"Grrrrrrrrl."
At the sound from behind him, Rei wiped his face with a cloth he had pulled from his Misty Ring.
He washed his face with the Dagger of Flowing Water.
Anyone who understood the significance of what he was doing would have stared in astonishment. The water produced by the Dagger of Flowing Water — which generated water through infused magic — using Rei's own magic power was, despite being nothing more than ordinary water, so exquisite that calling it heavenly would be no exaggeration.
But water that even nobles would pay fortunes for was, to Rei, nothing more than ordinary water.
"Hey, Set. Come on, stop fussing."
Bathed in the streaming morning light, Rei stroked the head of Set, who was nuzzling against him as if to say he was hungry.
A grove they had found on the way to Hazlui.
That was where Rei had decided to camp for the night.
The morning sun filtering through the trees created dappled shade across the grove — a sight captivating enough to catch the eye of even Rei, who was well accustomed to mountains.
"Well, it's quite different from the scenery I remember in Japan."
The mountains where Rei had lived back in Japan and this grove were similar in some ways but differed in many others. There were more trees growing here that Rei had never seen in Japan.
Taking in the morning scenery of the grove, Rei began pulling various dishes from his Misty Ring.
Skewers, stew, bread, stir-fried dishes, simmered dishes...
A breakfast that was perhaps a bit too lavish — no, some might even call it heavy.
But for Rei and Set, finishing this amount of food was no particular challenge.
"Grrul."
Set purred happily and dug into the stir-fried dish.
Watching him, Rei ate the stew.
The thoroughly simmered stew, rich with the flavor of vegetables, was at its best when paired with freshly baked bread.
After finishing such a lavish meal and taking a brief rest, Rei mounted Set and took to the sky toward Hazlui.
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
Just before noon, Rei and Set arrived at Hazlui, but what greeted the pair was a scream from one of the Guards.
Since nothing like this had happened in Viscount Gail's Territory, Rei felt slightly disappointed. Still, reasoning that such a reaction was unavoidable given that Set was a Gryphon, he held out his Guild Card.
"Relax, this one's my Tamed Monster. More importantly, I'd like to get the entry procedures sorted."
The guard who received those words and was shown the Guild Card somehow managed to suppress another cry of astonishment.
(B-Rank... and a Gryphon, which means this guy is... Crimson!? Why would a famous adventurer like Crimson...)
The guard somehow stifled his surprise — though to Rei it was painfully obvious he was struggling — and began processing the entry.
Observing the guard's demeanor, Rei understood that the matter with the Rebel Army had not yet spread this far.
But that was only natural. Relduct had been attacked by Rei and captured by the Rebel Army — the latter being an educated guess — just last night.
It was precisely because Rei was riding Set that he had been able to cover the distance so quickly, but in reality, it would still be a while before that information properly reached this area.
Given Set's flight speed, it wouldn't be surprising if it took over a week.
In any case, after completing the procedures, Rei entered Hazlui together with Set.
Not being told to leave Set outside the city gates was a relief for Rei as well.
...Though a significant reason for that was likely the fear the guard harbored — the fear of what might happen if he angered Rei.
"Now, the question is... where does Jazz's brother Dostri live?"
Rei had heard that Dostri lived in Hazlui, but naturally, he had no idea exactly where.
Deciding that the best course of action when you didn't know something was to ask, Rei told Set to wait some distance away so as not to frighten anyone, and headed toward a nearby street stall. But the food being sold there was nothing that would stimulate his appetite in the slightest.
Due to Count Relduct's heavy taxes, the quality of goods sold in shops had clearly deteriorated considerably.
And yet, Relduct himself was dining on fine cuisine.
Rei could well understand why a Rebel Army had come into existence.
"Customer, what can I do for you?"
"Ah... let's see. Give me a few of those skewers. Also, could you tell me where a man named Dostri lives?"
Saying that, Rei handed over slightly more Copper Coins than the skewers cost.
The shop owner, confirming the number of coins, unhesitatingly told Rei where Dostri's house was.
There was a desperate look on his face, as if to say there was no way he would let this money slip through his fingers.
The effects of Count Relduct's heavy taxes were painfully apparent here as well.
(Well, given a little more time, a Communication should come from the Rebel Army, so they just need to hold on until then. If I say anything, I'd only cause unnecessary confusion.)
Knowing that speaking carelessly would only throw the surrounding area into further disorder, Rei headed straight for Dostri's house as directed.
There were several more food-selling shops along the way, but having already grasped the general situation at the first stall, Rei refrained from buying in bulk as he usually would.
In terms of charity, it might have been better to have bought something.
But if he did so at only one shop, the others would surely grow envious.
To avoid that, he would have needed to make purchases at every single shop.
Naturally, with Rei's financial resources, doing so would have been easy enough.
Moreover, he now also had the Magic Items he had seized from Relduct.
But anything obtained that way would likely end up gathering dust in storage.
That wasn't quite right — or so Rei concluded, and in the end, he made no purchases beyond the first stall.
If there had been many people on the verge of starvation, Rei would have changed his approach accordingly. But that was not the case here.
"Alright, here it is."
Arriving at the location he had been given at the stall, Rei found a shop selling tableware.
(A tableware shop... judging by the state of this city, it doesn't seem like they could make a living on that alone.)
Finding that slightly curious, Rei instructed Set to relax some distance away and stepped inside the shop.
