When Rei dropped off the felled timber and headed for the Guild, he found five men lying unconscious on the floor.
If that had been the extent of it, Rei wouldn't have thought much of it. In Gilm, this sort of thing was commonplace.
But with Marina, Vihera, and Byune standing right beside the fallen men, he couldn't exactly claim it had nothing to do with him.
Since his own companions had clearly been the ones to cause the commotion, he had no choice but to ask what had happened.
If anything, he was lucky — most of the adventurers in the Guild were shooting the unconscious men looks that said they'd brought it on themselves.
That alone told Rei more or less how the whole thing had started.
Anyone who had been in Gilm for a while knew about Marina, the former Guild Master — not to mention Vihera, who traveled with Rei and loved a good fight. There weren't many who hadn't heard of them.
But the Expansion Construction had drawn in a number of adventurers who, under normal circumstances, wouldn't have had what it took to operate in Gilm.
What's more, Rei's group had been away from Gilm a lot lately — off to Reblurina, the coast, a dungeon — so they were frequently absent.
For adventurers who'd arrived in Gilm during that absence, it wasn't surprising that some would try to approach Marina and Vihera, two strikingly beautiful women, and strike up a conversation.
Of course, if they had only tried to talk to Marina and the others, a simple refusal would have been the end of it.
The fact that things had escalated to this scene meant the men now unconscious on the floor had tried to force their advances.
That was Rei's guess, and he was confident it wasn't far off the mark.
And indeed...
"Those idiots really did something stupid."
The man who called out to Rei said it with a tone that confirmed his guess had been right.
Rei turned toward the voice and recognized the speaker.
"Brasso?"
"Yeah, been a while."
The one who offered that remark with a grin was a man even shorter than Rei — who was already below average height himself.
That said, the muscle packed onto his frame was visibly far greater than Rei's, and a long mustache hung from his upper lip.
In his hand was a massive hammer — the weapon known as the Earth-Shaker.
A member of the C-Rank party, the Crushing Warriors: Brasso the Dwarf.
He and Rei went back a fair way, having taken on requests together and dealt with merchants who'd been dazzled by Set and Rei's Magic Items.
Though he was a Dwarf, he had no talent as a blacksmith — and yet he harbored an extraordinary passion for the craft, a fact that had left a deep impression on Rei.
"Where's Phron?"
When Rei mentioned the name of Brasso's party comrade, Brasso gave a small shrug before answering.
"He's off at the Gamelion Hunt."
"You didn't go, Brasso?"
Rei didn't bother hiding his surprise.
In this season, the Gamelion Hunt in Gilm was a lucrative endeavor — whether for the meat itself or for selling the materials.
Given that, if his partner had gone, it wouldn't have been odd for Brasso to tag along.
"I've already bagged enough Gamelion to cover my winter funds with room to spare, so there's no need to push myself. Right now, I'd rather have a blacksmith teach me a thing or two."
"Huh. So the Gamelion Hunt is already winding down, then?"
"Aye, that it is. The peak season is definitely behind us."
"I see."
Rei murmured with a hint of disappointment at those words.
The peak season being over didn't mean the Gamelion had vanished entirely.
But it did mean that the distinctive fervor of the hunt — a period that bordered on a festival — had already passed.
If possible, he would have liked to experience that atmosphere with everyone. That was his honest feeling.
"So even though the peak's passed, why is Phron still out hunting?"
"That fool spent a bit too freely. If he doesn't earn what he can off Gamelion now, he might end up working through the winter."
Hearing the exasperation in Brasso's voice, Rei understood the situation.
The first adventurer who came to mind when Rei thought of money troubles was Mirene, who'd spent too much on offerings to Set — but he had no idea what had led Phron into similar straits.
He couldn't say he wasn't curious, but hearing the details here and risking getting tangled up in some odd mess was something he'd rather avoid.
Then again — the peak had passed, but the Gamelion Hunt wasn't completely over, and Rei still intended to go.
Which meant there was a decent chance he'd run into Phron out there.
(Yeah... but I hear the Expansion Construction has started falling behind while we were away. It might not be urgent yet, but I'd like to do something about that if I can.)
To Rei, who considered Gilm his home in this world, watching the town expand through the construction was most welcome.
But it was equally true that the work had drawn in some unsavory sorts.
Even so, helping with the Expansion Construction wasn't much of a burden for Rei.
He was properly paid for the work, and more importantly, once the construction settled into its next phase, research would begin on converting the Sand Ship for ground use as a Land Ship — a prospect that promised significant benefits.
Following that train of thought, the Sand Ship brought back memories of the business in Reblurina.
More precisely, the former slaves who'd been making their way from Reblurina to Gilm.
(Come to think of it, autumn's getting well underway, and factoring in travel time, it's about when they could reasonably arrive. I should check in on them — if only to arrange resupplies.)
One way or another, Rei had no shortage of things to do, and precious little time to sit idle.
