News of the Twilight Spear incident spread like wildfire among the adventurers of Gilm.
It was already somewhat common knowledge that Rei had a hobby of collecting Magic Items, but this was the first time he had displayed one so openly in public aside from Death Scythe—which likely played a part in the excitement.
Rei also possessed attack-oriented Magic Items like the Thorn Spear and the Eye of Nebula, but even those he had never flaunted so prominently before a crowd.
Equally significant was the fact that the sheer power of the Twilight Spear had been seared into the memories of the other adventurers who witnessed it.
As for what happened as a result... it was painfully obvious.
"Please, Rei-san! Sell me that Magic Spear!"
"No, if you're selling, sell it to me! Please, I insist!"
"You idiot! That Magic Spear is called the Twilight Spear! Asking to buy it when you don't even know its name—isn't that a bit presumptuous!?"
In this manner, the number of people hounding Rei to sell them the Magic Spear had skyrocketed.
Even so, not all of those clamoring for the Twilight Spear were merchants based in Gilm. Many were simply those who had come to restock their goods.
The merchants actually headquartered in Gilm knew full well that Rei was an excellent customer who paid handsomely. At the same time, more than a few harbored the very real fear that offending him carelessly could result in their entire shop being wiped out.
After all, there was the precedent of the Azoth Firm. To be precise, the Azoth Firm hadn't been destroyed outright, but it was an undeniable fact that they had suffered enormous damage after angering Rei.
Since everyone also knew that Boluntar, the man who had been leading the Azoth Firm at the time, was ultimately captured, many of Gilm's merchants regarded Rei as a valued customer—and simultaneously as someone who must never, under any circumstances, be provoked.
Furthermore, when it came to a Magic Spear, adventurers far outnumbered merchants in wanting one. Yet among adventurers who had been stationed in Gilm for any meaningful length of time, not a single one entertained the notion of trying to take the Twilight Spear from Rei by force.
There were, of course, newly arrived adventurers who happened to witness Rei wielding the Twilight Spear, and a few tried to seize it, judging from his youthful appearance that he was unworthy of such a weapon. But they were swiftly dissuaded by other adventurers who knew better—and once they caught sight of him walking around with Gryphon Seto, laying a finger on him was out of the question.
For these reasons, Rei ended up being pursued by merchants who knew his alias but nothing of his actual temperament.
Merchants who had done their homework on Rei's personality held back, knowing that barging in like this would only backfire.
As a result, it was the somewhat less scrupulous merchants who flocked to Rei in droves.
Even so, the Twilight Wheat Inn—Rei's regular lodging—charged higher rates than ordinary inns, so the crowd currently swarming him didn't follow him there.
Incidentally, the Twilight Wheat Inn was also renowned for its cuisine, and many people visited specifically to eat. But the merchants, it seemed, weren't quite uncouth enough to intrude on that.
Granted, anyone watching Rei enjoy a meal could tell he looked forward to it, and even the most persistent merchant couldn't bring himself to ruin that experience.
Still, having them swarm me like this isn't exactly pleasant.
Looking at the merchants gathered around him, desperately pleading for him to sell the Twilight Spear, Rei wore a displeased expression.
"Guruuuu."
Sensing Rei's mood, Set growled a warning and swept a glare over the merchants.
"Eek!"
Every merchant crowding around Rei shrieked at Set's threatening growl and stumbled several steps backward.
Those who lived in Gilm wouldn't be so easily terrified of Set, but for merchants unfamiliar with his gentle nature, a gryphon was nothing short of nightmare fuel.
Even so, the fact that they remained blinded by the prospect of profiting off the Twilight Spear and continued to gather around Rei was a testament to their backbone as merchants.
Whether Rei appreciated that particular quality was another matter entirely.
Still, disappearing from Gilm for a while might not be a bad idea. But there's the Goblin meat situation... no, she said she'd try aging it, so there's probably no need for me for a while.
