"Augusto, it seems Rei still hasn't returned. I went to the main gate to check myself, so there's no mistake."
"...Is that so. Knowing Rei-san, I don't think he'd fall behind monsters so easily, but..."
Augusto murmured his concern in response to Zarust's report. He glanced through the document in his hand, signed it, and placed it on the desk.
His murmured words were heavily laced with worry for Rei.
In terms of pure ability, he didn't think anything would happen to Rei. Even if Rei and Set faced nearly every monster that existed in the Felis Desert, they wouldn't be bested.
But even so, there were countless reasons for concern. The biggest one was, inevitably, that this was the desert.
If it were a matter of fighting monsters in the desert, there would be nothing to worry about. But the desert environment itself was not something to be taken lightly.
Even for Rei... no, precisely because it was Rei, one might say.
"It'll be fine, Augusto. For an adventurer of Rei's caliber, spending a single night in the desert is nothing he can't handle."
Mindful of the worried Augusto, Zarust voiced an optimistic prediction. It wasn't an outright lie, either. Given Rei's ability, spending a night in the desert shouldn't cause him any problems—Zarust certainly couldn't imagine Rei falling ill from the temperature difference between day and night.
"Could it be that the Elema Trading Company did something to him? Is that not a possibility?"
"Impossible." Zarust immediately dismissed Augusto's words.
From Zarust's perspective, Daridora harbored an extraordinary fear toward Rei—a fear so deep that he was certain, absolutely certain, that laying a hand on Rei would cost him his life.
There was no way someone like Daridora would dare act against Rei outside of Gauche of all places. If he were to make a move, it would be inside Gauche, where Rei would have difficulty going all out.
(Well, having seen Rei and Set up close, I don't think he'd try anything even in the city. Ah, but thinking about it that way, is there a real possibility he'd act against Rei somewhere even slightly farther away?)
He could understand, emotionally, why Daridora might try to act against Rei at a distance from them. In the desert, he could use underhanded methods that wouldn't work in Gauche. Just like when he hired Sand Bandits and gave them a Sand Ship to attack Augusto.
They had managed that time only because Rei happened to be nearby. If it had been just Zarust and his group, there was a very real possibility they would have been wiped out.
(Thinking about it that way, it's not impossible, is it?)
Zarust considered this while looking at Augusto, but as someone who knew Rei's true strength, he couldn't possibly believe anything would happen to Rei. He genuinely believed that if Daridora foolishly made a move against Rei, it wouldn't be surprising if the Elema Trading Company ceased to exist by the end of the day.
"Anyone who understands how dangerous Rei is wouldn't dare lay a finger on him."
"...I hope so. Cathy, who was preparing dinner last night, was also quite worried that Rei-san didn't return. When Rei-san comes back, I'll have to give him a proper talking-to about that."
Augusto, who had been worried about Rei just seconds ago, recalled that he had made Cathy—his wife—worry, and an indescribable pressure began to emanate from him.
Zarust couldn't help but sigh at the pressure radiating from Augusto. The man before him was, fundamentally, an ideal employer. But the greatest of his few flaws was his devotion to his wife—no, the fact that this devotion tended to run out of control.
(Though I suppose being able to love a single woman that much is something to envy.)
As someone whose hobby was visiting brothels, Zarust had no desire to be tied down to one woman. At the same time, there were nights when he came home to an empty house and felt the loneliness of it.
"...Ahem." Perhaps brought back to himself by Zarust's gaze, Augusto cleared his throat softly and shifted his focus before speaking.
"What do you think the reason is that Rei-san and his party haven't returned?"
"Let's see. If we think about it normally, it could simply be that he left Gauche..."
"That's unlikely, isn't it. Rei-san is, for all his quirks, a dutiful person. If he were to leave Gauche, it wouldn't be strange for him to leave some kind of message."
Zarust nodded at those words.
"Yes. I don't think Rei would leave without saying anything. Which means we can only assume some unforeseen situation occurred, but..."
Given Rei's strength, it was hard to imagine an unforeseen situation arising. Moreover, it wasn't just Rei—Gryphon Seto was with him as well. To do anything about someone like that, one would need to bring in something on the level of a dragon.
Augusto seemed to understand Zarust's reasoning. He nodded with a difficult expression.
"You're right. But what kind of unforeseen situation could happen to Rei-san?"
"...Well, I'm not sure. An attack by monsters or Sand Bandits can be ruled out immediately. That would leave something like getting caught in a sandstorm."
At the words "sandstorm," Augusto's face twisted. The sandstorms that occurred in this region could sometimes become extremely vicious. Sand whipped up by the wind scraped at skin like sandpaper, sheared away flesh, and those who were unlucky could even have their bones scraped bare.
Such sandstorms were rare, of course, but every year no small number of people lost their lives to them. If caught in such a sandstorm, even Rei might die.
Listening to Zarust's words, Augusto imagined his corpse.
"I haven't heard of any sandstorm occurring around Gauche from yesterday through today, though?"
"That's true. But Rei has Set. Given a gryphon's flight speed, traveling far from Gauche wouldn't be difficult for them. Which means..."
He needed to hear no more. Augusto wore a pained expression and let out a sigh.
To say he hadn't been counting on Rei as a combat asset would be a lie. But at the same time, despite their brief acquaintance, he had genuinely felt a sense of closeness toward him. Thinking of that, he simply couldn't bring himself to believe that Rei had died.
