"Ilse!? Why are you with Rei?!"
Having returned to Gilm from the Treant Forest, Rei and Ilse handed a silver coin to the carriage driver as thanks for going out of his way to bring them back. They were debating whether to call Set back or head to the Guild to report about Ajas when they ran into Melan, who was currently on patrol duty in Gilm.
Unfortunately, Melan was assigned to a different group from Vihera today, so she was nowhere to be seen.
Well, if Vihera were here, Melan would probably pester me even more. Though considering the current situation, I don't think it'd make much difference. Still... Melan, huh.
Hearing that name, Rei was suddenly reminded of melons.
Not far from where Rei had lived in Japan, there was one of the region's foremost melon-producing areas. A friend of his parents who lived there would send them melons almost every summer.
The fact that melons came to mind upon seeing Melan was probably because it was summer, after all.
Naturally, it wasn't a one-sided arrangement. Rei's family would send back vegetables they'd grown that were misshapen or slightly blemished and couldn't be sold at market. Of course, the melons they received in return were similarly imperfect, with the same kinds of flaws that made them unshippable.
Incidentally, something that had surprised Rei when he first heard about it concerned melons—particularly the muskmelons grown in that region. With muskmelons, the more complex the outer pattern, the more expensive they became. Among the high-end ones, a single melon costing tens of thousands of yen wasn't uncommon at all.
But that price difference was purely a matter of appearance. When it came to actually eating them, a melon with a pattern that cost less than a thousand yen supposedly tasted no different from one worth tens of thousands.
Rei had been surprised to learn that such a price gap could arise solely from the outer pattern. Naturally, taste would vary depending on the farm, and some people claimed the flavor differed based on the pattern. But at least from Rei's experience eating the premium melons—blemished ones that couldn't be sold—served to him by his parents' friend, he couldn't perceive any difference in sweetness.
Though that probably had something to do with his palate not being all that sensitive.
"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"
Rei had found listening to Melan tedious and had drifted into thoughts about melons, but that sharp call snapped him back to reality. He turned his gaze toward the source of the voice.
Looking back at him with obvious irritation was, naturally, Melan. The fact that Rei had tuned out his words to think about melons apparently hadn't sat well with him at all. He was glaring at Rei with a fierce intensity.
"Hey, Melan. Cut it out. None of us want to get on Rei's bad side," one of the adventurers said.
"Yeah. Vihera already told you, didn't she?" another added.
Several of the adventurers working alongside Melan tried to talk sense into him. This wasn't purely out of concern for Melan, though. They knew that Rei showed no mercy to those he considered enemies. If Melan got himself branded as an enemy and they got dragged down with him, they understood full well that they stood absolutely no chance against Rei.
That was exactly why they didn't want to be caught in Melan's mess—a motive that was, if nothing else, honest.
But while Melan might feel irritated by his companions' attitude, there was no way he could accept it.
"Don't screw with me! If Rei hadn't been dragging Ilse around in the first place, none of this would've—"
That one remark was a step too far.
To Ilse, Rei was someone younger than her, yes, but also a highly skilled adventurer and Alias Holder. More importantly, he was someone helping her with her revenge despite having nothing to gain from it. Even today, there had been no need whatsoever for Rei to bring her to the Treant Forest. Yet because of what happened, she had finally confirmed that Ajas was indeed her enemy.
To be precise, she had suspected him from the very first moment she saw him at the Guild, but she had lacked proof. Thanks to Rei, she now had definitive confirmation. And it was equally significant that she had been able to show Rei the evidence—circumstantial though it was—that Ajas was the one who had killed her family, dispelling his doubts about a possible case of mistaken identity.
Despite everything Rei had done for her, Melan was blaming him—and using himself as the justification. Even though they stayed at the same inn, that was the full extent of their relationship. And precisely because of that, Ilse could not forgive Melan's attitude.
"Please be quiet."
Ilse's voice wasn't particularly loud. In truth, the passersby around them weren't paying much attention to Rei's group—though a few had sensed trouble and were watching with the keen interest of spectators at a show.
Even so, it was Melan who flinched at those words—quiet, yet razor-sharp.
"Ilse, what are you so angry about? I just thought Rei was dragging you around against your will..."
He genuinely didn't understand why she was looking at him with such a piercing glare. If he were to put his honest feelings into words, that about summed it up.
Melan had a fundamentally strong sense of justice, and he'd been blaming Rei on the assumption that Ilse was being dragged around by force. To then be rebuked by Ilse herself—the supposed victim—was the last thing he expected. He could be a bit self-righteous, but he had rarely been rejected like this before, and he simply couldn't fathom why she was treating him this way.
To Ilse, though, Melan was nothing but an obstacle in her path—especially now, having just come face to face with Ajas. Under normal circumstances, she might have brushed off his words. But unfortunately, she was wired tight, her emotions running hot.
