After finishing his conversation with Vihera and Byune, Rei decided to head out right away.
When Rei told Lana he was heading back out immediately after returning to the inn, she simply smiled and called him a busy one.
That smile, however—compared to her usual one, the familiar smile Rei knew—was more energetic than normal.
She surely had concerns about the Cobolt situation, but even so, as someone living in Gilm, her smile carried a spirit that said she refused to let such foes get the better of her. It was that kind of smile.
Feeling inexplicably encouraged by Lana's expression, Rei led Set out from the stable and, together with Vihera and Byune, headed for Marina's house, which had become something of a gathering spot for their group.
"Hm? ...That's unusual."
Vihera's curious remark came from the fact that a carriage was parked in front of Marina's house in the Noble District.
It wasn't an ordinary carriage, either, but a high-quality one of the sort used by nobles or wealthy merchants.
In particular, the horses hitched to it shrank back at the sight of Set but didn't panic, bolt, or try to flee—a clear testament to just how rigorously trained they were.
Whether the man seated on the coachman's platform noticed the horses' distress or simply happened to look around, he spotted Rei's group.
He didn't have any particular reaction to them, though. He simply hopped down from the seat and began stroking the frightened horses to calm them.
"There, there. Steady now. Steady, steady, steady."
"...Brrrr."
"Brrr."
His technique must have been skilled, because the two horses soon settled down.
(Impressive skill. ...I'd almost want him to teach me, if only for the sake of stroking Set.)
Watching the horses calm down in the blink of an eye, Rei thought to himself.
Of course, Set had no complaints about how Rei petted him.
Even so, the coachman's technique was something even Rei genuinely admired.
"Rei? What is it?"
Vihera asked curiously, catching Rei watching the coachman soothe the horses.
Brought back to himself by her voice, Rei shook his head to indicate it was nothing and turned his attention back to the carriage.
"Do you know whose carriage that is?"
"If you, who's lived in Gilm longer than I have, doesn't know, what makes you think I would? ...Well, looking at it, it certainly seems like a very fine carriage."
As Rei and Vihera exchanged those words, the door of Marina's house opened.
Out came a woman in her fifties, accompanied by Marina, the owner of the house.
Marana, naturally, spotted Rei and his group immediately.
As always, she was wearing a Party Dress that hardly looked suited for ease of movement, yet there was nothing unsteady about her stride.
Of course, if one were to talk about outfits inappropriate for the place or season, Vihera—wearing thin, sheer fabric so diaphanous it was almost transparent, like something a Prostitutes or Dancers might wear—was much the same.
"Oh, Marina is beckoning us. ...Standing here won't accomplish anything, so shall we go? ...Byune, let's go."
Vihera called out to Byune, who had been expressionlessly stroking Set while the griffon seemed slightly disheartened at having frightened the horses.
"Mm."
Answering in her usual terse fashion, Byune followed Rei and the others toward Marina's house.
When they passed near the carriage, the horses naturally began to act up, but thanks to the coachman skillfully keeping them under control, it didn't escalate into a major disturbance.
Upon reaching Marina's front door, the woman who had been talking with Marina smiled and addressed Rei.
"Are you Rei-san?"
"Huh? Oh, yes."
Perhaps because he hadn't expected to be addressed so suddenly, Rei answered with a hint of bewilderment. The woman who had called out to him paid it no mind and continued.
"Hmm. ...Marina-san, you found yourself a good one, didn't you."
"Hehe, didn't I?"
At the woman's words, Marina smiled with satisfaction, looking thoroughly proud.
"Oh, Marina-san. ...Anyway, today was delightful. Shall we have tea together again next time you're free? Being able to enjoy tea in the courtyard so comfortably in this season is truly wonderful."
"Oh, Kalaria. You're always saying the same thing. ...Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it."
With that, the woman called Kalaria gave a small bow to Rei's group, took her leave, boarded the carriage, and departed.
As Rei watched Kalaria's carriage pull away, he found himself nodding in understanding at her parting remark—about being able to enjoy tea comfortably in the courtyard during this season.
Whether it was snowing, raining, or blazing under the intense summer sun... one could spend time comfortably without any concern for the elements at all.
That was possible because Marina was an exceptional practitioner of Spirit Magic.
If someone asked an ordinary Spirit Mage to do the same, they would likely get shouted at and told not to be ridiculous.
That was just how exceptional Marina's skill was.
...Of course, Mages were already extremely rare, and Spirit Mages were even fewer among them, so encountering another one didn't happen often.
"So? Who was Kalaria, anyway? You two looked quite close."
"Kalaria? She's the wife of a merchant I met about ten years ago. She lived in another city, but she came to Gilm because of the Expansion Construction, right around when winter was setting in."
They must have been fairly close. Marina smiled happily as she told him this.
"I see. ...Well, it's good to know you have friends, Marina."
"Listen. I'll have you know that if we're talking about friends, I definitely have far more than you, Rei."
Marina said that with a hint of exasperation, and in truth, her words were an undeniable fact.
Rei had people he would call friends, but the number wasn't that large. ...No, it would be fair to say it was distinctly small.
Naturally, Rei's personality was a factor in that.
