Once the exchange of information was complete, the conversation naturally turned to who had orchestrated the incident.
"Considering Rei's personality, it's entirely possible he's being targeted out of resentment. At the same time, the Azoth Firm could also be a target given its size and past incidents."
Rei and Galahat each nodded at Vihera's words.
Both were well aware that they were resented by many for various reasons.
"It's not just resentment, either. We can't rule out the possibility that someone wants something Rei or the Azoth Firm possesses. After all, the Magic Items Rei carries—any one of them—would be enough to drive someone to use any means necessary to obtain them."
Marina's words were undoubtedly the truth.
Especially when it came to Rei.
The Azoth Firm, for its part, was known in Gilm as a major merchant firm. In other words, there were not many who would dare to take on such a large organization.
But Rei was different.
There were... not none who would consider targeting Rei despite his strength, but those who knew the circumstances would never attempt such a thing. That, however, was because Rei possessed the power of an Alias Holder adventurer, and because he had his partner Set with him.
If Rei were only as strong as an ordinary B-Rank Adventurer, and didn't have Set, yet still possessed the various Magic Items he currently held... he would have undoubtedly been attacked by someone already.
Naturally, those who would do such a thing wouldn't be public adventurers, but those operating in the shadows—the so-called Underworld Figures. And if Rei lacked the strength to protect himself, those figures would have stripped him of every last Magic Item.
"I won't deny that."
Rei understood just how many Magic Items he possessed. After all, the Misty Ring he used casually was an Item Box said to have only a few in existence. Beyond the Misty Ring, anyone with sufficient status, power, or ability would covet Rei's Magic Items regardless of the ring.
"Which is exactly why both sides have too many possible reasons for being targeted. Honestly, even if we keep discussing it here, we probably can't figure out which of you was the real target."
Everyone who had been listening nodded at Marina's words.
"So, what do we do?"
"Well. The best option would be to make contact again with the person who approached me, but... finding them seems difficult."
No one could argue with Marina's murmured words.
For one thing, they had no idea how many people were even in Gilm. On top of that, being asked to find someone who looked like the embodiment of "ordinary" and "average" among all those people was nearly impossible.
"What about drawing the person's face and searching with that... would that work?"
"...No, it wouldn't. The memory of their face has already faded considerably in my mind."
Vihera had suggested making a composite portrait, but Marina shook her head as she said this.
"I'd like to say we could use scent... but that's out of the question too."
Rei had considered relying on Set's Sense of Smell Enhancement skill, but Marina had been traveling through the city. Naturally, she would be covered in the scents of countless strangers. If Set had been present when she met the person directly, he could have tracked the scent.
But unfortunately—or rather, as luck would have it—Set had been at Galahat's mansion at the time. Under those circumstances, there was no way Set could distinguish the scent of the person Marina was describing.
"In that case, all we can do is search diligently, but... will they quietly come forward on their own?"
"Probably not."
Everyone nodded in agreement with Rei's murmur.
Finding the person who had brought Marina information would be difficult unless they reached out again. But it was also a fact that there were no other leads. If so, they had no choice but to bet on that infinitesimally small possibility.
"...I'll use the Azoth Firm's resources to investigate the area. Someone tried to pit us against you. We don't know which side they were really targeting, but it's clear they bear ill will toward us. We can't just let this go."
Galahat also understood that they had been framed by someone, and he couldn't let it slide.
His inability to let it go wasn't because he couldn't forgive being made a fool of. No, of course he couldn't forgive such a thing being done to him, but beyond that, the biggest reason he couldn't let it go was the matter of face for the Azoth Firm as one of the foremost merchant firms in Gilm.
If they allowed such a thing to happen without taking action, simply taking the hit... it would give the impression that the Azoth Firm was an easy target. If that happened, it wouldn't be surprising for other firms to target them as well.
To prevent that, they needed to make the person who had targeted them pay an appropriate price.
Rei understood Galahat's reasoning, so he nodded without hesitation.
"Understood. But the person who orchestrated this incident severely injured my alchemist acquaintance. If you learn anything about them, pass it along to us."
"I will. But the same goes for you. If your group obtains any information about the other side, would you report it to us?"
Rei nodded at Galahat's words, and thus a cooperative relationship regarding this incident was established.
And with a cooperative relationship established, they couldn't just stay as they were.
The guard who had been silently observing the course of the conversation ever since entering the room also promised to notify Rei and the Azoth Firm if anyone matching that description was found.
"...In that case, let's move quickly. Since this incident just happened, there's a chance the other side isn't expecting us to act immediately."
"If possible, I would have liked to talk about various things with you that have nothing to do with this incident."
Galahat murmured with a hint of disappointment at Rei's words.
Beside Galahat, Mult had been wanting to test his skills against Rei, but in the current situation, there was no way he could do such a thing.
"Well, we can take our time talking once this matter is settled. I'd be happy if you could serve some delicious food, too."
"Feeding Rei as much food as he wants would bankrupt us, though..."
