"Sorry, Rei-kun. Did I keep you waiting?"
"No, I haven't been waiting that long. I just got here myself."
As he exchanged these words with Kenny, Rei suddenly thought their conversation resembled the typical pre-date meetup chatter one often heard.
...However, given that Kenny arrived sitting on the coachman's box of a carriage, it was far from the scene Rei had imagined.
"So you went with a carriage after all."
"Yeah. ...I mean, you can't ride a horse, can you, Rei-kun?"
"Well, if you're telling me to ride, I can."
Rei replied to Kenny's words, and it was by no means a complete lie.
However, the horses Rei could ride were limited to those trained rigorously from a young age to serve as warhorses.
This wasn't because Rei's horsemanship skills were questionable, but rather because he was always together with Set.
In other words, Set's presence and scent had seeped into Rei's body.
Even so, if there was a certain distance—like the coachman's box of a carriage—it wouldn't affect the horse that much. But if Rei tried to ride a horse, the horse would inevitably sense Set's presence.
Because of that, some horses would even fall into a state of panic.
Even if it didn't go that far, there was a high possibility that the horse would tense up needlessly and injure itself.
To avoid that, traveling by carriage was indeed less stressful and safer for the horse than having Rei ride it.
"Hmm. Well, as your big sister, I'll let it slide with that explanation."
Kenny smiled from atop the coachman's box, and Rei judged that saying anything more would be pointless. With that, he quietly boarded the carriage.
"Huh... so this is where you dissect monsters, Rei-kun?"
Kenny murmured as she looked around with curiosity.
For Rei, who had come here many times before, it didn't seem particularly unusual.
But for Kenny, who usually never left Gilm, stepping outside of Gilm was novel in itself.
On top of that, coming to a forest like this—considering the possibility of monster attacks—was something she could never normally do.
The current situation was safe even outside Gilm precisely because Rei, an adventurer with some of the greatest abilities in Gilm, was accompanying her.
As a cat beastman, Kenny's five senses were sharper than a normal human's, but she still fell far short of Rei, the professional.
...However, for Kenny, the accurate perception was that Rei was not her bodyguard, but her date partner.
"Yeah. Though it's not exactly my own private spot."
This place was fairly well-known among Gilm's adventurers.
It wasn't too far from Gilm, yet a river flowed through it, so the blood, bodily fluids, and scraps produced during dissection could be washed away immediately.
However, naturally, this place wasn't something just anyone could use.
Well, using it alone required no one's permission, so anyone could use it freely. But if one dissected a monster outside the frontier town of Gilm while reeking of blood, it was not uncommon for monsters and wild beasts to catch the scent and come running.
If someone couldn't properly handle such creatures when attacked, the monster being dissected would naturally be stolen, and in the worst case, the very person doing the dissecting could lose their life.
Without the ability to manage those threats, using this place could lead to the worst possible outcome depending on the circumstances.
"Hmm, really. Even though it's so pretty."
Looking around, Kenny murmured thoughtfully.
With the sunlight filtered through the leaves of the trees, dappled light falling all around, and the cool sound of the flowing river, this place would seem like the ideal date spot to anyone who knew nothing about it.
For Kenny, her honest feeling was that she would have preferred to come here alone with Rei, bringing sandwiches or something, rather than engaging in an act like stripping materials.
However, there was no doubt that she was fully satisfied just being able to come here alone with Rei like this.
Without paying any apparent mind to Kenny's demeanor, Rei took the black sea bream monster, Baeros, out of his Misty Ring.
"Kyaa!"
A scream escaped Kenny's mouth at the sight of Baeros.
She had been shown the Baeros taken out yesterday, as a sort of preview.
But even so, when a monster nearly three meters in length suddenly appeared, it was still startling.
Moreover, rather than the monsters she was used to seeing in Gilm, this was a sea-dwelling monster, so the fact that Kenny had no memory of it was a significant factor.
"Alright then... you brought the tool for removing the scales, right?"
"...Huh? Ah, yeah. Among the seniors at the Guild, there was someone who used to work as an adventurer in a town near the sea, so I asked them to lend it to me. ...That's why I was a bit late getting to the meeting spot."
Saying that, Kenny went around to the cargo bed of the carriage and brought out a strangely shaped blade.
Seeing the blade with its large curve, Rei felt like he had seen something like it before. He thought about it and eventually remembered.
It was a weapon that appeared in a manga he had read when he was in Japan—a blade called a shotel.
Because the blade curved significantly, even if an opponent tried to block an attack with a shield, it was a blade that could attack by bypassing that shield.
Of course, the shotel Rei had seen differed in various fine details, but there was no mistaking that its rough shape resembled the weapon known as a shotel.
It was also quite large, and to Rei, who now recognized it as a shotel, he could only perceive it as a weapon rather than a tool.
"That's a pretty vicious-looking thing."
"Is it? From my perspective, it looks a bit awkward to use. ...Besides, this is apparently a Magic Item, so wouldn't you be interested in it, Rei-kun?"
There were other tools for removing scales, but among them, Kenny chose this one partly because the person she consulted said it was the most useful. But more than anything, the biggest factor was that the tool was a Magic Item.
It was a fairly well-known fact that Rei collected Magic Items.
Naturally, Kenny also knew this, and she figured that if she showed Rei an unfamiliar Magic Item, he would happily accept it. That was her reasoning behind the choice.
Sure enough, hearing that the shotel-like blade was a Magic Item, Rei directed a gaze full of interest toward it.
"Here, take it."
Kenny casually handed the Magic Item she was holding to Rei.
