon arriving at the guild, Set gave a cry without Rei having to say anything and headed toward his usual spot.
Marka and Coan were once again amazed by Set’s intelligence, and Rei accompanied the two of them into the guild.
「Oh! It’s been a while since I was at a guild! A guild! ……A guild?」
Although Marka let out a cheer the moment she first stepped inside the guild, she quickly noticed how few people there were on the guild side, and at the same time voiced her doubts upon seeing the adjacent tavern nearly full.
「Say, Rei. Is this not a tavern rather than a guild? When I came last year, I do not believe only the tavern was thriving to this extent while the guild had no adventurers.」
Marka asked as she looked up at Rei.
For Rei, who was on the shorter side, being looked up to from below was an extremely rare experience.
While feeling slightly pleased by that, he nodded without letting it show on his face and spoke.
「This place is both a guild and a tavern. I don’t know much about guilds in other cities, but generally, guilds are often set up alongside taverns.」
「It’s likely intended so adventurers can eat and drink at the tavern right after reporting a completed request and collecting their reward at the guild. In fact, they say the income generated by taverns is quite substantial for any guild.」
Coan spoke, following up on Rei’s words.
Having heard their explanations, Marka looked around both the guild and tavern areas once again.
There were only a few adventurers on the guild side. Compared to that, the tavern side was nearly full.
「Fumu. But seeing it like this, there are far more people in the tavern.」
「Because it is winter. In warmer regions or places with less snow, adventurers can operate to some extent even during winter, but unfortunately, Gilm gets quite a heavy snowfall. Adventurers take a break until the snow melts.」
「Is that so? ……However, just because it is winter does not mean there are no requests, right? As far as I know, there are monsters that only appear during winter.」
「That is where they come in.」
Coan’s gaze turned toward the adventurers on the guild side.
They were scanning the request board, looking for any good requests.
「Not all adventurers can save up enough funds to get through the winter. Those who failed to do so search for requests they can undertake even in the snow, like that. ……Now, my lady. Shall we submit the request?」
「Umu! Then let us go, Rei, Coan!」
Marka had been looking around with curiosity, but she eventually nodded at Coan’s words and headed toward the guild counter.
There, as usual, Lenora and Kenny were present, along with the other receptionists.
However, with the guild in this state, it was only natural that they were not very busy.
There was still work like filing documents, but that was not something one could do all day.
That was precisely why Lenora and Kenny, who were familiar with Rei, quickly noticed him entering the guild.
……Part of it was also that they were surprised to see him accompanied by Marka and Coan.
(Oh?)
Kenny, who had been exchanging silent glances with Lenora, suddenly noticed that the man with Rei looked familiar.
(If I remember correctly, that person……spoke with Rei at the guild before, didn’t he?)
Kenny met dozens, hundreds, and on some days over a thousand adventurers daily, yet the reason she remembered a man she had met only once was partly her recognition that he was connected to Rei.
However, more than that, as a guild receptionist, she sensed something unusual about the man……Coan.
Rei, Marka, and Coan headed toward Kenny, who was lost in such thoughts……or more accurately, toward Lenora beside her.
「Hoh, so these are the receptionists. I see, they are called the face of the guild for good reason, having gathered such good-looking women.」
Looking at Lenora and Kenny, Marka murmured in admiration.
However, being praised like that left both Lenora and Kenny feeling rather conflicted.
This was because Marka, who described them as good-looking, was an exceptionally adorable girl who was not even ten years old yet.
Right now, ‘adorable’ was the appropriate word, but if she continued to grow like this, it was certain she would become an eye-catching beauty.
Even so, demonstrating her professional spirit, Kenny opened her mouth without letting those thoughts show.
「Rei, who are these people? If I recall, that person over there came to the guild last year, right?」
Kenny called out to Rei first.
Coan twitched his eyebrows in slight surprise at Kenny’s reaction.
He probably never expected her to remember him after he had only shown his face briefly.
「We’re here for a private……」
「It is fine, Rei. In this situation, I, the one making the request, should speak. ……I am Marka Quent. Well, it might be easier to understand if I say I am a member of the Duke Quent family.」
The moment she said that, not only the receptionists, but most of the guild staff behind the counter widened their eyes in shock.
That was only natural. The Duke Quent family was a prominent noble house holding one of the largest territories in the Mireana Kingdom.
Hearing that someone related to such a figure was present, very few among the guild staff could maintain their composure.
Still, some recalled that she was the person who visited last year to assist with the rank up test, wondering if she had come because of that connection.
