The day after failing to learn a skill from the Sand Lizardman's Magic Stone, Rei found himself back in Gauche.
After the failed absorption, he had sulked only slightly before spending the rest of the night with Set. Once morning came and he confirmed that both Zarust and Narcus were awake, he returned to Gauche.
For breakfast, he had simply left behind some food from his Misty Ring.
There was, of course, food in the People of the Hundred Faces' village as well. But as a matter of principle, Rei had no desire to eat anything stored in an assassin clan's settlement.
If there had been absolutely no other option, that would be one thing. But Rei had plenty of food stored in his Misty Ring.
Furthermore, there were stories that assassins regularly consumed trace amounts of poison to build up resistance. From that perspective alone, abstaining seemed only sensible.
So Rei had handed over a few Sandwiches at random, but...
(I never expected them to be that thrilled.)
Walking through the streets of Gauche toward the outskirts where Augusto's mansion stood, Rei recalled the sheer delight on Zarust and Narcus's faces when they saw the Sandwiches.
Even though they were Sandwiches, they were fundamentally different from the ones eaten in Gauche.
The quality of the bread, the fillings—everything was completely different from what was available in Gauche.
Moreover, Gauche's cuisine tended to use heavy amounts of spices.
For Zarust and Narcus, accustomed to such heavily spiced fare, the Sandwiches sold in Gilm must have seemed like an entirely different dish.
They were just Sandwiches sold ordinarily in Gilm... though "ordinary" was relative, since Rei had purchased them in bulk and stored them in his Misty Ring, making them naturally several grades above what a typical shop would offer.
Still, being this delighted over ordinary Sandwiches surprised Rei in more ways than one.
After all, Rei himself found Gauche's cuisine unique and delicious across the board.
Though in Zarust and Narcus's case, their joy probably stemmed from the Sandwiches being a novelty.
Most people, after all, preferred familiar dishes for their regular meals, even if they enjoyed something different on occasion.
Lost in such thoughts, Rei walked alongside Set until they arrived at their destination.
Compared to his visit the previous night, the number of guards had decreased.
That was likely connected to Rei and his companions having destroyed the People of the Hundred Faces' village.
Even so, a certain number of guards remained—presumably to account for the possibility that other clan members might still be lurking in Gauche.
"Hey, Rei. And Set too. You're here bright and early."
Günter, who served as the gatekeeper at Augusto's mansion, offered a casual greeting upon spotting Rei and Set.
It was still early morning—less than a short while since the six o'clock bell had rung—so Günter's remark was understandable.
Rei shrugged lightly before responding.
"Is that so? Folks in Gauche wake up early, don't they? I'd say this is pretty normal."
And he meant every word.
The desert where Gauche stood was blistering hot during the day and freezing cold at night.
In other words, operating during the cool morning hours was far more efficient than being active in the daytime heat.
So it was only natural that the city came alive during the cool morning hours.
Rei, wearing the Dragon Robe, was completely unaffected by heat or cold, so the time of day didn't matter to him one way or the other.
After that brief exchange, Rei passed through the gate alongside Set.
Without needing instruction, Set headed for the stable while Rei entered the mansion.
There were guards inside as well, but their numbers too seemed reduced compared to the previous night.
Chatting with the guards along the way, Rei made for the dining hall.
At first, he thought he should wait until they finished eating. But while he lingered outside the dining hall, Augusto himself appeared and pulled Rei inside.
Inside, Augusto, Cathy, Daridora, and Daridora's guards were all in the middle of breakfast.
"Oh? You arrived quite early."
The first to notice Rei was, unsurprisingly, not a guard—but Daridora.
He looked at Rei with an expression of mild surprise.
His usual nervous, tense demeanor had softened—perhaps thanks to Cathy's cooking.
Though to Cathy, Daridora was by no means a welcome guest.
They were currently forced into an uneasy alliance by the People of the Hundred Faces incident, but Cathy had certainly not forgotten that Daridora had once used Sand Bandits to target Augusto.
Daridora likely understood this himself. He was being careful to accommodate Augusto and Cathy's hospitality while staying at the mansion.
"Yeah, with Set, it only takes a few minutes to get from the village to Gauche. Honestly, walking from the city entrance to here takes longer."
"I'm envious."
As they exchanged words, Rei was predictably pulled by Cathy into a chair.
"Come on, you're here, so eat. You had a rough day yesterday, didn't you?"
Breakfast was set before him with a firmness that made refusal impossible.
Not that Rei minded—he had only had a light breakfast of Sandwiches with Zarust and Narcus, so he could easily eat this much.
"So, Rei-san. As we discussed yesterday, going forward—"
"I know. We're ready whenever. How are things on your end?"
"No problems at all. It's been arranged as a joint operation with Augusto-san."
Daridora set down his soup spoon and glanced toward Augusto.
Augusto seemed to understand what Daridora was implying from that alone. With a faint smile, he spoke up.
"I'm deeply involved in this matter myself. Besides, there's the Tira Tree issue as well. Dispatching personnel to that village is only natural."
"...I see."
Now that he thought about it, the Tira Tree matter and Gauche's wall repair issue were still unresolved—having been overshadowed by the People of the Hundred Faces incident.
But since those were internal affairs of Gauche, Rei decided he had no reason to intervene, and kept his thoughts to himself.
