Byune, who had returned to the Labyrinth City Exil, came back to Gilm the day after Rei and his party had departed for the Dungeon.
She had somehow resolved the issue in Exil and made her way back to Gilm, only to be greeted by the news that Vihera had fallen unconscious.
She considered heading for the Dungeon but worried she might pass them on the way. She also judged that she would only get in the way if she went, so she quietly waited at the Wheat Inn at twilight.
And today, Vihera and the others—including Elena—had returned.
"My, Byune. I was sure you wouldn't be back in Gilm until spring. That was quite fast."
"Mm."
Byune nodded at Vihera's words while looking up at her partner's face, positioned considerably higher than her own.
Her expression remained as unreadable as ever, but Vihera, who had known her for a long time, must have understood what she was trying to convey. She gently patted Byune's head.
"It seems we caused you worry. I'm fine, see? There's nothing wrong with me, is there?"
"Mm..."
Even as her head was being patted, Byune cast a slightly worried glance at Vihera.
She noticed that Vihera's eyes had changed to silver, different from before, but she knew that pointing it out would only make Vihera fret over her.
Their long acquaintance meant Byune understood Vihera's personality all too well.
Of course, the same held true in reverse. Their years together gave Vihera a solid grasp of what Byune was thinking.
After all, only Vihera could accurately decipher the meaning behind Byune's single-word vocabulary of "Mm."
"Byune, have you been well?"
Once her exchange with Vihera had run its course, Elena called out to Byune.
Elena was fond of Byune, and her presence was enough to make her somewhat forget what Vihera had said to her in the carriage.
Byune, too, knew that Elena doted on her, so she returned a nod with her expression as unchanged as ever.
"Mm!"
"I see, you've been well. Considering the distance from Exil to Gilm, did you come alone?"
"Mm."
This time, Byune shook her head.
In truth, she had traveled to Gilm alongside an adventurer heading the same way from Exil.
Naturally, the adventurer had been chosen by her guardian, Bosk Silwa. Though somewhat rough around the edges, they would never have done anything to harm Byune.
There had been some difficulty with communication, but she had arrived in Gilm safely, which meant the adventurer's skills were by no means inferior to those based in Gilm.
That adventurer had already headed to the Guild, eagerly searching for good requests.
They had brought a certain amount of money with them, but prices for various goods differed between Exil and Gilm. What was cheap in one city was expensive in the other, and vice versa.
Factor all of that in, and it was slightly uncertain whether their funds would last through the winter.
Byune knew this, but she didn't seem particularly bothered as she continued attending to Elena's conversation.
"Lady Elena, standing here talking like this will be in the way of others. Should we not continue after going inside?"
"Hm? ...Ah, I see. Then let us do that. Ara, the carriage..."
"Yes, I'll hand it over to the inn staff, so please rest assured. Lord Rei, I'll take care of Set as well."
While Elena was speaking with Ara, Rei noticed Byune had moved beside Set and was gently stroking its head. He nodded at Ara's words and replied.
"Is that right? If you don't mind, then I'll leave it to you."
"There's no problem. More importantly, at this hour the dining hall will start getting crowded soon, so I think we should hurry."
"Mm!"
The one who responded swiftly to Ara's words was neither Rei nor Elena, but Byune.
For someone who had originally lived in poverty, meals were an extremely important matter.
Moreover, the Wheat Inn at twilight was known for its delicious cooking, and its dining hall was open to non-guests as well.
The possibility of missing out on that food was something Byune absolutely could not tolerate.
"H-hold on, Byune. I get it, I get it!"
As if forgetting she had been petting Set just a moment before, Byune grabbed Vihera and dragged her toward the dining hall.
Seeing Byune like that, Rei and Elena couldn't help but smile as they followed.
"Mm! Mm!"
"Hey, Byune. You don't have to pull so hard, do you? Look, it's fine. It's not that crowded yet. H-hey, Rei, Elena!"
Vihera shot them a pleading look, but Rei and Elena had no intention of coming to her rescue. They simply followed along.
It was true they had drunk fruit water in the carriage, but that was hardly enough to satisfy their hunger.
Well, if they had truly downed nothing but massive quantities of fruit water, perhaps it would be a different story. But with a dining hall right there, there was no reason not to take advantage of it.
"I want some Gamelion dishes. ...Seems like the fuss over the Silver Lion meat has settled down by now, too."
"Mm?"
Hearing Rei's words, Byune turned an interested gaze toward him.
Since she was particular about food, her curiosity must have been piqued.
The Silver Lion was somewhat well known as an S-Rank monster, and around Gilm in particular, it was recognized as a Dungeon's Boss Monster.
Whether Byune knew this or not, she fixed Rei with an upward glance that clearly said if it was a rare dish, she wanted some too.
If the person before her had been someone fond of small children, they might have fallen for Byune's trap on the spot. But unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—Rei was not the type to be caught by such an upward glance.
...Though the fact that there was no height difference between Rei and Byune, unlike with the others, probably played a significant role as well.
"Next time. That dish is dangerous to eat in careless places."
Dangerous? Byune tilted her head slightly, her face blank. But seeing Elena and Vihera also nodding in agreement with Rei's words, she couldn't exactly dismiss it outright.
