"Rei-kun, thanks for your hard work. You went to the Treant Forest today for the first time in a while—how was it?"
At the Gilm Guild, Kenny—a cat Beastman receptionist—called out to Rei as he approached the counter.
Normally, Rei's assigned receptionist was Lenora, but at this hour past noon, Lenora had already gone on her lunch break.
So Kenny eagerly seized the opportunity to call out to him.
Under normal circumstances, Lenora would have scolded her for not focusing on her work. But with Lenora absent, Kenny clearly considered this a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Despite her flashy appearance and the air of someone who was always playing around, Kenny was a woman who got her work done properly.
Otherwise, she never would have survived as a receptionist at the Gilm Guild.
Even so, the reason she drew Lenora's ire was likely because, capable as she was, she often prioritized her personal affairs.
"I've transported all the wood that was over there to Gilm, so I don't think we'll be running short on materials anytime soon."
"Good. That's a relief for now. As expected, when it comes to hauling lumber, having you do it is the fastest by far."
"In my case, it's because I have this." He showed Kenny the Misty Ring on his right hand. "Compared to transporting by carriage, this is inevitably faster."
Kenny understood what it was, so she nodded without any particular surprise.
"You're right. I'm really jealous. But hey, I haven't seen you around lately, Rei-kun. Did you go somewhere?"
"Hm? Oh, I was out of Gilm on a nomination request from Lord Daskar. I can't really talk about the details, though."
"...I see."
Kenny was the type who wanted to know everything there was to know about Rei. But even she couldn't press further once the name of Daskar—the lord of Gilm himself—was dropped into the conversation.
If Rei had been in some kind of danger, that would have been a different story. But as long as she was standing there talking to him like this, she could safely conclude that nothing of the sort had occurred.
With that in mind, she decided it was better not to pry needlessly and make Rei uncomfortable.
Rei appreciated Kenny's discretion and shifted the topic.
"So, how are the others doing? I don't imagine there have been any problems, but..."
At that question, Kenny's expression soured for just a moment—no doubt because she didn't appreciate him bringing up other women in front of her.
Rei understood that those women were important comrades, and that one of them was the former Guild Master he respected despite everything.
But still, as a woman harboring feelings for him, it was only natural for her to react that way.
The fact that she let it show for only a fleeting moment was a testament to her self-awareness as a receptionist.
"Yes, everyone's been doing their best in their own ways. Marina-sama in particular has been making incredible contributions."
"...I'd expect nothing less."
The Spirit Magic Marina wielded boasted overwhelming power and scale compared to what others could muster.
Gilm had Elves and a small number of humans who could use Spirit Magic.
But the Spirit Magic they used and the Spirit Magic Marina used were so fundamentally different that calling them entirely separate things would have been no exaggeration.
That was how masterful Marina was at handling Spirit Magic.
Of course, even Marina couldn't use all Spirit Magic freely.
Due to her racial affinity as a Dark Elf, she simply had poor compatibility with fire Spirits.
That was only natural, given that Dark Elves lived in forests.
Moreover, Marina was of the bloodline of the Shrine Maiden of the World Tree.
Poor affinity with fire Spirits was a given.
Then again, whether there would even be an opportunity to use fire Spirit Magic in Gilm, which was in the midst of Expansion Construction, was debatable at best.
"Vihera-san and Byune-chan have been patrolling the streets, same as before. I hear they've already apprehended several people."
"...Apprehended?"
"Yes. People getting drunk and causing rampages in broad daylight, getting into fights at construction sites over disagreements, men aggressively hitting on women... that sort of thing."
"I see. With those two, there's no need to worry about that sort of thing. Though I am a little concerned about Vihera blowing things out of proportion."
"Ahahaha. True. With Vihera-san, she might just pick a fight if she spots someone strong."
Before heading to Reblurina, Rei's group had been doing similar work in Gilm.
During that time, Vihera had sparked the kind of incidents Kenny described on more than one occasion.
Of course, the reason it never escalated into a serious problem was likely because Vihera had exercised appropriate restraint.
"Hey, more importantly—what are your plans now, Rei-kun? Are you heading back to the Treant Forest?"
"Ah... I'm not sure. I've brought all the remaining lumber over, so there's no need to rush back right away. Though that only applies to the wood."
"...Only the wood? Was there something else?"
"Yeah. Actually, Set took down an Orc that was lurking in the Treant Forest."
At the word "Orc," Kenny's brow furrowed slightly.
For Kenny, the very existence of Orcs was apparently something she found intolerable as a woman.
Then again, that might be precisely why she had no hesitation about eating their meat.
"I see. I'd heard that monsters had settled into the Treant Forest, but Orcs..."
She looked grave—no doubt worried that the Orcs might establish a settlement in the Treant Forest.
Once a settlement took root, eliminating it would require a certain level of combat power.
With hands already short during this busy period, dealing with that kind of trouble was the last thing they wanted. That was her honest assessment, both as a receptionist and, more accurately, as a guild staff member.
"Could you assign a few skilled adventurers to the Treant Forest for monster subjugation? While I'm there, Set handles hunting monsters to some extent, but I'll have to leave again before long."
"Eh? Again?"
The word "leave" drew a startled look from Kenny.
She'd understood from their earlier conversation that he'd been away from Gilm on some errand, but she'd assumed that business was already finished.
To be told he was leaving again on top of that... it would have been unreasonable to expect her not to be surprised.
Rei understood why she was startled, so he spoke in a reassuring tone.
"It won't be that long this time. I probably won't make it back the same day, but I should return in about five days or so."
