A few days had passed since Rei's argument with Melan. Since that day, time had flowed peacefully by without any major disturbances.
Of course, "peacefully" only meant that no major incidents had occurred. Whenever Rei headed to the new wall's construction site, Malz would approach him, fascinated by his magic and Magic Items, and newcomers to Gilm would still fall in love at first sight with Marina or Vihera.
Such peaceful days drifted by, but the relentless midsummer heat, day after day, was steadily sapping the stamina of Gilm's residents.
For the members of the Crimson Lotus Wings, however—Rei, who wore a Dragon Robe with the effect of a Simplified air conditioner, and Marina, who could cool her surroundings with Spirit Magic—the nights passed comfortably.
Even now, in the courtyard of Marina's house, the members of the Crimson Lotus Wings were sharing a meal together with Elena and Ara, as usual.
Elena and Ara had initially been surprised by the Oven Magic Item Rei produced from his Misty Ring, but they had quickly grasped how to use the cooking implement. By now, they had progressed to preparing simple dishes with it themselves.
During the day, while Rei and the others were out working, Elena and Ara generally found themselves with free time.
If someone had come calling with a genuinely pressing matter, that would have been one thing. People did seek audiences to make their acquaintance, but none ever claimed to have important business.
...Though, to those people, making Elena's acquaintance was likely an important matter in its own right.
For that reason, the two had recently taken up a bit of cooking to pass the time.
Under normal circumstances, a noble's daughter cooking was essentially unheard of. Baking sweets as a hobby, or being too poor to hire a Cook or a Maid—those were exceptions.
But fortunately, Elena and Ara were Knights and military officers. Leading subordinates onto the battlefield was not uncommon for them, and they knew the basics of field cooking.
Thanks to that, there were no disastrously oversalted dishes, nor any tragedies like mistaking salt for sugar of the sort Rei had once seen in manga back in Japan.
Seasonings like salt, sugar, and pepper were reasonably expensive. Had they wasted them through careless mistakes like in a manga, Marina's wrath would have surely fallen upon Elena and Ara.
"Um... how is it? I believe I've gotten somewhat used to cooking with this Oven."
Elena asked hesitantly, watching the members of the Crimson Lotus Wings—Rei in particular—eating the roast bird on the table.
It was a whole roast Mountain Bird, but even Elena, who had a decent grasp of cooking fundamentals, could only manage the basics in the end. The bird's skin had torn, the meat had split open, and the stuffing packed inside—nuts, vegetables, and Mushrooms—was faintly visible.
Nevertheless, because Elena had made it, Rei and the others ate with obvious relish.
In truth, the heat regulation hadn't been much of a failure either. The meat had a light char on the outside and was by no means raw within. While the presentation was on par with a beginner's, the taste was thoroughly delicious.
The sauce in particular used some kind of tart fruit, so despite being a poultry dish, it offered a refreshingly clean aftertaste.
Naturally, for someone truly accustomed to fine dining, there would be no end to the critiques they could offer. But while Rei loved good food, he didn't possess that delicate a palate. Marina and Vihera, by virtue of their standing, were used to so-called gourmet cuisine, but they weren't boorish enough to voice such things here.
"Yeah, I think it's plenty good. The tartness of this sauce suits the meat especially well."
"I agree. But next time you make it, I'd appreciate it if you used more Mushrooms in the stuffing."
"Oh, really? I think this amount is just fine, but... well, I suppose that comes down to personal preference."
"Mm."
Rei, Vihera, Marina, and Byune each offered their impressions of the dish.
At the general praise, Elena let out a sigh of relief.
Ara watched her with a warm smile.
It wasn't as if Ara already knew how to cook and had taught Elena. Even so, the reason she wore such a fond expression was that everyone was happily eating what Elena had prepared. Seeing her revered Elena happy brought Ara great joy.
"Kyu! Kyukyu!"
Ielo, Elena's Familiar, was likewise happily devouring the dish.
...Beside Ielo, Set purred with a disappointed air.
Of course, Elena's dish was set in front of Set too, but in this case, the problem was his size. For a three-meter-long gryphon, a whole roast bird was simply too small a portion. Granted, if Set were allowed to eat the entire thing himself, it would have served as a minor snack. But Elena's dish was meant to be shared among everyone present, which naturally meant Set's allotted portion was small.
Even so, Set savored his meager share.
"I'm sorry, Set. I would have liked to make more, but... this was simply all my skills could manage."
"Purr? Purururu."
At Elena's apologetic words, Set purred to reassure her it was fine. In truth, he hadn't been able to eat much of Elena's home cooking, but many other dishes were also spread across the table, and plenty had been prepared for him as well. Viewed in that light, not being able to eat more of Elena's cooking was slightly disappointing, but nothing worth making a fuss over.
And so Rei and the others enjoyed their meal.
Despite it being a midsummer night, and despite a Pizza Oven sitting nearby, the courtyard of Marina's house was exceptionally cool. In most parts of Gilm, even after the sun had set, the midsummer heat still lingered. If Rei were to step out and feel that temperature directly, he would have called it a tropical night nearing thirty degrees.
But the courtyard of Marina's house at present was a quite comfortable temperature—subjectively, just a little over twenty degrees.
