A few days had passed since Rei's Gamelion Hunt. On that day, Daskar was present near the Main Gate of Gilm.
Naturally, Daskar was not the only one there.
Some served as his escorts, while others acted as his adjutants.
It went without saying, but standing around like that drew attention.
As the lord of Gilm, Daskar was recognized by many.
Among those who had come for the Expansion Construction, a few did not know his face—but once told by those around them, they quickly realized who he was, and were surprised in turn.
Perhaps someone important was arriving?
With such a large-scale construction project underway, it would not have been unusual for a person of significance to show up.
...In that sense, Elena, the Princess General, was undoubtedly an important figure herself.
"Excuse me. Is Lord Daskar deliberately waiting outside the city?"
A merchant about to enter Gilm spotted a guard he happened to know and called out to him.
The guard glanced around at the merchant's words.
Perhaps because a fair number of people had gathered, no one seemed to be paying any attention to him conversing with the merchant.
Sensing this, the merchant seized the moment and pressed the guard, who was still hesitating over whether it was all right to say anything.
"I'll treat you to Gamelion skewers at the Sudras Inn tonight."
"...Ahem. It can't be helped. If you're going to go that far, I suppose I'll tell you."
The Sudras Inn was a hidden gem known to those in the know, famous for its meat dishes—particularly the ones that paired well with alcohol.
Being treated to Gamelion skewers there, at the height of their season—though technically the season was already winding down—was more than enough compensation for a guard.
Naturally, other guards who overheard the exchange cast exasperated looks at their colleague.
None of them reprimanded him, however.
Had he been about to leak some classified secret, his fellow guards would certainly have stopped him. But today's matter was not something that needed to be kept strictly hidden.
If anything, spreading the word would be more effective. Throughout the city, individuals hired by Daskar's subordinates were already disseminating information about the people about to arrive.
So there was no problem at all with a guard mentioning it here.
In fact, once inside Gilm, that sort of information could be obtained freely without having to bribe anyone with Gamelion skewers.
In that sense, the merchant had clearly taken a loss—but the guard, who naturally knew this, said nothing.
After all, he would be eating Gamelion skewers at a restaurant known for its delicious food.
"Do you know of the nation of Reblurina?"
"Um... it's a vassal state of the Kingdom of Mireana, right? And a quite small one at that, even among vassal states."
The merchant answered as if trying to recall something, but the fact that he knew the name of the small nation of Reblurina was, in a way, unusual.
The guard who had asked the question showed a faint look of surprise at receiving such an immediate answer.
"Surprising. You know it well."
"Yes, well, my old man was apparently from a village near Reblurina."
"I see. To put it simply, refugees from Reblurina are coming to Gilm. He's here to receive them."
"...Refugees, you say? Lord Daskar went outside the city specifically for that?"
Even if they were not strictly refugees, many people came to Gilm seeking work.
That was especially true now, during the Expansion Construction.
So why would someone holding the high rank of Margrave step outside Gilm to welcome refugees? It was only natural for the merchant to harbor such a question.
But the guard simply smiled at the merchant's words.
Of course, if only a handful of refugees were arriving, there would be no need for Daskar, the lord of Gilm, to come out and greet them like this.
However... when nearly a thousand people were arriving, all riding in carriages, and on top of that, a group that had learned to at least handle bows during the journey from Reblurina to Gilm—that was a different matter entirely.
In truth, only a few could actually wield bows skillfully. It was more accurate to say that the majority demonstrated their considerable Combat Power simply by loosing vast quantities of arrows.
And above all... the one who had guided these people was Rei, someone Daskar could rely on tremendously.
Given that, there was no doubt the arriving refugees would become a formidable asset for Daskar as well.
There were many exceptions, such as Alias Holders and High-Rank Adventurers like Rei, but the fundamental truth that numbers meant power remained unchanged.
Since they were coming to Gilm of their own volition, bringing that much strength with them, there was no option for Daskar but to welcome them.
Naturally, not everyone who arrived would join the guards or the military—and Daskar would actually be troubled if they all did.
Still, having a certain percentage—people who were well-trained and could be called an immediate fighting force—bolster their Combat Power was the best possible outcome.
"They're here!"
Suddenly, a guard reputed for his sharp eyes shouted out.
At first, the others could not see anything, but after a moment, a few sharp-eyed individuals did... and then, lagging behind, the rest gradually noticed the massive fleet of carriages coming into view.
Naturally, a single highway could not possibly accommodate over a hundred carriages, and many of them were spilling off the road.
Daskar and his subordinates had heard the reports, but seeing over a hundred carriages with their own eyes still astonished them.
Of course, this was not the first time they had seen this many carriages in one place.
During the war with the Bestia Empire, a thousand... no, when everything was combined, it was not uncommon for more than ten thousand carriages to be in motion.
Even so, seeing it again with their own eyes stirred something within them.
"Rei."
"Yes?"
Daskar called out to Rei, who had been standing by nearby.
This whole matter had begun with Rei's actions.
Of course, the reason behind it—the order to retaliate against the organization that had meddled with Gilm—had come from Daskar himself, so in a way, it was only natural.
"Just to confirm—those carriages are the ones, correct?"
"That's right. ...Though frankly, if anyone other than Sura's group had arrived in Gilm with that many carriages, things would have gotten quite complicated."
