"Vihera-sama. How kind of you to come all the way to such a frontier. It has been since autumn of last year, has it not?"
"Yes, it's been about half a year, I suppose. We both had quite a busy year, but I'm glad to see you're well."
Guided by a maid, Vihera and Byune entered the reception room, where Daskar, seated on a sofa, greeted the two with a smile.
When Rei visited this mansion, matters were typically handled in the study. But when the guest was—despite having fled the country—a princess of the Bestia Empire, the host was naturally expected to observe a corresponding degree of formality and decorum.
The fact that Daskar's speech lacked his usual bluntness was surely in deference to that.
After prompting Vihera and Byune to take a seat on the sofa, and after the maid set down the tea and cookies she had brought and exited the room, Daskar finally opened his mouth to speak.
"Normally, when someone of Vihera-sama's stature comes to this frontier, we ought to hold a grand ceremony of some kind to welcome you, but..."
Cutting him off, Vihera shook her head.
"No, please don't worry about that. As you know, I've already fled the Bestia Empire. I'd be perfectly content being treated the same as any ordinary adventurer. Naturally, this child as well."
"Nn."
Pushed forward lightly by Vihera, Byune bowed deeply to Daskar.
Byune, too, was of the historically prestigious House Flaut in Exil. But there was a difference in rank between the scion of a noble house in an autonomous city and an active margrave—especially one who governed the only frontier territory in the Kingdom of Mireana.
More to the point, House Flaut had already fallen, making Byune's standing closer to that of a commoner.
"This child has certain circumstances that make her not very good at talking, but her name is Byune Flaut."
"Hoh? This child, you say?"
"Yes. She's like a precious younger sister to me. To a certain degree, certainly... no, considering her age, I could say she's quite skilled."
"I see. How intriguing. For us, having skilled adventurers come to Gilm on the frontier is most welcome. However, Vihera-sama."
"Please drop the '-sama.' And you needn't force yourself to use polite speech, either. Your usual manner of speaking is perfectly fine. After all, one of the reasons I fled was because I despise that kind of stiff formality."
Vihera delivered this with a small shrug of her shoulders.
Naturally, as she did so, her ample bosom swayed, attempting to captivate Daskar's gaze. But Daskar firmly disciplined himself and kept his eyes from turning that way.
If Daskar had possessed no resistance whatsoever to such allure, he would have been unable to help being captivated by Vihera's figure.
However, Daskar had a strong resistance to intense feminine charm—a saving grace of his long-standing relationship with Marina, a dark elf whose allure was honed to the very limit.
The fact that he had once proposed to Marina in his childhood likely had something to do with that resistance as well.
At any rate, having been told that his usual manner of speech would suffice, Daskar thought for a moment before speaking.
"Then I'll speak as I normally do. You don't mind?"
"Yes, please do. Even when I was still in the Bestia Empire, there were quite a few people in my faction who didn't use polite speech."
An image of a man wielding a battle axe in both hands with a grin flashed through Vihera's mind.
Though he probably hadn't sensed that, Daskar offered a wry smile and spoke.
"Speaking casually to a princess of a nation—and one from a great power like the Bestia Empire, no less—takes considerable nerve."
"Really? You're speaking to me normally, aren't you?"
Vihera said this while lifting her tea to her lips, but Daskar gave a small shake of his head.
"That's because the one I'm speaking to is the Vihera-dono here before me. If I'd encountered you by some mistake while you were still in the Bestia Empire, and you'd told me to speak casually... well, I wonder how that would have gone."
As he muttered this, Daskar pushed the cookies on the table toward Byune.
Byune, who was eating the cookies with great effort like a squirrel or some such creature, reminded him of a small animal, and the image of Set suddenly came to mind.
(In terms of size, there's no way it could be called a small animal, but when it's eating, it does seem small-animal-like. It's understandable why it's so popular.)
Though he thought of Set, when Vihera, seated before him, caught his eye, he hastily returned his attention to her.
"Now then. Since you came willingly when Ranga called for you, I understand you're not plotting anything strange against Gilm. But what did you come here for? Did something happen regarding last year's civil war?"
Even as he asked, Daskar didn't think, based on what he knew of Vihera's personality, that she would do such a thing.
When he'd been informed during his work that Ranga had an urgent report, he'd wondered what it could be. But from their conversation thus far, she didn't appear to be scheming anything.
(If that's the case, then maybe she was interested in the frontier? That's a reasonable enough possibility.)
The Bestia Empire likely had its own frontier regions, but it was also a fact that someone in Vihera's position as a princess could not easily visit them.
If so, it wouldn't be strange for her to come to Gilm wanting to experience a frontier at least once.
Moreover, while they were all lumped together under the word "frontier," the monsters that appeared varied by region.
Given Vihera's love of battle, it wouldn't have been strange for her to travel around the frontiers of various nations.
However, Vihera shook her head at Daskar's words.
"I originally planned to come to Gilm once spring arrived to reunite with Rei. Though I wasn't sure whether I'd be bringing Byune along, there were certain circumstances."
"Would you mind telling me about those circumstances?"
"Yes. Do you know of a religion called the Holy Light Religion?"
"At least the name. Fortunately or unfortunately, Gilm is situated on the frontier, and there's no sign of the Holy Light Religion making inroads here. But it's a fairly well-known entity among the territories of nobles belonging to the Neutral Faction. Though I hear the number of those wary of it has been increasing since last year's incident."
From Daskar's position as a central figure of the Neutral Faction, the Holy Light Religion was an exceedingly troublesome existence.
While there was no particular need to worry about it in Gilm, his standing nevertheless required him to urge caution among the nobles affiliated with his faction.
