"Umm... what do you call this again? Déjà vu?"
Gazing at the man standing before him, Rei muttered with a sigh.
Behind Rei, Vihera smiled wryly at his words, Byune remained expressionless as always, and Marina wore a somewhat troubled smile.
The man standing before Rei had a body and musculature that could truly be called gigantic. He clenched his fists and glared.
"Hey, Danza. Cut it out. That's Rei, you know!?"
The men behind the one called Danza raised their voices, trying desperately to stop him from doing anything stupid.
But Danza paid no attention whatsoever to his companions' words and opened his mouth.
"You're telling me you're partying with Marina? Hah, that's the definition of not knowing your place."
Danza had shouted to provoke him, but Rei completely ignored his words and turned to ask Marina behind him.
"...Was there a woodcutter like that?"
"Apparently he only came to Gilm yesterday."
"Ah... I see. Well, you can never have too many woodcutters."
Given the sheer size of the Treant Forest, felling it entirely with just the woodcutters currently in Gilm would be difficult.
Still, since there was no need to dry the felled trees—a necessary step when cutting ordinary timber—it was comparatively easier work. Even so, the Treant Forest was simply too vast.
To address that, bringing in woodcutters from elsewhere was a natural course of action for Gilm.
And the man named Danza currently standing before Rei, clenching his fists, was one such woodcutter.
(It's not like I was away from Gilm for that long, though. Well, given how things are in Gilm right now, I guess it can't be helped.)
Sighing, Rei raised his fists toward the man.
"Heh, a runt like you hogging a good woman like Marina all to yourself, that's just wrong, ain't it? I'll teach you what knowing your place means."
"Ah... yeah. Got it. So come at me already."
Unlike with Melan, Rei could see that this man was radiating genuine malice toward him. With a sigh, he stepped forward.
At the slow movement, Danza briefly flashed a look of surprise, but no doubt interpreted it as Rei looking down on him.
With veins bulging on his forehead, he swung his fist down at Rei with all his might as Rei approached.
"Idiot."
The next instant, Rei closed the distance from his slow movement to right in front of Danza in a flash and threw a punch, grazing Danza's chin.
Struck by that blow, Danza staggered a few steps back. He smiled as if the attack had no effect on him whatsoever, but in the next moment, he lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
"Well, that's the difference between an amateur and a professional."
"Indeed."
Vihera murmured in response to Rei's words, and Marina nodded in agreement.
When amateurs punch someone, they try to wind up their arm behind them to generate even a little more momentum.
But for someone accustomed to striking people, they knew full well that this created a massive opening.
Winding up created a gap of perhaps a second, maybe even less, before the actual strike. And for Rei, that much time was more than enough to act.
No, that wasn't something limited to Rei alone. Any adventurer with a reasonable level of skill could do the same.
"Now then, the nuisance is taken care of for now. And running into Marina here works out perfectly. Can we go to Marina's house instead of a bar?"
"Huh? I don't mind, but why?"
"I have some presents for you."
"My."
The one who reacted to Rei's words was not Marina, but Vihera.
"Presents? Just for Marina?"
"...Well, if you want one, Vihera, I can give you one, but I'm pretty sure you'll say you don't need it."
From Rei's perspective, he couldn't possibly imagine Vihera wanting the kind of artistic Magic Items he had in mind.
"Let's discuss the details after we get home, at least. You all go on ahead. I'll head over after I report to the Guild."
Saying that, Marina directed a smile at Rei that would melt any man, then headed in the direction Rei and his group had come from.
"Is it fine leaving that guy behind?"
Rei noticed the unconscious Danza collapsed on the ground and muttered as much, but quickly lost interest.
The fact that he had spotted several apparent adventurers carrying him into the shade was probably a big factor.
"More importantly, change of plans. Let's wait at Marina's house."
Nodding at Vihera's words, Rei headed for Marina's mansion with Set, Byune, and the others.
"...Surprisingly heavily guarded."
What Rei noticed upon entering the Noble District was that the adventurers and private soldiers patrolling the area were far more on edge than expected.
The moment they spotted a figure, they tensed up. Then, upon recognizing the familiar face—Rei—they breathed sighs of relief.
Muttering his surprise at seeing expressions of relief directed at him, Vihera spoke up as if she had realized something.
"Oh, did you not know, Rei? Among the people who've come to Gilm for this expansion construction, there are apparently some with rather bad behavior."
Bad behavior? Rei wondered briefly, but quickly understood.
With so many people flooding into Gilm, naturally there were many unfamiliar faces as well.
It wouldn't be strange for someone to take advantage of that and attempt theft.
Of course, if they did such a thing and the underworld organization in Gilm found out, they would face consequences.
"So those types are making their way into the Noble District?"
"Yes. Fortunately, they've been caught before actually breaking into any noble's estate. But who knows how much of that is true."
"I suppose."
Rei could understand what Vihera was getting at.
If they were caught before breaking in, it served as a perfect opportunity to demonstrate how capable their estate's security was. But if someone sneaked in, stole something, and got away, that would be a major embarrassment.
Not many people would go out of their way to publicize such a humiliation.
Of course, if something like that happened, they would likely be quietly tracking down the intruder.
"That's why everyone in the Noble District is so on edge right now. The adventurers on patrol would face their employers' wrath if the Noble District was infiltrated, and apparently the Guild would lower their evaluations too."
