"Delicious!"
Reliu savored the lunch placed before him with obvious relish.
Granted, the dish itself wasn't particularly extravagant — the kind of meal you could get at any ordinary diner in Gilm.
Reliu surely understood that too, but being able to eat warm, freshly made food in a place far from town was apparently a joy in itself.
"If you're an Alias Holder, Reliu, shouldn't you be able to afford a Magic Pouch or something? With that, you could carry proper food instead of rations like Dried Meat. ...Though even at best, you'd only get through lunch on your departure day, maybe dinner at the latest."
It was already autumn, but the days were still quite warm.
The fact that it was warm rather than hot was proof of the season's progression, but even so, the possibility of food spoiling couldn't be denied.
"I don't mind going out on requests, but not being able to eat Schmine's home cooking is the hard part."
His murmuring tone revealed just how deeply Reliu loved his wife.
Elena and the others, however, who had heard similar stories countless times in the Set Basket, wore expressions that said they'd already heard more than enough.
"Even when you're working through requests, just being able to eat good food gets you motivated, you know?"
"That's true, but if you're eating something that smells delicious in the middle of a forest, wouldn't you end up attracting monsters and the like?"
A scent that stimulates the appetite naturally draws not only adventurers but the animals and monsters of the forest — and in some cases, even Bandits and their ilk.
Reliu voiced this concern not because he might lose to such opponents, but simply because being attacked mid-meal was a tremendous nuisance.
After all, Reliu was an A-Rank adventurer bearing the alias Gale.
If some random monster came at him, someone of his caliber could dispatch it effortlessly.
Of course, the likely result would be his long-awaited meal spilled across the ground.
"Yeah. That might be true normally, but since we have Set with us, there's no need to worry about that."
"Gruu!"
Set, who had been chewing on a chunk of Lizardman meat, let out a cry as if to say "Leave it to me!" upon hearing his name.
As Reliu watched Set with an envious look, Rei continued, "Still, though..."
"Normally, nothing would dare approach if they sensed Set's presence. But there are some out there who can't even register what Set's presence means, so we can't let our guard down completely."
Among monsters, several species — Goblins included — would brazenly pick a fight even if the opponent was Set.
Once overwhelmed by Set's power, they would instantly flee.
Furthermore, when it came to Bandits, most were fundamentally people who couldn't even cut it as adventurers.
The relatively skilled Bandits operating around Sablusta were one thing, but those active in rural areas often lacked even the ability to gauge an opponent's strength.
Rei had experienced — more times than he could count — Bandits attacking without so much as noticing the presence of Gryphon Seto.
...Of course, Rei was called the Bandit Eater by Bandits precisely because hunting them was his hobby.
If the opponents were Bandits, Rei would be the one initiating the attack.
"So, how long specifically will it take to reach Golts?"
Vihera asked between spoonfuls of soup loaded with seafood, made from fish that Rei and the others had just caught at the coast.
It was soup they'd had the diner prepare using ingredients Rei's party supplied, but Vihera still looked slightly dissatisfied — likely because it fell short of the decadent seafood soup Bistol had made.
It was perfectly good soup by any normal standard, but having tasted something better, her grading had inevitably become harsher.
"Hmm, let's see. Given Set's speed, I'd say we'll arrive sometime around tomorrow morning to midday."
Marina answered Vihera's question so casually that Reliu's expression shifted.
He definitely wanted to reach Golts as quickly as possible and conquer what they believed to be a Dungeon — of that there was no doubt. But even so, the thought of arriving in Golts by tomorrow...
From what Reliu had heard from Worker, the journey to Golts shouldn't have been something that could be completed so quickly.
(Even setting aside the whole Alias Holder discussion, there's no competing once Set is in the picture. Plus Rei is an Item Box User on top of that.)
Of course, Reliu didn't harbor any particular grudge against Rei and his party.
Still, as an adventurer who had distinguished himself since his youth — and was still quite young even now — Reliu considered himself the senior.
That was precisely why, as a fellow adventurer, he had harbored a certain competitive spirit toward Rei and the members of the Crimson Lotus Wings... but he had now experienced their abilities firsthand and understood that they were extraordinary on multiple fronts.
Set's mobility. Rei's Item Box. Marina's Spirit Magic.
That many distinctive features came to mind off the top of his head, and naturally, their combat power — the one thing essential to any adventurer — was also exceptional.
"Come to think of it, it might be a bit late to ask, but do you operate solo, Reliu?"
Rei asked, masterfully ignoring the slight internal turmoil Reliu had just been wrestling with. Reliu nodded.
"Yeah, that's right. I'll sometimes tag along with a party on a temporary basis, but fundamentally I operate solo."
"...Well, for an Alias Holder, that's not unusual."
Marina, who had been listening to the exchange between Rei and Reliu, murmured briefly.
Adventurers typically formed parties to operate.
For high-Rank adventurers in particular, the requests they undertook were of correspondingly higher difficulty, and subjugation requests often meant facing High-Rank Monsters — something far from rare.
When fighting such creatures, having more combat power was undeniably better, making solo operation considerably disadvantageous.
But... even in such a disadvantageous situation, Alias Holder adventurers had no trouble at all.
In Elgin, where quality frequently surpassed quantity, Alias Holder adventurers stood as the very embodiment of that quality.
