"All right, the Gamelion Hunt is still going on!"
The day after reuniting with Sura and the others, Rei's cheerful voice rang out across the Guild.
Seeing his reaction, Kenny, who had tipped him off that the hunt was still underway, offered a pleased smile.
"I'm glad you're happy, Rei-kun. But according to people familiar with the Gamelion Hunt, it'll probably wrap up in another five days—ten at most before the Gamelions are gone entirely. So their numbers should already be getting thin. ...Though honestly, I'm sure you could handle the hunt without any trouble even now."
While ordinary adventurers had to comb the ground on foot searching for Gamelions, Rei had a partner named Set.
With Set able to soar through the sky, spotting Gamelions was hardly a challenge.
...Though if they hid in copses or dense forest, they would certainly be harder to find.
"Got it. Then I'll head to the Gamelion Hunt right away. Honestly, I thought I might've missed the window."
Rei was genuinely delighted he could still participate. At the same time, with Sura's group set to reach Gilm in a few more days, the timing would likely work out perfectly for him to squeeze in the hunt.
Rei had initially worried that Sura's group alone would struggle with the Gamelion Hunt. But with Rocks joining them in earnest, that changed everything.
(Though I never expected Sura and Rocks to end up together.)
That revelation, shared inside a carriage the day before, had caught Rei completely off guard.
But come to think of it, they had spent a considerable amount of time together and survived all manner of hardships side by side.
Given that, it wasn't particularly strange for their relationship to develop the way it had.
There was a fair age gap between them, but nothing shockingly wide.
There may have been other candidates among the former Resistance men, but in the end, chance—or perhaps destiny—had made the call.
Either way, acquaintances becoming a couple was cause for celebration, and Rei had no complaints about the two of them getting together.
It was possible Sura had chosen Rocks as a lover out of pragmatism, eyeing their future life in Gilm—he couldn't entirely dismiss the thought—but from what he'd observed yesterday, they seemed to genuinely care for each other.
If that was the case, there was nothing for Rei to say on the matter. So as a congratulatory gift, he had handed over a few Yellow Birds.
"Rei-kun? Something on your mind?"
"Hm? Oh, just thinking about something. You've heard the talk about how the would-be immigrants from Reblurina will be arriving in Gilm soon, right?"
"I have. Sounds like a lot of people are swamped with preparations."
During the journey to Gilm, many had peeled off along the way—some heading for their hometowns, others finding work or romance.
Even so, nearly a thousand people still remained in Sura's group.
With that many people descending on the city, it was only natural for things to get busier during an already hectic season.
The Guild was naturally caught up in the rush too, but its staff members were a capable bunch.
Kenny handled her work with practiced efficiency, carving out time to chat with Rei like this.
"I see. Sorry for adding to the chaos."
"It's not like you're the one in charge of this whole operation, Rei-kun. Besides... once people hear the circumstances, I don't think anyone in Gilm would turn those folks away."
The full scope of everything that had happened in Reblurina—particularly the matters involving Giants—had not been disclosed. But the official account—that women had been forcibly taken from various nations and forced into prostitution using Slave Collars—had been shared.
That was why Kenny never hesitated when it came to helping those people.
Kenny in particular drew more than her fair share of lustful gazes thanks to her attractive appearance, so such matters were far from someone else's problem to her.
Sensing the quiet indignation in her words, Rei nodded.
"Glad to hear you say that. ...Well, those women aren't the type to sit around bewailing their fate. They were put through their paces on the way to Gilm. Just yesterday, they wiped out a bandit group near Sablusta."
"...That's quite resilient of them."
"Yeah. So whether it's as labor for the Expansion Construction or as adventurers, I expect they'll pull their weight."
"Is that so? Then I'll look forward to it. Though with your recommendation, Rei-kun, I doubt I need to worry."
"Appreciate it. Anyway, I'm off to the Gamelion Hunt."
"Okay. Be careful out there. If you're back early, want to share some Gamelion dishes together?"
Kenny invited Rei to a meal—but the very next moment, Lenora, who was sorting documents beside her, gave her a light rap on the head.
"Ow! Hey—what was that for, Lenora, all of a sudden?!"
"Listen, it's fine to chat with Rei-san, but you should probably get back to work soon."
Saying that, Lenora flicked her gaze toward something behind them.
Kenny followed that look almost reflexively—and found her superior wearing a broad, beaming smile.
...Except the eyes weren't smiling at all.
Caught full in the face of that silent glare—the kind that wordlessly said "if your own assignments are done, go help someone else finish theirs"—Kenny scrambled to accept the stack of documents Lenora thrust into her hands.
She would normally tease Lenora about her chest... but she understood with crystal clarity that pulling a stunt like that right now would guarantee a thunderbolt falling squarely on her head.
Sensing the precarious atmosphere, Rei judged that his continued presence would only make things worse and spoke up.
"Well, that's my cue. I'm off to the Gamelion Hunt."
"Ah..."
Kenny called out after him with undisguised regret as he waved over his shoulder and walked out the Guild doors. But a soft, pointed cough from Lenora sent her grudgingly back to work.
"Huh... sure enough, there are still quite a few folks out on the Gamelion Hunt."
"Guruuruururuu!"
Looking down from Set's back, Rei could make out several carts on the ground below.
Given a Gamelion's size, simply dragging one along by hand was out of the question.
With an ordinary monster, a hunter would just strip off the Subjugation Proof Parts, Magic Stone, and usable materials, leaving the carcass behind.