Then again, she had just laid eyes on her family's killer. The fact that she was holding herself together at all was perhaps the real surprise.
"Don't interfere. If Ajas gets away because of you, what then?"
"...Ajas? Who's that?"
He was Ilse's enemy, but Melan had never heard the name before. That was why he asked.
"He's my family's killer."
The words left Ilse's lips in a whisper—quiet enough that the onlookers nearby couldn't catch them, yet carrying a chill that ran down the spine of anyone who did.
What saved them was Set's absence. Without the gryphon present, few people could connect Rei to his reputation. Most had dismissed the scene as a simple argument between adventurers and moved on. If anyone had been paying closer attention, they might have caught every word exchanged between Ilse and Melan. But as it stood, few were watching.
Still, if they kept going at each other here, both of them worked up and escalating, they would absolutely draw a crowd.
Making that judgment, Rei turned his gaze toward a tavern a short distance away.
Ideally, I'd want to talk somewhere private, like a room at the inn... but there's no way they'd agree to that.
Suggesting his own room would undoubtedly provoke Melan's resistance. Suggesting Ilse's room—given the current tension—meant Ilse would never accept Melan. And Melan's room would likely draw an outright refusal from Ilse.
As a compromise, Rei proposed a tavern—a neutral ground of sorts, though calling it that felt generous.
"R-Right. Yeah, I think that's a good idea," one of the adventurers said quickly.
"Yeah. If we keep talking out here, the Guards might show up... and frankly, outsiders like us shouldn't be getting involved," another chimed in.
None of them wanted any part of Ilse and Melan's dispute, or more importantly, the trouble surrounding Rei. The other adventurers who had been patrolling with Melan spoke up in unison, and even those who stayed silent nodded in emphatic agreement.
With the others weighing in, Melan reluctantly agreed to take a short break—despite still being on duty—and they headed toward the tavern Rei had indicated. Abandoning his patrol midway wasn't something Melan took lightly, but he clearly judged this was more important.
"Huh... so this is what it's like inside."
It was Rei's first time in this particular tavern, and he couldn't help a small note of curiosity as he stepped through the door. In truth, the interior wasn't much different from any other tavern in Gilm. A handful of customers sat inside despite it being daytime, but that was nothing unusual for the city.
Good call picking a tavern over an eatery.
As expected for midday, an eatery would have been more crowded. He'd chosen the tavern precisely for that reason, and the sparse number of customers was a relief.
"Your order?"
Perhaps because it was daytime and business was slow, the Tavern Keeper himself came over to take their order rather than a Waitress.
"No alcohol. Fruit Water or tea, and something light to snack on. Three portions."
Normally, ordering nothing but non-alcoholic drinks at a tavern was an invitation for harassment from the other patrons. But fortunately, it was daytime, the tavern was nearly empty, and no one was drunk enough to cause trouble. It also helped that the other customers—even if they didn't know Ilse or Melan—recognized Rei. Picking a fight with him here would not end well, and they all knew it. None of them would dare provoke him.
...Though a few were clearly straining to overhear what the three of them were about to discuss.
The Tavern Keeper set down the Fruit Water and some roasted nuts, then retreated to the counter.
Melan was the first to break the silence.
"Ilse, I thought I heard you say something about an enemy earlier."
Some time had passed since their confrontation on the street, and Melan had calmed down somewhat. He reached for his Fruit Water as he asked.
Ilse nodded without a moment's hesitation.
"Yes. I found my family's killer—the one I've been searching for all these years."
"Just to be sure—you're not planning anything stupid like a vendetta, are you?"
Melan asked, almost afraid of the answer. But Ilse's response came instantly.
"What are you saying? Of course."
"R-Right. I mean, obviously..."
Melan exhaled a breath of relief—but it caught in his throat at her very next words.
"Of course I'm going to take my revenge. That's the entire reason I became an adventurer."
"Wha—! Th-That's wrong! A vendetta is no good! You can't do that!"
Melan's voice rang through the tavern. The other customers naturally heard it, and several turned to look—at Melan, at Rei, at Ilse.
Whether he didn't notice those stares or simply didn't care, Melan stopped reaching for his Fruit Water and slammed his palm on the table. A dull thud echoed across the room.
Fortunately, this was a tavern frequented by rough characters like adventurers, which meant the furniture was sturdy. Sturdy enough that even Melan's full-force strike didn't so much as crack the wood.
But Ilse didn't so much as flinch.
"Why not?"
"Revenge is meaningless. And even if you go through with it, there's no guarantee that the family, friends, or lovers of the person you kill won't come after you in return."
He was right. He was absolutely right. But those were the words of someone whose family, friends, or loved ones had never been taken from them by another's malice. To Ilse, Melan's argument was hollow.
At his words, some of the customers nodded in agreement while others smirked with quiet derision.
And Ilse...
"So what? I have made my decision. I will have my revenge. And nothing will ever shake that resolve."
So she declared.