As silence filled the surroundings, Marina was the first to speak.
"In the end, your guild—the Zorgeh Merchant Guild, correct? The Zorgeh Merchant Guild wants to relocate its base of operations from Reblurina. Is that right?"
At Marina's words breaking the silence, Gimekara nodded with evident relief.
"That's right. As I mentioned earlier, Reblurina is already a sinking ship. If that's the case, we can't afford to stay on board."
"And? What exactly are you hoping for?"
"Hey, Marina."
Rei spoke up, displeased by Marina's tone, which sounded as though she were already entertaining Gimekara's proposal.
It wasn't an outright interrogation, but bringing the Zorgeh Merchant Guild into the fold was still an unappealing prospect to him.
"Relax. I have no intention of just accepting things unconditionally. That's precisely why Daskar needs to make the call, don't you think? It's not something we should decide on our own."
Marina paused, then shot Gimekara a sidelong glance before continuing with a smile.
"Though, if you're talking about somewhere other than Gilm, you'd have to go through us first, and then through Daskar... so I imagine things would get rather complicated?"
"Not at all!"
Gimekara replied instantly. It wasn't a calculated response—closer to a reflex.
"If we could establish our headquarters in Gilm, it would be tremendously helpful for us! But, um... are you sure it's that simple to arrange?"
"Oh my, it seems you're misunderstanding something. All I can do is introduce you to Daskar—the lord of Gilm. Everything beyond that is up to your own negotiation. ...Though given everything that's happened up to now, I imagine it will be a rather harsh negotiation."
"I don't mind!"
"Alright, then..."
Both Gimekara and Marina wore smiles. But to Rei, while Gimekara's smile was one thing, Marina's looked like that of a hunter watching prey caught in a trap.
"First, could you prepare enough horses and carriages for all of us to ride, along with clothing and food? Oh, and fodder for the horses, too. Once you've done that, I'll arrange a meeting with Daskar."
"...Huh?"
Gimekara stared at Marina, clearly not understanding what she had just said.
But Marina merely smiled back at him placidly, as if to ask, What's wrong? Did something seem odd?
From Gimekara's perspective, he had wanted a meeting with Daskar arranged right then and there. In reality, Rei knew that their communication with Daskar had already ended a short while ago. Even if they used the Paired Orbs to contact him again now, it would only be an inconvenience to the other side.
If it were a genuine emergency, that would be one thing, but given their current situation, they were in no position to trust the Zorgeh Merchant Guild or Gimekara.
"What's the matter? Didn't you understand what Marina meant? Or... are you saying you thought if you asked for a meeting with Lord Daskar, we'd just say 'Yes, of course'?"
"That's..."
Rei's words left Gimekara at a loss.
He realized he had been getting carried away at the prospect of relocating the guild's headquarters to Gilm. But even so, he had no intention of swallowing Marina's demands without a fight.
"The conditions you've presented are a bit harsh, I think. If I could get a guarantee that Gilm would accept us, that would be one thing, but as the price merely for obtaining a meeting with Lord Daskar, it's somewhat..."
"Is that so? Then why don't you secure a meeting with Daskar on your own and negotiate with him yourself?"
Marina dismissed him flatly. She wouldn't concede on the conditions. If he was dissatisfied with what she offered, he was free to manage on his own.
That implicit message left Gimekara speechless once more.
In truth, pulling together this negotiation on their own was nearly impossible. Well, it might be possible given enough time, but right now, they didn't have that luxury. To shorten that window even slightly, they absolutely needed Rei's group's cooperation.
"Could you perhaps do something about the conditions? As you may know, our guild is one of the larger ones in Reblurina, but even so, I think fully meeting your demands would be difficult."
"Is that so? Then why don't you secure a meeting with Daskar on your own and negotiate with him yourself?"
Marina repeated the exact same words she had used seconds before. There was almost nothing friendly in the gaze she directed at Gimekara.
The fact that it wasn't completely devoid of warmth suggested she at least somewhat acknowledged him for having been the one to initiate contact on behalf of his organization.
"I mentioned this earlier, but it's an undeniable fact that the Zorgeh Merchant Guild traded with Jaya. That you were in a cooperative relationship with them. Given that, do you think the people traveling with us would accept lenient conditions?"
Put that way, Gimekara couldn't argue back. No—there were any number of counterarguments he could think of, but he understood that voicing them now would get him nowhere. That was how severe Marina's gaze was.
Watching Gimekara and observing the exchange, Vihera spoke up.
"If anything, what Marina proposed is too lenient. If it were me, I'd impose much harsher conditions."
"Mm."
Byune murmured in agreement with Vihera's words.
Elena, though silent, gave a small nod as well.
Exposed to the gazes of those women, Gimekara cast a pleading look toward Rei—the only other man present.
But Rei had fought directly in the battle at Mejougo. He knew exactly what Jaya had been doing. He met Gimekara's gaze with a hard stare—one so intense that Gimekara, known within the Zorgeh Merchant Guild as a capable figure entrusted with contacting Rei's group despite his ordinarily mild demeanor, was rendered completely speechless.
