"Hmm... Good grief. It's remarkable how such a massive commotion could occur in such a short time."
As Daskar's figure vanished from the far side of the Paired Orb, Ronitas, who led the envoy delegation, murmured with deep feeling.
Indeed, exhaustion was written plainly across Ronitas's face.
The other members of the delegation had been told what Rei's group had done, what they were aiming for, and what Reblurina was thinking — as well as what the delegation was permitted to do. After hearing all of those circumstances, it was hardly something they could simply accept with an easy nod.
Even as they exchanged words, Daskar had already moved on to other work, saying he still had tasks remaining. Watching this, Ronitas thought to himself just how grueling the role of a lord must be.
There were people in the world with intense ambition, and many who desired higher positions.
To those who knew nothing and were merely observing from the outside, the position of Gilm's lord must have seemed like a post where one could reap all sorts of profits, starting with rare materials.
But for Ronitas, who had frequent opportunities to see just how busy Daskar was up close, he had no desire whatsoever to become Gilm's lord.
If someone were to simply exploit the position without doing any actual work, Gilm — being a frontier city — would quickly fall into ruin.
It was a city with much to gain, but also much danger. That was Gilm.
"You say that, but it was mostly just circumstances snowballing into this."
"With Gilm having expanded as it has now, this sort of thing is actually what we'd want... but still, transporting nearly a thousand people does seem quite daunting."
Ronitas was not involved with moving the women, but even imagining it was clearly a monumental task.
Moving nearly a thousand people meant that even preparing meals would be a tremendous effort.
Rei received a gaze tinged with something close to pity, but he personally didn't find it all that difficult anymore.
"It was tough at first with all sorts of issues. But right now, everyone's traveling by carriage, so it's not that bad."
"Even so, moving a thousand people sounds overwhelming. Well, putting that aside for now. As for the delegation... Gilm's stance is to not go along with Reblurina's proposal, correct?"
From the weary way Ronitas spoke, anyone could tell he thought the whole affair troublesome.
Even so, the fact that he wouldn't cut corners just because it was a hassle — all for Gilm's benefit — was very much in character for him.
"For starters, the fact that they're trying to pin their own misdeeds on Jaya means Reblurina's upper echelons can't be trusted," one delegation member said, attempting to soothe Ronitas.
The others apparently felt the same way, as everyone nodded at those words.
However, they could only say that because it served Gilm's interests.
Given their position as a delegation, if holding Jaya responsible for this incident had been more profitable for Gilm, they would have had to choose that option regardless of their personal feelings.
Furthermore, with the people who would soon be sent from the Kingdom of Mireana, they had to consider those relationships as well. It wasn't as if they could do exactly as they pleased.
"In any case, we'll keep a careful eye on Reblurina from our end, so don't worry about it."
"...Much appreciated."
Ultimately, all Rei could do at this point was transport the women to Gilm.
Though that act alone was extremely troublesome for both Jaya and Reblurina.
"Also, Ryutas, was it? Once he joins up with you, we can take him off your hands, right?"
"Please do. Ryutas himself can fight to a certain extent, and his guards should be useful enough not to be a burden. ...Even so, they can't really be compared to Mirene and her group."
"No, comparing them in the first place is just wrong."
At Rei's words, Elena muttered with a hint of exasperation.
Hard to imagine from the way she was currently doting on Set, but Mirene and her party were famous among the younger generation of adventurers.
Personality aside, Mirene had refined features and could unquestionably be called beautiful.
Ekril, being slightly younger than Mirene, was better described as cute rather than beautiful, but her features were undoubtedly well-proportioned.
In that regard, Surnin was a middle-aged man and had no reason to draw attention based on looks alone... but as a highly capable mage, he was noteworthy enough.
Gilm had many adventurer parties, but not many of them included a mage.
"Honestly, I'd like to hand Ryutas and his guards over to the delegation in exchange for a few escorts from your side," Rei said.
At Rei's words, Ronitas fell into thought with a troubled expression.
Thanks to their information exchange, Ronitas understood what Rei was worried about.
The adventurer escorts that Gimekara had arranged through the Zorgeh Merchant Guild were selected on the premise that they wouldn't cause any issues, given that most of the traveling party were women.
In other words, rather than skilled fighters with problematic personalities, they had chosen those whose combat skills were lacking but whose characters were sound.
And these were adventurers from Reblurina, whose overall quality couldn't compare to those in Gilm.
Considering that, Rei's dissatisfaction with his defensive combat power was entirely justified.
Since Rei's group couldn't stay with that convoy forever, he needed to address their combat strength urgently in case something happened.
Under those circumstances, having rendezvoused with this delegation, it was only natural for Rei to hope for reinforcements.
But even with such expectations placed upon him, Ronitas couldn't simply agree from his position.
They were about to head into Reblurina — a nation whose upper echelons had conspired with the criminal organization Jaya and permitted the creation of giants. If anything, Ronitas would have honestly preferred to have Rei's group join his own escorts.
At the same time, there was no denying that capable guards were needed to escort nearly a thousand people to Gilm.