The truth was, no meat could possibly taste better. But precisely because it was too delicious, the flavor lingered endlessly in the mouth, and for days afterward, no dish was satisfying. That was the side effect.
"My, my, my, my!"
Just as Rei was about to explain about the Silver Lion meat, that voice rang out.
Hearing a familiar voice, Rei turned his gaze toward it, and standing there was exactly the person he expected.
It was Lana, the proprietress of the Wheat Inn at twilight, her plump figure radiating genuine delight as she smiled broadly.
Her eyes were fixed on Vihera.
When Vihera had been unconscious, she had been laid to rest not in a hospital but in the room she rented at the Wheat Inn at twilight. Because of that, Lana had found spare moments several times to check on her.
For Lana, seeing Vihera conscious—not only that, but smiling and walking around on her own—it was no wonder she had ended up in this state.
Vihera must have understood why Lana was this overjoyed. She smiled as well and spoke.
"It seems I caused quite a lot of worry. But as you can see, I'm perfectly fine now, so please don't worry."
"My, my, my."
Surprise and happiness seemed to have robbed Lana of any other words.
Still wanting to express her joy through action, she pulled Vihera into a fierce embrace.
"Thank goodness... Thank goodness, dear."
"Yes, thanks to Rei and the others, I can move around safely like this."
Vihera returned the embrace and lightly patted Lana on the shoulder.
The gesture must have stirred Lana's joy even further. After one last firm squeeze, she released Vihera and declared with a beaming smile.
"Alright, today's meal is on me! Eat to your heart's content and get your strength back!"
"Are you sure?"
Vihera asked because she wondered whether it was acceptable for their group alone to receive special treatment.
The dining hall of the Wheat Inn at twilight was full of customers, and those watching the exchange at the entrance were by no means few.
She wondered whether it was right to show favoritism only to them. But to Vihera's concern, Lana responded without bothering to hide her delight.
"Besides, Vihera-san and the others have been long-standing, valued patrons of this inn, so this much is perfectly fine."
Lana had reverted from her slightly overly familiar tone of a moment ago to her usual manner, though she still couldn't fully wipe the smile from her face.
That was how happy she was about Vihera's recovery.
It was also an undeniable fact that Rei and Vihera were valued patrons of the Wheat Inn at twilight.
This inn was counted among the high-class establishments in Gilm, and its lodging fees were correspondingly higher than those of ordinary inns.
Vihera had been using such an inn for a long time precisely because Rei was there, and Rei had made it his regular inn for the several years since coming to Gilm, owing to matters involving Set and the food.
...Also, because Rei was staying there, a fair number of people came wanting to see Set, and nearly all of them ate in the dining hall.
The profit that Rei and Set brought to the inn was by no means small.
Lana understood this, which was surely why she was offering to treat them. ...Still, the biggest reason was most likely simply the joy of Vihera's recovery.
"Come, come, please take a seat at a table. For drinks, Rei-san, anything other than alcohol is fine, right?"
Herded along by Lana, they were guided to an empty spot in the dining hall.
Once they were seated, Lana immediately took their orders.
"What would you like to eat? Today's recommendation is, without a doubt, the Gamelion dishes. Unlike last year, there's plenty in circulation, so feel free to eat as much as you like."
A knowing smile rose in Lana's eyes as she looked at Rei.
The meaning required no thought to decipher.
Her gaze was telling him that the reason so little Gamelion meat had been in circulation last year was because of him.
The larger volume of Gamelion meat available this year compared to last was likely because the adventurers still carried a strong impression of what had happened then. There was no doubt they were working hard to gather as much Gamelion meat as possible.
"Hmm, let's see. Then I'll have the Gamelion stew. And a Gamelion meat Sandwich."
"Then I shall have the Gamelion sauté and steamed Gamelion meat."
"Mm! Mm!"
After Vihera and Elena placed their orders, Byune asserted that she wanted some too.
She pointed at one item after another on the menu, her enthusiasm making one genuinely wonder whether such a small body could really eat all that much.
But Byune would finish it all.
Rei also casually ordered some Gamelion dishes from Lana.
"Ah, and Ara should be here soon too, so please go ahead and order something for her as well."
"Yes, certainly. Then please wait a moment."
Lana, smiling happily at the sheer volume of orders, departed in a good mood.
A good person... or rather, too kind for her own good. I'm happy about it, but is this really all right?
Rei felt a twinge of unease watching Lana's retreating figure, but naturally, she didn't treat everyone this way.
The fact that she had been interacting with Rei for several years—a fairly long time—carried significant weight.
Her points of contact with people like Elena and Vihera weren't all that frequent, but her years of experience as the proprietress of the Wheat Inn at twilight had given Lana confidence in her ability to read people.
Whether her confident eye for character had simply judged Rei as no cause for concern, or whether her judgment was just gentler than most, was hard to say.
But it was a fact that while Rei had his share of issues, he had never brought harm to the inn himself.
...He had done things like draw Thugs who were chasing him to the inn, and fight Elk in the backyard. But those were presumably within Lana's tolerance.
In any case, Rei settled in to wait for the Gamelion dishes together with Elena and the others.