After leaving the Guild, Rei made the rounds to greet his acquaintances. Once that was done, he and Vihera walked around town together, buying snacks from stalls along the way — Vihera considered it a date — and that was how they spent the rest of the day before heading back to the inn.
Naturally, since Rei had returned to Gilm, the inn he stayed at was the Twilight Wheat Pavilion.
It was a luxury inn, but the cost was no burden at all for Rei's finances, and the same was true for Vihera, who had been taking monster subjugation requests while Rei was away.
The food was exceptionally delicious, and as expected of a high-class inn, the rooms were kept cool by a magic item, with chilled drinks always available in the dining hall.
The fact that the stable had enough space for Set to relax comfortably was also a significant factor.
...The only drawback was that when Set suddenly entered the stable, some of the horses that had been rotated in and out due to the comings and goings of other guests at the Twilight Wheat Pavilion froze solid at the sight of a gryphon appearing.
In any case, Rei spent what could be called an ordinary day, and the next morning, he and Vihera came to the dining hall on the first floor of the Twilight Wheat Pavilion.
"So, Rei. What are you doing today? It's only been a day since you got back, so are you going to take a request?"
"Normally, wouldn't you take it easy the day after getting back?"
Rei replied while savoring a soup made by thoroughly simmering vegetables until they melted away, then adding more vegetables and bacon to create the finished dish.
The bacon wasn't cut into small pieces either, but substantial, hearty chunks.
Even though it was an ingredient in the soup, when chewed, the savory flavor of the bacon spread fully across the palate.
Of course, it wasn't just the bacon — the sweetness and umami of the vegetables that had dissolved into the broth could be appreciated as well, and the vegetables that were cooked through yet still retained a firm bite were also delicious.
It was the kind of soup that made one think that with this and bread alone, no additional dishes were necessary.
The bread was freshly baked, still warm, fragrant, and soft.
For a luxury inn that opened its first floor as a dining hall, the taste of its cooking was truly impressive.
"Delicious."
Only words of praise came from Rei's mouth.
And it wasn't just him. Sitting across from Rei, Vihera was also thoroughly savoring the same soup.
"This soup is delicious."
Vihera had experienced many fine dishes as a princess, but even she could only describe this vegetable soup as delicious.
For a while, Rei and Vihera ate their soup and bread in silence.
At the surrounding tables, similar scenes were unfolding here and there.
At every table, people were sighing in admiration at a dish that was different from the usual — no, the food that was normally served was delicious, but this was a step above, and many people were moved by the flavor.
Vegetable and bacon soup, with bread.
If one looked at the menu, it was by no means a lavish dish, but precisely because of its simplicity, the fact that it had been elevated to such a level of taste was a testament to the skill of whoever had made it.
"Hehe, it seems you enjoyed it."
Approaching Rei and Vihera's table with a smile was a middle-aged woman of sturdy build.
It was Lana, the proprietress of the Twilight Wheat Pavilion.
"Yes. I don't think I've ever had a vegetable soup this delicious before. ...But why this soup today? Not that I'm complaining — I'm glad to be able to drink it, and the bread is wonderful too."
"I'd like to say it's to celebrate Rei-san and Set's return... but to be precise, it's because my husband was in the mood for it."
Lana's husband was in charge of the kitchen at the Twilight Wheat Pavilion.
Everything about this dish was made by his hands.
However, Lana's husband sometimes spontaneously created elaborate dishes.
It was a rare occurrence, to be sure, but that was exactly why the resulting dishes were often extraordinarily delicious.
Anyone who tasted the vegetable soup on the table would understand that.
It was a supreme dish that even an ordinary noble would likely not be able to easily obtain.
"In any case... when you're not here, Gilm feels somehow quieter — or perhaps lonelier. That's how well you've settled into Gilm, Rei-san."
"I'm happy to hear that, but it's not like I was born and raised in Gilm, nor have I lived here for decades."
Since Rei had settled in Gilm — or more precisely, since he had come to this world called Elgin — only a few years had passed.