They were currently in Reblurina, so extreme vigilance wasn't necessary yet.
But as they drew closer to Gilm, there was a possibility of more powerful monsters or larger bandit groups attacking than those found in this region.
When that happened, what good would escorts with sound personalities but questionable combat skills be? It was only natural that the only image which came to mind was carnivorous beasts scattering a flock of sheep.
"One or two... then... I think we can manage."
In the end, when he thought about Gilm's future, that was the most Ronitas could concede.
If anything, the other delegation members were impressed that he'd yielded even that much.
The fact that they showed no anxiety about reducing their own escorts suggested Rei's selections were appropriate.
"Are you sure?"
"You're the one asking, and you're wondering if I'm sure? ...Just so we're clear, even if we do lend you some escorts, the Scorching Wind party is off the table."
"Ehh—!"
The first to react to Ronitas's words wasn't Rei's group... but Mirene, who had been playing with Set a short distance away.
Even while playing with Set, she had clearly been listening to Rei's conversation.
That was why she had hoped — a genuine, if slight, hope — that she might be able to travel with Rei. Or more precisely, with Set.
But thinking about it rationally, sending the highly capable Scorching Wind party — or even just Mirene alone — to Rei's group was an impossible choice for Ronitas.
"Setting Mirene aside..."
After glancing at the pouting Mirene, Rei turned to Ronitas and made his request.
"It doesn't have to be an adventurer. A knight would work too."
"That's impossible."
The one who answered Rei immediately wasn't Ronitas... but the knight in question.
A man in his thirties, right in the prime of his career, Rei had crossed paths and conversed with him on several occasions.
The knight himself wished he could help Rei if possible, but while that might have been fine as an individual, he was here now in the capacity of a knight.
As such, he had to prioritize his public duty.
"For one thing, there are few knights accompanying this trip. Gilm itself is busy. Given that, we need to prioritize guarding Lord Ronitas. Furthermore... it's precisely because there are knights present that we can demonstrate to others that this delegation, including Lord Ronitas, represents Gilm."
That was why he couldn't offer his assistance.
Hearing that reasoning, Rei had no choice but to accept.
If he were to forcibly take the knight with him now, Daskar would undoubtedly reprimand him later, regardless of the current circumstances.
Of course, if Marina were here, she would have any number of ways to smooth over that level of trouble... but even so, Rei naturally wanted to avoid being scolded unnecessarily.
(That being the case, I'll have to gather escorts from towns and villages along the way. Reblurina's adventurers aside, once we enter the Kingdom of Mireana, even the countryside should have some reasonably skilled adventurers.)
Having organized his thoughts, Rei nodded at the knight.
"Understood. I would have liked you to come if possible, but I can't push for the impossible."
"Indeed. For our part, we would have liked to protect those who have no means to defend themselves, if we could."
The knight told him with a hint of frustration.
In truth, this was a man who had become a knight to protect those without the power to fight. Because of that, if anyone was most frustrated with the current situation, it was undoubtedly this knight.
Sensing something in the knight's feelings, Rei didn't press the topic any further and instead brought up a different subject.
"Were there any tasty dishes in the villages or towns around here?"
"There were, yes, but... why are you suddenly asking about that?"
The knight looked at Rei with a slightly exasperated expression, but seeming relieved that Rei had changed the subject, he went on to describe the dishes he'd eaten in several villages and towns on the way here.
Ronitas and the other delegation members likely understood why Rei had shifted the topic.
Surprised by the unexpected consideration, they offered friendly smiles.
"Oh, a dish where meat is steamed underground. Sounds delicious, but it looks like it would take a while."
"Yes. A few hours... apparently it's not uncommon for it to take more than ten."
A cooking method where seasoned meat was wrapped in large, fragrant leaves, buried in the ground, and steamed.
Rei knew of this dish.
He had read about it in a manga back in Japan.
(Was it Beggar's Chicken from Chinese cuisine? I think that was the name... People really do arrive at similar ideas.)
Since the seasoning and ingredients other than meat differed, it likely wasn't exactly the same dish Rei was imagining.
But given that it was a similar dish, it was only natural to find it interesting. However...
"I'd love to try it if I had the time."
"True. In our case, we happened to pass through a village right when the dish was finished, so we could buy it immediately... but if you're unlucky, you might arrive at a village right after they'd started cooking."
"That part is entirely down to luck."
For Rei's group, who were rushing toward Gilm, stopping at a village was only for restocking supplies.
As such, one or two hours might be feasible, but staying in a single village for ten hours for a single meal was an absolutely impossible choice.
It would be far more practical to have someone who knew the recipe travel with them and prepare it for dinner... or perhaps breakfast, given the cooking time.
After that, Rei continued to gather information from the knight about the villages and towns they had passed through — particularly regarding safety and the general atmosphere of each place.
Beside Rei and the knight, Marina was similarly gathering information from Ronitas about what they'd need for the journey ahead.
As a former Guild Master, Marina was well-versed in all manner of information, but even so, information changed from day to day.
Elena stayed on alert alongside the other escorts, watching their surroundings... and Set was being doted on by Mirene.