"Lizardmen, huh... Have you ever fought one, Vihera?"
At the bar attached to the Guild, Rei discussed the Lizardman subjugation request with Vihera.
Since they were about to head out and subjugate a Lizardman pack, alcohol was naturally out of the question.
Even so, dishes that could easily be called a full meal were lined up on the table.
Skewered grilled meats heaped high on plates, bread, soup, stewed dishes—an amount of food that made it hard to believe they had just eaten dinner at the Wheat Inn at dusk not long ago.
Then again, to Rei this much was equivalent to a snack, and as an adventurer, Vihera ate far more than a normal woman too.
...And yet she didn't gain an ounce—on the contrary, her waist was astonishingly slim, probably proof of just how much she moved her body on a daily basis.
Though when it came to physical exertion, Rei was no slouch either.
Lately he had been training to freely wield the Twin Spear Style, and he had trained in the inn's backyard today as well.
Training itself wasn't particularly unusual.
It wasn't every single day, but he still trained on most of them.
But Twin Spear Style training was another matter. Since he hadn't mastered it yet, he had to execute each move more carefully than in normal training, and as a result it consumed more stamina.
When that happened, his breakfast portions naturally grew... and so, even facing a mountain of food at the bar in place of a snack, he wore a perfectly calm expression.
Besides, even if he couldn't finish everything, Rei had his Misty Ring.
With that in mind, there was no worry about waste no matter how much he ordered.
"Yes, well. I've fought them a few times in dungeons while I was in Exil. But the opponents back then were only normal Lizardmen, you know? Considering the goblin pack situation, a Lizardman Leader is probably present... but I haven't faced one of those yet."
"I see."
"What about you, Rei?"
"I've fought normal Lizardmen too, but that's all. ...Well, I suppose I've fought Sand Lizardmen as well."
When Lizardmen came up, the first thing that crossed Rei's mind was the dungeon containing the Altar of Inheritance that he had visited with Elena and Ara.
That dungeon, located not far from Gilm, had still not been conquered by anyone.
(The Silver Lion, huh. I doubt someone who could defeat that monster would be easy to find.)
A monster whose strength was clearly incomparable to anything else in the dungeon.
Frankly, why such a creature existed in that place was something Rei couldn't understand either.
But Rei immediately shook his head.
Right now, the Lizardman pack was more important than that.
"Lizardmen are far stronger than Goblins—not even comparable. Each individual possesses strength above a certain threshold, and on top of that, they coordinate with each other better than Cobolts. With a Lizardman Leader as their commander on top of all that, they'll be troublesome."
"That's right. Even weak opponents can defeat those above their level if they coordinate well, and no matter how strong an individual is, an incompetent commander can cause them to lose to weaker foes."
"A classic example of that being humans, huh?"
"Yes. For someone like Rei whose individual power is so outstanding, it might be hard to really feel that. ...At any rate, Lizardmen are monsters, but they coordinate at a level close to humans, so you need to be careful."
Even as she said that, the smile on Vihera's lips was a seductive one.
Her eyes were wet with the anticipation of battle, emitting an obscene atmosphere all around her.
...The bar had many frustrated patrons due to the appearance of multiple monster packs including Goblins, but even such people couldn't help but have their eyes stolen by Vihera.
Whether they intended to hit on her or pick a fight was unclear, but several men started to stand up... and upon noticing that the person with Vihera was Rei, they sat back down with regret.
Showing no interest in his surroundings whatsoever, Rei continued his meal while discussing their plan with Vihera.
"I probably don't need to say this, but I'm joining the fight against the Lizardman Leader too."
"...I suppose so."
At Rei's words, Vihera muttered with slight disappointment.
This was because she had been told that Beast Magic enhancement required some degree of combat participation.
If possible, Vihera had wanted to fight the Lizardman Leader by herself, but having heard Rei's explanation of Beast Magic, she couldn't refuse when asked to cooperate.
(Is this the weakness of love, I wonder?)
Feeling slight dissatisfaction... while simultaneously feeling greater joy, she floated a smile.
"Don't get so angry. It's not necessarily the case that there's only one Lizardman Leader, right? Just like yesterday's Goblins, there's a good chance multiple packs exist."
"Oh, I'm not angry at all, you know?"
Understanding that the smile she had shown was seen as one born from suppressing anger, Vihera once again floated a smile and told Rei.
But that current smile was definitely one born from suppressed anger.
Rei, faced with that smile, quietly averted his gaze.
Then, perhaps by chance, his eyes met with adventurers who were looking toward Rei and Vihera.
...Yes, familiar adventurers.
"Yohanna? Sergio?"
"Ah, ahahaha. Long time no see, Rei-san."
The one waving at Rei was Yohanna.
Two of the members who had operated as part of the Mobile Unit that Rei led during the civil war in the Bestia Empire.
They were supposed to be living together in a large mansion in Gilm with others from the same circumstances.
(Since they're adventurers, it's not strange for them to be at the Guild like this.)
As he was thinking that, Yohanna was trying to stand up but was being stopped by Sergio.
"Where are you going? Leaving me alone here seems somewhat heartless, I think."
"Let go! Let. Me. Go! If Rei-san is here, that means Set-chan is here, right?! Because of those stupid merchants, I haven't played with Set-chan in a while! At least let me have a little time with him! I'm completely done with dealing with Goblins!"
A heartfelt scream poured from Yohanna's mouth.
