"So? What exactly are we doing from tomorrow onward?"
At night, beneath a moon so round and large it could easily be called a full moon asserting its presence, Rei and the others were eating in the courtyard of Marina's house as usual.
Inside the Magic Item oven Rei had produced, a block of meat was currently roasting.
Naturally, there were many other dishes as well, and the table was lined with food Rei had bought from various shops, all freshly made.
Granted, those dishes were replacements for the amount consumed during the Dungeon incident this time around.
...Many shops screamed at having large quantities of food bought out from under them by Rei, but if anything, those were screams of joy.
After all, because Rei bought their food, today's sales had doubled—or even if not quite doubled, it was clearly evident they had increased.
And indeed, when Rei asked them to sell him food, no shop refused. They gladly sold it to him.
For those who served food, such as cafeteria owners, Rei's existence was something to be deeply appreciated.
However, some shops had dishes that took time to prepare, and a few regretfully declined, saying that if they sold those to Rei, they would not be able to open shop that night.
Recalling the expression of the shop clerk who had looked truly disappointed, asking him to please give advance notice next time, Rei felt a pang of regret as well.
That thoroughly slow-simmered soup, where the initial ingredients had completely melted away and additional ingredients were added and simmered for eating, was a soup very much to Rei's liking.
"Tomorrow, huh. Honestly, there are a lot of things I should do and want to do. The Gamelion Hunt, helping with the expansion construction, the people from Reblurina heading toward Gilm... things like that."
"Among those, the Gamelion Hunt is simply something you want to do, so it should be last, shouldn't it?"
"...I know that."
Rei nodded, looking slightly dissatisfied at Marina's words.
Many people were currently heading toward the Gamelion Hunt, which was also one reason the expansion construction had begun to fall behind.
What made Rei groan the most was that among those who had come to Gilm for the expansion construction—even those whose abilities would normally make it impossible for them to come to Gilm—were participating in the Gamelion Hunt.
And as was to be expected, casualties and fatalities were occurring one after another, resulting in further delays to the expansion construction.
That said, Rei could somewhat understand the feelings of those participating in the Gamelion Hunt.
Gamelion meat was exquisite in taste even as food, and selling it to the Guild would fetch a fairly high price.
Those confident in their negotiation skills could take it to other shops themselves instead of the Guild and get an even better price.
Compared to doing regular expansion construction work, the reward was on an entirely different level.
Of course, the reason the reward was so high was because it carried the inherent danger of fighting the vicious monster known as Gamelion.
But for those who had come to Gilm to do expansion construction, they had naturally come to earn money.
When a method to earn more money in a shorter time presented itself... cautious people aside, those struggling with money for some reason, those who wanted to earn quickly, and the fearless—it was only natural that such people would drift toward the Gamelion Hunt.
Since the consequences fell on others, it was certainly not very pleasant for those trying to advance the expansion construction.
However, even among those currently in Gilm for the expansion construction work, that was not the only thing they could do.
As adventurers had the freedom to choose their requests, if someone declared they were going on the Gamelion Hunt, no one could stop them.
Of course, taking a Gamelion Hunt request had rank-based restrictions... but if they headed out to hunt Gamelion without accepting a request, there was nothing the Guild could do about it.
"For now, how about helping with the expansion construction tomorrow, and then checking on Sura's group the day after? They should be getting quite close by now, right?"
Vihera suggested while enjoying a soup made with Gamelion meat. Rei thought for a moment, then nodded.
"You're right. I think that's best. ...Ideally, after checking on Sura's group and returning to Gilm, it would be nice if the Gamelion were still around."
"Regarding that, there's honestly nothing we can do. We can't keep track of when the Gamelion will disappear from here. Plus, even when they do leave, it won't all be at once. Some might remain in this area."
"...So I can only pray that the Gamelion disappear even slightly later, or that as many individuals as possible remain here even when that happens, huh."
Still, as he said that, there was hope in Rei's words.
In fact, for Rei, who had Set—a flying partner—he had the advantage of searching for Gamelion from the sky, putting him far ahead of other adventurers.
Rei had absolute confidence that even if the majority of Gamelion disappeared, if any individuals remained, he would be able to find them.
The only question was whether he could finish the work he needed to do before then.
"Hmm. Rei seems quite busy. ...Ara, what is our schedule?"
Elena asked while enjoying a Gamelion sauté. After swallowing the salad she had in her mouth, Ara spoke.
"Let's see. There are several requests for meetings with Lady Elena, but... most of them can be ignored."
"...When you say most, that means there are some we must meet."
"That is correct. Of course, if Lady Elena absolutely refuses..."
"No, I do not mind. My presence in Gilm is, after all, to serve as a deterrent against the Noble Faction doing anything foolish. If meeting with those individuals ensures the expansion construction in Gilm proceeds without issue, I have no intention of refusing."
Ara nodded in response to Elena's words.
"Understood. I will make preparations accordingly."
"Umu."
It was a brief exchange, but that alone decided Elena's schedule from tomorrow onward.
Vihera, who had been watching the exchange, looked at Byune eating a sandwich made with Gamelion meat and spoke.
