Should I head back? Having made that decision, Rei moved fast.
Naturally, he couldn't just up and leave without a word.
After all, he'd gotten himself involved in everything that had happened in Gauche. Ignoring all that and heading straight back to Gilm would guarantee him an earful from Marina.
Rei had no desire for things to play out that way, so he would make sure to say a proper farewell to Augusto before departing.
(The various incidents in Gauche... the People of the Hundred Faces matter has already been settled. There's still the question of what to do about the Tira Trees, but when it comes to that particular issue, there's almost nothing left for me to involve myself in.)
Both Augusto and Daridora fully understood the dangers of the Tira Trees, thanks in part to the People of the Hundred Faces affair.
Given that, how to defend Gauche was simply not Rei's problem to solve.
With that settled in his mind, Rei bade farewell to Zarust and Narcus, mounted Set's back, and took to the sky. Before long, he was back in Gauche — the same city the Sand Ship had departed from mere hours ago.
When they had set out on the Sand Ship, it had been early morning.
But after arriving at the People of the Hundred Faces' village, sitting through an unrequested comedy routine from a certain couple there, and then wandering around the village for a while, time had marched on.
The trip from the village back to Gauche only took a few minutes, but even so, by the time Rei returned it was no longer a time anyone would call early morning.
"...Rei?"
That was precisely why the gate guards couldn't hide their surprise at his sudden reappearance.
He had left just a few hours ago — why was he already back?
However, they had been briefed on the previous night's events during the shift handover, and unlike last night, it was now broad daylight.
Given that, there was no reason to bar his entry.
He showed his Guild Card, handed over his Tamed Monster necklace, and the paperwork was finished in an instant.
Once inside Gauche, the first thing Rei did was buy up a variety of dishes and ingredients unique to the city from assorted shops.
As a result, on this particular day, certain shops in Gauche would sell several days' worth — or in some cases their entire stock — of inventory in a single day, recording months' worth of sales in one go.
Of course, Rei didn't always buy in such massive quantities.
It was simply that Gauche, being a desert city, carried many local ingredients and seasonings that couldn't be found in Gilm.
In particular, the combination of three elements — the desert's scorching daytime heat, its bitter nighttime cold, and the oasis — meant a considerable variety of spices were sold there.
Common spices could be obtained in Gilm as well, but the kinds sold in Gauche were extremely rare and rarely made it that far.
Even if they did reach Gilm, the price would be ten times — sometimes dozens of times — what they cost in Gauche.
Financially, Rei had no shortage of funds, but he still had no desire for unnecessary spending.
That was why he was stocking up on Gauche-specific goods while he could.
Buying goods in bulk like this was something that other adventurers who traveled to different cities or countries sometimes did too, but what set Rei apart was, as expected, the sheer quantity and variety of his purchases.
With the Misty Ring, Rei bought more than an ordinary adventurer — more than even a merchant would.
Spices and similar goods would deteriorate over the span of years and become unusable, and even those that remained usable would mostly have lost their flavor and taste.
But as long as they were stored inside the Misty Ring, the passage of time did not exist.
In other words, no matter when he used the spices, they would always be perfectly fresh.
And the Misty Ring's properties came into play with the cooked dishes Rei purchased as well.
Being able to eat Gauche's unique dishes freshly made at any time was something anyone without an Item Box would be endlessly envious of.
"Th-thank you for your business!"
The Hobbyist Shop Owner, panting, expressed his gratitude to Rei.
Rei had bought the shop's entire stock of skewers — a dish made with generous amounts of Gauche-produced spices.
The sight of Rei storing each skewer into the Misty Ring the moment it came off the grill, one after another, could only be described as bizarre.
Since he had grilled what would normally be a full day's worth of skewers in a short burst, the Hobbyist Shop Owner was thoroughly out of breath.
Honestly, Rei had told him that he didn't need to push himself so hard — just grilling them would be fine — but to the Hobbyist Shop Owner, that may have sounded like a challenge of sorts.
He had grilled everything with gusto, and the result was the current sight of the Hobbyist Shop Owner, gasping for air.
"Well then, thanks. I'll savor these skewers."
Paying a little extra, Rei walked on while eating a skewer alongside Set, one each.
As he went, he repeatedly bought items and stowed them in the Misty Ring. Once he was finally satisfied, Rei stopped by the Guild to give notice, then headed toward Augusto's mansion.
The mansion on the outskirts of Gauche looked different from when he had visited last night and this morning — there were no guards in sight at all.
Only Günter stood at the gate.
"Hm? What's up? That was awfully fast for you to come back. Did you run into some kind of problem?"
Rei shook his head at Günter, who asked with a slightly worried expression.
"No, nothing like that. The people investigating the village were delivered there safely. They're probably looking into all sorts of things by now."
"...Then why are you here, Rei?"
"I had a little business to take care of. Besides, with Set, it's only a few minutes one way from the village to Gauche, so it's not that big a deal for us."
At Rei's words, Günter looked at Set once more.
Günter had the magnanimity to accept Set's existence from the very beginning, but even so, he hadn't fully grasped Set's capabilities.
He had seen Rei arrive at this mansion last night and this morning, but there had still been a gap of several hours between those visits.
He had assumed that most of that time was spent traveling — but if the actual flight time was only a few minutes, even Günter couldn't help but be astonished.
While gazing at the wide-eyed Günter staring at Set, Rei asked about something that had been on his mind.
