It had been about an hour since Elena and Ara arrived at the expansion construction site.
The lunch break arrived, and Rei figured they could finally talk... but, as expected, Elena drew the attention of everyone around her.
She was widely known as a figure who could be called the very symbol of the Noble's Faction, so that was only natural.
Moreover, they had all witnessed Rei and Elena embracing each other. Telling them not to stare would have been asking the impossible.
Still, no one actually dared to approach Elena directly. Partly, they were all keeping each other in check, each waiting for someone else to make the first move. But more than anything, they were cowed by what could only be called the sheer aura of authority that Elena projected.
Of course, among the adventurers in Gilm, there were a few who gave off a similar presence.
Alias Holders and High-Rank Adventurers all possessed that sort of air to one degree or another.
Daskar, who governed Gilm, was a perfect example.
At any rate, while everyone hesitated for those very reasons, Rei and Marina slipped away with Elena.
"...I kind of wanted to talk to her too, though."
Several people overheard Filma mutter those words with a note of disappointment. She was, after all, on reasonably good terms with Rei.
Having left the construction site, Rei and the others were now having lunch in a private room at a restaurant a short distance away.
It was a dining hall, but not the kind that prided itself on being cheap and fast. Rather, it was a high-end establishment where patrons took their time to enjoy their meals.
Normally, both Rei and Marina would just buy something from a nearby stall and call it lunch.
That was partly because even the food sold at street stalls was plenty tasty, but also because they simply preferred the casual ease of it.
For Rei and Marina to be eating at this kind of upscale restaurant today, the reason was, naturally, Elena and Ara.
...Incidentally, Set and Ielo never showed up.
Granted, skipping a single meal wouldn't kill either of them.
Besides, if Set got hungry, it could simply hunt a monster or animal nearby to fill its stomach. So Rei wasn't worried—and neither was Elena, who knew just how well Set and Ielo got along.
"Then... a toast to our long-awaited reunion!"
"Cheers!"
At Rei's words, Elena, Marina, and Ara lightly clinked their cups together.
They were toasting, but what was in Rei's cup was chilled Fruit Water, and the other three had wine cut with cold water.
Rei's aversion to alcohol aside, the rest of the group couldn't exactly drink like they would at dinner, not with the afternoon's work still ahead of them.
"Well, the proper welcome party will be tonight, I'm sure. ...Vihera will definitely be thrilled to see your face, Elena."
"She'll be thrilled, that's for certain... but wouldn't that be because a worthy rival has appeared?"
Everyone who heard Elena's words, knowing full well Vihera's love of battle, couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Marina also possessed considerable combat prowess, but she primarily fought at range, using her bow and Spirit Magic.
In contrast, Elena, who wielded the Whip-sword Mirage, was an excellent match for Vihera, who excelled at close-quarters combat.
...In terms of fighting style compatibility, Ara was actually the best match for Vihera. Unfortunately, Ara's raw strength fell far short of Vihera's.
"That's true. I hear she's been sparring with Rei during their morning training, but..."
Marina murmured that while glancing over at Rei, who was already digging into his Orc meat stew. The person in question, however, was too busy savoring the sensation of a large chunk of meat whose fibers parted effortlessly at the bite.
After swallowing, Rei finally spoke up.
"What we do is strictly training, you know. Vihera can't exactly go all out, so I'm sure she's feeling a bit under-exercised. Dissatisfied, even."
"Hmm. In that case, it seems I'll be the one fighting Vihera."
There was no trace of reluctance in Elena's tone.
If anything, there was a hint of eager anticipation.
Even before, there had been hardly anyone who could match Elena in combat. But after inheriting the Ancient Dragon's Magic Stone, she had climbed another step—or perhaps two—up the staircase of strength, making suitable sparring partners even harder to find.
Of course, it wasn't as though there was no one at all.
But it was undeniable that the pool had shrunk.
Ara was fine for basic drills, but when it came to mock battles, she inevitably found herself outmatched.
Ara, who generally leveraged her Herculean Strength in combat, and Elena, who favored a style built on speed and technique, were simply too well-matched. ...Or rather, in this case, perhaps it would be more accurate to say they were a terrible match.
At any rate, for Elena, a mock battle with Vihera was exactly what she wanted.
Rei and the others chatted about Vihera, who wasn't present, for a while, but eventually the conversation drifted to other topics.
"Did you come to Gilm because of the Relduct incident, Elena?"
"That's part of it. ...But more than that..."
At Rei's words, Elena's cheeks flushed faintly as she shot him a look of clear displeasure.
Seeing her reaction, Rei couldn't help but realize he'd just put his foot in his mouth.
"Ah... come to think of it, I wonder where Ielo flew off to."
"You're the one who said it was off playing with Set, Rei."
As Rei muttered in a clumsy attempt to change the subject, Marina shot him a look dripping with exasperation.
"I thought you might have grown a little since I last saw you, Lord Rei... but I suppose not."
Ara murmured that with a sigh of her own, equally exasperated by Rei and Elena's exchange.
"...My bad."
In the end, all Rei could do was offer a sheepish apology.
"Don't worry about it. It's true that I came to see you, and the Relduct matter is related. But it's not as though I have no other business here. I also came to reduce, even if only slightly, the distrust between the Noble's Faction and the Neutral Faction."
"...I see."
Rei nodded at Elena's words, though he privately thought that might be easier said than done.
In fact, he would go so far as to say that skeptical thought was the stronger of the two.
The Noble's Faction was composed of individuals with extremely high pride.
From Rei's perspective, quite a few of them confused pride with sheer arrogance.
