At the end of Rei's gaze stood a figure of dignified beauty—Elena, known by the moniker Princess General.
"Kyu!"
From within Rei's arms, Ielo let out a short cry and flapped its small wings, flying toward Elena.
Rei watched in silence, but when Elena took a step toward him, he too took a step toward her.
Many of those around them had no idea what was happening and could only stare in astonishment, but neither Rei nor Elena seemed to notice.
Among the crowd were a few who had participated in the previous war with the Bestia Empire or had seen Elena's face from afar for some other reason. They rubbed their eyes, realizing who stood among them.
Of course, Elena had visited Gilm before.
There were likely those who had seen her face back then.
Regardless, despite the stares directed at them, Elena and Rei continued closing the distance between each other, until finally, Rei spoke.
"Elena, why are you here..."
At his words, Elena smiled.
"After hearing about Vihera's situation, I simply could not sit still. However, I had a great deal of work that needed to be settled, so it took me some time to get here."
Naturally, Elena was aware of Vihera's current condition.
Rei and Elena could communicate using Paired Orbs. While not quite every day, they still spoke to each other every few days, so sharing the circumstances regarding Vihera was a given.
Upon hearing about Vihera, Elena had tried to find a way to restore her consciousness by utilizing her ducal family's resources and the influence that came with her moniker as the Princess General, gathering information to the utmost of her ability.
But the cause of Vihera's unconsciousness was Unbris.
A being that had appeared once, three hundred years prior—and not in the Kingdom of Mireana, but in the Bestia Empire.
They could barely obtain any detailed information. The fact that she managed to gather even a little was likely a testament to just how famous Elena's name was.
She had rushed to finish the minimum work that needed to be settled, and once she had a degree of leeway, she made her way to Gilm.
Since she had already stayed in Gilm for a fairly long period during the spring of this year, those around Elena had not looked kindly upon her going to Gilm again. But in that regard, Elena had pushed her own will through.
"Last time..."
"You were inside the carriage, weren't you."
Elena answered instantly, not letting Rei finish his sentence.
When they had spoken via Paired Orbs a few days ago, she had already been en route to Gilm by carriage.
"There was no need to hide it, was there?"
"Ara told me it's better to surprise you with these things."
"...Come to think of it, where is Ara?"
Rei felt something was off when he could not see Elena's loyal retainer and close friend.
Ara's feelings toward Elena were incredibly strong—no, strong was putting it mildly, as they sometimes bordered on going out of control.
That was only natural, considering the moment Rei first met Elena, when their eyes had met.
"Ara is currently making arrangements for our lodging. At the Wheat Inn at Twilight, naturally."
"It's a good thing they had a vacant room."
Gilm was currently bustling with many merchants who had been unable to visit during the Unbris situation.
Naturally, among those merchants were many who could be called great merchants, and the Wheat Inn at Twilight was one of the inns where such people stayed.
Given that the Wheat Inn at Twilight could easily be fully booked with merchants and adventurers like those, Rei was surprised to hear that Elena had secured a room.
He had many things he wanted to discuss with Elena, but perhaps because of this sudden reunion, he couldn't honestly put his feelings into words.
"Yes. Fortunately, there were many merchants who recognized me."
"...I would think so."
Merchants for whom information was life—and moreover, merchants who had the financial means to stay at the Wheat Inn at Twilight.
Naturally, there were those who knew Elena's face, and for such people, being able to form a connection with Elena simply by yielding a room was nothing short of fortunate.
Seeing the merchant who had successfully negotiated with Elena subjected to jealous stares from other merchants showed just how significant it was to become acquainted with her.
"Anyway, we'll draw attention standing here. Shall we head back to the inn?"
"Yeah. I have a lot I want to talk about too."
Muttering this, Rei felt that the heavy burden he had been carrying had lightened, if only slightly, from meeting Elena.
Of course, meeting Elena hadn't made it disappear entirely, but for him right now, talking with Elena felt like the best possible change of pace.
Whether she understood Rei's feelings or not, Elena began walking toward the Wheat Inn at Twilight alongside him.
Following behind the two of them was Set, who had finished playing with the children, with Ielo still perched on his head.
Two people and two creatures was not so unusual in Gilm, but Rei and his group walking through the streets drew people's eyes no matter what.
Though they were walking, neither of them said anything.
The two continued in silence, but strangely, there was no awkward atmosphere between Rei and Elena.
No, if anything, they were both enjoying the silence—Rei enjoyed the silence that came from Elena being there, and Elena enjoyed the silence that came from Rei being there.
It was not an ordinary silence, but a fulfilling one that existed precisely because they were together.
Set and Ielo were behind Rei and Elena, but the atmosphere the two of them exuded made it so that no one could even think of calling out to them.
Even those who would normally have called out to Set without fail.
And so, maintaining their silence, the two arrived at the Wheat Inn at Twilight.
"Guruu..."
Set let out a somewhat lonely cry, but headed toward the stable without needing Rei to say anything.
Whether Ielo felt sorry for Set, or simply wanted to spend more time playing with a friend it hadn't seen in a while, Rei couldn't tell—but Ielo stayed perched on Set's head and followed along to the stable.
Now truly alone together, Rei and Elena entered the Wheat Inn at Twilight.
"...Ah, Lady Elena! I wondered where you had gone—you were outside!"
A mere few seconds after they were alone, someone inside the inn spotted Elena and Rei and called out.
Rei naturally knew who that person was.
"It's been a while, Ara."
Before Elena could say anything, Rei spoke.
