"Too lenient. That's way too lenient."
Rei had mentioned going to the dungeon during his conversation with Worker. After finishing his work for the day—transporting felled timber from the Treant Forest along with various other materials—he was eating dinner at Marina's estate as usual. The moment he brought up the dungeon, Marina immediately shot him down.
"Even so, it's a dungeon on a cliff. There's no question that those of us with Set are best suited for it, but it's not like we're the only ones who could manage. High-rank adventurers, for instance, could likely pull it off even with some difficulty."
"True. But that doesn't change the fact that we're the best option, does it?"
Marina shook her head as she lifted a slice of Orc meat pizza fresh from the pizza oven to her mouth.
"In the end, you fell for Worker's bluff."
"You can say that all you want, but it's a dungeon. And probably a newly formed one at that."
He couldn't state it with absolute certainty because there was a possibility that a dungeon had grown inside the cliff, creating an entrance on the cliff face as a result.
The likelihood was low, of course, but not nonexistent.
Even if it were that kind of dungeon, though, Rei had no intention of calling off his attempt.
The Terrain Manipulation skill that Death Scythe possessed carried that much potential.
At its current Level 3, it could raise or lower the ground within a radius of roughly fifty meters by one meter.
That alone was already a tremendously powerful effect, but Rei knew from past experience that upon reaching Level 5, the skill would evolve to a fearsome degree.
Given that, there was no way he would pass up this perfect opportunity to raise Terrain Manipulation's level.
Naturally, with Byune present—someone who knew nothing about Beast Magic—he couldn't mention that here.
Even without Rei spelling it out, though, those who did know about Beast Magic could understand what he was getting at.
And precisely because they understood, they also realized that opposing his proposal here would be pointless no matter what they said.
"If we're going to a dungeon anyway, winter would've been ideal."
"Really? If anything, I think we should go as soon as possible."
Once winter came, the expansion construction would at least temporarily slow down, meaning everyone here—including herself—would have free time.
In contrast to Marina's remark, Vihera, harboring the hope that a dungeon might yield powerful monsters to fight, expressed her desire to head there as early as possible.
"So, what will you do?"
Elena asked Rei, showing no particular emotion behind the question.
What lay beneath those words was a silent declaration that she would be going with him—and since Rei found Elena's combat power... no, her very presence immensely valuable, he had no objections.
Ara, who had been stuck on standby duty in Gilm for some time now, fixed Rei with a gaze that was equal parts envious and resentful. Rei pretended not to notice and answered Elena's question instead.
"Honestly, I'd like to participate in the Gamelion hunt, so I'm tempted to agree with Marina and say winter. But it sounds like this dungeon started spreading rapidly not long ago. Leaving the people of Golts to sit with that anxiety... doesn't sit right with me."
He took a bite of the seafood pizza made from fish caught at the sea—though rather than shrimp or crab, most of the toppings were fish meat—then spoke again.
"Besides, this request isn't a nomination request. In other words, adventurers other than us could attempt the dungeon if they wanted to challenge it. ...Well, there are questions like whether they could even get inside safely, and if they did, how much gear they'd be able to carry in."
As he savored the way the sauce—its acidity and sweetness reminiscent of tomato—elevated the white fish to an entirely new level, Rei conveyed this.
In truth, as Worker had noted, this request wasn't something only Rei could absolutely handle.
The average adventurer certainly couldn't—and Rei had never been to the town of Golts, but according to Worker, adventurers out in the countryside probably couldn't even enter the dungeon.
For those with a certain kind of special skill, however—cliff-descending techniques and the like—entering the dungeon was feasible.
What's more, high-rank adventurers and alias holders often possessed abilities that made them seem as though they'd half-abandoned their humanity.
Given that, such individuals would likely be capable of reaching the dungeon entrance on the cliff face.
Above all, the probability that this was indeed a dungeon was extremely high.
If it truly was a dungeon, the various resources within would naturally belong to whoever delved inside.
Once word got out, there was no doubt that a great number of people would flock to Golts chasing the promise of wealth.
"For all those reasons, I'd like to head to the Golts dungeon as early as possible. Does anyone know what kind of town Golts is or where it's located?"
"I do."
"I know as well."
Marina and Elena each answered Rei's question.
In contrast to the two of them, Vihera, who hailed from the Bestia Empire, and Byune, who was poor at communicating with people, both shook their heads.
"How far is it from here?"
"Hmm... let's see. It's definitely quite a distance. But I do have some good news on that front."
At Marina's words and her smile, Rei prompted her with a glance to continue. She then formed a smile different from the one seconds before—one carrying something deeper—and spoke.
"The noble whose territory surrounds the area where Golts is located is a member of the Neutral Faction. So running this through Daskar shouldn't be particularly difficult."
"That's genuinely helpful."
Rei was well aware that he and his party had become a considerable fighting force in Gilm's expansion construction.
Under those circumstances—and especially given that they had only recently returned from a seaside vacation—requesting another long-term deployment elsewhere would likely be a burden on Daskar. He had expected as much.
Of course, Rei and his party took on the expansion construction work day by day through individual requests, so they weren't bound to Gilm.
