"P-Please take care of us!"
Five men and women bowed deeply toward Marina.
The fact that they bowed to Marina — rather than to party leader Rei or Gimekara, who had negotiated with Guild Master Shinarama — was undoubtedly because they knew Shinarama held deep respect for her.
Moreover, these five... the adventurers hired as escorts had been helped by Shinarama several times in the past.
Given that someone they admired as much as Shinarama respected her, it was only natural that Marina would be the most important figure to the newly joined adventurers.
"Fufu, I'm happy you're being so polite with me, but I'm not exactly the leader of this party, you know?"
Marina flashed an alluring smile that captivated all five regardless of gender, then turned her gaze toward Rei, who was drinking fruit water in the guild's attached tavern.
The five had been mesmerized by Marina's smile, but when they followed her gaze to Rei, they all raised their voices in unison. "Eh?"
Given the current situation, it meant that Rei — the person Marina had looked toward — was effectively leading nearly a thousand people. But he certainly didn't look the part.
However, no matter what the new escorts thought, since Marina herself was presenting that attitude, they couldn't voice any complaints or doubts.
The only real concern was Guild Master Shinarama's reaction.
Marina — someone Shinarama respected and held affection for — was serving under a person like that. Given Shinarama's temperament, could he really accept it? That was the worry... but the Shinarama the five saw didn't appear particularly angry.
Rather than angry, he was directing a far more serious gaze at Rei — one that seemed to say he was carefully evaluating the man called Rei.
The five adventurers didn't understand why Shinarama was directing such a gaze at Rei. They didn't understand, but the fact that Shinarama was taking such an attitude made it obvious that Rei was not what he appeared to be.
Ignoring the gazes of those five and the surrounding adventurers who were watching the scene unfold, Shinarama called out to Marina.
"Um, Marina-sama..."
"You don't need to use '-sama.' I'm not a Guild Master or anything anymore, just a regular adventurer."
It wasn't just Shinarama who was surprised by those words. The other adventurers nearby directed disbelieving stares at Marina.
Judging by appearance alone, she still looked young — with the looks of someone in her early twenties. It was hard to believe she was a former Guild Master.
...Though if one looked at her pointed ears and dark brown skin, it was immediately obvious she was a Dark Elf.
Even so, Marina's appearance still didn't suggest former Guild Master.
"Is that so? But dropping the honorific entirely would be... at the very least, please let me call you Marina-san."
"If that settles your mind, then fine. ...So?"
When Marina asked what his business was, Shinarama glanced at Rei once more before speaking.
"The person with you, Marina-san... I heard they were called Rei."
"That's right. It's Rei. I'm sure it's exactly what you're imagining, Shinarama."
"Then—!?"
Is that person the Crimson? Shinarama's face twisted in astonishment.
The adventurers in the guild hadn't paid particular attention when they heard the name Rei — that was due to Rei's appearance. But Guild Master Shinarama, naturally, knew not only the rumors circulating about Rei but also information beyond that. Including the fact that Rei, despite his strength, was small in stature and had a feminine face.
"That's right. Rei is the Crimson."
A stir ran through those who had been listening to Shinarama and Marina's conversation, and they directed astonished gazes at Rei.
At this point, they finally understood that Rei was the adventurer with the alias of Crimson.
And despite knowing nothing, many directed pitying glances at the man who had picked a fight with Rei. He had picked a fight with someone far stronger than himself based on appearance alone — in a way, the man could be called a hero without it being strange.
Of course, that man had a lecture from Shinarama guaranteed to come along with the title of hero — no, the title of "hero in a certain sense" — so no one envied him.
Rei, who was the center of attention, didn't seem particularly bothered. It was an attitude born from being accustomed to drawing attention, including matters involving Set.
"I see. That lad... no, that man."
At Marina's words, Shinarama murmured earnestly.
"Oh, so you're the ones joining the escort starting today. I'm Rocks. I've been put in charge of organizing this group's escorts. Nice to meet you."
The one who casually greeted the five newly added escorts was Rocks — a C-Rank adventurer who had been working as an escort for Ronitas's envoy delegation but was now traveling with Rei's group by Daskar's order.
As an adventurer based in Gilm with genuine skill, the man in his late twenties had been entrusted with organizing the escorts, just as he himself had stated.
The Resistance members led by Sura also acknowledged him as sufficient to lead them, based on his skill and personality.
Sura had only ended up leading the Resistance in the first place through something close to circumstance. For someone like her, having an experienced adventurer like Rocks — a reliable adult male — organize their group left her with no complaints.
If Rocks had been the type to cause trouble by making unwanted advances on the women, he never would have been accepted by everyone. But while he spoke casually to them, he never directed lust-filled gazes at the women, let alone touched them — making him fully worthy of their trust.
Initially, there had been opinions that since Rei's group was leading, they should organize the escorts... but Rei's group wouldn't be traveling with this party indefinitely. Once the escort force was sufficient enough to manage without them, Rei intended to return to Gilm. There was no way Rei's group could organize the escorts under those circumstances, and in that sense, Rocks was exactly the right person for the job.
