"...So? In the end, you decided to accept that request, then."
Autumn was already on the verge of ending, but Rei and the others were having their meal in Marina's courtyard as usual.
Of course, sitting still and doing nothing would naturally be cold, so Marina used Wind Spirit Magic to keep the chill of the night air from entering the courtyard.
This was something only possible for Marina, a highly skilled Spirit Mage. Even another practitioner of the same Spirit Magic would not find it so easy to accomplish.
If anything, if any Spirit Mage other than Marina were to see this scene, they would likely groan at what a tremendous waste of technique it was.
Even if they were eating together with Set, surely there were other methods they could use.
But as far as Marina was concerned, simply using her Spirit Magic was more than enough, making this the quickest and easiest approach.
Once the snow began to fall and accumulate on the ground, pulling off something like this would become difficult, but it was only natural for her to think, until then...
Such a highly skilled Spirit Mage was now directing a gaze of exasperation at Rei, who was eating a stew loaded with meat and vegetables at the table.
The work in the Treant Forest was mostly finished, and Rei currently had no particularly urgent tasks to complete.
However, since he would soon have to travel to Duke Kerebel's Territory with Elena, Marina's honest question was why he needed to spend his time on something like this at all.
And it wasn't just Marina—the others felt the same way.
Only Vihera, upon hearing the words "combat training," directed a gaze full of expectation toward him.
"Yeah. Honestly, I originally had no intention of accepting that request... or rather, that favor."
It was in the form of a request that didn't go through the Guild, but to Rei, it felt more like a personal favor than an official commission.
"Then why did you accept it?" Elena asked, eating fish baked in the Magic Item oven.
It was a fish about forty centimeters long that resembled a sea bream, but its flesh, baked by the oven's heat, had a texture similar to Atka mackerel. Even Elena, with her experience of various dishes as a noble, found the taste fully satisfying.
Moreover, the compatibility between the fish and the sauce made from tart fruits was excellent. Under normal circumstances, it would not have been out of place at a high-end restaurant.
"The man who bought nikuman from that stall was apparently born into a family that ran a dining hall. The arrangement was that if I accepted the request and trained him once, he'd teach the nikuman stall owner various things in return."
The Bald Man had indeed been born and raised in a family that operated a dining hall, giving him deeper culinary knowledge than even Rei.
Since he had been helping out around the house from a young age, that kind of knowledge had probably come to him naturally.
Of course, he had ultimately chosen the path of an adventurer rather than a cook.
But becoming an adventurer instead of a cook didn't mean the culinary knowledge and skills he had acquired since childhood simply vanished.
And precisely because of that, the Bald Man must have understood that Rei wanted to help the stall selling nikuman if at all possible.
Having seen through to Rei's intentions, he had asked Rei to train him in exchange for offering his cooking expertise and advice on making nikuman as compensation.
Viewed objectively, Rei would be accepting an adventurer's training request, and the one receiving the reward would be the nikuman stall owner.
In that sense, there was nothing in the way of profit for Rei... and yet, he had decided to accept the favor.
For Rei, culinary enrichment held tremendous significance.
Moreover, if someone's attempt at something new ended in failure, those who followed would be more hesitant to try.
To prevent that, and so that Rei could eat delicious nikuman, he had accepted the favor.
When Rei explained this in response to Elena's question, the gazes directed at him were not ones of exasperation but rather of understanding.
For those who had known Rei for a long time, it was obvious just how much importance he placed on the act of eating.
If anything, one could say the man's actions had been very shrewd.
"I see. Still, training is fine, but there isn't much time, you know?"
"I know. It's just for one day tomorrow, so there's no need to worry."
"Ah, then... can I come too?"
The one who asserted she wanted to participate in the training was, naturally, Vihera.
For Vihera, who enjoyed battle and loved fighting strong enemies above all else, the option of not participating in this situation simply did not exist.
That was something everyone present knew even better than the fact that Rei was a sucker for food.
"I don't mind, but what about your patrol duties?"
The tree-felling work in the Treant Forest that served as Rei's primary job was already mostly finished, since winter was just around the corner.
That was precisely why Rei had the leeway to accompany other adventurers in their combat training.
However, the work Vihera had primarily been doing was patrolling Gilm as support for the Guards.
The number of Merchants had decreased considerably, and many of those who had been working on the Expansion Construction had finished their jobs and left Gilm by now as well.
Thanks to that, disturbances within Gilm had decreased compared to the peak period, but there were still those who intended to spend the winter in Gilm, so the town had more residents than usual.
And when the number of residents increased, trouble naturally increased as well, making the Guards' work busier.
When the Guards' hands were full, that work naturally fell to adventurers, and patrol duties as support for the Guards still had a fair amount of demand.
When Rei asked if that work would be fine, Vihera flashed a smile and said there was absolutely no problem.
"Compared to a while ago, things have gotten a lot less busy. I don't think there'll be any particular issues even if I don't participate."
At Vihera's words, Rei—and not just him, but Elena, Marina, and Ara as well—all turned their gazes toward Byune, who was savoring her fifth bowl of stew.
Noticing the four pairs of eyes on her, Byune silently nodded.
Even while focused on eating her stew, she must have been properly listening to Rei and the others' conversation.
Byune's attitude made it clear that what Vihera was saying was the truth.
Seeing that, Rei and the others finally believed Vihera's words, but Vihera, who naturally witnessed this reaction, took offense.
"Hey, couldn't you trust my word?"
