“Have a safe trip, Lady Elena, Lord Rei.”
Leaving Tsufal’s voice behind them, Rei and Elena walked out of the inn and headed toward the stables.
It was their second day in Exil. Having finished a leisurely breakfast, the two were preparing to head straight for the dungeon.
Rei was dressed in his usual Dragon Robe and Sleipnir's Shoes—the unmistakable attire of a mage. Elena, unlike the previous day when she had visited the guild in civilian clothes, was now in full combat gear. She wore white metal armor, a cape, and Sleipnir's Shoes like Rei. At her waist hung the scabbard for her whip-sword, the weapon that served as her symbol.
Every piece of equipment Elena wore was a magic item. Their value was such that, should any thief or thug learn of it, they would likely attack her without a moment's hesitation.
Of course, in most cases, they would probably be after Elena herself rather than the gear. Between her beauty, her status as a duke’s daughter, and her reputation as the Princess General, she had far too many reasons to be targeted.
...Though it was highly doubtful that anyone attacking her would actually succeed.
Regardless, as the two stepped out of the Golden Wind Inn, they were met with a variety of stares from the other guests.
The reason no one called out to them was likely due to the events of the previous night’s dinner. A few drunks, either blinded by Elena’s beauty or assuming Rei’s appearance made him an easy mark, had been brutally beaten down.
They hadn't been given permanent injuries, but the pain was clearly still lingering the next day. The other guests had wisely concluded that reckless meddling would only lead to a miserable experience.
The inn’s employees, for their part, were grateful to Rei and Elena for suppressing the rowdy drunks in the dining hall. The fact that their breakfast had been slightly more luxurious than the other guests’ was likely an expression of the inn’s gratitude.
“Still, since he’s not with us now, I guess Iero didn’t come back last night... Was he with Seto all through the night?” Rei asked as they walked toward the stables.
Elena nodded with a wry smile. “It would seem so. For some reason, Iero has become strangely attached to Seto. I’ve known that for a while, but I didn’t think it went this far.”
“...I see. Well, in a sense, they share similar origins,” Rei replied briefly, mindful of the eyes around them.
(Iero was created as a familiar, and Seto was created through Beast Magic. Even with the fine differences, they’re the same in the sense that they were both born from magic power. That’s probably the reason.)
While pondering the question he had felt before, the two eventually arrived at the stables.
Seeing Rei, a figure immediately approached them.
“Oh, heading out already? And this person... if I recall, you are someone associated with Duke Kerebel. I—no, my name is Proton, and I’m in charge of the stables here at the Golden Wind Inn. I’m not very well-versed in etiquette, but I look forward to working with you.”
“Yes, I look forward to it as well. To business—there is a small dragon inside the stables, isn’t there? He should be with Seto. May we go inside?”
“Yes. No problem at all,” Proton replied to Elena.
Rei wore a small expression of surprise at the exchange. The way the man spoke to him versus the way he spoke to Elena was night and day.
But in a way, that was only natural. Even if they were both alias holders, one was ultimately an adventurer while the other was a duke’s daughter. It would cause problems later if he treated her with the same casual tone.
Receiving a suspicious gaze from Proton—as if the man were wondering about the exact nature of their relationship—they entered the stables.
“Kyu-kyu-kyu-kyu!”
“Guru-ru-ru-ruuu.”
Immediately, two distinct cries reached them from the back of the building.
The pair approached them, now a familiar sight: Iero was perched on Seto’s back. Once they reached Rei and Elena, Iero kicked off Seto’s back and leaped toward Elena, while Seto rubbed his face against Rei as a morning greeting.
“Kyu!”
“Yes, good morning, Iero. It looks like you slept well last night.”
At Elena’s words, Iero chirped happily, wagging a tail that was far smaller and shorter than that of a real dragon.
“You seem to have slept well too, Seto.”
“Guru-ru-ruuu.”
As if asking for pets, Seto rubbed his face against him, and Rei smiled as he stroked the Gryphon.
