The day after finishing the magic stone absorption through Beast Magic... the sky was covered with clouds unlike the previous day, but it still was not raining, and as a matter of course, the dissection of monsters continued near Golts just as it had yesterday.
Of course, the two Kelpies and the Argos Bear had already been dissected yesterday, so the only one remaining was the Garangiga.
...However, the Garangiga's dissection was extremely troublesome. The scales had been about eighty percent peeled off by yesterday, but the work of extracting the spikes from within the scales was only about thirty percent complete.
"Thank god it doesn't have a head. If it still had its head, dissecting this thing would've been way harder, you know?"
One of the adventurers dissecting the Garangiga muttered with an exasperated expression, but no one objected.
To begin with, this Garangiga the adventurers were dissecting possessed a size that was beyond comparison with an ordinary Garangiga.
And given that the head had a complex structure, trying to do something about it would naturally be far more difficult than other body parts.
If the head — that troublesome part to dissect — were the head of a monster as large as the one the adventurers were currently dissecting... there was no doubt it would make a significant difference in terms of labor.
"Yeah. If we were careless, it might not have finished today and we'd have been stuck doing this tomorrow too."
Another man working beside the one who had grumbled said this without looking particularly bothered.
In truth, this request — which provided a decent income just from dissecting monsters — was a very lucrative job for the man... and for the others as well.
Especially since the dungeon had been conquered, the guild had sent word that it was best not to approach that cliff for a while. Monster dissection, which allowed one to earn money easily — in this case, meaning without danger to one's life — was a welcome request for many.
There were some who, despite receiving the guild's notice, still headed toward the cliff where the dungeon was... or rather, had been. But at the very least, the people doing the dissection here had no intention of doing anything so foolish.
Of course, this request was not all easy work.
"Hey, over there. Talking is fine, but don't neglect your work."
A word of caution came from a guild staff member who was supervising the work.
That's right — with so many adventurers cooperating on the job, someone needed to manage them.
Moreover, since this Garangiga was judged to be an A-Rank equivalent monster, it would not be strange for someone to succumb to the temptation of making off with materials.
Fortunately, no such person had appeared so far, but if someone like that truly did emerge, the guild would lose face with Rei's party — who had conquered a dungeon near Golts that housed such a powerful boss monster, despite it being recognized as newly formed.
That was precisely why they had dispatched many guild staff members to supervise.
"I hear Rei-san will treat everyone to Orc meat if we finish today. So please work hard!"
At the guild staff member's words, the adventurers — whose motivation had slightly dwindled — happily returned to their work with renewed enthusiasm.
Orc meat was not particularly expensive, but it was extremely delicious for its price.
Being able to eat it without spending their own money was more than enough to fire up the adventurers.
...If this were Gilm, where many adventurers had surplus income, it would not have generated this much excitement.
Feeling slightly exasperated yet somehow charmed by these mercenary adventurers, the guild staff member focused on the job of supervising them.
"Hey, over there. Please be delicate when extracting the spikes. Pulling them out along with the surrounding meat will affect the quality of the materials."
Other guild staff members also checked on the nearby adventurers' progress while encouraging the dissection work.
"n!"
Byune let out a spirited exclamation by her standards and swung Hakumo, which was made from Silver Lion materials.
However, the strike — which would have been difficult for an ordinary adventurer to block — was dodged by Reliu with ease.
Seeing that, Byune's expression did not change, but her atmosphere grew slightly irritated.
About ten minutes had already passed since the combat training with Reliu began, yet Reliu still had not drawn his longsword from its sheath, continuing to evade Byune's attacks with footwork alone.
"You're good."
"Well, I am an alias holder. That power is... no offense, but it's impossible for someone at Byune's level to compete with."
Elena replied thus to Vihera, who muttered in admiration.
A vacant lot located slightly away from Golts.
Currently there were four people there — Byune and Reliu conducting a mock battle, and Elena and Vihera watching them.
Marina was not here because she was on a date with Rei in Golts, and Set and Ielo had gone off as they pleased.
The reason they were again split into two groups — three if Set and Ielo were counted — today was because Elena and Rei had gone on a date yesterday, so it had been decided that Marina would go on a date with Rei today.
And tomorrow, Vihera would go on a date with Rei, and they would depart Golts the day after.
Reliu had been dissatisfied with this decision by Rei's group — or more precisely, by Marina and Vihera, who wanted to date Rei — but he also understood that using the Set Basket to travel was the fastest way to return to Gilm.
Furthermore, Marina had told him: can you really choose a souvenir for your wife in just one day? Shouldn't spending more time selecting it be a form of love? Since Reliu knew nothing of compromise when it came to his wife, he had accepted that.
...Besides the souvenir matter, the fact that he could also think of it as still having time to spend with Set was undoubtedly a significant factor for Reliu.
For those reasons, Reliu had agreed to postpone the departure to the day after tomorrow.
Despite staying here on the pretext of carefully selecting souvenirs, he was actually spending the time doing mock battles with Byune.
Of course, it was also true that Reliu had a surprisingly caring personality despite his demeanor.