"Yes, please take care of us!"
The five voices aligned perfectly, and they bowed in flawless unison.
"O-Oh? You're quite in sync. What, are you five in a party together?"
Adventurer parties generally consisted of about two to four members. But five-member parties weren't that rare, and some even formed parties of ten or more. That was why Rocks, looking at the five before him, thought they might be in the same party...
"No, my companion here and I are in one party, and the three over there are a separate party. Of course, it's not like we don't know each other at all."
One of the five replied to Rocks as their representative.
Looking at that man and the other four, Rocks thought to himself that they were remarkably in sync for that to be the case.
Understanding from Rocks's attitude how they were being perceived, the man smiled and spoke.
"Um, the Guild Master told us to make absolutely sure we don't cause any offense to the people we'll be working with."
Having seen in the guild what happened to the man who had harassed Rei, they had no intention of doing anything to displease their counterparts.
"Huh. Well, whatever. Anyway, as you can see, this is quite a large group. Escorting them comes with all sorts of challenges, but... you'll get used to it as you go."
Rocks directed his gaze toward the area outside the town, where a large number of people were preparing for departure.
The majority of those preparing were women, and since Jaya had gathered them to work as prostitutes, many had well-defined features.
The men among the five couldn't help but show happy expressions upon seeing those women.
"I can understand why men like you would react that way, but whatever you do, don't even think about making unwanted advances. If something like that happens... honestly, I can't guarantee what kind of fate you'll meet. Or your lives, for that matter."
"Yes, sir!"
The men among the five — three of them — responded immediately to Rocks's words. His tone made it perfectly clear he was by no means making a joke.
...Meanwhile, the two women were watching those men with cold stares, but fortunately or unfortunately, the men showed no sign of noticing.
"Alright, next... take a look over there."
The five looked in the direction Rocks indicated next and noticed a crowd of women gathered there. Despite being about to depart, for some reason the women hadn't yet boarded the carriages.
"Um, what's that about? It seems like a lot of people are gathered there..."
Why were so many women gathered? And why were the gathered women wearing such joyful smiles?
Unable to understand this, one of the men asked.
Rocks smiled at the man's question — not a smile mocking someone who knew nothing, but rather the smile of someone remembering that they too had once had the same question. That was why the five didn't sense any hidden meaning from him.
"Set is over there. Set... does it help if I say Rei's partner?"
"A gryphon!?"
At Rocks's words, all five once again exclaimed in astonishment in unison.
Indeed, a gryphon — such a High-Rank Monster — was something that, normally, one might see once in a lifetime if lucky. No, seeing one at all would be virtually impossible. To be told that one was in the center of those women, it was only natural to be shocked.
And at the same time, they felt fear. While not as much as a dragon, a gryphon was also a monster that, if encountered, meant the end of one's life.
"Calm down. Take a closer look at those women. They don't look like they're in despair, terrified, or grieving, do they? ...Well, some are grieving."
There were those who were grieving over the fact that, because they would be traveling, they wouldn't be able to dote on Set for several hours. However, that grief was not the kind of helpless, life-threatening sorrow.
Seeing the women's demeanor, the five seemed to realize this as well.
When questioning gazes asking "Why?" were directed at him, Rocks spoke with an attitude that said he fully understood their feelings.
"You don't need to worry particularly about the gryphon, Set. Basically, as long as you don't make any strange advances toward it, you won't be harmed. Even though Set is a High-Rank Monster, don't get any weird ideas. Set is Rei's Tamed Monster. Plus, Set serves as the emotional pillar of this party."
"Emotional pillar..."
Words muttered in disbelief reached Rocks's ears.
Indeed, for the five who didn't know much about this group, they probably couldn't understand at all why that was the case.
"Don't worry too much about that. If you travel with this group, you'll get used to it eventually. At least, I haven't been with this group for very long since joining, but I've already gotten used to it."
He told them this, but in Rocks's case, he was an adventurer based in Gilm. He naturally understood how Set was treated in Gilm, and he had seen Mirene — who could be called the foremost Set enthusiast — doting on the gryphon. For someone like Rocks, the sight of Set being adored was not strange in the least.
(How long will it take them to accept Set... well, they're still young, so I doubt they'd say something dangerous like killing it just because it's a Tamed Monster. And I can't imagine they'd do something as foolish as the Azoth Firm, either.)
With the Rei of the past — when he was still a Low-Rank Adventurer — it might have been one thing, but the current Rei was a High-Rank Adventurer and Alias Holder. Moreover, among his companions were Marina, a former Guild Master, and Elena, the Daughter of Duke Kerebel who bore the alias of Princess General. Only someone seeking suicide would dare make advances on such people.
"Anyway, doting on Set is one thing, but don't make any strange advances. Do that, and you should be able to reach Gilm safely. ...Let me ask again — you're fine with going to Gilm, right?"
"Yes. I've heard that Gilm is currently undergoing expansion, so there's no shortage of work... and I've wanted to visit Gilm at least once, so there's no problem."
And so, having added new escorts... Rei's group pressed onward toward Gilm.