Not that he couldn't carve out free time if he pushed for it — but then the work he shirked would fall on someone else's shoulders.
As he turned these thoughts over, Marina, Vihera, and Byune approached.
"You know, normally it's the man who worries about the woman in a situation like this."
Marina's expression carried a trace of exasperation, but from Rei's perspective, there was absolutely no need for such a gesture.
If the men who'd approached them had been someone of Reliu's caliber, it might have been a different story. But even to Rei's eyes, they hadn't looked remotely threatening.
If anything, Byune alone probably could have handled them.
Which meant the ones who truly deserved sympathy were the men on the receiving end — that was Rei's honest take.
Naturally, saying that out loud would only invite a barrage of commentary, so he kept his mouth shut.
"Right. I suppose I should have shown a little concern."
"A little? You should have shown a lot more concern. ...Well, fine. More importantly, I've finished reporting to Worker, so it's about time we headed out. Do you have any other business here?"
When Marina glanced toward Brasso and asked, Rei thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No — if you're done with Worker, I'm all set. Catch you later, Brasso."
"Aye. Will you be joining the Gamelion Hunt?"
"Maybe. I'd certainly like to."
"I see. Then make sure you don't end up like that fool."
Who Brasso meant by "that fool" was easy enough for Rei to guess.
But voicing it here would only lead to complications later, so he settled for a simple nod in Brasso's direction.
"Alright then — shall we head to my place? Or do you want to stop by the Wheat Inn first, since it's getting on toward dusk?"
"The Wheat Inn, I think. We still have the room, so I'd better let them know we're back. After that, we can go to your house."
Their immediate plans settled in that brief exchange, Rei and his group turned to leave the Guild...
"Rei-kun! You finally come to the Guild and you're not even going to say hello before leaving—"
That voice floated over from behind. Rei knew its owner well enough to recognize it immediately.
"Sorry, Kenny. I've got a lot on my plate right now, so we'll catch up in detail later."
Calling back toward the counter, Rei stepped out of the Guild.
"Ughhh, today was supposed to be my day off! If it had been, maybe I could've gone out for a meal with Rei-kun! Stupid Lenora!"
"Calm down. It's not like Lenora asked the Guild Master to assign her extra work — she was given it. Besides, Gilm's swamped with the Expansion Construction and the Gamelion situation right now, so some things just can't be helped."
The voice that addressed Kenny — who was grumbling even as her hands never stopped processing paperwork — belonged not to her usual partner Lenora, but to another receptionist.
Lenora was out of the Guild today, having been pulled for an assignment by Worker.
In her place, Kenny had been tapped to cover the counter.
If Lenora had just been doing her normal work...
Even understanding it couldn't be helped, it was hard not to feel resentful.
But as the other receptionist had said, Gilm was genuinely swamped at the moment.
Beyond the Expansion Construction and the Gamelion season, the looming approach of winter had merchants flooding in on top of an already crowded town.
With that many extra people pouring in, problems were inevitable.
Adventurers were sometimes roped into dealing with them, and in certain cases, the Guild received formal requests to resolve disputes.
The documents Kenny was currently processing fell into that category — a conflict between two merchants, to be settled by each side hiring Gilm adventurers for a duel, with the stipulation that neither side was to kill the other.
"Still... I wanted to go out to eat with Rei-kun. And I wanted to hear about the dungeon, too..."
Complaints aside, Kenny's hands never paused in sorting the paperwork.
That, if nothing else, was proof of her competence.
The other receptionists were well aware of it. And yet, the sight of her grumbling while processing documents still carried a certain undeniable strangeness.
Nor was the receptionist the only one watching Kenny.
The adventurers in the Guild could see her just as clearly...
"Kenny-chan really is a great catch... Damn it, that bastard Rei gets to surround himself with nothing but beautiful women..."
"Tell me about it. Jealous. Envious. Resentful."
"Hey, instead of whining about it here, why don't you try getting stronger like Rei? Maybe then a beauty like Kenny would actually give you the time of day."
"...You do realize what you're saying, right? You know how strong Rei is? Sure, if you had that kind of strength, women would flock to you. No argument there. But do you honestly think the kind of power it takes to become an Alias Holder is something you can just wish into existence?"
"Unbelievable. You're giving up before you even try? And then you just stand here gawking at Rei from a distance and complaining? At least have the guts to say you'll beat him."
"Grr..."
Beating Rei — honestly, even the woman who'd said it didn't believe it was possible.
But she wanted them to show at least that much fight. That, at least, was the honest feeling of a party member who'd fought alongside them.
"Sigh... Being strong doesn't automatically make women fall for you, but when push comes to shove, a weakling is a dealbreaker. Sure, there are women out there who want to protect a weaker partner, but... I'm definitely not one of them."
"Th-that's not what I was talking about! I was saying—"
"Yes, yes, I know. You're talking about Kenny. But knowing her personality, I don't think your type is what she'd go for."
At their comrade's words, the men collectively fell silent.