Given that a child like Byune was traveling with Rei's party, he genuinely felt that if mock battles with him could be of even slight help to her, it was worth doing.
"Look, you're too focused on attacking. Don't neglect your defense. Especially in Byune's case, since her body is small, taking a hit carelessly will send her flying!"
With those words, Reliu dodged Byune's strike... grabbed her wrist, and forcefully threw her.
Byune was thrown a great distance, but being a thief, her lightness of body surpassed that of an ordinary adventurer.
She twisted her body in midair and landed on both feet.
Of course, that was only possible because Reliu had intentionally thrown her in a way that gave her that much leeway.
If Reliu had truly intended to throw Byune, he would not have sent her flying so far — he would have slammed her directly into the ground.
Had he done so, Byune would have undoubtedly been incapacitated.
Whether she understood this, Byune slightly narrowed her eyes and turned to face Reliu with a frustrated demeanor.
In response, Reliu beckoned her to come at him.
It was an obvious provocation, but Byune deliberately rose to it, kicking off the ground and breaking into a run.
Reliu waited to receive her without any sign of tension.
While Byune and Reliu were conducting their combat training... Rei and Marina were on Golts's main street.
Of course, that main street was by no means as lively as Gilm's.
Golts was a relatively large town for the area, but in the end, it was still the countryside.
Compared to Gilm on the frontier, where many merchants and adventurers gathered, it was only natural that Golts would appear less vibrant.
Even in such a place, being able to enjoy a date to some extent was perhaps because they were still young — in appearance and spirit, at least.
"Rei, how is it? Does this suit me?"
What Marina showed him as she said this was a hair ornament.
It was not an ornament with particularly intricate carving, but the green hair ornament still complemented Marina's silver hair beautifully.
"Yeah, it suits you."
"Really? Hehe, then shall I buy this?"
As she said that, Marina tried to pay the shop clerk... but Rei grabbed Marina's shoulder and stopped her.
"Since it's a special occasion, I'll at least cover something like this. Not quite a... commemorative gift, but close."
"Oh my, is that so? Hehe, a present from Rei."
"My, my... What a very close couple. Just started dating?"
The female shop clerk, having received the money from Rei, smiled as she looked at Marina happily attaching the hair ornament.
Rei wearing a Dragon Robe aside, Marina the Dark Elf, with her strikingly alluring presence, possessed a beauty that was unforgettable at first sight.
That someone like Marina was in Golts naturally caused rumors to spread.
That such a person was among the members who had conquered the dungeon naturally spread as a rumor as well... and there was no way a woman working as a shop clerk would not know that.
The reason she did not mention it aloud was likely because she could see Marina was enjoying this date and did not want to intrude.
Marina also understood that she was being given a subtle consideration, and directed a grateful look toward the clerk.
The clerk also returned a knowing look toward Marina... and before Rei noticed, the silent exchange between the two women was complete, and they left the shop.
"Well then, where should we go next? I'd like to eat something sweet, though."
"Something sweet... I have a fairly good stock of fruits we gathered in the dungeon forest, but that's not what you mean, is it?"
"Hmm... then that will do. But let's go somewhere with fewer people."
She said this after a moment's thought because the gazes of many passersby were focused on Marina in her party dress.
The neckline was deeply open, revealing the deep valley between her twin peaks, and her back was exposed as well.
It was not something one would normally see in a place like this — a Dark Elf in a party dress — and the various stares from those around them were apparently getting on her nerves.
Normally, since she chose to dress this way of her own accord, the stares of others — particularly men — did not bother Marina at all. But right now was different.
Since she was on a date with Rei, she did not want the gazes of the unwashed masses directed at her.
"I can't really help it. I don't know Golts that well either... shall we just walk for now? Maybe we'll find a nice place along the way."
Marina immediately nodded at Rei's words.
Marina, too, was not particularly familiar with Golts.
...Of course, in Marina's case, she could use Wind Spirit Magic to quickly find a place with no people.
The reason she did not was simply because she genuinely wanted to walk through the town with Rei.
The two walked through the streets together, eventually arriving at a vacant lot.
It was not weather that could be called a clear autumn sky, with clouds covering the sky, but the children were still running around playing in the vacant lot.
Adults aside, children would not look at Marina with immodest gazes.
To harbor such feelings, they would need nearly another ten years of time.
However, while the boys did not feel that way, to the girls, Marina in her beautiful party dress must have appeared extremely attractive.
Several girls who had been playing in the vacant lot approached Marina.
"Hey, miss! What are those beautiful clothes!? Why are you wearing such pretty clothes? I want to wear them too!"
As if representing the five girls who had gathered, one girl said this.
The other girls did not say it aloud, but it was clear they had a strong interest in the party dress Marina was wearing.
To those girls, Marina smiled... not her usual smile that exuded feminine allure, but a smile like one looking at something endearing, and she spoke.
"Hehe, that's right. You might be able to wear clothes like this when you grow up? Though for that, you'll need to find a wonderful lover."
Saying that, Marina clung to Rei's arm as if showing off.
Seeing that sight, cheers erupted from the girls' mouths.
Even if small, girls were still girls.
Rei and Marina enjoyed a brief holiday together with those children.