While flying through the sky on Set's back, a town eventually came into view ahead.
It was Golts.
The town that Rei and the others had been heading for.
"It's smaller than I thought. ...Well, for a town in this area, it might actually be on the larger side."
Naturally, what Rei used as a point of comparison for Golts was Gilm.
...However, while both might be called towns, comparing the two was a mistake to begin with.
Gilm had always borne the name of a town, but in practice, it possessed a scale comparable to a city.
It had since grown too small, prompting expansion through additional construction to formally reach the scale of a city. Comparing such a place to a town out in the countryside was wrong no matter how one looked at it.
In any case, comparing the scale of the two wouldn't accomplish anything. If anything, the only benefit was being able to bask in a slight sense of superiority from using Gilm as their base.
"Looks like we made it just before noon."
So saying, Rei recalled the events of that morning.
They should have arrived earlier, by morning at the latest.
The biggest reason it had stretched closer to noon was the mock battle between Vihera and Reliu.
Of course, if it had been Rei or Elena, they could have provided enough combat to satisfy Vihera without question.
Even so, getting to fight a different opponent—one with commensurate strength—meant Vihera had become quite engrossed in the mock battle.
As a result, it took time before they could depart. Though they reached Golts in the morning, it was now nearly noon.
"Though people probably gather around the cliff at dawn, so arriving at this hour might have actually been a good thing."
Because the entrance to what was believed to be a dungeon had formed on the cliff face, there were many monsters that fell from there and plummeted to their deaths.
In other words, if one went to the cliff first thing in the morning, there would almost certainly be the corpses of monsters that had fallen during the night, allowing anyone to obtain materials, magic stones, and subjugation proof parts without any risk whatsoever.
Naturally, Rei could easily imagine adventurers seeking such bounty—and sometimes even non-adventurers—rushing to the cliff.
(It's not exactly zero risk, though.)
Even if a monster fell from the cliff and slammed into the ground, with luck it might survive.
If that happened, anyone who carelessly approached would be caught off guard and suffer significant casualties.
What's more, depending on the monster, it might land perfectly on the ground without a scratch and lie in ambush in the surroundings.
If someone cared only about not losing to the others and tried to secure a monster even a little faster, that would become a fatal opening.
Even so, adventurers operated on self-responsibility.
As such, it went without saying that if they were caught off guard by a monster, they had to deal with it themselves.
"Alright, Set. Let's head in for now."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a cry and flew toward Golts.
Thanks to the Set Basket's effect, it was difficult to spot Set from the ground.
Therefore, no one noticed Set approaching.
Of course, even if Set were flying through the sky, few people in this area bothered to keep watch on the air.
Flying monsters rarely showed themselves in this region, and there were no dragon knights or the like around here.
And so, when the sound of the Set Basket being lowered to the ground echoed through the area, the few passersby looked around with expressions of astonishment, wondering what had happened. Only then did they finally notice the Set Basket's presence.
And the next moment, Set—having set down the Set Basket—landed.
"Nnaah!?"
A merchant who had been right beside Set let out a cry of surprise and stood dumbfounded.
Naturally. Before they knew it, the Set Basket was suddenly there, and so was Set—a gryphon, an A-rank monster.
The reason the man didn't run was probably because Set had Rei mounted on his back.
After dismounting from Set, Rei glanced at Elena and the others climbing down from the Set Basket, then spoke to the fortysomething merchant who was staring at him in dumbfounded silence.
"Quick question—is that town Golts?"
"...Huh? Y-yes, it's Golts, but... who on earth are you..."
Who was he? The man probably wanted to ask, but whether from shock his mind wasn't working properly, he couldn't form the words.
If his mind had been functioning properly, he might have recalled that the person standing before him was Rei, Bearer of the Crimson Moniker.
While Rei was talking with the merchant, some people passing nearby approached to see what was happening.
If Rei and Set had started causing a commotion, those people would have fled immediately.
But seeing them carrying on a conversation like this, it was clear that neither Rei nor Set were dangerous.
In that case, it was only natural to grow curious about Rei, Set, the Set Basket, and the people who had climbed out of it. At the same time, Rei could see several guards from Golts approaching.
While those watching from a distance had their gazes stolen by the suddenly appeared gryphon... and the three extraordinarily beautiful women, the guards made their way to Rei's side.
"Who are you people?"
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been strange for them to ask in a forceful tone in order to intimidate a suspicious party.
But this time, the only thing that could be said was that they'd picked the wrong opponent.
With Set, Elena, and the others, it was obvious no matter how one looked at them that they were anything but ordinary.
...That was likely why their questioning carried a note of wary probing.
"I'm Rei. An adventurer. I heard there's a dungeon here."
Once he said that and showed his guild card, the guards understood what Rei and the others had come for.
They checked the rank written there, then looked at Rei's appearance once more, but eventually gave in to curiosity and spoke.
"So it really is a dungeon?"
Whether the man understood that Rei was... the adventurer with the alias of Crimson, Rei couldn't tell. But he was a little surprised that the man asked about the dungeon instead, and gave a nod in return.
"Yeah. Based on the information I've gathered, I'm fairly certain that's what it is. Of course, I don't have absolute confirmation, so I can't say for sure until I actually go inside."