Rei heard Mult's small mutter, but he deliberately ignored it and stood up from the sofa he had been sitting on.
Rather than staying here any longer, he needed to find the person who had orchestrated this incident and properly return the favor.
"Ah, come to think of it..."
As Rei was about to leave the office, Galahat called out to his back.
"Hm? What is it?"
"No, it's just—the nikuman and pizza that have been popular lately, those are dishes you created, aren't they?"
"I suggested them, but I didn't make them. What I taught was only the overview. The ones who turned them into proper dishes were the cooks."
The nikuman and pizza that Rei had taught the overview of at the Golden Bread Pavilion during winter. Nikuman had already been sold during the winter, and pizza had recently been put on sale as well.
...What surprised Rei among all this was that nikuman were still being sold even in spring.
To Rei, nikuman had the image of being winter food, but that was purely his own impression. For the people of Gilm, eating nikuman even in spring was nothing unusual. Unlike certain foods eaten only during specific seasons—such as Gamelion—nikuman had been accepted as a type of ordinary bread.
Of course, nikuman was meant to be eaten piping hot and freshly steamed, and became extremely unpalatable once it cooled. In that regard, compared to regular bread that could still be eaten normally even when cold and less tasty, it was a significant drawback. Furthermore, the fact that it had to be freshly steamed to taste good meant that sales would inevitably drop during summer—another difference from ordinary bread.
"If possible, I'd like you to teach the Azoth Firm a new recipe as well."
"...Huh?"
At those words, Rei, who had been about to leave the office, stopped and turned around.
It was only natural. The Azoth Firm was a merchant firm with significant influence in Gilm, but it primarily dealt in goods like weapons and armor. At least, that was what Rei had thought, and in fact, he had never heard of the Azoth Firm getting involved in the restaurant business.
Of course, there were probably members of the Azoth Firm who ran food stalls as a hobby. Just like how adventurers ran food stalls.
But if the Azoth Firm were to seriously enter the food business, that was an entirely different matter.
That was why Rei let out a somewhat dumbfounded sound.
Seeing Rei's reaction, Galahat smiled with a look of satisfaction.
"Well, I'm not saying right away. Eventually, when the time comes. Our firm may be a major one, but that doesn't mean we can afford to rest on our laurels."
"I understand that, but... reaching into a completely different field, honestly, what do you think about that?"
Rei wasn't particularly knowledgeable about business, but even so, he had his doubts about diving into something completely unrelated.
(Could it be that they'd serve meals inside a weapon shop while people browse weapons and armor? ...That just sounds like a surreal scene no matter how I look at it.)
Having imagined a scene with tables inside a weapon shop serving high-end cuisine, Rei shook his head almost involuntarily.
Seeing this, Galahat spoke while still wearing a smile.
"I can roughly guess what you're imagining, but let me just say—it won't necessarily turn out the way you're picturing."
"For now, bring that topic up again after this incident is resolved. If I have the bandwidth, I'll take it on. Though, nothing comes to mind right now."
Originally, Rei wasn't particularly knowledgeable about cooking. Well, when he was in Japan, he had enjoyed reading cooking manga to some extent. But that didn't mean he remembered the details of what he'd read. If he had, he could have taught the nikuman and pizza recipes in much greater detail from the start.
That was why, if Galahat—the Azoth Firm—truly came to Rei asking him to come up with a new recipe, he would have to think of something again.
(Udon... there's yakiudon, so yakisoba? But what's the difference between Chinese noodles and udon? If you cut udon thinner, boil it, and then stir-fry it with sauce, does that make it yakisoba? Oh wait, no, I think I saw "steamed noodles" written on the package when I saw them at the supermarket.)
While pondering the difference between udon and Chinese noodles, Rei switched his thoughts back—resolving the matter of the person who had orchestrated this incident came before cooking, for now.
"At this rate, if new dishes keep increasing, Gilm will eventually become famous not just as a frontier town, but as a food city."
"Oh, it's already somewhat famous as the birthplace of udon, you know? Right?"
"Nn."
Marina, Vihera, and Byune were each having their own conversation, but Rei wasn't particularly paying attention.
Rei had always loved eating. For someone like him, if Gilm prospered as a food city, that was nothing but a benefit.
Originally, because Gilm was in the frontier, there were many ingredients found only in this region. In that sense, there had been at least some foundation for it to grow into a food city. Into that environment came Rei, who possessed knowledge of various dishes—superficial as it may be—and who thoroughly enjoyed the act of eating. So it wasn't surprising that sooner or later Gilm would become such a city.
(Of course, it would only be known in the Gilm area, and it would probably take time for it to become known throughout the entire Kingdom of Mireana. Oh, but considering information from merchants, maybe that's not such a distant prospect.)
Marina, while looking forward to seeing how Gilm would develop from here on, still opened her mouth as the brake for Crimson Lotus Wings.
"Come on, Rei. The cooking talk can wait until after this incident is resolved. Right now, let's focus on capturing the person who tried to frame us."
She said this, Rei nodded... and this time, he truly left the office, and Galahat's mansion.