But even knowing that, the abilities Rei's party possessed were something Gilm—mid-expansion—would want to keep if at all possible.
If Golts fell within the territory of a Neutral Faction noble, however—in other words, a comrade of Daskar's—then the picture changed.
The Neutral Faction was called one of the Three Great Factions, but its power was smaller compared to the other two: the King's Faction and the Noble's Faction.
Recently, thanks to Rei's efforts, they had expanded their influence and their relationship with the Noble's Faction had grown more friendly... but even so, they remained the weakest faction.
Though that was only within the context of the Three Great Factions. To nobles who didn't even belong to any of the three, the Neutral Faction was a sufficiently powerful force.
In any case, being the weakest among the Three Great Factions... or perhaps precisely because of that, the solidarity among nobles belonging to the Neutral Faction was strong.
This was likely a reflection of Daskar's own personality as the one leading the Neutral Faction.
For those reasons, Rei didn't think Daskar would object when told that a dungeon had been found in a Neutral Faction noble's territory, that people there were worried, and that Rei intended to conquer it.
"Then I'll go speak with Daskar tomorrow. Departure the day after. ...How's that?"
No one voiced any objection to Marina's words.
If they pushed themselves, they could depart tomorrow, but when it came to conquering a dungeon, there was no telling exactly how much time it would require.
Given that, informing Daskar and having others take over the work Rei and his party had been doing was absolutely necessary.
For Rei in particular, since he would have to transport felled trees without the Misty Ring, a replacement had to be arranged.
(Though I have a feeling quite a lot will have piled up by the time I get back.)
Even dozens of trees at once—even over a hundred—Rei could transport with the Misty Ring.
By comparison, hauling felled trees by carriage required considerable labor.
And the number of trees a single carriage could carry at once wasn't all that many.
Given those realities, there was no doubt that untransported timber would pile up in the Treant Forest.
And so, having settled on departing for the dungeon in two days, Rei and his party continued their pleasant dinner.
The next day, Rei was hauling timber from the Treant Forest as usual when...
"Ahhhhh! Please, Rei-san! Stay in Gilm just a little longer! At least until my assignment in the Treant Forest is over!"
One of the adventurers made that plea to him.
This adventurer had signed a fairly long-term contract to work in the Treant Forest, and once Rei was gone, he would naturally have to handle transporting the felled trees himself.
Simply serving as a guard was one thing, but loading felled timber onto a carriage required considerable physical strength.
Moreover, after hauling it to Gilm, there was also the work of unloading the trees and stacking them properly in the designated location.
It was undoubtedly backbreaking work.
A job where the fatigue and difficulty swung dramatically depending on whether Rei was there or not. That was what working in the Treant Forest meant.
To that plea, though, Rei shook his head.
"Sorry, but I've got business to attend to. Besides, this isn't something I can decide on my own—it's a party decision."
"Ah... right. Hmm, well, the contract isn't for that much longer, so I'll just have to push through."
As the adventurer talking with Rei said that with visible disappointment, a female adventurer keeping watch from a distance smiled and spoke up.
"Lucky me—my Treant Forest assignment ends today. ...Hey, Rei-kun. I heard it's almost the season when monsters called Gamelion start showing up. Is that true?"
This female adventurer had initially spoken to Rei in a polite tone, but after working in the same place day after day and exchanging conversation, her manner had grown casual.
Whether that meant Rei came across as approachable or was simply being taken lightly... was a subtle question.
Not that Rei particularly preferred being treated with reverence, if asked.
If they were only crossing paths occasionally, it would be one thing, but since they were both assigned to the Treant Forest, they met face-to-face nearly every day.
Having someone adopt a stiff, formal attitude every single time they saw each other would be out of place—and more importantly, nothing but a nuisance.
That was precisely why Rei responded to the female adventurer just as casually.
"It's true, but Gamelion are ferocious monsters. Their combat power is solidly C-rank. If you think you can handle them on a whim and jump in carelessly, you'll end up hurting badly. ...That said, there's no doubt the payout is good."
"Hmm... if even Rei-kun says they're tough, that gives me pause."
This female adventurer didn't, under normal circumstances, possess enough strength to operate in Gilm.
Precisely for that reason, she was able to take Rei's words to heart.
Because she could assess her own abilities objectively, she was able to properly prioritize safety.
If she had valued money over her own well-being, she would have dismissed Rei's warning and set out to hunt Gamelion.
Of course, she may have been saying that now, but whether she could truly grasp the reality and act accordingly was up to her.
(There's always the option of teaming up with someone stronger... but that carries its own kind of risk.)
Teaming up with a stranger to take down profitable monsters.
Naturally, disputes over the spoils wouldn't be surprising.
And for a female adventurer whose skills were clearly inferior, her share would inevitably shrink.
No—compared to what could happen, that would be the better outcome. In the worst case, it could escalate into a fight to the death.
If it came to that, the woman standing before Rei would have no way of coping... and would almost certainly end up dead.
Weighing all of that, Rei's opinion was firm: she should stay away from the Gamelion hunt.
After all, the expansion construction had left Gilm with more work than hands to do it.
As long as no one was struggling to find employment, acting out of greed carried a high chance of proving fatal—and of that, there was no doubt.