"What about you guys? Compared to this morning, there are no guards here other than you, Günter."
"Ah... well, those adventurers were hired by Daridora, after all. Besides, the assassins who were the root cause have been taken out, right? So they said there was no need to keep paying for pointless guards and ended the contract."
"That's a pretty quick decision. I thought there was still a possibility of remnants, so I figured the heavy guard detail would stay in place a while longer."
"Well, Daridora already has skilled guards to begin with. Those adventurers he hired here in Gauche — bought by the dozen, so to speak — having them around or not makes no difference. No, having them just costs extra money and gets in the way."
Rei nodded in understanding at Günter's words.
Augusto had dispatched Zarust, whom he employed as a guard, so there were no readily available guards on Augusto's side — but Daridora had no need to worry about Augusto's safety.
The collaboration between Daridora and Augusto had, in a sense, been like bitter enemies forced onto the same boat.
Now that the immediate threat was resolved, it was clear there was no need for Augusto and Daridora to keep cooperating indefinitely.
"So in the end, it's back to just you as the guard, Günter."
"...Well, Augusto doesn't have much financial leeway. Though I think this incident will make him at least a bit more prosperous."
"Probably."
Even if it was in cooperation with Daridora, they had defeated the majority of the People of the Hundred Faces — an existence long thought to be legendary in this country — and destroyed their stronghold.
Rei had played a major role in that, and was essentially treated as Augusto's guest.
Furthermore, Zarust was undeniably an adventurer employed by Augusto.
Taking all of that into consideration, the merit regarding the People of the Hundred Faces was greater on Augusto's side than on Daridora's.
However, even if Augusto's merit was higher, utilizing the People of the Hundred Faces' village would absolutely require Daridora's financial resources.
And in this world — especially among merchants — it was a self-evident truth that the one with money was the one with power.
"So what did you come back for, Rei? From the looks of it, it's not an urgent matter like yesterday, right?"
"Ah, I wonder. It's true it's not an urgent matter, but there's still something I want to tell Augusto and Cathy."
"...Something you want to tell them?"
At Rei's somewhat vague words, Günter furrowed his brow slightly.
Perhaps at this moment, Günter had already sensed what Rei had come to say.
"Yeah. Can I go inside? Augusto's here, right? Or is he at the shop?"
"No, he's inside. Well, it should be fine for you. Just... if possible, I'd rather you not make those two sad."
Rei shrugged slightly at Günter's words.
What he was about to say would undoubtedly make Augusto and Cathy sad, after all.
(No, Augusto might not be all that upset. But Cathy definitely will be. Or rather, I have a feeling she won't accept it.)
Augusto and Cathy had no children of their own, and while it probably wasn't a substitute for that, Cathy had treated him like her own child.
Naturally, if Rei were to say he was returning to Gilm, she wouldn't simply let it go.
Even so, Rei couldn't stay in Gauche forever.
(The Twilight Spear incident has had enough time pass by now, too.)
His guess was that those troublesome merchants likely no longer had the time to bother with him.
Entering the grounds, Rei parted ways with Set, who headed to the stable as usual, and stepped inside the mansion.
Inside, unlike yesterday, there was no sign of anyone at all.
Since the only people who actually lived here were Augusto and Cathy, that was only natural.
Even so, the sense of loneliness that crept in was precisely because so many people had been present yesterday.
Heading to the room used as the living room, he found Augusto and Cathy drinking a milk-tea-like beverage and chatting, enjoying a leisurely moment together.
"Augusto, is it fine for you not to be busy right now? Daridora's already making moves, isn't he?"
"Ah, that's all taken care of. I've already issued instructions. If anything comes up, a report should reach us here."
Augusto looked at Rei and spoke with a smile.
"The truth is, Cathy won't let me leave her side. Well, I'm more than happy if it means I can spend time with Cathy, though."
"Oh, stop it. Augusto, really."
Ugh... was Rei's honest feeling.
He had been so busy with everything since yesterday that he had completely forgotten, but now that he thought about it, this was exactly what these two were like whenever they were together.
(Hm? Were they like this even in front of Daridora? If the guards had to endure this all night... if so, they deserve respect.)
If Daridora found out, his impression of Rei had probably improved in a way that would not please him at all, but Rei paid that no mind and opened his mouth.
"Actually, um..."
Facing Cathy directly, he found it somehow hard to say.
Rei hesitated, but seeing his demeanor, Cathy must have sensed something.
She opened her eyes slightly wide, then drew a breath before speaking.
"...You're going back to Gilm, aren't you?"
"!?"
He hadn't said a single thing yet.
Yet how could she possibly know he was trying to return to Gilm?
As Rei stared at her with an expression of sheer astonishment, Cathy broke into a full smile.
"We lived together for a little while, you know. Did you really think I wouldn't be able to tell something like this?"
Was it really that obvious? Rei wondered, but the fact that she had guessed it so perfectly meant it must have been the truth.
"...Yeah."
"When?"
"I'm not sure, but maybe as early as tomorrow."
"...I see. Well then, we'll just have to throw a grand farewell party today."
Saying only that, Cathy smiled.
Having braced himself for her to cry, Rei remained surprised as they chatted for a few more minutes.
After that, she excused herself to prepare and left the living room... but after the door closed and he had walked a short distance away, Rei — whose hearing was far superior to that of an ordinary person — picked up the sound of weeping coming from the living room.