At any rate, for nobles of that stripe, there were bound to be many who would find it deeply unpleasant to build friendly relations with the Neutral Faction.
What's more, if dispatching Elena—both a symbol of the Noble's Faction and the holder of the Princess General alias—to Gilm was the price of that friendship, it was only natural that more people would bristle with resentment than feel their distrust eased.
(Or rather... could that actually be the goal?)
For Duke Kerebel, who led the Noble's Faction, a large force was a welcome thing. But individuals like Relduct, who were prone to running wild on their own arbitrary judgments, were nothing but a liability.
Could drawing out exactly that sort of person be the true objective? Rei entertained the thought for a moment, but ultimately kept the question to himself.
"So, how long will you be staying in Gilm, Elena?"
"Nothing is set in stone, but I plan to stay for a fairly long period. Though, of course, if some major development occurs, I may need to attend to that."
"That's great!"
Hearing that Elena would be in Gilm for an extended stay, a genuinely joyful note crept into Rei's voice.
They had been conversing with considerable frequency via the Paired Orbs up to now, but being able to actually see each other in person clearly meant a great deal to him.
"Hmm... you certainly seem happy about it."
Seeing Rei's obvious delight, Marina remarked with a touch of envy.
Since Marina generally acted alongside Rei on a daily basis, she must have been envious of the joy that came with reuniting after such a long separation.
Though, from Elena's perspective, it was Marina and Vihera—who spent every day near Rei—who were the truly envious ones.
"Well. If you're asking whether I'm happy or not, then yes, I'm happy."
Elena, told so openly that meeting her was a joy, looked thoroughly pleased. Marina, watching the exchange, let out a small sigh.
"A-Anyway... Crimson Lotus Wings, huh. The party name is very you, Rei."
Flustered, Elena hastily steered the conversation elsewhere.
Seeing her reaction, Marina's mood seemed to improve as well. She pulled the dried fish on her plate toward her, flaked it apart, set it on a slice of bread, and brought it to her mouth.
"Yeah, I think it's a good name too. ...If only you were one of the members, Elena."
"Fufu, don't ask for the impossible."
Elena, whose cheeks had still been flushed, seemed to catch herself at Rei's words. A smile crossed her face—a somewhat wistful one—as she replied.
Elena, too, wished she could adventure alongside Rei and the others.
But given her current position, there was simply no way she could do such a thing.
The Princess General was, after all, a symbol of the Noble's Faction.
But... someday.
That thought lived naturally within Elena.
Under normal circumstances, it would be utterly impossible for a noble of the Noble's Faction to work as an adventurer.
But Elena, having inherited the Ancient Dragon's Magic Stone, also had an extended lifespan.
And Rei, Marina, and Vihera all possessed longer lifespans than ordinary humans as well.
...Byune was the only ordinary human among them, but her membership in the Crimson Lotus Wings had been temporary from the start, and it was a given that she would leave the party before long.
Considering all of that, even if it was impossible now, there was a very real possibility that she could one day stand as a member of the Crimson Lotus Wings.
"Come to think of it, where will you and Ara be staying, Elena? Right now, it's not exactly easy to get a room at any inn, is it?"
The expansion of Gilm had brought a flood of people pouring in. Most of the cheap inns were already full, and the mid-range ones were in much the same boat.
Those who would normally stay at perfectly decent inns were being squeezed out, so to speak, and pushed toward more expensive establishments.
There were, of course, a clever few who befriended Gilm's residents and crashed at their homes... but naturally, there weren't that many of them.
Or, if they happened to already know someone in Gilm, they could use that connection to find lodging.
But in Elena's case, carelessly staying at a Noble's Faction mansion was guaranteed to cause trouble in more ways than one.
It was plain to see that there would be a flood of people demanding an audience with her.
"I was told to stay at the Lord's Manor."
"Oh, at Daskar's place? ...In that case, why don't you come to my house?"
"...Your house, Marina?"
"Yes. I live at the edge of the Noble District, and since it's just me, the place is a bit too big."
Compared to the estates of other nobles in the Noble District, Marina's house was on the smaller side.
But other nobles' residences—mansions, really—housed not only the lord of the estate but also maids, butlers, and all manner of servants. In some cases, even private soldiers.
In contrast, Marina lived alone.
She maintained the house herself using Spirit Magic, so she had no real need for extra hands.
As a result, she had quite a few rooms to spare.
At the very least, putting up Ara and Elena would be no problem at all.
Hearing Marina's explanation, Elena seemed sold on the idea. She set the bread she'd been holding back on her plate and turned to Ara.
"Ara."
That Ara understood what Elena meant from that single word was a testament to how long they had known each other.
"Let me see... I don't think there'd be any problem. Actually, in the sense that it wouldn't place a burden on Lord Daskar, it might be the better option."
"Ah... that's true. Daskar is swamped with all sorts of things right now."
She must have been thinking back to the merchants who had been crowded into the Lord's Manor when she'd gone there on a minor errand a few days prior. Marina muttered that with a note of genuine sympathy.
"Hmm, then there's no issue. I'll let them know we'll be staying at Marina's house after we finish eating. Ah, come to think of it, I came to Gilm by carriage. Will that be all right?"
"Yes, I do have a stable. ...Though I haven't used it in a while, so it'll probably need a good cleaning before we put the horses in."
Normally, that would require manpower. But in Marina's case, she could have it done in a flash with Spirit Magic.
(Come to think of it... couldn't she probably clean the stable from right here using Spirit Magic?)
The thought crossed Rei's mind as he worked his way through a skewer. But then, for some reason, Marina turned to look at him with a knowing smile—and he clamped his mouth shut like a clam.