Remuria turned her gaze toward Rei, saying she had a request.
What kind of request it was, Rei did not know, but the fact that Remuria—Duke Fulundar—had spoken to him directly like this made it clear that it was no simple matter.
What was this request?
Just as Rei was about to ask, Azel spoke up first.
"Remuria-sama, I apologize, but I believe it would be best for us not to hear this matter, so we will take our leave."
"Oh, is that so? There is no need to be so concerned, you know."
"No, there are others we must greet as well, so we need to make our rounds there."
"Hmm, is that so. Then I suppose I cannot force you to stay."
"Please excuse us."
"Excuse us."
Despite that lingering cadence, Azel paid it no mind and exchanged farewells, then left the area with Count Fanlair, who had bowed as well, in tow.
Bluitt, perhaps curious about Remuria's request, remained behind.
"So? Is it fine for you to stay, Bluitt? If you remain here, depending on the circumstances, you could get dragged into trouble."
"Yeah. But it's a bit intriguing, you know."
"It is not so important a matter that you need to be this concerned."
Remuria said this in response to Rei and Bluitt, but Elena smiled and addressed her.
"Duke Fulundar, this type of person will not listen no matter how much you tell them. Since he has already decided there is no point in staying, why not let him hear your request?"
"...You're staying too, aren't you?"
"I am Rei's partner. Since Duke Fulundar has stated she has a request for Rei, as Rei's partner and as a member of Duke Kerebel's House, I cannot leave this spot."
Elena stated this readily, a smile floating at the corners of her mouth.
She was likely delighted to be able to openly declare herself not as a member of Duke Kerebel's House, but as Rei's partner.
"Fohoho. It is good for the young to be so energetic."
Remuria watched over Elena's demeanor with a warm smile.
As if reminiscing about the past.
But for Bluitt, who had been subjected to such banter, there was no way he could sit through it with a straight face.
Scratching his hair with an expression that seemed to say how troublesome this was, he turned his gaze to Remuria.
"So, what exactly is this request in the end?"
"Foh? Now that you mention it, that is right. I came here for that purpose, so I cannot very well not speak of the request."
Remuria, who had been showing a cheerful demeanor, suddenly directed her gaze toward Rei.
What lay within that gaze was undeniably sincere—and yet, an intense emotion seeking something from the bottom of her heart.
An emotion of such strength that it seemed unfitting for an old woman like Remuria to harbor.
"So? What exactly is the request?"
"Umu...Lord Rei, what I wish to ask of you concerns your Tamed Monster, the gryphon."
"...Set's?"
Perhaps because he never expected Set's name to come up here, Rei's expression showed the surprise of being told something unforeseen.
Elena and Bluitt, who had been listening, were the same.
No, not only that—even among the nobles who had been watching from a slight distance away, there were those who stopped moving upon hearing the word "gryphon."
Within the Noble's Faction, Set, who was currently in this estate—specifically in the stables—was a topic that must not be touched, a kind of taboo.
Whether to obtain Set or to harm him, Count Ceresse, who had foolishly schemed such a thing, had been punished with the heavy penalty of expulsion from the Noble's Faction.
Given that, to recklessly lay a hand on Set under the current circumstances could bring about the worst possible result not only for oneself but for one's own house as well.
Despite this, to openly bring up that matter at a party like this—anyone who had overheard the conversation could not be blamed for thinking so.
(In that sense, Azel and his companion were probably wise. Even though they didn't come to listen on their own initiative, judging from the reactions of those who heard our conversation like this...)
The nobles around Rei and his group had likely been waiting for a chance to speak with Rei, Elena, or Remuria.
Count Fanlair, who had been the first to seize the moment among them and strike up a conversation, was already gone, and so there were probably many who thought that next it would be their turn.
However, this time, that would bring about a bad result for those nobles.
The fact that they had not left when Remuria, the head of the Duke Fulundar family, said she had a consultation for Rei—their poor judgment in that moment had been their downfall.
In that sense, Azel's decision had been correct.
While thinking such thoughts, Rei directed his gaze toward Remuria.
The color there was a faint vigilance.
If Remuria intended to forcibly obtain Set, Rei was prepared to deal with her accordingly, even if she was an old woman.
However, Remuria, upon whom Rei directed that gaze, showed no sign of being perturbed.
This despite the fact that if Rei were to get serious, Remuria's life could be extinguished in an instant.
Remuria turned a quiet yet strong-willed gaze toward him, and Rei relaxed his gaze just a little.
Because he understood that, at the very least, unlike Count Ceresse's men, she was not trying to do something to Set unconditionally and without question.
"So? What business do you have with Set?"
Rei had relaxed his attitude, but he still did not use the polite speech he had used at the beginning, even if only barely.
It was an attitude born from judging her as, in a sense, an equal.
"Ah, actually, about the gryphon's... Set's, was it? I want that Set's feathers, and freshly plucked ones at that... I am not sure if that is the right way to put it, but fresh feathers."
"Feathers?"
Rei had been on guard, fully expecting to be told to hand over Set or something of that nature, but he never thought she would want feathers.
No, he understood well enough while in Gilm that alchemists desired Set's feathers.
But for a noble—and the head of a ducal house at that—to want them was completely unexpected.
