Beneath the blistering sun that could only be described as scorching, casting its intense light down upon the ground, Rei was once again swinging the Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear in the yard of Augusto's home — a vacant lot in all but name.
He was practicing the Twin Spear Style, but mastering the simultaneous use of a scythe and a spear was not something that would come easily.
The arc of the Death Scythe's swing overlapped with the Twilight Spear's strike path, and the two weapons collided in mid-air.
"Tch."
The impact traveling through both hands brought his movement to a halt.
He let out a small sigh and looked upward, where the sun was making its presence known with fierce intensity.
Checking the sun's position, he pulled a clock from his Misty Ring.
"Already past ten? I was pretty focused."
He had started practicing here after breakfast and a short rest, sometime around eight in the morning.
That meant he had been practicing the Twin Spear Style for nearly two hours now.
The desert's intense heat was barely noticeable thanks to the Dragon Robe. Even so, exerting himself naturally left him thirsty.
Stowing the clock back into the Misty Ring, he took out the Dagger of Flowing Water and a cup in its place, moistening his throat with cold water worthy of being called Celestial Nectar.
"Gururu? Gurururu!"
Set, who had been lying down a short distance away, rumbled as if to say, "Give me some too!"
Since Rei had begun training near the stable, Set was naturally close by.
Of course, Set had no intention of getting in Rei's way, so it had simply relaxed and dozed as usual.
While resting, it had also been scanning the surroundings for any suspicious presences.
Given that someone had been surveilling them the previous day, there was a chance that person might try something. Set likely shared the same concern.
The desert heat was no hardship at all for Gryphon Seto.
Even at temperatures that would make Gauche's residents involuntarily scowl, Set, being a gryphon, and Rei, wearing the Dragon Robe, could move about completely unaffected.
"Alright, alright. ...Here, this should make it easier for you to drink, Set."
Rei channeled magic into the Dagger of Flowing Water to produce a stream, and Set happily drank from it.
Set found it difficult to drink from a cup — or even from a plate filled with water, for that matter.
It wasn't that Set couldn't drink at all, but having the water flow continuously was certainly much easier.
After drinking and taking a short breather, Rei prepared to head out.
He could have gone to the Guild right after breakfast, but he had shifted the timing, thinking it might be crowded first thing in the morning.
In Gilm, the crowds usually thinned out considerably past eight, but he didn't know if the same held true for Gauche.
So he had waited as a precaution, but...
(Ah, if I'd submitted a request for Sand Lizardman dismantling this morning, would someone have already taken it by now?)
The thought crossed his mind, but he already had two Magic Stones — though he hadn't absorbed them yet — so there was no particular rush.
"Well, something like that will work itself out. ...Alright, Set. Ready to head out?"
"Guru!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a happy cry, as if to say it had had enough of the water flowing from the Dagger of Flowing Water.
"Hmm, there really aren't many people out during the day. It's still morning, so you'd think there'd be a few more around."
Rei muttered to himself as he walked through the streets of Gauche.
It wasn't that the streets were completely deserted.
But compared to the early morning or evening hours, there were definitely fewer people.
"Well, with this heat. I can't say I blame them for not wanting to go outside."
The sun in the direction of his gaze was, as always, asserting itself with relentless intensity.
If there were clouds, the sunlight might have softened somewhat, but unfortunately, not a single trace of cloud existed in the sky — only a vivid blue expanse stretched overhead.
If he were in Gilm, he might have furrowed his brow at the modest heat and still rejoiced at the summery blue sky. But here in Gauche, situated in the middle of the desert, there was fundamentally no one who would rejoice over a cloudless sun.
Even with few people about, stall owners and shopkeepers, sheltering in the shade, were enthusiastically calling out to passersby, zealous about their trade.
Among them, some stall owners selling cooked food over open flames were being assailed by both the sun's heat and the heat from their own cooking. Rei quietly averted his gaze from those vendors as he proceeded down the street.
"Want to grab something to eat?"
What drifted through the air was a stimulating aroma that whetted the appetite.
Muttering as he gazed toward the source of that scent — which seemed to use plenty of spices — Set rumbled its throat happily.
They had eaten a hearty breakfast featuring Sand Lizardman meat, but nearly three hours had already passed since then.
Having spent that time moving around for Twin Spear Style practice, Rei's stomach was now asserting itself, demanding food.
"Then, let's start with... that stall over—"
Rei was about to say as much when a carriage came to a stop, blocking the path between him and the stall he intended to visit.
He thought the carriage was in the way, but since he was standing in a thoroughfare, he reasoned there was nothing to be done about it. He tried to move around it toward the stall. However, a single figure emerged from the carriage.
"Excuse me, are you the adventurer Lord Rei?"
The man who called out to him gave an odd impression — someone who could be called an old man, yet not quite an old man.
In appearance, he was somewhere in his sixties to seventies, with white mixed into his hair.
That alone would have been enough to describe him as elderly, but the light dwelling in his eyes was different.
The strong will and energetic aura radiating from his entire body were, from any perspective, unfitting for someone called an old man.
(Huh, they do exist out here.)
Noticing that the elderly man before him possessed a fair amount of strength, Rei offered a small smile and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm definitely Rei. And you are?"
In response to Rei's question, the elderly man bowed courteously.
"Forgive my rudeness. I serve the House of Salmas, which governs this city of Gauche. My name is Mebasuchan."
So close. Upon hearing that name, Rei couldn't help but mutter inwardly.
The name Sebastian was extremely popular for a butler, but having it be off by just one character was unexpected.
