A stir ran through those who caught sight of Rei and Set.
It was only natural. Until recently, they had been on stage, conducting a mock battle against a large number of opponents.
For those who had grown highly excited watching that mock battle, they probably never expected to encounter Rei in a place like this.
However, Rei and Set, despite drawing such gazes, paid no mind whatsoever and headed toward a nearby stall.
What that stall was selling was yakitori — a very simple and commonplace dish.
Of course, precisely because it was a commonplace dish, various ingenuities were applied to the cooking procedure, seasoning, preparation of the meat, and cutting technique.
Because it was a popular dish that sold well, it was likely described as commonplace.
At any rate, Rei paid the owner, who was intensely curious about Set, and received freshly grilled skewers.
Then, showing not the slightest concern for the gazes gathering from all around, he brought a skewer to his mouth.
"Gruu!"
Set purred as if to say, It's not fair that only Rei gets some! Smiling, Rei held out the skewer he was gripping toward Set.
Set skillfully plucked the meat threaded onto the skewer with his beak and ate it.
The degree of grilling and seasoning must have been satisfactory for Set as well, for he cried out happily.
At Set's cry, the Abuelo Stall Owner broke into a happy smile.
Judging from Set's behavior, he probably concluded that Set was saying the skewers he had cooked were delicious.
Set's cry carried enough joy to be understood that way.
The Abuelo Stall Owner found himself smiling involuntarily at the sound... but before he knew it, Rei and Set had already vanished from in front of the stall. The others in the vicinity who had been watching them — a large crowd of customers who wanted to eat the same skewers that had made Set cry out so happily — descended upon him all at once, leaving him overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, Rei, seeing the customers flooding the skewer stall, felt slightly let down.
He had been convinced, just as Leodanis had said, that a large number of people would come talk to him.
But in reality, no one had approached him so far.
(Ah)
Thinking that, Rei spotted the figure of a man clearly approaching him and muttered quietly in his mind.
However, since the man in question was someone he knew, it seemed unlikely things would turn out the way Leodanis had worried.
"Yo, Rei. That mock battle was amazing."
Floating a happy smile, Bluitt called out to Rei.
When watching the mock battle, apparently mindful of the setting, he had been properly dressed in noble attire, but now he wore the same kind of commoner's clothing as when he had first met Rei.
Many of those around them watched Bluitt calling out to Rei with surprised gazes.
Among them, some directed looks of jealousy as if to say, Why are you the one approaching him first?... but Rei, Set, and Bluitt — two people and one creature — paid no mind whatsoever.
"Your outfit changed quite a bit in that short time. ...Come to think of it, you weren't there when I was called up to the noble seats."
"I'm not too fond of those kinds of places."
"I get that."
Rei agreed earnestly with Bluitt's words, but even if they shared the same dislike of such places, when it came to the question of whether they could properly handle themselves in that setting, there was a vast difference between Rei and Bluitt.
"Oh? You get it too, Rei. Right? What's so fun about those stiff affairs? Nobles flattering each other with hollow compliments and conversations where everyone's hiding something... If there had been food, I would've at least gone for that, but there wasn't even any of that."
"Hm? There were a few people eating sandwiches and things like that, weren't there?"
"Light snacks like that do come out to some extent, but just sandwiches alone would be absolutely unsatisfying, right?"
"...I can't deny that."
Bluitt had a physique that could rightly be called that of a giant, and while Rei had a small frame, he was a big eater. As for Set, it went without saying.
To fully satisfy the stomachs of those two people and one creature with light fare like sandwiches, just how much would need to be brought?
The ingredients prepared for this mock battle would likely run out in no time.
"Well, that's why I got out of there in a hurry and have been eating various things like this. ...Want some?"
Saying that, Bluitt handed Rei a sandwich made with fist-sized bread.
Inside were dried meat and cheese, and it looked appetizing at a glance.
(But if you put a hamburger patty in this, it'd be like a hamburger. There are onions, tomatoes, and vegetables similar to lettuce too. ...Oh, wasn't a bagel sandwich kind of like this?)
The reason the term "bagel sandwich" didn't come to mind immediately was simply because Rei had never actually eaten one.
The bakery that came to the school Rei attended didn't sell bagel sandwiches, and neither did supermarkets or convenience stores.
No, to be precise, they may well have sold them, but at the very least Rei had never seen one, nor had he ever bought one.
That was why the only bagel sandwiches Rei knew of were the ones that appeared in manga and novels.
He recalled that those happened to be the same shape as the bread Bluitt was holding.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Thanks to you, I made a profit, after all."
"...You bet on it too?"
Understanding from the word "profit" what Bluitt had done, Rei directed a gaze at him mixed with slight exasperation.
Of course, if Bluitt had known that Rei — who had gone so far as to bet a Platinum Coin on his own victory — was looking at him like that, he would have said it was undeserved.
Fortunately, Rei said nothing about that matter and, while still casting that exasperated glance, accepted the sandwich, gave half to Set, and ate the other half himself.
When he brought it to his mouth, he was slightly surprised by the crisp texture.
He didn't know how this bread had been made, but a texture somewhat similar to a croissant spread through Rei's mouth.
Having been fully convinced it would be a firmer, more substantial bread, Rei's expectations were betrayed in the best way.
"Huh, this is... a bit unexpected. And it's delicious."
