"Hmmm... a fishing village or a port town... I think it's about time one of those came into view."
"Gurururu."
At Rei's words, Set let out a happy cry.
Since yesterday — more accurately, since his Water Ball had leveled up from the Guzutos's Magic Stone — he had been in this good a mood.
Still, Rei couldn't exactly blame him.
Whether it was the Death Scythe or Set, skills mastered through Beast Magic transformed drastically upon reaching Level 5.
Indeed, the Water Ball that had reached Level 5 had powered up considerably compared to Level 4.
Specifically, Level 4 Water Ball could produce two water balls forty centimeters in diameter and control their trajectories to a certain extent. As for offensive power, if the water balls struck a rock, they would burst and damage the rock's surface.
But the Level 5 Water Ball could produce four water balls roughly one meter in diameter. On top of that, their maneuverability had clearly improved, and their power had increased to the point of destroying rocks entirely — not just their surfaces.
(Flying Slash was the same way, but reaching Level 5 makes things vastly more powerful all at once. ...Well, it's not without its drawbacks.)
The speed at which the water balls flew had barely changed from when the skill was Level 4.
Of course, it wasn't slow enough to make one yawn, but it was still only about the speed of a thrown baseball, so dodging them wasn't difficult if you set your mind to it.
(I suppose the improved maneuverability is meant to compensate for that.)
As he mulled this over while advancing through the sky, Set eventually spotted a village in the distance and let out a cry.
It was a small village with probably fifty residents or fewer, but considering Rei's goal of obtaining a net, that was actually preferable.
If word got around that an adventurer had a Gryphon as a partner, it would undoubtedly cause a huge commotion.
To prevent that, keeping the information from spreading at all was the best approach.
...However, the fact that it was a small village also meant there was a high likelihood that their fishing techniques were crude, and whether they even had a net was uncertain.
"Well then... let's go. Here's hoping they have some decent fishing gear. At the very least, I'd like them to have a harpoon."
When Rei hunted large fish, he currently used a spear.
But it was an ordinary spear — no, considering it was a spear on the verge of breaking, it was actually below ordinary.
Given that, the spear naturally lacked any barbs, so even if it struck a fish's body, it would slip out easily.
So far, the fish had died from the spear's impact, so it hadn't been a problem. But if the spear pierced a fish without killing it... or if the seawater caused it to strike at an odd angle, the fish could escape.
With a barbed harpoon, though, even if it pierced clean through a fish, it wouldn't slip out like a spear would.
Of course, if handled roughly, it could probably come free even after piercing through... but that came down to Rei's own skill.
(I'd also like something like a fish version of a bug-catching net to scoop up fish I've reeled in. Set's Water Ball has gotten pretty powerful, so if fish are swimming in relatively shallow water, we could stun them with the impact.)
That was a simplified version of the fishing method Rei and Set had used before in a river — striking rocks and stunning fish with the shockwave.
He hadn't actually tried it yet, but Rei was certain it would work without fail.
While he was thinking about all this, the village drew closer, and eventually Set landed a short distance away.
Rei left Set where he was and headed toward the village on his own.
Normally, it wouldn't have been surprising for Set to throw a tantrum and insist on coming along, but this time they weren't planning to stay overnight — they only intended to ask the villagers to part with some fishing gear.
At most, he'd buy fish if there was any surplus.
Since they wouldn't be in the village for long, Set had agreed to wait quietly away from the settlement.
...Though it was undoubtedly also a factor that Set had been constantly by Rei's side lately, playing in the sea and such.
(He's gotten quite a bit bigger, but Set's clingy habits still haven't changed. Well, I'm happy about it too, so it's fine.)
Even as he thought this, Rei remained alert to his surroundings as he made his way toward the village.
Less than ten minutes after dismounting from Set, the village came into view.
Naturally, the fact that Rei could see the village meant the village could see him as well.
What was entirely unexpected, however, was that as he approached, several people gathered at the village entrance.
What's more, the villagers carried harpoons, wooden sticks, farming tools, and the like, clearly on guard against Rei.
(Well, it's a typical rural village. It wouldn't be strange for it to be highly insular.)
Even so, Rei didn't slow his pace.
Showing not the slightest sign of agitation, he continued toward the village.
Seeing Rei's demeanor, it was the villagers who became unsettled instead.
Naturally. Despite more than ten of them waiting with weapons in hand, Rei was walking toward them without a hint of fear.
But once they could clearly make out Rei's approaching figure, the hostile villagers eventually calmed down.
Rei was by no means tall, nor was he visibly muscular.
On top of that, since he stored his belongings in the Misty Ring by default, he didn't appear to be carrying any weapons.
Of course, Rei was wearing the Dragon Robe, so it wouldn't have been strange for them to assume he was concealing some kind of weapon underneath.
At any rate, going by Rei's appearance alone, he didn't look at all like someone capable of harming the village.
Once that became apparent, the villagers who had been gripping weapons and keeping vigilant finally began to relax.
(Sure, it's fine that they relaxed, but I'm not entirely satisfied that they judged me purely on my appearance. Besides... what if I were actually a scout for a bandit gang or something? Aren't they being way too careless?)
Even as he thought this, it was undoubtedly to his advantage, so he kept walking without saying anything.
As he drew closer to the village... eventually, a man in his twenties emerged from within and approached him.
