Having finished his last class at the Officer Academy, Rei freshened up and boarded a carriage, now making his way through the city of Gracial.
There was no sign of Set beside the carriage—Rei's partner and familiar.
Rei had wanted to bring Set along, but given where they were headed, he couldn't bring himself to make such a demand.
Set seemed disappointed that it couldn't stay with Rei, but having gotten plenty of exercise during the mock battle, it had likely worked off a fair amount of stress. It returned to the stables without complaint.
...It probably also didn't want to burden Rei too much over its own needs.
"It's been a while since I traveled by carriage like this."
"Hmm? Do you seldom use carriages, Lord Rei?"
Erinde, seated beside him, turned an inquisitive gaze his way at the words that had suddenly slipped from Rei's mouth.
Rei offered a small smile and nodded.
"Even when I have somewhere to be, riding Set is obviously faster. Carriage travel is really just for times like this when I'm on my own, or for getting around within a city."
"How envious. I would love to ride Set as well."
Maruka, seated across from Erinde, looked at Rei with obvious envy.
She had always wanted to experience what it felt like to fly through the sky, but as a duke's daughter, such an opportunity would not come so easily.
Then again, if someone were as small as Maruka, Set could probably manage to carry her—but Koan would never allow it.
"Why not just become a Dragon Knight? ...In your case, Maruka, you're skilled at magic, so I think something like a flying mage would suit you better."
That was why the words from Rei's mouth were half in jest.
At those words, spoken on something of a whim, Maruka's eyes widened as if she'd been caught off guard.
"...My lady?"
Koan, sitting beside Maruka, asked with a subtle sense of unease.
He had seen Maruka take this kind of attitude on several occasions before.
And without fail, those times had been followed by major upheavals.
...For example, like the time she had gone to Gilm with almost no attendants for reasons no one could quite understand.
Thanks to that, Duke Quento's House had gained a connection with a man named Rei, but that was merely a result after the fact.
Koan, who had been dragged around in the aftermath, felt profound exhaustion even despite his devotion to Maruka.
Recalling those past hardships, Koan turned his gaze toward Maruka—but Maruka herself showed no sign of noticing his concern. With a serious expression, she muttered quietly to herself, deep in thought.
The carriage fell into a natural silence, with no one saying a word... and before long, their destination came into view.
"This is... incredible."
It was Rei who broke that silence.
What lay in the direction of his gaze was a considerably massive mansion.
The largest building he had ever seen would have to be the castle in the Bestia Empire's Imperial Capital.
Compared to that castle, this was clearly smaller, but a mansion and a castle were entirely different things to begin with. To Rei's eyes, this was the largest mansion he had ever laid eyes on.
Daskar's mansion in Gilm was fairly large, but even so, compared to the mansion now before Rei, it inevitably appeared smaller. The mansions in the Noble District couldn't even compare.
Of course, that was only natural. What lay before his eyes was Duke Quento's mansion, and Daskar's—Margrave Larcus's—rank was literally different from a duke's.
"Hm? Ah, bigger isn't necessarily better, mind you. Having to use a carriage just to get around one's own estate is nothing but a hassle."
"...A carriage..."
At those words, Rei turned his gaze back toward the mansion.
Given its size, he could understand that walking from place to place would take time.
"Well, if it's that big..."
To Rei, it was something like using a car to get around the grounds of one's own property.
In any case, while his attention was captivated by the mansion, the carriage continued onward and arrived at the gates.
As befitted Duke Quento's mansion, those guarding the gates were individuals who could truly be called first-rate.
Maruka simply showing her face was enough to grant them smooth entry, and they soon arrived at one of several mansions standing within the estate.
"We're here. Now then, Rei. I'm going to call my father, so you wait in the room with the Maid and Erinde! Come, Koan!"
"My lady! Please, wait!"
The moment the carriage door opened, Maruka dashed off, and Koan chased after her.
Rei and Erinde, left behind, exchanged glances and stepped down from the carriage.
