"Lady Elena, could you return to Gilm soon?"
A fair number of days had passed since they entered the Kingdom of Mireana. The season was still summer, but it was beginning to lean toward autumn, and the days were gradually becoming more comfortable. On one such night, Daskar—displayed on the Paired Orb—said this to Rei and the others.
Nightly conversations between Ara and Elena via the Paired Orb were a near-daily occurrence.
Today had started the same way, but suddenly Daskar had come to Ara's room and spoken those words through the Paired Orb.
"Again, so sudden? Well, I was actually thinking it might be about time for me to head back, too."
Hearing that Daskar had appeared, Rei, who had been relaxing inside the Magic Tent, came over to Elena and said as much.
At Rei's words, Daskar did his best to look apologetic on his stern face and spoke.
"Up until now, we've managed by putting a lot of people to work, but perhaps because Rei isn't here, the expansion construction is falling behind schedule. If possible, I'd like to get it to a certain point before the snow falls."
"Ah... the construction continues through winter, right?"
"That's right. But with the cold and the snow, you never know what might happen. I want to tackle the difficult sections now while we can, and leave the easy parts for winter. Though, that's just what I'd like to do."
What Daskar meant was something Rei, born and raised in a snowy country, understood well.
Above all, he had already spent many winters in Gilm.
Given that, he naturally knew how much snow fell in Gilm every year.
Because of that, Daskar probably wanted to avoid doing the expansion construction in critical—and difficult—areas when the winter cold and slippery snow were factors.
"You're right. If the construction is already behind schedule at this point, it could be bad. Besides, the escorts have come together fairly well, so even if I head back... probably... and I do mean probably, I think things will be fine."
Right? Rei asked with a glance at those around him—his companions, including Marina, Vihera, and Byune, who had gathered because Daskar appeared on the Paired Orb.
The first to answer Rei's gaze was Vihera.
"That's right. The escort members are training every day, and there are even some girls among the others who have a talent for combat. Some of them are already stronger than your average adventurer."
It had been training with people who had zero combat experience, but for Vihera, that was apparently surprisingly enjoyable.
She said so with a broad smile on her face.
Daskar, who knew Vihera's battle-loving personality, wore a slightly surprised expression seeing her like that.
However, he judged that saying anything here would only give Marina ammunition to tease him, so he avoided pursuing the topic of Vihera and brought up something else instead.
"Then, could you depart from there by tomorrow?"
"Sounds good. It might be a little delayed, but I'd like to head your way as quickly as possible."
"Please do. ...Also, regarding the Gigant Turtle... what should we do? Personally, I'd prefer it if you didn't disassemble it just yet."
"Ah, does that mean there aren't enough people right now?"
"That's right. We simply can't spare any surplus personnel, not by a long shot."
Rei nodded in understanding at Daskar's words.
If Rei and his party had remained in Gilm, they could have used that surplus personnel to disassemble the Gigant Turtle.
Rei, who possessed the Misty Ring, and Marina, who used Spirit Magic—the two of them alone constituted that much combat power.
Though not to the same extent as those two, Vihera also held significant power in the sense of leading others and patrolling for anything unusual.
A woman—and one dressed like a prostitute or a Dancer—Vihera moved around conspicuously.
Those foolhardy enough to lay hands on her carelessly would learn a painful lesson and watch their behavior thereafter, and the women found it easier to seek help from Vihera than from a tough-looking man.
Byune, too, could leverage her small body to move swiftly, solving any problems that arose—or even if she couldn't solve them, she could at least notify the adults nearby. ...Though, as always, only Vihera could fully understand Byune's words.
Only Elena, whose situation was framed as a secondment from the Noble's Faction, could not do anything like assisting with the expansion construction.
Even so, if word spread that the Princess General was present in Gilm, it would implicitly suggest that anyone behaving strangely risked being arrested by the Guards, making it possible to deter those who might cause troublesome incidents.
(I would've liked to get the Gigant Turtle's Magic Stone sooner, if possible. ...Well, it's not like some incident is going to break out immediately, so with some patience, it's not impossible... right? Besides, I'm asking Lord Daskar to research the Sand Ship, so I should probably hold off on making unreasonable demands.)
Calculating in his head, including such pragmatic considerations, Rei nodded to Daskar.
"Understood. Given the shortage of manpower, I can't make unreasonable demands. It might be fine to make it one of the winter jobs. Fortunately, things spoil less easily in winter."
"I see. ...That's one option. It might not be as much as the expansion work, but there could be those who want to earn a little money."
"That's true. Besides, I think we should prepare as many winter jobs as possible this year."
Rei's words were not half in jest; they were serious.
In reality, many people were currently gathered in Gilm.
For residents of nearby cities like Abuelo or Sablusta, returning to their hometowns for winter would be possible.
But since some had come from villages and cities much farther away, it was only natural that some would choose to spend the winter in Gilm rather than return home.
When it came to whether they could survive the winter on what they had earned so far... for many, it would be questionable.
Because so many people were currently in Gilm, many shops had opened to accommodate them.
There were certainly more than a few who, rather than saving the money they earned, simply spent it right away at those shops.
