"Gururururu"
Set purred, turning its gaze toward a stall.
Rei followed Set's line of sight, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face when he saw what was on offer.
The stall was selling cold, chilled fruit water.
With temperatures steadily climbing at this time of year, it was only natural that some people would crave a cold drink by midday.
But what surprised Rei wasn't that they were selling fruit water.
It was that they were selling cold fruit water.
Naturally, in this warming season, fruit water prepared without any cooling would be far from cold—it would be more accurate to call it lukewarm.
Yet the stall Rei was staring at was selling genuinely cold fruit water.
The reason was the Magic Item built into the stall.
It was slightly different from one Rei had come across while wandering through Gilm before, but it shared enough similarities that he could tell at a glance it was a Magic Item that emitted cold air.
He had been intrigued enough to ask for a detailed explanation at the time, wondering whether it could serve as a refrigerator or air conditioner. But the item had terrible fuel efficiency—demanding both quality and quantity in the Magic Stones used to power it—and more importantly, since he wore the Dragon Robe, he had no need for air conditioning, and since he owned the Misty Ring, he had no need for a refrigerator. So he hadn't bought it...
"You managed to get your hands on a Magic Item like this, huh."
Rei, having ordered fruit water, called out to the stall owner.
The man who smiled and replied was powerfully built—so much so that he didn't look like a stall owner at all.
He stood far taller than Rei, easily clearing two meters.
The stall itself wasn't particularly small, but with the man standing beside it, the whole thing looked like a toy.
And yet his face wasn't the least bit fierce. If anything, he carried a gentle, approachable air.
If someone with his build had a menacing face to match, there was no way he'd be able to run a stall.
Unlike Pamidor, who despite his caring, people-loving nature suffered constantly from his vicious features.
"Hahaha. This stall is basically a hobby of mine."
"...So that's how you could afford a Magic Item like this."
"That's right. I may not look it, but I'm a B-Rank Adventurer just like you, so I earn a decent amount."
It was no surprise the man had recognized Rei as a B-Rank Adventurer so quickly.
Anyone living in Gilm could identify Rei on sight—especially with Set right beside him, drinking fruit water from a specially prepared deep plate.
But unlike the man, Rei didn't recognize him in return.
There were plenty of adventurers in Gilm, so naturally there were more whose faces Rei didn't know than those he did.
Rei himself wasn't particularly good at socializing, either, so he didn't have many acquaintances among his fellow adventurers.
"A B-Rank Adventurer can earn enough to buy Magic Items, huh."
"You've experienced that yourself, haven't you, Rei?"
Rei gave a small shrug at the man's words.
In terms of being a B-Rank Adventurer, he and the man were the same. But Rei had been raiding bandits and stealing their treasure ever since his rank was lower, and having completed several major requests on top of that, he had rarely ever been short on money.
That was why Rei couldn't fully relate to what the stall owner was saying. Still, he understood well enough how much high-rank adventurers like B-Rank Adventurers could earn.
He had heard such talk from Lenora and Kenny, and from Elk, an A-Rank Adventurer, in casual conversation.
"Well, more or less. It's true I'm enough of a Magic Item obsessive myself that I'm in no position to judge anyone."
"Oh, so it's true. Actually, there aren't that many people who can look at this and tell it's a Magic Item. By the way, what kind of Magic Items do you collect, Rei? I collect ones that are convenient for everyday life."
The most widely used Magic Item in daily life was, unsurprisingly, a light-producing one.
But even that required a fragment of a Magic Stone to operate, so it couldn't simply be used without restraint.
There were also Magic Items that produced fire for cooking and similar purposes. But what the stall owner was clearly referring to wasn't something so common—he was pointing to items like the one used at this very stall.
"I collect Magic Items that can actually be used in combat. Spears, daggers... well, the dagger isn't really usable in combat, though."
The image of the Dagger of Flowing Water flashed through Rei's mind.
It was an incredibly powerful Magic Item that, if used skillfully, could manipulate water itself as a weapon. But with Rei's fire-specialized attribute, he could only use it to produce drinking water.
Granted, as drinking water went, it was beyond compare—a taste that could fittingly be described as heavenly.
"Combat, huh? That's pretty serious. Well, even if our collecting focuses differ, we both share the hobby of collecting Magic Items. I'd be happy if we could get along. ...It's not exactly a hobby that other people readily accept, after all."
The stall owner's words overflowed with the joy of finally finding a kindred spirit.
Magic Items were, by and large, expensive. The higher-end ones could cost dozens of Light Gold Coins—such things certainly existed.
Rei's Misty Ring, for instance, was something no amount of money could buy.
Even setting aside such extraordinary items, it wasn't uncommon for Magic Items to cost Gold Coins or Platinum Coins.
"True enough. Whenever I tell people that collecting Magic Items is my hobby, they look at me like I'm some kind of oddball. Same thing when I said collecting Magic Stones was my hobby."
"Eh? Magic Stones? ...Well, what someone chooses as a hobby is their own business, so I can't really say..."
Even so, the look the stall owner gave Rei made it clear he thought Rei was quite the eccentric.
Still, the complete absence of malice in his gaze was probably because the stall owner himself understood his own hobby was unusual.
"Anyway, I'm glad to meet a fellow enthusiast. Oh, that reminds me—we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Seymour. Like I said, a B-Rank Adventurer named Seymour. I run this stall as a mix of hobby and practical benefit, though."
"...Practical benefit? Isn't it operating at a loss? With a Magic Item like this, you'd need a pretty high-rank monster's Magic Stone to power it, right?"
