"Rei-san, do you have a moment?"
On the way back from a dinner that had left Rei feeling thoroughly restless—they had started discussing revenge, only for the topic to somehow veer into romance—Ilse was waiting near the Wheat Inn at dusk, as if she had been lying in wait for him.
No, not "as if"—she most likely had been waiting for him.
Anyone with even a passing knowledge of Gilm knew that Rei made the Wheat Inn his regular lodging. After all, there were not many inns in Gilm with stables large enough to house Set. If you asked any resident of Gilm where Rei was staying, they would tell you without hesitation.
For that reason, Rei was somewhat surprised to find Ilse waiting for him, though it was not enough to call it a shock.
"Rei, who's that girl? She looks familiar..."
Vihera, who had rented a room at the Wheat Inn alongside Rei, regarded Ilse as she spoke.
"Come on, I told you at dinner. That's her."
"Oh, the one called Ilse or something... I see."
Understanding who was before her from Rei's words, Vihera nodded at Ilse. But she quickly averted her gaze, as if she had already lost interest.
Given that there had been talk of revenge, Vihera had simply assumed the woman would be someone of comparable strength. Yet upon actually meeting her, Vihera could sense almost no power from her at all. For someone with Vihera's lust for battle, it was a letdown.
Unlike Vihera, Ilse had no idea what to say to this person who had suddenly turned her attention toward her. If anything, she was captivated by Vihera's very appearance.
Ilse was self-aware enough to know she had a face that men found attractive. Yet even from Ilse's perspective, the woman standing before her possessed a beauty that could only be described as fantastical.
The thin garments Vihera wore, combined with the darkness of night, the moonlight, and the glow of a Magic Item lantern—all of these elements mingling together were likely the biggest reason Ilse found her gaze stolen.
Ilse also realized that this was the person who had helped her once before, but since Vihera did not seem to remember, she kept that to herself for now.
"Um, well..."
"Don't worry about it. Vihera is just... special in a lot of ways."
"Excuse me, what do you mean, 'special'?"
Apparently displeased by the word, Vihera shot back at Rei. But Rei let her complaint slide and addressed Ilse instead.
"So? It looks like you were waiting for me here, but why go to the trouble?"
"Well, it's just... if possible, I'd like you to hear me out somewhere with fewer people."
Standing in front of the Wheat Inn at dusk—and with Set right there, no less—naturally drew the eyes of every passerby toward them. Rei and his companions were used to being the center of attention, so the stares didn't particularly bother them. But for Ilse, who wanted to avoid standing out as much as possible, it was a different story.
Had it not been summer, she would have worn a hooded robe to conceal her face. But it was the height of summer. Doing something like that would only make her stand out even more. The only people who dressed like that at this time of year were mages.
She had considered disguising herself as one, but abandoned the idea, realizing it would cause all sorts of trouble if she were found out. Being noticed by the target of her revenge—being discovered—was something she absolutely had to avoid.
"Ah... right. Somewhere private rules out the dining hall, I suppose."
The mention of the dining hall drew a slight reaction from Byune, but she soon wore a look of disappointment. They had been eating at Marina's mansion lately, and while the food prepared there was fine, it simply could not compare to the cuisine served at the Wheat Inn. Rei often produced dishes from his Misty Ring, and he had even used the Magic Item oven to bake pizza and other meals. But even so, it still fell short of the Wheat Inn's cooking.
...Freshly baked pizza, with its melted cheese and enticing aroma, was undeniably a powerful stimulant to the appetite.
"Then how about you come to our room? Rei's room would be... problematic for various reasons."
"I would appreciate that very much."
Though still mesmerized by Vihera's beauty, Ilse spoke with visible relief. No matter how famous an Alias Holder Rei was, he was still a man. True, he was younger than Ilse, who was over twenty, but that didn't mean she could casually walk into a man's room.
Besides, a boy around his age is apparently at that stage where he starts taking an interest in girls.
She might not have known the word "puberty," but she understood the concept well enough from experience. Moreover, from Ilse's perspective, Rei was an overwhelmingly superior adventurer. Going to the room of a man she barely knew, given all of that, was simply out of the question. In that sense, being invited to Vihera's room was incredibly fortunate. Considering what she had come to ask, she couldn't afford to be picky.
"Gururu?"
Set rumbled, as if asking, What's going on? Rei stroked him and spoke.
"Nothing. We're just going to have a private conversation. Set, head back to the stables."
"Guru."
Set purred with what seemed like regret at being separated from Rei, but since bringing him into the room was out of the question, sending him to the stables was the obvious choice.
...Incidentally, Ilse had seen Set from a distance before, but seeing the gryphon up close like this left her somewhat stunned. Though really, being surprised at seeing a gryphon up close was only natural.
Regardless, Ilse watched in blank amazement as Set obediently followed Rei's command and trudged toward the back of the inn where the stables were located.
"What's wrong? We're going to Vihera's room, right?"
Rei called out to the still-stunned Ilse as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. His attitude suggested he had no grasp whatsoever of just how incredible it was to have tamed a gryphon. Seeing him act so casually, Ilse felt anew the reality that the person before her was a truly formidable adventurer.
"Ah, yes. I'm coming right away."
