"Gurururururu!"
Set let out a cry as it flew through the sky.
They had spotted what appeared to be a Harpy at a considerable distance, but upon hearing Set's cry, the figure immediately fled the area.
Just hearing that cry was apparently enough for it to understand that it could never win against a being like Set.
...However, Rei paid no attention whatsoever to the Harpy's behavior and simply stroked the back of Set's neck.
"You're in a good mood."
"Guruu!"
In response to Rei's question, Set let out a happy cry.
The reason Set was so full of energy was undoubtedly because it had been able to eat plenty of food for breakfast.
It was the day after departing from Schiller's village, and they were about due to arrive at their destination. ...Though it wasn't Relduct's territory, but rather a domain ruled by a Neutral Faction noble in the vicinity.
There, he needed to first obtain information about the County of Relduct and consider what sort of retaliatory measures to take.
Even if the person wasn't particularly powerful within the Noble's Faction, the fact remained that they were a noble.
"Which means there's a high chance they possess some kind of Magic Item, I suppose. ...Going too far is out of the question, though."
There had been deaths at the hands of those Relduct had dispatched.
But even so, killing Relduct had been forbidden by Daskar.
Then again, to put it another way, as long as he didn't kill him, he could do whatever he pleased.
"Guruu?"
Perhaps it had heard Rei's muttering. Set turned to look back as if asking what was wrong.
Stroking Set, Rei said it was nothing... and eventually spotted a town at the edge of his gaze.
Granted, it was a town, but one far too small to compare with Gilm.
(No, Gilm was beyond the scale of a mere town. Comparing to it would be a mistake. ...But it's definitely smaller than Abuelo or Sablusta too.)
Rei thought this as he gazed at the town ahead, but then again, both Abuelo and Sablusta were towns that anyone heading to Gilm was bound to pass through.
Given that, it was only natural for them to be more developed than an ordinary town.
This place, however, had nothing in particular to speak of.
If anything, the sprawling grasslands made dairy farming and the like fairly prosperous, but from what Rei had heard, it was the villages rather than the town that primarily engaged in dairy farming.
In other words, the town now at the center of Rei's gaze could fittingly be described as a thoroughly ordinary one, for better or for worse.
Not that there was anything wrong with that.
Even if it was ordinary, it was running soundly without falling into decline, and that was something to be quite proud of.
"Besides, there might be something you can't tell just from looking at it from afar... Let's go, Set. Looking forward to some tasty local specialty dish."
"Gururu!"
At Rei's words, Set must have recalled the river fish hot pot it had eaten in Zakunya. Letting out a happy cry, it flapped its wings and descended toward the ground.
Whether they had noticed Set's figure or not, travelers heading toward the town—merchants and adventurers included—looked up and let out cries of surprise.
Rei paid them no mind. He landed Set a short distance from the town before walking alongside it toward the main gate.
Naturally, doing so drew considerable attention, and many of those heading toward the town turned their gazes toward Rei and Set... or more accurately, toward Set.
It was their first time seeing a gryphon, so that was only to be expected.
Receiving stares from many onlookers, Rei addressed a guard who was checking those entering and leaving the town.
"I'd like to enter the town. Could you process my entry?"
"Huh? Ah? Wha? Huh?"
Rei had spoken to the nearest guard, but the man clearly hadn't expected to be addressed.
Standing before Gryphon Seto, he was at a loss for how to react and simply stammered.
Perhaps taking pity on his colleague, an experienced guard in his forties stepped forward in his place.
"Entry procedures, is it? Understood. Could I please see your identification?"
"...Yeah."
Nodding at the guard's words, Rei produced his Guild Card.
He fell briefly silent in mild surprise, partly because despite traveling with Set, the guard hadn't said entry procedures were unnecessary, and partly because the guard's demeanor was unexpectedly gentle.
When he had previously tried to enter towns or villages with Set, there had been several instances where guards frightened by Gryphon Seto had ultimately refused to let Set inside the walls.
In that sense, the guards of this town were undoubtedly worthy of respect.
"Gurururu? Guruu!"
Set must have understood Rei's feelings as well. It turned its round eyes toward the guard who had reached out to receive Rei's Guild Card and purred in an affectionate manner.
The guard was slightly startled by Set's behavior.
A gryphon was, after all, a high-rank monster that one might only encounter in stories.
That being the case, he had never expected one to display such adorable behavior.
The guard Rei had first spoken to had been terrified simply because Set was a gryphon, but seeing its behavior now, he received no small shock from its endearing display.
And it wasn't just the guards who were struck by that impact.
Even the other merchants and adventurers who had been going through entry procedures were bewildered to see that Set's behavior was completely different from the image of gryphons they had held, and yet they found themselves unable to tear their eyes away from its adorable display.
"Guruu?"
Set tilted its head at the surrounding people as if asking what was wrong.
And those who witnessed Set's behavior found themselves suddenly acknowledging the warm, dear, cute... feelings that had sprung up within them.
It was a fact that Set was a gryphon, but at the same time, it was also the mascot of Gilm.
That was no mere title; upon seeing Set's character, it was only natural that many would find the creature endearing.
...On top of that, Set wasn't deliberately putting on this behavior; it was simply acting as it naturally would.
This could be said to be the ultimate expression of Set's affectionate personality.
"Ah... um, are the procedures in order?"