Seeing Rei's demeanor, Ara had no choice but to swallow the words of caution she had been about to give Elena.
And reluctantly, she opened her mouth.
"It has been a while, Lord Rei."
"It seems I've caused you a lot of trouble this time regarding my situation... but honestly, I'm grateful. Elena probably pushed herself to do various things just to come see me, so please cut her some slack."
With Rei going that far, Ara had no choice but to back down.
The fact that Ara owed Rei a great deal was also significant, but above all, the most important thing was that Elena was smiling.
Ever since she had been told about Vihera's situation, Elena had been deep in thought more often.
Of course, she smiled when necessary, but those were only forced smiles.
That same Elena now wore a natural smile.
The reason Ara had been momentarily speechless when Elena returned to the Wheat Inn at Twilight was because she had seen Elena wearing a natural smile for the first time in a while.
Of course, with the Vihera situation still unresolved, it wasn't a beaming smile.
Even so, seeing Elena as she was now, Ara felt a sense of relief.
(Lady Elena... thank goodness...)
Even though she thought that inwardly, she still wasn't pleased that Elena had gone out into the city alone.
It wasn't that Elena had dumped all the work on her—it was purely out of concern for Elena's safety.
Elena was a beauty who could captivate anyone at first glance.
If such a woman walked through the city alone, the possibility of her getting caught up in some troublesome incident was extremely high.
Considering Elena's strength, even if someone tried something, she could handle it effortlessly.
She understood that, but there was always the chance of something unexpected happening.
Gilm in particular attracted skilled adventurers, so the unexpected was entirely possible.
"So, Ara. Are the room arrangements settled?"
"Yes. I have already properly thanked the merchant who yielded this room to us."
"I see."
Elena nodded at those words and turned her gaze toward Rei.
"I would like to see Vihera's condition. Would that be all right?"
"Yeah. I'll take you there right away."
The unconscious Vihera remained asleep in the bed of the room they had rented at the Wheat Inn at Twilight.
Some had suggested that it might be better to move her to a hospital, but given the circumstances behind her unconsciousness, leaving her at a hospital would only result in occupying a bed with no prospect of treatment.
Considering that the battle with the monster packs had produced many injured people and there were not enough beds no matter how many they had, this was a natural decision.
Also, though the doctors didn't say it directly, there was the concern that leaving a beauty like Vihera unconscious on a bed would likely attract people with ill intentions.
Under normal circumstances, if someone tried to harass the unconscious Vihera, it could have been managed to some extent.
But given the situation at the time, when injured people were being produced in large numbers, they couldn't spare the resources for that. Ultimately, the choice was made to let her sleep in the bed of her room at the Wheat Inn at Twilight.
However, the Wheat Inn at Twilight was known as a luxury inn, and naturally had a high awareness of security.
Even if someone tried to harass Vihera, security was stricter than at a hospital.
Additionally, despite not eating or drinking anything, she showed no signs of wasting away, nor did she sweat—a mysterious state that had undoubtedly influenced the decision to bring her to the Wheat Inn at Twilight.
Currently, a woman had been hired to look after Vihera in case anything happened, and was stationed in Vihera's room.
The reason they hired a woman was, naturally, to prevent any lapses in judgment.
Incidentally, this job—which paid well despite only requiring the worker to stay inside the room and immediately report if anything happened to Vihera—naturally had a high competition rate when the position was posted.
Lana, the proprietress of the Wheat Inn at Twilight, had conducted the interview, and the person she approved was currently inside the room, tending to Vihera.
Rei and Elena stood in front of Vihera's room.
Initially, Ara had wanted to come along as well, but she knew the relationship between Rei, Elena, Vihera... and Marina, who was not here.
She judged that forcing her way in would only be a nuisance, and had stayed behind to organize the luggage in their room.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
Elena nodded at Rei's words, and confirming this, he knocked on the door.
The sound echoed around them.
After a short while, a voice came from the other side of the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Rei."
When Rei gave his name, the door opened.
Peering through the gap in the door as if to confirm was a middle-aged woman in her forties.
She was somewhat broad for someone to be called medium-built, but the expression on her face was a kind smile.
"Rei-san, you're quite early today."
"Yeah. I brought someone to see Vihera."
He shifted his body to the side, showing Elena to the woman behind him.
The woman's eyes went wide at the sudden appearance of Elena's beauty before her, but she quickly came to her senses and spoke.
"My, what a lovely young lady. To think there's such a beauty besides Vihera... Vihera will be angry when she wakes up, you know?"
"Hehe, there's no need to worry. Like Vihera, I have sworn my future to Rei."
"...My, my. Rei-san, you really are quite..."
The woman flashed an amused smile, but Rei quietly averted his gaze.
He knew he would be teased if this continued.
He had thoroughly understood over the time she had been caring for Vihera that the woman before him was a busybody with a strong interest in other people's romances.
"Anyway, sorry, but could you step out for a bit?"
"Yes, of course. Just one moment, please."
She went into the room, picked up what was presumably the knitting she had been working on before Rei arrived, and stepped out.
"Please call me when you're done. I'll be in the dining hall on the first floor."
"Sorry about that... here, have some tea with this."
When Rei handed her a few copper coins, the woman smiled and departed.
Watching her go, Rei and Elena entered the room.
The reason there were two beds in the room was that this room was rented by Vihera and Byune.
Of course, Byune was not in Gilm right now.
(Once Byune gets back, I'll have to tell her about Vihera, huh.)
Thinking such things, Rei turned his gaze toward the bed.
There lay Vihera, looking as though she were merely sleeping.