It had been a few days since returning to Gilm.
The problematic work had largely been sorted out, and the issues that had been causing trouble in the Treant Forest were completely resolved.
...Of course, since woodcutters worked in the Treant Forest nearly every day, felled trees would naturally pile up again as time passed.
Regardless, the Expansion Construction site was catching up on its delays, and troubles in the streets had decreased as well.
Rei and his companions had been spending their time in Gilm feeling reassured by all this, but today they had been summoned by Daskar and had come to the Lord's Manor.
"What do you think happened? From what I can see of Gilm, it doesn't seem like there's any particular problem. ...Well, I suppose there are plenty of minor ones."
At Rei's words, everyone listening nodded.
Indeed, the major problems had mostly been dealt with, but several minor ones still remained.
That was only natural, given that the Expansion Construction was still ongoing.
"I don't think we were called here because of a problem. Elena and Ara were summoned too, after all."
Marina's gaze turned toward Elena, who was drinking black tea.
Naturally, that tea had been brewed by Ara, and it was far better than what an ordinary maid could prepare.
Ara's brewed tea had also been placed in front of Rei, and he spoke up between sips.
"Then maybe it's not a problem, but something good instead?"
Even as he said that, Rei couldn't fully believe his own words.
Judging from his past experiences, he couldn't possibly imagine anything good coming up in this kind of situation.
If anything, the fact that he could recall any number of bad things off the top of his head... was probably a testament to how much trouble Rei got dragged into on a regular basis.
However, just this once, Rei's prediction would prove wrong.
Right at that moment, the sound of knocking echoed through the room.
Driven by an uneasy premonition, Rei called out for whoever it was to come in with a hesitant tone.
The person who opened the door and entered was someone familiar—not just to Rei, but to the others present as well.
"Amaros!?"
Indeed, it was the person who had created the Set Basket... or formally, the Mirage Basket.
"It's been a while, everyone."
Seeing Rei and the others, he offered a cheerful greeting, but... it was far from a face that could put them at ease.
It wasn't that he had marks from being punched or anything.
Rather, he had quite deep dark circles under his eyes.
Seeing his appearance, which clearly indicated sleep deprivation, there was no way he could honestly be smiling and offering greetings.
"Um... are you alright?"
Seeing Amaros's state, worried words slipped from Rei's mouth.
In response, Amaros offered a tired smile—one that could perhaps even be described as haunted.
"Yes. It's just been a busy period. The modifications are progressing, and there's treating the lumber for the Expansion Construction, plus various other things..."
"...Ah, yeah. Sorry about that."
The sudden busyness of the alchemists was undoubtedly due to Rei and his party's influence.
Knowing that, Rei apologized almost reflexively, though in truth there was no need for him to apologize.
Rei and his party had simply done their jobs properly.
Knowing that, Amaros didn't look at Rei with any accusatory gaze.
It was also likely because, as someone who was passionate about his work as an alchemist, modifying the Set Basket was something he had taken on of his own accord.
"No, please don't worry about it. The Mirage Basket was originally built in a rush, so I knew it had some rough edges. ...Did something happen?"
"Huh? Oh, no. Nothing. Right?"
"Yeah, that's right. It's nothing."
The moment the name Mirage Basket left his lips, Rei and the others momentarily let slip a blank expression as if they had no idea what he was talking about, but they hurriedly covered it up.
Since they called it Set Basket, Set Basket all the time, the name Mirage Basket had been completely forgotten among Rei and his group... but naturally, they couldn't possibly say that to Amaros, who had created the Mirage Basket for them, so they laughed it off.
At their attitude, Amaros looked slightly puzzled, but he quickly moved on to the main topic.
"So, regarding the modifications to the Mirage Basket, I expect they'll be finished in another few days. What we focused on particularly this time is the livability inside the basket."
"That's right. Since we spend a fair amount of time in the Se... Mirage Basket, it would help to have it be as comfortable as possible. Ideally, it would be nice if the interior could be made a bit larger."
At Marina's words, Amaros shook his head apologetically.
"If I had time, I could manage something about that, but unfortunately I don't have that time this round, so it's quite impossible."
"...Well, that's true. It's not like we've decided specifically when we'll rejoin them. For all we know, Daskar might make an unreasonable demand tomorrow to go back again, right?"
"That's... I really couldn't say."
Given his position as Daskar's subordinate, no matter how much Amaros might agree with Marina's words, he couldn't possibly say so out loud.
Daskar wasn't the type to fuss over such things, but even so, carelessly doing something like that of his own accord would be nothing short of suicidal.
"If it's possible to expand the interior given enough time... we discussed this among ourselves before, but for example, would it be possible to embed a Magic Tent inside?"
Perhaps to change the subject away from Daskar, Elena spoke up.
Embedding a Magic Tent inside the basket was one of the ideas that had come up during a previous discussion among Rei and his companions.
A Magic Tent, with its spacious interior, could carry more people than the Set Basket normally allowed, and transport them comfortably at that.
As a means of transportation, there would be nothing better.
They could even take those who were unwell among the people Sura and the others had been transporting and carry them in the Set Basket.
"A Magic Tent? I understand what you're thinking, Lady Elena, but Magic Tents are rare Magic Items to begin with, so obtaining one so easily is..."