"What business do you have coming to this village?"
He had likely judged from Rei's appearance that he wasn't an enemy, but traces of wariness still lingered in his tone.
"Before that, let me ask — this is a fishing village, right?"
"...Hah? Ah, yeah. Well, that's right."
The man nodded in bewilderment at the words that came from Rei's mouth.
He looked as though he wanted to say it should be obvious just from looking, and by that point, his wariness toward Rei had completely vanished.
In this regard, Rei's appearance had worked in his favor.
"I see, good. ...Actually, I've been catching fish and messing around in the sea a short distance from here, but when it comes to catching small fish, it's tough without a net. If this is a fishing village, I was hoping you'd sell me a fishing net or something."
"...Huh? Eh?"
The man looked as though he had no idea what Rei was talking about.
But that was only natural.
The very idea that someone like Rei was fishing and playing in the sea outside the village was dangerous in more ways than one.
There were a fair number of monsters in this area, and wild animals were plentiful. And above all... right now, there were even more dangerous beings around.
"Are you an idiot! If someone like you is walking around here alone, let alone casually sleeping outdoors, those guys will definitely find you!"
Coming back to his senses upon hearing Rei's words, the man shouted in a panic.
He was angry at Rei — or more accurately, it was a yell born from worry rather than anger.
If someone capable of discerning Rei's true strength had been present, they would have realized that the man's concern was essentially meaningless.
But in a remote village deep in the countryside — one that was, in a different sense from Gilm, truly worthy of being called the frontier — there was no way someone of such skill would be present.
To the residents of this village, Rei appeared as nothing more or less than what he looked like.
(Maybe I should have brought Set along?)
For a moment, Rei considered it, but if he had brought Set here, it would have undoubtedly caused an even bigger commotion.
Yes — it might have even prompted every last resident of the village to fight to the death.
Normally, one wouldn't expect such a thing to happen, but having personally witnessed the villagers gather with whatever they could use as weapons the moment they first spotted Rei, he couldn't dismiss that concern.
With that in mind, leaving Set behind had indeed been the right call. So thinking, Rei opened his mouth.
"I don't know what kind of opponents these 'guys' are, but... don't worry. I may not look it, but I'm a B-Rank Adventurer."
"Don't lie."
Without a moment's hesitation — indeed, instantly declaring that Rei's claim of being a B-Rank Adventurer was a lie — the man left Rei dumbfounded.
Rei was used to being underestimated because of his appearance.
But even so, to have it dismissed as a lie this immediately...
"No, it's true. Look, here."
He showed the man his Guild Card, taken from the Misty Ring, but the man merely tilted his head at it.
For starters, he showed no particular reaction even to seeing Rei produce the Guild Card from the Misty Ring.
He probably knew nothing about the Item Box at all.
"Hmm... even if you say that. Is this what a Guild Card looks like? The last time I had an adventurer show me one was four years? Five years ago? Something like that... Hey, someone! Is there anyone here who can tell a real Guild Card!?"
He called out to the villagers in the distance, but in a remote village like this, adventurers hardly ever visited.
After all, even Merchants came only once every few years, if that.
Given those circumstances, there was no way to know for certain whether Rei's Guild Card was genuine.
Even so... several villagers came over and examined it.
"Probably, this is it..." — with a somewhat uncertain verdict, it was affirmed that this was indeed a Guild Card. The man from earlier, having accepted that Rei was at least an adventurer, now looked at Rei with a gaze as though observing some peculiar creature.
"So this adventurer came all the way to this village to ask for fishing gear and such? That's quite..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but Rei could easily guess that the unspoken word was something along the lines of "eccentric" — or something close to it.
"I'd appreciate it if you could just chalk that up to me being an adventurer."
A normal adventurer would have shouted, "Don't lump me in with a guy like that!" but unfortunately — or perhaps fortunately — this village had no Guild Branch Office, and Rei was the only adventurer present, so no such retort came.
If anything, many of the villagers were perfectly satisfied with the explanation that he was an adventurer.
"Anyway, I'd like to get right down to business... but did something happen?"
This village, at first glance, appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary fishing village in the countryside.
The fact that everyone had mobilized for combat readiness just because someone like Rei had approached struck even Rei as strange.
"Well... just the other day, Pirates came and stole our food supplies and such."
"Ah... yeah, I see."
In the past, this would have been a scenario where Bandits were mentioned as being active, but what came up here was Pirates.
Of course, given this village's coastal location, Pirates were probably a more typical threat than Bandits.
"I can understand why you were all so wary of me. But... not to sound rude, but can this village handle Pirates with only your own combat power?"
"..."
At Rei's words, the villagers fell silent.
The villagers themselves truly believed that dealing with Pirates on their own would be difficult.
If the Pirates numbered ten or so, the village's own forces might have been able to manage.
Bandits could operate in groups as small as a few people, but Pirates, needing to crew a ship, naturally tended to have larger numbers.
Depending on the case, groups exceeding a hundred were not uncommon.
(But... for me, was this luck? A ship, treasure, and Pirates. Especially the ship — there's a chance I could get Lord Daskar to buy it at a high price for constructing a Land Ship.)
Thinking this... Rei smiled and opened his mouth.
"Would you be interested in hiring me?"
With a smile, he asked.