Receiving it, Rei examined the blade and asked Kenny.
"So, what kind of effect does this Magic Item have?"
"Apparently, the shape of the blade changes to conform to whatever it's touching."
"...In other words, if I press this blade against the body of the fish and activate the Magic Item, the blade changes shape, and I can strip the scales with it?"
"That's what the person who lent it to me said, but can you do it, Rei-kun?"
"I wonder. I'll give it a try for now."
Saying that, Rei touched the shotel's blade to the part of Baeros's body where the scales grew—near the gills of the monster lying on the ground—and channeled magical power into it.
Then, the blade slowly... yes, quite gradually, began to change shape.
(Well... I thought it would be interesting if I could use it in actual combat, but at this speed, it's a bit impractical. If it changed shape in an instant, there would have been a way to use it in real combat. I probably don't need to negotiate buying it.)
It was undoubtedly a convenient tool for stripping scales, but its uses were too limited, and it probably wasn't something Rei wanted badly enough.
Anyway, taking nearly thirty seconds, the shotel assumed the shape of Baeros's body. Rei carefully slid it along, making sure not to damage the flesh.
"Ah, I'll hold this side. It's so big that I don't think it'll move from the recoil, but just in case."
Saying that, Kenny pressed down on Baeros's tail.
Inwardly, she was thinking of it as a "joint task with Rei-kun," but she didn't let that show on her face and seriously held down the tail.
At the same time, wondering just how delicious Baeros's flesh would be was probably because Kenny was a cat beastman.
"...This is difficult."
Rei used the shotel to strip Baeros's scales, but it was harder than he had expected.
Having almost no experience stripping fish scales, he simply couldn't grasp the right amount of pressure.
Moreover, using a blade like a shotel was a first for him today.
He was managing to remove the scales, but at the same time, he was also peeling off the fish's skin in many places.
Originally, Rei was by no means particularly good at stripping and dismantling tasks.
He was aware of this himself, so he actively honed the skill, and by now he had attained a level of proficiency slightly above average. However, that was strictly limited to monsters on the ground or flying in the sky.
Sea monsters inevitably differed in various ways from land monsters, and as a result, this was causing Rei to take more time.
Even so, by carefully stripping the scales, it ultimately didn't turn out too badly, and he succeeded in removing all of them.
Since these scales could also be sold as materials, storing them properly in the Misty Ring was a given.
"You've finished stripping the scales, which was the hardest part, so the rest shouldn't be difficult. ...And there are no internal organs or anything."
Kenny's words after they finished stripping the scales from both the front and back were something Rei couldn't deny.
Normally, processing a fish's internal organs carried a different kind of difficulty from stripping the scales.
You slice open the belly, remove the organs without damaging them, and cut them away properly.
However... during the commotion of catching it, Baeros's belly skin had burst open, and it had lost almost all of its internal organs to the fish, shellfish, and crabs that fed on them in the sea.
That being the case, what remained was not materials, but the parts to be eaten... the only use left was as food.
"If I'm going to fillet it into three pieces... it'd be a bit difficult with this shotel, huh? But using something like a knife would be impossible too."
Baeros was nearly three meters long.
Naturally, the flesh was thick, and filleting it into three pieces with just a knife would be quite a stretch.
(A kitchen knife like the Japanese swords they use in tuna dismantling shows would be really handy for times like this.)
Looking at the knife, Rei debated what to do.
Of course, filleting it into three pieces with a knife was a stretch, but that didn't mean it was impossible.
However, doing so would inevitably leave the flesh torn and ragged, with large amounts of meat still clinging to the bones.
Though, if it came down to it, he could probably slice the meat off the bones using a knife.
(I think the meat scraped off the bone was something along those lines.)
Rei recalled his time in Japan, but even so, deliberately cutting the meat so it remained attached to the bone seemed unappealing.
"Maybe I should just use the Death Scythe to..."
"W-wait, Rei-kun!? That's going way too far no matter how you look at it!! If you're going to use the Death Scythe, I think you'd be better off using that shotel."
Seeing Rei suddenly mention the Death Scythe, Kenny must have realized what he was about to do.
She told him in a panic.
Even from Kenny's perspective, the flesh of the monster Baeros looked extremely delicious.
In fact, the encyclopedia they found in the library stated that the flesh was very tasty, so there was no mistaking that it was delicious.
Because of that, Rei carelessly chopping up the monster... no, the fish, was something she could not accept as a cat beastman.
"Then I'll use this shotel to... tch. There are no internal organs and barely any blood left, yet something was drawn by the smell. Kenny, wait near this fish for a bit."
Sensing something approaching, Rei said in a bothered tone and handed the shotel to Kenny.
Seeing Rei's demeanor, she must have understood that something... whether a monster or a wild animal, she didn't know, but regardless, something was approaching.
Holding the shotel she had been handed, Kenny turned her gaze toward the carriage.
If the horse was attacked, things would get troublesome, and she honestly wanted someone to help protect it.
As a Guild receptionist, Kenny had learned basic self-defense, and as a cat beastman, she possessed high physical abilities.
Even so, if a High-Rank Monster appeared, she would be powerless.
Kenny trembled slightly, but as if to reassure her, Rei took the Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear out of his Misty Ring and spoke.
"Leave it to me. I will absolutely protect you."
Telling her that and showing Kenny a smile, Rei broke into a run toward the direction the presence was approaching from.
As Kenny watched Rei's back, there was no longer any trace of fear within her. Only Rei's smile, which gave her a sense of security just by seeing it, remained strongly burned into her memory.