"Whoa, it looks like it’s going to be another cold one."
Rei muttered the words involuntarily as he stepped outside the inn.
Beside him, Set let out a low rumble from its throat in agreement.
Looking around, a thin dusting of snow covered the ground. As a small mercy, instead of fresh snow falling, the winter sun was beating down with surprising warmth for the season, melting the remains of the frost into water.
It had been a few days since they returned from the City of Baar. The commotion surrounding the incident had finally begun to quiet down, and since he felt sufficiently rested, Rei had decided to head to the guild for the first time in a while, taking Set along for a walk.
"We’ve been pretty busy lately, haven’t we?"
"Guruuu?"
Set tilted its head as if to ask, Really?
From Set’s perspective, it was just happy that people had been coming to see it and dote on it every day.
"Well, you’ve been getting all kinds of treats from Mirene, after all."
"Gurururuuu."
Set purred happily at Rei’s remark.
After all, Mirene was a self-professed, obsessive admirer of the griffon. When she first learned that Rei had taken Set to a plague-ridden city, she had been so overcome with shock and worry that she’d spent several days bedridden. Naturally, once they returned, her affection for Set—not Rei, but Set—had gone into overdrive. For the past few days, she had visited the Dusk Wheat Inn every single day, bringing treats for the griffon.
She spent her visits desperately pampering Set while scolding Rei for being irresponsible enough to take it somewhere so dangerous. Her blatant favoritism was so extreme that even the other guests at the inn had started offering Rei looks of pity.
However, since winter had officially arrived, Mirene had set out for the guild early this morning. Despite the lack of heavy snow, her party members in Scorching Wind had dragged her out to take on one last request before the season truly set in. Their departure had inspired Rei and Set to finally show their faces at the guild as well.
"Ah, Set! You’ve been well? I heard you went somewhere dangerous. Here, have one of these. It’s on the house today!"
"Oh, Rei! Feels like I haven't seen your face in ages. Hey, how about it? Want a skewer? Freshly grilled meat is the only way to beat this cold!"
"Don't listen to him! In this weather, my soup is the only thing that'll warm your bones. Rei, I’ve got some good Gamelion meat in the pot today. Interested?"
"Then you'll need one of my sandwiches to go with that soup!"
"Hey! Don't be so pushy!"
As they walked down the Main Street, Rei and Set engaged in their usual banter with the street vendors. They made their way toward the guild, snacking on sandwiches and skewers and stopping for the occasional cup of soup.
One notable change was that udon had appeared on the menu of the soup stalls. It seemed that during the week Rei had been away in the City of Baar, Dishot had shared the recipe with his acquaintances.
If he’d kept it to the Full Belly Diner, he could have monopolized the profits for a while. But I suppose this is the best way to actually spread the dish.
No matter how much profit one shop made, a dish would never truly take root if it was only served in one place. By teaching his friends, who then taught their friends, udon was naturally proliferating. Rei wasn't sure if the craft-focused Dishot had actually planned it that way, but the result was that udon was rapidly becoming a staple in the City of Gilm.
At this rate, it won't be long before someone develops yakisoba, pasta, or soba. Personally, I'd like Dishot to be the one to develop pasta. Pasta by Hasta’s dad... there’s a nice ring to that.
The face of the young adventurer he’d gone Gamelion hunting with flashed through his mind.
While lost in thought, Rei continued his routine of buying sandwiches, hot dog-style savory bread, skewers, juice, and fruit from the stalls. He shared some with Set and stored the rest inside his Misty Ring.
When the guild finally came into view, Set didn't need to be told where to go. It headed straight for the Tamed Monster Space and flopped onto the ground.
Rei watched as a crowd of children and several adventurers gathered around to admire the griffon, then he turned and stepped inside.
"...Not many people here today."
It was mid-morning, around ten o'clock, so there were almost no adventurers near the request board.
With winter settling in, many adventurers had already decided to go on hiatus until spring.
And as for what those people did during their time off...
Rei glanced toward the tavern attached to the guild.
There, the scene was the exact opposite of the quiet request board. While it wasn't as crowded as it would be at night, there were more people drinking than Rei had ever seen during his daytime visits to the guild.
"Whew."
He let out a small sigh at the sight and started toward the request board, only to be stopped.
"Oh, if it isn't Rei. Long time no see."
He turned toward the voice to find three people standing there.
First was a warrior with a body trained to the absolute limit, a massive battle axe strapped to his back.
Next was a female mage in robes, a staff in her hand.
Finally, there was a young swordsman. He looked to be about the same age as Rei, but his physique was clearly well-honed.
Rei knew exactly who they were. They were the three members of the Axe of the Thunder God, an A-Rank party and one of the most powerful forces in the City of Gilm.
"Elk, Min, and Rhodos. It really has been a while. I haven't seen you around lately—where have you been?"
Elk, the leader of the Axe of the Thunder God, scratched his head with a mischievous grin.
"Well, a nasty monster cropped up near another city. We had to head out quite a way to provide some backup."
"A nasty monster?"
"Yeah. A Dragon Species."
Rei froze. He stared at Elk for several seconds, his eyes narrowing with skepticism.
"A dragon?"
Elk clearly expected that reaction. He gave a wry chuckle.