"I'd think so. They're a troublesome entity in many ways. Byune and I were attacked in Exil by an assassin believed to be from the Holy Light Religion. So I judged it would be dangerous to leave Byune in Exil as things were, and that's why I brought her to Gilm with me."
"Troublesome indeed."
If Vihera's words were to be believed, it sounded as though the Holy Light Religion was targeting the likes of Vihera and Byune.
While complaining verbally, Daskar's gaze drifted to Byune, who was stuffing cookies into her cheeks like a small animal beside Vihera.
It was pitiable that this young girl would be targeted by the Holy Light Religion, and yet from Daskar's position, he wanted to avoid troublesome situations in Gilm as much as possible.
However, before Daskar could say anything, Vihera spoke.
"As a side note, Rei was also attacked by Holy Light Religion assassins in Gracial, you know?"
"..."
Hearing those words, Daskar could no longer casually tell her to leave.
It likely meant he had that much confidence in Rei's abilities.
Indeed, Rei's combat prowess was extremely reliable for Daskar as well, and the fact that he had a gryphon named Set as a tamed monster meant his travel speed was incomparably faster than ordinary cavalry.
Furthermore, as seen during the war with the Bestia Empire in spring of the previous year, Rei's use of the Item Box for transporting supplies was also a tremendous asset.
Beyond pure combat strength, Rei was a reliable person.
While it wasn't quite a relationship spanning many years, nearly two years of association was enough for Daskar to place his trust and confidence in him.
If he told the person before him that dealing with the Holy Light Religion was troublesome and she should leave, then he would also have to tell Rei that he wanted him out of Gilm.
Naturally, the length of association didn't necessarily mean Rei, Vihera, and Byune had to be treated as a package deal.
But if conflict with the Holy Light Religion was unavoidable, then Vihera as a military asset would be a great benefit to Gilm.
Weighing the merits and demerits of having Vihera in Gilm for a while...
"Very well. I'd like you to take your time and stay in Gilm, Vihera-dono."
He ultimately chose to accept Vihera.
"Really? Well, I'd be happier being able to stay with Rei, too. There's also the matter with this child, so I was hoping to stay in Gilm if possible."
"...Nn?"
Byune, with her cheeks stuffed full of cookies, looked toward Vihera as if asking, "Did you call me?"
The sight reinforced the small-animal impression Daskar had just been thinking of.
"Heh heh, I see. You're right. I can't very well drive out a child like this. Very well. I'll permit Vihera-dono to operate in Gilm under my name. However, I'd ask you to refrain from overly provoking men."
His gaze was directed at the thin garments covering her alluring figure.
"Oh? I'll accept any challenge, you know? As a woman, I belong to Rei, but the part of me that seeks battle is something else entirely."
"It's fine for Vihera-dono to think that way, but I can't have public order in Gilm disrupted because of it. This city of Gilm is a place where many adventurers gather to begin with. And adventurers are, more often than not, hot-blooded. There should be no shortage of those who would recklessly attack Vihera-dono."
"Those kinds of people will surely come to regret their rash actions."
"If you would just stop wearing that outfit, no one would lose their heads."
To Daskar, who said this with a sigh, Vihera offered a provocative smile.
Seeing that smile, one couldn't help but understand that Vihera had no intention of changing her current attire.
In the end, all Daskar could manage was to drive home the point that she would be treated as an ordinary adventurer and would face punishment if she went too far.
"Oh my, welcome back, Rei-san. It's been quite a while..."
Lana, the landlady of the Twilight Wheat Pavilion, murmured this upon spotting Rei as he entered the inn.
Perhaps because Rei had been using this inn for so long, her manner of speaking was more like that directed at family rather than a guest.
That was only natural. The Twilight Wheat Pavilion ranked among the more upscale inns in Gilm.
Naturally, most who used such an inn were short-term guests, and there were not many like Rei who stayed for extended periods.
The "not many" category, however, included high-earning adventurers like Rei.
Precisely because of that, staying at the inn for a long period made Lana come to think of him as family.
Since it was daytime and the inn's work had settled down for the moment, she appeared to have been resting at the counter while minding the front desk, with a glass containing some beverage at hand.
"Well, it's been since I left in winter. So, I'd like to get a room again. Also, I'll leave Set in your care."
Rei, trying to secure a room just as he had done before, was met with a puzzled expression from Lana.
"You say you want a room... but that little lady already paid six months' worth in advance, you know?"
"...Huh?"
For a moment, Rei couldn't comprehend what had been said to him, and after a few seconds of silence, he let out a blank sound.
"So, six months' worth... no, it's already been two months since then, so about four months' worth remaining, but that amount of lodging fees has already been paid in advance."
"...That Maruka, pulling a clever one."
Rei smiled faintly as he thought of Maruka, who had prepared not only flame ore but also pre-paid lodging fees as reward. But then he remembered that Vihera and Byune would also be staying at this inn.
Even Maruka surely wouldn't have paid for Vihera and Byune's lodging as well, he thought.
"Two women should be coming in a little while, so I'd like you to prepare rooms for them."
"Oh my, could it be..."
Rei brushed off Lana's meaningful glance and continued.
"Whether it'll be a double room or two singles, please ask them when they arrive. Their names are Vihera and Byune, and they stand out in various ways, so I don't think you'll mistake them for anyone else."
"How boring. Fine, I get it."
Though Lana seemed disappointed that Rei wasn't taking the bait, she shifted back into her role as the inn's landlady.
To that Lana, Rei once again asked her to look after Set before heading to his own room.
It should be noted that when Vihera and Byune later entered the inn, Lana understood the meaning of Rei's words about them being "eye-catching" in the most absolute sense possible.