Spotting Rei as he entered the Guild, Kenny offered a smile.
With Lenora away on business for Guild Master Worker, Rei's timing was a stroke of luck.
...However, the moment she noticed the green-haired beauty at his side, her expression soured with faint displeasure.
Rei remained utterly oblivious to her dissatisfaction as he made his way to the counter—naturally heading toward Kenny's station, given Lenora's absence.
"Kenny, where's Lenora?"
"If you're looking for Lenora, she went to see the Guild Master. Apparently she has some errands to run. ...So, Rei-kun. Who exactly is that beautiful woman with you? A client?"
If she's a client, that's fine.
That thought in mind, Kenny asked the question, but Rei shook his head.
"No, she's not. I actually came because there's something I'd like to ask either Lenora or you to help with."
"...Something you need help with? Could she be a new member of the Crimson Lotus Wings?"
Kenny asked, glancing over at Ilse.
The displeasure had already vanished from Kenny's face, replaced by genuine curiosity.
As a Guild receptionist, Kenny had seen her fair share of adventurers. And while her eye for gauging their strength was only approximate, it was sharp enough to serve her well.
From Kenny's perspective, the woman standing beside Rei didn't appear to possess anywhere near the ability required to join the Crimson Lotus Wings—a B-Rank party.
Granted, if the argument was that someone didn't match their rank, then the same could be said of Byune. But in Byune's case, she possessed a considerably high level of combat prowess, even if it was in that single area alone.
Even by Kenny's reckoning, there was no doubt that Byune's combat ability outstripped Ilse's.
That was precisely why Kenny couldn't exactly endorse the idea of this woman joining the Crimson Lotus Wings.
Or so she had thought.
Contrary to her expectations, Rei shook his head.
"No, she's not a new member of the Crimson Lotus Wings. But there is definitely something I'd like to ask you regarding Ilse."
"...Something better discussed where others can't overhear?"
"If possible."
Judging from Rei's demeanor, Kenny concluded that this was no joking matter. She glanced around the room, then called out to a nearby receptionist.
"Sorry, but I need to step away to talk with Rei-kun."
"...Huh. Well, it's not busy right now, so I guess that's fine. But come back as soon as you can, okay?"
With most adventurers out on jobs, the Guild was relatively quiet at this hour during the day. That said, the comparison was only against the morning and evening rushes. Measured against the daytime crowd before the expansion construction began, the number of adventurers was clearly higher.
"Yes, I'll be back as soon as I can. ...Also, when Lenora returns, could you let her know we went up to the second floor?"
Leaving that message, Kenny led Rei and Ilse toward the second floor of the Guild.
"Here, go on in."
The room Kenny guided them to was not the large conference room they had used on several past occasions, but rather a small one suited for a single party—roughly six tatami mats in size, by Rei's estimation. Inside sat a modest conference table surrounded by several chairs.
"Sorry. I would have preferred to use a bigger room, but... the one over there is currently unavailable."
"Unavailable?"
"Yes. You know, with the expansion construction and everything, there's been a lot going on..."
Now that she mentioned it, Rei could understand. He didn't know exactly who was using it, but it was likely occupied by people involved in the expansion work.
"That's fine by me. I'm not going to complain about not getting a big room. If anything, using a room that large for just three people seems a bit much."
Rei's words must have pleased her. Kenny smiled and gave a satisfied nod.
"I'm glad to hear you say that. ...So, what's the business you wanted to discuss?"
Kenny settled into a chair and prompted them. Rei and Ilse took their own seats before Rei spoke.
"Actually, there's something I'd like your help with."
"Help? Well, if it's a request from you, Rei-kun, I'm willing to hear out most things. ...Though, is this something dangerous, by any chance?"
As a receptionist, Kenny naturally knew just how formidable an adventurer Rei was. And since he was the one coming to her for help, she could easily imagine it was no trivial matter.
Could it be that some major conspiracy is swirling about again?
Kenny asked with that anxiety stirring in her chest, but Rei spoke without any particular sign of tension.
"Do you know an adventurer named Ajas? A D-Rank adventurer."
"...Ajas? Um, give me a moment."
Faced with a name dropped so suddenly, Kenny closed her eyes and tried to recall it. After a brief moment of thought, she apparently remembered, and a smile surfaced on her face.
"Would that be the man with the snake tattoo on his left hand?"
"Yes, that's him."
At the words "snake tattoo," Ilse, who had been listening beside Rei, tensed for just a moment. But whether she had decided to leave matters to Rei in this setting, or whether she feared she would fly into a rage if she so much as tried to speak about Ajas, she held her tongue for now.
"What about this Ajas-san? He doesn't particularly stand out, and he's not exactly what you'd call skilled, you know?"
If this were a village out in the countryside, a D-Rank adventurer might well be the most capable person around without it raising any eyebrows.
But this was Gilm, a town on the frontier. In a place where skilled adventurers gathered in numbers, a D-Rank adventurer was treated as average at best—and in some cases, it wasn't uncommon for them to be regarded as below average.
The reason Kenny remembered someone who could honestly be called a faceless nobody undoubtedly had everything to do with that snake tattoo on his left hand.
"About this Ajas. I'd like to try working alongside him on a request, if possible. Can something be arranged?"
"Eh? Isn't that impossible?"
Smoothly—almost reflexively—Kenny shot down Rei's suggestion.
"No good?"
"Yeah. ...Yeah, I think it would be a bit difficult, honestly. For starters, Rei-kun, you're one of the most famous people in all of Gilm, you know? On what grounds would someone like you act alongside a D-Rank adventurer?"