"...I see."
It was a brief exchange, but the people who had overheard it—especially the merchant Rei had first spoken to—opened their eyes wide in evident surprise.
They had suspected that the place on the cliff was a dungeon.
But since no one had properly confirmed it, there had probably been some thought that it might be a monster's lair or something of the sort.
Of course, Rei wasn't the only one surprised by his words.
The others who had been listening to the exchange between Rei and the guards were also startled.
However, when Rei looked at the surrounding crowd, he understood that there were two kinds of surprise in their reactions—joy and sorrow—and found himself slightly puzzled.
"So, is it alright for us to enter Golts? I'd like to gather information at the guild and decide on an inn."
"Ah, yes. An adventurer like you is welcome here. But..."
Looking as though it was difficult to say, the guard turned his gaze toward Set.
...There, the scene that unfolded was Reliu—who had moved there at some point—petting Set.
"What about Set?"
"There's only one inn in Golts that can accommodate a tamed monster. That inn happens to be one of the more high-end inns in Golts, but... is that alright with you?"
To the guard's words, Rei immediately answered that it was no problem.
He fully understood that inns accepting tamed monsters like Set were not common, and an inn possessing such facilities naturally meant it was one that could afford that level of investment.
It was precisely the kind of inn where large-scale merchant caravans, mercenary companies, or even nobles visiting Golts might stay without seeming out of place. An inn like that would, of course, have high lodging rates.
When the guard asked again whether it was truly fine, Rei nodded without hesitation.
"Got it. Then let's get the procedures over with. If we stay here like this, people will just keep gathering endlessly."
At the guard's words, Rei—and the others—looked at the crowd gathered around them.
The number of people had definitely increased since earlier.
Near noon, the number of travelers on the main road was by no means large compared to morning or evening.
But even so, Golts was the most prosperous town in the vicinity, and a fair number of people were still heading toward it even during the daytime.
Rei and the others were used to drawing people's attention, but being accustomed to it didn't mean they didn't find it unpleasant.
Unwilling to become a spectacle any longer, Rei stored the Set Basket into the Misty Ring and immediately headed for Golts.
...There were quite a few people startled by the storage of the Set Basket, but to Rei, that was already a familiar reaction.
And so, alongside Elena and the others—who were drawing even more attention from the surrounding crowd than Rei himself—and Set, who had been fawned over by Reliu, Rei headed toward Golts, visible at a short distance away.
(That guy Reliu has stopped hiding how much he dotes on Set.)
From the corner of his eye, Rei watched Reliu walking beside Set with a happy smile and thought to himself.
At first, Reliu had tried to hide his affection for Set.
That was obvious if one considered how things were when Rei headed to the bandit hideout.
But after spending a certain amount of time traveling with Rei's group, Reliu now made no effort to conceal his love for Set.
(I wonder just how many people could look at Reliu right now and understand he's the man who holds the alias of Gale.)
Even as he watched Reliu petting Set, Rei and the others kept walking and eventually arrived at Golts.
Since they had already shown their guild cards and the like, the entry procedures for Golts did not take much time.
After asking the guard who had processed them for directions to their intended inn, Rei and the others headed there.
Fortunately, the inn was not far from the main gate.
High-end inns of this sort were often located near the main gate for easy access, or along the street used by the wealthy.
Of course, if it were an inn truly used by nobility—particularly high-ranking ones—the latter was far more common.
The inn where Rei's party would be staying was, in that sense, classified among the high-end inns, but it probably wasn't a truly high-end inn in the fullest sense.
As Rei's party walked along the main street of Golts, the townsfolk naturally directed various gazes at them—curiosity, admiration, jealousy, and awe.
Enduring those stares as they continued down the main street...
"Ah, isn't that it over there?"
Pulling Byune along by the hand—Byune having been gazing longingly at bread sold at a nearby stall—Vihera spoke.
Following Vihera's gaze, Rei saw a large building ahead with a sign reading Green Springside Pavilion, and nodded.
"Looks like we've arrived."
"Hmm... Green Springside Pavilion, huh. That name seems quite disproportionate to the actual scale of the inn."
At Marina's words, Rei and the others nodded in agreement.
When one heard "springside," what came to mind was a small stream in the mountains—something barely worthy of being called a river.
It might be different in reality, but at the very least, that was the image in Rei's mind.
That the others agreed meant it was easy to surmise they held similar impressions.
For an inn bearing the name "springside" to be quite this large was unusual.
Finding something off about it was not strange at all.
"Well, whatever the inn's name is, it doesn't matter. As long as we can stay comfortably, that's fine. As far as I know, there was even an inn called Goblin Innards Pavilion."
At the name that came out of Reliu's mouth, everyone... and even a passerby who happened to be walking nearby, scrunched up their faces in disgust.
Goblins were the quintessential example of foul-tasting meat. An inn bearing the name of their innards was, naturally, a name one would very much prefer to decline.
Reliu received reproachful stares, but he himself didn't seem particularly bothered as he walked into the inn.
Watching Reliu's retreating back with exasperated eyes, Rei and the others also entered the inn.
Thinking they should at least ask whether Set could be accommodated in the stables.