"Unfortunately, if you leave this to me, the conditions will be far worse than Marina's. If that's acceptable, I'd be happy to deal with it on those terms."
"N-no... I'll pass."
Whether because he understood that Rei wasn't joking, Gimekara hurriedly shook his head. The current conditions were already harsh enough; he was certain that anything stricter would be impossible to fulfill.
"I see. So, what will you do? If you intend to accept Marina's proposal, I'd suggest you start moving immediately. We won't be here forever. We depart tomorrow, and every day puts more distance between us and Rossi."
"I... understand that."
Gimekara was well aware that Rei's group was here only to make camp for the night. He had also learned from contacts in Emisma that they were heading toward Gilm. And he knew that the sooner he fulfilled Marina's conditions, the better. But preparing carriages, horses, fodder, food, and clothing for a thousand people was not something he could decide on his own authority.
Given that, whether to accept or decline, he couldn't give an answer right here and now.
"Um, I apologize, but would you allow me to take this matter back with me? Of course, we will address it with the utmost sincerity on our end."
"Is that so? Then I'll leave it to you. But... don't forget that the more time you take, the worse our feelings toward you and your guild will become."
In the extreme case, even if Gimekara—or more precisely, the Zorgeh Merchant Guild—came back claiming to have fulfilled their requests after Rei's group had already obtained everything they needed at villages and towns along the way, it would be meaningless. If they brought more than necessary and Rei's group had no use for it, accepting it would serve no purpose.
In such a scenario, even if the Zorgeh Merchant Guild cleared Marina's conditions, it wouldn't be acknowledged. Of course, Gimekara understood that much. Which was exactly why he needed to hurry back and get the guild master and executives to accept Marina's conditions as quickly as possible.
"U-understood. Then... I need to hurry and report these conditions, so please excuse me. I apologize for the late hour."
Bowing deeply to Marina and the others, Gimekara ran off into the night.
They waited until his figure disappeared even under the moonlight. Then Elena spoke.
"What do you think will happen?"
The meaning behind her simple question was obvious. How would Gimekara—and the Zorgeh Merchant Guild—respond to Marina's conditions?
"Their response will depend on how the higher-ups in the Zorgeh Merchant Guild view the current situation. If they simply see this as an opportunity to expand into Gilm, there's a high probability they'll refuse, saying it doesn't justify the cost. But if they properly understand the current state of Reblurina..."
You understand without me saying it, right? That was the look Marina gave the people around her.
In truth, it would be far more convenient for Rei's group if the Zorgeh Merchant Guild accepted. Every time they passed through a village, they had to negotiate with local representatives to purchase carriages, horses, fodder, food, and clothing in bulk. Eliminating that effort would be a relief.
For Daskar, who had entrusted them with this mission, receiving aid from the Zorgeh Merchant Guild would also mean not having to spend a substantial budget on Rei's group's affairs.
Of course, having received such aid, they would have to accommodate the guild to some extent. But whether they could get away with the same things they had done in Reblurina? Absolutely not.
The Zorgeh Merchant Guild might have held considerable power in Reblurina, but that was only because it was a small country. In Gilm—top-class in development among the suzerain nation's territories, and the only frontier of the Kingdom of Mireana—there was no way they could pull off the same tricks.
"Well, there's no point in us agonizing over it here and now. ...Hm?"
As Rei muttered that, his gaze drifted toward the Sand Ship. From the underside of the hull—the opening used for loading cargo—a woman emerged.
"Sura, is something wrong?"
Rei asked with curiosity at the appearance of Sura, who led the Resistance—and who would effectively take charge of the group once Rei and his party departed.
"Huh? Wait, earlier when I was on deck, I felt like there was someone here besides you guys, Rei... Was I imagining it?"
Realizing that Gimekara's visit had apparently been spotted, Rei hesitated over how to explain.
Given Sura's position, there's no way she has a favorable impression of Gimekara or the Zorgeh Merchant Guild. Explaining this could open up all sorts of complications... But no, thinking about when we're not around, it's probably better to tell her properly.
He wavered, but ultimately deciding it was better to keep her informed, Rei explained what had just happened.
However, just as he had predicted, Sura's expression turned displeased upon hearing about the Zorgeh Merchant Guild.
"So you really do dislike the Zorgeh Merchant Guild?" Vihera asked.
"Answering Vihera's question is a bit difficult. If you ask whether I like or dislike them, I can say plainly that I dislike them. But honestly, the fact remains that without the Zorgeh Merchant Guild, we would have been in a lot of trouble. For better or worse, they're merchants."
"Even though they were doing business with Jaya?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Then I suppose it's fine to hope for at least a little something from the guards they might send our way?"
If strong guards showed up, it might actually be fun.
Vihera, who loved battle, smiled in anticipation. However, the adventurers of Reblurina were generally weak—so weak they couldn't even compare to the adventurers in Gilm.
Vihera should know that too, though.
Thinking that, Rei found himself looking forward just a little to what tomorrow might bring.