"Don't get the wrong idea. It wasn't some S-Rank Over monster like you're probably imagining. It was a dragon, yeah, but it was an Unintelligent Dragon. A Lower-grade Dragon. ...Still, it took five A-Rank parties just to bring the thing down."
Rei nodded, understanding.
Even among the dragon species, there were distinct tiers of power. For instance, the wyverns ridden by common Dragon Knights were among the Lowest-grade Dragon Species. In contrast, the dragon that provided the materials for Rei's Dragon Robe was a High-grade Dragon with intelligence surpassing a human's and mastery over Dragon Language Magic. And beyond even those were the Ancient Dragons, like the one that had owned the magic stone Elena held at the Altar of Inheritance—true monsters that lived for thousands of years.
"So, what kind of dragon was it?"
Hearing that someone had actually slain a dragon piqued Rei's curiosity. Min, the mage standing beside Elk and the one who practically ran the party, smiled at his interest.
"I see even a boy like you can't help but be drawn to the dragon species. It was a Rock Dragon. Even for a lower-grade species, it was a formidable opponent."
"A Rock Dragon? Based on the name, was it an Earth Dragon-type?"
"Exactly. It couldn't fly, but it possessed incredibly high defense... at least against physical attacks."
"It wasn't that big a deal once Mom used her magic, though," Rhodos chimed in, sounding as proud as if he had done it himself.
Rei smiled wryly to himself as he watched the boy.
His Mother Complex is as strong as ever. Wait, if he's bragging like that...
"...Did you actually go with them?" Rei asked tentatively.
Rhodos was a C-Rank adventurer despite his age, but he was still only Rank C. Rei couldn't imagine a way for him to contribute to a fight that required multiple A-Rank parties.
"Guh."
Rhodos choked on his words. Elk reached out and ruffled his son's hair with a heavy hand.
"Gahahaha! Even I’m not crazy enough to take my son along to fight a dragon. He stayed behind to handle the defense of our base of operations."
"I figured. It’s suicide for a Rank C to go up against a dragon species. Maybe a wyvern if you have the numbers, but a Rock Dragon is a different story."
"Sh-shut up! You're still just a Rank D! You’ve got no right to lecture me when I'm higher rank!"
Rhodos glared at Rei, his face turning red with embarrassment.
However, even as he snapped, he couldn't help but remember the combat power Rei had displayed at the Orc settlement. He wondered if, perhaps, Rei was the exception to the rule.
"Rhodos, you're being naive," Min said, her voice dropping into her usual neutral, almost boyish tone.
"I heard that Rei took on a request to deliver medicine to a plague-stricken city. It was a Nomination Request directly from the Guild Master herself. And he succeeded. Given his contribution to the guild and his actual skill, he'll likely be promoted soon. Even if this mission wasn't enough, it'll only take a few more."
"Mom..."
Rhodos recoiled as if his mother’s words were a physical blow.
Elk watched his son’s reaction with amusement, then his eyes drifted toward the request board as an idea struck him.
"Actually, Min is right. It’s not good for Rhodos to keep riding our coattails like this. Hey, Rei. Why don't you and Rhodos take on a subjugation request together?"
"...Huh!? What are you talking about, Dad!?" Rhodos shouted reflexively.
Unexpectedly, Min nodded in agreement.
"Yes, that might be for the best."
"Wait, even you, Mom?! Why are you agreeing with him? Besides, didn't you say we were going on hiatus until spring once we got back?!"
"...Rhodos. You are a Prominent Young Adventurer, it's true. But there are more than a few people who think you only reached your rank because you've had us to carry you. You know that, don't you?"
"That's..."
Rhodos fell silent.
It was an unavoidable stigma. When your party members were both A-Rank, and those members were your own parents, people were bound to talk.
Of course, Rhodos was a talented adventurer in his own right. While he lacked the raw power of a Supernova like Rei, his knowledge and instincts were top-tier, having been raised in an environment of elite education by two A-Rank parents.
Still, there were plenty of people who felt bitter or jealous, whispering about how he was just riding the coattails of his parents' fame. As his mother, Min hated hearing such things, and she had been looking for a way to prove that her son could stand on his own.
However, she was also too protective to send him out completely alone. Elk’s suggestion was the perfect middle ground.
Min glanced at her husband, who was still wearing that mischievous boyish grin, and smiled wryly.
She highly doubted that Elk, who wasn't exactly a deep thinker, had actually considered all of that, but the outcome was the same.
"Right! It’s settled. We need to find a good monster for you two to hunt. It's winter now, so I'm sure some of those seasonal pests are starting to appear."
"Dad! Stop moving the conversation along on your own!"
"Come on, now. Even Min is on board, so there's no problem, right?"
"He's right. You're our pride and joy, Rhodos. With your skills, I'm confident you can handle working outside of our party."
"Even Mom is saying it... fine. If you're that serious about it, I'll give it a shot."
"Good grief. I wish he'd do something about being such a mama's boy."
Watching the family drama unfold, Rei—who had been completely ignored during the decision-making process—couldn't help but sigh.
"I've just been completely dragged into this, haven't I?"
He had come to the guild looking for work anyway, but the turn of events still left him feeling slightly exasperated. Shaking his head, he followed the three members of the Axe of the Thunder God as they crowded around the request board.