Naturally, a Maid was already waiting there for them.
"Lord Rei, a pleasure to meet you. I am the Maid, Cammy. I've been assigned to attend to you and Erinde-sama during your visit. It will be a brief stay, but I look forward to serving you."
The woman named Cammy, dressed in a maid's uniform, appeared to be around her mid-twenties. As befitted someone serving Duke Quento's House, she had a clean, well-groomed appearance and remarkably refined features.
"Take good care of us, Cammy."
Erinde seemed to know her, speaking casually as he set off.
Rei followed behind the two and entered the building.
"Huh..."
At a glance around the room Cammy led them to, a voice of admiration slipped from Rei's mouth.
Several paintings adorned the walls, along with numerous pieces of furniture.
Every one of them was of sufficient quality to delight the eyes of whoever waited there, and indeed, Rei found himself captivated by the sight.
"The fact that you've been shown to this room, Lord Rei, means Duke Quento is being quite considerate of you. Wouldn't you say?"
As Erinde, seated on the sofa, turned to Cammy with the question, Cammy smiled and placed freshly brewed tea on the table before responding.
"I was only instructed to attend to you both."
"Hmm. ...Rei, don't let your guard down too much around Cammy. She may not look it, but she's a former B-Rank Adventurer."
"Oh my, that was quite a long time ago. I don't think there's any need to be quite so wary."
"Is that so? Well, I'm employed by Duke Quento myself, so I'm not worried. But you should be careful, Rei."
Erinde gave that warning, but Rei showed no particular surprise. He gave a light nod and returned to admiring the room.
Even from Rei's perspective, he could sense that the Maid attending to them possessed considerable ability.
Since Rei wasn't on hostile terms with Duke Quento, the thought that there was no real need for vigilance prevailed.
At Rei's demeanor, Cammy directed a slightly surprised gaze at him.
Even without being enemies, normally, having someone of Cammy's skill nearby would inevitably make a person wary.
Yet Rei, even after learning Cammy's true identity, showed almost no sign of concern.
Of course, he wasn't completely indifferent—he was likely maintaining a minimum level of awareness. Even so, he directed no more attention than that.
(Perhaps it's because he believes he could handle any situation that arises. ...That's the difference between someone like me and him, even though we're both B-Rank. Me, for whom reaching B-Rank was my limit, and him, an Alias Holder for whom B-Rank was merely a waystation. I suppose I feel a little jealous.)
Keeping her inner thoughts hidden, a calm time passed in the guest room.
After about twenty minutes, Rei noticed the footsteps of several people approaching the room. Cammy and Erinde noticed shortly after.
"It seems they've arrived. I thought it would take a bit longer."
At the same moment Erinde murmured as he set down his tea, a knock came at the door. After a brief exchange, the person who entered the room was the Head of Duke Quento's House, Ronald Quento himself.
At his side, likely serving as a guard, was Isukerudo. Maruka and Koan were present as well.
Additionally, there were several other presences outside the room.
(The Knight Commander himself serving as guard—is it a personnel shortage? ...No, considering the Stigma incident, it's only natural.)
Rei satisfied himself with that reasoning, never imagining that he himself was among those Isukerudo was wary of.
Currently, Rei and Duke Quento's House were on friendly terms, but fundamentally, Rei was considered part of the Neutral Faction.
Furthermore, Rei personally had various entanglements with the King's Faction, so Isukerudo couldn't help but be wary of him.
...Of course, anyone who actually interacted with Rei would find such concerns ridiculous, and above all, Rei had no intention of harming Duke Quento on his own initiative.
"Did I keep you waiting? My apologies, I had a bit of a backlog with work."
"No, waiting a little is nothing at all. So..."
"Umu, I understand. ...Roughly two months up through today—well done. I'm told that thanks to you, the students at the Officer Academy received excellent stimulation. I also hear their techniques in mock battles have improved considerably over before. I called you here for my own convenience, but I am grateful."
