After returning from the Lord's Manor, Rei and his party immediately began preparing for their journey.
...That said, since Rei's Misty Ring contained a variety of tools, including his Magic Tent, there wasn't anything in particular they needed to buy.
Even so, shopping in a large group like this was likely a rare experience for Elena.
She looked happy as she browsed the surrounding shops.
Ara seemed like she wanted to say something to Elena, yet ultimately said nothing.
For Ara, her honest feeling was probably that she wanted to go along with them if possible.
But unfortunately, due to orders from Duke Kerebel, Ara needed to remain in Gilm.
She understood that, but emotions and reason were apparently two different things.
"Ara, don't worry about it too much. If it's any consolation, Elena will probably feel lonely without you too."
Rei wasn't saying this just to smooth things over.
In truth, Ara was essentially always by Elena's side.
The exceptions were times like when she had gone to the Labyrinth City with Rei, or when she had received some independent orders.
(Come to think of it, this situation is fairly similar to those times.)
As Rei thought this, Ara gave a nod in response.
"You're right. I do understand. But still..."
Trailing off, Ara averted her gaze.
It wasn't that Ara was worried about Elena lacking in ability.
Elena's prowess was obvious, given her alias as the Princess General.
But still worrying about her—surely that was only because she cared for Elena that much.
"I think it's important to trust and wait for her sometimes. Besides, while Elena's away, you're the one who'll be keeping the Noble's Faction in check in Gilm, right? Then I'd say you won't have time to be worrying."
Being entrusted as Elena's proxy meant that if Ara made any missteps, it would reflect on Elena as well.
Whether she arrived at that realization or not, Ara gave a small gasp.
Granted, while not to the same extent as Elena, Ara was a known name within the Noble's Faction.
No—as the commander of Elena's Escort Knight Order, and above all, given how deeply she cared for Elena, it could be said that she was even more widely known than Elena.
For Elena's sake, she had faced down countless opponents without yielding a single step, and she had used her considerable strength to deal appropriate punishment to insolent individuals on numerous occasions.
Many people, in fact, recognized that she was even more of someone you didn't want to anger than Elena.
There had once been those who lost their senses to Elena's beauty and tried to assault her in her sleep using force, and among those individuals were some who, thanks to Ara, could never again be called men.
That being the case, there was fundamentally no need to worry about Ara being underestimated... unfortunately, Rei did not know about any of that.
Which was precisely why he had worried about her.
"You're right. If I don't do my best, I'll bring shame to Lady Elena."
"Please do. Like before, dealing with people trying to pick strange fights with you wouldn't be very pleasant for Gilm either."
While he said this, Rei could also understand that Ara's actual duties would likely consist of waiting at Marina's house.
(No, maybe it would be better for her to move out of Marina's house entirely. Up until now, Elena was there, so it wasn't an issue even if there was nothing in particular for her to do. But once all of us are gone, she'll truly have nothing to do.)
Boredom could kill a person.
Being given nothing to do was a practice sometimes used even as torture.
Of course, Ara was free to move around as she pleased, so it probably wouldn't reach the level of actual torture.
"Where are you going to live while Marina's away? Well, Marina would probably say it's fine for you to stay at her house regardless, but we don't know how long we'll be away. If that happens, the Spirit Magic maintaining that house won't last forever, will it?"
"That's..."
Perhaps caught off guard by Rei's words, Ara fell silent.
She had done things like prepare simple meals alongside Elena at Marina's house, but ultimately, that was only simple cooking.
In other words, if asked whether she could properly manage a household, the answer would be no.
For Marina, who had been away for a while, she could simply clean her house with Spirit Magic after returning to Gilm, but actually living there was a different matter.
"It'll have to be either Ara cleaning the place herself or moving somewhere else.... Hmm? But if that's the case, does that mean anyone could freely enter Marina's house?"
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that."
Marina, who had been explaining to Elena what the small goods she was examining were, had apparently overheard Rei and his group's conversation. From a short distance away, she shook her head.
"I'll use Spirit Magic to prevent suspicious people from entering my house.... However, there's inevitably a difference in difficulty between keeping people out and cleaning the interior."
"Ah... I see."
From Marina's explanation, Rei more or less understood the reason.
Preventing anyone from entering the house was as simple as telling the spirits to let no one in.
But when it came to cleaning the interior, the effort required differed between places where dust had accumulated and places where it hadn't.
Additionally, while not exceedingly large, Marina's house was located in the Noble District, making it appropriately described as a large house by ordinary standards.
That was why the number of places to clean was substantial, making it a task of entirely different difficulty from simply barring entry to visitors.
"Even Spirit Magic isn't all-powerful, huh."
"Of course not."
Marina replied bluntly to Rei's words, but from his perspective, Spirit Magic possessed remarkably high versatility.
After all, he had been astonished by Marina's Spirit Magic on countless occasions.
Though, for Marina's part, she was equally astonished by the immensely powerful magic Rei wielded, so it was a mutual thing.
"Anyway, that being the case, we really do need to figure out Ara's living arrangements.... The safest option would be a mansion owned by a Noble Faction noble?"