But with a Gamelion, the fur, claws, fangs, ears—virtually every part had value as material. There was almost nothing to discard.
Above all, the meat was delicious. The notion of abandoning the single heaviest portion at the site was simply unthinkable.
Hence the carts deployed to haul Gamelions back.
...If one were making the optimal call, dismantling a kill on the spot would make downstream processing far easier. But doing so out in the open beyond Gilm's walls was an invitation for some opportunistic monster to attack.
So the standard practice was to load a downed Gamelion onto a cart immediately and either haul it straight back to Gilm or, depending on the cart's capacity and the prey's size, head out for a few more.
"Guruu!"
Rei had been studying the carts below when Set suddenly rumbled in his throat.
Following Set's gaze, Rei spotted a band of adventurers fighting a Gamelion—no, being overrun by one.
Their coordination was clumsy, and their individual skills left much to be desired.
In short, these were likely adventurers who had come to Gilm for the Expansion Construction, teamed up with people they'd met on-site, and joined the more lucrative Gamelion Hunt—only to find they weren't strong enough to handle it.
What should I do? Rei hesitated for a moment, but something about them won him over: even while being steamrolled, they refused to abandon their fallen comrades.
Under normal circumstances, abandoning someone you'd only just met would be perfectly acceptable.
Of course, the assumption that they'd met in Gilm was pure conjecture on Rei's part; they could well have been old acquaintances.
But even so, refusing to leave a comrade behind and standing up to a foe clearly out of their league—that wasn't something just anyone could pull off, desperation or not.
And as luck would have it—good or bad—another Gamelion was lurking a short distance from the group struggling with the first, and it was bounding toward the battle.
(Well, hopping, I suppose. Rabbit and all.)
With that thought, Rei dropped straight off Set's back.
A hundred-meter plunge—but for Rei, that altitude was old hat by now.
Without a trace of hesitation, he called back to Set.
"Set, I'm going to help the adventurers under attack. You take out the Gamelion closing in from over there. And listen—don't you dare obliterate it with one overwhelming blow. That just means less to eat."
"Guruuruuruuruuu!"
Rei's words landed as the ultimate warning for Set.
Gamelion meat was one of Set's all-time favorites.
Naturally, the prospect of having less of it to eat was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.
Watching Set's reaction as he fell, Rei triggered his Sleipnir boots several times midair, bleeding off his descent.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The Gamelion roared and charged the spear-wielding adventurer. With his comrades down behind him, the man couldn't dodge; his only option was to somehow land a thrust against the creature.
...Right at that instant, as if stealing the beast's momentum, the ground between the Adventurer Man and the Gamelion split open in a clean slash.
"Huh?"
"GOAAAH?!"
A collective, dumbfounded sound escaped both the spearman and his companions.
From the Gamelion came a roar laced with raw frustration at being interrupted right when it was about to strike.
Different as the sentiments behind those sounds were, both sides froze for a few seconds—that much was certain.
And for Rei, plummeting from above, that split-second hesitation was all the opening he needed.
Tap.
He landed squarely on the slash mark his Flying Slash had carved into the earth.
"Huh?"
The same bewildered exclamation slipped from the Fleeing Adventurers again.
The last thing they'd expected was someone dropping out of the sky.
"All right. You looked like you were in trouble, so I stepped in. Do you want to keep at this one yourselves? Or will you let me take over? Fair warning—either way, the rights to this Gamelion go to me."
"Please—save us!"
The spearman shouted before Rei had even finished.
He was weighing the spoils of a successful hunt against his comrades' lives, and he chose the latter without a second thought.
If these were seasoned partners who'd fought together for years, such a call wouldn't raise eyebrows. Shared danger forged powerful bonds, after all.
But the group before him was, in all likelihood, composed mostly of people who'd met for the first time in Gilm and banded together for the hunt—or so Rei surmised.
Which made that split-second plea all the more admirable in his eyes.
"Leave it to me."
The words came out low and calm. Rei shifted into his familiar Twin Spear Style—Death Scythe in his right hand, the Twilight Spear in his left.
"Wait... a scythe and a spear... Crimson?!"
One of the Fleeing Adventurers stared at the unmistakable weapon in Rei's grip and shouted the name as recognition dawned.
The moment that single word—Crimson—registered, relief washed through every one of them from the depths of their hearts.
They were going to survive. Of that, they were now certain.
And truth be told, if even a tenth of the rumors about Rei were accurate, the idea of him losing to a Gamelion was simply absurd.
Facing off against the beast, Rei could read that atmosphere from the Fleeing Adventurers loud and clear.
(I'd rather they didn't let their guard down completely... but well, can't blame them.)
From what Rei could tell, they were D-Rank—maybe even E-Rank.
For people at that level, relief at being rescued naturally outweighed any desire to stick around and watch a fight.
"Right then. Looks like I'm your opponent now."
Rei murmured, eyes fixed on the Gamelion.
Under normal circumstances, a creature like this would never allow an opponent the luxury of idle chatter.
It should have leveraged its raw ferocity and lunged the instant it saw an opening.
The reason it hadn't... was precisely because this was a Gamelion possessed of uncommon savagery, and that savagery carried with it enough instinct to sense the danger radiating from Rei.
Not every Gamelion possessed such intuition—but this one's instincts were particularly sharp.
"Here I go."
Two words, low and clipped, and Rei surged forward.
That motion forced the Gamelion to move as well—and the instant the two crossed paths, Death Scythe took its head clean off.