"I'd like to recruit personnel to dismantle the Sand Lizardmen."
Having finished an early lunch with Lyubrand at the lord's mansion, Rei posted a request at the Guild to recruit dismantling personnel for the Sand Lizardmen, just as he had originally intended.
The one attending to him was a single Receptionist—the same one who had helped him when he first visited the Guild, and who had ended up becoming something like his assigned handler through circumstance.
It was a role that had been more or less forced on her by her colleagues, but having learned that Rei was not nearly as vicious as the rumors made him out to be, she could now interact with him somewhat casually—though only slightly, and truly only slightly.
The incident of Rei causing a minor commotion on his first visit to the Guild seemed to have been quietly set aside.
The special allowance she received for being Rei's handler was certainly a factor, but what pleased the Receptionist most was how the fear Rei inspired had cut down the number of adventurers hitting on her.
Guild Receptionists were generally chosen for their attractive appearance, which naturally meant they were frequently hit on by adventurers. But the Receptionist who had become Rei's handler was far from skilled at dealing with men.
This had led to several incidents in the past, so in that sense, she was genuinely grateful to Rei for the fact that other adventurers no longer approached her.
"Yes, how many are there?"
"More than ten."
"...Ah, that reminds me—I heard you defeated about that many Sand Lizardmen when you saved the members of Sand Dust Claw. As a Guild, we're grateful to you for rescuing our promising newcomers."
Hearing "more than ten Sand Lizardmen," she must have recalled the story of Sand Dust Claw, led by Howl. The Receptionist bowed deeply.
"Nah, I was just glad I got to fight some unknown monsters. It's not really something to make a fuss over."
"That's not true at all! As I just said, Sand Dust Claw are promising newcomers here in Gauche."
Is that so? Rei tilted his head.
She had said the same thing earlier, but weren't the promising newcomers the ones Zarust had taken along on Augusto's escort?
Then again, he immediately shook off that thought.
(Well, it's not like Sand Dust Claw are the only promising newcomers. Besides, Zarust took along those who actually wanted to come on the escort. There were probably some who declined because they didn't want to be employed by Augusto and attract the attention of Daridora and the Elema Trading Company.)
If anything, it was impressive enough that that many people had wanted to join the escort with Zarust in the first place. With that in mind, Rei filled in the necessary information on the request form the Receptionist had handed him.
The work details, the compensation, and... just as he thought of something else, he asked the Receptionist again.
"I heard that in Gauche, you need to rent a dedicated warehouse for dismantling. How does that work?"
"Let's see. You could arrange one yourself, Rei-san, or if you pay an additional fee, we can lend you the Guild's warehouse. However..."
The Receptionist trailed off.
It was already fairly well known that Rei was on good terms with Augusto. That being the case, those who didn't want to incur the displeasure of Daridora and the Elema Trading Company would likely find some excuse not to lend him a warehouse.
Of course, there were also those in Augusto's faction, so it wasn't as if renting one would be completely impossible.
"Um, I don't mean this in a bad way, but given your association with Augusto, I'm not sure anyone would be willing to lend to you. I'd recommend renting from the Guild, even if it's slightly more expensive."
Rei already knew about the Guild's warehouse, having used it before when dismantling the Sand Serpent. According to Zarust, who had rented the facility for him, it was the best-equipped in terms of necessary functionality—or so Zarust had boasted.
(Well, there's probably also the matter of the Guild's pride, I suppose.)
The ones who dismantled monsters were adventurers, and the ones buying the materials and Magic Stones stripped from them was the Guild. Given that relationship, Rei could understand why the Guild would want to maintain well-equipped facilities to uphold its reputation.
"Alright, let's go with that, then."
The warehouse he had used previously had worked without issue, and since Rei wasn't strapped for money, the slightly higher cost wasn't a problem. Especially since selling the materials from the Sand Lizardman dismantling would recoup the expense immediately.
"Yes, understood. Let's see... I think this is mostly fine. Is there anything else?"
At the Receptionist's words, Zarust's face came to mind.
During the Sand Serpent's dismantling, Zarust had kept watch, so no one had dared to skim any materials. But this time, he would be hiring adventurers he didn't know.
If he didn't want his materials stolen, Rei could simply stand watch himself, but he also wanted to put that time to better use. No, more fundamentally—the whole point of posting it as a request was so that he wouldn't need to be there at all.
"If possible, I'd like you to hire someone the Guild trusts as a supervisor. A Guild Staff Member would work too."
"Understood. Normally we wouldn't go this far, but with more than ten Sand Lizardmen, it's only natural that you'd be concerned, Rei-san."
"Huh?"
Rei let out a surprised sound.
From his actual combat experience, Sand Lizardmen weren't particularly strong opponents. They seemed like enemies that could be handled with a reasonable level of skill.
(Well, Lizardmen do coordinate with each other, so maybe she means that... no, that's not it. Come to think of it, Gauche's adventurers generally aren't that strong, were they? ...I see, that's why.)
As a vassal state of the Kingdom of Mireana—and one where much of its territory was desert, even among vassal states—its national strength was very low compared to surrounding nations. Its population was naturally small as well, so it stood to reason that the number of powerful adventurers would be few.
"Rei-san?"
At Rei's sudden noise, the Receptionist gave him a puzzled look. But he shook his head to indicate it was nothing, then spoke.
