At the Wheat Inn in the evening dusk, having parted ways with Marina, Vihera, and Byune, Rei had returned to his room and was now speaking with the person displayed in the Paired Orb on his table.
"Huh, sounds like things are busy on your end too."
"Of course. Rather, I would say that Gilm's various movements are involved, making me even busier."
The person on the other end—Elena—murmured listlessly as she set her cup of black tea down on the table.
"Kyu?"
"No, it's nothing. Come now, Ielo, go play over there."
What is it? the small black dragon on the other side of the Paired Orb seemed to ask, tilting its head. Elena simply stroked it gently as she spoke.
Ielo glanced at Rei's figure through the Paired Orb, then launched itself from the tabletop using its small wings.
When Rei had first contacted her, Ielo had seemed happy to see him... but upon learning that he was inside a building, it had let out a disappointed cry.
That was likely because it knew Set wouldn't be inside a building.
Ielo was still small, but it was fairly sharp—at the very least, sharp enough to understand that Set wouldn't be around because they were indoors.
And Ielo and Set could be called best friends.
The fact that both were created beings might have had something to do with it, but regardless, from the very first time they met, the two had gotten along exceptionally well.
Because of that, Ielo had been a little low on energy at first when it learned Set wasn't there. Though when Rei told it that he would include Set the next time he contacted them, its mood somehow recovered.
Chirping squeakily, Ielo moved away from the table.
"Play, you say? What does Ielo play with?"
As far as Rei knew, Set liked being petted by everyone. In somewhat open spaces, it often ran around playing together with the Children.
Of course, within Gilm, Set wouldn't do something like fly with children on its back. Fundamentally, Set only let Rei ride when flying, though if the other party was a child, it could still let them on.
But naturally, it couldn't do such a thing inside Gilm.
"Hmm, shall I show you?"
At Rei's words, Elena shifted the Paired Orb slightly. Where she moved it, Ielo was chasing a ball made from rolled-up cloth.
Of course, that ball wasn't the sturdy kind sold in...Japan.
Well, since magic exists, I imagine they could make something like that in this world if they tried.
Unlike when he was in Japan, the existence of magic meant Rei didn't find it strange that something like a ball could be made normally.
As Rei thought this, Ielo chased the ball rolling across the floor, batting it with its short tail and then darting after it.
Given the somewhat lopsided shape of the ball, where it went when rolled was quite irregular. But precisely because of that, Ielo was fully absorbed in chasing it. That irregular movement probably stimulated its wild instincts.
"It looks like it's having a lot of fun. Maybe I should try making something like that for Set too."
"Set is...honestly, I wonder. If it were small like Ielo, this might be fine, but..."
"Set's too big, so it wouldn't work?"
"Probably. Not to speak ill of it, but Set is older than Ielo, isn't it? It's grown faster in proportion, so whether it would be delighted by something like this is honestly questionable."
"You think so? I feel like it would actually happily play with it."
To Rei, even with a body length exceeding three meters, Set was still very much a childlike presence.
Of course, in reality, Set wasn't a child. Though it had an affectionate personality, it mercilessly attacked those who were hostile, and when let loose outside Gilm, it freely hunted prey for its meals. Viewed as a beast or monster, it could safely be called a fully mature creature.
But still, Rei treated Set like a child. That was, after all, due to that affectionate personality. Set liked to eat, liked to nap in the sun—or in the shade of trees at this time of year—and loved playing together with the Children of Gilm. Seeing Set like that, being told not to treat it like a child would be unreasonable.
At Rei's words, Elena probably recalled Set's personality as well.
"...That might actually be surprisingly true," she murmured, as if somehow convinced.
Rei and Set were remarkably in sync. No, to Elena, who had been told Rei's secret, it could rather be called only natural.
Set, created through Beast Magic, was essentially a being close to Rei's child. It was only natural that such a Set doted on its parent, Rei. Rather, it was precisely because it was in front of Rei that it could behave like a true child.
Though Elena would never say that aloud. She knew that if she did, Rei would undoubtedly be displeased.
Set might be a childlike presence to Rei, but Rei himself was still only in his mid-teens. Of course, she had heard that he was slightly older than now before coming to this world, but ultimately, that was still only slightly. To be told he had a child at such an age would naturally make him displeased.
At the very least, I would be.
Elena, who was older than Rei and had already turned twenty, would certainly not be pleased to be told she was a mother, either. Though in Elena's case, due to the effects of inheriting the Ancient Dragon's Magic Stone through the Ritual of Inheritance, she had become a being nearly ageless.
And so, for a while, they exchanged small talk. The topics of conversation were nothing grand—merely everyday things—but even so, to Elena, who hadn't spoken with Rei in several days, it was an incredibly blissful time.
"I see. So, are nikuman truly that popular in Gilm?"
"Yeah. Originally, it's a dish you eat in winter, but...that's just my impression. Actually, I hear they sell them year-round in places like Chinatowns."
Naturally, Rei had never been to a Chinatown. Since there were no such shops near where he lived, that was only natural. That was precisely why his image of nikuman was so strongly associated with winter food.