"Right? I was a little surprised too when I first took a bite."
"Which stall is it?"
"It's a stall a short way from here. They sell various other breads too, so if you're interested, why don't you go buy some?"
Told that, Rei was about to head to that bread shop right then...
"Gruu!"
Set, gripping the hem of Rei's Dragon Robe with his beak, purred.
Rei turned a momentarily confused gaze toward Set as if to ask what he was doing, but when Set purred again and directed his gaze toward another stall, Rei roughly understood what Set was trying to say.
In other words, since there were many stalls here, they should visit other shops too. That was probably what he wanted to say.
"Hmm, I understand what you want to say. I get it, but... with bread this delicious, if we take our time, there's a good chance it'll sell out. Are you okay with that?"
"Gruu? ...Gruruu."
At Rei's words, Set looked at the stalls along the street while thinking.
Soup, skewers, stewed dishes, stir-fries... besides those, there were stalls selling roasted nuts and even stalls selling raw, uncooked meat.
If asked whether to skip those shops and go to the bread stall... even Rei had to think about it a little.
It wasn't impossible to buy food at other stalls after purchasing bread from the bread shop.
But Rei, Set... and Bluitt — those two people and one creature — were gathering an incredible amount of attention from their surroundings.
So much so that if Rei's group moved, those gazes would follow after them... that was the kind of feeling it gave.
If Rei's group kept going back and forth in this area, it could cause all sorts of inconvenience for ordinary passersby.
Judging that, Rei ultimately decided to follow Set's advice.
"You're surprisingly weak, you know."
Looking at Rei, who had so easily yielded to Set's request, Bluitt spoke with a note of surprise.
In response, Rei tilted his head as if to say, Is that so?
Actually, recalling their exchange just now, it wasn't as if he didn't think it might appear that way... but still, he felt it wasn't all that strange.
"For now, I did want to buy various things. Besides... just being with someone as conspicuous as you is going to gather plenty of attention on its own, so you should be a little mindful of that too."
"Is that so? I do stand out, after all. Hah hah hah."
While gazing at Bluitt letting out an exaggerated laugh, Rei headed for a nearby soup stall for the time being.
Even though it wasn't snowing today, it was winter and sufficiently cold.
Because of that, a line of about five people had formed in front of the stall.
Rei, Set, and Bluitt — who had apparently decided to tag along with Rei after all — quietly lined up in that queue.
"Eh?"
Perhaps not expecting such a conspicuous group to line up behind him, the man at the end of the queue let out a surprised voice.
The startled man wondered whether he should perhaps yield his spot to Rei's group, but the line moved quickly.
Naturally. All it involved was having soup poured into a bowl and exchanging it for payment.
The price was set slightly high for stall food, but that was because it included the cost of tableware.
If you returned the bowl and spoon after finishing, an appropriate amount would be refunded, bringing the price to about the same as other stalls.
Of course, if you brought your own tableware, it would be that much cheaper... but in this festive commotion, there couldn't be many people who brought their own tableware just to drink soup.
However, in Rei's case, since he had a Misty Ring, tableware was naturally stored inside it.
Even so, Rei didn't bother taking out separate tableware here.
Because if you used tableware, you had to wash it.
In other words, if he used his own tableware here, he would naturally need to wash it.
If he was going to go through that kind of trouble, it was quicker to simply use the tableware provided by the stall.
And so the line progressed, and before long it was Rei's group's turn.
"Three soups."
"Coming right up. It makes me happy to have today's hero eat our soup."
Eat? Rei momentarily questioned the word that came from the owner's mouth, but when he saw the bowls actually handed to him, that expression made sense.
Soup with lots of toppings wasn't particularly rare, but... the soup handed to him clearly had more toppings than ordinary soup.
Vegetables resembling potatoes, daikon, and carrots, beans, and meat... the first impression Rei had upon seeing that soup was, Is this tonjiru?
The fact that tonjiru was Rei's strongest impression of a miso soup with abundant toppings probably also played a role.
In reality, what was in the soup was boar meat and offal, and the seasoning was naturally not miso, so calling it tonjiru was a bit of a stretch... but even so, there was no doubt that the soup he was handed was delicious.
"Gruu!"
Set happily drank and ate the soup placed on the ground.
Rei and Bluitt were savoring the same soup beside him, when Bluitt suddenly turned his gaze toward Rei and opened his mouth.
"Is it really okay to treat me? I'm not strapped for money either, so I'll pay for myself."
"It's fine, this much is nothing. I made money from today's mock battle, and you gave me a sandwich earlier, right? Just think of it as returning the favor."
"If you say so, I'll take it without holding back."
At Rei's words, Bluitt said nothing more and savored the soup.
The soup, with the rich umami of boar dissolved into it and a considerable layer of fat floating on top, was fitting for warming the body.
While savoring the soup like that... suddenly, Rei stopped moving.
At the same time, Set lifted his face from the soup bowl and looked around.
"Hey, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
Bluitt didn't understand why Rei and Set had suddenly acted like that either.
But since they wouldn't do such a thing without reason, he judged there was probably some cause for it and asked.
"...No, it's nothing. Apparently there was someone watching me."
In this case, "watching" clearly didn't simply mean observing Rei's group with interest — it carried another meaning entirely.
At Rei's words, Bluitt also carefully scanned his surroundings.