"Welcome."
Turning his gaze toward the voice, Rei saw a well-built man with the sort of stern, difficult-looking face that screamed craftsman.
Who this was, Rei understood without needing to think.
After all, the man had the same sort of features as Jazz... and above all, the same build.
"Customer, what are you looking for?"
Despite having just walked in, Rei wasn't browsing the interior — he was staring directly at the man. The shop owner clearly found this suspicious.
With a gaze tinged with slight wariness, he asked the question.
In response, Rei spoke up.
"You're Dostri, aren't you?"
"...That's right. And who are you? If you're going to ask someone's name, how about showing your own face first?"
Rei nodded at Dostri's words and pulled back the hood he had been wearing.
Seeing the face that emerged, Dostri froze for a few seconds in surprise.
He had probably imagined all sorts of faces that might be hidden beneath the hood, but he clearly hadn't expected one like Rei's — a face that could aptly be described as feminine.
"Sorry about that. I didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble."
"Y-yeah... I'd imagine."
Dostri likely understood what kind of trouble Rei tended to attract. He loosened his guard just a fraction.
"So, what would someone like you want with me?"
"It's a bit delayed, but I'm here to deliver a letter."
"A letter?"
"Yeah. From Jazz."
"!?"
At the unexpected name from Rei's mouth, Dostri's face twisted in surprise.
"Jazz?"
"Yeah. Jazz was in a village I stopped at on my way to Count Relduct's Territory. He entrusted me with a letter."
Strictly speaking, a fair amount had happened in between, but mentioning that would only worry Dostri, so Rei kept it to himself.
He then took the letter from his Misty Ring and handed it over.
"It's from Jazz."
At Rei's words, Dostri accepted the letter with care and immediately began reading.
(Jazz is an adventurer, so it wouldn't be strange for him to be literate, but Dostri can read and write too, huh... Well, no, he runs a shop, so of course he'd be able to.)
Adventurers needed at least basic literacy, or they would struggle to read request forms.
And merchants needed to read and write to keep their ledgers.
Thinking about it that way, Rei could understand why both Jazz and Dostri were literate.
"Huh."
While Dostri read the letter, Rei, having nothing else to do, glanced around the shop and let out a quietly impressed sound.
The tableware displayed in the shop was, without exception, of considerable quality.
Rei had almost no aesthetic eye when it came to art.
The displayed tableware had simple patterns carved into it, but nothing that could be called ornate.
What this shop sold was, above all, practical goods.
Metal plates and wooden plates were lined up in great numbers.
While Dostri was still reading, Rei picked up several pieces of tableware.
"What are you doing?"
By the time Dostri finished the letter, Rei was holding a stack of several plates in his hands.
Deep plates, shallow plates, small plates, large plates, wooden plates, metal plates... plate after plate, many of them.
It was only natural that Dostri asked the question almost involuntarily upon seeing the pile.
"Well, I like to eat."
"...And?"
"It'd be a problem if I ran out of plates when doing so, wouldn't it?"
In reality, Rei already had a variety of plates and similar items inside his Misty Ring, purchased alongside dishes from various eateries.
But even with the same food, the experience could change depending on the vessel it was served in.
More accurately, the taste of the food itself didn't change, but the perceived flavor could shift depending on one's mood while eating — that was the more precise way to put it.
In that sense, when it came to plates, the more the better.
Furthermore, Rei had fairly frequent occasions to serve meals to large groups.
Thinking ahead, his honest feeling was that having more tableware was always better.
"Well, fine. As long as you're properly paying for them, you're welcome to buy whatever you like.... So, the letter says you fought Count Relduct... what do you want me to do?"
"You don't have to do anything."
In response to Dostri's words, Rei answered flatly.
"Huh?"
For a moment, Dostri didn't understand what had been said.
The letter had said that Rei wanted his help.
That Rei had saved Jazz's daughter — Dostri's niece, Schiller — from Orcs.
That was why Dostri had been prepared to do anything he could...
But the reply he received was that he didn't need to do anything.
"What do you mean? Didn't you come here because you wanted my help?"
"That was the original plan, but before coming to this city, I ran into a certain group. I cooperated with them, and the retaliation against Relduct is already finished."
"...Finished? You mean you've already attacked Count Relduct?"
"Yeah... I suppose I should tell you. Last night, Relduct should have been captured by the Rebel Army. That information should start circulating before long."
"Last night? How do you know that?"
"I told you, didn't I? Because I launched the attack on Relduct. My attack thinned the defenses at his manor, and the Rebel Army took advantage of that opening to make their move."
"Wait, wait. That doesn't add up. Jawa, where Count Relduct lives, is a long way from here. It takes ten days even by carriage. So how do you know about something that happened yesterday?"
Given that Rei was the one who had brought Jazz's letter, Dostri didn't think he was lying.
He wanted to believe that. But even so, there was a clear contradiction in what Rei was saying.
Yet Rei, showing no particular concern, simply opened his mouth.
"That's simple. My travel speed is far beyond what would normally be considered possible.... I'll show you the secret, so come with me."
Setting the tableware down for the time being, Rei led Dostri out to the front of the shop.
...Several dozen seconds later, Dostri's voice of astonishment rang out through the street, and the city's residents — hearing what was usually the quiet Dostri cry out in surprise — came to see what was happening with evident curiosity.