Over a hundred carriages, appearing out of nowhere.
The mere existence of such a sight was bound to cause serious trouble, no matter how you looked at it.
Daskar surely understood Rei's thoughts as well, but it was only natural that he still wanted to say it aloud.
"Still..."
Daskar, who had been watching the approaching fleet of carriages, suddenly muttered.
"What is it?" Rei turned his gaze toward him, only to find an unexpectedly stern expression on Daskar's face.
Rei, fully expecting whatever Daskar said to come in a lighter tone, was slightly surprised by his appearance.
"Is something the matter? Is there something about that fleet... about Sura's group that concerns you?"
"No, it's the Zorgeh Merchant Guild. Even if they prepared carriages at every stop along the way, arranging that many would have required a significant sum. In other words, despite being a merchant guild from the small nation of Reblurina, the Zorgeh Merchant Guild had earned that much."
There was a bitter edge to Daskar's voice as he muttered.
Naturally. The profits the Zorgeh Merchant Guild had made in Reblurina were connected to the work Jaya had been doing—bringing women in by force, fitting them with Slave Collars, brainwashing them, and forcing them to work as prostitutes.
Whether they had been involved in the matter of using women as vessels to birth giants, Daskar did not know. He did not know, but...
"It seems the Zorgeh Merchant Guild was serious about relocating its base to Gilm."
"Huh? We discussed that before, didn't we? I also spoke with Gimekara of the Zorgeh Merchant Guild via the Paired Orbs."
"Yes. But they are merchants. It was possible that relocating to Gilm was a lie. ...No, even if establishing some kind of base was certain, I was considering the possibility that it was merely a front. But seeing this, I suppose they really were serious."
From Daskar's position, having more merchant guilds based in Gilm was a welcome development.
Especially now, with the Expansion Construction underway, his honest desire was to secure as many people as possible to live in the expanded areas.
Having a merchant guild with a certain degree of power come to them was not a bad thing for Daskar.
He understood that. But still, when it came to a guild with a checkered past like the Zorgeh Merchant Guild, it was hard to know whether to be pleased.
Moreover, Gimekara, who had been dispatched by the Zorgeh Merchant Guild, had told him during their Paired Orb conversation that he would do business with criminal organizations as well.
"That depends on your skill, Lord Daskar."
"Don't say it so lightly."
Though Daskar replied thus to Rei's words, he did not appear displeased.
In fact, how to handle the Zorgeh Merchant Guild truly rested on Daskar's judgment, so this was only natural.
As they spoke, the fleet of carriages continued to draw closer... and eventually, the lead carriage came to a stop near Daskar, Rei, and the others.
The other carriages followed suit, stopping one after another. Then, as if they had been timing it, the door of the lead carriage opened.
What emerged from it were the central figures who had led this fleet all the way here.
Sura, Sharia, Gimekara, and Rocks—the four of them.
Sharia, who was not fond of formal occasions, must have understood that it was necessary now.
Though she looked quite uncomfortable, the four of them nonetheless descended from the carriage, moved before Daskar, and dropped to one knee.
"Lord Daskar. We are grateful that you have accepted us. From this point forward, we intend to make Gilm our home and contribute to its development."
Speaking on behalf of the four, Sura made this declaration.
So in the end, it was Sura who ended up as the representative of this group.
Watching the four of them from near Daskar, Rei was satisfied with the expected outcome.
First, Rocks was originally an adventurer from Gilm, and he had taken on this escort duty as a job—though since he ultimately ended up dating Sura, it could no longer be called purely work.
Sharia was treated as Sura's subordinate—though in reality, they were friends.
Gimekara's main purpose was relocating the Zorgeh Merchant Guild's headquarters to Gilm; he was not the one leading this group.
As a result, Sura was the only one left.
Since she had originally led the Resistance, there was also no issue in that she was someone everyone could easily accept.
"You have traveled a long journey to reach Gilm. The wounds you carry must be deep. But I hope that life in Gilm will heal them, even if only a little."
Daskar's words as he addressed them displayed the commanding presence of a faction leader.
He did not normally adopt such an attitude intentionally, but Daskar was also the head of the Neutral Faction.
Given that, it was only natural that when he put his mind to it, he could comport himself accordingly.
"Thank you very much. We have no words sufficient to express our gratitude to you, Lord Daskar, and to all of your subordinates."
"Do not worry about it. You are all about to become the people of Gilm. That means you will become my family as well. If so, it is only natural that I should do everything in my power for my family."
Daskar's words contained some exaggeration, but they also held his true feelings.
Perhaps Sura understood this, for she trembled slightly as she looked down.
No, it was not just Sura. The others as well, though they may have had varying thoughts, trembled in much the same way.
For Rocks in particular, who had recently begun a relationship with Sura, Daskar's guarantee was more welcome than anything else.
"Come now, rise, rise. The formalities end here. It's about time we went inside. Sarajiros!"
At Daskar's call, a man who appeared to be a civil official, standing a short distance away, approached.
"This Sarajiros will look after you for a while. If there is anything you do not understand, ask him."
"I am Sarajiros. I will be taking care of everyone for the foreseeable future, so I ask for your kind cooperation."
The bow of the man, who appeared to be in his forties, was extremely refined, and Sura and the others, having raised their heads, found themselves inadvertently captivated by him.