After they had played together for a few minutes, Elena gave a quick word to the two warhorses pulling the carriage, and then the group left the stables.
As they departed, the way the other horses and riding monsters seemed to sigh in relief at the Gryphon’s absence was likely not just Rei’s imagination.
“Hmm, I guess we’re bound to stand out at first.”
“Guruu?”
As they walked down the main street toward the dungeon, Rei muttered to himself. Seto tilted his head and turned his round eyes toward him.
Yesterday, Seto had been depressed because people were afraid of him, but today Rei and Elena were by his side, and Iero was still riding on his back. Thanks to that, the Gryphon seemed to be in high spirits.
“Oh, that smells pretty good. Seto, shall we buy some?”
“Guruu.”
Seto purred at Rei’s suggestion, and they headed toward a stall set up nearby.
As expected of a Labyrinth City, even at this hour, a great number of adventurers were heading toward the dungeon. Most of them were captivated by Elena’s beauty, while simultaneously wearing expressions of shock upon seeing Seto and then looks of realization upon seeing Rei.
Among them, some female adventurers who liked cute things were sending passionate gazes toward Iero, but they were definitely in the minority.
Normally, there would undoubtedly have been adventurers picking fights with Rei to get to Elena, but the news of his alias of 'Crimson' had spread at the guild the previous day. As the story passed from person to person, a certain amount of information had circulated through the city. It was a stroke of luck that they weren’t being challenged pointlessly as they had been when they first started operating in Gilm.
Subjected to such stares, Rei and Seto called out to the stall owner selling grilled skewers.
“Those look like delicious skewers. What kind of meat is it?”
“I-It’s lizardman meat caught in the dungeon.”
“Heh, lizardman, huh? Alright, I’ll take two for now.”
“I-I understand, I’ll have them ready right away!”
Though he could feel the gazes of the surrounding adventurers, Rei paid the fee without appearing to care. The stall owner hurriedly grilled the lizardman skewers coated in sauce.
As if he believed that if he were even a moment late, the Gryphon would be set upon him, he prepared the food at high speed. Rei took one and took a bite.
The lizardman meat had a texture and taste similar to chicken. It had been grilled with a coating of sauce; when he bit into it, the sweet and savory flavor spread along with a crisp texture, and meat juices overflowed into his mouth.
“It’s good. Here, Seto.”
“Guru-ruuu.”
Seto purred as Rei held out a skewer, pulling the meat off with his beak.
“Guruu... Guru-ru-ruuu!”
‘Delicious!’ Seto purred.
Watching the creature’s happy appearance, the stall owner gazed at Seto as if his paralyzing fear of a few minutes ago had been a dream. It was a joy to see someone eat his food with such delight.
It was the same for the surrounding adventurers and the nearby shopkeepers. They suddenly wondered why they had been so afraid of a creature that ate grilled skewers with such apparent happiness.
(Honestly... to dispel the fear people have of him just by eating a skewer. Well, I suppose that’s all thanks to Seto’s lovability.)
With Iero perched on her shoulder, Elena could feel the tension draining from the people watching them. At the same time, new residents and adventurers who had approached out of curiosity also felt a heartwarming sensation as they watched Seto eat.
This continued for about ten minutes. Seto liked the skewers so much that they ordered a few more, and by the time he had finished those as well, the fear in the eyes of the crowd had been replaced by affection.
“Thanks for the food. It was delicious, so I’ll stop by again.”
“...A-Ah, y-yes! We look forward to seeing you again!”
The stall owner bowed his head in a fluster. There wasn’t a shred of fear left in his attitude; rather, he was looking at Seto with a gaze of genuine fondness.
“Um, this is a little extra. It’s Seto, right? Please give this to the Gryphon.”
He held out a few more skewers to Rei—meat that was perfectly good, though perhaps not the prime cuts used for merchandise.
“Is that alright? Thanks. Seto, look, you get some too.”
