"Ah, Rei-san. Do you have a moment?"
Rain clouds heavy enough to burst at any moment smothered the sky as Rei stepped into the guild, where he was immediately hailed by Lenora at the reception desk.
Kenny stood beside her, waving with a broad smile.
Many of the adventurers gathered around the request board nearby scowled or frowned with displeasure, but not a single one moved to pick a fight with him. Rei had already been a celebrity in the City of Gilm, but the recent war had earned him the alias "Crimson." Since a significant number of the city's Rank D and higher adventurers had participated in the campaign, word had traveled fast; there was hardly a soul who hadn't heard of his exploits. The only exceptions might have been those who arrived in Gilm after the war's conclusion, but fortunately, no such rookies were present in the guild hall at that moment.
"Is it a nomination request?"
It had been about half a month since the war ended and the Larkus Territorial Army returned to the City of Gilm. While the frantic chaos of the immediate aftermath had subsided, the guild was still far from returning to its normal routine. Assuming some specific task had been logged for him, Rei asked the question, only for Lenora and Kenny to shake their heads with identical smiles.
"No, it's not that. Actually, a knight from the Lord's mansion came by this morning and left your reward for the campaign. I wanted to make sure it was handed over to you."
"The reward? I thought I was supposed to receive that directly from Lord Daskar."
When they had parted ways with the group heading for the Royal Capital after leaving the Seremuse Plain, Daskar had told Rei to look forward to the reward, promising to hand over the magic item personally. Rei voiced his confusion, but Lenora only bowed her head regretfully.
"Yes, I know. I heard the same from the guild upper management. However, it seems things are quite complicated in the Royal Capital right now... I wasn't told the details, so could you ask the Guild Master directly? She's waiting for you in her office, Rei-san."
"Honestly, the Guild Master has some nerve, summoning Rei-kun to her private room like that. Who does she think she is?"
Perhaps the mention of her superior brought the face of the seductive dark elf to mind, as Kenny pouted with clear dissatisfaction.
A moment later, however, she took a rolled-up document to the back of the head from Lenora, sending her slumped over the counter.
"Who she is? She's the Guild Master. At the very least, she's not someone we receptionists have any right to complain about."
"But still! Rei-kun, don't you dare let the Guild Master seduce you. If you want a good time, I can give you more than enough of those myself!"
Kenny bolted upright, pitching her case to Rei while pointedly emphasizing her generous cleavage.
Several male adventurers nearby found their eyes glued to the deep valley of her chest, only for a few of them to be promptly stepped on, pinched, or struck in the face with the handles of spears by their female party members.
"Good grief... it's useless no matter what I say to you."
Lenora let out an exasperated sigh and beckoned Rei toward the staff side of the counter.
"In any case, I'll be taking Rei-san to the Guild Master's office. I'm leaving the rest to you."
"Yeah, yeah. I still don't get why Lenora is Rei-kun's primary contact. I could support him much more efficiently—and deepen our relationship with the guild in the process. Right?"
Kenny clung to Rei's arm as if to demonstrate exactly what she meant.
For a heartbeat, Rei was distracted by the soft pressure against his arm, but he was immediately pulled away from her by his other hand.
Naturally, it was Lenora who had grabbed him. She shot Kenny a sharp, piercing look.
"It's because you do exactly this sort of thing that I have to handle him. Listen, whatever we do in private is one thing, but right now we are employees of the guild. We can't leave important business to someone who displays such blatant favoritism."
"Oh, come on, it's not favoritism. It's just a preference."
"Yes, yes. Save the talking in your sleep for when you're actually in bed."
Kenny seemed slightly cowed by Lenora's gaze, but as she looked back at Rei, she broke into a knowing grin.
"You're right. I'll save the talking for when I'm spending the night with Rei-kun."
"You... honestly. Forget it. I don't have time to waste on this. I'm taking Rei-san to see the Guild Master, so you just focus on the reception desk, Kenny."
Deciding that further argument was a waste of time, Lenora took Rei's hand and led him toward the back of the building.
Rei understood that they wouldn't make any progress otherwise, so he allowed himself to be led without a word.
They climbed the stairs behind the counter and reached the office door. Just as Lenora was about to knock, she finally realized she was still gripping Rei's hand. She let go with a bashful, embarrassed smile.
"Ah, sorry. I just couldn't deal with Kenny any longer. Anyway... Guild Master, I've brought Rei-san."
"Come in."
The response came immediately. Opening the door revealed a woman with brown skin, silver hair, and pointed ears. Marina Alianza—the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild in the City of Gilm, the only frontier branch in the Kingdom of Mireana.
Compared to their previous meetings, her attire was somewhat more subdued, yet she still wore a party dress that featured a daringly low-cut neckline. If Elena's beauty was regal and majestic, Marina's was one of pure, sultry allure.
"Ah, Rei. Welcome. Thank you for your hard work in the war. Thanks to you, many of this city's finest adventurers returned with their lives intact."
"I only did my job. Besides, I have my own reasons for disliking the Bestia Empire."
His tone was brusque, but Marina simply maintained her radiant, practiced smile.
"Lenora, good work. You can head back down now. Please keep an eye on Kenny before she does something truly reckless."
"I'm not her babysitter, you know..."
Lenora looked slightly disgruntled, but she clearly realized that leaving Kenny to her own devices was a recipe for disaster. With a small sigh and a bow to both Marina and Rei, she left the office.
After watching her go and confirming the door was shut, Marina gestured for Rei to sit on the sofa near her desk.
