The day after being told there was a nomination request to discuss, Rei arrived at Viscount Marnino's estate in the Noble District with Set.
The mansion was fairly large, though naturally it paled in comparison to the estates of higher-ranking nobles like ducal families.
Rei had no idea how grand a residence was supposed to match a given noble rank, but he could at least tell that it was worlds apart from the ordinary homes lining Gilm's main street.
Given the estate's prominent gate, it naturally had gatekeepers standing watch—two of them.
The gatekeepers tensed for a moment when they saw someone approaching, but quickly relaxed.
They recognized the approaching figures as Rei and Set.
...Normally, it would be impossible to identify an approaching person so quickly.
But in Rei's case, as long as Set was with him, anyone could figure out who he was in an instant.
These guards were residents of Gilm. Naturally, they knew what Rei and Set looked like, and they knew Rei was a high-ranking Alias Holder.
And since they had heard from their supervisor that Rei and Set would be visiting today, there was no need to stay on edge.
"I was summoned by Viscount Marnino," Rei said.
"Yes, we've been informed. I'll fetch someone in charge immediately, so please wait a moment."
It was a remarkably polite tone for a knight addressing an adventurer.
This, too, was because Rei was a high-ranking Alias Holder.
...Then again, he had heard a story about how a gatekeeper had once taken it upon himself to turn Rei away, only to be severely reprimanded by his superiors afterward. So perhaps this level of politeness was only natural.
At any rate, after watching one of the gatekeepers disappear into the mansion, Rei decided to gather some information about Viscount Marnino himself.
He had already gotten a general idea of what kind of person the Viscount was from Kenny yesterday, but hearing it from someone who served him directly would be the most reliable and quickest approach.
"From what I hear, Viscount Marnino doesn't usually live in Gilm... Why come all the way out here? As you know, Gilm has had quite a lot going on until recently."
"You mean the Unbris incident. I live in Gilm too, so I know all about that... But unfortunately, I don't know why Viscount Marnino came to Gilm either. This estate was originally meant not for the Viscount himself, but for his relatives to live in."
"I see. So it's like a vacation home."
Building a vacation home in the frontier region of Gilm was close to an adventure in more ways than one.
More accurately, the estate had likely been built to maintain communication with Daskar, the central figure of the Neutral Faction.
For the head of the Marnino Viscount family to show up at such a place must have come as a complete surprise to the staff working there.
(From what I've heard, he doesn't have any major bad rumors, but he does have some minor ones. A typical noble who's neither poison nor medicine... But judging by this gatekeeper's attitude, maybe he's not such a bad guy?)
Rei thought this, but idly stroked Set as he dismissed the notion.
According to what he had heard, this gatekeeper was a resident of Gilm.
If that was the case, the man naturally knew more about what kind of person Rei was than most outsiders, and he certainly wouldn't pick a fight with someone like him.
When Rei had first arrived in Gilm a few years ago, there had been a fair number of people willing to pick a fight with him... But fortunately, Rei was now quite famous in Gilm.
Fundamentally, no one would dare pick a fight with the Rei of today.
...He said "fundamentally" because there were always some uninformed people out there.
In fact, Asimov hadn't known who Rei was when they first met.
Also, newly arrived adventurers who judged people solely by their appearances might try to hassle Rei if they spotted him without Set. It wouldn't be a rare story.
Of course, people like that always ended up regretting it.
"I've never actually met Viscount Marnino... Mind if I ask what kind of personality he has?"
"Hmm, let's see. He's not a bad person. He even greets us gatekeepers."
"Huh..."
Since they were employed by the Marnino Viscount family, they naturally couldn't criticize their employer.
Or so Rei thought, but there was no trace of disgust in the gatekeeper's words.
The man was someone who usually wasn't even in Gilm, so perhaps the staff didn't fully grasp their employer's true nature yet.
That was likely why the gatekeeper was giving such safe, noncommittal answers—or so Rei surmised.
After chatting with the gatekeeper for a few minutes, the man who had gone inside finally returned.
He was accompanied by a middle-aged man, whom Rei guessed was probably a butler or something similar.
"Thank you for waiting. I am Jonathan, the head butler of the Marnino Viscount household. My master is waiting for you, so if you would kindly come with me?"
The man who introduced himself as Jonathan was indeed a butler, just as Rei had guessed.
Feeling a small sense of satisfaction at being right, Rei gave a nod.
(A butler, but not named Sebastian... There was a butler with a similar name before, though.)
Thinking such thoughts, Rei passed through the gate and entered the mansion.
Naturally, Set couldn't enter the mansion, so one of the gatekeepers led him to the stables.
Set seemed disappointed that he couldn't stay with Rei, but he obediently followed after the gatekeeper.
Based on past experience, going to the stables meant getting something delicious to eat. He might have been reasoning that way.
It wasn't a baseless assumption either—after all, the appetizing smell of cooking meat was already wafting from the direction Set was being led.
This was because several of the maids working at the estate were Set enthusiasts.
...One maid had asked a young cook with a smile to prepare a meal for Set... and the cook, who secretly had feelings for that maid, simply couldn't refuse.
It wasn't quite a honey trap, but thanks to the maid's arrangements, a meal was waiting in the stables. Naturally, the maids were also waiting there, ready to monopolize the sight of Set eating and fawn over him to their hearts' content.
"Master is waiting for you here."
While Set was being fawned over by the maids as he ate in the stables, Rei stood before the room Jonathan had guided him to.
"Excuse me, Master. I have brought Lord Rei."
"Mm, let him in."
