"Hmm, I see. So even Lord Crimson is a soft touch, after all."
"That's right. Considering the bastard who tried to snatch that granny's bag got himself caught, that's probably a fair read on him."
"Hmm, I'd really love to have that gryphon stuffed, though. Come on? Please? No?"
"Obviously not. Follow your orders from above. If you recklessly pick a fight with Rei, our whole group gets shattered in a single blow. And I mean that literally — reduced to scraps of meat."
The room where several men and women exchanged these words was furnished with reasonably luxurious pieces.
Originally, simple furniture that served its purpose would have been more than sufficient. But the woman who wanted the gryphon stuffed had been insistent, and so they had gone out of their way to purchase lavish furnishings.
Not that the financial burden mattered much — it was negligible compared to the operating funds they'd received for this job.
"But a stuffed gryphon? It's not a dragon, sure, but it's not exactly something you can just get your hands on, either."
"I get how you feel, but pulling something like that would only piss Rei off even more. Our job is strictly to investigate his temperament — what sets him off, where the lines are. I have zero interest in picking a fight with him just to find out."
The woman who had complained pursed her lips and looked away, visibly offended.
"Gyahahahaha! Well, obviously. I've caught a glimpse of that Rei guy from a distance myself, and you could tell right away he's got insane strength that completely contradicts his appearance. At the very least, there's no way someone like me could beat him no matter what I tried."
"Yeah, I'm with you on that. On top of that, I've got no idea how he pulled it off, but he's traveling with the Princess General, a Bestia Empire princess, and a former Guild Master — all of them seriously skilled fighters. Honestly, the only ones I'd stand a chance against are the bandits."
At the words of the man who had been maintaining his beloved short sword, everyone in the room nodded in agreement.
The B-Rank party led by Rei — the Crimson Lotus Wings.
Their combat power was exceptionally high, on par with an A-Rank party, if not greater.
On top of that, Elena, who bore the alias Princess General, was currently traveling with them. Anyone could see that crossing them recklessly would amount to little more than suicide.
Among those present, there were some who actually relished the idea of challenging Rei, Set, Elena, Marina, or Vihera to battle just to taste the thrill of danger.
But they also possessed a commensurate degree of professionalism as people who had accepted a job, which meant they had no choice but to prioritize the mission over their own amusement.
Fortunately or otherwise, only those who understood this had been gathered here. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say they had been chosen precisely because they were such people.
"Still... Crimson Rei, huh. Honestly, I wasn't sure how much of the rumors to believe. Part of me wondered if they just had bards spread exaggerated stories."
At those words from a man who had been silent until then, everyone in the room — each until now doing as they pleased — fell quiet.
He hadn't said anything particularly remarkable, but there was something about him that held together this gathering of strong-willed individuals.
"Calles, what's your plan?"
"What do you mean? Even now, we're using those hotheaded fools to keep tabs on Rei's movements, aren't we? All we need to do is wait."
"...No, but what exactly are those people going to learn about Rei?"
The only woman in the group — the same one who had wanted the gryphon stuffed — spoke with a note of dissatisfaction.
"..."
"Kya!"
The moment Calles turned his gaze toward her, a scream escaped the woman's lips.
For an instant... a single, fleeting instant, killing intent flooded the room.
And it wasn't directed solely at the woman who had spoken up — it was aimed at every single person present.
Then, just as quickly, that killing intent vanished without a trace.
"Please, rest assured. There's no need to rush at this point. The Red Cloth Group is merely observing the situation as well. Fortunately, winter is almost here, so Crimson will likely stay cooped up in Gilm for a while. Besides, the people who hired us said they don't mind if it takes time."
"R-right. And with the Expansion Construction bringing in so many people, we don't stand out much either."
One of the men scrambled to agree with Calles's words.
Everyone gathered here was an intensely individualistic bunch, but they understood perfectly well that Calles stood above them.
And it was precisely because someone like Calles held this group together that such a collection of strong-willed individuals hadn't yet torn itself apart.
"Anyway, according to the intel I've gathered, Rei apparently loves to eat. He's actually come up with all sorts of new dishes and spread them throughout Gilm."
In reality, he had also popularized a dish called Seafood Okonomiyaki in the Port City Emosion, but whether they simply lacked that detailed information or judged it unnecessary to mention, the topic never came up.
"Ah, I know about that. Udon, nikuman, pizza... that kind of thing, right? They were all delicious, so they really stuck with me."
When the man who had been sharpening his short sword said this, the others murmured in agreement.
Part of it was an attempt to lighten the mood in the room, but more than that, they genuinely remembered the food being good.
"Also, he apparently helped out the nikuman stall and improved their recipe, and there's the whole matter with Goblin meat connected to that."
At the words of yet another man, those listening nodded as if suppressing their own astonishment.
Calles was no exception.
That was how remarkable the feat of making Goblin meat palatable was considered to be.
"The Percy Merchant Guild, was it? Maybe we should send someone there too."
"No, not the Merchant Guild — the Percy Item Shop. There's a guy there named Mayo. He apparently did the research alongside Rei and figured out how to make Goblin meat edible."
