Rei arrived at the Guild after the morning rush had passed, just as usual.
Of course, with the construction boom from the expansion, there were far more adventurers inside than there would normally be at this hour.
(There are a lot of people, but I've gotten used to it.)
Rei looked around the Guild and sighed.
A fair amount of time had passed since the influx began, and he was growing accustomed to the situation.
"Rei, hey. She's calling you," said Vihera, standing beside him and drawing stares from every adventurer in the room—though with Marina there too, it was technically two people drawing all the attention.
"More trouble again?"
"Who knows. But the fact that they didn't come directly to the inn suggests it isn't that urgent, don't you think?"
"...I hope so."
With a vague sense of foreboding, Rei approached the person trying to get his attention—Kenny.
Normally, Lenora handled Rei's affairs at the counter, but she was away from her desk, nowhere to be seen.
That, too, only added to his bad feeling about this.
Still, he couldn't very well ignore a summons. Rei headed for the counter with Marina, Vihera, and Byune in tow.
Byune, meanwhile, had her eyes fixed on the bar area, where a savory, roasted aroma drifted from—perhaps someone was roasting nuts.
Naturally, Vihera grabbed Byune by the arm before she could wander off toward the smell and steered her toward the counter.
"Rei-kun, perfect timing. ...Well, given the hour, I figured you'd show up around now," Kenny said, pushing her current work onto a nearby receptionist as the members of the Crimson Lotus Wings approached.
"It is my usual time slot."
Lately, Rei's work mostly involved transporting logs felled in the Treant Forest.
Which meant that if he showed up at the woodcutters' site first thing in the morning, the trees naturally wouldn't be cut yet.
Occasionally there were leftover logs from the previous day, but that was rare.
So even if Rei went to the Treant Forest, he could do little but wait around.
...Though he did play with Set, take naps in the shade, and help the woodcutters when he felt like it.
However, compared to the woodcutters—who swung their axes countless times and carefully calculated each tree's falling direction with a craftsman's pride—Rei's method of felling trees was rather reckless.
Cutting down trees with a single flash of the Death Scythe was, by its very nature, an absurd approach.
"So, what's the matter this time? Did a trade convoy get attacked by private soldiers... or bandits, again?"
"No, that's not it. Actually..."
The way Kenny drew it out only solidified Rei's certainty that this was trouble.
Still, as he had discussed with Elena the previous day, Gilm growing larger through the expansion was something Rei wanted as well.
(Did a monster appear in the Treant Forest? ...Well, that wouldn't be surprising.)
Since Rei defeated the Gigant Turtle, the Treant Forest had stopped attacking people at night.
Whether the forest's will had vanished upon the Gigant Turtle's defeat, or whether it had simply weakened to the point where it could no longer act, remained unclear.
The reason was a mystery, but the fact that the woodcutters were no longer attacked even if they stayed late was a stroke of good fortune for them.
...Incidentally, Fekts—the woodcutter who had previously harbored resentment toward adventurers and essentially gone on a rampage—was back at work.
However, he was kept under constant watch and found the experience extremely uncomfortable.
Furthermore, since Gilm's own woodcutters couldn't manage the Treant Forest alone, word of the incident had spread to the woodcutters who had come from other villages and towns, and they looked at Fekts with cold eyes.
Even so, Fekts threw himself into his work every day, determined to take responsibility for the incident he had caused and to regain his companions' trust.
"Lord Daskar is calling for you, Rei-kun."
"..."
At Kenny's quiet whisper, Rei turned his gaze back to her.
Her pretty face formed a mischievous smile as she tilted her head slightly with a "Hmm?"
"Ah... that's related to the incident from before, I take it?"
"Probably so. Yes, I'd say so."
If this matter was connected to the incident with that group of presumed private soldiers, then it promised to be even more troublesome than before.
Nevertheless, Rei was grateful to Daskar for the various conveniences he had arranged on his behalf.
The Magic Tent he had received from Daskar as a reward for the war was especially helpful.
Furthermore, having seen his fair share of nobles, Rei could say that while Daskar wasn't among the absolute highest-ranking, he was without a doubt among the most capable.
That much was clear from the fact that he ran Gilm flawlessly and served as the central figure of the Neutral Faction.
If an arrogant noble—someone who viewed the city he ruled as nothing more than a money tree—were lord, Rei would have left Gilm long ago.
No, more than that, a noble with such a disposition would have tried to confiscate Rei's Magic Items, and above all, Set himself.
If that had happened, there was a real possibility that Gilm would have been reduced to a sea of flames.
"Did he say what he wants to request?"
"No, I haven't heard anything. Just that he wants you at the lord's mansion as soon as possible. That's all."
"Me, huh..."
So he had no choice but to go.
Thinking that, Rei glanced at his party members... where Marina and Vihera were wearing amused smiles, and Byune was watching the two of them with her usual expressionless face—staring at Rei and Kenny, who were standing at a distance that could aptly be described as lovers' proximity.
"My, my. Aren't you two getting along well."
"!? T-That's not—!"
Kenny hastily pulled away from Rei.
While she normally made her affection for Rei obvious and initiated excessive physical contact, she was apparently weak to this kind of sudden situation.