Because it was Rei she was dealing with, if he agreed to help with her revenge, he would be an immensely powerful ally. With that thought, a sudden wave of excitement made her body tremble as she stepped inside the inn.
As they entered, they passed a party of what appeared to be adventurers coming out of the dining hall. They seemed to recognize Rei, and none of them tried to start any trouble.
...Though they did cast curious glances at the unfamiliar beauty in the company of Rei, Vihera, and Byune.
After all, the party Rei belonged to, the Crimson Lotus Wings, was one that every man dreamed of joining—all its members were women except for Rei. What's more, the women in that party, whether Marina or Vihera, were the kind of beauties one might be lucky to see once in a lifetime. There were even those who claimed Byune was the supreme existence among them, but they were very much in the minority.
With a member of the Crimson Lotus Wings walking alongside an unknown beauty, it was impossible not to draw attention. But the adventurers, who recognized Rei but had never spoken to him, quietly left the inn without incident.
Rei and his group paid the stares no mind and headed upstairs. Once inside the room, Ilse finally let out a sigh of relief.
If even half the rumors about Rei and his companions' strength were true, they were extraordinary. That was exactly why she wanted—no, needed—their help. But such immense power naturally attracted attention.
"So, what do you want with Rei?"
Vihera asked Ilse while watching Byune, who sat on the bed swaying her head as if exhausted. Prompted to take the chair in the room, Ilse instead looked toward Rei, who had sat down on the floor with his back against the wall, and opened her mouth to speak.
"Um, if at all possible, I'd rather discuss this with you alone, Rei-san..."
"Listen, don't make unreasonable demands when you're talking in my room. If we're speaking in here, obviously I'm going to hear it too, right?"
"...You're right."
Perhaps realizing she couldn't push the matter further, Ilse conceded. After a reluctant pause, she addressed Rei.
"As I think you understood from our conversation this afternoon, I have someone I need to take revenge against."
She didn't say she wanted revenge—she said she would have revenge. That phrasing laid bare the intensity of her resolve.
Faced with such earnestness, Rei couldn't just brush her off. Honestly, he did find it troublesome, but he could at least keep that to himself.
"I figured. You're clearly serious about this, and I more or less understood that from how you acted during the day. So? Judging by the look on your face, your target is here in Gilm, isn't he?"
"Yes. To be honest, I wasn't able to find out exactly where he is. It's been six... no, about five years now since that man killed my parents and my older brother."
Perhaps recalling the moment her family was murdered, she let out a sigh, as if trying to quell the anger welling up inside her. After a few seconds, Ilse continued her explanation.
"I went to all sorts of places searching for him. I even wondered if he'd already left the Kingdom of Mireana for another country. But even so... just as I couldn't bring myself to give up, I heard about the Gilm expansion project."
Many people had flocked to Gilm seeking work. With that in mind, she had come harboring a sliver of hope—and at the Guild, she had finally found the enemy she had been searching for all these years.
Hearing this, Rei recalled his first encounter with Ilse and nodded in understanding.
"I see. And when you found him, you instinctively reached for your dagger, and that's when I intervened."
"Yes. And, well... thank you, even though it's a bit late to be saying this."
"Oh. You actually have words of gratitude. I half expected you to ask me why I got in your way."
Ilse shook her head at Rei's words.
"No. If I had attacked that man right there, he would have countered me without breaking a sweat. Unfortunately, I can't say I have any confidence in my combat ability."
"That's true."
Vihera, who had been listening to Rei and Ilse's exchange, agreed with a bluntness that bordered on merciless. But Ilse understood full well just how little talent she had for combat. That was why she didn't show any displeasure at Vihera's words and simply nodded. If anything, being told plainly that she lacked fighting ability was far more convincing than being coddled with empty reassurances.
"That's why it was a lifesaver when you stopped me, Rei-san."
"I see. Well, I'm glad to hear you say that. But..."
Rei's words trailed off as he regarded Ilse. Something about her explanation had struck him as odd. From what she had said, her family's murder had taken place quite some time ago—at least five years, by her own account. If that was the case...
"Are you absolutely certain the person you found is actually your enemy? You said your family was killed five years ago, right? Isn't it possible that the person you found this time isn't the one you're looking for?"
That was the doubt that had crept into Rei's mind. Even if her family had been murdered, the man she was after was someone she had encountered only once, long ago. Whether she could reliably remember his face after all this time was, frankly, questionable. If cameras existed in this world, it might be a different story, but Rei had never seen such a thing in Elgin. Given that, it was entirely possible that the man's face had gradually shifted in Ilse's memory over the passing years.
Sensing the implication that she might have the wrong person, Ilse immediately shook her head.
"If the face were my only means of identification, I might have been mistaken. His build could have changed over five years, too."
"True enough."
In five years, a thin person could easily grow stout, and a heavy person could grow thin. Even so, what made her so certain the man she found was her enemy?
As Rei's gaze silently pressed the question, Ilse spoke with absolute confidence.
"It's the tattoo on his left arm. I don't know if the arm itself is meant to resemble a tree, but the tattoo is of a snake coiling around it, slithering upward toward his left hand. There is no way I could mistake a tattoo like that."
She declared it with unwavering certainty.