"Grrrrrrrrruh!"
Set's cry echoed through the Treant Forest.
Yesterday, there had been those whose legs froze at the sound of Set's roar, but not today. They knew the voice belonged to Set, and to everyone in Gilm, Set was a beloved presence.
Even those who had arrived in Gilm while Rei was away in Reblurina had initially felt some degree of wariness toward Gryphon Seto. But between the rumors they'd heard before actually meeting him and Set's naturally affectionate demeanor, their guard dropped quickly.
"Set's working hard too. Alright, let's give it a bit more ourselves! We need to cut as much wood as possible before winter!"
"Bwahahaha! That's right, that's right! The wood we cut here becomes the foundation for our drinking, so we'd better work hard!"
Men who looked every bit like mountain folk swung their axes into tree trunks one after another as they carried on their conversation.
The sound of axe blades striking wood echoed through the Treant Forest.
Watching the woodcutters work, the Fleeing Adventurers assigned as guards exchanged words while keeping watch on their surroundings.
"Man, it's a lifesaver that Rei showed up. Honestly, when I saw him haul that much lumber in a single day yesterday, I thought, 'You've gotta be kidding me,' you know?"
"Yeah, well, anyone would think that. I thought the same thing when I first saw it."
"But that's an Item Box, right? Is it really okay to be using such a precious Magic Item so conspicuously? I feel like there'd be guys stupid enough to get ideas."
Fewer than ten Item Boxes had been confirmed in the entire world.
Seeing one in action, it was inevitable that someone would want it.
Of course, since fighting Rei head-on was impossible, they would resort to methods like theft.
No matter how much of an Alias Holder an adventurer was, they couldn't stay vigilant every waking moment.
If that was the case, then perhaps... it was a real stretch, but perhaps someone might actually try to steal the Item Box from Rei.
To the Adventurer Man voicing this concern, the adventurer he'd spoken to smiled as if it was nothing and opened his mouth.
"How many people do you think have tried to target Rei's Item Box so far? And yet, the Item Box is still in Rei's hands. That's all the answer you need. Besides..."
"Besides?"
Sensing something in the way he trailed off, he prompted him to continue.
The adventurer who had stopped talking looked around, watching Rei store one felled tree after another, then spoke.
"Do you want to make an enemy of Rei? You know from rumors how much damage the Bestia Imperial Army suffered in the last war, right? No matter how much someone wants to make money, making an enemy of Rei is nothing short of suicide. And unlike before, Rei's got a party now, and their Combat Power has only gone up."
Even Rei and Set alone had been an absurdly fearsome fighting force, and now several individuals of considerable power had joined them.
It was hard to believe that any fool would dare lay a hand on the current Rei.
(Though fools are fools precisely because they think stupid things like "I'll be fine.")
Anyone who had seen Rei fight with Death Scythe in hand would absolutely never choose to make an enemy of him.
What's more, Rei wasn't just strong — he was utterly ruthless toward his enemies.
Even if the opponent were a noble, Rei wouldn't hesitate to attack.
"Hey, you two! Stop standing around chatting and actually help out over here!"
Called out by a fellow adventurer near the woodcutters, the two adventurers scrambled over.
"Well, if the rumor spreads and keeps idiots from messing with me, that's more than welcome as far as I'm concerned."
Rei muttered to himself as he stored the woodcutters' felled trees into his Misty Ring.
The two adventurers conversing at a distance probably never imagined their conversation was reaching Rei's ears.
But Rei's body was a special one, created by Zephyle.
His five senses, including hearing, were far sharper than a normal person's, making it easy to listen in on conversations from a slight distance.
Rei knew full well what rumors were circulating about him, but he figured it was better than being pestered by fools.
(Why did Zephyle make this kind of body, anyway? If he'd at least made me the height of a grown man, it wouldn't be this much of a hassle... A technical limitation, perhaps?)
Thinking such thoughts, Rei went about finishing his work.
"Don't be ridiculous! Why are you joining the wood there?! You should be driving nails firmly into that spot!"
"Don't be an idiot! Iron rusts over time and becomes useless! Thinking ten, twenty years ahead is one thing, but if you consider a hundred, two hundred years from now, it's obvious you're better off joining the timber without nails!"
At the Expansion Construction site, two Dwarves were currently clashing, each pushing his own argument.
Both Dwarves were famous among the craftsmen as highly skilled individuals, and with figures of their stature arguing like this, the work at that spot had naturally ground to a halt.
The exact exchange discussed the previous day at Marina's house was unfolding right there before their eyes.
"Hey, what do we do? If this keeps up, we'll get chewed out by the higher-ups again."
"Easier said than done. So what should we do? Even if we say something here, they probably won't listen."
"That's... true."
The laborers working on the site exchanged words among themselves.
If the argument continued, the construction would fall behind again — that much was certain.
When that happened, the people in charge here would naturally come under scrutiny from above, and in a worst-case scenario, they could even be fired.
Of course, considering Gilm's current circumstances, losing this job didn't mean there would be absolutely no other work available.
Even so, any other job would pay worse, and they'd rather avoid that if possible.
But intervening in the Dwarves' argument could backfire just as badly.
Despite their short stature, Dwarves had tough, sturdy muscles.
