"Oh, I can see it now."
From atop Set's back, Rei muttered as he looked at the village coming into view in the distance—Garanka.
"Hey! We'll be arriving at Garanka soon!"
Rei called out to the Set Basket, sounding somewhat perfunctory.
Inside, there should have been several Guards and a Slave Trader.
Originally, the Captain of the Guards who had negotiated with Rei was supposed to come along, but someone in the position of Captain couldn't simply leave town for several days... or perhaps even longer.
If it were like Gilm, where every Guard was highly capable—a natural consequence of the city's circumstances—that would be one thing. But even though Jubis was a large town by the standards of this area, it was ultimately nothing more than a provincial town.
That was precisely why the Captain commanding the Guards couldn't carelessly leave town.
As a result, the Guards, including the Carriage for transporting the prisoners, headed for Garanka overland. Preceding them, however, Rei had the Guards who would interrogate and watch the Pirates, along with the Slave Trader who would purchase the captured Pirates as slaves, loaded onto the Set Basket and transported by air.
Whether the Guards and the Slave Trader, who had never experienced flying through the sky before, were enjoying it or were terrified of it... Rei couldn't really tell.
In any case, it was a fact that by flying through the sky, Rei and the others had returned to Garanka overwhelmingly faster than if they had traveled normally overland.
"Hm? Ah, the Pirates are over there, huh."
Right next to the village, there was something that hadn't been there when Rei left... something that looked like a building made of earth.
However, it wasn't exactly grand enough to be properly called a building.
It was more accurately described as a massive lump of kneaded earth.
There was no way Rei wouldn't know what it was.
After all, it was Rei himself who had asked Marina to create a cage to hold the Pirates.
Set descended toward the ground... and eventually lowered the Set Basket to the earth below.
Naturally, Elena and the others noticed the Set Basket's descent, and slightly after, the residents of Garanka did as well.
Watching the villagers emerge from the village, Rei and Set touched down on the ground themselves.
Elena and the others didn't look particularly surprised to see the Set Basket, but the residents of Garanka were simply dumbfounded by it.
The fact that they didn't take up arms or anything of the sort was probably because Marina had informed them about the Set Basket beforehand.
Or perhaps it was because Rei and Set came down to the ground right after the Set Basket was lowered.
"Rei! That was remarkably fast. Considering what you said before leaving, I thought it would take a bit more time."
"The person I dealt with was reasonable. I was braced for the worst, expecting I might have to stay overnight there."
If the alias of Crimson hadn't been so well-known... or if there had been no way to confirm that Rei was Crimson, he might have had to stay overnight in Jubis, just as he'd said.
But fortunately, the Crimson alias was known even in Jubis, and showing his Guild Card would prove beyond a doubt that he was Rei.
Thanks to that, the proceedings went smoothly, and he was able to return the same day.
"...So? Why aren't they coming out yet?"
While responding to Marina, Rei glanced toward the Set Basket and raised the question. Right at that moment, as if timed perfectly, the door of the Set Basket opened.
"Flying through the sky... never again..."
The first Guard to emerge was completely exhausted, despite the short journey from Jubis.
His face was so etched with fatigue that one would find it hard to believe he could have accumulated this much exhaustion in such a brief time.
Looking at the Guard, Rei couldn't help but wonder if the man would even be of any use, but he felt relieved for the time being when the next Guard to come out didn't look nearly as worn out.
As for the Slave Trader, he was so thrilled by the experience of flying through the sky that... upon exiting the Set Basket, he made a beeline for Rei.
"Rei-san! This... this is magnificent! Being able to travel through the sky at such speed is truly, truly, truly wonderful!"
A stout, bearded man in his forties spoke to Rei, a light of curiosity gleaming in his eyes.
He must have been quite taken with flying through the sky.
Rei, who had been observing the Guards' state, was slightly surprised by the Slave Trader's enthusiasm but gave a nod in return for the time being.
"I-Is that so. I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Yes! Being able to travel in such a short time... with this, I could even go to distant places to do business. So, what do you say? If you're willing, how about you come work for me?"
"Sorry, but I'm not interested. Being an adventurer is enough for me right now."
"Come on, please reconsider!"
Rei shook his head at the Slave Trader, who immediately pressed the matter despite being refused.
As an adventurer, Rei might take short-term employment through a request, but he had absolutely no intention of being hired in an exclusive capacity.
Seeing Rei's attitude, the Slave Trader wore a disappointed expression.
In truth, if someone like Rei, who possessed a Misty Ring and had Set as his Tamed Monster, were available, a merchant could make any amount of money.
For the Slave Trader, having the very person who could make that a reality refuse so bluntly was nothing short of regrettable.
However, the Slave Trader didn't press Rei any further than that.
He reasoned that if he did such a thing, Rei would develop unfavorable feelings toward him.
He judged that it was better to maintain at least a modicum of goodwill rather than risk that.
"I see. That is unfortunate. Then... what shall we do?"
The Slave Trader called out to the Guards, who still hadn't recovered from the shock of their flight.
As if snapped out of a daze by his voice, the Guards took deep breaths and shifted their mindset.
"Right... is the chief of this village here?"
"Yes, yes, what is it? If there's anything I can help with, I'd be glad to."
At the Guard's words, an old woman raised her voice.
Whether the Guard determined from her words that she was the Village Chief, he gave a nod in return.
"I see. We'd appreciate your cooperation. First, we need to question these men about various things, and we'll also need a place to stay until reinforcements arrive. Is there an empty house or somewhere like that we could use?"
