"I didn't expect to be coming back here so soon after yesterday."
"Guru?"
Walking beside him, Seto rumbled his throat as if to ask, What's wrong?
Rei shook his head and patted Seto's head, telling him it was nothing.
The messenger from the guild had arrived early that morning, the very day after Rei had received the Gamelion meat. Apparently, Lenora had already notified Baron Cisne that Rei was available, and he was instructed to head to the mansion before noon.
Of course, Rei didn't have any particularly urgent business—though he did have an appointment to pick up some cheese from Lento later—so he had accepted immediately.
Now that the Gamelion incident was settled and the snow had begun to fall in earnest, Rei had little to do. If he had to name anything, it would be sleeping in late or wandering between food stalls to enjoy warm meals in the winter chill, but those weren't reasons enough to refuse a request from Baron Cisne's House.
"Gurururu."
Seto purred happily as they walked through the snow. One reason for his high spirits was simply being with Rei, but the fact that Gamelion dishes had been served for dinner last night and breakfast this morning was likely a bigger factor.
The meat Rei had collected yesterday had been prepared by the Dusk Wheat Inn, and the taste was nothing short of exquisite. Notably, a significant portion of the meat Rei had taken was already cut into smaller pieces by the Death Scythe.
The guild found this arrangement beneficial; if they were to put meat on the market, large blocks sold for higher prices. On the other hand, Rei preferred the smaller pieces because it saved him the effort of butchering them with a kitchen knife. Their interests were perfectly aligned.
Of course, Seto also enjoyed roasting massive chunks of meat and tearing into them whole. Regardless, Rei had handed over the pre-partitioned meat to the Dusk Wheat Inn and had them serve the resulting meals to both him and his partner.
"Gamelion dishes will probably be popping up everywhere now, so the food stalls should start getting a lot tastier soon."
"Guru!"
Seto rumbled happily in agreement with Rei’s murmur.
As they walked, many passersby naturally gathered, hoping to play with, touch, or dote on Seto. However, likely due to the falling snow, there were considerably fewer people than usual.
Rei politely declined their advances and continued walking until they arrived at the Noble District, where the grand estates of the aristocracy lined the streets. A group of guards was just passing the entrance to the Noble District. Since these guards were adventurers, there was no chance they wouldn't recognize Rei.
"I’m heading inside. That’s fine, right?"
"Sure thing. Just don't go starting any trouble in the Noble District. You stand out enough as it is... well, even if someone recognize you, I doubt they'd be foolish enough to pick a fight with 'Crimson'."
The adventurer man laughed as he spoke, but the woman beside him—an archer woman carrying a bow—smacked him on the head.
"Idiot! If something like that actually happened, do you think we could do anything to stop it? I’m not getting dragged into that."
A man with a massive frame exceeding two meters in height nodded solemnly. "She's right. If Rei went on a rampage, there wouldn't even be ash left of the Noble District."
"...Just what kind of rumors are going around about me?" Rei muttered.
The man gave Rei a knowing grin. "Hah, what are you talking about? I was there for the Spring War. I saw you create that flame tornado with my own eyes. Don't go lumpin' me in with the folks who just chatter based on hearsay."
"I see. Well, fine. Do as you like."
Realizing there was no point in arguing, Rei left it at that and entered the Noble District. The adventurers watched him go in silence.
About 1 minute after Rei’s figure had vanished from sight, the man who had first spoken finally opened his mouth.
"Still, for the Baron to call Rei out like this... you don't think there'll be any real trouble, do you?"
"There's no way, right? In the current Gilm, who would actually be dumb enough to oppose him? ...Wait, is there?"
The archer woman’s voice wavered with anxiety, and she looked toward her colleague for reassurance. The giant man nodded grimly.
"If there’s anyone in Gilm who doesn't know to fear Rei, it would be one of the newcomers. And the only house that moved here recently is..."
"Oh... them," the woman whispered. "I’m starting to get a really bad feeling about this."
The person who came to the archer woman’s mind was a noble who had arrived in Gilm only a few weeks ago. Rumor had it that this noble had been sent as a check against the growing closeness between the Neutral Faction and the Noble's Faction following the Internal Strife of the Bestia Empire.
Usually, adventurers wouldn't care about such political maneuvering, but since they were tasked with guarding the Noble District, they had to stay informed.
"You really don't think the Noble District will be turned to ash, do you?"
The giant man murmured in a trembling voice that betrayed his massive physique. The noble in question was a man best described as a small-fry villain—a typical aristocrat in the worst sense of the word, who looked down on commoners and adventurers alike.
As he had been sent to act as a "check," his goal was likely to provoke an incident and use it as a pretext to punish the Neutral Faction. If such a person happened to encounter Rei, the result was easy to imagine. The adventurers could vividly see the entire district going up in flames.
"...What should we do?"
"What can we do? He's not an opponent we can handle. The best we can do is report this to our employer."
"Right. I’ll go now. You two hold the fort here."
The man who had first spoken to Rei quickly ran off to deliver the news, silently praying that no one would do anything reckless.
"It hasn't changed a bit."
Contrary to the adventurers' worries, Rei had arrived at Baron Cisne's House without incident. Just as it had been last year, there were no gatekeepers in front of the mansion.
"As defenseless as ever."
"Gururuu..."
Seto rumbled in agreement. As they looked toward the house, the door opened and a maid stepped out. Rei recognized her and raised a hand in greeting.
"You're Ashie, right?"