At first, Rei had felt doubtful about Remuria's words, but the look in Remuria's eyes as she regarded him was serious, neither a joke nor anything of the sort.
"Can you discuss the circumstances here?"
"No... that much, I am afraid I cannot discuss here. Lady Elena, could you prepare a room for us?"
"Understood. I shall have one prepared immediately."
Elena replied readily to Remuria's words.
However, that was not strange at all.
In the case of such a large-scale party, it was only natural that several private rooms doubling as rest areas would be prepared.
A party was also a political arena for the nobles.
As such, there was a purpose in providing a place to discuss matters one did not want overheard, as well as a place to rest if one felt unwell, or in some cases, a place for intimate couples to spend time together.
Providing private rooms for various purposes was only natural for the host of a party.
Moreover, this was the estate of Duke Kerebel, who led the Noble's Faction, so there was no shortage of rooms.
Thus, Elena nodded readily to Remuria's words and left the party venue.
Naturally, the fact that Elena, who could be called the greatest centerpiece of this party, disappeared from the venue caused the party attendees to feel at least somewhat disappointed.
A private room located slightly away from the party venue.
Sitting on the sofa in that room, Rei sat facing Remuria.
Incidentally, Bluitt, due to his large frame, sat on a separate sofa rather than beside Rei.
Beside Rei sat Elena, lifting her teacup to her lips.
Incidentally, this tea had been brewed by Elena.
When Elena first offered to brew the tea, both Remuria and Bluitt were surprised, but Rei, who was fairly accustomed to drinking Elena's tea, accepted her action without any particular surprise.
Taking a sip of the tea, Rei opened his mouth.
"So, what is the reason you want Set's feathers?"
"I have a relative who is ill, you see."
Rei, who no longer showed any concern about Remuria's sentence endings, tilted his head at her words.
"Ill?"
"Umu. It is a rather rare illness. It is not immediately life-threatening, but even so, it causes considerable inconvenience in daily life."
"That is... troublesome."
If it were a life-threatening illness, then it would indeed be extremely troublesome.
But even if it were not life-threatening, the fact that it caused inconvenience in daily life was, as Rei had said, undeniably troublesome.
Perhaps something like hay fever.
The first thing Rei thought of was that.
Fortunately, no one in Rei's family had suffered from hay fever, but that was only his family.
Even among Rei's acquaintances, there were a few who had hay fever.
Every year when spring came, such people would wear masks to avoid inhaling even a little pollen, carry around boxes of tissues, and some even wore specialized goggles.
And once you contracted hay fever, it was every year.
Hay fever was not life-threatening, but it was undeniable that it interfered with daily life.
Having seen that and knowing at least a little about it, Rei agreed with Remuria's words.
"You understand, then?"
"Yeah... That said, I understand the general gist of it. In other words, by using Set's feathers, you can either treat that illness or alleviate it. Am I wrong?"
"You are not wrong."
Remuria nodded immediately at Rei's words.
Seeing that, Rei could somewhat understand her feelings—but even so, he could not simply hand over Set's feathers for free.
If he were to do so here for nothing, it was certain that those who learned of it would come saying they wanted some too.
Given that, if he were to part with Set's feathers, he needed to receive appropriate compensation.
Well, it wouldn't be strange for quite a few of Set's feathers to have fallen in the stables in Gilm, but... ah, but she said fresh ones, so that wouldn't work. I don't know specifically how fresh they need to be, though. Like the feathers in the stables at the Duke Kerebel Mansion?
In the stables where Set currently resided, feathers were naturally bound to have fallen.
So much so that if an alchemist learned of it, it would not be strange for them to think about how to obtain them.
"But I had no idea that Set's feathers had such an effect."
"Because it is a special illness. Since they are gryphon's feathers, I believe there are any number of other uses for them as well."
"I understand the matter. If Set—if the gryphon accepts it, I have no problem handing over feathers. However, I cannot do so without any compensation... what do you say?"
Remuria nodded in agreement at Rei's words.
From Remuria's perspective, she had not expected Rei to agree this easily.
Because of that, she did not want to do anything that would burden Rei.
"Hmm, let me see. There is the option of having me owe you a favor, but besides that... oh, that is right. How about jewels?"
"Jewels? No, I don't particularly..."
"Jewels!?"
Rei had no hobby of collecting jewels.
Just as he was about to say so, Elena cried out, cutting him off.
For the usually calm and composed Elena to reveal this much surprise was a rare occurrence.
Because of that, Rei wondered, why?
For Elena, a duke's daughter, she should have seen any number of jewels by now, and as long as it was not something special like a national treasure-class item, she should be able to obtain it one way or another.
Yet why was Elena this surprised? Rei could not understand.
However, Elena, noticing that Rei was looking at her, showed an even more surprised expression.
"You don't know? ...No, it would not be strange for you not to. Rei, do you remember when we went to Exil?"
Rei felt puzzled by the suddenly shifted topic, but nevertheless quickly recalled something.
That was the Magic Item used by the opponent they had fought during the disturbance in Exil.
No, to be precise, an item so vile that calling it a Magic Item was difficult.
"That's right. The method that Pri used—sealing magic within a jewel and using it at will. The Duke Fulundar family has obtained that technique and developed it independently. Naturally, without requiring anything like sacrifices, of course."
So Elena told him.