"I don't know how effective it'll be, but I'd like you to clearly state that if anyone skims materials, I will take decisive action."
"D-decisive action...?"
Precisely because she knew Rei's true capabilities, the Receptionist's expression twitched. Still, rejecting this request here risked the material-skimming adventurer becoming "unusable" later on, so she dutifully added the text to the request form.
The adventurer with the alias of Crimson was the client for this dismantling request, and decisive action would be taken against anyone who skimmed materials.
Several adventurers who had been eavesdropping on the conversation twitched their cheeks at what that implied.
It had only been a few days since Rei arrived in Gauche. Yet in that short time, information about just how powerful he was had been pouring in from various sources. The adventurers who had escorted Augusto alongside Zarust, the ones who had witnessed an adventurer pick a fight with Rei at the Guild and get effortlessly beaten down, the report that Rei alone had slaughtered the entire swarm of Sand Lizardmen that had attacked Howl and the rest of Sand Dust Claw—considering all the stories heard from such people, the extent of Rei's ability was glaringly obvious.
Furthermore, though the Guild members were unaware of it, the skilled adventurers serving as Daridora's guards also understood Rei's strength.
Even so, given that Rei had only been in Gauche for a few days, there were still some who didn't know much about him. Such people ran the risk of incurring Rei's anger—and that was precisely what the Receptionist was worried about.
(If anyone tries to take this request, I'd better observe what kind of person they are. It's not something I can reject on my end, but I can at least let trusted people know to be careful.)
If an E-Rank adventurer tried to accept a B-Rank request, the Guild could reject it as a matter of authority. But since this case involved dismantling Sand Lizardmen, the rank required to accept the request was by no means high. To reject someone using the Guild's authority, that person would have to be seriously problematic—someone with a history of causing repeated issues.
To prevent skimming by anyone who fell short of that threshold, it was necessary to rely on someone trustworthy.
"Alright, that should do it."
"Yes. So, what should we do if there are many applicants?"
"Hmm, let's see. I'll leave that to the Guild. Just weed out any suspicious ones at that stage."
"Thank you very much. Then please come by the Guild tomorrow. If no one has taken the request by then, we'll try again the day after."
"Thanks."
Leaving the deeply bowing Receptionist behind, Rei departed from the Guild.
After Rei left, the adventurers in the Guild focused their attention on his request. That was because the compensation was slightly higher than what normal requests paid.
The adventurers waited, wondering when it would be posted on the Request Board. And what was even luckier for them was the timing—it was currently midday. Most adventurers were out on jobs, and the only ones in the Guild were people who had decided to take the day off, those who for some reason hadn't been able to come in the morning, or those who had been about to grab a meal at the tavern.
Because of this, the competition for Rei's request was by no means fierce. In other words, it was a golden opportunity to earn good money with easy work.
The adventurers waited for that moment with the sharp, hungry gazes of predators eyeing their prey.
Having essentially gifted the adventurers left behind at the Guild with a spark of competition, Rei returned to Augusto's mansion—only to find two figures waiting out front.
One was Günter, the gatekeeper. The other was Cathy, Augusto's wife.
Cathy, who would normally be inside the house, was for some reason standing outside. And the moment she spotted Rei and Set, she broke into a run.
"You're late! I thought you'd be back by lunch. Don't make me worry like that. ...Did something happen?"
Cathy was scolding him, but Rei could tell immediately that she was simply worried about him. That was exactly why he bowed his head honestly.
"Sorry. I got invited to the lord's mansion."
"What... um, are you all right? Nothing happened to you?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. We just had lunch together."
"...Lunch? With Count Salmas? ...Really?"
Cathy murmured with an expression of sheer disbelief. She likely knew that Lyubrand was close to Daridora, the man who opposed her husband Augusto. Given that, it wasn't hard to imagine why she'd fear something had been done to Rei under the guise of a meal.
But in response to her concern, Rei simply nodded to reassure her that everything was fine.
"See, Cathy? I told you you were worrying too much, didn't I?"
"But, Günter..."
Even after Rei's reassurance, Cathy still seemed unconvinced and started to argue back with Günter.
At that, Set, who had been watching the exchange from Rei's side, purred.
"Guruuu?"
It's okay. As if saying exactly that, Set's sound startled Cathy for a moment. She didn't understand why the gesture had that effect on her, but it nonetheless served to calm her down.
"Hehe, you're right. If Set-chan says it's okay, then it must be okay. ...Welcome home, Rei, Set-chan. So did you end up not making it to the Guild today?"
"No, I made it. Got the request submitted, too. I just need to swing by the Guild tomorrow morning, and there should be adventurers waiting to dismantle the Sand Lizardmen."
"I see. That's good. ...But does that mean you're going to the Guild again tomorrow?"
"Looks like it."
"I see..."
At Rei's words, Cathy wore a slightly sad expression. She enjoyed taking care of him, so hearing that he'd be heading out to the Guild again tomorrow must have been disappointing.
Feeling a little uncomfortable under Cathy's wistful gaze, Rei broke the silence.
"If there's any lunch left, I'd love to have some."
"...Huh? Didn't you just eat with Count Salmas?"
"It's been a while since I ate, and I've got a bit of an appetite."
"...I see. Then come inside while I get it ready."
With that, Cathy headed into the house, and Rei followed after her. Set, without needing to be told, made a beeline for the stable.
And so, Rei had managed to successfully steer the conversation away.