Now that she put it that way, Rei couldn't argue back. Thinking about it normally, an Alias Holder and high-rank adventurer teaming up with a D-Rank adventurer was a highly unusual situation. It was only natural.
Of course, if the other party was an adventurer who already knew Rei personally, acting together through connections wouldn't be unusual at all. But that wasn't the case here.
Rei knew about Ajas from what he'd heard from Ilse and from the information Egg and his team had gathered. Ajas, however, didn't know Rei—or rather, he probably knew of him, but it would be more accurate to say they had no direct acquaintance.
For those reasons, pairing Rei and Ajas was difficult. Kenny had no choice but to say so herself.
"Can't you do something about that part?"
"U-umm... let's see... I think it would be impossible if it's just Ajas alone. But if we were to group several other adventurers together and have them act alongside you, Rei-kun, then it might be doable. Though in that case, I imagine various troublesome things will come up."
"Troublesome?"
Kenny delivered the caveat as though she had something caught between her back teeth, and Rei tilted his head in puzzlement.
Inwardly, Kenny was letting out a happy shriek at Rei's oblivious attitude, but she kept it carefully hidden as she continued her explanation.
"Yes. Adventurers who have been in Gilm for a long time already understand what kind of personality you have, Rei-kun, so I doubt many of them would try anything foolish at this point."
The fact that she didn't say none would was likely due to Rei's appearance having all manner of effects on people.
Whether he was aware of this himself, Rei merely let out a sigh tinged with half-resignation and said nothing more.
Smiling at his reaction, Kenny spoke again.
"But among the people who came for the expansion construction, there are quite a few who only know you by reputation—by rumors of the Crimson. And that's why some of them might take peculiar actions based on their own assumptions."
"Probably."
In fact, Rei had already been accosted by several adventurers—and even by Woodcutters who weren't adventurers at all.
The rumors of the Crimson included tales like how he had single-handedly incinerated the entire Bestia Imperial Army, and how he showed no mercy even when facing nobility.
Upon hearing such rumors, the average person wouldn't dream of picking a fight with Rei.
But... there were those among the people who had come to Gilm who couldn't entirely dismiss them as mere hearsay.
Among them, a small few still believed that Rei had intentionally spread the rumors himself... or that all of his achievements existed only because he had Gryphon Seto at his side.
What would people like that do if given the chance to encounter Rei? That was something Kenny didn't even want to think about.
Granted, part of her concern was for Rei's sake. But more practically, the bigger reason was that even a fool stupid enough to pick a fight with Rei was still necessary labor for Gilm right now.
In carrying out Gilm's expansion construction, there was no such thing as too many hands. The more workers available, the sooner the expansion would be completed.
That said, the sheer influx of people had also created a situation where some arrivals were struggling to find lodging.
Since gathering a large workforce was the entire objective, Daskar naturally had no intention of leaving that issue unaddressed. Currently, in several locations across Gilm, buildings were being renovated so they could serve as inns on short notice. Unused empty houses were being repurposed as temporary lodgings.
It was a rather forceful method, one that was only possible because Daskar was the lord of Gilm.
...At any rate, with that many people flooding into Gilm, it was no longer possible to treat Rei the same way as those who had been there from the start.
One could say there was a clear difference between those who had actually experienced Rei's fearsomeness that belied his appearance, and those who had not.
"But there's nothing to worry about, right? As long as they don't do anything completely unreasonable, I'll settle things peacefully."
"...With you, Rei-kun, I find that 'peacefully' part awfully hard to believe."
Kenny harbored strong feelings of affection toward Rei, but even she couldn't take his words entirely at face value. This too was a result of everything Rei had done up until now—in a manner of speaking, it was Rei reaping what he had sown.
"Anyway, so there's no problem as long as we slip Ajas into a larger group, right?"
"Yes. I'm not sure 'fortunately' is the right word, but we've been getting word recently that there's a shortage of hands over at the Treant Forest. If it's framed as you leading a group out there, I think something can be arranged."
"The Treant Forest? There's already a sizable number of Woodcutters working over there, and adventurers are cutting trees whenever they have free time, aren't they?"
By serving as guards for the Woodcutters, adventurers could earn the request fee, and on top of that, cutting down trees themselves earned additional money. From an adventurer's perspective, that was a substantial amount of compensation. Rei had understood the Treant Forest to be one of the more popular spots.
When he asked about this, Kenny shook her head.
"That was the case before, but that was all predicated on the assumption that no monsters would appear in the Treant Forest, right?"
"Judging by how you're phrasing that, it's different now?"
"Yes. To be precise, it's becoming different would be the most accurate way to put it. Monsters have started reappearing, little by little. When that happens, adventurers naturally have to perform their guard duties properly, as requested."
"Right."
"...Well, there were some adventurers who decided they didn't need to stand guard and got completely absorbed in cutting trees instead..."
"Yikes."
Rei let out a startled exclamation at Kenny's words.
Guarding the Woodcutters was an adventurer's primary duty; felling trees was merely a secondary perk. To be so blinded by extra compensation that one neglected their actual job was, by any normal reasoning, inconceivable.
"Naturally, that adventurer is no longer permitted to accept requests at the Treant Forest."
Even so, there was no shortage of work outside the Treant Forest, and even adventurers like that had to be utilized—had to be managed effectively. Such was the current reality in Gilm.
Of course, for truly terrible individuals—someone like Ajas, who was believed to be the target of Ilse's revenge—Gilm would have to take altogether more serious measures.
"How about it? For now, I think this arrangement works."
"...Please."
At Rei's words, Ilse bowed deeply.