"Well, I understand the situation. Let's head out as soon as everyone's ready. Fortunately..."
Rei cast a brief glance in Daridora's direction, then continued with a faintly mischievous smile.
"We have the Sand Ship. It's faster than traveling by carriage, and it can accommodate a decent number of people without issue."
At the words "Sand Ship," Daridora's face briefly twitched into a frown.
The ship had originally been his property, but it had been taken by Sand Bandits—nominally, at least—and then recovered by Rei, meaning legal ownership had already transferred from Daridora to Rei.
Given those circumstances, there was nothing Daridora could say. And if he objected here, the relationship with Rei that was finally improving through Augusto's mediation would crumble.
So he had no choice but to hold his tongue.
Sensing the slightly awkward atmosphere, Daridora spoke as if to smooth things over.
"I'd like to visit the People of the Hundred Faces' village myself, but I need to settle matters with Lord Lyubrand first. So unfortunately, it'll be some time before I can see the village in person."
Daridora's lightly jesting remark lifted the mood that had momentarily soured.
With breakfast finished, the group each turned to their own preparations.
Augusto and Daridora had their respective subordinates ready for the journey to the village. Cathy prepared bentos. Rei, meanwhile, strolled through town with Set before heading toward the main gate.
Despite having just eaten breakfast, Rei bought food from stalls and shared it with Set, purchasing larger quantities of anything particularly tasty and stowing them in his Misty Ring.
Until recently, many vendors had been reluctant to sell to him due to his conflict with Daridora. But now that Rei was—more precisely, Augusto, who was recognized as Rei's employer—was acting alongside him, that hesitation had vanished.
(They only started cooperating yesterday, yet word travels remarkably fast. Then again, maybe this kind of speed is only natural for merchants.)
Munching on skewers made from an animal called Sand Sheep, Rei marveled at the reach and swiftness of the merchants' information network.
"Give me thirty more of these skewers."
"...Huh?"
"It's fine. No problem."
"Ah, uh, well. Long as you pay, I've got no complaints."
Rei paid the stall owner properly for thirty skewers and stored them all in his Misty Ring.
Watching the vendor stand there frozen in surprise, Rei finished storing the skewers and walked away.
The skewers had a certain gaminess to the meat, but the spices had been used skillfully to keep it from being too noticeable.
The meat itself was on the tougher side—perhaps not to the liking of those who preferred tender cuts—but Rei didn't mind meat with some chew.
(With a bit more culinary skill, they could probably use spices to transform the gaminess into a proper meat flavor rather than just masking it.)
He popped the last piece of meat from his skewer into his mouth.
Set had clearly taken a liking to the Sand Sheep as well, nudging his head against Rei to ask for more.
"Alright, alright. Just one more, okay?"
Rei pulled a single skewer from the Misty Ring and handed it over.
Set deftly worked his beak, stripping the meat from the skewer in one smooth motion, then purred happily as he savored the flavor.
Just as Rei had been served breakfast at Augusto's mansion, Set had of course been given his meal at the stable.
Even so, in the face of Set's bottomless appetite, that was merely a light snack—technically a post-breakfast snack—and so he was happily enjoying this street food.
But the pleasant interlude ended once the stalls and food shops disappeared from view.
As they neared the main gate, Rei could see merchants who had finished their business in Gauche heading out toward other towns and villages, and adventurers departing for work beyond the walls.
Arriving near the gate, they found a group already assembled there.
What sort of group it was required no guess on Rei's part.
After all, he had come back to Gauche specifically to lead them to the People of the Hundred Faces' village.
"Rei-san, over here!"
The shout came from one of Augusto's subordinates the moment he spotted Rei.
He had been part of the caravan when Rei saved them from the Sand Serpent attack, making him one of Rei's longer acquaintances in Gauche.
...Though since less than a month had passed since Rei arrived, there wasn't much difference compared to anyone else.
Rei approached the familiar face with Set beside him.
"Is everyone here?"
"Yes. We can leave immediately. The carriages are ready too."
The man's gaze indicated several carriages drawn by camels.
Five in total.
"...That's quite a lot."
At Rei's murmur, a woman in her twenties standing beside the man who had first called out spoke up.
"That can't be helped. We're heading somewhere and we don't know what we'll find. We need to have adequate supplies, including food.... Oh, I'm sorry. I'm late with my introduction. I'm Neena, working under Lord Daridora."
Neena smiled and dipped her head.
Her black, lustrous hair caught the sunlight and gleamed.
Any ordinary man would have been forgiven for being captivated by Neena's beauty.
She was, without question, a woman Daridora had placed there to improve Rei's opinion of him.
But unfortunately for her, when it came to beautiful women, Rei knew Elena, Vihera, and Marina—three rare beauties the likes of which few would ever encounter.
Compared to them, Neena was certainly beautiful, but not to the degree of being truly captivating.
Her pride as a woman was clearly stung by Rei's lack of reaction. A flicker of displeasure crossed her face.
Even so, the expression vanished almost immediately, and the group filed out through Gauche's gates.
The paperwork had apparently been completed while they waited, and the group of nearly thirty moved outside without delay.
Rei quickly finished his own procedures with Set and followed them out.
Making their way to where those bound for the People of the Hundred Faces' village had gathered, Rei drew every eye as he reached into his Misty Ring and pulled out the Sand Ship.