"There is. The house where Rimochi lived until last year is now empty. It's been cleaned, so there shouldn't be any problem using it."
Hearing the Village Chief's words, the Guard briefly wanted to ask what had happened to this person named Rimochi, but he held off on that for now.
If Rimochi had simply left the village, there would be no particular need to concern themselves... but if he heard something like the man had died in that house, it would undoubtedly feel eerie.
If they were only going to use it to question the Pirates—a so-called interrogation room—that would be one thing, but they would also need to stay in that house themselves until reinforcements arrived.
Given that, he didn't want to ask anything careless.
"Then we'll use that place. ...Now, should we question them first or settle the slave contract? Which would be easier to do first..."
The Guard's words were directed at the Slave Trader.
The Slave Trader, as if his earlier excited state when speaking to Rei had been a lie, was now staring at the Pirates confined in the Earth Cage.
"Let's see. I'd like to negotiate the price first, so please go ahead with the questioning."
"Understood. Then let's get started right away. ...Um, so how do I open this thing?"
Having finished speaking with the Slave Trader, the Guard immediately tried to question the Pirates, but... the Earth Cage holding them was something Marina had created with Spirit Magic.
Created with the highest priority on preventing the Pirates from escaping, the cage naturally had nothing resembling a door that could be opened from the outside.
"Marina, I need your help."
If he forced it, breaking the Earth Cage wouldn't be difficult.
But then it would no longer be able to serve as a cage.
Given that, asking Marina, who had actually created the Earth Cage, was the best course of action.
"Also, I'll leave the price negotiation for buying them as slaves to you."
"Sure, I'm fine with that, but... what will you do, Rei?"
"I'll handle purchasing fishing gear and fish."
In terms of price negotiation, it would undoubtedly be better to leave that to Marina as well.
But since he was entrusting her with the negotiation of selling the Pirates as slaves, he intended to handle the purchase of fishing gear and fish himself.
"Village Chief, who should I negotiate with regarding the purchase of fishing gear and fish?"
"Hmm... to be honest, you captured the Pirates who were threatening this village. Given that, I think it would be fine to just give them to you for free."
If the Pirates had continued taking food from the village as they were, the village's very survival would have been in jeopardy.
Since Rei had saved them from that, the Village Chief had no problem letting him have fishing gear and fish.
Of course, it would be a problem if Rei took so much fishing gear that it affected their fishing, but what Rei wanted was only for personal use.
At the Village Chief saying that much would be fine, Rei shook his head.
"No, fishing gear must be important to this village. And I'm not in any financial trouble. If so, there's no need to be unreasonable about it here."
"You're an honest one, aren't you. Then... Pastura. You will negotiate with Rei and decide how much fishing gear to sell."
"...Huh?"
At the Village Chief's words, Pastura—the person Rei had interacted with the most when he first came to this village—let out a dumbfounded sound.
He probably never expected his name to be called here.
But Rei paid no mind to Pastura's bewilderment and, leaving the negotiation with the Slave Trader to Marina, approached Pastura.
"Alright, let's get right to the negotiation. First, show me what kind of fishing gear you have. I'd be happy if you have harpoons and nets."
As Rei pulled him along into the village, Pastura eventually seemed to give in.
After letting out a big sigh, he started walking alongside Rei.
"Look, over here. For now, there's some fishing gear we're not using, so take a look at that. I'll let you have whatever you want from among it. That's fine, right?"
Rei had no objections to Pastura's words either.
If it was fishing gear currently unused for some reason, purchasing it wouldn't affect their fishing.
The place they were led to was a hut built near the sea.
Since the village wasn't particularly large, they reached the sea quickly.
"Let's see, you said you needed a harpoon and a net, right?"
"Yeah. I catch big fish from the sky while riding Set, but with a spear, there's no barb so they can slip off."
"Ah... well, a spear is a weapon after all. It can't catch fish the same way a harpoon made specifically for catching fish can."
Saying that, Pastura handed Rei a harpoon that had been hanging on the wall.
It had been described as unused fishing gear, but the harpoon wasn't rusted and reflected the sunlight.
As a look of slight surprise appeared on Rei's face, Pastura flashed a proud grin.
"Just because it's unused fishing gear doesn't mean we don't maintain it. It's a spare, so it's only natural to keep it ready to use at a moment's notice in case something happens, right?"
"Well, when you put it that way, I suppose so."
Rather, Rei belatedly found himself wondering whether there was even anyone in this village who could do blacksmithing, when Pastura handed him the harpoon.
"Here, this harpoon. Try holding it for a sec. Let me know if there's anything wrong with it."
"Hm? Ah, there's no problem... hm?"
There was no problem.
Rei had been about to say so, but he noticed that in the rear part of the harpoon—the part that would be the butt cap on a spear—there was a round hole.
"What's this hole?"
"Hm? Ah, that. It's removed right now, but you tie a cord through that hole. And then..."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
As if to interrupt Pastura's words, Rei shouted.
At Rei's sudden action, Pastura, who had been about to explain the harpoon, could only stand dumbfounded.
But ignoring Pastura's state... no, without showing any sign of having even noticed, Rei handed the harpoon he was holding back to Pastura and then pulled out the harpoon he was looking for from inside his Misty Ring.
That harpoon was clearly in a different class from the one Pastura had.
And above all, a wire extended from the tip of the harpoon's handle.
"Come to think of it, I already had a harpoon."
"...Oi."
Pastura retorted flatly, as if exasperated.