Once it was decided that Rei would travel to the Duke Kerebel's Territory with Elena, the appropriate preparations naturally had to be made.
The most important task was reporting to Daskar and the Guild.
Ordinarily, when an adventurer left a city for whatever reason, there was no need to file a formal report.
Rei, however, was deeply involved in Gilm's Expansion Construction and the Land Ship project, not to mention Sura's group's affairs.
For that reason, even though he normally wouldn't need to notify anyone, it was necessary to inform them in advance—lest they try to rely on him in an emergency, only to waste time discovering he wasn't even in Gilm.
And since they were heading to the Duke Kerebel's Territory, Elena and Ara were naturally present alongside Rei when they notified Daskar.
With Elena and Rei—both important figures to Daskar—coming to visit, Daskar would see them immediately unless he had an extremely urgent matter.
And so, as usual, Rei, Elena, and Ara sat facing Daskar in his office.
Set and Ielo, meanwhile, were playing together in the garden of the Lord's Manor.
"Hmm. I understand Lady Elena returning to the Duke Kerebel's Territory, but you as well, Rei?"
"Is there a problem? I don't think I have any particularly urgent business right now."
In response to Rei's question, Daskar took a sip of black tea while casually glancing at the documents on his desk.
Drawn by his gaze, Rei looked as well and noticed that the stack of paperwork had clearly diminished compared to before.
Granted, this was partly because Daskar had been working desperately to stay on top of it, but more than that, it was proof that the Expansion Construction was gradually winding down.
With winter approaching, the cold was inevitably intensifying, making outdoor work increasingly dangerous.
Even so, minimum construction continued for the sake of those seeking work... but regardless, the fact remained that fewer documents required his approval.
Perhaps noticing Rei's gaze, Daskar shook his head.
"The paperwork has nothing to do with it. It's just that you stand out in various ways, Rei. With you around, I figured there'd be fewer strange disturbances. Mind you, that's simply how I feel, so don't read too much into it. Besides, you'll be back in Gilm by spring at the latest, right?"
"That's the plan. Well, to be precise, after the New Year's party ends."
Daskar felt relieved at Rei's words.
Without Rei, it wasn't as though the Expansion Construction and other projects would grind to a complete halt, but his presence or absence still made a significant difference in efficiency.
Above all, Rei—with Set as his mode of transportation—could travel overwhelmingly faster than by horse on land, no matter the distance.
...Granted, he was slightly directionally challenged, so he might get lost. He attracted trouble, so he might get dragged into disputes. He might spot bandits and go hunting them. In other words, he never traveled in a straight line.
But even accounting for all that, Rei and Set's travel speed was exceptional.
When an urgent matter arose, having Rei present versus not made a tremendous difference.
It was regrettable that Rei would be away from Gilm until after the New Year, but it was far from unmanageable.
"Understood. I'd have preferred you stay, but you're not my subordinate. If you say you're going, I can't stop you. ...Lady Elena, Rei may cause you all sorts of trouble, but I leave him in your care."
"Indeed. I shall take charge of him. ...Though I have a feeling that a disturbance is all but guaranteed the moment I bring Rei back home."
"Can't argue with that."
Heh heh heh. Elena and Daskar looked at each other and exchanged smiles.
Rei wanted to protest, but he fully understood from all his interactions since becoming an adventurer that he had poor compatibility with ordinary—indeed, typical—nobles.
That was why, in the end, he could do nothing but fall silent and listen to their conversation.
Observing the three of them, Ara let out a quiet smile.
"Now then, I shall take my leave here. Rei, you should also have a word with Worker, shouldn't you? Besides, you have a zealous receptionist waiting for you."
Who Elena was referring to was obvious at a glance.
Rei understood this as well, and nodded without objection.
"Hmm, right. Even though I've gained some breathing room, I still have work to do."
Daskar eyed the stack of documents on his desk with a somewhat displeased expression.
Though it had decreased from before, Daskar had never been fond of paperwork to begin with.
Still, disliking the work and actually being suited for it were two different things, and whether it was fortunate or unfortunate for Daskar that he possessed enough ability to handle his duties as lord of Gilm adequately... was an open question.
Being a former knight, he was fundamentally more inclined toward physical activity, but the paperwork still had to be done properly.
Looking thoroughly annoyed... yet having sufficiently refreshed himself through the conversation with Rei, Elena, and Ara, he rose from the sofa and headed toward his desk—when he suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Lady Elena, just to confirm—you'll let me know before you leave Gilm, won't you?"
"Indeed. I certainly won't leave without saying anything."
"Good. From our side, if Lady Elena and your company departed without a word, it would be quite a shock."
With those final words, Rei and the others left the office and were guided outside by a maid waiting in the corridor.
Having visited the Lord's Manor many times already, they had no real need for an escort... but they couldn't be allowed to wander the manor freely, so it was a natural precaution.
Given that it was the Lord's Manor, there were naturally various classified materials stored within.
There was also the possibility of things that couldn't be shown to outsiders, and if they were to accidentally stumble upon something like that, Daskar would be forced to take measures on his end.
Upon exiting the Lord's Manor, Set and Ielo, who had been playing in the garden, rejoined them—and their group naturally drew attention.
