The day after his battle with Vihera, Rei exchanged greetings with Elena as if nothing had happened. As he had for the past several days, he headed toward the dungeon accompanied by Seto and Iero.
Indeed, as far as Rei was concerned, there shouldn't have been anything different about his behavior at all.
However...
"..."
For some reason, Elena, who was walking beside him, kept shooting him a heavy, pointed stare.
Though he noticed it, Rei felt too guilty to say anything. He did his best to ignore her and kept his eyes on the road.
They stopped to buy a Lizardman Skewer on the way as usual, but even then, Elena’s cold, scrutinizing gaze remained fixed on him.
"The dungeon again today? Perhaps you should consider taking a rest."
"Don't worry about me. I recover from fatigue quickly, and more importantly, the time you and I can spend in Exil is limited. Isn't that right, Elena?"
"...Hmph. I suppose so. Our time is indeed limited. That must be why you are so eager to stretch your wings, Rei."
"Seto's wings? Seto always seems plenty relaxed to me, though."
Rei forced his eyes away from Elena and stroked Seto’s head.
"Guruuu?"
Seto tilted its head and let out a curious thrum, as if asking what was wrong. Rei petted it again, telling the griffon it was nothing.
After finishing his snack, they passed through the gate leading to the dungeon and arrived at the plaza containing the teleportation device.
As they entered, several people gathering pickup parties turned their eyes toward them. However, Rei’s declaration from the previous day—that he only needed a skilled thief—seemed to have done its work. No one approached them, but just as they were about to teleport, they witnessed a peculiar scene.
"Listen, Byune. I'm the vanguard today."
"Nn."
"I hope some strong monsters show up today. Lately, I haven't had a chance to really cut loose."
"Nn?"
"Yes, that's right. Thanks to the fulfilling night I spent yesterday, I just can't help how I feel about today's enemies..."
"...Nn."
An exquisite beauty with reddish-purple hair and golden eyes stood there, dressed in dancer-like attire and wearing gauntlets and greaves. Despite her revealing her attractive limbs and drawing the gazes of every man in the vicinity, most people were actually trying to avert their eyes.
Everyone knew who she was. They knew she was the woman called Mad Beast. It was a common name—or perhaps a title—that only carried weight here in Exil, but the fact that the name was no exaggeration was made clear by the sight of several adventurers lying unconscious on the ground near her.
Furthermore, the one Vihera was talking to was Byune, the orphan of House Flaut. Despite being a mere ten years old, Byune was already D-Rank.
Byune themselves wasn't particularly dangerous, but due to their family's influence, getting carelessly involved with them would draw the attention of the other three ruling houses—and not in a good way. In that sense, they were a hazardous person to be around.
For that reason, few people approached Byune of their own accord. The men currently rolling on the ground around Vihera were likely newcomers who had just arrived in Exil and were ignorant of the local politics.
The two were treated as dangerous outcasts, and perhaps because of that shared status, they got along well. Or rather, it might have been that Vihera simply couldn't leave the young Byune alone. Whatever the reason, the two maintained a comfortable distance, occasionally forming a pickup party to dive into the dungeon together when the mood struck.
Whether it was Vihera or Byune, they were primarily solo adventurers. There was no doubt they were skilled, but due to their respective circumstances, people had stopped trying to recruit them for parties.
Setting Byune aside, when Vihera first arrived in Exil, a massive crowd of men and even a few women had flocked to her, drawn by her beauty. One adventurer, after being rejected, had tried to use force... and was instead effortlessly crushed. Seeing that, many others tried to recruit her by acknowledging her combat strength, but she flatly told them she had no interest in weaklings. When those adventurers took offense and challenged her, the cycle repeated until she eventually established her current standing.
Among the surrounding adventurers, those who didn't know the situation were quickly hushed by their companions, while those who did simply assumed the two were going to dive into the dungeon together. That was the assumption... until this moment.
"Oh? Good morning, Rei."
As those words spilled from Vihera's mouth, the faces of everyone in the plaza twisted in shock. They followed her gaze to see who she was addressing; some understood immediately, while others began showering Rei with looks of intense jealousy.
The jealousy, of course, stemmed from the fact that despite already having a beauty like Elena by his side, he was being addressed so familiarly by Vihera—a woman of equal caliber.
Naturally, the majority of those casting jealous stares were male adventurers who had either just arrived in Exil or were simply too lazy to bother with information gathering.
"...I see. You two seem quite close."
A voice spoke from beside Rei, as if the surrounding chatter were irrelevant.
The owner of that voice, which sent an involuntary shiver down Rei's spine, ran a hand through her golden vertical roll hair.
It was, needless to say, Elena.
"Ah—... Elena?"
"Hmm? What is it? If you have something to say, please, do let me hear it."
Her tone was soft, almost gentle, and she even had a smile on her lips, but there wasn't a trace of mirth in the eyes fixed on Rei.
Even the men who had been glaring with envy—thinking, "Damn you, being addressed by Vihera even though you have a beauty with you!"—seemed to feel the weight of the atmosphere. They quietly looked away from Rei's group, sensing the impending disaster.
"No, I just wondered why you were so angry."
"Hoh? Do I look angry to you, Rei? How strange. And here I thought I was being so perfectly calm."
"Liar!" Those who were focusing their ears on the conversation out of morbid curiosity shouted in their hearts while keeping their eyes averted.
Whether she sensed their thoughts or not, Elena cast a sharp glance at her surroundings. In that instant, the adventurers nearby began conversing with each other in an unnaturally frantic manner to prove they weren't eavesdropping.
"My, my, you're quite displeased. I wonder what's wrong? Could it be jealousy? You have a cute side to you despite your looks."