"Even if you say that, your usual behavior... you know?" Marina replied.
At Marina's words, Rei, Elena, and Ara all nodded in perfect synchronization.
If this had been about something else—something unrelated to combat—they would have been able to trust Vihera's word.
Despite being unimaginable from her appearance, Vihera handled non-combat matters seriously enough.
But when it came to anything involving combat, the story changed significantly.
Based on their past experiences, it was only natural for Rei and the others to think that way.
Vihera must have understood her own personality too, as she couldn't say anything further about the others' attitudes.
She said nothing, but she fixed Rei with a stern glare.
Noticing Vihera's demeanor, Rei opened his mouth as if to change her mood.
"So then, it's settled that Vihera is coming along for the combat training too, right?"
"Yes. And Byune as well."
"Hm?"
At Vihera's sudden words, Byune, who had been concentrating on her stew, tilted her head slightly, wondering if she was included.
"Yes. When you only ever have mock battles with the same partner, a certain familiarity inevitably develops, doesn't it? So this situation is perfect. Do you mind?"
"...Mm."
At Vihera's words, Byune thought for a moment before nodding.
Perhaps because Byune also understood that there was no harm in doing combat training.
The party known as the Crimson Lotus Wings, led by Rei, was assembled with members who possessed formidable combat power.
Because of that, although she was still small, Byune considered it necessary to keep strengthening herself.
That was precisely why she had honestly nodded at Vihera's words.
"So that's how it is. You don't mind, right?"
"Yeah, I think that's fine too. The more people doing combat training over there, the better it'll be for them."
They were looking forward to combat training with Rei, but training with Vihera and Byune would also be important, so it shouldn't be a bad thing for them either.
"If Vihera and Byune are coming, what about Elena and the others?"
Shall we all go together? Rei suggested, but Elena shook her head at his words.
"No, if I go walking around, there's a possibility it could cause a commotion. Besides, there's no telling whether the Noble's Faction might make some kind of move. I shall remain here."
"Since I'm here, I'll let you know right away if anything happens, though..."
For Ara, she felt it was better for Elena to stay in Gilm rather than going outside.
Of course, the time she could spend with Elena had been precious lately, so as far as Ara was concerned, Elena staying put was greatly welcome.
"What about you, Marina? Will you come with us?"
"Hmm, I'm a bit interested in that stall, but I've actually been called in by the Guild."
"...Is there a problem? Don't tell me a Dungeon appeared somewhere again, did it?"
If so, Rei would head there instead of doing mock battles.
He conveyed as much implicitly, but Marina shook her head with a wry smile.
"No, it's nothing like that. Ah, well, it's not a Dungeon, but if you're asking whether it's related to Rei, then I suppose so."
What do you mean? Marina directed a gaze tinged with slight exasperation at the puzzled Rei.
"Listen, you're the one who left a massive quantity of monster corpses in the Guild warehouse, aren't you? Have you already forgotten?"
"That's true, but... Are you going to help with the dissection too? I heard that monster dissection was supposed to be done with priority by adventurers who don't have work."
"That's right. That's not incorrect. But my Spirit Magic... especially Water Spirit Magic, would be useful when dissecting monsters, wouldn't it? Besides, if I use Wind Spirit Magic, I can also deal with the smell inside the warehouse."
When she put it that way, Rei also understood why Marina had been called to the dissection site.
The fact that they were able to eat comfortably outdoors at night in this season, with winter right around the corner, was thanks to Marina's Spirit Magic.
For those who knew her abilities, it was only natural to judge that they would be extremely effective for dismembering monsters inside a warehouse.
Of course, even so, the act of summoning Marina, a former Guild Master, was not something that could be done so lightly.
"Well, if it's not an emergency, then that's fine. ...Sorry about that."
"It's fine, really. The Expansion Construction has mostly gone on break anyway, and I didn't have anything else to do."
"Even so, there are still places continuing construction, right?"
Not all Expansion Construction had ended just because winter had arrived.
There was work that could be done even in winter, and places that required specialists.
Especially the latter—when it came to specialists, since there were so few craftsmen, someone like Marina who could provide support in an emergency would be greatly welcomed.
"That's true. But Gilm originally has an abundance of talent. There's nothing that absolutely requires me to be there."
"Ah... Now that you mention it, that's true."
Since it was the frontier, the adventurers belonging to Gilm were generally skilled.
Those born and raised in Gilm, those who had arrived in Gilm with a strong companion, and those who had come seeking work in the Expansion Construction... not everyone was necessarily skilled, but even so, they were by no means inferior compared to the Royal Capital or the Labyrinth City area.
Those like mages and Spirit Mages were few in number but properly present, and having Recovery Magic available in an emergency was undeniably a stroke of fortune.
And reducing the scale of the Expansion Construction meant that such individuals could fully demonstrate their abilities.
"Right? That's why I can devote myself to dissecting Rei's monsters."
"Still, I can't help thinking it's a bit much for Marina to specifically go help with that..."
As if following up on Rei's words, Vihera chimed in.
"Well, you see. Even if a Guild Staff Member is keeping watch, that doesn't mean it's completely foolproof, right? I don't think there are any adventurers stupid enough to try something, but... Gilm right now has a lot of adventurers gathering from outside too. Given that, it's necessary to keep watch just in case, isn't it?"
At Marina's words, delivered with a radiant smile, everyone present prayed that there was no one with sticky fingers among the adventurers who had accepted the dissection request.