While waiting for Ielo near the Guard Station, Rei watched as large numbers of people passed through his line of sight, walking past the front of the building.
There were pairs consisting solely of a prostitute and her client, a man with a prostitute hanging off each arm, and even a rare duo of a woman with a prostitute in tow.
For a moment, Rei wondered if the two were prostitutes walking together for some reason, but even from his vantage point, he could discern that the atmosphere between the two women was sweet and intimate.
Since that was the case, Rei concluded they were likely homosexuals, which meant he was forced to listen to their sweet exchanges.
This was because the woman with the prostitute was whispering words of love right next to the back alley where Rei was hiding.
(I want them to do that sort of thing somewhere else... well, I suppose the real issue is that I'm hiding in a back alley to begin with. This is just that kind of town, after all.)
After seeing off the woman who had left with the female prostitute, Rei felt relieved that his hiding spot hadn't been discovered. He turned his gaze back toward the Guard Station... and eventually spotted something small fly out of a window.
Recognizing the flying creature as a familiar presence, Rei felt a far deeper sense of relief than when the female client and the prostitute had left his vicinity.
"Phew... so you made it back safely."
"Kyu!"
In response to Rei's mutter, Ielo, who had flown through the air, cried out in answer.
Landing safely on Rei's outstretched hand, Ielo slipped directly inside Rei's Dragon Robe.
The reason it looked so happy was partly because it had been useful to Rei and its master, Elena, but also because it could enter the Dragon Robe.
The inside of the Dragon Robe maintained a comfortable temperature.
Ielo was a Child, but also a Black Dragon—a race possessing some of the greatest power in this world.
Even so, being still a child, the summer heat probably didn't feel pleasant to it.
Being unable to move was a slight disappointment, but inside Rei's Dragon Robe, it could still spend its time comfortably.
"Ah... yeah. Just stay like that, Ielo. Now then, what else should I check out... I wonder."
Rei muttered as he surveyed the surrounding scenery visible from the back alley.
If Mejougo were a somewhat more cramped place, he might have had a general idea of where to investigate. But unfortunately, given the sheer size of Mejougo, he couldn't easily figure out where he should look.
"For now, shall I walk around a bit more? There's still time before the carriage returning to Rossi departs."
"Kyu!"
From inside Rei's Dragon Robe, Ielo gave a short cry of agreement.
Hearing it cry in a place with people around would be problematic, but Rei judged it was fine here and gently patted Ielo's spot through the Dragon Robe.
Whether it liked the sensation or was simply heeding the consideration to stay out of sight... Ielo fell silent after that.
Stepping out of the alley, Rei began walking down the street.
As he passed near the Guard Station, the man standing in front of it showed no particular interest in Rei.
(Hmm? I'm pretty sure that Orc-faced woman from earlier mentioned me... Why no reaction at all? Or is it because I'm wearing a hood? Well, there are a fair number of short guys out there, so it can't be helped if he doesn't recognize me.)
At any rate, avoiding unnecessary trouble was fortunate for Rei, so he didn't go out of his way to provoke anything and distanced himself from the Guard Station.
(Given the size of this town, there's probably more than one or two Guard Stations... but sending Ielo to all of them would be a bit much. Besides, I probably don't have that much time to spare.)
Rei walked down the street, still unsure of what to do next. Naturally, there were many voices calling out to entice him.
No one mistook Rei for a prostitute, so they must have assumed he was a customer.
However, Rei naturally didn't take up any of their invitations, walking down the street to confirm the state of his surroundings.
More precisely, to understand the structure of this entertainment district called Mejougo.
(If I really wanted to investigate it properly, I could just ride Set and check from above. ...Maybe I should come back tomorrow during the day and ride Set? I don't know if there's some kind of Barrier or not... no, is there?)
Setting up a Barrier naturally wasn't free, either.
It required an anchor such as a Magic Item or a Magic Circle, or in rarer cases, keeping a monster alive to use its life force as a power source. Erecting a Barrier required a significant amount of money in various ways.
Given that, it was impossible for a small nation like Reblurina to set up Barriers in every town and village.
In the first place, even the suzerain nation of Reblurina, the Kingdom of Mireana, hadn't managed to place Barriers in all its villages and towns. Thinking about that, one could easily understand just how much money was needed to set one up.
(Well, Mejougo is a town directly controlled by Jaya. If that's the case, there's a very real possibility they could set up a Barrier. To begin with, I hear Jaya has a massive stockpile of Magic Items, so it wouldn't be strange for them to have one set up.)
As Rei advanced down the street lost in such thoughts, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his gaze toward a back alley.
At the same time, Ielo, inside the Dragon Robe, lightly scratched at Rei to get his attention.
Recognizing this, Rei gave a light pat through the Dragon Robe to show he understood. After casually scanning his surroundings and confirming no one was watching him, he entered the alley.
The back alley Rei stepped into appeared at first glance to have nothing of note. Yes, at first glance.
But Rei had sensed a human presence from within.
And a presence of someone terribly frightened, their nerves frayed.
Getting the impression of a kitten caught in the rain, anxious yet trying to act tough, Rei proceeded down the alley until the path came to a dead end.
It existed in the gap between two shops... but at the dead-end wall, there was a small hole.
And the presence he sensed was coming from beyond that hole.
