The Labyrinth City Exil.
The numerous disturbances that had occurred there—incidents involving the Anomaly Species and the Holy Light Religion, among others.
The one pulling strings in the shadows throughout those events was Pri Masterche, head of the House Marstchel, one of the three families ruling Exil at the time.
That woman was also the sworn enemy of Byune's parents, both of whom were members of Rei's party. She had been sealing magic within jewels, allowing her to use it instantly whenever she pleased.
Hearing that someone had obtained such a technique, it was only natural that even Rei would be surprised.
...Even so, the reason Rei hadn't immediately regarded Remuria as an enemy was likely because Elena had flatly stated that the act of sealing magic into jewels required no kind of human sacrifice.
"Is what Elena said true?"
"Aye, 'tis true indeed."
In response to Rei's question, Remuria nodded, still using her peculiar sentence endings.
"In other words, you need no sacrifices or anything of the sort?"
When Rei pressed her to confirm, Remuria nodded once more.
Rei had no idea how she had obtained Pri's technique, but that was likely the power of a ducal house for you. She had then further refined that technique, making it possible to seal magic without requiring sacrifices or anything similar.
Hearing that, even Rei genuinely thought it was impressive, and being able to cast magic without incantations in an emergency would be incredibly valuable.
(But there's also a problem with using it.)
The reason Rei couldn't simply rejoice was precisely that issue.
Byune, one of Rei's companions, had her parents sacrificed by Pri.
No matter the fact that sacrifices were no longer needed, Rei had no way of knowing whether Byune could remain calm upon seeing him use what might as well be called jewel magic—something developed from Pri's research and techniques.
No, thinking about it normally, there was no way she would be fine with it.
If that was the case, then even if he obtained jewels imbued with magic, he couldn't just use them casually.
Of course, unlike Rei, Elena, Vihera, and Marina, Byune was ultimately an ordinary human.
Moreover, since it was already decided that she would eventually return to Exil, she would one day leave the Crimson Lotus Wings—whether that took years, a decade, or even longer, no one knew.
Once that happened, he would be free to use the jewels as he pleased.
Alternatively, there was also the possibility that he might need to use magic for some reason while acting separately from Byune.
"...Understood. Let's make a trade."
"Indeed? Are you certain you need not hear the detailed explanation?"
Perhaps because she hadn't expected Rei to go along with her proposal so readily, Remuria asked in surprise.
Under normal circumstances, it was to her own advantage, so she didn't need to go out of her way to ask. The fact that she deliberately did so struck Rei as a reflection of Remuria's good nature.
"Just the fact that you're asking tells me you're not trying to deceive me. Besides... if the head of a ducal house were to cheat a trading partner, you should know full well what would happen. I don't need to spell it out, do I?"
Ducal houses often possessed military power comparable to that of a small nation. But when dealing with someone like Rei, military power on the level of a small nation would be annihilated in an instant. Add Set into the equation, and that annihilating power gained mobility, making him uncontrollable even for a major nation.
Anyone who could foresee how much disadvantage deceiving such a partner would bring would never attempt something so foolish.
"...You have my gratitude indeed."
"Save your gratitude for when Set decides he's willing to part with his feathers—along with the jewels. I'm telling you now, I have no intention of forcing him. If Set says he doesn't want to give up his feathers, then that's the end of it."
Even as he said that, Rei felt a flicker of unease. Would Set's feathers actually cure the illness Remuria described?
It wasn't that he doubted Remuria's knowledge, or the opinion of her employed Alchemist or whoever else she consulted. His concern was purely about Set's existence.
To cure the illness afflicting Remuria's family member, fresh feathers from Set—or rather, from a gryphon—were needed. Rei had no objections to that. He could accept that was simply how it worked.
The biggest problem in this case was that Set was no ordinary gryphon. He had been created by Rei through Beast Magic.
In other words, while Set was indeed a gryphon, he was not the kind commonly known throughout Elgin.
Neither Rei nor Set had ever cared about that distinction in the slightest. But when it came to a matter of someone's life—though to be precise, the patient merely struggled with daily life and wasn't in mortal danger—that changed things entirely.
However, there was no way he could mention here that Set was a being created through Beast Magic. Rei felt a flash of panic, but quickly found a pretext to raise the issue.
"Also, Remuria. Before we get to the feathers, there's something I should tell you just in case."
"What is it, indeed?"
Remuria had been looking pleased at the prospect of obtaining Set's feathers so easily, but seeing Rei turn a serious expression toward her, her face grew grave.
"I don't know if you're aware, but while Set is a gryphon, he's not an ordinary one. He's a Rare Species. In other words, rank-wise, he's above a normal gryphon—equivalent to S-Rank. If what you're looking for is feathers from an ordinary gryphon, then it's possible..."
Rei went on to explain that if they made medicine or something similar using Set's feathers, the expected effects might not manifest.
If Rei were thinking only of his own benefit, that was information he probably shouldn't have shared. Since Set was a gryphon, if Remuria had asked for fresh feathers and he had simply agreed to the request, he would have no reason to be complained to even if the medicine made from them had no effect.
But even so, Rei deliberately mentioned it, partly because Remuria had been treating him in a friendly manner, and partly to prevent any dissatisfaction later.
