"Mmnh... mmm... mmm...?"
As morning sunlight poured in through the window, Rei woke up in bed.
However, he looked around as if he had no idea where he was.
He tilted his head slightly at the unfamiliar surroundings, but perhaps his mind was still half-asleep, for he simply stopped moving then and there.
Had he been on a request or a battlefield — or had there been any hint of killing intent — he would have snapped awake in an instant.
But the only person in this room right now was Rei himself.
That was why, even in his half-dazed state, there was no one to reprimand or caution him.
About ten minutes passed like that... and eventually, Rei's mind began to clear.
And then he remembered where he was.
"Ah, right. Come to think of it, I came to the Dungeon, didn't I."
Remembering that he had come to the Dungeon to restore Vihera's and Rhodos's consciousness, and that he had defeated the Silver Lion, the Boss Monster of the Deepest Layer, he quietly reached a hand toward his ribs.
It was the spot where, during the battle with the Silver Lion, he had taken a blow through his Dragon Robe — not quite a fracture, but a dull ache.
Whether to call it fortunate or not, after a night's sleep, the pain had already completely vanished.
That was likely only possible because Rei's body inherently possessed a high Recovery Ability.
Relieved by that fact, he quickly got dressed.
He turned his gaze out the window; the sun had already fully risen.
Sensing that it was hardly what one would call morning, he pulled a pocket watch from his Misty Ring, and the time displayed was already close to ten o'clock.
Back in Japan, it might still be a reasonable hour for the morning, but in this world, people generally went to bed earlier and woke up earlier than in Japan.
...Naturally. Magic Items for lighting, while priced affordably enough for ordinary people to purchase, were by no means so cheap that one could buy as many as they wanted without a second thought.
That was precisely why a lifestyle of sleeping early and waking early was the norm.
Given that lifestyle, past ten in the morning felt, to Rei, almost like it was nearing midday.
"Well, it's not like there's anything I need to rush for."
If Vihera were still unconscious, he might not have had the luxury of saying something like that.
But Vihera had already awakened.
On top of that, she was so energetic it was hard to believe she had been unconscious for nearly two months.
"...Ah, I see. One way or another, I really was worried about Vihera, wasn't I."
Deciding that the reason he had overslept this badly for the first time in a while was the relief he felt now that his worries about Vihera had been resolved, Rei let out a wry smile at how easily readable he was.
Stepping out of the bedroom, he suddenly felt something was off.
Wondering what could be causing the sense of incongruity, he looked around — and immediately understood.
There was no sign of anyone.
This room had a living area for relaxing, which connected to two separate bedrooms.
But right now, there was no sign of anyone in this room at all, bedrooms included.
"What happened to Elk and Rhodos? ...Come to think of it, they said they were leaving today. Have they already gone?"
Thinking they could have at least said a word to him before leaving, Rei's gaze then landed on a single sheet of paper placed on the living room table.
What was written there was Elk's handwriting.
It briefly stated that he had tried to wake Rei several times before leaving, but since Rei had shown no signs of waking at all, he had decided to leave as he was.
At the end, there was also a renewed expression of gratitude for having been able to restore Rhodos's consciousness.
"Ah... I really was completely drained, wasn't I. I never thought I'd been sleeping so deeply that I wouldn't even wake when someone tried to rouse me."
Understanding that Elk had tried to wake him, Rei placed the written note back on the table.
If Elk had truly tried to wake him without holding back — if he had emitted killing intent, for instance — Rei would have leapt out of bed.
But Elk had judged that unnecessary, and had left a note behind instead.
Rei reflected on his own lack of vigilance for just a moment, but decided that every once in a while was fine and left the room.
He then headed for the dining hall.
He had decided to at least eat breakfast first.
Or perhaps, an early lunch.
Either way, given the hour, he had expected the dining hall to be empty... but to his surprise, there were quite a few customers inside.
"Hm? ...Ah."
Wondering why there would be so many people at this hour, Rei looked around the dining hall and immediately understood the reason.
So as not to be in the way. There, toward the edge of the hall, were three eye-catching beauties.
Though falling short of those three, there was also a woman whose features were refined enough by normal standards, as well as a small, black dragon.
It was a group that would inevitably draw attention from their surroundings, yet they were so out of place that no one dared to try approaching them.
Perhaps it was because some people knew the true identities of those individuals... the duke's daughter who bore the alias Princess General, the Guild Master of Gilm, a former member of the Bestia Empire's Imperial Family.
(No, the first two aside, it's unlikely that Vihera is widely known.)
Originally, Vihera had rarely appeared at official events as a member of the Imperial Family, and she had fled the Bestia Empire several years ago.
Those who held that information were likely few to begin with, and even if they did, the possibility of someone who knew Vihera's face being in the Kingdom of Mireana — let alone in the frontier, not in Gilm but in a Dungeon — was exceedingly slim.
Even so, regardless of Vihera's circumstances, her appearance alone was enough to draw people's attention.
(The fact that no one is hitting on them is probably thanks to Elena and Marina, after all.)
Most of the seats in the dining hall were filled, but there was no sign of anyone actually trying to talk to Elena and the others.
Well, perhaps there had been at first, but at the very least, no such figures could be seen anywhere now.
Amidst that somewhat bizarre atmosphere... Rei, without seeming particularly bothered, headed toward the table where Elena and the others were seated.
The people sitting nearby cast looks at Rei as if he were someone with a death wish, but he paid no mind to such gazes.
And naturally, Elena and the others noticed Rei approaching... and the very next moment, the surrounding customers, who had been certain he would be cut down with words, were left doubting their own eyes.
"Rei, you were quite late today. I thought you would wake up a little earlier."