To operate high-performance Magic Items, many naturally required correspondingly high-rank monster Magic Stones.
In that sense, running a stall here and selling fruit water might not even cover the cost of the Magic Stones. That was Rei's concern when he asked, but Seymour simply smiled and shook his head.
"No, no. This Magic Item is highly effective, but it doesn't need such a high-rank monster's Magic Stone. I bought it after hearing that myself."
"...This cooling Magic Item?"
"That's right. An E-Rank monster's Magic Stone is more than enough to power it."
Rei's gaze turned skeptical.
The similar Magic Item Rei had seen before required a C-Rank monster's Magic Stone.
A C-Rank monster—in other words, a monster of the same rank as a Cyclops.
How could a Magic Item with comparable performance run on an E-Rank monster's Magic Stone?
He had his doubts, but the fact that the Magic Item was operating right before his eyes was undeniable.
Has Gilm's alchemy level risen dramatically in such a short period? Well, I can't say it's absolutely impossible... but even so, it's hard to believe it could happen so conveniently. Then could it be that the one I saw before was an outdated model, made a long time ago?
He had his doubts, but ultimately couldn't arrive at an answer. So he ended up asking Seymour, who was smiling proudly before him.
"Why does it run on such a low-rank Magic Stone?"
"I wonder. I'm not exactly an expert on alchemy either... but I've heard that the Bestia Empire's overall alchemy level has been rising rapidly over the past few years... or has it been a dozen or so years? Either way, it's supposedly going up fast. So it's probably different from things made in Gilm, right?"
"Ah, it's Bestia Empire-made. That explains it... hm?"
Suddenly, a sense of incongruity struck him about his own words.
Watching Set happily drinking its chilled fruit water, Rei thought for a few seconds... and then realized what felt off.
"Wait. Hold on. Give me a moment. Um, you bought this Magic Item in Gilm, right? Or did you actually go all the way to the Bestia Empire to buy it?"
At Rei's words, Seymour smiled as if he couldn't understand what Rei was getting at, then spoke.
"Of course. Why would I need to go all the way to the Bestia Empire? Their Magic Items are tempting, sure, but I still have no intention of going to the Bestia Empire, which has been at odds with the Kingdom of Mireana for years. I've had acquaintances die in the war. Even knowing it was war, you still have feelings about it."
"For all that, you sure are using a Bestia Empire-made Magic Item. ...No, wait. Why is a Bestia Empire-made Magic Item being sold in Gilm? If this were the Royal Capital or a city close to the Bestia Empire, fine—but this is Gilm, out in the frontier!"
"It's not that strange, is it? It's rare, but it's not like merchants from the Bestia Empire never come to Gilm."
Seymour's words were factual.
The Bestia Empire had its own frontier regions, and there were things that could only be obtained in Gilm.
Conversely, there were also things that could only be obtained in the Bestia Empire's frontier, so naturally a small number of merchants from the Kingdom of Mireana did travel to the Bestia Empire's frontier.
That much was certain, but...
Still, merchants willing to risk their lives coming all the way to Gilm can't be that many. They were at war until last year. And more than anything, the Magic Item incidents started, and conveniently enough, Bestia Empire-made Magic Items begin flowing into Gilm's market. Is this really a coincidence?
One could rationalize it as a coincidence if they tried, but if it was connected to the alchemist Rei was pursuing, then that was also entirely possible.
But if the alchemist I'm looking for really did make this Magic Item, why would they do such a thing? Naturally, they wouldn't want to leave traces that could lead back to them. In that case... a diversion? I see, that would make sense.
Making it look like they were in Gilm, when in reality they were hiding elsewhere.
That possibility seemed entirely plausible to Rei.
At the same time, another thought occurred to him: perhaps it wasn't a diversion, but rather a genuine effort to earn money.
If they were creating Magic Items like golems and Magic Swords, they would require considerable quantities of various materials. This could be a way to fund the acquisition of those materials.
It's also possible they wanted materials unique to Gilm. And it's possible that after the golem incident, they ran short on materials needed to create Magic Items.
Even thinking about it briefly, multiple possibilities emerged, and Rei found himself unsure of which to pursue.
In any case, it's definitely a valuable lead. If so, I should bring this up when I rendezvous with Vihera and Byune.
Ultimately deciding to consult with Vihera and the others about this matter, Rei turned to Seymour and asked.
"So, where did you buy this Magic Item? If the Magic Stone issue is cleared up, I'd like to buy one myself."
"This? It's a bit hard to find since it's off the main street... do you know Lerouz's shop?"
"Lerouz... ah, the shop on the main street that sells food and such. I've stopped by a few times."
"Then this'll be quick. From Lerouz's shop, head toward the Guild, then turn into the back alley from the second street, and just keep going deeper along that path. You'll find a shop with a goblin skull displayed out front—that's the place."
"...A goblin skull? That's in pretty poor taste."
"Hahaha. Fair point. But doesn't it look the part? It's actually quite a hidden gem, and I drop by sometimes. Though they didn't have much in the way of practical combat Magic Items like the ones you'd prefer, so it might not be to your taste."
"Even though they have a goblin skull on display?"
At Rei's words, Seymour nodded with a serious expression.
"Apparently the shop owner isn't very fond of adventurers. In that sense, I'm not exactly their favorite person either... but if you mention I introduced you, they won't turn you away. If you want to go, it might be worth checking out. Ah, sorry. Customer."
Seymour spotted a customer lining up behind Rei mid-conversation.
Rei had no intention of interfering with Seymour's business, so he paid and headed with Set to the rendezvous point with Vihera.
Having obtained an unexpected lead.