"Mm."
Byune nodded at Vihera's words.
The way her usually expressionless face showed even a faint hint of displeasure was definitely not Rei's imagination.
He could easily imagine that something had happened while he was away.
"A large gathering of people isn't always a good thing."
"True. It would be nice if everyone who came was well-mannered... well, I won't go that far, but as long as they're not actively committing crimes, things would be a lot easier."
But in reality, it was never that simple.
Drawn by the influx of people from the expansion, those who came to Gilm specifically targeting crime from the start were by no means few in number.
Gilm in particular was the only frontier region in the Kingdom of Mireana, and precisely because it held significant wealth, many sought to strike it rich in one fell swoop.
Naturally, such individuals were mostly eliminated by Gilm's guards, adventurers like Vihera who patrolled the streets, or members of the underworld who disliked having their territory encroached upon and unwanted trouble stirred up.
The fact that it was "mostly" and not "all" was the source of the current patrol's headaches.
While most were caught, only those truly blessed with ability, talent, or luck managed to successfully commit crimes starting with theft.
"Well, even so, sneaking into Marina's house would be impossible."
Recalling the security measures installed in Marina's home—or rather, what could be called the crime-prevention capabilities of Spirit Magic—Rei muttered.
Vihera and Byune nodded in agreement.
Set, walking along, didn't seem particularly bothered, apparently just happy to be petted by Rei as they went.
"Anyone foolhardy enough to sneak into Marina's house would have Marina's terror carved into their body... no, their heart."
"My, what a way to put it. That makes it sound like I'm the bad one."
Whether she had been there the whole time or not, Marina—who was supposed to have split off earlier saying she was heading to the Guild—was standing right there.
She wore her characteristic smile, as if she had condensed all of a woman's charm into it, but Rei and Vihera, her party members, noticed a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"That was fast. I thought it would take a bit longer."
Vihera was surprised for a moment, but quickly composed herself and spoke.
"Rei has returned, after all. It's only natural that I'd show my face early on."
At Marina's words, spoken as if it were nothing, Vihera smiled as if resigning herself, then opened her mouth.
"So, how were things at the Treant Forest?"
"Same as always. No particular problems."
Marina said that, but given the matter of the woodcutter Rei had just knocked out, even if she claimed there were no problems, it was hard to believe.
Of course, both Marina and Vihera were used to men approaching them.
At the same time, their methods of dealing with such situations had already reached the level of seasoned experts.
Marina aside, in Vihera's case, she simply declared she had no interest in anyone weaker than herself, telling anyone who wanted to woo her to fight and defeat her first—a rather rough-and-tumble approach.
"So, how about on your end, Rei?"
"Ah, right. Actually..."
Rei had been about to explain what happened in Count Relduct's Territory, but stopped mid-sentence when he spotted a familiar face approaching from the direction they were heading.
At the same time, the other party must have noticed Rei's presence.
They tensed the moment they spotted a figure. But upon recognizing it was Rei with Set, they broke into happy smiles and called out, approaching him.
"Captain Rei! It's been a while!"
"I told you, I'm not a captain anymore. That was the Mobile Unit ages ago. Get used to it already."
Rei said that with a sigh.
The people before him were those he had fought alongside as a Mobile Unit during the Bestia Empire civil war.
After the civil war ended, they had come to Gilm with Rei and were now active as adventurers.
Their reasons for coming to Gilm varied, but what they all shared in common was an absolute desire to never oppose Rei.
Having witnessed Rei's fighting up close during the civil war, they likely felt that staying in the Bestia Empire—which had been hostile to the Kingdom of Mireana for years—was dangerous.
Of course, beyond that, some also simply admired Rei.
"It's wonderful to see that you're well too, Vihera-sama."
Along with Rei, the adventurers greeted Vihera as well.
Being from the Bestia Empire, they were probably thrilled to be able to speak with Vihera, who had been highly popular among the citizens.
The adventurers greeted her with cheeks flushed red from the excitement of talking to her.
"Come to think of it, is it just you all today? I don't see Yohanna around."
Yohanna, who possessed a love for Set that rivaled even Mirene of Scorching Wind when it came to doting on him, was nowhere to be seen.
Noticing that no one had rushed over to Set first, Rei asked the others.
"Huh? Oh, yes. Yohanna took on a job by the wall."
The Former Mobile Unit members numbered far more than just a few.
They were a group of dozens.
Naturally, they couldn't all operate as a single party.
As a result, the Former Mobile Unit members had split into multiple parties to operate.
Of course, a fair amount of time had passed since they came to Gilm, so many had also joined parties outside the Former Mobile Unit.
Among all that, those currently standing before Rei were all Former Mobile Unit members.
"I see. So you're all on Noble District patrol, then?"
"Yes. Um, despite how we look, we're actually quite capable, you know?"
"Figured. Not just anyone can volunteer for patrol duty here."
Being entrusted with patrolling the Noble District meant one naturally had to be a trustworthy individual.
Carelessly hiring someone with dubious intentions, only to have that person commit theft or assault a noble... that was something the Guild absolutely had to avoid.
"It makes me happy to hear you say that, Rei-san."
Saying so with genuine delight, the Former Mobile Unit members and Rei's group spent a while in cheerful conversation.