"Rei, seriously... I only went out shopping, so how on earth did things end with pirate subjugation?"
After transporting all the pirates to the village by boat, Rei finally disembarked the man he'd been holding at Death Scythe's blade. Then, riding the newly returned Set, he stored the now-empty ship in his Misty Ring and headed back to the village with the boat.
The first words to greet Rei upon his return came from Marina.
"Even if you say that, I can only tell you it just happened that way."
In truth, Rei hadn't acted with any particular plan in mind this time.
It really had just unfolded on its own.
"Look... well, it's often said that trouble finds you whenever you make a move, so maybe that can't be helped."
"...Wait. I don't recall ever hearing anything like that. Is that really what people say?"
Rei responded to Marina's unexpected words with a question of his own.
Marina had delivered the remark as if it were the most natural thing in the world — like the old saying about a dog bumping into a stick while out for a walk — and naturally, Rei wasn't satisfied with it either.
But Marina, unconcerned by his reaction, pressed on.
"Anyway, all the pirates have been gathered in the village square... so what are we going to do with them?"
"Ah... right. First, we need to tie them up so they can't move. Actually, can you manage that somehow with Spirit Magic?"
"Hmm, let me think. If it's a question of whether I can or can't, then I can — but it won't hold for very long."
At Marina's words, Elena, who had also come to greet Rei, tilted her head in puzzlement.
"Hmm? I believe your estate is warded with Spirit Magic to keep out trespassers, isn't it? That continues to function without issue even after a considerable amount of time, does it not?"
"That's true. But that's because the Spirit there is one I've contracted with over a long period — one I'm especially compatible with. This is a place I'm visiting for the first time, so replicating what I do at home would be rather difficult. ...Well, even so, I can manage for a night or two. There's no need to worry."
Hearing this, Rei felt relieved that it would be fine for at least a short while.
"Then please take care of it for now. I need to head to the nearest town right away and bring back guards and slave traders. ...Is that acceptable?"
The person Rei directed his final question to was an old woman who had been watching their group — the Village Chief of this village.
Several guards were stationed near the Village Chief as well, perhaps as a precaution.
The Village Chief, suddenly addressed by Rei, returned a nod without so much as a flinch.
...The difference between her and the surrounding guards, who had been completely spellbound by three rarely-seen beauties in Elena, Marina, and Vihera, came down to nothing more than years of experience.
"Yes, that will be fine. As the chief of this village, it's enough that the village will no longer suffer harm."
"It helps to hear you say that. Oh, and about the fishing gear and fish..."
"I'll prepare for that as well. Thanks to you, Rei, we were saved a great deal of trouble this time. I'll make it as cheap as I can."
"Fheh fheh fheh." At the Village Chief's laughing words, Rei nodded happily to show his acceptance.
"Understood. So, where's the nearest sizable town from here?"
"Hmm... let me think. By carriage, there's a town called Jubis about three days away. That's the largest town in this area."
"Huh... that's closer than I expected. I figured it'd take ten days just one way."
"If it were that remote, all sorts of problems would arise... In any case, can we leave all of that in your hands?"
"Yeah. I'm heading to that town called Jubis right now. ...Actually, before that — though it's a bit late to ask — what's the name of this village?"
Realizing only now that he didn't know the village's name, Rei put the question to the Village Chief.
The Village Chief, who had apparently assumed Rei already knew, opened her eyes slightly in surprise.
"This village has little contact with the outside world, you see. There are even people within the village who don't know its name. But... let's see. If you just say Garanka Village, that should get through."
"Got it. ...So, which direction is Jubis?"
"After leaving the village, head east and you'll eventually reach the highway. Follow that road to the left, and you should arrive at Jubis."
After a brief exchange with the Village Chief, Rei simply told Elena and the others to handle the rest, then left the village with Set.
At his rushed demeanor, Elena and the others showed faint expressions of exasperation, but before long they each set about their preparations.
The first order of business was preparing a place to hold the pirates.
As discussed with Rei earlier, Marina took charge of that, constructing a simple earthen jail just outside the village.
Naturally, the villagers' feelings toward the pirates were anything but favorable.
That was precisely why Marina thought it best to avoid contact between the two groups as much as possible.
Rei had originally intended to have the villagers look after the pirates, but thinking it would be problematic if the villagers took it upon themselves to harm them, he simply went along with Marina's proposal.
"Well then, I wonder how long it'll take him to come back."
"Hmm? Considering Set's speed, he could be back today, couldn't he? He even brought the Set Basket."
Elena responded to Marina's murmur, but Marina knew that Rei... and Set were slightly directionally challenged, or perhaps simply prone to getting caught up in trouble.
It wouldn't be surprising if, before even reaching Jubis, they ran into other bandits or came across a carriage under monster attack.
No — if that was all that happened, Marina would consider them lucky.
Sensing Marina's concern, Elena quietly averted her gaze.
"Gururu?"
"Hm? Ah, that's the highway. If we follow it to the left, there should be a town called Jubis."
While Elena and Marina were busy worrying... surprisingly, Rei and Set encountered no particular trouble and were traveling exactly as the Village Chief had instructed.
