"We're here!"
Miroir let out a cry of joy at the sight of the city walls.
It was now the afternoon of the day after they had encountered Rei and Seto. They had finally arrived at a city with an Adventurer's Guild that could prove their innocence.
There was another reason for Miroir’s jubilation, however. When they had camped the previous night, she had been left gaping in surprise at the magic item tent Rei possessed, but he hadn't allowed them to stay inside.
While the tent wasn't particularly spacious, Rei’s primary reason was that he didn't want to sleep near people he didn't fully trust yet.
In the end, Miroir and Egret had spent the night outside the tent, keeping watch alongside Seto.
While Miroir had seemed somewhat disgruntled by the arrangement, Egret hadn't seemed to mind at all, spending his time playing with Seto.
Perhaps because he wasn’t familiar with Gryphons, Egret showed no fear of Seto whatsoever, petting the beast’s head and doting on it. Miroir couldn't help but think her partner was incredible in his own way for being so unfazed.
"……It's smaller than I expected."
"Good grief, what are you comparing it to? Don't tell me you're comparing it to the City of Gilm. Compared to the only city on the frontier, almost any other place is going to look small."
Miroir reacted instinctively to Rei’s comment, but he shook his head slightly.
"No, I mean it's small even compared to Abuelo, Sablusta, or the City of Baar."
"Even if you say that, we've never been to those places. To us, a place this size is a perfectly standard city."
Prompted by her words, Rei turned his gaze back toward the settlement ahead.
The city was enclosed by a 3-meter-tall Outer Wall, but at that height, anyone with decent athletic ability could likely scale it. To Rei, it seemed almost useless as a defense against monsters, which naturally possessed far greater physical capabilities than humans.
When he voiced his concern, Miroir gave an exasperated, wry smile.
"Well, of course it is. This isn't the frontier, so there aren't many monsters out here. It’s not like there are zero, but the only things that usually wander near the highway are Goblins and the like. For pests like that, a wall this size is plenty. The only other concern is thieves, but with a wall that high, it’s impossible for a whole group to sneak in without being spotted, even if one or two managed it. Besides, look. Look at the top of the wall."
Following her suggestion, Rei spotted objects resembling stone pillars. They were roughly the size of about 1m and were lined up at regular intervals along the top of the wall.
"Those stone pillars are a type of magic item. If someone who isn't carrying the matching item climbs onto the wall, the pillars deliver a shock. In a place like Gilm, they probably wouldn't have enough power to be useful, but around here, they’re enough to put everyone’s mind at ease."
"……Heh. That's quite convenient."
It sounded like a combination of an alarm and an interception system. Since it was a convenient magic item, there was no way Rei could remain silent.
"Where can I buy those magic items?"
"Hmm, it’s probably hard to get your hands on them. They're vital for city defense, so they wouldn't want to sell them to someone like a thief who might take them apart to study the mechanism. I think I remember hearing that you need permission from a Lord or someone to buy them."
Miroir muttered this as they walked toward the city. The travelers around them—or more accurately, those who spotted Seto—wore expressions of pure terror and moved away to maintain a safe distance.
Feeling a sense of nostalgia at the reaction, the group reached the front of the Main Gate.
Several people were lined up to complete their entry procedures with the guards, but as Rei’s group approached with the Gryphon, the crowd shot them horrified looks and practically scrambled to give them a wide berth.
"Is this okay? I mean, it's convenient for us, but still."
Egret, carrying his pole-axe on his back, voiced his concern, but those in line nodded frantically.
"O-Of course! I mean, I can see it's a tamed monster, but having a Gryphon standing right behind me is a bit much……"
Rei sighed. Here we go again. He had experienced this many times before, but it never felt particularly good. Still, he had no desire to needlessly terrify the residents, so he approached the guard at the gate with Seto to speak with him.
Naturally, the guard was also startled and informed Rei that he could not permit a Gryphon inside. In the end, just as before, Rei decided to have Seto wait outside until he was finished.
For its part, Seto wasn't fond of being feared either. Furthermore, it was feeling a bit peckish, so it obediently flew off toward the nearby forest to hunt some monsters while waiting.
"……Are you sure about that?"
"Why ask now? This isn't the first time. There’s no need to worry. We’ll be out of the city as soon as we finish our business at the guild anyway. It’ll only be a few hours. Even if some monster around here tries to jump Seto, it’ll just end up as a snack in his stomach."
Rei replied casually to Egret as they made their way through the streets.
The city was certainly smaller than Gilm, Abuelo, or Sablusta, but it was still quite bustling. They followed the path to the guild—the directions for which they had received from a stall owner while buying grilled skewers—and soon arrived at their destination.
"Well then, your fate is finally about to be decided…… Are you ready?"
Despite his words, Rei was already mostly convinced that the two in front of him weren't criminals.
If they were bounties, they never would have come to the guild this quietly.
Checking in was now merely a formality to confirm his suspicions. If he had another reason for stopping by, it was simply to restock on some of the local food.
Rei pushed open the guild doors, and the three of them stepped inside.
The moment they entered, the gazes of several people in the attached dining hall turned toward them, but that was the extent of the reaction. There were very few people inside, likely because most adventurers were out on requests during the day.