"Come, sit."
She sent him a sidelong glance that would have left any ordinary man entranted, but Rei shook his head slightly.
"I'm just here for the magic item. I don't plan on staying long."
"Even if that's your plan, I have a few things I need to discuss with you. Sit."
"..."
Rei sat down reluctantly.
It wasn't that he disliked Marina, but being alone with her always made him feel on edge. He wasn't entirely ignorant of the opposite sex—he found Elena beautiful and had even kissed her—but for someone as inexperienced as he was, the sheer intensity of the sex appeal Marina radiated was overwhelming. If he didn't stay focused, he felt as though he might reach out for her without even realizing it.
Whether Marina noticed his discomfort or not, she simply smiled and spoke. She likely sensed his massive magic power as well, but she didn't seem particularly concerned.
"Now then, I assume you heard the reason for this visit from Lenora?"
"Yeah. Something about a magic item from Lord Daskar."
"Indeed. It seems he intended to give it to you personally, but..."
"I heard he's still stuck in the Royal Capital."
"That's right. My reports suggest the factional balance there is shifting significantly as a result of the war. He can't afford to move carelessly right now."
Rei nodded in understanding.
To Rei, Daskar was a valuable patron who shielded him from the meddling of other nobles. While he didn't quite revere the man, he liked him well enough. However, he also knew that if he personally waltzed into the capital's political theater, he would likely cause unnecessary chaos or even put Daskar at a disadvantage. Unless Daskar issued a formal nomination request, Rei had no intention of interfering.
Watching him, Marina reached for a bundle of something sitting beside her desk. She chanted a short spell and lifted it with a single hand.
"..."
Rei's eyes widened in surprise, which prompted an arch, playful grin from the dark elf.
"Don't get the wrong idea—I'm not some sort of giant. This is the power of spirit magic. Watch."
She snapped her fingers, and a tiny tornado about 10cm high manifested at her fingertip.
"I simply asked the wind spirit to lend a hand. Now, back to the matter at hand. This is what the Margrave left for you."
"This bundle of cloth? I was told I'd be receiving a valuable magic item."
Rei looked skeptically at the pile on the floor, but Marina's smile only grew.
"Can't tell just by looking, can you? Try touching it and channeling your magic power like you would any other magic item. You'll see exactly how valuable it is soon enough."
Rei glanced between Marina and the cloth. Deciding she wasn't joking, he sighed and reached out to touch the bundle. The moment his magic power flowed into it...
"Whoa!"
Rei let out a startled cry as the cloth bundle instantly transformed into a standing tent.
"Fufu, you look surprised. But the real surprise is yet to come. Go on, take a look inside."
"I mean, an instant-deploy tent is impressive, but at this size, it looks like it would be a squeeze for even three people... Wait, what?"
Following Marina's advice, Rei stuck his head through the entrance. From the outside, it appeared to be a modest brown tent about two meters across, colored to match the floor. Inside, however, he found himself looking at a room the size of ten tatami mats.
It wasn't just a tent; it was a suite.
"!?"
He reflexively pulled back and checked his surroundings. He was definitely still in Marina's office. He leaned back in, and there it was: a spacious room roughly ten tatami mats in size, furnished with a sofa, a table set, and even a bed.
"This is..."
His surprise didn't stem from never having seen such a thing before. During the recent war on the Seremuse Plain, he had seen similar structures, like Daskar's tent or the one Elena used. Those had been far larger on the outside, but they operated on the same principle of internal space exceeding external dimensions.
"It's impressive, isn't it? It's a very expensive magic item. Since it was designed for use in the frontier, it comes with several convenient features."
"Convenient features?"
"Yes. It's currently brown to match the floor, but if you set it up in a forest, it will turn green. It automatically camouflages itself to blend into the environment. It also has an enchantment to repel monsters of Rank D and below... though I wouldn't rely on that too heavily. Out in the frontier, Rank C and higher monsters aren't exactly rare, are they?"
She said it with a smile, but it was a sobering truth. Outside the city walls of the frontier, encountering Rank C threats was a regular occurrence.
"One more thing: tents that utilize space magic like this are extremely rare. I shouldn't need to tell you this since you have Seto, but if you show this to someone who doesn't realize how strong you are, they might try to kill you for it. Also..."
Marina closed her eyes briefly, as if recalling a detail. Even that small movement was thick with allure, but Rei was far too preoccupied with the tent to notice.
"Ah, that's it. The tent has lighting, but no running water."
"No water?"
"Exactly. You noticed there was no kitchen, right?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah."
Rei poked his head back inside to confirm. There was indeed no kitchenette to be found.
(Elena's tent had a kitchen, though.)
"Well, it's a slightly older model, so that's to be expected. Still, for an adventurer, a tent like this is an incredible asset."
"I bet."
The quality of rest one got from a bed versus the hard ground was night and day, and not having to worry about sudden weather changes was a massive relief. For Rei, this was a perfect reward.
(And for water, I have the Dagger of Flowing Water, so it won't be an issue.)
He thought of the magic items stored within his Misty Ring.
"I'll gratefully accept this. I'll have to thank Lord Daskar once he returns."
"Please do. Tents using space magic might not be as rare as that Item Box of yours, but they're still highly sought after. The Margrave was quite generous—though I suppose you earned every bit of it."
"I'd say the work paid off."
Rei touched the tent and stored it away in his Misty Ring.
Marina watched him, then crossed her legs on the sofa and spoke up.
"Tell me, Rei. How would you feel about visiting the Port City Emocion?"