By comparison, even setting aside her former position as Guild Master, Marina was caring and approachable, so it was only natural that she was liked by many.
(If I include the people who dote on Set... no, saying that would just be the howl of a loser.)
If he counted the people who adored Set, he would have more friends.
Rei was about to say as much, but ultimately decided against it.
However, it seemed his thoughts were transparent to Marina and Vihera, as the two of them smiled and exchanged glances.
They silently agreed that this kind of pointless posturing, and the way it flustered Rei, was very much like him—and very endearing.
The saying "love is blind" was probably meant for moments exactly like this.
Meanwhile, Byune paid no attention whatsoever to the adults' exchange and simply kept stroking Set.
Of course, Byune did have people she would call friends.
The orphans living in the House Flaut estate in the Labyrinth City Exil, and the Fleeing Adventurers who trained those orphans, for instance.
However, since the orphans lived in the estate in exchange for maintaining it, they might actually be closer to servants than friends.
Moreover, the Fleeing Adventurers training them also lived in the House Flaut estate, so they too might be considered almost like Byune's servants.
"Now, setting that aside... Welcome back, Rei, Set. When did you get back?"
"Hm? Ah, just a moment ago. I went back to the Wheat Inn at Dusk and..."
He paused there, likely because he remembered that Vihera and Byune had been in his room.
Vihera, catching Rei's glance, floated a meaningful smile.
Seeing the exchange between the two, Marina apparently understood the gist of it. She opened her mouth to change the subject.
"So? If Rei is back, that means Elena and Ara are here too, right? Where are those two?"
"Elena and Ara said they were going to show their faces to Lord Daskar before coming here."
At those words, Marina nodded in understanding.
Given Elena's position, reporting to Daskar first was only natural.
"In that case, it'll probably take a little while before they get back. ...There seems to be a lot to talk about."
"Like the Cobolt situation?"
Marina was surprised for a moment, as if wondering if he already knew. But the Cobolt situation was quite the topic of rumor in Gilm, and more importantly, since he had been with Vihera, it wouldn't be strange for him to have heard about it.
"That's right. Honestly, the Cobolts' movements are clearly abnormal. It's true that food is scarce in winter, so it wouldn't be strange for them to be starving... but even so, the fact that they keep trying to infiltrate Gilm no matter how many times they're annihilated suggests someone's intent behind it."
"Isn't it the work of a Rare Species or High-ranking Species?"
"It's true that's a strong possibility, but no one has actually seen one."
"Now that you mention it, I suppose so. But couldn't that just mean the Rare Species or High-ranking Species hasn't participated in the attacks themselves?"
"If there's no individual leading them, wouldn't you expect them to flee the moment things turn against them? Cobolts aren't particularly strong monsters to begin with."
"...Now that you mention it, you might be right."
Though not to the same extent as Goblins, it wouldn't be surprising for them to bolt the moment they realized they had no chance of winning.
But the Cobolts showed no such behavior. From what Rei had heard, they kept fighting until the invading pack was completely annihilated.
If that was the case, then Marina's doubts were certainly warranted.
Of course, understanding what monsters were thinking was no simple matter.
Given that, the possibility that no Rare Species or High-ranking Species was involved in this incident couldn't be entirely dismissed.
"Daskar is probably telling Elena about all that right now. Though I doubt he's expecting her to solve this matter."
Rei simply nodded in agreement.
Elena was in Gilm to keep watch over the Expansion Construction and ensure that Noble Faction Nobles didn't cause any trouble.
...Of course, that was the official reason, and the one actually keeping watch was Ara.
Since she was in Gilm for that purpose, they couldn't very well directly request Elena to resolve the Cobolt situation.
If Elena decided to take on the matter of her own accord, that would be another story.
"Still... I never expected the Cobolt situation to have escalated this much before I got back. Honestly, I'd planned to have them start dissecting the Gigant Turtle the moment I returned to Gilm."
"Come to think of it, you did mention that. ...But it should be fine, shouldn't it? They won't be able to gather as many people as originally planned, of course, but considering the number of adventurers still in Gilm, I think they'll assemble a respectable workforce."
"Fighting Cobolts is a hassle, but the ones who show interest in the Gigant Turtle—those types will probably show up. I won't know the official reward until I ask the Guild, but depending on the payout, some might judge the dissection work as more lucrative than repelling Cobolts and come this way instead."
Normally, the dissection of the Gigant Turtle would be something Rei paid adventurers to do.
But in this case, since the reward came in the form of payment from the Guild and Daskar, Rei didn't need to pay the adventurers' wages himself.
That was why Rei didn't know how much the adventurers would be paid. Depending on the amount, adventurers motivated by money might flock to the dissection instead if the reward there was better than what they could earn from subjugating Cobolts.
Nor could one deny the possibility that some might choose the dissection even if the pay was slightly lower, simply because it didn't involve combat.
"In the end, you'll just have to go to the Guild and check, won't you? ...What will you do? Going now?"
At Vihera's words, Rei thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"No, I'll go to the Guild tomorrow. I just got back to Gilm today, so I want to take it easy."
"Oh, so you came to my house because you wanted to relax. That makes me a little happy."
Saying "a little" while wearing a beaming smile, Marina led Rei and the others inside the house.