"Gururururu!"
"Hm? Ah, that town? Good job finding it, Set."
At Rei's words, Set purred happily.
Even for Set, reaching the town where an Alchemist capable of brewing a special potion lived required several hours.
Considering Set's flight speed, Rei understood all too well just how far that town was from Golts.
"Still, I'm glad you answered my call right away, Set."
"Guruu? Gurururuu!"
Set tilted his head as if to say, "Really?"
In truth, less than a few minutes had passed since Rei had stepped out of Golts and called Set's name at the top of his lungs before the griffon appeared.
When Rei made a casual request, Set had no particular business to attend to, so they departed right then and there.
...Though Ielo, who had been playing with Set, seemed somewhat displeased. But once Vihera stroked it, the creature narrowed its eyes in pleasure and quickly forgot its irritation.
"Alright... let's see, could you land somewhere with no people around?"
Several people walking along the road were pointing at the sky—or more precisely, at Set flying through it—which caught Rei's eye.
If Set landed right next to their destination, the town of Saumis, an uproar was guaranteed to break out.
To avoid that, Rei decided they should land somewhere empty and walk the rest of the way to Saumis.
As if understanding Rei's reasoning, Set purred and touched down a short distance from the town.
With a Gryphon having landed near Saumis, the town's Guards naturally grew tense. They approached cautiously... if somewhat timidly.
But when the guards noticed someone accompanying the Gryphon and realized who it was, they let out cries of surprise.
"Excuse me, but are you by any chance Crimson Rei?!"
At the guard's call, Rei, walking alongside Set, nodded.
"That's right. I came to Saumis at the request of a Magic Item shop in Golts. I have business with an Alchemist here by the name of Wolk."
With that, Rei produced his Guild Card from the Misty Ring and showed it to the guards.
Of course, the fact that Set was beside Rei made his identity perfectly clear on its own.
As far as anyone currently knew, there was no one else besides Rei who kept a Gryphon as a Tamed Monster.
Even so, as a precaution, the guards confirmed the card and breathed visible sighs of relief.
"I've confirmed you're Rei himself, and I understand why you've come to Saumis. Wolk's workshop is in a somewhat hard-to-find location. Do you need a guide?"
"That'd be helpful. Having a guard with me means I won't have to deal with anyone trying to cause trouble."
In reality, with Set present, no one in their right mind would even think about causing trouble.
But there were plenty of people in the world who believed they could always get their way, and there was no guarantee such a person wasn't in this town.
If that were the case, having a guard accompany them would be immensely helpful in preventing any troublesome incidents down the line.
After completing the town entry procedures and receiving the Tamed Monster collar, Rei and Set entered Saumis alongside the guards.
(Inside... well, it's not much different from Golts. Or rather, it's slightly more prosperous and lively than Golts, maybe?)
Perhaps due to the preconceived notion that Alchemists capable of brewing special potions unavailable in Golts had gathered here, Saumis appeared slightly more prosperous in Rei's eyes.
Of course, the feeling that both towns fell far short of Gilm was partly simply because it was true—but it also had to do with the fact that Rei considered Gilm his true home.
Even as these thoughts crossed his mind, Rei and his group proceeded through the streets, drawing stares from the townspeople.
The reason the residents weren't causing a commotion despite Set's presence was thanks to the Tamed Monster collar... and more importantly, the fact that guards were walking with them.
If anything happened, the guards would handle it... probably.
In reality, ordinary guards wouldn't stand a chance against Set, but the townspeople believed otherwise and felt reassured.
Then again, unless something truly extraordinary occurred, Set wouldn't go on a rampage, so the residents' worries were hardly worth considering.
There was one regrettable thing, though...
(I come all the way to a new town, and I can't even sample any of the local specialties.)
That was right—the situation simply didn't allow for casual street food.
Since he'd never visited this town before, there might well be dishes and ingredients he'd be trying for the first time.
It would be a lie to say he hadn't harbored such expectations while flying through the sky with Set on their way here.
But given the current circumstances, stopping to buy something to eat was out of the question.
Above all, it was obvious that the stall owners and eatery proprietors would be too frightened to serve him properly.
"Well, can't be helped."
"What's wrong?"
The guard had apparently overheard Rei's mutter and asked.
Rei shook his head, indicating it was nothing.
"No, it's nothing. I just thought I wouldn't mind exploring a bit. But from the looks of it, that's not going to happen."
"Ah... yeah, I suppose so."
The guard glanced around at their surroundings and nodded in understanding.
The residents, suddenly confronted with the sight of a Gryphon, were casting wary looks at Set—and in some cases, at Rei as well, the one who had the creature under his command.
Since the guard had been acting alongside Rei and Set even for just a short while, he understood to some degree that Set followed Rei's instructions.
But there was no way he could tell this person and this creature to feel free to wander around.
Of course, since they had entered through proper procedures, the guards had no authority to obstruct Rei's group's movements.
Even so, Rei and his party chose not to act on such impulses, knowing that suddenly walking around with Set would startle innocent residents.
Naturally, if there was some reason—say, an emergency—Rei wouldn't hesitate to act.
But conversely, unless it was an emergency, he had no intention of doing anything like that.
Rei shook his head at the guard, who was looking at him with a somewhat apologetic expression, signaling not to worry.