Elena, brushing back her golden hair, smiled and spoke to Rei.
And it wasn't just Elena who was smiling. Marina and Vihera were both smiling with genuine delight from the bottom of their hearts, clear for all the onlookers to see, and while Ara's smile was not quite as radiant as the other three, she was smiling all the same.
"Kyu-kyu! Kyuu!"
And Ielo, who had been eating a Sandwich on the table, let out a happy cry upon seeing Rei.
No, not just that — it kicked off the table, flapping its small wings frantically, and dove straight into Rei's arms.
"Whoa, what's wrong? You're acting like a spoiled child today. If you want to play with Set, you can go to the stables, you know?"
He told Ielo that while stroking it, enjoying the cool, hard texture of its scales.
Whether Ielo was listening to Rei's words or not, it seemed satisfied enough from being petted. It kicked off Rei, returned to the table, and sank its small fangs into the half-eaten Sandwich.
Rei smiled at Ielo's behavior and sat down at the table where Elena and the others were seated.
"So, what's the reason for oversleeping?"
Since Rei hadn't answered her earlier words, Vihera asked again.
"As for the reason for oversleeping... well, yesterday was tough in a lot of ways. There must have been some fatigue that just wouldn't go away."
Rather than saying it was because he was relieved about Vihera's situation, he deflected it like that out of embarrassment.
Of course, it wasn't exactly wrong.
The battle with the Silver Lion had been one of the most intense fights Rei had ever experienced.
They had only managed to defeat it by borrowing the strength of many, including Elk, but even so, the fact that they had been pushed close to their limits was undeniable.
Overwhelming defensive power was extraordinarily troublesome — that was the lesson the incident had drilled into Rei.
On top of that, according to what Grimm had told him, there were still many more Silver Lions out there, which was more than enough to make Rei want to become strong enough to defeat one alone someday.
(The materials... fortunately, almost all of them were yielded to me. So next time I defeat a Silver Lion, I'll share the materials with Elena and the others.)
Since he had received a great many materials — or rather, nearly all of them — he intended to show his gratitude.
That was, what he considered to be, the greatest possible expression of thanks.
After ordering a random breakfast from the employee who came to take his order, Rei opened his mouth.
"So, Elk and Rhodos weren't in my room anymore..."
"Ah, Elk and the others departed early this morning. They probably want to let Rhodos rest in Gilm as soon as possible."
"I know that. There was a note from Elk in my room. ...I would have liked to see them off, at least. Apparently, I didn't wake up at all even when Elk tried to rouse me."
"...Doesn't failing to wake up even when Elk calls you pose all sorts of problems for an adventurer?"
"I kind of think so too."
Rei replied to Vihera, and reached his fork toward the breakfast that had been brought out... a portion that was quite large for a morning meal.
As expected of a high-class inn, it was perfectly tasty under normal circumstances.
He understood that perfectly well, but still, when he recalled the taste of the dishes made with Silver Lion meat that he had eaten the day before, he couldn't help but feel something was lacking.
...Seeing Rei's attitude, Elena and the others — likely guessing what was on his mind — all four of them, including Ara, smiled in a similar fashion.
The one who spoke on their behalf was Elena.
"The food here isn't bad. No, one could even call it delicious. But... it's still lacking."
"...You understand?"
"Naturally. The sense of dissatisfaction Rei is feeling right now is something everyone here is..."
Elena paused her words there, for on the table was Ielo, who had finished its Sandwich and was now sinking its fangs anew into the remaining stir-fried meat.
The way it happily wagged its tail made it look nothing like a child of the Dragon Species, which was said to stand at the pinnacle of monsters.
Of course, Ielo was a being created by Elena's Dragon Language Magic, so it was not a true dragon in the strictest sense.
"...is shared by everyone except Ielo."
"Kyu?"
Perhaps noticing its name being called, Ielo tilted its small head and looked toward Elena.
Elena stroked Ielo's head while turning her gaze to Rei, as if to say, Right?
Rei gave a small shrug to Elena and the others, gesturing to show that they were exactly right.
"This inn's food should be plenty delicious, though."
That much he had fully understood when he had stayed and eaten at this inn the day before yesterday and yesterday.
But right now, he couldn't help but compare it to the taste of the Silver Lion dishes he had eaten yesterday.
It was a drawback of food that was too delicious — one could call it that.
No, since the Hobbyist Shop Owner of the Orc Stew Pavilion had yet to find a cooking method that fully brought out the Silver Lion meat's characteristics, perhaps in this case it should be called a drawback of ingredients that were too delicious.
"That's true... Well, eventually that taste will be forgotten too. No, in Rei's case, he has a huge stock of Silver Lion meat, so that's what worries me."
"Thinking about how I need to treat Yohanna and the others to some meat once we get back to Gilm and they return, I can't eat too much of it myself."
"Oh, come on. It was that big, you know? Normally you'd say there's no way you could finish it all, wouldn't you?"
Vihera, who had been listening to the conversation between Rei and Elena, chimed in with something like exasperation.
A Silver Lion measuring six meters in length... four meters even excluding the tail. The sheer quantity of meat was, normally, far too much for one or two people... or in this case, since Set was involved, should one say one person and one creature?
At any rate, it was not something Rei and Set could finish on their own... normally, that was.
Anyone who knew Rei and Set's appetites would think that the Silver Lion meat would be gone in a matter of days.
It wouldn't be strange for someone to think that.
No, it was only natural.
"...More importantly, what's the plan for today? Are we heading back already?"
Sensing that the flow of the conversation was turning against him, Rei changed the subject... and since everyone agreed there was no particular need to stay any longer, it was decided without much fuss that they would return to Gilm.