That was why no one raised an eyebrow upon hearing that Reliu was a solo adventurer.
Much less Marina, who as a former Guild Master naturally knew of Reliu and his alias Gale.
A fair amount of time had passed since Marina had handed the Guild Master position to Worker, so the possibility that he had since formed a party couldn't be entirely ruled out.
Naturally, even for an Alias Holder adventurer, teaming up was safer in many respects.
Elk — despite being an Alias Holder as the leader of the Axe of the Thunder God — proved this by partying with his own family.
...Of course, for those possessing the standout abilities of an Alias Holder, the simple reality was that there weren't many people worth partying up with.
Even in Elk's case, the party was clearly born of personal connection — his wife Min was an A-Rank mage adventurer, and the other party member was his son Rhodos.
"Well, yeah. In that sense, you Crimson Lotus Wings could be called a miraculous party — one formed by gathering individuals who each possess a certain level of strength. ...Plus, they're all beauties."
Reliu said this, but contrary to his tone, there was no trace of envy toward Rei in his demeanor.
As a devoted husband who had eyes only for his wife Schmine, he could acknowledge other women as beautiful without viewing them in that light.
(There's clearly someone weaker than the rest, but that's not really my place to comment on.)
Glancing at Byune, who was single-mindedly devouring her food, Reliu thought to himself.
Byune had grown considerably stronger compared to her time in Exil, but even so, within the Crimson Lotus Wings, her combat power inevitably fell short.
But Reliu had no intention of passing judgment on another party.
He understood from past experience that other people had their own circumstances, and prying into them could only lead to trouble down the line.
After that, nothing of note happened as they finished their meal...
"Well then, shall we have a little mock battle?"
After a short post-lunch break, Vihera announced this to Reliu.
At those words, Reliu's expression turned faintly reluctant.
Though this was his first time meeting Rei and the others face to face, he had naturally heard the rumors about them.
And among those rumors was the matter of just how much Vihera loved combat — especially fighting strong opponents — so Reliu had somewhat expected things to go this way.
The reason he didn't refuse was likely because, before challenging the Dungeon, they needed to understand each other's capabilities.
Rei and Elena had never seen how Reliu fought, and while Reliu knew of their strength through rumors, he had never witnessed it with his own eyes.
Only Marina, the former Guild Master, was familiar with both parties' fighting styles, but showing their combat directly was undeniably faster than having Marina explain everything.
And so, the post-meal exercise — an exercise perhaps a bit too intense to be called that — began.
"Just to be clear, no fatal blows, please."
"Right. Unfortunately, we'll have to settle for that."
At Vihera's words, delivered with what seemed like genuine — truly heartfelt — disappointment, Reliu cast a glance toward Rei, the party leader.
You're sure this is fine, right?
His gaze carried that unmistakable meaning, but Rei only offered a smile in return.
(Hey now, you're not thinking of killing me here because I seem suspicious... right?)
That was Reliu's idea of a joke, but looking at Vihera brimming with determination — or rather, with killing intent — he couldn't entirely convince himself it was only a joke.
Naturally, Rei and his party had no such intention whatsoever.
Reliu's sense of danger stemmed purely from Vihera's combative instinct — her drive to seek battle with strong opponents.
"Well then, shall we... begin?"
Vihera, who had been lightly tapping the ground with her Foot Guards, kicked off the earth while floating an alluring smile that reveled in the prospect of fighting a strong opponent.
Her speed was enough to make even Reliu — the bearer of the Gale alias — widen his eyes in surprise.
But being surprised by her speed didn't mean Reliu would meekly allow her attack to land.
He leaped backward to evade the fist stretching toward him, and the instant his feet hit the ground, he kicked off with momentum that rivaled Vihera's own.
As Vihera's figure — her fist having met empty air — closed the distance in the blink of an eye, Reliu swung his longsword, still sheathed in its scabbard.
The speed of that strike was so swift that an ordinary adventurer would have been struck without ever understanding what had happened.
But... Vihera could clearly see Reliu's attack, and she dodged it with nothing more than a slight shift of her body.
Not only that — she attempted to drive her clenched fist into Reliu's torso as a counter.
The fact that it was a fist rather than Magic Impact Palm — Vihera's secret technique that directly injected magical impact into the body — was likely a concession on her part, a consideration for Reliu.
Reliu was likewise keeping his longsword sheathed for a similar reason.
Reliu deflected the fist hurtling toward his solar plexus using the pommel of his sword.
The crack of Hand Gauntlets striking the pommel rang out through the surroundings, producing a sharp metallic clang.
As the impact echoed, Vihera and Reliu simultaneously put distance between each other.
Vihera smiled with delight at finding an opponent who could keep pace with her attacks... while Reliu wore an expression that begged to be spared from any more of this.
From his perspective, Vihera was absolutely not an opponent to let his guard down against.
He had known of her ability through rumors, but sparring like this — even without either going all out — had confirmed it beyond any doubt.
Now that he understood that, his honest feeling was that he wanted to stop fighting any further.
"Hey! You've gotten a pretty good idea of what I can do, haven't you!? In that case, I don't think there's any need to keep going — what do you say!"
At Reliu's shout, Marina looked toward the others, and after confirming their nods, she called the mock battle to a halt.
...Vihera, stopped at an unsatisfying midpoint, looked faintly displeased.