"Take care. Thanks for everything up to now."
"Yeah. I'm grateful to you too, Rei. Not only did you defeat the pirates who were threatening this village, but you also bought up everything we caught. And not just fish—shellfish and seaweed too."
The one who said this, bowing deeply and offering words of gratitude in response to Rei's parting words, was Pastura—someone who, among the people of Garanka, had spent more time with Rei than most.
Rei had told them he would be wrapping up his vacation and returning to Gilm the next day.
Hearing that, Pastura had at first looked disappointed.
But he understood that Rei's home was not here, but in Gilm. And the profits Rei had brought to Garanka were substantial.
Having enjoyed such benefits, it would be shameless to ask him to stay.
(If possible, I'd be thrilled if he married a village woman and settled down in Garanka.)
Pastura thought this, but of course he also understood it was impossible.
Garanka was a small country village, so the number of young women was limited.
Moreover, around Rei were Elena, Marina, and Vihera—astoundingly beautiful women.
Objectively speaking, Pastura didn't think any woman in Garanka could compete with Elena and the others.
"I'll come back when we run out of fish or just feel like having some."
It was half a polite compliment, but half in earnest.
In truth, the fishermen of Garanka had done well to fulfill Rei's requests, and the volume of seafood Rei purchased was considerable.
Naturally, these were catches hauled in by Garanka's fishermen.
That skilled fishermen were gathered here was extremely fortunate for Rei, who had come to this place to obtain fish.
And it wasn't just fish, either.
He had also had them gather large quantities of abalone and turban shells—or perhaps they weren't exactly those, but they looked similar—along with edible seaweed.
Having them gather all of this was, for Rei, close to a form of self-indulgence.
That they listened to his requests so diligently left a highly favorable impression on him.
Of course, if he truly wanted an enormous quantity of fish, he could have simply gone to Emosion.
(But Emosion is a port city, and because so many people gather there, trouble is bound to happen.)
Rei was not one to hesitate when it came to wielding his power, but that didn't mean he enjoyed getting caught up in trouble.
If there was some kind of reward to be had—like a Magic Item—it would be one thing, but most trouble brought no such reward.
Of course, if there were a bounty monster like Lemures there, Rei would be all for going to Emosion.
"Come back anytime. And the Village Chief..."
"No, that's fine. You'll be coming back again anyway."
"If you say so, Rei, then I suppose that's fine too. ...Only, considering the Village Chief's age... no, never mind."
Rei could understand what Pastura was about to say.
But he couldn't understand why Pastura had suddenly cut himself off mid-sentence, and he tilted his head.
"What is it? What happened?"
"...Well, you see, the Village Chief has been the chief since I was a child, and her appearance hasn't changed at all."
"Could it be that she has Elf blood in her?"
Rei suggested the possibility of a so-called half-Elf, but Pastura shook his head as if to say surely not...
"Oh, Rei-san. Here to buy fish again today?"
The ones who appeared before Rei and Pastura were the slave trader Riroze and two guards who had come from Jubis.
"Yeah, I'm thinking of heading back to Gilm soon. I came to say goodbye, at least."
"...I see. Back to Gilm."
Riroze murmured thoughtfully.
From Riroze's perspective, Rei was the person who had arranged things so he could conduct business in Gilm—and simultaneously the person who had foisted upon him the difficult task of transporting pirates there.
Of course, it was precisely because of that difficult task that he was able to do business in Gilm, so he certainly didn't hold a grudge.
"I'm counting on you with the pirates."
"Yes, of course. Gilm is even covering travel expenses, so I'll show the appropriate sincerity in return. ...Still..."
Riroze paused, then gazed intently at Rei.
"What?"
"Oh, I was just wondering why anyone would go out of their way to want pirate slaves. If it were simply a matter of wanting slaves, there would be no need for me to transport them specifically, would there? When you put it that way, I think it's only natural to suspect there's something more to it."
"Ah... right. But it's not like I'm trying to set you up or anything, so you don't need to worry."
Rei had considered mentioning the Land Ship, but information about it was known to only a select few even in Gilm.
He understood that mentioning it here would cause all sorts of problems.
He gave a vague non-answer.
Riroze, of course, understood he was being brushed off, but he didn't press further.
He understood that if he forced the question here... and ended up learning something he shouldn't, it wouldn't be strange if he were silenced for it, worst case scenario.
If Rei heard that, he would surely say he'd never do such a thing... but even so, for Riroze, who had been operating in the countryside until now, it was only natural to be suspicious.
"For now, just conducting normal transactions will be fine, so don't worry about it."
"...I suppose you're right. I'll take your word for it, Rei-san, Bearer of the Crimson Moniker."
The fact that he deliberately invoked Rei's moniker—and in front of guards, no less—suggested he didn't completely believe Rei's words.
Rei vaguely understood Riroze's calculations as well, but said nothing further.
He understood that the demands he had passed on to Riroze at Daskar's request were, in many ways, beyond common sense.
"I see... so Lord Rei will be leaving. Lord Rei, we caused you a great deal of trouble with this pirate affair. And I thank you for subjugating them."
One of the guards who had been listening to Rei and Riroze's conversation—a man in his forties—spoke up and bowed his head to Rei.
For the guards, Garanka was not their assigned post.