In the middle of that prickling tension, the one who spoke with a joyful expression was, naturally, Vihera.
A smirk played on her lips as she directed a teasing gaze at the two.
Meanwhile, beside this impending disaster, Byune was quietly stroking Seto and Iero's heads as a morning greeting. It was as if Byune were using their attitude to signal that the drama had absolutely nothing to do with them.
"Hmph. I care little for being called cute by an exhibitionist like you."
"An exhibitionist? Do you mean these clothes? But unlike you, I have a body that I'm not ashamed to show people, so why shouldn't I?"
As she spoke, Vihera puffed out her chest, flaunting her massive curves.
As she boasted, her physique was indeed one that any man would find attractive, matching Elena's own beauty.
However, the difference was that Vihera used her beauty and her body as weapons to fight against the strong. That was precisely why she dressed in a way that so blatantly provoked men. She believed that if someone could defeat her, she wouldn't mind entrusting herself to them.
On the other hand, Elena had been raised as a noble and a general. To her, exposing her skin needlessly in public was a disgrace. There was no reason for Vihera to share those same values.
"Y-You... Did you use that body to beguile Rei!?"
Elena's shout echoed through the plaza.
The adventurers who were listening with great interest certainly didn't miss it.
"Gugugugu... Even if he is Crimson, if it's me right now, I can win... I have to win!"
One male adventurer who had overheard turned bright red and tried to ready his spear...
"Hey, knock that off. If you cause a scene here, you'll be spending the day in the guard force guardhouse instead of the dungeon. Besides, there's no way in hell you could beat Crimson, so just give up."
"Why!? Aren't you frustrated!?"
"Of course I am! But we... we don't have the power to stop him. We just have to wait for someone stronger to show up!"
Similar exchanges were taking place in several spots.
It was almost like a comedy, and if Rei had been watching from the outside, he might have laughed. But it was a different story being at the center of it. At the words that came out of Elena's mouth, he reflexively looked at her.
That was a mistake. The expression of pure shock on his face confirmed to Elena that what she suspected was the truth.
"W-What are you talking about?"
"Are you still trying to play dumb? Rei, let me ask you one thing. Have you forgotten my familiar Iero's ability?"
"——!?"
Rei gasped.
At some point, Iero had moved from Elena's left shoulder to Seto's back. The small dragon had many skills, but one of the most distinctive was its ability to share Iero's memory directly with Elena.
"...No way."
"When my party member goes out for a night of play—something he has never done before—is it not natural for me to be worried? Worried enough to send Iero along just in case something happened."
"...You were awake."
Rei had been certain Elena was asleep, but he realized he had been far too careless. He finally understood why Elena had been so cold and sulking since this morning.
Iero had seen the battle between Rei and Vihera. If that was the case, it had naturally seen the exchange that followed... namely, the kiss. And that meant Elena knew everything.
"Yes. I was waiting for you to return, growing more anxious by the minute, and then Iero came back... You can figure out the rest, can't you?"
"..."
Rei was at a loss for words. There was no talking his way out of this.
From Rei's perspective, he wanted to claim that he hadn't initiated the kiss, but rather that he had been kissed. However, it was clear that even if he said that, Elena would not be satisfied. Her smile—which was utterly devoid of warmth—made that painfully obvious.
And then, someone stirred the pot further, like dropping a bomb into a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"My, it's quite disheartening to have it put that way when I gave him my first."
"Hey, stop that! Don't say things that are so blatantly misleading!"
A woman—and a beauty like Vihera at that—had given her "first." It wasn't hard to imagine what anyone who heard that would think. Those listening around them were no exception, and Elena was no different.
"Your first? An exhibitionist like you?"
"Oh? Do you judge people solely by their appearance?"
"In this case, yes. I know almost nothing about you. I know you're a bellicose battle maniac, but that only lowers my opinion of you further."
"Hmph. Coming from someone as stiff as you, that doesn't mean much. Is that why Rei fell for me so easily?"
"He didn't fall for you! And I've been thinking this for a while, but you're being far too familiar with Rei!"
"Oh? But Rei and I are those who have shared a kiss, so this much familiarity is normal, isn't it?"
"Stop saying it like that! Besides, you're the one who forcibly stole Rei's lips, aren't you!?"
As Vihera smiled serenely, Elena shouted, her temper finally fraying.
Naturally, the gazes of the surrounding crowd intensified.
There were looks of pure envy from the men and curiosity from the women. It was unavoidable; it looked like two incredible beauties like Elena and Vihera were fighting over Rei. As the target of those stares, Rei shifted uncomfortably.
He was used to being looked down upon because of his youthful appearance, and he had grown accustomed to being feared once people realized his power or Seto's strength. But he had almost never been subjected to this specific kind of public attention.
The closest thing was his usual back-and-forth with Lenora and Kenny at the guild in Gilm, but even that wasn't this intense.
(What am I supposed to do here?)
He pulled up the dragon robe's hood to hide his face, but that did nothing to stop the eyes fixed on him.
As Rei stood there, paralyzed by the awkwardness...
"Nn."
Byune, who had been stroking Seto and Iero, approached and tugged on the dragon robe while letting out a short sound.
"What is it?"
"Nn!"
Saying just that, Byune began to pull Rei along. Seto and Iero followed after them...
"Byune, what's wrong?"
"Byune?"
Vihera and Elena also noticed and followed.
Byune led them to the teleportation device and took out a dungeon card, prompting Rei with a look to do the same.
"Haa... Fine. Here."
Rei sighed and produced his dungeon card. Byune nodded, then turned to Elena and Vihera, collecting everyone's cards. In the next instant, the teleportation was complete. Rei, Elena, Vihera, Byune, Seto, and Iero stood upon the magic circle on B4F.