"I'm not going to force anything. Once I've taken care of what I need to do, I'll head straight out of town, so don't worry about it."
"Really? Sorry about this. Still, if there's something you want, just say the word. If it's something I can manage, I'll do what I can."
"Yeah? Then it'd be a big help if you could buy me some of this town's local specialties later. I'll pay you back."
"...Huh?"
The words that came out of Rei's mouth were clearly the last thing the guard expected.
He stared at Rei with a look that said, "What on earth is this guy talking about?"
But one look at Rei's expression made it immediately obvious that this was no joke—he meant every word from the bottom of his heart.
The guard had braced himself to be asked for some kind of weapon or intelligence, but Rei had completely caught him off guard.
Of course, Rei hadn't said it with any ulterior motive; he had simply spoken his mind.
When Rei added, "So, I'm counting on you," the guard instinctively looked up at the sky.
The sky, still plenty bright, confirmed that what he'd heard was neither a dream nor a joke.
Since he'd be buying food while walking, there was a risk of bumping into passersby or objects, but being accustomed to patrolling the town as a guard, that wasn't an issue.
...The fact that the townspeople were keeping a wide berth from Rei and Set also helped considerably.
"Understood. While you're at Wolk's workshop, I'll pick something up. This town's local specialties, right?"
"Yeah. Do that for me. It's autumn, so there should be plenty of delicious ingredients around. This town's got its own specialties, right?"
It was a somewhat provocative remark, but it struck a chord with the guard—a native of this town who naturally took pride in his hometown.
Being told all that and having Saumis thought of as a place without good food didn't sit well with him at all.
"Alright then. I'll absolutely prepare something that'll surprise you. ...Ah, over there is Wolk's workshop."
They'd kept walking as they talked, so the destination—Wolk's workshop—eventually came into view.
It wasn't a particularly conspicuous building, and it didn't look like the kind of place where someone capable of brewing special potions would live.
(Well, considering the size of Saumis, maybe it's not strange for it to be this modest?)
The Alchemists' workshops Rei knew of weren't all that numerous.
Even thinking back on them, none had been particularly large.
Proceeding with such thoughts, they soon arrived.
"Sorry, but that Gryphon can't come inside. Wait out here for us, alright? ...You'll be fine, yeah?"
"Yeah, no problem. Right, Set?"
"Guruu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a cry that seemed to say "I'm fine!" and lay down a short distance away.
It settled in a spot that wouldn't obstruct anyone walking along the road in front of the workshop, and from the look of it, Set had no intention of getting in the way of passersby.
The guard was relieved to see this and followed Rei inside the workshop.
"Wolk, you in?"
"Hm? Oh, Welzas-san. What brings you here?"
Fortunately, Wolk was inside, sorting through some documents.
While that was presumably part of his work, he didn't seem particularly busy—which was a stroke of luck for the guard... Welzas.
"This man apparently has business with you. ...He's Crimson Rei. You've at least heard the name, right?"
"Huh? Crimson... you mean that Crimson? The one who supposedly burned the entire Bestia Imperial Army to the ground?"
"Just how exaggerated has the story gotten... What I burned was the vanguard unit, and I didn't burn every last one of them either."
Rumors had a tendency to balloon as they spread, but as far as Rei was concerned, this was hardly welcome.
He offered a correction to Wolk—the man in his early thirties standing before him—albeit in a casual tone...
"Whoa... I know rumors get blown out of proportion, but you actually did burn them. Come to think of it, I've heard that Crimson keeps a Gryphon as a Tamed Monster... Is that Gryphon not with you?"
Wolk fixed Rei with a gaze brimming with curiosity.
But that was only natural. For an Alchemist, a Gryphon—an A-Rank Monster—was nothing short of a dream trove of materials.
Recently, Gilm's expansion had drawn in large crowds, and a fair number of Alchemists were among them. That was undoubtedly because being in Gilm meant they might obtain Gryphon materials—and from a Rare Species, no less, the equivalent of an S-Rank Monster.
In fact, among the Alchemists in Gilm, there were some who had managed to acquire pieces of Set's materials... things like shed fur and feathers.
Given that, it was no surprise that people thinking, "I want some too!" would emerge.
"Set's napping outside. Getting him inside isn't impossible... but having him wait out there was the better call."
To carry the Magic Items produced in this workshop out through the door, the entrance naturally had to be larger than the items themselves.
In the worst case, breaking through a wall was an option, but that wasn't exactly something you could do on a regular basis.
As a countermeasure, the workshop doors were built suitably wide.
Wide enough that Set could fit through if he tried.
But judging by the townspeople's reactions, attempting something like that was out of the question.
Besides, even if he could squeeze inside, the space would undoubtedly be cramped for him.
Given all of that, having Set wait outside was clearly the best course of action.
...There was also no guarantee some fool wouldn't get ideas and try to start something with Rei, after all.
"I'm telling you up front—I didn't come here to talk about acquiring Set's materials or anything like that."
"Come to think of it, what business does someone as famous as you have with me?"
At those words, Rei handed over a letter he had withdrawn from the Misty Ring.
...As an Alchemist, Wolk was naturally intrigued by the Item Box, and his gaze was drawn to Rei's Misty Ring.
Even so, once the letter was placed in his hands, he read it through...
"Huh? If it's that potion, it should have been picked up ages ago..."
So he said.