About an hour had passed since the snow barbecue party began.
It was only an hour, yet the amount of food consumed in that short time was already considerable.
At this kind of party, most people focused on eating right from the start.
Especially since what had been prepared this time was Gamelion meat. Even those who had voiced complaints at first found themselves inevitably drawn to the food after taking a single bite.
Skewers, iron plates, mesh grills — Gamelion meat, vegetables, and seafood were being consumed one after another.
Some were even grilling fruit on the iron plate that Rei had brought out, and seeing them carry it to their mouths with happy smiles, warm fruit was probably not a bad idea.
"...We're saving the Silver Lion meat for the grand finale, but haven't they forgotten about that?"
Rei muttered as he watched the partygoers.
But there was barely any exasperation in his voice — no doubt because he understood that the attendees were genuinely rejoicing over Vihera's awakening.
Of course, among them were some who had never actually met Vihera.
Even so, they were openly celebrating, saying that since they were acquaintances of Rei's, it was only natural to join in.
Seeing that, there was no way Rei couldn't feel happy about it.
"Hehe, what's wrong? You're complaining, but you look awfully happy about it."
"Do I?"
Caught in the very thought he had just been thinking, Rei tried to deflect as Marina approached holding a chilled glass of wine.
...Even so, the fact that he couldn't hide the faint blush creeping across his cheeks was because he had taken off his Dragon Robe's hood.
Seeing Rei's state, Marina offered a smile.
It was not her usual, unconsciously worn alluring smile, but one filled with the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction of a woman able to behold her beloved man's figure.
Several men who happened to catch sight of it found themselves involuntarily captivated by Marina's smile.
They had always thought of her as a beauty with an excessive amount of feminine allure, so the smile she wore had completely caught them off guard.
Rei, who had been lightly nibbling a Gamelion skewer while chatting with Marina, suddenly remembered something he had been wanting to ask her.
"Hey, Marina. Do you know a book called Adventure of Reppurusu?"
"Adventure of Reppurusu? Yes, I know it. What about it? ...Still, I never expected that title to come from your mouth, Rei."
"I came across it at the library a bit... So, anyway. Do you happen to know who the author of that story is?"
"The author? Hmm... I'm not sure I know. What's the matter?"
Marina asked, looking puzzled as to why Rei was inquiring about such a thing.
"Well, probably... the author seems to be someone in the same situation as me, or something similar."
Those words were apparently enough for Marina to grasp what Rei meant.
She directed a look of surprise toward him.
"Are you certain about that?"
"Yeah."
"...And the reason you can state that so definitively?"
"The developments in the story are similar to books that were sold where I used to live."
"Isn't that a bit of a stretch? Something like that could be a coincidence, couldn't it?"
"No, it couldn't."
Rei immediately dismissed Marina's words.
Meeting her gaze that asked why he could be so certain, Rei gave a small shrug before speaking.
"If it was just the general flow that was the same, I'd consider the possibility of coincidence. But the story developments are similar, and on top of that, it packs in multiple patterns from other novels I know. At this point, it's hard to call it a coincidence."
"That's... true, I suppose."
Marina seemed to agree with that opinion, nodding after a brief hesitation.
"I understand your reasoning, Rei, but unfortunately, as I said earlier, the author is unknown."
"Is that so... figured as much."
"You read it at the library, right? Then wouldn't the Librarian have at least some information?"
So she's thinking the same thing, Rei thought, shaking his head.
"I did ask, but they didn't know either."
"I see... Then, why not file a request with the Guild?"
"...Would that turn up anything?"
Since it was winter, there were a fair number of adventurers using the library.
But even so, while they might read books, Rei couldn't imagine anyone there would know who wrote them.
"If you're gathering information, the first thing you need is to get as many people as possible to know about it, right? That way, information might come from somewhere completely unexpected."
"That's... well, true."
"For instance, well —"
Saying that, Marina waved toward Min, who had been tending to Elk in the direction of her gaze.
Noticing Marina's gesture, Min murmured a word or two to Elk before approaching Rei and the others.
"Guild Master, did you need me for something?"
"Yes. Min, do you happen to know a book called Adventure of Reppurusu?"
"Hmm... Yes, I believe I've read it before. Did something happen with it?"
"Rei is looking for its author. I thought you might have some information, Min... So, do you?"
"Even if you ask me..."
At Marina's words, Min shook her head with a troubled expression.
"In the first place, Adventure of Reppurusu is a book that existed before I was born. Unless the author is an Elf or another Long-lived Species, I can't imagine they'd still be alive."
"True. But even knowing what kind of person they were would be fine... Right?"
"Yeah. If possible, any information at all, no matter how small, would help."
At Rei's words, Min sent him a look of keen interest.
Adventure of Reppurusu was a reasonably well-known work.
But she couldn't understand why Rei had taken an interest in such a text — or more precisely, in its author.
"Why go that far?"
"Ah... well. It's true I'm a bit curious about Adventure of Reppurusu itself."
"But there's another reason beyond that, isn't there?"
"I won't deny that. ...But it's not something I can really talk about. So sorry, I can't tell you the detailed reason."
"You won't tell me the reason you're searching. But you want me to tell you whatever I find out?"
Though Min voiced her dissatisfaction in words, in contrast, a light of amusement dwelt in her eyes.