(Come to think of it, Yohanna doted on Set just like Mirene... Mirene? Hm? Normally she'd show up the instant she hears Set has returned.)
Rei felt puzzled by Mirene's absence.
Then, as if they had timed it perfectly, some people entered the Guild.
They looked around, spotted Rei in the bar, and walked straight toward him.
"Hello, Rei-san. I'd heard you were back, but it seems it was true."
The one who said that was Surnin, called the External Conscience of the C-Rank party Scorching Wind.
Beside Surnin was Ekril, the archer also belonging to Scorching Wind.
And the one who should normally be leading these two, Mirene, was not here.
Where she was could be easily imagined.
...No, for anyone who understood Mirene's personality, it would be easy to imagine.
"Agh! I was outmaneuvered!"
Yohanna screamed.
As a fellow Set enthusiast, she apparently understood why Mirene wasn't here.
If Rei was here, that meant Set was outside the Guild.
Of course, there were times when Rei came to the Guild while leaving Set at the stable, so it wasn't guaranteed that Set was here... but still, two members of Scorching Wind were here, and Rei was here.
Deriving the correct answer from those conditions was not difficult.
That's right—by now, Mirene was surely playing with Set to her heart's content.
"I want to meet Set-chan, I want to meet him-!"
"Come now, calm down. More importantly, you have things you should be doing right now, don't you?"
"Like I care! Playing with Set-chan surpasses everything!"
Yohanna screamed at Sergio's words.
At the sight of those two, Surnin and Ekril both wore wry smiles.
It was the exact same reaction as their party leader, and at the same time, they thought it was a rare blunder for Yohanna, who usually fought with Mirene over Set.
"More importantly, what kind of gathering is this?"
At Surnin's words, Rei tilted his head.
There wasn't any particular reason he had been talking with Yohanna and Sergio.
He had been eating... no, the accurate version was that while consulting about the Lizardman pack subjugation request, Rei had spotted the two by chance and called out to them.
Beside Rei as he talked with Surnin, Sergio was bowing to Vihera.
...However, Sergio's hand was still grabbing Yohanna, who was trying to go outside from the Guild.
To Sergio, even after leaving the Bestia Empire and settling in Gilm, Vihera was an Imperial Family member to be revered.
Vihera herself didn't care about that sort of thing at all, but knowing that telling Sergio would be meaningless, she didn't voice it any further either.
"Vihera and I accepted a Lizardman pack subjugation request. We just spotted those two while discussing it."
"Hm... A Lizardman pack, is it? Come to think of it, I heard that part of the Knight Order was deployed and found a Lizardman pack—is this related to that?"
"You have quick ears."
At the words that came from Surnin's mouth, Rei was slightly surprised.
But seeing Rei's reaction, Surnin shook his head.
"It's not that surprising. I may not look it, but I've lived as an adventurer for a fairly long time. I have various connections."
"That's right. He brings us all kinds of information from who knows where, so it always helps us out."
Ekril's words of praise made Surnin slightly embarrassed.
Watching the easy banter typical of party members, Rei brought the last piece of skewered meat to his mouth.
After finishing all the food that had been in somewhat large quantities, he turned his gaze to Vihera as if to say it was about time to go.
Vihera nodded at Rei's gaze, and the two stood up together.
"Well, we'll be heading out now. We need to take care of the Lizardman pack sooner rather than later."
"Understood. ...You probably don't need such worry, but please be careful."
Surnin didn't think Rei would lose to Lizardmen, but he was still worried nonetheless. He spoke briefly to Rei and Vihera.
In response, Rei waved his hand lightly, and Vihera offered a smile as her reply.
Sergio and Yohanna also offered words wishing them fortune in battle, and after a light reply, the two left the Guild.
...However, Yohanna was still trying desperately to pry Sergio's hand loose, wanting to meet Set even a little.
"Come now, Yohanna. Let's give up. You can meet him when Rei-san comes back, right?"
"N-o! I want to meet Set-chan, I'm going to meet him no matter what-!"
Yohanna showed behavior that couldn't possibly be mistaken for an adult woman.
Sergio tried somehow to calm her down, and Surnin and Ekril joined in to help.
Even so, Yohanna's cries of lamentation echoed through the bar.
When Rei and Vihera stepped outside the Guild, the scene before them was exactly as expected.
"Set-chan, here. It's dried meat, but it's delicious. Oh, but maybe proper cooking would be better?"
"Guruuu"
Set ate the dried meat Mirene offered, purring happily.
Since it was dried meat of slightly higher quality than normal, Set purred at how delicious it was.
At Set's behavior, Mirene couldn't stop herself from smiling.
She affectionately petted Set's body, looking happy.
"...Same as always, huh."
A voice that sounded exasperated was tossed at her.
"Oh, Rei. You were quite fast. You could have taken it a bit slower."
Without turning around, still petting Set, Mirene replied.
One way or another, Mirene and Rei had a long relationship.
Moreover, since Mirene shared the hobby of doting on Set, theirs was not only a long relationship but a deep one as well.
"Unfortunately, we accepted a Lizardman pack subjugation request."
"Hm. ...Well, it can't be helped then. See you later, Set-chan."
Mirene was also known as a skilled adventurer among the younger generation, and precisely because of that, she understood Gilm's current situation.
That was why, though she wanted to dote on Set more, she endured it and stepped away from him.
"Well then, be careful."
"Yeah."
After exchanging brief words, Mirene went inside the Guild.