Moreover, the fact that the heat from the Pizza Oven was completely blocked from the surroundings was a testament to just how convenient Marina's Spirit Magic was. That was precisely why, even on such a tropical night, Rei and the others could spend their time in comfort.
...Naturally, the horses that had pulled Elena and Ara's carriage were also enjoying this benefit. No matter how rigorously trained they were as warhorses, they were no match for the summer heat. In that sense, this courtyard environment, which spared them from summer fatigue, was the best possible setting for the horses.
Thus, Rei and his companions found themselves in an environment that anyone except the select few with access to cooling Magic Items would deeply envy.
"So, in the end, did you find out anything about the man Ilse mentioned?"
As the meal wound down, Rei asked the question while sipping cold Fruit Water and black tea. Marina swallowed a mango-like fruit and nodded.
The sight of juice trickling down her throat as she swallowed the fruit was quite alluring, but she paid it no mind and spoke.
"It's not the full picture, just a rough outline. But since he's a fairly conspicuous man with a snake tattoo on his left hand, apparently investigating him was quite easy."
"...Well, I'd imagine so."
Tattoos themselves were not particularly rare. But a snake tattoo coiling around someone's left arm would naturally stand out. Because of that, the man Egg had assigned to the Investigation hadn't taken long to identify and research the target.
Even so, gathering information after pinpointing him had taken some time, and the results had only come in today.
"A D-Rank Adventurer named Ajas. A longsword user, and as you'd expect from his rank, he seems reasonably skilled. But he hasn't caused any trouble since arriving in Gilm."
"Hearing that alone, he sounds like nothing more than an ordinary adventurer," Elena murmured, sipping her tea as she listened to the description of the man named Ajas.
"That's right. His reputation around town is actually decent."
"Just hearing that, it's hard to believe he's the enemy of Ilse's family, isn't it?"
"Reflecting on his past crimes and turning over a new leaf? ...Given what Ilse told us, that seems impossible."
At Vihera's words, everyone present nodded in agreement. Whether they understood the mood or simply followed the others' lead, both Set and Ielo nodded as well.
"Probably not. I won't say there's zero chance he's reformed, but I don't think someone who's grown accustomed to taking the easy path changes that readily. Besides, if he truly regretted everything he'd done, he would have turned himself in to the Guard Force by now."
Of course, since Ajas hadn't committed his crimes in Gilm, turning himself in here could very well result in his execution on the spot. But if he truly regretted what he had done—from the bottom of his heart—then doing at least that much wouldn't be unreasonable.
Rei said as much, but those listening tilted their heads skeptically.
"I wonder. Even if he did regret it, if turning himself in meant he might die, it wouldn't be strange for him to lose his nerve," Vihera murmured, sounding genuinely puzzled. Elena and Marina both nodded.
The only one who didn't agree was Byune, but she wasn't even listening; she was simply absorbed in savoring the fruit on the table.
"Is that how it works? ...Be that as it may. If this Ajas hasn't reflected on anything, what do you think his current good behavior means?"
Rei probably didn't believe Ajas had truly reformed either. Without dwelling on the point further, he steered the conversation ahead.
"Good behavior, huh. Not exactly a phrase that suits someone with a snake tattoo on their left arm."
"Well, when I say good behavior, I don't mean he's going out of his way to help other adventurers or anything. Just focusing on his work without causing unnecessary problems in Gilm right now is good behavior enough."
Given the current situation in Gilm, with so many adventurers flooding in, there was a lot of sense in Marina's words.
Listening to the exchange between Vihera and Marina, Rei wondered why Ajas was going out of his way to avoid trouble. He arrived at the answer immediately.
"In other words, he doesn't want to cause problems and draw attention to himself right now?"
"Probably."
Marina must have reached the same conclusion. She nodded and reached for another piece of fruit.
"If that's the case, then it's highly likely he hasn't reformed at all, but is plotting something and trying to keep it from coming to light?"
"But what could he possibly be plotting in Gilm right now? I understand what Vihera's saying, but Gilm has a massive number of adventurers right now... an enormous concentration of Combat Power. If he tries to cause an incident, it would just be a repeat of Relduct, wouldn't it?"
Precisely because it was Rei who had subjugated Relduct—he hadn't killed him, but still—true conviction rang in his words. If Ajas was plotting something, there was no question that any move against Gilm under the current circumstances would be swiftly crushed.
"Hmm, it's a mystery. As Rei says, Gilm right now has Combat Power gathered in every sense. Given that, no matter what he tries, there's nothing he can do. ...Rather, to shake him up, how about Rei makes direct contact with Ajas once?"
"...Me?"
Rei was caught off guard by Elena's unexpected suggestion. If Ajas was indeed plotting something, Rei assumed that making contact himself would only put the man on guard.
"I understand your concern, but wouldn't that depend on how you approach him? If it seems like a chance encounter, I don't think he'd be overly wary."
"And there's a chance that my contacting him might provoke some kind of reaction," Rei murmured.
Elena nodded.
"But isn't there also a chance Ajas might just run away?" Vihera objected to the idea of Rei making contact.
But Marina, who had been quietly mulling over Elena's words, spoke up to counter her.
"No, Rei making contact might actually be a good idea. Rather than blindly trusting secondhand information from Daskar, having Rei interact with him directly has real value. ...What do you think?"
Rei considered her words for a moment... and eventually nodded.