Getting punched by a Dwarf could result in serious injury.
What do we do? You tell them. No, you do it. As the laborers went back and forth, a lump of water suddenly appeared above the arguing Dwarves in their line of sight and released its contents downward all at once.
Naturally, the Dwarves below were drenched by the water pouring from above.
"Whoa!"
They may have been arguing, but the fact that they both shouted the same word suggested they were at least somewhat in sync.
But naturally, the ones on the receiving end of such a soaking weren't amused.
It was summer, so they would dry off eventually. But being drenched was undeniably unpleasant regardless.
"Who was that?!"
That was why both of them shouted in unison, demanding to know who had splashed them...
"Me. Do you have any complaints?"
Showing not the slightest sign of being affected by the angry shouts from the two Dwarves, Marina appeared.
Dressed in a Party Dress as usual, she was a conspicuously eye-catching figure at a site of physical labor.
Many people were naturally captivated by Marina in her Party Dress with its deeply exposed back.
But the two Dwarves who had shouted froze the moment they saw Marina.
It wasn't that they stopped because they were captivated...
"N-No. Of course not. Right?"
"Yeah, obviously. We have absolutely no complaints, so don't worry about it and go back to your own work."
Half-retreating reflexively, the two Dwarves stammered this out.
The two Dwarves had been called in by acquaintances and old friends, arriving while Rei and his party were away from Gilm, but they clashed frequently, apparently not getting along personality-wise.
Of course, the biggest reason they clashed was that each was fiercely confident in his own craft.
In any case, the prideful duo had naturally argued yesterday as well... and had taken a nearly hostile attitude toward Marina when she stepped in.
No — it was more accurate to say they had completely picked a fight.
But against an adventurer as skilled as Marina, two Dwarves who were ultimately nothing more than craftsmen never stood a chance.
Marina had been working to smooth out various tasks using Spirit Magic, so she didn't have her bow on her.
Even so, handling the two Dwarves with just martial arts and Spirit Magic was effortless.
In particular, Marina had recently learned martial arts from Vihera, making her an opponent the Dwarves were utterly helpless against.
No matter how strong the Dwarves fancied themselves, there was no way they could stand against Marina... and they had been thoroughly beaten down.
That they didn't end up with broken spirits was partly due to Marina's mercy, but mostly because Dwarves were stubborn... or rather, mentally resilient.
Even so, having been beaten so thoroughly that they couldn't fight back at all, the two had developed a profound wariness of Marina.
"Good. Then stop fighting, talk it out quickly, and proceed with the construction using the best method. Let me make this clear — if you waste any more time pointlessly... you understand, don't you?"
Marina wore a full smile as she stated — no, declared — this.
To anyone else, Marina right now would have been described as possessing feminine charm while wearing the smile of a loving mother.
In fact, everyone except the two Dwarves on the receiving end had been completely captivated. While her feminine charm might have been a bit too strong to be called a "loving mother," considering it was Marina, that was within an acceptable range.
But the two Dwarves to whom that smile was directed could by no means feel captivated.
She was smiling, yet for some reason, a cold sensation ran down their spines.
All the two could do in that state was quietly nod in response to Marina's demands.
"I'm glad to see you understand. Well then, I'm counting on you."
Saying only that, Marina headed elsewhere.
Freely wielding three types of Spirit Magic — Earth, Water, and Wind — Marina had become an extremely reliable presence at this site.
She couldn't afford to keep wasting time dealing with these two.
Once Marina disappeared, the men working as subordinates to the two Dwarves sighed with evident disappointment.
The two Dwarves also exhaled, but theirs were sighs of relief rather than disappointment.
"..."
They met each other's gaze in silence, and eventually both gave a nod.
Under normal circumstances, each would have wanted to force through his own argument and crush the other's.
Such feelings still existed, but if they tried anything like that here and now, Marina would without a doubt make them suffer.
Knowing that, they had no choice but to quietly listen to the other's arguments and accept what they could.
As a result, afterward... the two Dwarves, while still bickering about various things, managed to achieve a solid technical fusion, and their techniques would endure for generations to come... but that was a story for the future.
"Hah?! You messing with me, huh?! You do something wrong, you apologize! That's just common sense!"
"N-No. That's why I'm apologizing like this..."
"Bullshit! You think apologizing with words is gonna cut it?! Show some sincerity! Sincerity!"
In a spot slightly off Gilm's main street... what was taking place there was clearly extortion.
A noticeably large man was intimidating someone who appeared to be an ordinary citizen.
Moreover, listening to the content of their conversation, it was impossible to think they were resolving a dispute peacefully.
Of course, it was the ordinary man's fault for carelessly bumping into the burly man, but being extorted for money over it was more than he could endure.
As a result, the burly man was intimidating while the one being intimidated tried somehow to get through it without incident.
But perhaps unable to tolerate the exchange any longer, the burly man raised his fist...
"Guh..."
With his fist still raised, the man crumpled to the ground.
The one who appeared from behind the fallen man was Vihera.
"Alright, that's enough. Honestly, committing crimes with this level of skill. Hand this man over to the Guards."
"Yes."
The men under Vihera's command nodded in unison.
"Byune, thanks for letting me know."
"Mm."
And so, Vihera and Byune set off to find other trouble.