(Well, the scale of this guild is tiny compared to Gilm. It’s probably about the same size as the one in the City of Baar.)
It was unfair to compare a standard local guild to the one in Gilm, which served a population of over 100,000 as the frontier's only city, but Rei couldn't help the thought as he approached the guild counter.
The receptionist there—a middle-aged woman in her 40s who was a bit of a stretch to call a "young lady"—turned a lethargic gaze toward Rei.
"Is it a request, boy?"
Judging by his age, she clearly didn't take him for an adventurer. She assumed he was a client, but Rei shook his head and gestured to Miroir and Egret.
"I want to know if these two are bounties."
"……Hah? Bounties?"
Unable to withstand the woman’s suspicious stare, Miroir spoke up.
"Look, this kid suspects that me and this guy might be bounty targets. We stopped by the guild to prove our innocence."
"Hah, well, that sounds like a real pain, being dragged around by a kid like this. Well, I’m not busy, so fine. Give me your guild cards."
At her request, Miroir and Egret placed their guild cards on the counter.
A flicker of surprise crossed the receptionist’s face when she saw them, likely because the name of the city where they had last accepted a request was unfamiliar to her.
"Hmph, I suppose it’s no wonder he suspected you. Why haven't you taken a request for such a long time? Hey, bring me the bounty list!"
She called out to a young male staff member while questioning Miroir. The woman shrugged with a wry smile.
"It's not for any particular reason. The opportunity just never came up. Besides, as you can see from our ranks, we're fairly skilled. We had plenty of savings, so we weren't exactly hurting for money."
"Well, Rank B certainly qualifies as skilled."
At the receptionist's remark, the few adventurers left in the guild began to buzz.
In a rural town like this, even the strongest local adventurers were only Rank C, so the presence of B-ranks was quite a shock.
After a while, the receptionist finished checking the list. She nodded, returned the guild cards, and looked at Rei.
"These two aren't bounties. They're perfectly normal adventurers…… no, they’re highly skilled ones. Given their cards, your misunderstanding was unavoidable, but don't you go trying anything funny with Rank B adventurers, kid. You're lucky these two are good-natured; if they weren't, you might have been killed."
"……You're right. I was wrong to suspect them without proof. My apologies."
At her advice, Rei bowed his head to Miroir and Egret.
The two in question knew full well that if it had come to a fight, they were the ones who would have died, so they were more than happy to have the matter settled without making an enemy of Rei.
"Well, as long as the misunderstanding is cleared, it’s fine. However, as an apology, you can treat us to a meal. It’s past noon and I'm starving. That sounds good to you, right, Egret?"
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm down for that."
Egret nodded at Miroir’s suggestion, and the three of them left the Adventurer's Guild.
As they exited, they passed several adventurers at the guild entrance. Rei’s group didn't pay them any mind as they headed back into the streets in search of a place to eat.
They left without noticing that the adventurers they had passed were staring at Rei with expressions of sheer terror.
"Hey! Why were those adventurers who just left here?!"
One of the men who had just entered the guild rushed up to the receptionist at the counter, his face pale.
It wasn't so much a question as it was a desperate demand. Startled by his intensity, the receptionist frowned.
"What are you in such a panic for? You're supposed to be one of the most skilled parties in this city’s guild. I need you to stay composed."
"Never mind that! Just tell me why those adventurers were here!"
The woman behind the man was equally frantic, looking as if she were ready to grab the receptionist by the collar.
Seeing that the entire party was acting strangely, the receptionist tilted her head and answered.
"The boy wanted to know if the duo were bounty targets. It turned out to be a mistake, though."
Upon hearing the answer, the adventurers instinctively looked at each other.
With a puzzled expression, the receptionist asked the next question.
"Why are you so worked up about them anyway? Those two were Rank B, so I suppose they might be famous somewhere?"
She assumed they were reacting to the high rank of the duo. However, the answer she received was completely unexpected.
"No, it's not the duo we're worried about. It's the kid in the robe!"
"……That boy? Why?"
"That boy is Rei. He's an adventurer from the City of Gilm. He’s the monster who fought in the War with the Bestia Empire that we also participated in recently. He burned down the enemy's Lead Unit all by himself and then joined the Surprise Attack Unit against the enemy's Supreme Commander. He earned the alias Crimson during that war!"
"……Hah?"
The words were so far beyond the receptionist’s expectations that she simply froze, her mouth hanging open.
It took several minutes for her to finally snap back to reality.
"An Alias Holder? You're joking, right?"
"It's the truth. If you’d seen that Flame Tornado of his, you’d understand why he has that name."
"Yeah, that was incredible."
"Incredible isn't the word. It was terrifying."
"……The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm glad he wasn't our enemy."
the party members nodded in agreement.
The receptionist could only watch them, utterly dumbfounded.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"I said, you're going to Emocion, right? Then let us come too. It sounds like fun for us to go and take down a bounty monster after being mistaken for bounties ourselves."
Inside a city diner, Egret was currently stuffing himself with a massive spread of food as he pleaded with Rei to let them join his journey.