Hearing the voice from within, Jonathan opened the door.
Stepping through the open door, Rei found himself facing a man of medium build who looked to be somewhere in his late twenties to early thirties.
(He's young.)
Setting his own age aside for a moment, Rei studied the man who had been reading some documents at the desk.
In truth, the person before him was young enough to still be called a young man, quite different from the image one might have of a noble family head.
A viscountcy wasn't a particularly high rank among noble titles, but even so, seeing someone so young serving as the head of the family was surprising to Rei.
Then again, among the nobles Rei had encountered so far, there had been even younger ones.
(No, she wasn't a family head, was she?)
What flashed through Rei's mind was the daughter of a noble from the same King's Faction as the man before him.
That child, with her peculiar speech pattern ending sentences in "noja," was arguably younger than Rei—in fact, an age where "little girl" would be a more fitting term—yet she fully understood her responsibilities as a noble.
"Hoh, so you're Rei... You're quite small."
Rei felt a slight twinge of irritation at those words, but he was well aware of his own short stature.
Having been told as much countless times before, he simply let it go, lowering the hood of his Dragon Robe as he spoke.
"I'm Rei, a B-Rank Adventurer. I was told there was a nomination request for me."
A twitch.
The man's brow flickered for a moment at Rei's way of speaking, but he didn't let any further displeasure show as he opened his mouth.
"I am Linus Marnino. First, have a seat. We can discuss the details after that."
Rei nodded at Viscount Marnino's—Linus's—words and sat down on the sofa in the room.
Right on cue, as if they had timed it perfectly, a maid entered the room carrying tea.
Most of the maids had been busy fawning over Set, but some had their own duties to attend to and couldn't go see him.
This maid was one of those unfortunate souls, and she was internally quite disappointed.
However, being able to see Rei—the one who had tamed Set—up close was a stroke of luck in its own right.
She loved admiring creatures like Set, but getting to see Rei's bare face up close, a face often described as feminine, was a rare treat.
Rei normally kept the hood of his Dragon Robe up, rarely showing his face in public.
It wasn't for any particular reason; he simply found the Dragon Robe's simplified air conditioner-like function too convenient to go without.
At any rate, the maid, blessed by this unexpected fortune, let out internal squeals of delight before leaving the room.
That left only Rei, Linus, a few knights who were presumably Linus's guards, and Jonathan the head butler.
Keeping guards on hand was only natural when dealing with Rei.
Rei's name was famous, but he was still an adventurer at the end of the day.
Given that, having guards ready in case anything happened was simply common sense.
"Now then, first let me apologize for summoning you here like this. We have our own circumstances, and I couldn't just carelessly show my face at the Guild."
"...That's fine. So, what is it you want to request of me?"
"Wait a moment."
Linus raised a hand to stop Rei, who was trying to get straight to the point.
Since Rei wasn't in any particular hurry, he didn't object to Linus's words and simply nodded, falling silent.
"First, I wanted to ask—I've heard that you're quite confident in your fighting abilities... No, I suppose there's no need to ask further about that. The Unbris, was it? I hear you performed admirably in that matter as well. Not to mention the war with the Bestia Empire."
Within the Kingdom of Mireana, anyone who wasn't completely indifferent to rumors or a shut-in had surely heard Rei's name at least once.
Nobles in particular couldn't survive if they were out of the loop on information.
And a noble of the King's Faction would have a certain level of intelligence fall into their lap even without trying.
There was no way Linus didn't know the extent of Rei's combat prowess, which was his most noteworthy ability.
"Also, the fact that you have a gryphon as your Tamed Monster is remarkable... Honestly, I'd love to have you serve my house. What do you say? Compensation is negotiable."
He was inviting Rei as if it were a joke, but Linus's eyes were dead serious.
If Rei were to nod even half-jokingly, Linus would probably start the paperwork right then and there—that was the level of sincerity he projected.
That was exactly why Rei immediately shook his head.
"Unfortunately, I have no intention of serving anyone right now. I have a lot of things I need to take care of."
Even in quieter times, Rei wouldn't have bothered serving anyone.
Much less now, when he was searching for a way to restore Vihera's consciousness.
He had absolutely no intention of entering a noble's service.
(Was the nomination request just a scouting attempt? If so, that's too bad—it was a letdown. For both of us.)
Thinking that, Rei lost interest in the nomination request entirely and opened his mouth.
"In that case, I'll be going no—"
"Wait. Please, wait. You haven't heard everything yet, have you?"
Sensing Rei was about to leave, Linus hurriedly tried to placate him.
Rei had been halfway out of his seat, but at Linus's insistence, he settled back onto the sofa.
Seeing this, Linus let out a small sigh.
Rei felt a bit slighted by the gesture, which seemed to say, "Hopeless fellow."
"Then I'd appreciate it if you could tell me about this nomination request soon."
"...Very well. But let me warn you—once you hear the details of this request, you will not be able to refuse. Keep that in mind before you listen."
"Wait."
Rei shot the words right back at Linus.
It was his usual blunt manner, a stark contrast to the polite tone he had been trying to maintain until now.
Hear it and be unable to refuse? He had absolutely no intention of accepting a request like that.
"You're saying I have to accept it no matter what, even though I don't even know what the request is?"
"That's right. You can assume it is a request of that much importance."
"I see."
Hearing Rei's response, Linus must have thought his words had gotten through.
He nodded in satisfaction and opened his mouth to speak—
"Unfortunately, let's pretend this conversation never happened. I have no intention of accepting the request."
At the words that came out of Rei's mouth, Linus's eyes went wide.