Inside one of the most impressive buildings in Gauche, in a private room, Daridora listened to a subordinate's report while sipping chilled water.
Outside, the temperature was nearly forty degrees, but the room Daridora occupied was only around thirty.
Under normal circumstances, that would still be quite hot — but Daridora was a man born and raised in Gauche, in the desert.
A temperature of thirty degrees or so was, if anything, comfortable. Just right for him.
"And so? Rei's actions aren't interfering with anything, are they?"
"No, sir. As you instructed, we haven't laid a finger on him, but... are you quite certain? Surely that man will become an obstacle for you, Lord Daridora?"
"You're right. If you ask whether he's an obstacle, he most definitely is. An obstacle of the highest order."
"Then, defeating him... may be impossible, but shouldn't we at least think of a way to drive him out of Gauche?"
The words came from a man who had served the Elema Trading Company since the previous generation's head, but Daridora immediately shook his head.
"Absolutely not! Understand that laying a hand on him means ruin!"
Daridora, who normally made a point of staying calm, couldn't help but put force into his words in response to his subordinate's suggestion.
He had gathered some information about what kind of person Rei was.
But more than that, what made him recognize Rei as a major threat was the advice of the bodyguards he employed.
Bodyguards he had assembled by spending a fortune — drawn not just from Gauche, but from Solrein and neighboring countries as well.
They were worth every coin of the hefty fees he paid, and the very fact that he employed such bodyguards was itself a major source of power for the Elema Trading Company.
Anyone who made an enemy of the Elema Trading Company would also make an enemy of those bodyguards.
It was no joke — Daridora was confident that with his bodyguards alone, he could easily wipe out a village.
And yet, those very adventurers he trusted so highly — among them even B-Rank adventurers of considerable caliber — had all told him, unanimously, the same thing.
That he should absolutely never make an enemy of that man called Rei.
Furthermore, if he intended to antagonize Rei, they would quit their posts as bodyguards even if it meant paying the breach-of-contract penalty.
Since they were hired at exorbitant rates, that penalty would naturally be an enormous sum.
Even so, the bodyguards had said they would rather settle things with money than lose their lives.
Faced with the words of adventurers whose abilities he trusted, Daridora couldn't very well force them to fight. Though, given the information he had on Rei, Daridora himself had never once considered recklessly antagonizing him either.
Even so, hearing his own bodyguards say such things was nothing short of shocking.
Daridora had never intended to make an enemy of Rei, but their words made his resolve all the more firm.
"...Is it truly to that extent?"
At his subordinate's question, Daridora nodded deeply.
"Yes. As far as I've heard, he possesses enough power to single-handedly decide the outcome of a war. In the war that broke out last year between the Kingdom of Mireana and the Bestia Empire... the battle was initially evenly matched, but through his efforts alone, thirty percent of the Bestia Imperial Army was killed, or so they say."
"Wh-what!? ...Such a thing... is that truly possible?"
Despite his master's words, the man declared it utterly unbelievable. Daridora drained his water, which had grown lukewarm, and continued.
"Of course, that is likely an exaggerated rumor. However, according to the information I've gathered, it appears to be a fact that he performed feats that decided the course of the war."
"...Is he even human? One might sooner believe that a dragon from the rumors had taken human form..."
"Heh, a dragon, you say? True enough. Among the information I gathered, there were some claims that he commanded a dragon, but... it seems it wasn't a dragon, but a Gryphon."
In truth, the rumor had spread because someone had seen him together with Ielo, a child of the species known as a Black Dragon. Had he gathered more information about Elena, a famous Alias Holder even within the Kingdom of Mireana, he might have learned that Elena had taken Ielo as her familiar... but unfortunately, that information had never reached Daridora.
"A Gryphon, you say. Honestly, it was my first time seeing a real one. ...To think it would be that formidable..."
The man had likely seen Rei walking with Set. He murmured earnestly.
Judging by appearance alone, it looked quite friendly, and he had in fact seen it getting along amicably with the merchants and adventurer guards of Augusto's caravan.
But even so, from the man's perspective, a Gryphon was an overwhelmingly formidable existence.
"Indeed. What about the information from our side? I believe I gave orders to investigate when Rei will leave Gauche."
"Unfortunately, nothing yet. Shall I push them to hurry?"
At the man's question, Daridora thought for a moment and shook his head.
"No, let's not. As befitting an Alias Holder, Rei is surely sharp. If we act recklessly here, he'll realize they're our people."
"Then, regarding that side's information, we'll keep it to a level that doesn't push too hard... same as always, then?"
Daridora nodded at the man's words, and it was decided that he would continue to simply observe Augusto and Rei for the time being.
At the counter of the Guild in Gauche, the Receptionist saw the object before her and momentarily caught her breath in surprise, but quickly adopted an expression of understanding.
What lay there were Sand Serpent materials — a folded skin.
The skin of a Sand Serpent roughly five meters in total length — though since Rei had crushed the head, it was effectively about four meters.
A skin of that size, but neatly folded so that it just barely fit on the counter.
Naturally, a C-Rank monster was a rarity, but the Receptionist knew that the person standing before her was the B-Rank adventurer and Alias Holder, Crimson Rei.
If an adventurer from this town had brought Sand Serpent materials, it would have been a shock.
With a few exceptions, the adventurers of Gauche were by no means extraordinarily skilled.
And those exceptions were mostly adventurers employed by the Elema Trading Company; genuinely skilled adventurers born and raised in Gauche were exceedingly few.
"Sand Serpent materials, is it? Please wait a moment."