With that thought, Rei hurried toward the Guild as if fleeing the merchants Set had just scattered.
After all, the most suitable person to consult at a time like this was, without question, the Guild Master.
Incidentally, the reason Vihera—who had been working alongside Rei—was nowhere to be seen was that she had accompanied Byune as her guardian on a return trip to the Labyrinth City Exil.
The trip had originally been planned for spring, but the World Tree incident had delayed it this long.
There was also the matter of Vihera being less than thrilled about leaving Rei alone in Gilm with Marina, which certainly factored into things. Even so, taking Byune home was a promise made before they ever came to Gilm, and breaking it was not an option.
Following what could only be described as a woman's battle between Vihera and Marina, Rei now found himself in his current situation.
"Ah, Rei-kun! Long time no see!"
As usual, Rei parted ways with Set at the entrance. The first to call out upon seeing him step inside was, predictably, Kenny—the guild receptionist who made no effort whatsoever to hide her fondness for Rei.
Perhaps fueled by a sense of crisis after seeing Marina act alongside Rei during the World Tree incident, her appeals to him had grown noticeably more aggressive than before.
Right now, her ears twitched with delight at his arrival as she waved enthusiastically.
"I don't think it's been that long. I was here two days ago."
"Jeez, Rei-kun. Even one day without seeing you is a disappointment... ow!"
Kenny had been calling out to Rei, but yelped when Lenora beside her struck her with a weapon fashioned from rolled-up paper.
Seemingly not in as much pain as her cry suggested, Kenny shot Lenora an unhappy look and opened her mouth.
"Hey, Lenora. What was that for, all of a sudden?"
"That's my line. I don't mind you chatting with Rei-san, but at least get your work to a stopping point first."
Lenora's words were an irrefutable argument if there ever was one.
Even so, as Kenny tried to protest, the Guild Staff Member who served as their superior cleared his throat, and she immediately scurried back to work.
Granted, it was midday—not the busiest stretch for the Guild, unlike early morning or evening. The tasks at hand mainly consisted of drafting and organizing documents.
Kenny tore through the work at breakneck speed.
That speed—unthinkable given her frivolous appearance and demeanor—was proof that Kenny was, in fact, highly competent. Though the ulterior motive of finishing quickly to carve out time to talk with Rei was also painfully apparent.
However, contrary to Kenny's valiant efforts, Rei turned to Lenora, who had already finished her work and was at a comfortable stopping point.
"Could you connect me with Marina for a bit?"
"To the Guild Master?"
Having overheard the exchange between Rei and Lenora, Kenny froze mid-task.
She had gathered from their recent interactions that the bond between Rei and the Guild Master—Marina—had grown deeper.
Honestly, she was envious. But at the same time, Kenny couldn't help feeling that if it was Marina, it couldn't be helped. The very next moment, she rallied herself with a fierce inner cry: "I won't lose as a woman!"
Aware that her superior kept glancing her way to check on her progress, she attacked her paperwork faster than ever, knowing full well she wouldn't get a single word in with Rei unless she finished.
Beside her, Rei and Lenora continued their conversation.
I'm so jealous.
Driven by a desperate desire to chat and laugh with Rei, and to stamp out her envy toward Lenora, Kenny plowed through her tasks relentlessly.
Her speed was unmistakably her personal best—even from the perspective of the man who had supervised Kenny for years. He let out a sigh, wondering why on earth she couldn't work this fast on a normal day.
Meanwhile, the conversation between Rei and Lenora progressed... and before long, Rei slipped behind the counter and headed toward the stairs at the back—the ones leading up to the Guild Master's office.
By the time Kenny desperately finished her work to a stopping point, Rei was already ascending the stairs to the second floor.
She was left in despair.
"Marina, are you in? I've got something to consult you about."
Around the time Kenny finally wrapped up her work and sank into despair, Rei was knocking on the door of the Guild Master's office.
"Rei? I don't mind. Come on in."