Preparing more jobs than in previous years for such people was also the duty of Daskar, the lord of Gilm.
"If you're fine with that, we'll prepare accordingly on our end... but are you sure you don't mind?"
"Yes, there's no problem. From our side, it saves us the trouble. ...Just, please make sure to handle things so no one gets any strange ideas."
"I understand. We'll send people from our side for that as well. I'll also contact the Guild, so think about the compensation."
Rei nodded at Daskar's words of caution.
The disassembly of the Gigant Turtle would be carried out strictly in the form of a request from Rei.
And yet, since the Guild would be the one paying the compensation, negotiations with the Guild would be necessary.
(Still, it'll probably be Guards, but having them dispatched is a help. If someone gets any strange... foolish ideas, it'd be a hassle for us too.)
For example, when disassembling the Gigant Turtle, there was no guaranteeing there wouldn't be malicious adventurers who hid away meat or materials and claimed them as their own.
No—Rei didn't want to think about it much, but he could definitely predict that there would be a few such individuals.
That was precisely why having Guards dispatched to catch those kinds of people was a relief for Rei as well.
An ordinary monster would be one thing, but disassembling a monster as huge—no, oversized—as the Gigant Turtle meant Rei couldn't possibly keep his eyes on everything himself.
(Considering that, it might be better to leave it entirely to the Guild.)
In front of Rei, where his eyes couldn't reach, someone might try to steal meat or materials, but if asked whether they'd do such a thing where Guild Staff Members were present... there would be those who did, but they would certainly be few.
Of course, entrusting that side of things to the Guild would increase the financial burden, but inside the Misty Ring, there was—quite literally—a vast amount of money.
Spending a little more of it to make things easier for himself was a judgment Rei could make without anything strange about it.
"Now then, next..."
With those words, Daskar and Rei's group continued to exchange various reports and consult with one another for some time after.
The next day, while finishing breakfast and preparing to depart, Rei gathered the key members and explained what Daskar had told them the previous day.
However, upon hearing this, Gimekara, Sura, Rocks, and the others showed no particular signs of alarm and accepted it.
"Understood. When will we depart, then? If possible, I'd like to avoid departing immediately... so I can explain things to everyone. There's also the work of loading various supplies onto the carriages."
"I thought you'd be a little more surprised, but you're unexpectedly fine with it. Well, it's a lot more helpful than having people crying and screaming, though."
At Rei's words, which carried a hint of surprise, Gimekara smiled and spoke.
"We had already heard that Rei-san and the others would be leaving at some point, you see. We'd been mentally preparing ourselves as well. Right?"
Sura and Rocks, who received Gimekara's glance, nodded at his words.
Though, Rocks aside, Sura wore a slightly anxious expression.
Having traveled alongside Rei and the others all the way from Mejougo, Sura couldn't help but feel uneasy about Rei's group leaving.
Compared to Sura, Gimekara had joined midway... and Rocks had only recently merged with them, so they didn't feel as much anxiety about Rei's group's absence.
However, if there was one problem...
"Um, Rei-san and the others leaving means... you'll be riding Set, of course?"
Gimekara asked Rei while looking at Set, who was purring happily as the women petted him.
What lay there was not the reliable demeanor of someone who had no concerns whatsoever, but unmistakable anxiety.
Where that anxiety came from was obvious without even thinking about it.
For those who relied on Set as their emotional pillar, the absence of Set was an extremely significant event.
In fact, Gimekara knew that when Rei's group had previously gone to meet the envoy from Gilm, the convoy's anxiety had increased considerably.
Fortunately, Rei's group had encountered Ronitas quickly, so their return was swift and the anxiety within the convoy was resolved rapidly... but if that was what it was like even then, what would happen if it were for a longer period?
Imagining that was not difficult at all.
Sura, perhaps harboring the same concern as Gimekara, also wore a slightly anxious expression.
Rocks, who was in a position to organize the escorts, had originally been part of Ronitas's escort team, so he had not been with the convoy at that time.
Therefore, though he had heard about it, he had never seen with his own eyes exactly how much morale would drop.
And among those present, two more—Vihera and Byune—had witnessed that sight with their own eyes.
Even so, leaving aside Byune, who was laconic to begin with, Vihera was not about to say anything.
Without Set, it was certain that the journey to Gilm would take a considerable amount of time.
Knowing that, she didn't do anything so foolish as to speak up here.
"That's right. Without Set, traveling would be difficult. We've been operating on the premise of traveling by Set in the first place."
"I see... but, um..."
Gimekara's gaze was directed back toward the women.
What that meant, Rei understood as well.
"I understand how Gimekara feels. I do, but... unfortunately, this is a decided matter. If there were still room on the Gilm side, we could have traveled together here a little longer. Sadly, with the current situation, that's not possible."
No matter what Gimekara said, if he was told it was already decided, there was nothing more he could do.
All Gimekara could do was pray that somehow, the women who relied on Set as their emotional pillar could be kept in positive spirits.
Though, when he considered how much effect his own voice would have on the women... he reached the conclusion that it was nearly impossible.