Rei and his party were riding in a carriage that Daskar had prepared, but even so, it wasn't difficult to identify who was inside through the windows...
"Lady Elena, is that not Lady Elena!? If you wouldn't mind, could we have a brief word..."
"Wait, I'm the one doing business with Lady Elena! A petty merchant like you, step aside!"
Such voices filtered in from outside the carriage, but Rei, Elena, and even Ara, who was acting as coachman, ignored them all and pressed onward.
For the merchants, doing business with Daskar was profitable, but becoming acquainted with Elena, who bore the alias of the Princess General, was equally important.
"There are still merchants persisting out there, huh. They'll have a hard time of it from here on if they don't head back to their home turf soon."
"Most likely, those merchants came to Gilm without a plan. Thinking that if they just made it to Gilm, things would work out somehow. But..."
"It wasn't that easy, huh."
Rei finished Elena's thought, and she nodded while stroking Ielo on her lap.
"Indeed. Those who arrived earlier would have turned some profit, of course... but the merchants still remaining here are mostly ones who were late to the game. Though, among them, there may be some who simply had the bad luck of coming from a distant location."
"Ah... there's nothing to be done about that."
Rei spoke with a hint of sympathy.
Unlike when he was in Japan, this world lacked developed transportation such as airplanes, trains, or cars. With the exception of a few like Rei, travel was fundamentally on foot or by carriage.
That inevitably meant traveling long distances took considerable time, resulting in delayed arrivals in Gilm and missed business opportunities.
(Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind helping them out somehow... but if I funnel monster materials to someone, I feel like a massive amount of trouble would come pouring in from that alone.)
Recalling how he had been swarmed by merchants during the Twilight Spear incident, Rei dismissed the idea of helping them. He had no desire to repeat that experience.
Among the merchants, there were some exceedingly shameless individuals—exactly the sort of people Rei had no interest in associating with.
Deciding it was foolish to think about it any further, Rei surveyed the interior of the carriage and changed the subject.
"This carriage was apparently purchased from Gimekara... or more accurately, from the Zorgeh Merchant Guild. Did you know?"
"Oh? So this is one of the carriages Sura and the others rode in? From what I heard, the carriages and horses they'd been borrowing were to be purchased individually by Sura's group."
"Yeah. But 'individually' naturally means some would choose not to buy. Gimekara has been selling the carriages bought back from those people to various buyers. At this time of year, carriages sell as fast as they're available."
With winter approaching, many merchants had gathered in Gilm.
Among them were quite a few who had purchased more goods in Gilm than they could transport, or who needed carriages for various other reasons.
For Gimekara, who had brought the carriages and horses to pull them in sets, there could not have been a better business opportunity.
And beyond merchants, there were also people like Daskar who could always use more carriages.
Given all that, Gimekara had no shortage of buyers.
And with the proceeds from selling the carriages and horses, he was renovating a building to serve as the main store for the Zorgeh Merchant Guild.
"Gimekara must have been aiming for this from the start. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to purchase carriages and horses so easily."
Elena nodded in agreement.
"In that regard, one could say he's very much a merchant. Though, since he has to hold on to the ones Sura's group intends to buy, the maintenance costs alone must be quite burdensome."
"I won't deny that. When you consider there are several hundred horses alone, just the feed costs must be a tremendous expense."
"The fact that they managed to secure stables to house that many horses in the first place is astonishing, too."
Of course, if Gilm had been the same as it was before, such a thing would have been impossible.
It was thanks to the Expansion Construction that they had that much surplus capacity.
Even so, it was only because the Zorgeh Merchant Guild had pulled strings—searching out multiple inns and homes with stables that could board horses—that they had barely managed to make it work.
While they conversed, the carriage continued onward and eventually arrived in front of the Guild.
"Lady Elena, Lord Rei, we have arrived."
Nodding at Ara's voice, the two dismounted from the carriage—when a question suddenly occurred to Rei.
"Hey, Ara. This carriage belongs to Lord Daskar, right? How are we returning it? You're coming with us, aren't you?"
"That won't be a problem. I've been told the Guild will handle returning it."
"...Is that so."
Given the friendly relationship between the Guild and Daskar, such an arrangement was hardly surprising.
Thinking so, Rei nodded.
"Grrrrrl!"
At Set's happy cry, Rei turned toward the sound and found Set happily devouring a Gamelion skewer.
Gamelion meat was somewhat expensive—or so Rei thought—but upon seeing who was offering the skewer, it all made sense.
It was Yohanna.
For Yohanna, Mirene's rival, this was likely a calculated move to monopolize Set as much as possible while Mirene was away.
(Come to think of it, when are Mirene and the others coming back? Since they're negotiating with Reblurina, I doubt they can return before winter... which would mean spring? No, but...)
Thinking about it normally, no matter how quickly the negotiations concluded, returning to Gilm before winter set in seemed impossible.
If she had Set, it would be a different story... but then again, if she did have Set, Mirene probably wouldn't come back to Gilm just so she could be the only one doting on him.
Could Mirene—someone who could be called a Set enthusiast, or rather, a Set addict—tolerate going an entire winter without seeing him?
When put that way, Rei could only tilt his head in uncertainty... and felt a slight pang of anxiety that she might push herself to return to Gilm even in the dead of winter.