"A Rare Species, you say. I am already aware of that matter indeed. I looked into various things to confirm, and there is no particular problem in that regard indeed."
"...I see. If there's no issue even with him being a Rare Species, then I have no particular objections. The only remaining question is whether Set will accept it... what do you say? Shall we head there right now?"
In response to Rei's question, Bluitt, who had been listening to the conversation from the side, couldn't help but sputter.
"Pfft—h-hey, Rei. As you can see, we're currently attending a party. If we go trudging off to the stables under these circumstances, our clothes will get dirty, won't they?"
"Nay, we shall go indeed."
"...What?"
As someone attending this New Year's party, slipping away to visit the stables risked dirtying one's clothes—and if other nobles caught sight of that, they might look down on them. That was what Bluitt had argued, but Remuria immediately declared they would head to the stables.
"Umm, well... is that okay? Like Bluitt said, leaving the party to go to the stables seems like it could cause all sorts of problems."
"It will be fine indeed. I have already greeted Duke Kerebel, and I have finished greeting the other necessary parties as well indeed. If anyone else has business with me, they should come to my estate from tomorrow onward indeed."
"...No, in that case, even if you get Set's feathers, won't they just sit there until you leave Anesis? They won't be fresh anymore by then, will they?"
Since she wanted fresh feathers—Rei still felt something was off about that expression—the feathers obtained from Set would naturally need to undergo some kind of magical processing or the like as quickly as possible.
But even after this party ended, Remuria couldn't simply return to her own territory right away. As a noble, and moreover, as the head of the Duke Fulundar family—which wielded considerable power even within the Noble's Faction—there would be no end to the socializing and negotiations she had to attend to.
"Ah, have no worry about that indeed. Once I receive the feathers from Set, I plan to have the mage I brought with me use Summoning Magic to transport them to my territory at once indeed."
"Summoning Magic? That's fairly rare."
"Not particularly indeed. Mages who can use Summoning Magic can be found to some extent in cities, towns, and elsewhere. I have used them myself as well. ...Of course, what such people can summon are merely bird-like creatures, not monsters, so they would be entirely helpless if attacked by monsters."
Hearing Elena's words, Rei recalled hearing that high-end inns and similar establishments offered such services.
Of course, the Wheat Inn at Dusk in Gilm, where Rei usually stayed, didn't employ a mage who could use Summoning Magic.
"Umu. The mage I employ is reasonably skilled even among Summoning Magic users indeed. That is precisely why, using the summoned creature, the gryphon feathers can be returned to my territory at once indeed."
"Then there's no problem. In that case, let's go right now... but is it all right as we are?"
"I have already instructed someone to come immediately when I call, so sending for them will be no problem indeed."
With Remuria's words, Rei's next course of action was settled just like that.
"P-Please treat me well."
The mage summoned by Remuria bowed without a moment's hesitation the instant he saw Rei and the others.
...If the person he had bowed to was Elena, Rei would have simply thought it natural. Since Bluitt was also in the position of the next head of a noble family, it wouldn't have been strange for him to be bowed to either.
But for some reason, the one he bowed to was Rei.
Since Rei was also famous as an Alias Holder adventurer, being bowed to wasn't all that unusual in itself. It wasn't strange, but... even so, the fact that he bowed to Rei first, before Elena or Bluitt, was slightly difficult to comprehend.
"Ah... for now, please raise your head. I appreciate the respect, but I'm not quite used to being shown that level of deference."
"I-Is that so? Umm... you won't, like, cut off my limbs for being disrespectful, will you?"
"...I might need to investigate what kind of rumors are going around at some point."
Rei briefly wondered where such a story could have come from. But thinking about it, since rumors were already circulating that he cut off nobles' limbs, it wouldn't be strange if those rumors had gradually morphed into cutting off mages' limbs being his hobby.
From Rei's perspective, it wasn't funny in the slightest.
"U-Umm... yes. Umm, please treat me well."
The mage raised his face with a fearful expression, his body relaxing slightly as he noticed that Rei was not holding the Death Scythe in his hands.
"Fohoho."
Remuria had been watching the exchange between Rei and her employed mage with amusement, but since standing around forever would accomplish nothing, she set out for the stables at once.
Elena, who wanted to be with Rei, was one thing, but Rei found it puzzling that even Bluitt came along.
They encountered several nobles and servants along the way, but the nobles didn't approach them, given that heavyweights like Elena and Remuria were traveling together, and the servants didn't try to strike up a conversation either, since Rei and Elena were present.
...Well, while that held true for the nobles, the more likely explanation for the servants was simply that they were too busy with party duties to spare the time for chatting with Elena and the others.
In any case, Rei's group proceeded without being spoken to or reproached by anyone, exiting the mansion and arriving at their destination—the stables that served as Set's exclusive quarters while he was in residence.
"Gurururururururu!"
Perhaps sensing Rei's presence, Set's happy cry rang out from inside the stable. Even so, unlike yesterday, he didn't break through the walls or doors to come charging outside.
(Ah, the stable wall... it's already been repaired?)
Noticing the wall that had been broken during yesterday's commotion, when they repelled Count Ceresse's men, Rei thought that to himself. Nonetheless, prompted by Remuria's expectant gaze, he opened the stable door.