"What do you think?"
After being kicked out of the magic item shop, Rei asked Vihera while stroking Set, which had pressed close and was rubbing its head against him.
"Even if you ask what I think— as a merchant, being cautious about one's supply route is only natural, isn't it? I didn't notice anything particularly strange."
"Yeah, I know. I guess I'm just disappointed that the trail ends here. But I still can't shake the feeling that there's a clue back there. Am I overthinking it?"
"...I wonder. With your intuition, Rei, it wouldn't be surprising if you were right. But from what I saw just now, he has absolutely no intention of telling us who his supplier is."
"Mm."
"Guruu?"
Byune agreed with Vihera's words, and Set, still being stroked by Rei, tilted its head as if asking what was wrong.
"Yeah, you're right. Which means we'd be starting over from scratch... so what do we do?"
"What to do? Byune and I have barely been in Gilm any time at all. What exactly do you expect us to do?"
It was a perfectly reasonable point, but it was also true that, strangely enough, Rei felt Vihera and Byune had already settled into Gilm as though they belonged there.
"Hmm... should I tell Ranga or someone? Or report to Lord Daskar...? No, we barely have any leads as it is... Hmm? Leads?"
Muttering that far, Rei suddenly recalled the censer magic item he had obtained on the way to the cave.
"Come to think of it, we do have a lead. And there's an alchemist who could investigate it for us."
"Oh? You have something that could be a clue?"
"Yeah. Remember what I told you at the diner? The place with all those monster corpses. I picked up a magic item that was apparently set up there to keep the smell of blood and rot from spreading. If we have it analyzed, we might learn something."
It would have been nice to have the Golem's core, or the jar from deep in the cave... Rei muttered regretfully, but Vihera only gave him a look of mild exasperation.
"You get caught up in trouble constantly, yet you just happen to have something that might help solve it. What kind of luck is that?"
"Even if you say that... Anyway, let's go see Asimov. That sound good?"
Since they had no other leads, Vihera and Byune naturally had no objections and nodded immediately.
"Gururuu."
Set cried out in agreement as well, and with that, Rei's party set off for Asimov's workshop.
"There's hardly anyone around here. It's nearly evening."
As evening approached, the flow of people would naturally increase. Beyond the townspeople's routines—early dinners, shopping, heading home from work—Gilm, being a frontier town, would see a large number of adventurers returning from completed requests, swelling the population considerably. And yet, there was barely a soul to be seen around Asimov's house, which doubled as his workshop.
Occasionally a passerby would appear, but they would hurry past at a quick pace, as if wanting to get away from here as fast as possible.
As Vihera muttered while surveying the surroundings, Rei recalled that Pamidor had once explained the same thing to him and answered her question.
"Well, considering Asimov's personality, it's not surprising."
"...Are you sure this is safe? I've only met him once, so I can't say I trust him all that much."
"Mm."
Byune nodded in apparent agreement with Vihera, but Rei let the comment slide and knocked lightly on the door in front of him.
"Asimov, you there? Got a minute?"
He called out, but there was no reply from inside.
Was he going to have to take the door off its hinges like Pamidor had done? Thinking that, Rei knocked again.
"Hey, Asimov! You in there?! Get out here!"
The sound of his fist against the door grew steadily louder, to the point where "punching" was a more accurate description than "knocking." It was only a matter of time before the door was destroyed—at that moment:
"Shut up! Damn it, I was right in the middle of something good, what the hell is this all of a sudden!"
Being interrupted in his research must have been truly unbearable. Asimov appeared with veins bulging on his forehead.
"Looks like you heard me today. Good."
"Hah? ...Rei? What do you want? I'm right in the middle of working on your spear, and you—the client—come here to interrupt me? Seriously."
"Sorry. I just have something I'd like you to take a look at. When I think of a skilled alchemist I know, you're the only one who comes to mind."
The word "skilled" seemed to improve his mood somewhat. The irritation on Asimov's face subsided, if only slightly.
"Tch. Well, fine. Come in. We'll talk inside."
"...Sorry about this. Oh—this is a gift, by the way. Figured you'd appreciate it."
What he held out was fur and feathers that had come loose while he was petting Set on the way here.
For Rei, it was something he could provide endlessly. For Asimov, however, it was an extremely rare alchemy material.
The people of Gilm had grown so accustomed to Set that some had lost their sense of just how remarkable it was, but gryphons were, by nature, exceptionally rare and prized A-Rank monsters.
Countless people had risked—and lost—their lives trying to obtain such materials.
With materials of that caliber available so readily, Gilm was an extraordinarily beneficial place for alchemists, blacksmiths, and pharmacists alike.
Rare materials already tended to converge on the frontier, so for the alchemists of the Kingdom of Mireana, Gilm was becoming a place of special significance.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah. Put them to good use."
"...Well, fine. I was just thinking about taking a break anyway. Come on in."
Rei smiled wryly at Asimov's abrupt change in attitude, and the three of them—Rei, Vihera, and Byune—stepped inside.
Naturally, as always, Set lay down outside to keep watch and wait for their return.
"So. What brings you all the way here when I'm this busy? The lord already sent a messenger about not spreading the word that the hammer was made by a Bestia Empire alchemist, you know."
"No, it's not about that. Actually, I have something I'd like you to look at."
"Hoh?"