Considering that he had also traveled to other places many times during those few years, it was slightly questionable to him that he had become so integrated into Gilm.
Not that he was unhappy about it, of course.
For Rei, Gilm was a familiar place, and above all, it was a town that had accepted Set without fear. Though it was true that many had been afraid of Set at first.
A second hometown... no, given Rei's current body, it would be accurate to call this very place his hometown.
"Will you be staying in Gilm for a while?"
"I plan to, but... they say plans are uncertain, so I can't say for sure."
In Rei's case especially, he was known as a skilled adventurer.
Considering the travel speed of Set, who could fly through the sky, he would be highly advantageous when there were requests that urgently required transporting something somewhere.
A clear example of that was the Magic Fever incident, and the Goblin Leader incident from yesterday would also fall into that category.
If Set hadn't been there, they would have had to travel to the forest by horse or some other means, tie the horse to a tree — they'd also need to post a lookout to prevent monster attacks — and go into the forest alone to search for the goblin group.
Goblins were a species that already existed in large numbers.
Even if they had found goblins in the forest, there was no guarantee they would have been the same goblins that had attacked Hester and Pump's group... in which case, Pump would certainly have been killed before they could save him.
The reason Pump was rescued so quickly was because Set existed.
Thinking about it that way, Rei and Set were undoubtedly relied-upon presences in Gilm when emergencies arose.
"I see. Well, you are an adventurer, Rei-san. We can't exactly insist that you stay here."
Lana said this, but the expression on her face was one of disappointment.
To Lana, Rei was both a top customer and someone she felt close to.
Like a son... no, unlike Cathy, Lana had a real son, so she didn't think of him quite that way.
Even so, to Lana, Rei was someone who didn't cause any particular problems — well, he had caused a few, including the fight with Elk, but compared to other adventurers, he didn't cause enough trouble to be a concern, so it was within acceptable limits.
Above all, Rei was a top customer in the sense that he stayed for extended periods.
There were guests who demanded unreasonable discounts for long-term stays, but Rei quietly paid the asking price.
Furthermore, he ate several portions' worth at meals, so from the perspective of the Twilight Wheat Pavilion's business, he was an existence beyond what anyone could wish for.
Of course, that was only possible because Rei wasn't strapped for money.
"I think I'll be here for a while, so I'm looking forward to more delicious meals."
After exchanging a few more words, Rei and Vihera resumed their breakfast.
After finishing the simple but exceptionally labor-intensive meal, Rei invited Vihera to the outskirts.
As for what they were going to do, it was to dismantle the Goblin Leader.
Of course, Goblin Leader meat tasted no different from regular Goblin meat, and there was nothing particularly noteworthy about its materials.
The skin could be processed into leather for leather armor, but it wasn't an expensive item, so it was somewhat underwhelming relative to the effort involved.
Under such circumstances, what Rei wanted was, naturally, the Goblin Leader's magic stone, and the reason he brought Vihera to this place was because he felt it was time to tell her about himself.
He had made such a resolution before, but it had ended up fizzling out that time.
(I should tell Marina too, not just Vihera... but Marina will have to wait. She seems busy with various things right now.)
He would have preferred to tell them both together, but if he waited until both were available, there was no telling when that would be.
And above all, given his trouble-prone nature, it was plainly visible that even when he tried to do something, he'd get caught up in some trouble and end up in a situation where he couldn't talk even if he wanted to.
If he had kept his power hidden as much as possible, he might have avoided getting caught up in troubles, but fundamentally, traveling with Set meant that standing out was unavoidable.
(If I'd gone off to live a hermit's life somewhere with no people, it might have been a different story, though.)
Rei imagined such a life for himself, but for some reason, even if he did that, while he might avoid getting caught up in human troubles, he had a feeling he'd end up tangled in other kinds of trouble instead.
(Actually, that might have been interesting in its own way.)
He briefly wondered what would have happened if he had lived a survivalist life in the mountains and fields instead of in Gilm, but he felt like things would have worked out somehow.