"It would be best to avoid that. With me gone, there's no guarantee someone won't get any untoward ideas toward Ara."
Elena stopped examining the small goods and spoke up.
"I would prefer she stay somewhere with no ties to any other faction, if possible."
"...If we're playing it safe, Daskar's place?"
If it were the Lord's Manor, questionable individuals were unlikely to visit.
Besides, since Daskar was the one who had issued the request to Rei's party in the first place, there would be no problem with housing Ara, who had lost her lodging as a result, at the Lord's Manor.
In fact, Elena and her group had originally planned to stay at the Lord's Manor themselves.
"The only drawback would be the possibility of merchants and nobles flocking to see Ara. However, unlike Elena with her fame as the Princess General, Ara isn't that well-known publicly. I don't think it would turn into the same situation as with Elena."
At Marina's words, those who had been listening—Vihera, who had approached them at some point—nodded as well.
In reality, Ara held the position of Elena's childhood friend and confidante.
"Alternatively, you could stay at the Wheat Inn? If it's my room rather than Rei's, you wouldn't need to hold back so much. We're both women, after all."
"Eh? Would that be alright?"
"Yes, it's fine. The rooms at the Wheat Inn will just be sitting unused while we're out of the country anyway."
Naturally, they would need to pay the inn's fees even during the extended absence for the mission.
Of course, if they didn't want to pay for the inn while away for a long period, they could simply check out.
But in Gilm as it was now—where there was a shortage of inns—if they did something like that, there was naturally no way there would be a vacant room at the Wheat Inn when Rei and the others returned.
Granted, as a last resort, they could all just live at Marina's house, but then the issue of meals would arise.
Among Rei's group, the only one who could cook properly was Marina.
And even Marina could only prepare ordinary food; she couldn't produce the exquisite dishes that came out of the Wheat Inn.
That would make preparing food for every meal a fair amount of effort for Rei's group.
There was the option of using the food stored in Rei's Misty Ring, but that still couldn't compare to the Wheat Inn's cooking.
Furthermore, the distance from Marina's house in the Noble District to the Wheat Inn was considerable, so they couldn't exactly go to the dining hall for every meal.
Moreover, the food at the Wheat Inn was delicious, reasonably priced—by Wheat Inn standards, at least—and served in generous portions.
If people learned of such a dining hall, it was only natural that they would flock to it.
In fact, the Wheat Inn's dining hall had been nearly full to capacity lately.
"I see. Daskar's manor or the Wheat Inn. You should decide where to stay as early as possible... ideally today. We plan to depart as soon as we can, after all."
"...Understood. I'll give it careful thought."
In the end, Ara replied to Marina's words, deliberating whether to choose the Lord's Manor, the Wheat Inn... or perhaps somewhere else entirely to live.
"That settles the matter regarding Ara for now. Let's continue shopping.... Oh, look. Those sandwiches being sold over there look delicious, don't they?"
At the stall where Marina's gaze was directed, various sandwiches were being sold.
Since it was summer, sandwiches and similar items often spoiled.
The Abuelo Stall Owner, well aware of this, was likely trying to sell them as quickly as possible.
He was desperately calling out to passersby on the street.
(If there were refrigerators... or even Magic Items with simple cooling functions like those at supermarkets or convenience stores, they could probably prevent spoilage to some extent... but that would be difficult.)
Magic Items like fire starters were extremely cheap, but for that type of Magic Item, the price naturally rose.
It was certain that purchasing one would be extremely difficult for a stall owner.
That the sandwiches would spoil was not a welcome prospect for Rei, either...
"Guruu."
"Kyu?"
Receiving round, wide-eyed looks from Set, who remembered the sandwiches bought from that stall before as delicious, and from Ielo, who tilted its head quizzically while perched on Set's head, Rei naturally headed toward the stall.
"Ooh, if it ain't Rei. And Set too.... You here to buy?"
Perhaps because Rei, Set, and Ielo—one person and two creatures—had come alone, the owner didn't seem to have noticed Marina and the others some distance away.
Right now, he was likely thinking only of selling the sandwiches as quickly as possible.
"Yeah. Looks like we'll be taking a fairly long trip, so I'm gathering up various food.... So, sell me all the sandwiches you have right now."
"Much obliged!"
At Rei's words, the Abuelo Stall Owner let out a delighted exclamation.
He then began handing the sandwiches to Rei one after another.
Incidentally, the fact that the sandwiches were handed over with their plates was probably because he knew Rei would buy them plate and all.
While the Abuelo Stall Owner would have to go through the trouble of buying new plates, the advantage was that all his plates would be fresh ones.
After storing all the handed-over sandwiches—excluding the portions Rei and Set were currently eating—into his Misty Ring, the Abuelo Stall Owner expressed his gratitude to Rei before taking the money he'd received and pulling his stall away from the spot.
Whether he would go make more sandwiches to sell, or simply close up shop early for the day... Rei didn't know which it would be, but what he did know was that today was a lucky day for the Abuelo Stall Owner.
"Well then, what should we buy next?"
Saying this, Rei continued shopping while eating a ham and vegetable sandwich... and while handing a dried fish sandwich to Byune, asking his companions for their input.