"Chinatown?"
"Ah, I suppose you wouldn't know what that means. Let's see...it's a place in the world I originally came from where Chinese restaurants line the streets. Nikuman is one of those Chinese dishes."
"Hmm, it sounds delicious. Do you know of any other Chinese dishes?"
An expectant look mixed into Elena's gaze...but what Rei returned was a shake of his head.
"I know the names of dishes and what kind of food they are to some extent, but as for how to make them, no."
When he thought of Chinese food, what immediately came to Rei's mind was shrimp chili. But he didn't know how to make it. In the first place, while shrimp chili was based on a Chinese dish, it was strictly a dish devised in Japan. Those somewhat knowledgeable about such matters would know this, but Rei didn't even know that. So when asked how to make it, there was no way he could answer.
Hm? Ah, but what about ramen...? What's the actual difference between ramen and udon?
He suddenly wondered, but couldn't understand that difference either.
But fortunately, Rei did know how to make kiritanpo nabe. When he was in Japan, his father had kept fighting roosters, and they would dispose of the ones that lost or got old by turning them into kiritanpo nabe. Rei had helped with that several times, and since it was a regional specialty, the fact that he had made kiritanpo nabe outdoors at an event called a pot-cooking field trip in middle and elementary school was significant.
I want to eat kiritanpo nabe, but...there's no rice in this world. Well, there might be, but as far as I know, it's not sold around here.
Rei, who for some reason had gone from thinking about ramen to kiritanpo nabe, suddenly noticed that Elena on the other side of the Paired Orb was directing a somewhat exasperated gaze at him.
"Sorry, what was it?"
"Rei, you get absorbed when it comes to food. Well, that's not particularly surprising, though."
Elena, naturally, knew that Rei liked the act of eating. Even so, even through the Paired Orb, when she was together with him, she wanted him to look at her if possible. Thinking so was only natural for a woman facing the man she loved.
Though Elena fundamentally never let that show.
"You think? Well, I never disliked eating to begin with. In the first place, if I didn't, I wouldn't have gone so far as to teach multiple recipes and things like that."
The dishes Rei had originally taught—udon, okonomiyaki, nikuman, pizza. For most of these, he had taught them because he was asked to, but it was undeniable that part of the reason was that he wanted to eat them himself.
There were many other dishes he wanted to eat, but unfortunately, he didn't know the recipes for most of them.
I'd like to make fried food, but...oil is expensive. Plus, there's the egg problem, too.
Being young, Rei naturally liked meat. And he also liked fried food. But in this world of Elgin, oil was fundamentally expensive, and while not quite as costly as oil, eggs were also classified as a luxury item to some extent. Of course, for nobles who had surplus funds, it was probably a matter they could handle however they wished. In Rei's case, too, since he wasn't struggling for money, it seemed like he could manage somehow if he tried...but even with money, there was the possibility of there simply being no goods available.
If I get the chance, tonkatsu...no, Orc meat cutlets, or Gamelion karaage...no, to make karaage, I think I needed katakuriko powder...?
His knowledge of tatsuta-age and karaage was all mixed up, but to Rei, there wasn't much difference between them. Both were delicious, and being a favorite of his remained unchanged either way.
"So then, Rei. How is Gilm's expansion work progressing?"
Rei, returning to himself at those words, opened his mouth with some hesitation.
"Let's see, we're still in the preparation stage right now, so I can't say much definitively...but it seems to be progressing reasonably well. I'm being put to good use, too."
"Heh, even as you say that, your face doesn't look displeased at all, Rei."
Rei, feeling embarrassed at Elena's small laugh and words that seemed to say she saw right through him, quietly averted his gaze.
In truth, Rei even felt joy at Gilm growing larger. For all intents and purposes, Rei had spent several years in Gilm. He had interacted extensively with the residents, enough to think of it as his home ground. That was precisely why he was happy that Gilm was growing like this. Wanting to cooperate as much as possible with that effort was only natural, and that was why Rei was doing without complaint simple jobs—like transporting timber felled in the Treant Forest.
"I suppose you could say that might be the case," he murmured, deflecting rather than admitting it outright.
Elena watched such a Rei with a smile.
To Elena, Rei was a person vastly different from the others around him. That had been the case before, but living apart like this made her feel it all the more. Though, even if they were apart, they did communicate using the Paired Orbs every few days like this.
Eventually, the conversation turned to Gilm's current situation, touching on how many adventurers, craftsmen, merchants, and others who had come seeking work were present. This was because Elena had wanted to hear about those circumstances for some reason.
"Hmm, then there have been no notable disturbances?"
"With that many people gathered together, there are plenty of minor skirmishes, but...yeah, I suppose not. Though the Guards and Knights are running around Gilm every single day. Rather, flying around, perhaps?"
"Flying around is your and Set's role, Rei."
Elena smiled, forming a beautiful arc.
While watching Elena's demeanor with interest, Rei continued talking about the events in Gilm. Suddenly curious, Rei asked why she wanted to know so much about Gilm, but...
"Hehe, in time...you'll understand before long."
That was all she said in reply.