Even so, as guards of Jubis—the most prosperous town in this area—they took pride in their work.
That was why, learning that Garanka, which was not far from Jubis—though still several days' distance—had been threatened by pirates, had given him deep cause for reflection.
"My coming here was just a coincidence. As long as you protect it properly from now on, that's fine."
"...Indeed. If you would do that, it would be a great help to us as well."
The one who said that was the elderly woman serving as the Village Chief of Garanka.
Rei had told her there was no need to come, but Pastura had presumably been thoughtful enough to send someone to fetch her.
In the end, everyone who had become deeply involved with Rei in this incident had gathered together.
"You didn't have to go out of your way to come."
"What are you saying? Without you, those pirates would have wrought great harm upon this village. The benefactor who resolved that is leaving, so it is only natural for me, as the Village Chief, to offer my greetings."
The Village Chief let out a wheezy hehehe laugh, and Rei was drawn into smiling as well.
In truth, the damage Garanka would have suffered from this incident would have been considerable.
Feeling gratitude toward Rei, who had resolved it, was only natural.
...Rei, of course, understood this as well, but he wasn't fond of being treated so grandly, which was why he had tried to tell only Pastura about his departure.
"In any case. You must have had many thoughts of your own... but there is no doubt that Garanka was saved thanks to you. I thank you."
"Is that so. Then work on developing Garanka further and make the fishing industry more active. Make sure you can handle the monsters in the sea, too."
At Rei's words, the Village Chief thought for a moment... and eventually spoke.
"Develop, you say. This is the countryside. Were it not for an incident like this one, it's not a place that draws much attention. And the population is small. ...The kind of development you speak of would be nearly impossible."
"Is that so? I think it depends on how you go about it... well, gathering people would be difficult, I suppose."
Rei murmured thoughtfully—this, too, was related to his time in Japan.
The area where Rei had lived had a continuously declining population.
So much so that it wouldn't be strange if, in the future, the city could no longer sustain itself as a municipality.
Because Rei was still young, he hadn't been particularly interested in such matters, but he had heard his parents discuss that kind of topic many times.
If it was difficult to revive in Japan, where depopulation was already advancing, then in this world of Elgin, it would be impossible without something extraordinary happening—that much Rei could easily predict.
If, say, a mineral vein was discovered near Garanka, or some kind of research facility was built, it wasn't impossible for Garanka to develop... but whether that could actually happen was questionable.
(A yuru-chara mascot character... no, going by the sensibilities of this world, it might be mistaken for a monster and subjugated.)
Recalling the mascot characters from all across Japan that he had seen while living there, Rei felt it was almost certain they would be treated as monsters in this world.
In any case, they conversed for about an hour after that... and eventually, after completing the final purchase of seafood, Rei mounted Set and returned to base camp.
"Here. First, I simply tried salt-grilling it. But since it wasn't over an open flame—instead cooked in Rei-chan's oven—it should be delicious."
As this was the last dinner they would eat in this place, Bistol had poured his heart into the cooking.
The first dish to appear was the meat of the roughly six-meter-long shrimp Rei had caught that day, cut into portions and simply grilled in the oven.
Of course, just because the cooking method was simple didn't mean the preparation itself was effortless.
To prevent the heat from causing the meat to curl, cuts had been made in several places, and it had been flavored with herbs like wild plants and mountain vegetables. Because of its simplicity, the dish let one fully enjoy the shrimp's flavor and its firm texture.
What was particularly notable was that, despite the shrimp's enormous size, the meat was not bland.
The thoroughly delicious flesh actually carried a more intense umami than the shrimp Rei had eaten while in Japan.
"Hahf, hahf... yeah, this is delicious!"
At Rei's words, everyone else happily agreed.
And so, the simple dish of grilled shrimp quickly disappeared into their stomachs.
(Grilling... come to think of it, there was a dish called salt-crust baking... should I try making it next time? I think you just need to wrap it in salt and bake it, so it shouldn't be that hard.)
Rei pondered new recipes while eating the shrimp, but in reality, when making salt-crust baking, one needed to add egg whites to the salt, so if Rei attempted it based on his own idea, it would not succeed.
Of course, Rei's method was to convey the idea that such a dish existed to a professional cook and have the cook prepare it, so he hadn't made any critical failures thus far.
(It'll be Gamelion season soon. If I make salt-crust baking with Gamelion meat... yeah, that sounds delicious.)
Inside Rei's Misty Ring was a large quantity of fresh Gamelion meat from last year's hunt, but when it came to seasonal ingredients, it was only natural to want to eat them freshly caught.
As Rei envisioned Gamelion salt-crust baking, the next dish Bistol had prepared appeared before him.
"Here you go. Seafood stir-fry."
On the plate was a stir-fried dish of fish, shellfish, octopus, and other marine products.
Like the shrimp before it, various wild herbs had been used to ensure the flavor didn't become monotonous.
Additionally, knowing from his cooking since coming to the sea that shellfish would become too tough if cooked too long, Bistol had paid careful attention to the degree of doneness.
(Seafood ankake yakisoba... no, seafood ankake yakiudon? But how do you make katakuriko, I wonder? If I had that, it'd be quite a versatile ingredient.)
Thinking such thoughts, Rei ate the stir-fry... and continued to savor the succession of dishes Bistol produced, enjoying his final supper.