"They say all kinds of cooks have been gathering at the Percy Item Shop. Though since there still isn't much Goblin meat to go around, supposedly not many have actually had the chance to cook with it yet."
From there, the conversation gradually expanded into what kind of meat Goblin meat actually was.
Among those present, more than a few had come from backgrounds where — before acquiring their current power, back when they were still children — there had been nothing to eat, and they had forced down Goblin meat while fighting back intense nausea just to stay alive.
That was precisely why, upon learning there was a way to make Goblin meat palatable, their interest was piqued.
Just how good could such vile meat be made to taste?
"Hmm. If you're that curious, shall we go try it at one of the shops?"
'Eh?'
At Calles's suggestion, the others who had been discussing Goblin meat all gasped in surprise.
They wanted to try it, yes, but they never expected Calles himself to propose such a thing.
"Um... are you sure?"
The sole woman asked timidly, but Calles simply gave her a reassuring nod.
"I'll admit I'm somewhat curious about this Goblin meat myself. Though whether it truly tastes as good as the rumors claim, I have my honest doubts."
Even so, Calles rose to his feet and surveyed the room.
"Well then, shall we go? Relying on others is well and good, but seeing Gilm with our own eyes wouldn't be a bad idea either. Right now, this town is on the verge of a great transformation — from a town into a true city. To witness that sight is to stand witness to history."
At Calles's speech, those listening in the room each reacted in their own way.
Some gazed at him with something close to reverence, while others turned away, dismissing it as nonsense.
And yet... there was nothing anyone could do about the fact that every single person in that room had been drawn in by his words.
"Being able to witness this chapter of history is, for me, a deeply gratifying thing. The various petty disturbances that come with it are somewhat tiresome, admittedly, but if I consider them merely a side accompaniment, they're not so bad. Now then — let us go. To witness history."
The words that poured from Calles's mouth were grandiose — perhaps excessively so — but they were not wrong.
The sole town in the frontier known as Gilm was, through population growth and the acquisition of vast construction materials from the Treant Forest, transforming in scale from a town into a city.
Much like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.
Those present hadn't originally been particularly interested in Gilm's expansion, but hearing Calles frame it that way, they couldn't help but think that maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a look.
Glancing at his companions' reactions, Calles allowed himself a satisfied smile and spoke.
"It seems everyone has taken an interest, which is most welcome. Let us be off, then. So — regarding the Goblin meat, do we know specifically which shops serve it?"
"Ah. Yeah, I've got that figured out. Apparently a few diners are serving it. But I hear they're all pretty packed, so it might be a bit of a hassle."
The revelation that Goblin meat could be made edible was that shocking.
Driven by morbid curiosity — or in this case, the urge to taste it — people wanted to try a dish made with Goblin meat at least once. When those who did spread the word that it was actually good, a few of those who heard it would go try it themselves... and then new customers would appear based on those reviews.
Truly, no phenomenon could be more aptly described as word of mouth.
On top of that, the cooks fortunate enough to get their hands on Goblin meat had discussed among themselves what kinds of dishes to make with it, hoping to avoid overlapping customer demographics — and had largely settled on general directions.
Of course, Mayo had already anticipated this from the start, deliberately choosing cooks whose specialties didn't overlap before selling them Goblin meat, so the situation hadn't devolved into any major uproar.
"Hmm, then... shall we try visiting a few places? I'm not fond of crowds, but I can tolerate that much."
Following his lead, Calles and the others prepared to head out and left the room.
Of course, the people gathered under Calles were a colorful bunch in every sense of the word.
Some wore thick coats befitting winter, while others remained in light clothing, making them somewhat conspicuous.
Even so, the fact that they only stood out a little was likely because Gilm drew all manner of people to it.
This year in particular, with the Expansion Construction drawing larger crowds than usual, there was certainly no shortage of people who stood out even more than Calles and his group.
There's a saying about hiding a tree in a forest — and it fit Gilm's current state to a tee.
Depending on where you looked, there were people with personalities far more intense than even Calles's crew.
"Then let's hit up a shop that sells sandwiches with Goblin meat stir-fry first. Quick and easy to eat."
"Ehh... sandwiches? I'm really not in the mood for bread right now."
"Then don't eat. It's not like anyone's telling you to eat everything."
"Hmph. What's that supposed to mean? Are you underestimating me?"
"Ugh, who said anything like that? I never said that, did I? Look — among the dishes made with Goblin meat, they say some take a whole lot of time and effort. Just go for those. It's not like you can eat every dish anyway."
"Besides, even if they say Goblin meat is edible now, it's still Goblin meat we're talking about, right? If you compare it purely on flavor, Orc meat is still supposed to be better."
One of Calles's companions muttered this, and it was indeed the truth.
Just because Goblin meat had been made edible didn't mean it now surpassed the meat of monsters with inherently superior flavor, like Orc meat.
"Come now, everyone. Let's go. This winter will be busy with matters concerning Crimson, so let us rest and recharge while we can."
At Calles's words, everyone fell in line and followed.
However, Calles and the others had no way of knowing.
That Rei would be leaving Gilm before long, bound for Duke Kerebel's Territory.
Whether not knowing this yet was a good thing or a bad thing for Calles... remained to be seen.