A few days had passed since the day Ilse's revenge was settled. That morning arrived a little earlier than usual, but Rei's party had already gathered at the Main Gate of Gilm.
Even Elena and Ara, who usually never left Marina's house to avoid the trouble of people seeking audiences, were present.
"Thank you, everyone."
The one who spoke and bowed deeply was Ilse.
Ara called out to her with concern. "Ilse, are you sure you want to go? If you'd like, I could recommend you to Lady Elena's Escort Knight Order..."
"No, I'll pass. As I am now, I certainly don't have the strength to join the Knight Order... Above all, I want to seriously think about what it is I truly want to do."
Ilse offered a smile as she said this.
Compared to the day after she had struck down Ajas with her own hands a few days prior, she had become considerably more energetic.
If Ilse had spent those days alone, she probably wouldn't have recovered this much. The reason she had bounced back so well was, without a doubt, largely thanks to the presence of a friend she could open her heart to—Ara.
It wasn't just that Ilse unilaterally felt friendship toward Ara; Ara also valued the time she spent with Ilse. That was precisely why Ara had invited Ilse to join the Escort Knight Order, wanting to spend more time with her friend.
Given Ara's position as commander of the Escort Knight Order, recommending a single newcomer wasn't difficult. Of course, it would amount to enrollment through connections, but that was hardly unusual in Elgin.
Ilse, however, declined. She wanted to properly figure out what she truly wanted to do. And so, she had decided to leave Gilm in search of that answer.
"Be careful," Elena called out to Ilse after she finished exchanging words with Ara. "You finally avenged your enemy. If you were to be done in by bandits or monsters along the way, it wouldn't even be a laughing matter. Ara would also be sad to lose a friend she finally made."
At first, Ilse had been somewhat hesitant to speak directly with Elena, who bore the alias of the Princess General. But having lived under the same roof for several days, she had gradually warmed up to her.
Since Ilse could be said to be the root cause of the entire incident, there was a possibility of retaliation from the underworld, so she had checked out of her previous inn early.
Since it was the inn she had shared with Melan, Ilse showed not the slightest hesitation about leaving. It wasn't that the inn itself was bad, but the fact that Melan had stayed there was likely the source of her strongest negative impression.
This didn't cause any trouble for the inn, however. A notification had come from the Guard Force confirming Melan's death, and the belongings in his room had already been sold off with a new guest moving in. The room Ilse had occupied was also taken by another guest the very day she checked out.
Many people were still flocking to Gilm seeking work related to the expansion project. For such people, being able to sleep in an inn was incredibly fortunate. Due to the shortage of lodging, many slept outdoors even within Gilm's walls, which had been a problem until recently. Now, several larger sheds had been built near the construction site where those without a place to stay could sleep.
But naturally, spending a comfortable night like one would at an inn was impossible in such places. Large numbers of people slept directly on the floor, had to provide their own blankets, and meals were self-funded. Above all, considering the possibility of one's personal belongings being stolen, it was a very risky arrangement. Even so, it was better than nothing, and by now many people made use of those sheds.
Compared to sleeping in such a place, the inn Ilse had stayed at was practically paradise.
"Thank you very again... And to everyone else as well, thank you for cooperating with my revenge."
"Heeey, Ilse-san! We're about to depart, so please get ready!" A male merchant, who had been discussing various matters with an adventurer serving as his escort a short distance away, waved at Ilse.
If one were to leave Gilm, naturally they couldn't go alone. Well, for an adventurer with a certain level of skill, traveling alone outside Gilm wasn't difficult at present. Due to the expansion project, many people were coming to and leaving Gilm, so the majority of monsters near the main roads had already been defeated.
And yet, the reason one couldn't declare them completely eliminated was that monsters gathered from nowhere every night, effectively replenishing their forces. The majority of the monsters that appeared were low-rank ones—mostly Goblins and Cobolts—but among them were some high-rank monsters as well.
That was why, while it had become possible to move around solo, if a lone adventurer encountered a high-rank monster, death would be unavoidable. If that held true even for skilled adventurers, it was far too dangerous for Ilse, who had experienced almost no real combat since becoming an adventurer, to travel such roads alone.
So Ara had asked Elena on her friend's behalf, and Elena, while explaining the situation to Daskar, had him introduce a conscientious merchant. Since Ilse had no combat experience, she couldn't be hired as an escort and was treated as a guest instead.
The merchant felt he'd been saddled with a troublesome burden by Daskar, but since the Ilse matter had forged a connection between him and the margrave, it wasn't a bad arrangement.
"Yes, understood! I'll be right there!" Ilse called back to the merchant, then bowed deeply once more to Rei and the group before taking her leave. As she turned, she exchanged a brief glance with her friend Ara, convincing herself that if they stayed alive, they would meet again.
Ara felt the same way. She waved lightly to the departing Ilse and, though she still looked a little lonely, accepted her parting with her friend.
The merchant, having loaded Ilse onto his carriage, bowed to Rei's group before setting off. The adventurers guarding the carriage were also somewhat tense, knowing they were escorting an acquaintance of Rei. They were undoubtedly thinking that they absolutely could not let an acquaintance of Rei get injured under any circumstances.
