The first to notice the Sand Ship approaching Gauche were, naturally, the guards assigned to the gate.
Next, the adventurers and merchants going through entry procedures wondered if it might be a mirage or some such trick of the desert. But when they saw that the Sand Ship was undeniably heading straight for Gauche, each of them sprang into action.
The adventurers and merchants hurriedly urged the guards to let them inside, while the guards themselves rushed through the paperwork and simultaneously reported to their superiors that a Sand Ship was approaching.
The fact that an approaching Sand Ship could cause this level of commotion was largely due to the sheer rarity of such vessels.
They were extraordinarily valuable, and more importantly, there was the recent intel that the Sand Bandits captured days earlier had been riding one.
In other words, many people feared that another group of Sand Bandits had come to raid Gauche using a Sand Ship.
It was highly unlikely that many Sand Bandit groups possessed Sand Ships, but given that there had been a real example just days ago, there was no guaranteeing that no others existed.
(Damn it, if only we'd been able to extract information from those Sand Bandits!)
One of the guards gritted his teeth as he recalled the Sand Bandits who had all turned up dead the very day after being handed over.
They somehow managed to get the adventurers and merchants in front of the gate inside the city, and the guards stationed within Gauche gathered at the main gate as well.
It seemed the Guild had also been notified, as several adventurers were already assembling.
"Hey, wait. That Sand Ship..."
"Yeah, right. Probably, right?"
Amidst the tension, several adventurers exchanged words as they watched the approaching vessel. Some even went so far as to sheathe the longswords they had drawn.
The guards, eager for any information about the Sand Ship, naturally turned to the adventurers and spoke up.
"Do you guys know anything about that Sand Ship?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. You know how the Sand Bandits we captured the other day were riding one, right?"
Since the guard had been thinking the exact same thing moments ago, he immediately understood. He also recalled that the two men before him had been among the adventurers who had captured those Sand Bandits.
"I see, so you two were from that time. Then, what do you know about that Sand Ship?"
"That Sand Ship is something Rei took from the Sand Bandits who attacked him. In other words, the one riding that Sand Ship is Rei."
At the adventurer's words, the guard recalled the figure of the adventurer who traveled with a Gryphon.
He was someone who had only recently arrived in Gauche, but the information that he was a B-Rank Adventurer and an Alias Holder had already been making the rounds.
Naturally. An adventurer of that caliber would be an immensely powerful asset in terms of Combat Power. For those responsible for Gauche's security, keeping such information on hand was simply common sense.
"So that Sand Ship was taken from Sand Bandits..."
The guard, who had never had the chance to see Daridora's Sand Ship in person, muttered in blank amazement, though he kept his grip on his spear.
Even if Rei was the one who had taken the Sand Ship from the Sand Bandits, the possibility remained that it had been stolen from him afterward by some means and had fallen back into the hands of Sand Bandits.
But that concern vanished almost immediately.
A Gryphon was standing on the deck of the Sand Ship.
"Ah, Set."
At one adventurer's murmur, the guards finally stood down. The other guards and adventurers relaxed as well, and many headed back into the city.
...Though some who didn't know Rei's face remained behind, curious about what kind of person was aboard that Sand Ship.
Under the weight of those curious gazes, the Sand Ship came to a halt roughly a hundred meters from Gauche's main gate. A long boarding plank extended from the deck to the ground, and four figures emerged.
Four!? As the guards and adventurers who knew Rei reacted in surprise, once their faces came into clear view, one of the adventurers shouted.
"Isn't that the Sand Dust Claw guys!"
Apparently some recognized the party name. Several of those lingering near the gate showed a reaction.
Howl, realizing they were drawing attention, looked genuinely startled, but given that they had just arrived aboard a Sand Ship, it wasn't entirely inexplicable. When he saw the adventurers and guards at the main gate breathe sighs of relief at the sight of Rei emerging behind them, Howl exhaled his own sigh of relief, thankful they wouldn't be dragged into any unnecessary trouble.
...Though at this point, they were already thoroughly embroiled in it.
"Hm? What's going on?" Rei asked, having landed on the sand.
Howl simply glanced toward Gauche. That alone must have told Rei everything he needed to know. With a sigh, he touched the Sand Ship and stored it into his Misty Ring.
Those unfamiliar with the Misty Ring cried out in astonishment, but Rei, well accustomed to such reactions, proceeded toward Gauche alongside the four members of Sand Dust Claw.
Howl walked behind Rei, not wanting to bear the brunt of the attention, while Set padded along beside Rei as usual.
"So it really is Rei. What's going on, showing up on a Sand Ship?" A man whose face Rei recognized called out, seemingly representing those gathered at the gate.
"No, I just helped these guys out — they were being attacked. It was convenient for the trip, so I used the Sand Ship to get here."
Rei managed to place the man as someone who had been part of Augusto's caravan escort, and replied accordingly.
"I figured it was something like that. ...He says so."
"Eh? Ah, right. Yeah. If that's the case, then no problem. No problem at all, yeah."
Between the Sand Ship itself, its sudden disappearance, and the Gryphon casually surveying its surroundings beside Rei, there had simply been too much to process all at once. If these guards had been on duty when Rei first arrived or departed, they might not have been so shocked. Unfortunately, the current shift had only taken over the gate that morning.
They had, of course, heard about the adventurer with a Gryphon and the capture of the Sand Bandits during the handover briefing, but as one might expect, there was a world of difference between hearing about it and seeing it in person.
"So, I'd like to enter Gauche soon, if that's all right?"