Ronald spoke with a stern expression, but he himself was actually pleased—or so Maruka had told Rei previously.
Having emotions that rarely showed on one's face might be fine for someone living as a noble, but at times like this, it could easily give the other party the wrong impression.
"I should be the one thanking you. I was able to gain a lot of good experience."
That was not flattery toward Ronald, but Rei's honest sentiment.
The people Rei had trained with before were Basrero, whose fundamentals were not fully established, and the Former Mobile Unit members, who already possessed a certain level of skill.
Compared to such individuals, the Officer Academy students had a certain foundation but didn't yet possess the level of ability that the Former Mobile Unit members did.
They were positioned right between Basrero and the Former Mobile Unit.
Thinking of it that way, it was only natural for Rei to feel that, regardless of the present, it might serve as some form of nourishment in the future.
"I'm glad to hear you say that. ...Now then, let's settle the matter of your reward right away. Your request was Flame Ore, if I recall?"
"Yes. As you know, for someone like me who specializes in Flame Magic and skills, Flame Ore is a highly versatile material."
Flame Tornado—or rather, Fire Whirlwind—had already become something that could be called Rei's signature.
Knowing that, Ronald accepted Rei's words with straightforward understanding.
"Due to our mishandling this time, we caused you a great deal of trouble as well. I believe I mentioned this before, but as compensation for that, I've increased the reward. ...Bring them in."
At Ronald's words, four men entered the room.
All of them stood over two meters tall, with physiques that made their musculature visibly apparent.
Each one carried a single barrel about a meter in height, and they set the barrels down on the floor.
"Your Grace, is this satisfactory? Though, they are quite heavy..."
"No matter. For someone like him, weight of this degree is nothing at all."
Perhaps thinking their strength had been slighted, a briefly dissatisfied expression flashed across the face of one of the four men acting as their representative.
But maintaining such an expression in front of Ronald for any length of time was impossible, and it quickly returned to its usual state.
However, there was no way Ronald would overlook their demeanor.
Judging that letting them stew in dissatisfaction was unwise, he addressed Rei in front of the men.
"This is your reward: three barrels of Flame Ore."
"...It seems there are four barrels, though?"
"Umu. The other one is a commemorative gift for making your acquaintance, plus compensation for the trouble Maruka caused you."
The words from Ronald's mouth caught Rei off guard.
Originally, the reward was supposed to be two barrels of Flame Ore.
That had been increased to three due to their failure to prevent the Stigma attack, but he hadn't expected to receive something beyond Flame Ore on top of that.
"Are you sure?"
"We would be pleased if you would accept it. ...What's inside that other barrel is Wind-Thunder Ore. It's somewhat rare—are you familiar with it?"
"...Yes, of course. I just never expected to receive something like that."
If Flame Ore was a magical ore imbued with fire—specifically, the stronger attribute of flame—then Wind-Thunder Ore was a magical ore imbued with two types of magical power: wind and lightning.
Flame Ore contained the attributes of fire and the stronger flame, but a magical stone imbued with separate attributes carried even higher rarity and a broader range of applications.
(If I involve it in Fire Whirlwind, the wind magical power would probably make the Fire Whirlwind itself larger, and the lightning magical power could envelop it with lightning... I think. Plus, if I take it to a Blacksmith or Alchemist, it could serve as material for a magic item. ...Come to think of it, what ever happened to the plan to reforge the longsword I took from Noise into a spear? I should drop by and check when I get back to Gilm.)
Making such predictions, Rei approached the barrels.
"I'm glad to see you're satisfied. Now then, please store them away."
"Yes, thank you. I never expected to receive anything of this magnitude."
Returning his words to Ronald, Rei touched the barrels one after another and stowed them away into his Misty Ring.
The men who had carried the barrels in opened their eyes wide in astonishment at the sight, and expressions of understanding appeared on their faces at Ronald's earlier words.
And so, the handover of the reward was complete... leaving only the farewell party scheduled for that evening as the remaining event.