The clothes Rei normally wore were nothing particularly special.
Well, judging by the common sense of Japan, the midsection was largely exposed, so it might seem a bit odd. But here in Elgin, while somewhat uncommon, it wasn't strange enough to stand out as peculiar.
Among vanguard female adventurers, there were those who prioritized agility and equipped so-called bikini armor. Given that, there was nothing strange about clothes that showed a little belly.
And unusually for Rei, who favored magic items, those clothes were ordinary garments—not any kind of magic item.
The same went for his trousers, which were also not any sort of magic item.
Thinking about it normally, wearing just a robe over clothes was tantamount to suicide for an adventurer.
Moreover, Rei wasn't a pure mage; he was a magic warrior who fought on the front lines using Death Scythe while casting magic. ...And if anything, he leaned more toward the warrior side.
If he were still a rear-guard mage, it wouldn't be unusual for him to wear only a robe without heavy armor.
Good examples of this were Surnin, who was drinking ale while gazing at Mirene with an exasperated look, and Min, who was talking with Elk.
These two were typical mages and didn't equip heavy armor.
However, Rei, unlike those two, fought on the front lines, so it would have been strange for him not to wear armor.
...What made that possible was the Dragon Robe Rei wore.
As the name "Dragon" suggested, it was an item lavishly crafted from dragon materials.
It was a magic item with far higher defensive power compared to ordinary armor found anywhere... but even so, the fact remained that it was a robe.
It could block bladed attacks, whether slashing or thrusting, but it couldn't completely negate the impact.
The Silver Lion—while not exactly having a weakness—was poor at handling impact-type weapons like axes, clubs, and hammers... and the damage from such weapons still dealt a considerable shock to Rei's body.
In the sense of compensating for that, Rei could understand the idea of making clothes and trousers from Silver Lion fur, but...
"But the Silver Lion was also bad at impact-type attacks, right? If you make clothes from its fur, wouldn't that fail to cover the Dragon Robe's weakness?"
"Idiot."
At that single word spat bluntly from Asimov's mouth, Rei wore a displeased expression and spoke up.
"That's awfully direct."
"Well, obviously. Think about it. Your Dragon Robe is also weak against impact-type weapons... well, maybe not weak, but not particularly strong either. But it's not like it lets the impact pass through completely, right?"
"That's... true, of course."
While the Dragon Robe was poor against impact-type weapons, it naturally blocked some of their force.
If it didn't, he would have suffered severe injuries on several occasions by now.
...Though whether cracked or fractured ribs counted as severe injuries depended on the person judging.
"In other words, clothes and trousers made from Silver Lion fur would naturally block impact too. If so, isn't that a significant difference compared to taking attacks with just the Dragon Robe?"
"...I see."
Now that he mentioned it, it made sense.
He had to admit that being called an idiot was justified.
"So, now that you understand, what do you say? Want to try making clothes and trousers from Silver Lion fur?"
Faced with Asimov asking again, Rei thought about what to do... and eventually gave a nod.
He had no idea what kind of requests he might take on from here on out, but there was no harm in having higher defense.
Having obtained Rei's approval to make clothes and trousers, Asimov looked happy for a moment, but his expression quickly turned to disappointment.
"What's wrong? Rei just said you could use Silver Lion materials."
Perhaps finding Asimov's behavior suspicious, Pamidor, who had been listening nearby, looked at him curiously.
"Ah... well, yeah. Actually, I don't have any acquaintances who can make clothes. Sure, even I can make rough garments, but since we're going to the trouble of using Silver Lion materials, it has to be someone with appropriate skill."
"That's... well, true."
Even with first-rate materials... no, precisely because they were first-rate materials, the person handling them needed commensurate skill.
(It's like... having someone who rarely cooks try to prepare foie gras, caviar, shark fin, or dried abalone... it would only end in disaster?)
Somewhat guessing that was the case, Rei nodded in understanding at Asimov's words.
The Twilight Spear, created from the numerous materials Rei had brought, couldn't have been made by Asimov alone.
The one who had cooperated with that was Pamidor, the skilled blacksmith now looking at Asimov with an exasperated expression. So it was an undeniable fact that a craftsman of comparable skill would be needed to make clothes and trousers from Silver Lion fur.
"...So, Rei. Do you know any craftsmen who can make that kind of clothing? We can process the leather on our end, but making clothes is a bit..."
"Hey. You're the one who brought up making clothes, so shouldn't you have already prepared for that?"
"I was focused on the Sleipnir boots, so I didn't have the leeway for that!"
The way he declared that without hesitation was almost admirably bold.
Faced with Asimov stating it so boldly, Rei let out a small sigh before turning his gaze sideways... toward Pamidor.
Pamidor received Rei's gaze, but he too thought with a troubled expression before eventually opening his mouth.
"Unfortunately, it'll be hard to meet Rei's expectations. I have one or two acquaintances who are clothes-making craftsmen. But they only make clothes for ordinary townsfolk to wear. If it were fur from some random monster, that'd be one thing, but when it comes to materials from an S-Rank monster..."
Pausing mid-sentence, Pamidor turned his gaze toward Rei... or more precisely, toward the clothes visible through the gap in Rei's Dragon Robe.
What was there was Rei's outfit with his belly exposed, despite it being winter.