Of course, compared to his current lifestyle, it would be far from comfortable.
"Rei, if you're just extracting the magic stone, you didn't really need to come all the way out here, did you?"
Vihera murmured while surveying the surroundings.
The place where Rei, Set, and Vihera — two people and one creature — were currently located was inside a forest not far from Gilm.
It was much closer to Gilm than the grove where the goblins had been yesterday, and the river where Rei and his companions now stood was a spot Rei was familiar with as a place to dismantle monsters.
(I've dismantled monsters here as a group before, haven't I.)
He suddenly wondered how the members from that time — Arrogan, Culotte, and Schola — were doing.
Since they were active as adventurers, their schedules didn't align with Rei's, so while he had run into them a few times since then, they didn't meet frequently.
"So, Rei. What are you going to do now? You didn't bring me all the way here just to dismantle the Goblin Leader... right?"
"Hm? Ah, of course. But it's true that I came here to extract the magic stone from the Goblin Leader, so let me do that first."
Vihera had questions about Rei's attitude, but she apparently decided that Rei wouldn't answer no matter what she said here.
Without saying anything in particular, she silently watched what Rei needed to do.
While she did, Set, who was nearby, pressed his face against her while purring.
"Oh my, what's wrong? You're so affectionate today."
While watching Rei's actions, Vihera gently stroked Set's head.
Set, too, was anticipating what Rei was about to tell Vihera, and was rubbing his head against her as if pleading — please don't hate Rei... and please don't hate me.
"Guruuu."
While Set purred and was petted by Vihera, Rei retrieved the Goblin Leader's corpse from his Misty Ring.
However, what he took out was not the severed head, but the torso.
Since the magic stone was embedded in the torso, that was only natural.
He then used a knife to cut open the area where the heart was and extracted the magic stone.
Even if it was said to be intelligent, it was ultimately nothing more than a Goblin Leader.
The magic stone extracted from it was by no means large — rather, it didn't seem much different from a normal goblin's.
He washed the extracted magic stone in the river water.
Being summer, it felt pleasant when he put his hand into the flowing river.
The blood and flesh fragments adhering to the goblin's magic stone were washed away by the current.
(Do those flesh fragments become food for the fish...? Do they?)
Knowing the unpleasant taste of goblin meat, if asked whether fish would eat those flesh fragments, Rei could only tilt his head.
At the same time, thinking it might be useful for research into making goblin meat taste good, he stored the Goblin Leader's remaining corpse in his Misty Ring.
(Come to think of it, I was planning to bring spices, but I still forgot about that. I need to ask whether there's been any progress with the goblin meat... well, all of that depends on what Vihera thinks about me and Set.)
While thinking, he gazed at Vihera, who was petting Set.
Looking at Vihera as she sat there looking content, Rei made up his mind and spoke.
"Vihera, do you remember the story about how I have a hobby of collecting magic stones?"
"Hm? Yes, of course I know about that. I thought it was a strange hobby, though."
"The truth is, that was a lie. The magic stones I've been collecting... are used like this. Set."
He called out to Set and tossed the Goblin Leader's magic stone toward him.
Set caught it skillfully with his beak, and in the next instant, swallowed it.
[Set has acquired the skill 'Sense of Smell Enhancement Lv.2']
"...Huh? Why Sense of Smell Enhancement from a goblin?"
A slightly dumbfounded voice echoed from Rei's mouth.
[Set]
Water Ball Lv.3, Fire Breath Lv.3, Wind Arrow Lv.3, King's Intimidation Lv.2, Poison Claw Lv.4, Size Change Lv.1, Tornado Lv.2, Ice Arrow Lv.1, Optical Camouflage Lv.4, Magic Eye of Shock Lv.1, Power Crush Lv.4, Sense of Smell Enhancement Lv.2 (new), Bubble Breath Lv.1, Crystal Breath Lv.1, Earth Arrow Lv.1
Sense of Smell Enhancement: Sharpens the user's sense of smell.