While not as much as an Item Box, it was true that the Magic Tent was an extremely rare Magic Item, just as Amaros stated.
Obtaining one immediately... wouldn't be impossible, but given Amaros's authority, it would be difficult.
"I think it would be possible if Rei-san and your party independently obtained a Magic Tent and then had it integrated."
"Even if you say that..."
Having a Magic Tent would certainly be extremely convenient.
But given that the Magic Tent itself was rare, it wasn't as simple as offering money and buying one. That, too, was a fact.
If anything, connections would be far more useful than money here.
In fact, the Magic Tent Rei possessed hadn't been purchased with his own money but had been received from Daskar as a reward for work.
(Could I really ask Lord Daskar for another Magic Tent here...? Ah, wait. The Expansion Construction work we've done, the retaliatory actions against Jaya, leading nearly a thousand people who escaped from Mejougo... Thinking about it like that, maybe I could manage to get a Magic Tent somehow?)
As for the reward, the agreement was that it would be paid in a lump sum at a later date.
But in Rei's case, he would not be happy at all to be paid in gold coins, platinum coins... let alone Light Gold Coins.
After all, at this point, he already possessed enough funds to live in leisure for centuries.
Besides, if he ever needed money, he could just hunt bandits, and he'd never be short of cash.
Those who wanted to get rich quick through laziness—bandits like that would emerge in endless supply, after all.
"Do you think if I asked Lord Daskar for the reward for the series of jobs to be a Magic Tent... he'd agree to it?"
"Huh? Hmm, I wonder. I think there's a chance, and it's true that Rei has contributed that much to Gilm, so I think it'll probably be fine. The question is whether Daskar has a spare Magic Tent. The Magic Tent Rei uses is the one Daskar used before, right?"
"Yeah. That's what I was told. Or rather, the one who handed me the Magic Tent was you, Marina. Haven't you heard about the circumstances behind it?"
"Hehe, that's true. ...Anyway, given Daskar's position as the one leading the Neutral Faction... you see, for example, when a war breaks out, things like Magic Tents become absolutely necessary."
"...Wouldn't a regular tent or something like that work?"
If it was just about gathering people, there would be no need to use a Magic Tent—a regular tent would be perfectly sufficient.
At Rei's words to that effect, Marina shook her head.
"If he were just an ordinary noble, that would be fine. But for Daskar, who leads one of the Three Great Factions, appearances and prestige become absolutely necessary."
"And that's what a Magic Tent is?"
"Magic Tents are rare, so simply possessing one is enough to draw a certain amount of attention. In that sense, it's better to have one than not. Especially for someone in Daskar's position."
If Daskar were not the central figure of the Neutral Faction but simply one of the nobles comprising it, there would have been no problem at all even if he didn't own a Magic Tent.
But given his position as the head of one of the Three Great Factions, no matter how foolish he personally thought it was, that kind of prestige was important.
"Hmm. ...Alright, I'll try asking for now, but if that's not possible, then I'll give up, I guess."
"Alternatively, even if not right away, there's always the option of having Daskar purchase a new one. For starters, the Magic Tent to be used in the Mirage Basket doesn't need to be all that fancy, right? Even one several grades lower than the Magic Tent Rei has would do."
Since the reason for wanting a Magic Tent was the need to transport a larger number of people at once, naturally, comfort wasn't being sought.
Well, of course it would be preferable if it were comfortable, but if asked to choose between that and passenger capacity, the latter was the obvious choice.
"Yeah, of course, if we cram so many people in that we can't even relax normally, that's out of the question."
"Exactly. Then it might work out. I'll speak to Daskar about it. But either way, I don't think it'll happen immediately... I imagine it would take until at least next spring, even on the early side."
No matter how little emphasis was placed on comfort, creating a Magic Item that used Space Magic still wasn't as simple as asking someone to make it and getting an immediate yes.
Even in Daskar's position, the same held true.
...If it were, say, the King of Mireana, perhaps he could pull off such an unreasonable demand.
"Hmm. In that case..."
The one who cut into the conversation was Elena, who had been listening to Rei and Marina's exchange.
"We discussed this before as well, but what about storing my carriage inside the Mirage Basket?"
"...Lady Elena's carriage?"
At Amaros's puzzled question, Elena nodded.
"I'm not sure if you know, but my carriage also has Space Magic applied to it, making the interior about the same size as a Magic Tent. If that's the case, then if we could put it inside the Mirage Basket, I believe it could be used just like the Magic Tent that was being discussed earlier."
"That would be... hmm, I think that might be a bit difficult. No, it's not that it can't be done—I mean it's a matter of time."
"A matter of time?"
"Yes. First, to put the carriage inside the Mirage Basket, the Mirage Basket would need to be disassembled once. It wouldn't be a complete disassembly, of course, but even so, various tasks would be required, starting with magical treatment. That alone would probably take several days."
Several days for that? The one who questioned this was Rei.
On top of that, after hearing a detailed explanation and learning that various other magical adjustments and labor-intensive tasks would be needed afterward, they couldn't very well force the matter through.
Amaros was already visibly sleep-deprived as it was, so if he were made to work even more here, there was no doubt he would collapse.
In the end, the ideas of embedding a Magic Tent or the carriage were shelved, at least for the time being.
Though the person in question had been quite enthusiastic about it.