The maid gave a graceful bow upon seeing him. "It has been a long time, Rei-san. Please, come inside. I shall inform the Master and the Young Master of your arrival immediately."
She had clearly been expecting him. She showed no surprise at his presence and spoke with professional calm.
"Yeah. Is it alright if Seto plays in the garden?"
"That is fine, but... in this weather? Won't he be cold?"
Ashie directed a worried look at the griffon. Seto simply turned his round eyes toward her and gave a slight tilt of the head as if to ask, What's wrong? His adorable behavior was so charming that if Mirene or Johanna had been there, they would have been incapacitated instantly. Ashie wasn't immune to his cuteness, but she wasn't about to abandon her duties for it.
"Don't worry. Seto doesn't mind the cold at all. In fact, he actually enjoys playing in the snow."
"Is that so?"
Ashie looked at Seto once more, but the griffon only purred happily. Though she wasn't entirely convinced, the way Seto looked at her made her realize Rei wasn't lying. She let Seto into the garden and then led Rei inside the mansion.
Rei was guided to the reception room.
"I shall inform the Master and the Young Master that you are here, Rei-san. Please wait a moment."
She placed herb tea and dried fruit on the table before him.
"Thanks. I'll make myself comfortable."
"Please do. If you'll excuse me."
Rei watched Ashie bow and leave, then scanned the room. The furniture wasn't expensive, but the space was meticulously cleaned.
They still don't seem to have much money to spare, but... it's strangely relaxing here.
Compared to the formal offices of Lord Daskar or the Guild Master, this room felt like a place where one could truly rest. There were handmade scent pouches placed about, and a painting on the wall—though clearly not by a famous artist—depicted the estate’s garden in spring and suited the room perfectly.
As he looked at the painting, Rei took a sip of the herb tea.
This herb tea... I think they told me before that they grow it themselves. It's remarkably good for something made by an amateur. I suppose the dried fruit is homemade too. That's quite impressive.
Back in Japan, the dried fruit Rei was most familiar with was dried persimmon, as there had been a persimmon tree in his backyard. In the Kanto region, sweet persimmons were eaten fresh, but in the Tohoku region, even sweet persimmons often turned out as astringent persimmons. As a result, people would either dry them into dried persimmons or remove the bitterness using shochu.
Because of that background, Rei associated dried fruit with dried persimmons, which were typically black and wrinkled. To someone who didn't know what they were, they hardly looked like food. However, the dried fruit served to Rei, while shrunken from the drying process, still retained its vibrant colors.
Is it a specific variety, or is Ashie just that skilled at making them? ...Considering their budget, I'm guessing it’s the latter.
Rei knew that fruits that stayed colorful even after drying were usually expensive varieties. He suspected that Ashie’s technique was responsible for preserving the vivid hues.
He popped a piece of dried fruit into his mouth, and a rich, concentrated sweetness spread across his tongue. After savoring the flavor, he followed it with a sip of the herb tea. The tea miraculously cleansed his palate, leaving only a faint, refreshing acidity as an aftertaste.
As he was enjoying the simple snacks, there was a knock on the reception room door, and a child appeared. The boy, who was around ten years old, saw Rei and his eyes lit up with joy.
"Rei-san! It’s been so long!"
"Long time no see, Basrero. ...Heh."
After their brief greeting, Rei looked at Basrero and nodded, clearly impressed. The boy's physical stature hadn't changed drastically over the past year. He had grown taller, certainly, but he hadn't put on an extreme amount of muscle.
And yet, compared to a year ago when he had been a complete amateur in physical movement, his bearing was undoubtedly more refined. One could tell at a glance that he had trained diligently during the past year. Of course, that didn't mean he was ready to face monsters in combat just yet—the answer to that was still a firm no.
"It looks like you haven't been slacking off this past year."
"No, sir! I have trained every single day without fail. I couldn't find anyone as skilled as you, Rei-san, but I still had adventurers train me from time to time."
Basrero was just as polite as he had been a year ago. To Rei, his maturity was almost startling for a child.
A noble's child, huh. Nobles really do come in all types. Elena and Lord Daskar are nobles too.
While Rei didn't have the best impression of the aristocracy in general, he had to admit there were some he genuinely respected.
"So, did you call me here because you wanted me to train you again?"
"Oh, no. That’s..."
Basrero was about to explain when a voice called out from the doorway. Rei looked up to see Muet, the head of Baron Cisne's House, accompanied by Ashie the Maid. To Rei, Muet still looked somewhat frail, but the light in his eyes spoke of a firm inner strength.
"It's been a while, Muet."
Rei stood and bowed his head.
Anyone who knew Rei’s usual demeanor would have been shocked. This was a man who maintained an arrogant, overbearing attitude even toward high-ranking nobles, yet here he was bowing—even if his informal way of speaking remained unchanged.
This was the result of the first impression Muet had made on him last year. Rei had recognized him as a man worthy of respect, and his actions reflected that.
"It has been a long time, Rei-kun. A full year, but I'm glad to see you're doing well. I’ve heard many things about your exploits. To have already become an Alias Holder... you truly are remarkable. Please, sit."
At Muet's invitation, Rei sat back down on the sofa. Muet and Basrero sat opposite him, and the Baron immediately got to the point.
"The reason I asked you here today is partly because Basrero was eager to see you again, but also because I wanted you to see how much progress he's made with his skills. Unfortunately, I'm completely hopeless when it comes to combat and physical feats."
"...I see."
Rei looked at Basrero. Seeing the boy’s eyes filled with hopeful anticipation, a look of understanding crossed Rei's face.