This courtyard had bonfires burning in various places, but the fact that the current season was winter and snow had accumulated was an undeniable truth.
It was hard to think that Rei's belly-exposing outfit was sensible.
What made that possible was the Dragon Robe, which functioned like a simplified air conditioner.
At any rate, the problem Pamidor had right now wasn't about looking cold or anything like that.
"What you're wearing under that Dragon Robe is pretty thin, right? If we end up making clothes from Silver Lion fur, they'll be quite restrictive to move in. Considering that, we'd need to find a remarkably skilled craftsman, but... unfortunately, I don't know any craftsmen with that level of skill."
At Pamidor's words as he shook his head, Rei thought about what to do.
But while he could think of ordinary clothes sold around town, he simply couldn't think of any craftsman who could handle Silver Lion materials.
...If this were a cook who could handle Silver Lion meat, he could think of a few. So this was purely a matter of Rei's own preferences and interests.
(Ah, come to think of it... Marina would probably know a lot about that sort of thing.)
Marina usually wore a party dress, and that was the same in combat.
If it was the craftsman who made that party dress, then maybe... Rei had that thought.
"Can you work something out?"
"Hm? Do you have someone in mind?"
"Maybe... and I stress maybe."
"Got it. Then I'll leave that part to you. Once you've contacted a craftsman, let me know."
Perhaps reassured by Rei's words, Asimov headed back toward the area where the food was being prepared to enjoy the barbecue.
"As free-spirited as ever."
Pamidor muttered with feeling as he watched Asimov's retreating back.
Rei nodded at Pamidor's words.
"More importantly, Pamidor, since you came all this way, enjoy the party. There's plenty of delicious food, starting with Gamelion meat."
"Yeah. I'll definitely enjoy it."
Saying that, Pamidor told Rei he was going to enjoy the food and walked off.
After seeing him off, the next place Rei headed was where Set was.
Mirene and Yohanna were captivated, their eyes transfixed on Set as they fed him and watched him eat.
"Gururururu!"
Set, who had been eating skewers, noticed Rei approaching and let out a happy cry.
"Set, looks like... you're eating? Glad to see you're enjoying yourself to the fullest."
"Guru!"
When Rei stroked him, Set purred happily.
Seeing Set like that, Mirene and Yohanna looked at Rei with envy.
"Rei, it must be nice always being with Set-chan..."
"Yes. You're entirely too enviable, Rei-san."
"Even so. Set is my partner, so it's only natural, right?"
Stroking Set, Rei replied with a slightly exasperated tone.
"Why don't you two try aiming to be a tamer? If you were a tamer, no one would complain about you having a monster with you."
"...Even so, you need talent to become a tamer, right? It's not like you can become one just because you want to be."
Mirene's words were true, but not necessarily the whole truth.
"A tamer is, simply put, someone who can command monsters, or who gets along with them well enough to stay together. There are all sorts of methods for that. And it varies not just by monster species, but by individual."
Even as he said that, Rei couldn't help but think his own words were the epitome of "easier said than done."
If you could become a tamer just by having the motivation, there wouldn't be so few of them.
They were about as rare as mages... or in some cases, even rarer.
In fact, Rei had encountered tamers fewer times than he had encountered mages.
Though that might also have been related to the fact that Rei was primarily active in Gilm.
(If anything, summoning magic might be easier to learn than taming... well, unless you have the aptitude for magic, that option isn't available from the start. And even if you can use magic, attribute issues could cause all sorts of problems.)
For example, in Rei's case, he could only use flame attribute magic; each person had their own attribute.
Of course, an example like Rei's, specialized entirely in flame... no, overspecialized, was extremely rare.
But even so, the possibility wasn't nonexistent.
Incidentally, in Rei's case, the fact that he could only use flame attribute was not known to anyone outside a very small number of people.
Thanks to Death Scythe's skills, he was putting up a front of being able to use several types of magic, including wind attribute.
"...Do you really believe that?"
Staring at Rei with a steady gaze, Mirene murmured.
After encountering Set, Mirene had naturally researched tamers extensively.
She had looked into it at the library, which she didn't normally visit willingly, and had gathered information at the guild.
But the conclusion she reached was that it was definitely impossible for her.
Rei took a step back as if overwhelmed by Mirene's gaze.
That it made Rei—who hadn't retreated even in the battle against the Silver Lion—step back showed just how deep Mirene's and Yohanna's love for Set was.
"Besides, even if I could tame a monster, it wouldn't be Set-chan, so it would be meaningless."
At Mirene's words, Yohanna also nodded.
"Guru."
Are you bullying Rei? Set purred as he looked at Mirene and Yohanna with round eyes.
Feeling somehow uncomfortable at Set's demeanor, the two opened their mouths to change the subject.
"Rei-san. It's been quite a while since the party started, so don't you think it's about time we ate the Silver Lion meat?"
"Ah, right."
Looking around, many people could be seen chatting with those around them rather than eating.
There were still some who remained focused on eating, but they were a minority.
A considerable amount of time had passed since the party started, and when asked whether it was about time to bring out the Silver Lion meat, Rei couldn't deny it.
"Got it. ...Hey! It's about time we bring out the star of today—the Silver Lion meat!"
Rei's voice rang out across the courtyard.