"Is someone there?"
Forgetting to put on his mask as Ren, Rei called out. He could tell that the person on the other side of the wall had tensed up at his words.
"Please come out. I have no intention of harming you. If you're willing, I'd like you to tell me what's going on."
Rei said this because he felt the person on the other side of the wall might know some secret about Mejougo.
He didn't think things would work out that conveniently, but with no leads in his current situation, if there was anything that could serve as a clue, he had no choice but to latch onto it.
Rei called out beyond the hole, but there was no reply.
However, he could sense with certainty that someone was there.
(Now then, what should I do? Hiding in a place like this definitely means they have some circumstances. ...Circumstances, huh.)
If they were hiding there for some reason, the person on the other side must have been struggling to obtain food and drink.
Of course, how much food and water they craved would depend on how long the person beyond the hole had been hiding.
In extreme cases, if they had only hidden there a few hours ago, they wouldn't be hungry or thirsty yet.
But if they had been hiding for a day, two days... or perhaps even longer, there was a very real chance they were nearing their limit.
(Now, how will this play out?)
Thinking this, Rei retrieved a piece of bread from his Misty Ring.
Not a sandwich with something stuffed inside, but plain white bread.
However, since it had been freshly baked and bought from a bakery renowned for baking delicious bread, the freshly baked aroma—a scent quite unsuited for a back alley—drifted through the surroundings.
For someone enduring hunger, that aroma would stimulate their appetite more than a poorly made dish.
In fact, Rei sensed signs of someone moving on the other side of the hole.
Did it work?
Thinking so, Rei opened his mouth.
"Hey, aren't you hungry? If you come out now, I can throw in some Dried Meat and soup along with the freshly baked bread. ...Ah, it goes without saying, but I'm not part of this Mejougo's... I'm not with Jaya. If anything, I'm on the side opposing them."
Stating clearly that he was opposed to Jaya in this Mejougo carried considerable danger.
But to gain the trust of the person beyond the wall, Rei needed to take some risks.
And then... dozens of seconds of silence filled the area.
That silence persisted only in Rei's immediate vicinity. From the direction of the street, sounds like women's cheers and coquettish voices, as well as shouts resembling men's roars, could be heard.
Listening to the voices carried over to him while keeping his eyes on the hole in the wall, Rei eventually detected the presence of someone moving beyond it.
Before long, a single woman peeked her face out from the hole in the wall, seemingly cautious of her surroundings.
She looked ready to flee at once if there was any danger, but upon realizing that Rei was the only one there, she let out a slight sigh of relief.
She had probably been hiding here for a few days.
Her face was dirty, and the clothes she wore were the revealing kind worn by prostitutes, but they too were stained with dirt and grime.
Her age appeared to be late teens to early twenties.
She wasn't a breathtakingly beautiful woman, but her features were refined enough that one could assume she'd have some regular customers working as a prostitute.
However, that refined-faced woman was currently gripped by intense suspicion, staring... no, glaring at Rei as if to keep him at bay.
To dispel that distrustful attitude, Rei held out the bread in his hand.
At the savory aroma wafting from the bread in Rei's hand, the woman's stomach let out a fierce, demanding growl.
"...!?"
Only because silence had filled the surroundings could that sound not be concealed.
Even though she was hiding here, the woman still had enough composure to care about such things. Dyeing her cheeks red with shame, she glared at Rei.
Unfazed, Rei handed her the freshly baked bread.
Rei didn't particularly care just because her stomach had growled.
Of course it depended on the situation, but at the very least, he only felt it was natural for the stomach of a woman hiding in a hole, barely able to eat, to rumble.
Perhaps slightly reassured by Rei's demeanor, the woman accepted the bread from his hand and hurriedly brought it to her mouth.
Watching the woman eat in a manner better described as devouring rather than eating, Rei handed her the soup next.
The woman drank the vegetable soup served in a bowl, bringing it directly to her lips without even using a spoon.
(I hear eating suddenly after fasting is bad for the body... but will she be alright looking at her?)
Rei grew slightly worried for the woman, but seeing her eating so vigorously, he judged she'd be fine and tried to hand her another piece of bread... when he noticed ears growing from her head.
They were quite small, dog ears, and probably usually hidden by her hair.
(A dog Beastman? Or a Wolf?)
Honestly, Rei couldn't really tell the difference between a dog Beastman and a Wolf Beastman.
If he got it wrong, her attitude would likely stiffen.
Judging so, he decided not to specify what kind of Beastman she was and simply stated the fact.
"A Beastman, huh."
"...!?"
She must have heard Rei's mutter. The woman panicked and tried to hide her ears within her hair.
But Rei paid it no mind and handed her another piece of freshly baked bread he had retrieved from his Misty Ring.
"There's no need to hide them, right? This country doesn't discriminate against Beastmen, after all."
Rei knew there were countries that discriminated against Beastmen and treated them as slaves, but at the very least, Reblurina and the vassal states of the Kingdom of Mireana prohibited it.
Of course, with all sorts of people having different personalities, it wasn't as if no one held a distaste for Beastmen.
At Rei's attitude, the woman showed a slightly more relaxed expression... and as if seizing that opening, Rei opened his mouth.
"Now then, could you tell me all about what's going on here?"