Of course, Rei gave the strong impression of someone constantly caught up in trouble, but in reality, it wasn't quite that frequent.
If he were caught up in trouble nearly every single day of the year, he'd never have a moment to rest.
...Then again, it was rare for anyone to get caught up in trouble as many times as Rei did in the first place.
Riding Set and following the highway to the left, a town eventually came into view.
Naturally, it was smaller than Gilm, and considerably smaller even compared to towns like Abuelo or Sablusta.
As expected of the countryside, the town was by no means large.
Even so, compared to Garanka Village where Rei had just been, its size was incomparably greater.
"There are... a fair number of people."
A reasonable number of travelers were walking along the highway toward Jubis.
The foot traffic here was overwhelmingly greater than in Garanka.
(Garanka really had the feel of a forgotten village.)
Of course, that was merely how Rei felt; in reality, it wasn't quite like that.
When it came to taxes, the village paid them properly every year.
"Set, take us down."
"Gurururu!"
Seeing the town draw near, Rei made the request.
Set immediately purred and began descending, beating its wings.
Naturally, the people walking on the ground noticed Set's approach, and several began to make a commotion.
But since that was par for the course, Rei didn't pay it any particular mind.
Even so, he had shown some consideration for the gatekeeper guards, which was why he landed in a spot slightly removed from the town.
"Hey. That town is Jubis, correct?"
Rei asked this of a man nearby where Set had landed, who appeared to be a merchant.
The merchant's face froze in surprise... but he still managed a nod in response.
Whether it was professional pride or sheer grit, Rei couldn't say.
Reason aside, he thanked the merchant for the confirmation, and satisfied that this was indeed Jubis, he headed toward the town.
Naturally, Rei approaching on Set was visible to the gatekeeper guards as well.
It was visible... but there was no way the guards of a rural town like this could do anything about Gryphon Seto.
Several guards had already taken action to report to their superiors.
Rei understood the guards' movements. Having nothing to hide — in fact, having come specifically to report that he'd captured pirates — he called out to the guard at the Main Gate without any particular concern.
"I'm Rei. I'm a B-Rank Adventurer. I captured pirates at Garanka, and I'd like to request their handover and confirmation."
"...Rei? With a Gryphon, and Rei... Crimson Rei!?"
Fortunately, the guard seemed to know of him. He lowered the spear he'd been holding at the ready in case of an attack.
(It looks like my name is reasonably well-known in Jubis. ...Good, glad it didn't turn into a troublesome commotion.)
Up to now, Rei had been underestimated and provoked countless times based on his appearance.
Lately, such things had stopped happening, but that was only in places that were somewhat prosperous, starting with Gilm.
Whether rumors of Rei had reached a rural town like Jubis was something even the subject of those rumors — Rei himself — couldn't be sure of.
But fortunately, it seemed they had.
Feeling relieved, Rei dismounted from Set's back and spoke again.
"It seems you know me. ...Ah, here's my Guild Card. So, what about the pirate situation? I'd like you to come as quickly as possible."
"W-wait a moment. I can't judge this on my own! I'll call my superior right away!"
The guard shouted that, but Rei had already confirmed that someone had left the area earlier to call for reinforcements upon spotting him and Set.
(Are they still being cautious of me?)
He couldn't help but think that, but come to think of it — for an Alias Holder adventurer to suddenly appear in a rural town like this, and then announce he'd captured pirates and wanted someone to take them off his hands...
It would be stranger not to be suspicious.
In the end, Rei simply waited near the Main Gate with Set for the supposed superior to arrive.
During that time, the guards, having nothing else to do, tried to process the paperwork for those wishing to enter the town... but many of the people who realized Rei and Set were calmly waiting and posed no threat to them looked on with deep curiosity about what would happen next, showing no signs of proceeding with their entry paperwork.
"Come on, why's everyone so nosy?"
"Can't be helped. A commotion this big doesn't happen often in a backwater like this."
The guards voiced their complaints.
Indeed, the truth of those words was plain from everyone around them.
Forcing people to enter the town under these circumstances would only invite grumbling.
...If Rei and Set were the type to harm others, things might have been a little different.
After a short while... as Rei was eating Dried Meat he'd taken from his Misty Ring together with Set, several guards emerged from within the town.
Among them, the figure at the front was clearly someone of importance — at the very least, someone of higher rank than the guard who had spoken with Rei.
"Are you Crimson Rei?"
"Yeah. And you're someone high up among the guards, I take it?"
"That understanding is fine. So, you say you've captured pirates — where exactly are they?"
"Do you know a village called Garanka? It's a village quite far from here."
"...Garanka? Ah, yes. I've never been there, but I at least know the name."
As the Captain of the guards, it was perhaps to be expected that he remembered the name.
In fact, when Rei mentioned Garanka, many among those listening nearby wore expressions suggesting they had no idea what he was talking about.
"There was a pirate hideout on an uninhabited island near Garanka. The villagers asked me to deal with it, so I captured the lot of them. But... if you know where Garanka is, this'll be quick — it's quite far from here, right? That's why I came."
Hearing Rei's words, the Captain tilted his head in puzzlement.