"In that case, we'll be doing town patrol after all, I suppose. With the merchants flooding in, security feels worse than before."
"Merchants... or rather, the escorts the merchants bring along, to be precise?"
"Yes. I understand that adventurers tend to be hot-headed... but with their numbers having increased, I've seen several scuffles. The guards and adventurers assigned to maintain public order were dealing with them, but..."
She trailed off, likely because those people's hands could not fully keep up.
For Vihera, security work was something close to her old territory—perhaps calling it that was an exaggeration, but she felt something akin to it.
That was precisely why the current situation, where they could not fully handle the work, was likely unpalatable to her.
In fact, when Vihera had been doing that job before, there were a few instances early on where adventurers who did not know her tried to pick fights based on her appearance and attire... but as word spread of what happened to such people, those who would dare defy Vihera decreased at an accelerating rate.
Moreover, Vihera—including her handling of the Byune Incident—was fundamentally good at looking after people.
Because of that, there were many who admired Vihera regardless of romantic feelings or carnal desire.
For Vihera, knowing that such people could not do their jobs adequately was probably not very pleasant.
"Well... that's an adverse effect of more adventurers coming in because the merchants increased, so maybe you should go easy on them?"
"...Lodging shortages are becoming an issue too, after all," Marina added.
At Marina's words, everyone nodded in understanding.
Even before the merchants arrived, inns had already become insufficient due to the people gathered for the expansion construction.
When inns ran desperately short, temporary buildings for rough sleeping were hastily constructed near the work sites... and even that could not fully resolve the lodging shortage.
In such a situation, having merchants arrive with their escorts on top of everything naturally meant a lodging shortage was inevitable.
It was a silver lining that many of those merchants already had deep ties with Gilm, and a fair number of them had entered Gilm anticipating they could turn a profit from the expansion construction.
...Among the more resourceful Gilm residents, some hosted acquaintances at their homes for slightly cheaper than inn prices, but that arrangement had also led to crimes occurring.
"We just got back to Gilm, but it looks like things will be busy again from tomorrow."
"It's supposed to be a cause for celebration, but... you know."
Marina murmured with a hint of melancholy.
Rei was not the only one who found that strange. The others were also looking at Marina with puzzled gazes.
Perhaps noticing their stares, Marina shook her head as if to say it was nothing.
Of course, after putting on such an obvious display, no one actually believed it was nothing.
"We're comrades, so don't hold back. ...Well, if it's something you can't say to a man, I won't press you."
Perhaps something in Rei's words resonated with her, for Marina eventually let out a small sigh and spoke.
"Actually, it seems like various problems will arise during the winter."
"...Specifically?"
"To put it broadly... yes. I suppose you could say it's related to Gilm's expansion construction."
Hearing Marina's words, Elena sharpened her gaze slightly.
"Marina, could it be... the Noble Faction is involved in this?"
The reason Elena thought of that first was surely because the Noble Faction had been interfering with Gilm's expansion construction all along.
From Marina's words, perhaps the Noble Faction was making some kind of bizarre move again, and that had caused problems.
That was what Elena thought as she asked.
If it were truly as she suspected, it would mean that Elena's face—having come to Gilm representing the Noble Faction—had been slapped.
Given that, she would not hesitate to draw Mirage.
That was what Elena thought, but...
"Ah, it's not about the Noble Faction doing anything of the sort."
At Marina's words, Elena relaxed and softened her sharp gaze.
Beside Marina, Ara was similarly relieved.
If the Noble Faction had actually made some kind of move, Ara had been thinking she would handle it herself before Marina could do anything.
...Ara's Herculean Strength was enough to easily beat a person to death.
Given that, in this case, it should be said that unnecessary lives had been spared.
"So? Then what's causing the problem?"
"Simply put, the problem is that more people are staying in Gilm than Daskar and Worker expected. ...Well, when you think about it, people come to Gilm to earn money. Even with snow falling, there's work, and it's not that dangerous, so for those who want to earn, there's no need to go home. ...Of course, not everyone stays; those who've earned enough have already left Gilm."
"And the number of those leaving is smaller than expected?"
"Right. ...If this were spring or summer, or at least autumn, it would be one thing, but it's winter with snow falling, you know? If inns recklessly run short, people could freeze to death... and figuring out what to do about that is the problem."
With a sigh, Marina lifted salad to her mouth. Vihera tilted her head.
"But we did build temporary lodging, right? Is that still not enough?"
"Temporary is just temporary. Cold drafts get in, and depending on the situation, snow too. Plus, there's no heating equipment."
"I see. In that case... it certainly would be harsh. We can't exactly build inns at this point, can we..."
"In the worst case, we'll likely have to open the Guild's warehouses. That would be more comfortable than the temporary sheds, at least."
"Even so, wouldn't it be hard to endure the cold?"
"Regarding that, they'd probably need to accept a Guild request and buy some kind of heating equipment or something. If several people pool their money, they should be able to afford that much. ...By the way, we're also considering charging lodging fees for the warehouses, though quite cheap."
"Really? If it comes to that, I think they might as well make it free."
"...If they did that, people who don't work would just squat in the warehouses permanently."
At Marina's words, everyone nodded in understanding.