"U-Um... well, I have work to do, so I'll be taking my leave. Please, take care of what I mentioned earlier."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Now hurry back to work."
Though she wore a resentful look at Marina's words, the moment she realized Rei was watching her, her face turned red and she retreated behind the counter.
"Hehe, same as always, I see. ...Well then, shall we go?"
"Hmm? You're all coming too?"
"Yes. If Daskar is going to ask you for something, it would probably be better if I were there."
"Ah, yeah. That's true."
While Rei was by no means skilled at negotiation, Marina, as a former Guild Master, had no such weakness.
More importantly, Marina had known Daskar since childhood.
And she had not forgotten the many blunders he had committed in his youth.
...The biggest among them being when a young Daskar had proposed marriage to Marina.
For Daskar, it was a memory he desperately wanted to forget.
Rei hadn't been told the details, but watching their interactions made it clear that an almost absolute power dynamic existed between Marina and Daskar.
Rei respected Daskar, but he still wanted to avoid being conveniently used.
For those reasons, the entire Crimson Lotus Wings would be heading to the lord's mansion together.
"Whoa... there sure are a lot of people here," Vihera voiced her honest impression as they approached the lord's mansion and saw the crowds coming and going.
But that was only natural.
Rei and his party had visited the lord's mansion on several occasions before.
Compared to those times, the number of people near the mansion now was on an entirely different level.
Most of those around them were merchants, and there were many who appeared to be their escorts as well.
Rei wondered why there were so many merchants, but thinking about it, the person ultimately in charge of Gilm's expansion was naturally Gilm's lord, Daskar.
As merchants, it was only natural that they would want to introduce themselves and put their faces on record with Daskar beforehand.
"It's been a while since I last came to the lord's mansion, but... I didn't expect this many people."
"True. But... I think the merchants here aren't the truly important ones," Marina murmured quietly, just loud enough for Rei and the others to hear.
"Is that so?"
When Rei asked if that applied to all these merchants, Marina nodded.
"Yes. The truly important merchants needed for the expansion work should have already been briefed by Daskar in advance. ...Of course, even if they aren't key merchants, given Gilm's scale, it's probably still a lucrative enough business for them."
Considering Gilm's scale, Rei could understand what Marina meant.
If there was that much business to be had, it was no wonder that merchants hungry for commercial opportunities were swarming the lord's mansion.
"Hmm."
Partly because of the Twilight Spear incident, Rei couldn't help but harbor ill feelings toward merchants.
He understood, of course, that this didn't apply to all of them, but the fact that a slightly displeased expression crossed his face was only natural.
"Ah, Rei! And Marina-sama, Vihera-san, and Byune too. Glad you came," a voice called out to Rei just as that faintly displeased expression had settled on his face.
The voice belonged to the gatekeeper of the lord's mansion.
With this many merchants arriving, there were naturally many unfamiliar faces.
Since there was no telling whether someone might be plotting something suspicious, the gatekeepers' duties had to be stricter than usual.
The merchants, seeing the gatekeepers' demeanor, naturally thought about how to cause as little trouble as possible.
Of course, this wasn't out of consideration for the gatekeepers' hard work, but rather a calculated move to improve their own image.
Regardless, the fact that the gatekeeper spotted Rei immediately despite the crowd of merchants... was simply because the members of the Crimson Lotus Wings were highly conspicuous.
Among the merchants, some even changed their expression upon seeing Set beside Rei.
Of course, being able to see a gryphon this up close was a once-in-a-lifetime experience—no, thinking about it normally, it was safe to say it would never happen at all—so this sight wasn't particularly unusual.
Because of that, as merchants, they sensed the strong scent of money surrounding Set.
Still, they didn't act immediately and instead observed Rei and his party's behavior... which was a testament to the fact that they had at least enough sense to come here with the intention of involving themselves in the expansion project.
Information is a merchant's life.
If that was the case, then they naturally knew about Rei, whose name was currently on everyone's lips in Gilm.
And with a little more digging, it wouldn't be difficult to learn that many merchants—not the kind gathered here, but others—had once flocked to Rei in pursuit of the Magic Item known as the Twilight Spear.
Also, the sharp-eyed ones had noticed that Rei wore a displeased expression when he saw them upon arriving.
That was precisely why they couldn't carelessly approach him as things stood.
If they were the first to approach and left a bad impression, it wouldn't be irreparable... but it was undeniable that they would be at a significant disadvantage compared to the other merchants.
Given that, it was only natural to want to approach under the most favorable circumstances possible.
The merchants kept each other in check with their gazes... and whether he was aware of it or not, Rei paid them no mind and walked toward the gatekeeper who had called out to him.
"Pretty impressive that you noticed us coming."
"Come on... with Set here, didn't you think it'd be impossible to hide that you'd arrived?"
"Gruu?"
At the gatekeeper's words, Set looked toward Rei and purred.
Patting Set's head, Rei shook his own.
"Don't worry about it. It's not Set's fault. ...More importantly, I heard at the Guild that Lord Daskar is calling for me."
At Rei's words, the merchants who had been eavesdropping nearby were slightly startled.
To think that he had been summoned directly by Daskar.
The gatekeeper nodded to Rei and opened the gate to let him through.