"Rei-san!?"
Lenora cried out the moment she saw Rei step into the guild.
At her shout, everyone nearby reflexively turned their eyes toward the entrance.
Standing there was a figure wrapped in a familiar robe. At a glance, he appeared small and slender, but beneath that exterior was a personality that was anything but cute.
Ignoring the stares of the crowd, Rei headed toward the guild counter as if he hadn't been away from the City of Gilm for the better part of ten days.
Lenora welcomed him with a joyful smile, while Kenny, standing beside her, looked absolutely ecstatic.
"Rei-kun!"
Drawing on the physical ability unique to the cat beastman race, Kenny vaulted over the counter and threw her arms around Rei.
"Are you all right? You aren't hurt, are you? Oh, I mean the illness, not an injury. There's nothing wrong with you, right?"
Kenny asked in a rush, her hands patting Rei down over his Dragon Robe without giving him a moment to catch his breath.
Rei let out a dry chuckle at her behavior and lightly patted the shoulder of the girl, who stood slightly taller than him.
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine. Since a week has passed since I left, you can rest easy regarding the Magic Fever as well."
"Thank goodness..."
The moment she breathed a sigh of relief, Lenora’s fist came down on the top of Kenny’s head, right between her cat ears.
"Ow! Hey, what was that for!?"
"Don't 'what was that for' me! What were you thinking, jumping over the counter like that? That isn't how a receptionist—the face of the guild—is supposed to behave."
"I couldn't help it! Rei-kun came back safe and sound. I'm allowed to let loose a little, aren't I!?"
"If you were off duty or on a break, I wouldn't care. But right now, you are working as a receptionist, aren't you?"
"Ugh..."
Kenny made a sour face at Lenora, who was lecturing her with a dead serious expression.
But a moment later, a smirk played across Kenny's lips as she pointedly lowered her gaze toward Lenora's chest.
Being subjected to a stare so intense it felt like it could drill holes through her, Lenora grew flustered with embarrassment. she quickly covered her chest with both hands.
As Lenora had said, the receptionists were the faces of the guild. Naturally, they were expected to dress the part. In Lenora's case, she wore a tidy, one-piece outfit that still managed to feel feminine. However, in Kenny’s view, Lenora only dressed that way to hide her lack of confidence in her own curves.
Kenny stared intently at Lenora's chest... before eventually shifting her gaze to her own, which was significantly more prominent.
"Hmph."
She let out a snort of pure, triumphant condescension.
"Guh... Listen here, Kenny. What was that laugh for?"
"Hm? I wasn't laughing. Honestly. It's not like I was thinking about how pitiful someone must be to despair over their own meager body lines."
"Who's meager!? I'm average! Average!"
Rei watched their usual bickering with a small smile.
It was exactly this kind of exchange that made him feel, deep down, that he had truly returned to the place where he belonged.
Still, he couldn't stand around watching them forever. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders and spoke up.
"I need to report the events in the City of Baar to the Guild Master. Can you let her know I'm here?"
"Hey, Kenny! ...Eh? Oh, s-sorry. Please wait a moment. I'll notify the Guild Master right away!"
Lenora spoke hurriedly, trying to gloss over her spat with Kenny.
But just as she took a step toward the back of the counter, a voice resonated through the guild hall.
"My, my. I thought I heard a commotion. You've finally returned, I see."
The voice wasn't particularly loud, yet it somehow reached the ears of everyone in the room.
A beautiful dark elf with silver hair, brown skin, and a voluptuous figure stepped forward. She wore a flashy dress reminiscent of an evening gown, and she exuded an air of effortless sensuality. It was Marina Alianza, the Guild Master of the City of Gilm.
"Guild Master!? S-sorry. I was just about to come tell you that Rei-san had returned."
"Yes, so I heard. Though before that, you two put on quite the interesting little performance."
Realizing their bickering had been seen and heard, Lenora’s face turned scarlet with shame.
Marina smiled at Lenora's reaction and gently patted her head.
"It might be winter, and the guild might not be very busy, but you must still do your jobs as receptionists properly. ...Kenny. That goes for you, too."
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
Even Kenny, who prided herself on her sex appeal, knew she stood no chance against Marina. Rather than attempt a reckless challenge in a field where she was clearly outmatched, she quietly retreated to her place behind the counter.
Satisfied, Marina turned her almond-shaped eyes toward Rei.
"Welcome back. I want to hear about the City of Baar immediately. Would you come to my office?"
Marina invited him with a sultry gesture that, depending on one's perspective, could have been mistaken for a seduction.
The adventurers in the guild stood mesmerized by the sight, Lenora turned even redder, and Kenny puffed out her cheeks in a pout.
"Yeah. I have plenty to report, so that would be best."
Rei nodded and followed Marina toward her office.
"Please, have a seat. I'll prepare some tea."
As soon as they entered the office, Marina urged him onto the sofa and began preparing the tea herself.
Rei thought this was hardly a job for the Guild Master, but seeing how much she seemed to enjoy the task, he sat down without a word.
Five minutes later, a steaming cup of tea and a plate of cookies were placed before him.
Marina took the seat across from Rei and sipped her own tea.
"...So, you wanted to hear the report. But before that, I should return this."
Rei pulled the map from the Misty Ring and laid it on the table.
She had given him this map despite the risk of criminal charges. It was an incredibly important item, and thanks to it, he had reached the City of Baar without a single wrong turn. For that, Rei was truly grateful.
"I have it. Was it of use to you?"
"Yeah. Thanks to this map, I didn't have to worry about getting lost."