At Rei's words, Asimov's demeanor shifted entirely from its earlier reluctance, and he turned an interested gaze toward him.
The fact that Rei had produced the Cyclops hammer last time must have made a big impression. Asimov looked at him expectantly, clearly hoping he had brought something similar again. Rei handed him the censer he had retrieved from the Misty Ring.
"This is... not a particularly elaborate piece."
Asimov, examining the censer by touch, muttered with a deflated enthusiasm that made one want to ask what had happened to that expectant gaze from moments ago.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. The hammer you brought was quite an elaborate piece, but for something made by the same person, this is remarkably shoddy work. It's not that they lack the skill—more likely they were rushed and made it out of necessity."
"Wait."
Asimov had muttered it as though it were nothing, but Rei caught a piece of information he couldn't let slide and stopped him mid-sentence.
He wasn't the only one who noticed. Vihera was also directing a sharp gaze at Asimov.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"You said the censer was made by the same person who made the hammer. Are you certain of that? Is there any chance that, even among Bestia Empire alchemists, it was made by someone other than the one who crafted the hammer?"
"None."
He declared it without needing a moment's thought, then opened the censer's lid to show Rei.
"This part here. Can you see it? It uses a Lizardman heart—one with the magic stone still inside—that was soaked in mana-rich water, then dried and powdered to channel mana flow. This characteristic is identical to the hammer. It's a fairly valuable material, too."
"If it's 'fairly valuable,' doesn't that mean others use it as well?"
"Probably. But the construction of the mana channeling is distinctive. Same materials, same type of magic item with the same characteristics. And the fact that someone would intentionally break the left-right balance in the design—I can't imagine there are that many people who would do that. Well, it's not impossible that there are none at all, but having such individuals all gathered near Gilm? That's a bit hard to swallow."
As he spoke, Asimov seemed to grow more animated, listing several other commonalities between the hammer and the censer.
Listening to him, Rei realized he was convinced to a surprising degree.
(So the one using monsters as test subjects at that site really was that alchemist, just as I thought.)
He had suspected as much, but he'd never had confirmation. His conclusion had been based almost entirely on circumstantial evidence and gut instinct.
That was why obtaining this confirmation meant he was, step by step, drawing undeniably closer to the alchemist.
(If that's the case, then next... I'd like him to look at who made Seymour's magic item too. Actually, Asimov's in a good mood right now—can I pull it off?)
Once the thought crossed his mind, Rei acted quickly.
"Asimov, sorry, but could you come along with us? There's one more magic item I'd like you to examine. If we can confirm it was made by the same person who crafted the censer and the hammer, this case takes a major leap forward."
At Rei's words, Asimov momentarily looked reluctant.
Naturally—he wanted to continue his research, specifically, crafting Rei's spear.
But... his gaze drifted to the glass bottle sitting a short distance away. More precisely, to the Set fur and feathers inside it.
If he refused now, this time aside, he might never get another chance to obtain gryphon fur and feathers again.
Better to put in the effort now than regret it later over something so small, he judged.
"Fine. Where to?"
Rei had fully expected Asimov to refuse, and a surprised look crossed his face at the unexpectedly agreeable response. But he quickly collected himself and stood to get moving.
"Then let's head out right away."
Following Rei, Vihera and Byune rose as well, and the group set off for Seymour's stall.
"Um, I think it was around here."
The time was already evening. Beneath the reddish glow of the setting sun, Rei, Vihera, Byune, Asimov, and Set—four people and one creature—walked along.
They had come to the spot where Seymour had been when Rei first returned to Gilm, but his distinctive figure was nowhere to be found.
He was a powerfully built, large man who, despite that, had an unusually gentle face—a somewhat rare type—so Rei had assumed he'd be easy to spot. He was completely mistaken.
"Guruu!"
Set gave a cry and tugged lightly at Rei's Dragon Robe with its beak.
Rei turned toward Set and spotted Seymour's figure in the direction it was looking. He let out a breath of relief.
"He's there. Over there. ...Thanks, Set."
"Gurururuu!"
At Rei's words, Set—which had found Seymour by scent—purred happily.
Leading Set, Vihera, and the others, Rei headed toward Seymour's stall, arriving just as a customer was finishing paying.
"Oh, Rei. What brings you here?"
"I was looking for you, Seymour. The spot's different from when I came by earlier, isn't it?"
"Hm? Oh, more people pass through here at this hour, so sales are better in this spot. ...Being able to move a stall around like this is what makes it so convenient."
Nodding in agreement, Rei paid for the fruit water.
"Four people and one creature, please."
"Thank you for your patronage."
"And also—could you show us your magic item? Asimov here is an alchemist. When I told him about the item you have, he said he'd like to take a look."
"Hmm... Rei, you seem like you could become a pretty good customer, so I don't mind, but... don't break it, okay?"
"Who's gonna brea—mmph!"
Vihera clamped her hand over Asimov's mouth before he could finish the unnecessary remark.
Naturally, Seymour didn't miss it, but he said nothing further and simply stepped aside to make room for Asimov.
Part of it was that the rush of customers had died down for the moment, and Rei sharing the same hobby of collecting magic items—albeit in a different direction—probably factored in as well.
"All right, go ahead."
"Hmph."
As Rei prompted him, Asimov—now released by Vihera—took hold of the magic item and began examining it. In under a minute, he finished and turned to address Rei.
"It's exactly as you predicted."