"Well, that's how it is. I know you have your complaints, but if you hear anything, I'd appreciate it if you let me know."
"All right. I owe Rei a debt far too great to repay with anything trivial. If that's all it takes, I'll help."
I'm also interested in your secret, after all.
At those words from Min, Rei smiled and bowed his head.
"Thanks."
"Don't worry about it. Still... that book is quite old. Finding the author will be quite difficult, I think."
"Even so, please do what you can. I'm counting on you."
As Rei asked once more, Min eventually nodded in agreement.
Min had originally owed Rei an enormous — almost unbelievably enormous — debt.
If she could repay it, she intended to do as much as she possibly could.
If that was the case, searching for information about a book's author was nothing at all.
"Hmm, that's right. Rei, why not ask Elk to help as well?"
What came out of Min's mouth was a suggestion that Rei found somewhat hard to believe.
Why was Elk's name coming up here?
Of course, Rei knew that Elk was an Alias Holder and an A-Rank adventurer. He knew that, but... it was still a fact that Elk was clearly not suited for this particular matter.
"Does Elk even read books? He really doesn't seem the type..."
Elk's personality was exactly like a bossy kid who had grown into an adult without changing.
It was hard to imagine him reading books.
"I suppose not. But Elk, despite appearances, is an Alias Holder adventurer. And among Alias Holders, he's on the more reasonable side, you could say."
"...You keep saying things that are a little hard to respond to."
Rei smiled wryly and let his words trail off.
An Alias Holder was a title given to someone who had achieved deeds ordinarily unbelievable, or who had taken actions that impactful.
Such individuals were, more often than not, people with all sorts of quirks.
(Strictly speaking, I'm an Alias Holder too, after all.)
Rei was also the adventurer with the alias of Crimson.
He didn't think of himself as being on the more reasonable side among Alias Holders.
He was well aware of his quick-tempered nature, and due to the matter with Set, he showed no mercy to those who made enemies of him.
However, since he never made unreasonable demands of his own accord, he did consider himself fairly serious... more or less.
Beside Rei, Marina, who had been listening, also smiled and silently agreed with Min's words.
Then Min spoke, as if deflecting from Rei's remark.
"In other words — not just here in Gilm, but Elk is admired by all sorts of people. If someone like that were known to be gathering information, it's highly likely that information would come flooding in from all sorts of places."
"...I see."
As if his thoughts from moments ago had been completely blown away, Rei's face showed understanding.
Elk, partly because his personality was that of a bossy kid at heart, was extremely dependable and looked after others.
Even among adventurers with some name recognition, those who had been taken under Elk's wing were by no means few.
If those people learned that Elk was gathering information, there was no doubt that those who felt indebted to him would lend a hand in various ways.
"What do you think? If it's a request from Rei, Elk certainly won't refuse."
"Yeah, understood. Could you ask him?"
"Yes, of course!"
At Rei's words, Min smiled happily and nodded.
To be able to repay even slightly the enormous debt she owed Rei — when she thought about that, there was no way Min couldn't be happy.
It wasn't as though this would repay her debt entirely, but it would at least go some way toward returning the favor.
"Then, I'll go tell Elk about this right away."
Saying that, Min headed toward Elk, looking pleased.
"Well, getting Elk's cooperation turned out to be a pretty good thing, didn't it?"
Since Marina served as the Guild Master, she knew Elk's influence better than Rei did.
That was exactly why she believed that if Elk cooperated with this matter, they might obtain a fair amount of information.
"Ah! The Guild Master is monopolizing Rei-kun again!"
The one who shouted that was Kenny.
As was to be expected, she had layered on multiple pieces of clothing to combat the cold, resulting in an appearance that could only be described as heavily bundled up.
Beside Kenny, Lenora was savoring fruit chilled by the snow.
"Hey, Lenora. Don't you have something to say to the Guild Master!?"
"Hmm? Oh, let's see. Guild Master, Kenny is being a bit noisy, so could you perhaps yield Rei-san to her for a while? You can be with Rei-san anytime from now on anyway, so won't you spare a little for this pitiful cat?"
Perhaps because she was focused on the fruit, what came out of Lenora's mouth was language that could only be described as insolent.
Given that she was always bickering with Kenny, various frustrations must have been building up.
"Lenora... you. Is that what you've thought of me?"
"...Ahh, happiness. It's cold but delicious. There's a bonfire, so I don't even have to mind the cold that much."
Letting Kenny's words go in one ear and out the other, Lenora enjoyed the fruit beside the bonfire.
While it was a snow barbecue party, naturally some form of heat source was needed.
Since they were barbecuing over charcoal, those nearby might be warm, but this courtyard was fairly spacious.
It was impossible to ward off the cold with just the heat from the cooking area.
As if anticipating this, bonfires had been lit at several spots in the courtyard before anyone noticed, and Lenora and Kenny were sitting by one of them.
...Even beside the bonfire, Kenny remained bundled up in her layers.
"Hey, Lenora! Are you listening to me!?"
"It's fine, come on. Why don't you enjoy the party a little too, Kenny? You get to eat Gamelion meat, after all."
"Why does Lenora get fruit while I get meat? ...Well, it's delicious, so I suppose it's fine."
Despite her dissatisfaction, Kenny bit into the meat she had received from Lenora.
...For all their bickering, the fact that everyone was ultimately enjoying the barbecue party was an undeniable truth.