"Good. I'm glad. Now, about the situation over there... Actually, I've heard the gist of it directly from Seis, so this will mostly be to fill in the gaps."
Marina glanced at a crystal sitting on her desk. Following her gaze, Rei nodded in understanding.
"I see. A magic item for direct communication."
He recognized it instantly because he possessed the Paired Orbs, the magic item he had received from the lich, Grimm.
(Come to think of it, I haven't spoken to Grimm since the dungeon. It might be worth contacting him later.)
While these thoughts crossed his mind, Rei prompted Marina to continue.
"Oh, you're quick to catch on. ...Now, I have to ask. Was what you saw really a Dungeon Core?"
"I didn't see it directly inside the dungeon, so I can't be certain. But judging from the magic power and the general atmosphere, most likely."
"So you can't say for sure?"
Rei nodded slightly.
To be precise, Zephyle's Knowledge allowed him to be absolutely certain, but he couldn't exactly explain that. Furthermore, if he claimed he had seen it in the dungeon and the truth was later revealed by Elena or Ara, it would cause complications. He had no choice but to be vague.
"...Well, fine. There's no reason for you to lie about it, so we'll officially record it as 'highly likely to be a Dungeon Core' and leave it at that."
After that, she asked several more detailed questions, and Rei provided the answers.
It felt less like an official debriefing and more like Marina was cross-referencing Rei's account with the story she had heard from Seis.
When they finished about thirty minutes later, she stood up, retrieved a spear displayed on the wall, and handed it to Rei.
"Good work. I officially mark the request as completed. ...Though, technically, it was finished the moment Seis signed off on it. Here is your promised reward."
Rei looked down at the spear.
From the tip of the blade to the end of the shaft, the entire weapon was finished in a deep, lustrous forest green. This was the second time he had held the Thorn Spear, but it was still stunning—a weapon so beautiful it was practically a work of art.
He admired the spear for a full minute before giving Marina a small nod.
"I accept this as payment for the request."
"Think nothing of it. I obtained that spear back in my active days. It's beautiful, certainly, but in the end, a spear is a tool of war. Since my combat style was a mix of mage and archer, I almost never had the chance to use it. I always hoped that if I found someone with the skill to handle it, I would entrust it to them one day."
"I see. However..."
Rei nodded and summoned the Death Scythe from his Misty Ring.
"As you know, this Death Scythe is my primary weapon. I do use spears, but unlike a typical warrior, I'm more likely to use them as javelins."
"That's perfectly fine. The moment I saw you, I felt a spark. It isn't arrogance to say that the adventurers in Gilm are elite—some are A-Rank. Any of them could surely master the Thorn Spear, but call it an elf's intuition... or perhaps a woman's intuition. Regardless, when I looked at you, I knew you were the one to take it."
"And if that intuition of yours hadn't kicked in, what were you going to give me for delivering those relief supplies to the City of Baar?"
"Probably something else. As for what that might have been..."
She looked at Rei with a playful glint in her eyes and gave him a wink.
"That’s a s-e-c-r-e-t."
Rei offered a wry smile at the sultry wink and stored both the Death Scythe and the Thorn Spear back into his Misty Ring.
"Well, I received a better reward than I expected, so I'm satisfied. ...If we're done here, may I head out?"
"My, you won't even invite a fine woman like me to dinner?"
"I'll leave that to someone else."
Marina chuckled at Rei's reply and glanced toward the door.
"It seems we have some girls who are quite anxious, so let's leave it at that for today."
"...What?"
Rei followed her gaze toward the door. He stood up from the sofa silently and moved toward it, then yanked the door open.
"Ah..."
Frozen in the act of eavesdropping with their ears pressed to the wood, the two receptionists Rei knew so well let out a small gasp and stopped moving.
"My, my. I thought it was just Kenny, but Lenora was with her too."
Marina spoke with a smile as she brought her teacup to her lips. A mischievous grin played across her face.
"By the way, with both of you here, I can't help but wonder what's happening at the guild counter right now?"
"N-no... well... we asked someone else to cover for us for just a minute..."
"A-aha... Ahahaha..."
Lenora gave a stiff, awkward reply, while Kenny tried to laugh the whole thing off. Rei looked at the two of them, then turned an exasperated gaze back to Marina.
"You certainly have some excellent staff members here."
"Ufufu. Don't I? They're my pride and joy. ...But since I want to be even prouder of them, I think I'll have them stay late to finish their work today."
"Eh!? Wait, no way! Guild Master! I was going to invite Rei-kun to dinner to celebrate his return!"
"Oh, is that so? Well, you're free to do that, of course... but your next performance reviews will certainly be interesting."
"Guh!"
(...So that's what it looks like to be rendered speechless.)
Rei watched the exchange between the three of them with a faint smile.
"Rei-kun, I can't eat with you today because of the mean Guild Master, but let's go out together next time, okay?"
"Oh? Since I'm such a 'mean' Guild Master, I really should live up to the name. Perhaps Kenny's overtime should be extra long..."
"Excuse me—!"
Kenny shouted before Marina could finish and practically bolted from the office.
"Haa... My apologies, Guild Master."
Lenora watched her friend flee and gave Marina a polite bow.
"It's fine. You were both worried about Rei, weren't you?"
"That... yes. After all, he went to a city in the middle of a plague."
"Oh? Is that all it was?"
Marina gave Lenora a meaningful look, but Lenora truly had no other motive. Her concern was purely that of an older sister worrying about a younger brother. Seeing that her teasing had missed the mark, Marina let out a disappointed sigh.