"Hm!?"
Before Augusto, Zarust suddenly tensed and reached for the sheath at his waist. At the same time, the room's door was knocked on violently. When Augusto granted permission to enter, a single beastman rushed into the room.
The man, a monkey beastman, had a face that was usually described as comical, now drawn tight with severity. Recognizing the familiar face, Zarust released his hand from the sheath.
Completely unaware that it might have been a life-or-death moment for him, the monkey beastman opened his mouth.
"Augusto! A Sand Ship is approaching Gauche right now! And it's a Sand Ship we recognize!"
Those words alone were enough for Augusto to understand who was aboard that Sand Ship. The number of Sand Ships he had seen himself was not large, and more importantly, the Sand Ship he had seen most recently was the one used by Sand Bandits—in other words, the one formerly owned by Daridora, the head of the Elema Trading Company.
And the current owner of the Sand Ship seized from the Sand Bandits was...
"Rei-san has returned!"
Shouting with joy, Augusto rushed out of the room. Zarust hurriedly chased after him. On his face, a smile he couldn't hide had surfaced.
"Rei has returned, you say!?"
At the same time Augusto was crying out in joy, another person had received the same report and cried out in the same manner. However, the emotion contained in that cry was the exact opposite of Augusto's.
Cursing bitterly, Daridora spoke, and the man who had brought the information about Rei's return nodded as if shrinking back.
Recalling that the man before him was someone he had only recently hired, Daridora took a deep breath as if suppressing the emotions in his chest before opening his mouth again.
"So, is it true that Rei has returned?"
"Y-yes. Um... the Sand Ship that Daridora-san owned was approaching, so I think that adventurer named Rei has probably returned, but..."
"...I see. So you haven't seen Rei's face directly, then?"
"Right. But, if you see that Sand Ship..."
Perhaps thinking he was being criticized for not bringing a definitive report, the man frantically tried to continue. Daridora, being a naturally nervous person, regretted having brought him incomplete information.
But to that man, Daridora shook his head, signaling that he didn't need to say any more. This information was a first report, one that prioritized speed over perfect accuracy.
"I understand. I'm not blaming you."
At Daridora's words, the man who had brought the information breathed a sigh of relief, believing he wouldn't be reprimanded.
Watching the man, Daridora tapped the desk repeatedly with his fingertips. What surfaced on his nervous-looking expression was something close to irritation.
He had been hoping Rei would simply disappear, and when he hadn't returned since going out yesterday afternoon, he had dared to hope. Rei had said he only stopped by this town by chance, and Daridora had been hoping he would just go somewhere else. He had never expected him to come back.
He somehow calmed the turbulent waves in his heart and rose from his chair. Regardless, he needed to confirm whether the one who had returned was truly Rei.
It was possible—a very remote possibility, but perhaps Rei had transferred the Sand Ship to someone else for some reason, or even more unlikely, Rei had died and some other adventurer or merchant had happened to acquire the Sand Ship.
He knew it was a one-in-a-million chance, but the fact that he found himself hoping for it showed just how troublesome Rei was to Daridora.
Knowing full well that he couldn't possibly match Rei in power—his guards had already told him as much—he couldn't make any careless moves. And even if he tried to persuade Rei with clever words, Daridora was in a position of hostility toward Augusto. Rei, who had built a good relationship with Augusto, would naturally harbor negative feelings toward Daridora.
(Our first impression was the worst possible, after all.)
He had gone to great lengths, even lending out a Sand Ship, to carry out the attack on Augusto. Despite the fact that the attack should have been guaranteed to succeed, Augusto had returned safely to Gauche. When Daridora rushed to check, the person who was with Augusto was Rei.
Meeting Rei for the first time under those circumstances, and then having his own Sand Ship seized by Rei on top of that—Daridora couldn't tolerate it, and their first meeting had ended with results that could only be described as the worst.
"Wh-what should we do?"
Daridora, who had been lost in thought, was brought back to himself by the man's words. Feeling slightly displeased at being interrupted mid-thought, he nonetheless reminded himself that the person before him had brought useful information, and opened his mouth.
"About what?"
"Um, Rei. Shouldn't we properly confirm whether the one who returned is really Rei?"
"...You're right. Then, I'm sorry, but could you go and confirm it?"
"Yes! Right away!"
Seeing the man's retreating figure leave as if he had been waiting for those words, Daridora let out a small sigh.
He knew. He knew that the one aboard the approaching Sand Ship could be no one other than Rei. Someone who had a gryphon as a Tamed Monster wouldn't be dealt with so easily.
Even so, he sent the man to check the situation partly out of a desire to cling to a sliver of hope, and more importantly, because the man was in the way of his thinking.
"Now then, what should I do. Fortunately, we haven't made our move yet, but... no, this matter is already beyond what I can handle on my own. I suppose I should quietly bring the matter to Lord Lyubrand."
He spoke the name of the lord who governed Gauche.
He couldn't do anything about Rei himself, and even if he waited for Rei to leave, Rei returned this easily as if it were nothing. Daridora had wanted to settle this matter on his own if possible, but with no means to do so, he had no choice but to turn to someone more powerful.
Even knowing that the person in question was not necessarily someone he could rely on.