The guards were flustered enough to make one feel sorry for Rei, but after a few moments they seemed to settle. They collected themselves and proceeded with the paperwork.
And so Rei, together with Set and the remaining adventurers, passed through the gates into Gauche.
"Rei, we need to head to the Guild. We have to report on the request, too," Howl said.
"I see," Rei replied briefly.
Rei didn't know what kind of request Sand Dust Claw had accepted, but given that they had thrown away nearly all their luggage while fleeing from the Sand Lizardmen, the outcome was easy to predict. Whether it had been a subjugation or a gathering request, it had almost certainly failed.
Yet unlike Rei's sober assessment, Howl didn't seem particularly dejected. The request itself may have ended in failure, but the fact that they had escaped with their lives was real. Howl was certain that without Rei, they would all be dead. Viewed in that light, failing the request but surviving was nothing short of lucky.
"I'm grateful to you, Rei. If you hadn't been there, we all would have died. ...Thank you."
Howl bowed his head, and the other three followed suit. The failed request was one thing, but when they thought about how Rei had saved their lives, gratitude was simply impossible to suppress.
"Don't worry about it. I did it because there was something in it for me too."
In truth, the Sand Lizardman encounter had not been without its benefits. Magic Stones, materials, and meat from the Sand Lizardmen, along with their tridents.
When it came to spear throwing, Rei had primarily relied on the Twilight Spear ever since he began using it. But even so, having disposable spears on hand was never a bad thing.
Beyond the Sand Lizardmen themselves, he had also conceived the idea of using the Sand Ship as a portable hotel. And the single greatest gain of all had been the inspiration for the Twin Spear Style.
It had the potential to drastically reshape Rei's entire combat style, yet he had no intention of abandoning its possibilities. Mastering the Twin Spear Style would, without question, make him stronger than ever before.
Noise the Immovable, the S-Rank Adventurer he had fought at the Bestia Empire. When they had clashed, it had felt as though Noise had held back considerably. But if Rei's power grew through the Twin Spear Style, the gap between them would unquestionably shrink.
Weighing all those gains, saving the four members of Sand Dust Claw had cost him no real effort. If anything, the benefits had been overwhelmingly greater.
"Even so, we were saved by you, Rei. At least let us say our thanks."
"That's right. Besides, as a fellow spear user, Rei's fighting style was... instructive, or maybe not quite. B-but, seeing Rei's way of fighting and learning that such a style exists was definitely worthwhile."
Kaldina trailed off, glossing over her words mid-sentence. Rei's fighting style had been educational, but even if someone told her to do the same, she couldn't possibly pull it off. That fighting style relied on Rei's exceptional physical abilities, and Kaldina understood full well that attempting to imitate it would get her killed instantly.
"Anyway, don't worry about it. I gained plenty from this as well."
"...I'm sorry. When the time comes that I can repay the debt, I will."
Howl bowed once more, then turned and walked away.
Rei watched his retreating back. Noting that a few people were still casting glances his way, he was about to slip into the streets of Gauche when—
"Rei-san! Haa, haa, it really was you, Rei-san! You didn't come back yesterday, so I was worried sick!"
Augusto appeared, breathless. Beside him stood Zarust and a monkey Beastman Rei had never seen before, but among the three, only Augusto was panting.
"Augusto... sorry for making you worry. There were some circumstances."
"Circumstances... the adventurers who were with you just now?"
"Yeah. I saved them when they were being attacked by Sand Lizardmen, but apparently they threw away most of their luggage while fleeing. I couldn't just leave them in that situation."
Strictly speaking, the truth was that he had lost sight of Gauche and gotten lost, but he kept that detail to himself.
"...I see. Yes, you're right. As someone who lives in Gauche, I'm grateful that you saved those young adventurers. Thank you very much."
"No, it's not like you're Howl and the others' guardian or anything. There's no reason for you to thank me—"
Rei waved it off, but Augusto shook his head firmly.
"Gauche is... no, the nation of Solrein is, as you can see, by no means a wealthy country. Much of its land is covered by desert. Leaving aside the Kingdom of Mireana, even compared to neighboring countries, our national strength is clearly inferior."
At Augusto's words, the people nearby wore expressions of bitter frustration. Even if they didn't fully grasp the intricacies of international relations, knowing that their own country stood beneath others was a humiliation for those who lived there.
There were countries that masked such humiliation by adopting an aggressive posture toward their neighbors, insisting that other nations' possessions were rightfully theirs, or claiming the origins of other cultures as their own. Fortunately, Solrein was not such a country. But precisely because it wasn't, the frustration its people felt was all the more genuine.
"That is exactly why we need as many promising individuals as possible. In that sense, I suppose I'm a failure, though."
Rei wasn't sure what Augusto meant by calling himself a failure, but he guessed it likely had to do with the scale of his business. Given that he was being overwhelmingly suppressed by the Elema Trading Company, that was probably what he was referring to.
"Let me thank you as well," Zarust said from beside Augusto, bowing his head to Rei.
"You know Howl and the others? Well, I suppose you'd at least know them as fellow adventurers based in Gauche."
"Yeah. I looked after them a few times when they were just starting out as adventurers."
Rei nodded in understanding. Even if it had been when Howl's party was newly registered, if Zarust had looked after them like that, it was only natural he would care. There were many adventurers who didn't value such bonds, but Zarust was clearly not one of them.
"...Well then, shall we head home? Cathy is worried, too. ...She'll certainly scold you, you know?"
As he said this, Augusto wore a mischievous smile, quite unlike his demeanor from a moment before.