If Ilse had been traveling with the merchant as an escort adventurer, that would have been one thing, but this time she was purely a guest. That was why they were on edge.
If anything, I think it would be her friend Ara who'd be angry if Ilse got hurt, rather than me.
Rei had helped Ilse with various things, but he didn't feel particularly close to her. The one who felt a strong affection toward Ilse was, as expected, Ara. And Elena, who was Ara's master and usually spent her days confined in Marina's house, had naturally ended up speaking with Ilse often and felt a reasonable degree of fondness for her as well.
"She's gone," Elena murmured, watching the carriage pass through the other side of the gate.
Ara nodded regretfully. She had seen Ilse off with a smile at the end, but parting with a friend was still painful. Ara's personality wasn't the type to make friends easily. Since Elena was always her top priority, that was only natural. That was precisely why Ilse was undoubtedly a precious friend to Ara, and parting with such a friend was bound to leave her feeling lonely.
"That's true. But... if she's alive, they'll probably meet again. Besides, maybe Ilse will change her mind and join the Escort Knight Order eventually." Ara said this, but the Escort Knight Order was fundamentally comprised of elites. With Ilse's current lack of combat skills, even if she joined, she wouldn't be considered for combat duty. At best, she'd be assigned to administrative work. However, since the order was actually short on that kind of personnel, it might be a perfect fit.
"You're right. If she's alive, I think they'll meet again." The one who told Ara this was Marina, who had lived for many years as a Dark Elf. Having met and parted with countless friends over her long life, her words carried strong persuasive power.
"Anyway, seeing Ilse off is done... Shouldn't we get to work soon? If Elena and Ara stay here, things will get troublesome. Wouldn't it be better to hurry back to Marina's house?" Vihera, who didn't have as strong feelings toward Ilse as Ara or Elena did, urged everyone forward.
In fact, the people passing through the gate had already grown to a considerable number. Since not much time had passed since the gates opened, there were many people coming into and leaving Gilm. That was the case normally, so with the expansion project underway, the foot traffic was even heavier.
With celebrities like Rei's group standing among them, it was only natural that some people would try to catch a glimpse, and there were bound to be those who wanted to get acquainted with them. Especially now that Elena, the Princess General with her dazzling beauty, was present. An opportunity to make the acquaintance of a figure who could be called the very symbol of the Noble's Faction did not come often. That was why many people were watching for a chance to speak to them.
Even so, they seemed to have enough sense to wait until the matter of seeing someone off was finished before approaching. However, now that Ilse's send-off was over, it wouldn't be strange for those waiting for their chance to approach Elena and the others at any moment. And then—
"Oh my, isn't that Rei-chan over there? And Vihera-chan and the others too... It's been a while!" Suddenly, a voice called out to them.
The people in the vicinity who had been waiting for their chance and keeping others at bay glared sharply at whoever had beaten them to the punch... but the instant they saw that person's figure, their eyes went wide with shock.
The speaker was a heavily muscled, large man... who, for some reason, was wearing light makeup. He was by no means someone you'd want to go out of your way to talk to. Those seeing him for the first time figured Rei's group would either immediately dismiss him or simply ignore him.
But those who knew who he was wore bitter expressions. The people around them wondered why. That question was answered the next moment.
"Yo, Bistol. It's been a while."
"That's right! Thanks for helping me out before. Thanks to you, I was able to come back to Gilm like this!"
Seeing the man wink as he said that, the people around him wore expressions of sheer discomfort. Crossdressing men and women in male attire were rare but not nonexistent. But someone like this man was truly unusual.
"Rei, an acquaintance?" Despite Bistol's appearance, which would normally make anyone recoil, Elena showed no particular concern and calmly asked Rei. Just how strange that was could be understood by anyone looking at Ara, who wore an expression of pure astonishment beside her.
Well, having just experienced a parting with a friend and then immediately seeing someone like Bistol up close, it's not surprising she'd react this way.
Thinking this while observing Ara's state, Rei nodded toward Elena.
"Yeah. He's someone I met a while back."
"Oh my, this beauty is... a beauty is... eh? Could it be..." Seeing Elena's appearance, he must have realized who she was. Even Bistol's eyes went wide with shock, wondering why she was here.
"Yeah, just as Bistol guessed."
"...Oh my." Even the battle-hardened Bistol clearly hadn't expected to encounter Elena. Eyes wide with astonishment, he gazed at her beauty.
"Bistol-san, shouldn't we be going soon!?" The one who called out to the stunned Bistol was someone Rei recognized—a person whose face he had seen several times during a previous matter involving Bistol. The man also noticed Rei's group and bowed deeply with gratitude.
"O-Oh my. That's right. We're in a bit of a hurry. I'll make some time later, so let's have a meal together."
"Ah... sure."
Rei nodded to Bistol, then, on a whim, spoke up.
"Do you know about the country of Reblurina?"
"Eh? Yes, it's one of this country's vassal states, isn't it?"
"...I see."
At those words, Rei decided to ask Bistol about that topic the next time they met. What Ajas was thinking... and what the organization Ajas belonged to was thinking. That was what had been bothering him all along.