At the voice from within, Rei opened the door—and was immediately greeted by the sight of a mountain of paperwork piled high on the desk.
"...Isn't there more than last time?"
Rei muttered at the spectacle before him.
Since returning to Gilm after the World Tree incident was resolved, he had visited this office several times.
Yet every single time he stepped through that door, the mountain of documents on the desk seemed to have grown taller.
And that was no trick of the eye.
The paperwork was, in fact, multiplying.
If this were a rural village—or even a moderately sized town—documents would never pile up to this extent.
But this was Gilm... the sole city in the frontier of the Kingdom of Mireana.
Its population was expanding year by year, to the point where people were already whispering that within a few more years it might grow from a town into a full-fledged city.
And since the residents of Gilm were, naturally given its frontier location, disproportionately adventurers, the volume of documents requiring the Guild Master's approval swelled accordingly.
"Yes. It may have gone up a little."
Facing that mountain of documents, Marina offered a smile as she said so.
She showed no sign of strain.
Indeed, even while conversing with Rei, she picked up a document, glanced at it, swiftly confirmed its contents, and processed it—then moved on to the next.
Speed-reading, huh. Convenient.
The pile on the desk was shrinking by the second.
"So, what brings you here? I'd be happy if you came just to see me, though."
Perhaps she had reached a natural stopping point with the paperwork. She looked up, met Rei's gaze, and smiled radiantly.
"It's true that I came to see you."
"Hehe. You're standing right here, so of course that's true. But that's not quite what I meant."
Marina shot him a sultry glance. Since she was seated, Rei couldn't see her full outfit, but she was wearing her usual party dress with a plunging neckline.
The white gown complemented Marina's brown skin beautifully. If she ever appeared in such a dress at an actual party, there was no doubt she would be flooded with dance invitations and admirers vying for her attention.
Rei tilted his head at her words, then got to the point.
"Actually, things have been a bit chaotic around me lately. I was hoping to consult you about whether there's a way to deal with it."
"Ah, I've heard. Sounds like you've gotten your hands on quite the powerful Magic Item."
"The World Tree branches and sap were probably the deciding factor. I mean, that part was fine on its own, but..."
"Mind showing it to me?"
Marina's tone was seductive, but a serious light glinted in her eyes.
It wasn't that she was giving him no choice in the matter—but she clearly wanted to see it if at all possible. Faced with that look from Marina, Rei found he couldn't refuse.
Marina wasn't going to try to take the Twilight Spear from him. Showing her wouldn't hurt. With that trust, he reached into the Misty Ring and withdrew the Twilight Spear.
What materialized was a spear of vivid crimson.
Its form was remarkably simple—even more so than the Thorn Spear that Marina had previously given Rei as a quest reward.
And yet, there was something about it that made it nearly impossible to look away—likely because Rei's own magic was ingrained within it.
This was especially true for Marina. During the World Tree incident, she had surrendered her body to Rei's magic, both internally and externally, giving her an unusually high affinity with the Twilight Spear.
Where the Thorn Spear had been a uniform deep green, the Twilight Spear was a shade of crimson befitting Rei's very alias.
However, perhaps thanks to the World Tree materials, green patterns resembling creeping vines wound their way along the shaft and spearhead, serving as a striking accent.
"Incredible. I can tell just by looking at it how extraordinary a Magic Item this is. To be this captivated..."
"Well, thanks to that, I've got merchants hounding me day and night to sell it."
"Oh, I've heard that among the merchants pestering you, there are some women? Looked at that way, it's not purely a nuisance, is it?"
"...I have no interest in that."
It was true that a female merchant had attempted to seduce him. But for Rei—who was deeply entangled with rare beauties like the woman standing before him, Vihera, and Elena—such half-hearted wiles were entirely ineffective.
Seeing Rei's reaction, Marina smiled with satisfaction. Then, as if unveiling a particularly clever prank, she spoke.
"Hey, Rei. How about taking a little trip to a desert city in the neighboring country... Gauche?"