Because she was the one who had confirmed Rei's identity as Crimson just yesterday, the Receptionist quickly recovered from her surprise and began preparing to appraise the materials for purchase. As a precaution, she asked Rei:
"So then, is the skin the only Sand Serpent material you're selling?"
The meat, internal organs, and bones of a Sand Serpent were also useful as materials.
In particular, some of the organs contained poison-producing parts, which were in high demand as poisons against monsters.
Additionally, parts like the fangs, eyeballs, and tongue could fetch fairly high prices... but unfortunately, those had been shattered to pieces by the Twilight Spear Rei had unleashed.
"Ah, yeah. I want to keep the meat for Set to eat, but the bones and organs are sellable. I blew off the head, so there's nothing from that area."
"B-blew off... I see. Understood. We'll purchase any materials that can be sold."
"It'd be a bit difficult to take out the bones here... should I just bring them out as is?"
"Actually, I apologize, but could you come to the warehouse? It would be helpful if you could bring them out there."
Rei nodded at the Receptionist's words and moved with her.
Naturally, the two of them drew the gazes of everyone in the Guild.
Jealousy, admiration, dissatisfaction, goodwill, curiosity... as various stares followed them, Rei and the Receptionist left the Guild building.
Among those casting jealous glances, more than a few were motivated not by Rei's abilities but by the fact that he was walking together with the Receptionist — which was quite typical of a Guild.
After all, Receptionists were generally chosen for their attractive features so as to be well-liked by adventurers.
"Man, I'm jealous. I'd love to be in his shoes sometime."
One muttered in dissatisfaction, and a nearby adventurer spoke up with a wry smile.
"Then why don't you do the same thing he did — take down a Sand Serpent solo? Should be easy, right?"
"Ha! Like an ordinary person could pull that off! I'm a D-Rank adventurer, you know? Even in a party, there's no way we could beat a Sand Serpent, which ranks among the upper tier of C-Rank monsters."
"If you're lacking in ability, you just need to raise it. Being too lazy to put in the effort and then being jealous of someone like him... that's just pathetic."
"Hah?"
The man who was told his jealousy was pathetic glared at the one who had spoken to him.
But the man he glared at showed not the slightest sign of intimidation and glared right back.
He hadn't been an adventurer for very long. Under normal circumstances, he himself should have been overwhelmingly stronger, yet for some reason he couldn't bring himself to act aggressively toward the man before him.
He understood without a doubt that if he tried anything, he would be thoroughly put in his place.
This adventurer, too, had been a perfectly ordinary — well, perhaps that description didn't quite fit, but in any case, the kind of adventurer you could find anywhere — until just a few days ago.
He was full of motivation and actively accepted requests, but he was a rookie adventurer with no particularly noteworthy abilities... until the sight of Rei in battle up close caused a complete transformation in his attitude.
A C-Rank monster, the Sand Serpent — one that he couldn't defeat even in a party, let alone alone.
When it appeared before his very eyes, he had been prepared to die.
But in the end, that resolve was rendered utterly meaningless by a single strike from Rei, as if to say it had never mattered at all.
Rei had effortlessly slain the Sand Serpent, which ranked among the upper tier of C-Rank monsters.
As a rookie adventurer, it would have been impossible not to be inspired by that sight.
And what cemented his determination was the Sand Bandits who had attacked using a sand ship.
Rei's tamed monster, the Gryphon, let out a single cry, and that alone had frozen the Sand Bandits in place.
The man, thinking about how he wanted to become like Rei and how he could achieve that, resolved above all to push forward boldly in everything.
He would have liked to wield a large scythe like Rei's Death Scythe or a polearm like the Twilight Spear that had killed the Sand Serpent in one blow, but having just bought a longsword recently, he couldn't afford such things.
He decided to figure that out later; for now, he needed to prioritize accepting subjugation requests and getting stronger.
"Tch."
Seeing the man's attitude, the adventurer who had been directing jealousy at Rei walked away.
Watching him go, the man turned his gaze toward the request board to find the most difficult request he could accept.
I will become an adventurer like Rei-san someday. I'll definitely make it happen.
This adventurer, who harbored admiration for a younger boy, would go on to experience many things... and in the future, he would rise to become a B-Rank adventurer — the highest rank in all of Gauche.
"Then, the receipt of your materials is complete. Your payment is right here."
Rei received the bag containing a mix of gold coins and silver coins from the Receptionist and stored it into his Misty Ring without checking the contents.
"Rei-san!? Um, aren't you... going to check the contents?"
"Yeah, I trust the Guild. Besides, if anyone tried to pull something underhanded, I'd take appropriate measures on my end too."
The gaze directed at her from beneath his hood made the Receptionist momentarily catch her breath.
It wasn't just that the gaze was sharp; more than that, for some inexplicable reason, a chill ran down her spine.
Facing Rei, who was staring intently at her, the Receptionist hurriedly nodded.
"Of course! There's no way we would do such a thing. I'll process everything properly."
"If you do that, I can sell my materials with peace of mind."
"About that matter... there were no magic stones among the materials... I heard the subjugation proof part was destroyed along with the head, but what about the magic stone?"
The Receptionist's intention to change the subject was obvious, but Rei judged that he should address the matter and replied.
"Collecting magic stones is a hobby of mine. One for preservation and one for appreciation. So I generally won't sell a magic stone unless it's from the third of its kind I've defeated."
"...I see. Collecting magic stones, is it. Um, that... y-you have quite a refined hobby. Hobbies can be difficult for others to understand, after all."
Though she tried to smooth things over, there was no mistaking that the Receptionist considered Rei's hobby to be unconventional — the kind of thing an eccentric would do.