Rei and his companions traveled along a path hardened not by construction but by the steady passage of people and carriages.
To be precise, the carriage Elena had provided was the one moving forward, and Set walked right beside it.
The season was already late autumn, and perhaps due to the dropping temperatures, there were almost no monsters attempting to attack them.
With Set present, most monsters wouldn't even try to attack in the first place, but there were always creatures like Goblins that couldn't comprehend an opponent's strength at all.
Even those Goblins, perhaps because of the cold, didn't launch any assaults on the carriage.
(Now that I think about it, how do Goblins survive the winter? Well, I do hear stories about Goblins and the like appearing even in winter, so while not as frequent as in summer, they're probably still active.)
Gazing out the carriage window, Rei pondered.
Inside the carriage, Elena, Marina, and Vihera were currently drinking tea, picking at light snacks, and chatting merrily.
It was what one might call a tea party.
Rei had participated in this tea party at first as well, but having grown somewhat tired, he was now gazing out the window from a slight distance away.
(Ah, Ielo is playing with Set.)
Watching Ielo run around the carriage with Set outside the window, a warm feeling welled up inside him.
He thought it might be a nuisance for the horses pulling the carriage, but since nothing seemed amiss, he felt reassured.
"Hey, Rei. How long are you going to stay over there? Come here and join the conversation."
"Hm? Ah, sorry."
Rei, who had been spacing out, made his way over to the table where Elena and the others sat when Vihera called out to him.
Elena and the others, seated on the sofa and sipping tea, were all three of them beauties for whom the word "peerless" was fitting. Even Rei, who spent a great deal of time in their company, found himself captivated.
Knowing that countless people had called out to Elena and the others before, Rei nodded to himself, thinking that was only natural.
To have beauties like these—and three of them no less.
It was only natural that many men would approach them with such... expectations.
Of course, if they were just ordinary men, they wouldn't even think of calling out to Elena and the others. They wouldn't be able to.
For men who had confidence in themselves, however, it was a different story.
And here in Elgin, there were many nobles, adventurers, merchants, and others who were far more self-assured than the men Rei knew, which was precisely why so many of them wanted to approach Elena and the others.
(Still, each of Elena and the others is far from ordinary, so anyone who knows that wouldn't try.)
Elena, the only daughter of Duke Kerebel, who led the Noble's Faction—one of the Three Great Factions in the Kingdom of Mireana—and who bore the alias Princess General.
Marina, a Dark Elf who served as the Guild Master in Gilm, the only frontier region in the Kingdom of Mireana, and though not generally known, she had a deep connection to the World Tree.
Vihera, a former member of the Bestia Empire's Imperial Family, who had fled her country in search of battle.
All three were beautiful women, but they were not ordinary beautiful women.
If anything, all of them had complicated backgrounds.
Among the three, the one most frequently approached by men was Vihera.
The fact that she had been a member of the Bestia Empire's Imperial Family was almost entirely unknown in the Kingdom of Mireana, and the other reason was that her clothing was as provocative as what Prostitutes or Dancers would wear.
"In that case, wouldn't it be better to change into different clothes? It's obvious men keep approaching you because there's a problem with your outfit, Vihera."
Marina muttered, looking somewhat exasperated.
But Elena interjected.
"If we're talking about clothing, Marina, you're also provoking men quite a bit, aren't you?"
A party dress with a deeply plunging neckline and an open back, while not as sheer as Vihera's flimsy garments, could certainly be described as provocative.
Normally, wearing such a party dress in everyday life rather than at a party hosted by nobles or wealthy merchants would make one stand out for the wrong reasons, but whether fortunately or unfortunately, a party dress suited Marina perfectly.
It wasn't an outfit that stimulated raw lust as directly as Vihera's, but precisely because it was a party dress, there were many who found themselves aroused by it.
Furthermore, Marina was unquestionably superior to Vihera in terms of feminine allure.
Depending on the person, some would find Marina's party dress more attractive than Vihera's sheer garments.
"In that regard, I don't give other men any openings."
Elena declared to Vihera and Marina with a beaming smile.
However, in response to Elena, Marina and Vihera exchanged glances.
Their demeanor clearly suggested they had something to say, and Elena furrowed her brow.
"What is it? If you have a rebuttal, I'm listening."
"...A rebuttal, or rather... you know?"
"Yes."
They spoke as if they had something caught between their teeth.
Hearing this, Elena opened her mouth again, appearing slightly offended.
"What is it? If you have something to say, could you please say it clearly?"
At Elena's words, Marina and Vihera exchanged glances once more.
It was a conversation conducted with their eyes alone—or rather, it would be more accurate to say they were each trying to push the task of explaining onto the other.
The silent battle of wills lasted several seconds, and in the end, Vihera won out over Marina, leaving Marina to explain things to Elena.
Prompted by Vihera's gaze, Marina opened her mouth with visible reluctance.
"Listen, Elena. Unlike Vihera and myself, you don't wear clothes that show off your body."
"That's right, isn't it?"
At Marina's words, Elena smiled with confidence.
But the looks Marina and Vihera directed at her carried a hint of pity.
"But you see, men are often captivated by bodies that are boldly displayed like Vihera's, but at the same time, they can become sufficiently aroused just from their own delus... no, their imagination."
"Imagination?"