(Well, it's not like a butler has to be named Sebastian or anything.)
Mebasuchan hadn't actually called himself a butler. He had merely said he "served."
Even so, his impeccable attire and courteous demeanor were more than enough to make Rei think of him as one.
"...So, what business does this Mebasuchan have with me? I was just about to head to the Guild."
"The truth is, my master Lord Lyubrand wishes to meet with you."
Rei had heard the name Count Salmas from Augusto and knew of him.
He was the noble who governed Gauche, as Mebasuchan had just mentioned, and a man connected to Daridora.
Despite that, he had not imposed oppressive rule upon the city's residents. ...But neither had he established particularly good governance.
He was a man of neither merit nor demerit, and Rei had heard that Gauche's residents sometimes even forgot he existed.
(Well, looking at the big picture, he'd probably fall into the category of a decent noble... but there are plenty of terrible ones out there.)
Considering the various nobles he had encountered firsthand, he couldn't help but think that way. A noble of this caliber would have to be counted among the decent ones.
"What do you say? I would very much like you to meet with Lord Lyubrand..."
Mebasuchan asked, pressing for an answer. Rei, pondering what to do, turned his gaze toward the stall.
He wanted to eat the meat being sold there, whose aroma alone was enough to stimulate his appetite. That was the reason.
Mebasuchan, following Rei's gaze, quickly put two and two together and spoke.
"Indeed, if you would come to the lord's mansion, we could prepare an ample meal for both you, Lord Rei, and... your gryphon there. It would be a bit early, but we would like to invite you to lunch."
"Guru?"
At Mebasuchan's words, Set tilted its head with a rumble.
It was surely his first time seeing a gryphon, yet Mebasuchan showed no sign of agitation whatsoever.
Whether he held the belief that a butler should never show agitation on the surface, or whether he simply had nerves of steel — the reason was unclear.
Even so, Rei formed a favorable impression of Mebasuchan, who showed no fear of Set.
"Alright, then I'll take you up on that. That okay, Set?"
"Guru!"
At Rei's words, Set rumbled its throat happily.
Delicious food awaited — it was, apparently, a most welcome proposition.
"Then, Lord Rei, would you board the carriage? Unfortunately, your gryphon cannot ride in the carriage, so if you would travel alongside it..."
Mebasuchan was about to say as much, but he noticed that the horses pulling the carriage were terrified.
(Come to think of it, they're horses, not camels. I suppose because it's the lord's carriage.)
Rei was mildly surprised that the carriage was drawn by horses rather than camels, and at the same time understood why Mebasuchan had trailed off.
The horses in his line of sight showed no sign of moving whatsoever.
They were so utterly motionless that it seemed as though time itself had stopped, as if they had concluded that moving would mean certain death.
What they were terrified of was, naturally enough, Gryphon Seto.
(Par for the course, I guess.)
Rei accepted it with understanding.
He had seen animals terrified of Set many times before.
While patting Set's head — which looked disappointed at having frightened the horses — Rei spoke.
"As you can see, I can't exactly separate from Set. We'll travel apart from the carriage."
"No, but..."
Having a guest he had come to invite make his own way to the lord's mansion was unacceptable to Mebasuchan.
At the same time, the option of forcibly separating Set and having it travel on its own didn't exist either.
In that situation, the only way to get to the lord's mansion was for Rei to travel together with Set.
"Sorry, but if I can't act alongside Set, I'll prioritize my own errands. ...Is that still acceptable to you?"
"...Understood. It cannot be helped."
If the conversation dragged on any longer, Rei would truly never come to the lord's mansion.
Making that judgment, Mebasuchan reluctantly acceded to Rei's terms.
"Then, I shall proceed ahead by carriage. Please follow behind me."
"Got it. Lead the way. ...Set, that's the situation. We're heading to the lord's mansion. Follow behind that carriage for me."
"Guru."
At Rei's words, Set gave a short rumble from its throat.
That it seemed slightly subdued was, no doubt, because the horses were frightened.
"Then, allow me to serve as your guide."
Bowing deeply, Mebasuchan said a word or two to the driver and boarded the carriage.
The carriage, which was originally meant to carry both Mebasuchan and Rei, ended up proceeding down the street with only Mebasuchan aboard.
That it belonged to the House of Salmas was apparent from the crest on its body. Those nearby immediately recognized it as the carriage approached and cleared the road.
The sun was out and few people were on the street, which likely also helped. They proceeded along the way without any particular trouble.
Along the route, shops selling weapons and armor, Item Shops selling potions and the like, passed by in Rei's peripheral vision, while stalls selling food such as bread and skewers caught his and Set's eyes.
(No shops selling Magic Items.)
Rei muttered as he surveyed the surroundings.
There were a fair number of shops selling Magic Items for everyday use, such as fire-starters, but he couldn't spot any shops selling the kind of Magic Items he collected.
(I figured since things like Sand Ships exist, Magic Items would naturally be traded actively here... ah, but the Sand Ships were outsourced to Ozos, weren't they?)
Rei had been looking forward to desert-specific Magic Items, but concluding that there likely weren't any Magic Item shops on the main street — at the very least — he proceeded with a sense of disappointment.
(Well, maybe I just can't find them.)
Magic Items were expensive, and for that reason, it wouldn't be strange for such a shop to operate discreetly, away from prying eyes.
As he thought along those lines, he gradually noticed grass and trees growing on both sides of the road.
It was a sign that they were getting closer to the oasis.
And then... before long, a large mansion came into Rei's view.