"Thank you, you truly saved us. Um... what should we pay you as a reward for the escort?"
It was around noon when they emerged from the dungeon. Tibia bowed deeply toward Rei and Elena.
Behind her, Ecethesus, Nakt, and Gort also bowed their heads respectfully.
Rei gave a small shrug before answering the four of them.
"You call it an escort, but in the end, not a single monster showed up on the way back. I’m not sure it’s right for me to take a high reward for that. ...What do you think?"
Elena considered his words for a few seconds before giving a shallow nod.
"True. In that case, Rei, why don't we have them participate in the material stripping you planned for tomorrow? They could work for free."
"...Ah, I see. That might actually be perfect. I’d rather be repaid in labor than money anyway."
"Guruuu."
"Kyu?"
Seto gave a cry of agreement, and Iero chirped right along with it.
Though, in Iero’s case, it seemed more like it was just following the lead of the others.
"Material stripping?"
Tibia tilted her head, looking as though she understood the words but couldn't fathom why that would serve as a reward.
The other three looked equally perplexed.
"Yeah. It’s not a complicated story. As you can see, our party has no issues when it comes to combat, but we can't keep up with the work of material stripping once the monsters are dead."
"...I suppose so."
Tibia and the others nodded instinctively.
After witnessing the combat power they had displayed against the Anomaly Species and the skeleton-modoki, it was painfully obvious that the pair was in a league of their own.
Most ordinary parties consisted of four or more people, and it was that very number that allowed them to perform material stripping so quickly.
No matter how high their combat ability was, Rei and Elena were only a party of two; it was only natural that stripping materials would take them forever.
And while Seto provided more than enough combat power for a dozen men, it certainly couldn't perform material stripping.
Tibia’s reasoning was slightly off in one regard, however.
While it was true that Seto couldn't do the stripping itself, it was invaluable as a lookout.
Performing material stripping—specifically, monster dismantling—caused the intense scent of blood to drift through the air, often attracting other predators.
With an existence like Seto present, most monsters would sense its strength and back off. Even if they were foolish enough to attack, they stood no chance against an A-Rank monster like a Gryphon. Ultimately, Seto allowed them to perform dismantling in peace.
When Rei and Elena explained this, Tibia and her party finally nodded in understanding.
"And as you’ve seen, I’m an Item Box user," Rei continued. "My Item Box is currently packed with an enormous number of carcasses from this dungeon run. Since they’re inside the space, the bodies won't rot, but stripping them all by ourselves is a massive chore. That’s why I posted a request at the guild."
"I see. So we’ll help with that request as a substitute for today’s escort fee."
"Exactly. You guys won't be able to jump back into dungeon exploration immediately after what happened, right? So just give me a day of help with the stripping work tomorrow. ...How about it?"
Tibia hesitated for only a moment. She nodded and looked toward her three comrades.
"What do you think? Personally, I think it’s a fair deal."
"Right. It’d be bad for our reputations if word got out that we let an alias holder escort us for free. If material stripping covers the debt, I’m in."
"Alias holder?"
Ecethesus asked, sounding lost.
It seemed he was the only one who didn't know who Rei and Seto were. As Nakt and Gort whispered into his ear, his face gradually turned pale.
He was likely remembering exactly how he had spoken to Rei earlier.
To Rei, however, it didn't really matter. He understood that those remarks hadn't come from a place of malice, but from a genuine, hot-headed concern for his comrades.
That was why Rei said nothing more on the matter. He simply told them to meet him at Exil's Main Gate tomorrow at 9:00 AM before they parted ways.
Though the potion Rei had provided had closed Tibia’s wounds, they weren't fully healed. They needed to find a clinic where a mage could use recovery magic. Rei and Elena, meanwhile, needed to check on the stripping request at the guild and, more importantly, deliver the Anomaly Species to House Silwa.
(Though the latter is entirely for my own convenience.)
Anomaly Species magic stones were an immense headache for Rei since he used Beast Magic. He wanted the disturbance surrounding these creatures settled as quickly as possible.
And he wanted the real culprit caught—not some scapegoat like House Rebisole.
"Rei, we should get moving soon. It’s much earlier than usual, but considering we need to stop by House Silwa, we should finish up at the guild as quickly as possible, don't you think?"
Snapped back to reality by Elena’s words, Rei gave a small nod and called out to Tibia’s party, who were currently in the middle of explaining—or being explained to—the origin of Rei’s alias.
"Sorry, but we’re heading off. Like I said, meet us in front of Exil's Main Gate tomorrow at nine. Don't forget, if you're coming."
With that, he waved to the four of them—who still looked like they had a mountain of questions—and walked away from the plaza in front of the dungeon.
For a split second, the thought crossed Rei’s mind that they might not show up. But the thought vanished as quickly as it had come.
He had no concrete proof, but after traveling with them for the short trek out of the dungeon, he had judged them by their characters. Tibia was dutiful, Ecethesus was blunt but honest, Nakt was cautious, and Gort was a fundamentally good-natured person. They weren't the type to betray a savior.
And in truth, the four of them had absolutely no intention of acting unfaithfully toward the people who had saved their lives.