“Guru-ru-ru-ruuu.”
Seto purred at Rei’s words, and the stall owner couldn’t help but let his cheeks loosen into a smile at the Gryphon's adorable behavior.
“As expected of a Labyrinth City, there sure are a lot of people gathered at the dungeon,” Rei muttered as he watched the adventurers lining up in front of the gate to the dungeon district.
Elena nodded, looking around the area. “However, while entering the dungeon district is one thing, the dungeon entrance itself doesn't seem very crowded.”
A gate had been installed at the entrance to the district. The procedure was to show a dungeon card to the guards to get inside and then dive into the labyrinth. Unlike the dungeon with the Altar of Inheritance—the only one Rei and Elena had experience with—it didn't look like there was a line at the actual entrance.
“Well, we’ll find out once we get there,” Rei said, moving toward the gate along with Elena, Iero, and Seto.
Since so many adventurers were gathered here, there were many who didn't know about Seto, and many of them looked shocked at his presence. Still, seeing that he wore a Tamed Monster's Necklace, they didn't flee—a testament to their status as professional adventurers.
Eventually, their turn came. Rei showed his dungeon card to the guard and they passed through the gate.
Ignoring the guard who gaped at Seto and then again at the card, they entered the district. The first thing they saw, standing next to the stairs leading underground, was a brown cylinder about three meters high and one meter in diameter. It was entirely plain, with no decorations whatsoever.
“What is... that?” Rei muttered.
The answer became clear before Elena could speak. A party of three touched the cylinder; it glowed dimly, and in the next instant, the trio vanished.
“I see, so that’s the teleportation device I heard about.”
“It would seem so. And because that device exists, it likely prevents excessive crowding at the entrance. It’s my first time seeing one in person as well...”
Rei and Elena were naturally drawn to the device, but Seto and Iero eventually brought them back to their senses, urging them to get moving.
Poked by Seto’s beak and patted by Iero’s front paws, the two returned to reality.
“Right. We won't know what it’s like until we actually dive in. Rei, shall we start? In our case, it’s from B1F.”
“Experience is the best teacher, huh? That’s fine, but... take a look over there first.”
Rei gazed at the area around the dungeon entrance.
Earlier, his eyes had been focused solely on the teleportation device, but looking closely, he saw a fair number of people near the stairs. Groups of individuals or small parties were calling out to those around them.
“Thief wanted! Our goal is B3F exploration!”
“Looking for one warrior! We have an archer and a warrior!”
“A mage! Is there a mage?! We’ll give priority to anyone with recovery magic!”
“Porter here! Leave the hauling to me. I’m confident in my strength, so hire me and you won’t have to worry about loot!”
“I’m a porter, but I can also support in battle with a bow. Won't someone hire me?”
People were shouting their abilities or searching for those with specific skills.
“So that’s what they call a pickup party,” Rei muttered in realization.
A pickup party was a group formed for just that moment or just that day—a dungeon version of the temporary parties Rei had experienced at the guild.
However, unlike guild requests, there was almost certainly going to be combat in a dungeon. Considering that, it wasn't ideal to form a party with complete strangers, but not everyone could form a proper permanent party. In a Labyrinth City like Exil where adventurers were even more numerous than in Gilm, pickup parties were a local specialty. They were even more common than temporary parties because there was no need to report every single one to the guild.
“Well, it has nothing to do with us... Hm?”
As Rei was about to head toward the stairs, his gaze was drawn to a certain spot.
There stood a group of nearly twenty people, looking quite different from the others. They all wore equipment that, while differing in detail, shared a sense of unity. In addition to a large number of warriors, he saw thieves and even a few mages.
One of the mages in the group stiffened upon sensing Rei’s magic power, but Rei ignored it as usual and spoke.
“Hey, what do you think that group is?”
“Those are the people from the Holy Light Religion.”
The person who answered Rei wasn’t Elena... but a man who was still quite young.