All the more so since Rei, who had ranked up back then, was with her.
「Please excuse my rudeness, Marka Quent-sama. What business brings you here today?」
Kenny usually interacted with adventurers in a light-hearted manner, but she had naturally received proper education as a receptionist.
Seeing Kenny bow politely and inquire like that, Rei wore a faint look of surprise.
Seeing Rei’s reaction, Kenny could hardly help feeling a little dissatisfied internally.
Beside Kenny, Lenora seemed to decide to leave things to Kenny for now, watching the exchange without chiming in.
If Kenny did anything strange, Lenora intended to stop her immediately.
After all, the person before them was a duke’s daughter. If any strange commotion broke out here, it could even lead to an issue between the guild and the Duke Quent family.
Unaware of Lenora’s thoughts, Marka spoke to Kenny.
「Umu. I wish to submit a private request for Rei. That is why I stopped by the guild.」
「Eh? For R-Rei……?」
It was likely because Marka’s words could not help but evoke a bad feeling. Kenny turned her gaze toward Rei.
From Kenny’s perspective, not much time had passed since Rei returned from the Bestir Empire.
Yet now, with a private request from a ducal house, she could not help worrying whether he even had time to rest.
「Umu. Actually, I intend to have Rei act as an instructor at the officer academy in Gracial, where my home is located.」
「……Um, Rei as an instructor?」
Kenny wore an expression that made one wonder what her worry from a few seconds ago was all about.
Kenny usually gave off the aura of a voluptuous mature woman, but looking at her after hearing Marka’s words, no one would hold such an impression.
It was not just Kenny. Lenora wore a similar expression as well.
To the two of them, the words ‘Rei’ and ‘instructor’ did not match at all.
At least to these two, imagining Rei teaching someone, especially students at an officer academy, was impossible.
Of course, they knew Rei was not completely unsuited for teaching.
After all, he had completed a request to train Baslero last year.
However, that was strictly for Baslero, a child of about ten years old.
When it came to an officer academy, those attending were in their mid to late teens, and some might even be in their twenties.
In other words, the students there were basically Rei’s peers or older than him.
Taking Rei’s personality into account, it was hard to believe he could properly carry out the duties of an instructor.
That was not just the sentiment of Kenny and Lenora, who were listening to the conversation. It was the same for the other guild staff as well.
To begin with, Rei was generally not skilled at socialising with people.
Hearing that someone like Rei would serve as an instructor was nothing short of astonishing to the guild staff.
Some even wondered if the students at the officer academy would be rendered utterly useless.
Rei was someone who acted friendly toward friendly people and hostile toward hostile people, and on top of that, showed no mercy to those who opposed him.
Regarding the incident a few weeks ago between the Baron Cisne family and the heir to the Earl Eliel family, information had spread from the city guards through vague rumours that Keep’s arms had been severed after he tried to raid the Baron Cisne residence to overturn his loss in the duel.
Even so, the reason Rei was not feared in Gilm was probably because it was widely known that he did not resort to pointless violence.
……Of course, it could not be denied that Set’s presence greatly softened the fear toward Rei, and the fact that he spent large amounts of money and paid generously at food stalls and eateries also played a role.
「Umu. My father consulted me about it previously. At that time, I remembered Rei.」
「However, well, it seems to me that Rei isn’t very suited for teaching others.」
Thinking that Rei would leave Gilm again if he took that private request, Kenny spoke in an attempt to change Marka’s mind.
(I understand how Kenny feels, but she came all the way to Gilm to recruit Rei, so I doubt she’ll give up so easily. ……Still, just as Kenny says, if Rei ends up as an instructor, various problems are bound to occur.)
Listening to the conversation between Kenny and Marka, Lenora turned her gaze toward Rei with some concern.
Because Lenora viewed Rei like a younger brother, she worried that he might cause trouble at the officer academy.
「There is no need to worry on that matter. What Rei will be handling is scheduled to be mock battles. Rei’s strength will surely serve as sufficient stimulation for the students.」
「……Far from stimulation, I feel like it’s going to crush their confidence completely.」
Knowing Rei’s strength, Kenny’s words carried a certain heartfelt weight.
After that, Kenny tried to urge Marka to make someone other than Rei the instructor, but Marka had no intention of listening.
That was only natural. In the first place, the true purpose of this private request was to temporarily shelter Rei under their protection.
When Kenny finally ran out of persuasive arguments……
「Kenny, that is enough.」
The voice of the Guild Master, Marina, echoed through the surroundings.