When Rei and Elena entered the guild as a duo, there were almost no other adventurers to be seen, likely because it was nearly noon.
If the guild had an attached tavern like most, there would have been plenty of people eating lunch, but due to the sheer volume of adventurers in Exil, this guild didn't have one.
Rei and Elena walked past the purchase counter and went straight to the desk that handled request forms.
The receptionist there was surprised to see Rei back so soon, but she spoke up as if his arrival were perfect timing.
"Ah, Rei-san. About that request..."
"Yeah. Has the rank been decided? How much is the processing fee?"
Rei asked, assuming she was looking for payment, but her reply was unexpected.
"Ah, yes, there’s that... but we’ve actually had a flood of applicants. All ten slots have already been filled. ...Um, if it's possible, would you consider recruiting a few more? We’ve had some trouble because of the limited spots."
The receptionist recalled the moment she had posted the form on the request board.
The fact that it was before 8:00 AM probably played a part. The adventurers who had overheard Rei’s conversation with her had swarmed the board immediately, and the resulting scuffle had escalated into a full-blown fistfight.
The only reason weapons hadn't been drawn was because everyone knew that doing so inside the guild was a death sentence for their careers.
It had been a "civil fistfight"—the kind of event that made anyone who heard of it let out a long sigh.
Rei had put out the request on a whim, but for a job with a high payout and absolutely zero danger, it was more than enough to cause a riot.
Others likely saw it as a rare chance to become acquainted with the alias holder "Crimson," his Gryphon Seto, and the stunning beauty Elena.
Incidentally, Iero hadn't been counted in that group since it had been staying behind at the inn recently during their conquest of the desert floor.
But...
"I’m sorry, but I managed to gather more help outside of the official request. I have enough people."
Several adventurers in the vicinity who had been straining to hear the conversation let out collective sighs of disappointment. They were the ones who had been lingering, hoping for a second chance if more slots opened up.
The receptionist breathed a faint sigh of relief at the state of the room, then realized she had heard something she couldn't ignore.
"I-I see. ...By the way, just purely as a side note, will the extra help Rei-san gathered be paid a reward?"
For some reason, her question carried a touch of grim resolve. Rei shook his head without hesitation.
"No, I don't plan on paying them. Or rather, I rescued a party that was about to be killed by monsters and brought them back. They’re helping with the material stripping work tomorrow in place of a reward for the rescue. So, I guess you could say their reward was getting out of the dungeon alive."
At Rei’s words, the receptionist let out a massive sigh of relief.
If Rei had been hiring other adventurers privately and paying them the same high rate, it would have undoubtedly caused another uproar.
Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't have been an issue; in a way, it was similar to a nomination request. But because the pay was so good, the situation had become volatile.
"Anyway, I won't be recruiting anyone else this time," Rei said. "But if I keep diving, I’ll eventually be unable to handle the stripping again. I’ll recruit more then. ...Though, since we’ll be dealing with monsters from deeper floors, they’ll need the right skill and knowledge for the job."
"Yes, I understand. Now, regarding the rank: since the work is strictly stripping and the highest-ranked monster involved is the Rank C Earth Crab, we’ve categorized this as a Rank D request. Is that acceptable?"
"Yeah."
"You mentioned this morning that there might be a few more monsters..."
"No, we were dealing with Undead on the sixteenth floor. We didn't encounter any more monsters that needed stripping."
After reviewing the confirmation documents and paying the guild’s processing fee, the formalities were complete.
"Thank you very much."
"Like I said, I’ll probably be back when the carcasses start piling up again."
"Yes, we’ll be waiting."
He gave a light wave to the bowing receptionist and headed over to the purchase counter.
"I had a feeling you’d be coming here next."
Rei nodded to the receptionist who greeted him with a small smile and immediately began pulling the materials from today’s run out of the Misty Ring.
That said, they had only been in the dungeon for a few hours, and their biggest prize—the Anomaly Species skeleton—was destined for House Silwa. This meant the only thing he could sell to the guild was the Living Armor. Specifically, the armor itself, minus the magic stone.
"Unfortunately, this is all I’ve got for today. Although, tomorrow I’ll be bringing in a massive amount for you to buy once the request is done."
"Is this... armor? No, a Living Armor?"
Rei nodded as she looked over it dubiously.
"It’s a suit of Living Armor from B16F. I managed to extract the magic stone without putting many scratches on the plate."
"Hmm, Living Armor armor. It’s true there’s almost no damage, so we can offer a high price, but... are you sure? The performance is quite high. Usually, the person who defeats it either uses it themselves or sells it to a weapon shop."
"I don't mind. I’m a mage, so I have no use for a clunky set of full plate mail. More importantly, the size is all wrong."
Since Rei was quite short by the standards of this world, the types of armor he could equip were naturally limited.
In that sense, the Dragon Robe was the perfect fit for him—both in terms of performance and his height.
"I see. And as for the weapon the Living Armor was using...?"
The receptionist asked because the weapons used by those monsters were often in higher demand than the heavy armor.
"That got broken during the fight," Rei said, quietly averting his eyes.
Elena watched him from the side with a wry smile.