Even as he said that, Rei mused that it might take a bit longer if they couldn't locate the other group.
During daylight hours, it would be hard to miss a group of nearly a thousand people on the move.
But if they were holed up inside a village or town, finding them would be considerably more difficult.
...Of course, with a group that large on the move, it would be a different story for a city or a large town. But a village or small town wouldn't be able to fit all their carriages inside, so it would still be possible to track them down by that tell alone.
"Oh... so does that mean you're free tonight? I could fill you in on everything that happened in Gilm while you were away. Want to grab a meal together? You know, the population has been booming, right? Thanks to that, restaurants serving cuisine from other regions have been popping up."
Hearing about food from other regions naturally piqued Rei's interest.
A dish he had never tasted before held considerable appeal for him.
If he'd had no other plans, he would have accepted Kenny's invitation without hesitation. However...
"Sorry, I'm having dinner at Marina's house tonight."
"Aww..."
"Look, I just got back to Gilm after being away for a while, right? So I need to go over today's events and catch up on various things. Party matters and the like."
Put that way, Kenny couldn't exactly object as a receptionist.
It was true that Rei and his party had been absent from Gilm for a considerable period.
If told they needed a setting to report to each other on what had happened during that time, she could accept it. She could accept it... but that didn't mean Kenny was about to give up on sharing a meal with Rei.
"Oh, then how about this? When Lenora gets back, I'll take my lunch break. Why don't we hit up a restaurant together? Obviously, since it's this time of day, full-scale places probably won't be open, but... what do you say?"
"Sure, I don't mind. But I'll need to head to the Treant Forest afterward, so I can't take too much time."
"Ugh... can't be helped, I guess. Still, I get to eat with you, so I won't push my luck. So, what kind of food are you in the mood for? My recommendation is a bean dish that uses a cheese with a strong tang."
"A cheese with a strong tang? Are you sure that's actually safe?"
Could the cheese have gone bad?
Rei couldn't help but worry, but Kenny just smiled and spoke.
"Of course it hasn't gone bad. They use a special method to make it that way on purpose. It's actually really delicious when you try it."
Judging by Kenny's demeanor, she didn't seem to be trying to pull one over on him.
(Well, even back in Japan, there were plenty of people who couldn't stand natto. And I remember seeing TV segments about cheeses with incredibly foul odors being sold as luxury goods. Thinking about it that way, maybe it's not so strange?)
For the record, Rei didn't particularly dislike the taste of natto itself. What he couldn't stand was the way his mouth always felt sticky after eating it.
To avoid that, he could manage natto rolls, but he generally didn't go out of his way to eat natto on its own.
(Oh, natto, huh. I seem to recall reading somewhere that you can make it by boiling soybeans and packing them in straw. Would that work as a dish to teach the Zorgeh Merchant Guild?)
The idea surfaced from his own thoughts, and he congratulated himself, thinking it might actually be rather clever.
In an area not too far from where Rei had lived—close enough to be considered the same district by national standards—natto production was actually fairly thriving.
Thanks to that, Rei had a general grasp of how to make it. But even if someone tried to produce natto based solely on his explanation, without natto bacteria, it would be quite difficult to pull off.
Moreover, the appearance of natto was that of stringy, slimy beans.
To anyone who knew nothing about it, it would look like nothing other than rotten beans.
Telling someone to eat that and taste it would be tantamount to telling them to give themselves food poisoning.
Even if Rei taught the Zorgeh Merchant Guild how to make natto through Gimekara, whether the guild would actually produce it was, frankly, questionable at best.
"Rei-kun? What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. I just heard about the cheese and wondered if I could come up with a new dish, but it didn't pan out."
"Aww... Your dishes like udon are so delicious, Rei-kun. What a shame."
"Well, it's not like I came up with udon myself..."
"Ah, Rei-san?"
It was just something I taught them from a book my master had.
Just as Rei was about to say that, a voice called out to him.
He turned toward it and found Lenora—his assigned receptionist—standing there.
She had apparently returned from her lunch break and was surprised to find Rei at the counter.
"Ah, Lenora's back. So I'm up for my break next, right?"
"Eh? Yes, but... hey, Kenny. Make sure you do a proper handover."
"It's fine, nothing in particular happened. Rei-kun's matters are all settled, too. Well then, Rei-kun—give me a bit, I'm going to go change."
With a smile and a cheerful wink, Kenny headed off to change out of her guild uniform and into casual clothes.
Normally, it would have been perfectly acceptable to go out to eat while still wearing the guild uniform. But as a woman harboring feelings for Rei, Kenny no doubt wanted to go in casual clothes rather than her work attire.
Among the adventurers in the guild, there were those who carried torches for Kenny or admired her from afar, and they directed jealous glares at Rei... but that was a common enough sight at the Gilm Guild.
Some of those present were adventurers who had arrived in Gilm while Rei was away in Reblurina. A few of the rougher-natured ones among them considered hassling Rei to try something, but fortunately, the surrounding adventurers stopped them before they could act on it.
At first, they looked displeased, wondering why they were being held back. But once they learned Rei's true identity—that he was the adventurer with the alias of Crimson—they were nothing but grateful to whoever had stopped them. After that, not a single one dared to entertain the thought of picking a fight with him.
"Rei-san, did Kenny say anything rude to you?"
"No, nothing in particular. We were just chatting."
"I see, that's good, then..."
As Rei and Lenora talked, Kenny eventually returned, having finished changing, and the two of them headed out to grab a meal together.