Elena probably didn't understand what Marina was talking about. She tilted her head slightly.
In response, Marina nodded again.
"That's right. For example, Elena. It's a bit odd for us to be the ones saying this, but you have quite large breasts, don't you?"
Both Marina, who said this, and Vihera had busts that far exceeded average.
"Well, even if you say they're large. Marina and Vihera, you're both about the same as me, aren't you?"
"That's true. That's exactly why, when the three of us are together, your figure stands out. Because it's concealed, they want to see it. That's one aspect of male psychology."
"Because it's concealed..."
As Elena murmured Marina's words back to her, Vihera, who had been silently watching their exchange until then, suddenly spoke up.
"In other words, depending on the man, Elena can become the object of their desire more than Marina or me."
"Wh—!?"
It was clearly unexpected. Elena let out a short exclamation of surprise and then froze in place.
She had been approached by men countless times, and she was naturally aware that many men looked at her with eyes full of desire.
But to think that because her figure was concealed, she had been receiving even more male attention... With that thought, Elena once again turned her gaze toward Marina and Vihera.
It's a joke, she wanted them to say.
Contrary to that wish...
"Especially in your case, Elena. You always carry yourself with a dignified air, and on top of that, you're clad in armor, aren't you? That's exactly why, to men... well?"
Whether Vihera didn't finish her sentence out of consideration for Elena or because she thought teasing her that way was more effective, Elena's cheeks turned faintly red at her words.
"Hey, Rei. What do you think?"
"...You're throwing this to me?"
Rei, who had been behaving as though he had nothing to do with the conversation between the women, furrowed his brow as if he had bitten into something bitter.
He had no desire to get dragged into this discussion right now.
"Of course. It concerns your preferences, after all."
But Vihera nodded as if this were obvious, and Marina nodded in agreement with the sentiment.
Elena, too, waited for Rei's words with her cheeks still flushed.
"Ah... well. All three of you are each wonderful women in your own way. I think it's fine as long as you just be yourselves."
What came from Rei's mouth under the gazes of all three was a statement so vague it could be taken either way.
But even with such a noncommittal answer, all three showed happy smiles upon hearing his words.
"Well, I'd normally want to press you further, but I'll let you off the hook for now."
"...Thanks."
At Vihera's words, a reluctant word of gratitude slipped from Rei's mouth.
Judging that if things continued like this, the conversation would head in a direction he wouldn't find very pleasant, Rei brought up a different topic.
"We ended up leaving the dungeon core with Worker, but when exactly is it coming back here?"
"Hmm, let's see. It'll be transported to Gilm after a preliminary investigation, and then it needs to be studied further there, so... spring... no, I'd like you to expect about half a year."
Marina stated this after thinking for a moment, but hearing this, Rei's expression turned slightly displeased.
"Half a year? I think that's taking a bit too long."
"It can't be helped. A dungeon core isn't something that can be investigated so easily."
"Well, the very fact that a dungeon was cleared is undeniably a major event. Rei's name will probably spread even more than before, you know?"
Vihera said this as if following up on Marina's words, and Elena nodded as well.
"Now that you mention it, last year there was a rumor going around that Rei had cleared a dungeon..."
"Ah... well, that's not a lie. It was a bit special for something called a dungeon, or rather, it was a newly born dungeon, so the difficulty wasn't that high. The Gamelions were a delicious opponent in various ways, though."
"Thanks to that, Gamelion meat was more expensive than usual last year."
"...I did sell a fair amount to the Guild, didn't I?"
Marina said this, sounding a little dissatisfied.
With her salary as Guild Master and her own savings accumulated over the years, she could have purchased Gamelion meat without any issue at all.
However, with the already limited circulation of Gamelion meat, if she were to use her financial power to buy up all she wanted, the allocation for other residents would naturally decrease.
Taking that into consideration, the amount of Gamelion meat Marina was ultimately able to eat last year was by no means large.
For Marina, whose favorite foods included Gamelion meat, it was a deeply regrettable turn of events.
"Well, fine. I'll eat my fill this year. In Gilm, it shouldn't be surprising for Gamelion meat to be circulating in reasonable quantities by now. If the handover had progressed a bit further, I could have gone Gamelion hunting myself."
She still seemed somewhat disappointed, yet she exuded an air of anticipation.
In response to Marina, Elena opened her mouth as if she had suddenly realized something.
"Now that you mention it, the taste of the Silver Lion meat dishes made other dishes feel lacking, but what about Gamelion meat?"
At Elena's words, Marina froze for just a moment.
It was probably something she didn't want to think about either.
The dishes made from Silver Lion meat were literally so delicious they didn't seem like something from this world.
But those excessively delicious dishes left the taste lingering in one's mouth, and for a while afterward, even ordinary food didn't taste good.
Nothing short of the finest cuisine, like what was served at the Orc Stew Pavilion, would have tasted good.
"Don't bring that up. But the food we ate when we camped yesterday was decent enough, so the effect must be wearing off considerably, don't you think?"
"...True. But overly delicious ingredients are troublesome, aren't they? I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd get addicted after just one taste."
The carriage continued onward as they conversed...
"Lady Elena, Gilm is in sight!"
At Ara's voice from the driver's seat, everyone exhaled in relief, feeling they had finally returned.
Elena didn't actually live in Gilm, but even so, a city with outer walls was reassuring.