"...Ah! Y-yes. Yes, that's fine. I apologize, Lord Crimson Rei."
Whether the guard had guessed who Rei was from traveling with Set, or had understood upon seeing the Guild Card, was unclear.
In any case, after completing the entry procedures, Rei received the Tamed Monster collar from the guard.
Casting a brief glance at those still focused on Set, Rei entered the town together with Set.
As they did, everyone who had been going through entry procedures wore disappointed expressions.
They had wanted to look at Set a little longer... that was likely their honest feeling.
But Rei hadn't come here to show off Set.
Given that, he needed to properly do the job he had set out to do.
"First, the Lord's Manor. ...Where is it?"
Though inferior to Gilm, it was still a town in scale.
Not knowing where the Lord's Manor was, Rei gathered information while buying food from surrounding stalls, combining his search for a local specialty dish with his inquiry.
Naturally, the stall owners let out cries of surprise upon seeing Set, but since Rei generously purchased large quantities, they quickly stopped worrying about the creature.
...Also, the fact that Set was behaving quietly was likely a major reason the owners didn't panic.
And upon seeing Set behaving quietly, they naturally noticed its charm as well... ultimately resulting in a repeat of the scene that had played out at the main gate.
Once the topic of Set came up, it quickly became known that Rei was an adventurer from Gilm and the man who bore the alias of Crimson.
As a result, Rei and Set were no longer feared.
The fact that it was understood Rei belonged to the same Neutral Faction as this town's lord, Gail, was likely also significant.
Given the situation, finding where the Lord's Manor was located was not difficult.
(Well, I didn't find any particularly noteworthy cuisine, though.)
Grumbling, Rei ate a dish consisting of thinly cooked slices of meat layered between a long, narrow bread like a hot dog, harboring a slight dissatisfaction.
Granted, the food in this town itself was by no means of low quality. It was simply average.
But... even so, having recently eaten that delicious river fish hot pot, it was unavoidable that he felt somewhat unsatisfied.
"Guruu!"
"Ah, here. Have this one."
Set, which had been eating the same hot dog-like bread dish as Rei, purred as if asking for more.
Rei handed his own to Set, and Set happily began eating that as well.
"You've got it easy, not having any worries."
"Gururu?"
Set tilted its head as if it had no idea what Rei was talking about.
...Though in this case, the worries referred not to the current request but to matters of food.
In any case, Rei and Set continued onward, and eventually the Lord's Manor where this town's lord, Gail, resided came into view.
When Rei heard "Lord's Manor," what he had imagined was the one in Gilm, but the building before him was considerably smaller than what he had pictured.
But Gilm's Lord's Manor belonged to a central figure of the Neutral Faction who had been entrusted with the only frontier in the Kingdom of Mireana, and who possessed considerable wealth. It was only natural that this building would be smaller by comparison.
Even so, the gatekeeper at the Lord's Manor revealed only a slightly surprised expression upon seeing Rei and Set, without becoming agitated or causing a commotion.
That was only natural. The two currently serving as gatekeepers had participated in the war against the Bestia Empire.
They had witnessed with their own eyes a spectacle that could truly be called a cataclysm.
Naturally, that alone would have made it unsurprising for them to be frightened of Rei and Set, but fortunately, they had also witnessed how Rei interacted with everyone else after the war ended, and they understood that he was not someone they—his allies—needed to fear.
Rei didn't remember them, but he had exchanged words with them once during that time.
"Um, this is Viscount Gail's Lord's Manor, correct?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"I see. ...Then please announce me. I've brought a letter of introduction from Margrave Larcus."
"I'll go inform them right away, so please wait a moment."
Taking the letter of introduction handed over by Rei, one of the gatekeepers headed inside the Lord's Manor.
Seeing him off, the other guard bowed to Rei.
"It's late... truly late, but I am grateful to you, Lord Rei. Thanks to you, I was able to return safely from the war with the Bestia Empire. Thank you."
At the guard's words, Rei understood why this man, like the previous one, was treating him so courteously.
So they had been through that war.
"It's not like I did it for anyone but myself, so it's not really something to be thanked for... but if you want to say it, I'll accept your words of gratitude."
For Rei, it was exactly as he said—something he had done for his own sake. Even that Fire Whirlwind had been carried out as a return blow, retaliation, payback, a return gift... for such reasons directed at the Bestia Empire.
Even so, if they wished to express gratitude... Rei told them as much, and the guard nodded firmly.
"Whatever the reason may have been, there is no denying that we were saved because of it. If Lord Rei hadn't been there... far fewer of us would have survived to return home. So whatever your reasons, please accept our words of gratitude."
"...I see. Then I'll accept them."
"Yes. Still, why have you come to this town? I don't mean to be rude, but compared to Gilm, there's nothing here."
Nothing here.
Even as he said that, there was nothing servile about the guard's demeanor.
It was an attitude that conveyed clearly enough that even if it was a town with nothing, he loved the town he lived in.
"I have some business here. ...Ah, don't worry. I have no intention of causing trouble in this town. At the very least, I won't go on a rampage on my own. ...Right?"
"Guruu!"
Set let out a cry as if to say naturally... and seeing Set's behavior, the guard narrowed his eyes with a warm expression.
And so for a few minutes, Rei and the guard exchanged small talk... and the peaceful time continued to pass until the other gatekeeper, who had gone inside the Lord's Manor, returned.