Some time after Rei and Set finished their breakfast—technically more of a post-breakfast snack, since they were eating at the Wheat Inn at Dusk—the dim morning air outside had finally brightened fully, and the Gigant Turtle's dissection had progressed to a reasonable degree.
That said, they were still in the middle of peeling away the hide to extract the meat from the legs.
The Gigant Turtle's skin was, as one would expect of a high-rank monster, undoubtedly a rare material.
However, since they hadn't yet tanned or processed it, the specific properties of the material remained unknown.
"My, that's quite... impressive, isn't it."
It must have been a decent amount of time. Vihera and Byune, having finished their breakfast at the Wheat Inn at Dusk, arrived to observe the Gigant Turtle's dissection and murmured as much.
Even to Vihera, the Gigant Turtle's size was apparently an astonishing sight. ...Even so, the absence of its head made it considerably smaller than its original size.
"Mm."
Beside Vihera, Byune also muttered her usual single syllable, her eyes fixed on the massive body of the Gigant Turtle before them.
"If you'd like, do you want to try your hand at the dissection work? It might be surprisingly fun."
"I'll pass. ...I don't want to get dirty."
In response to Rei's suggestion, Vihera immediately shook her head. Her gaze was directed toward the workers peeling skin from the legs, their cold-weather robes stained with the Gigant Turtle's blood and bodily fluids.
Since they were peeling skin, getting dirty was inevitable, but Vihera had no desire to join them. Above all...
"I'd prefer to do something like that, myself. ...Then again, perhaps it's better not to."
She was looking at the adventurers fighting monsters drawn in by the scent of the Gigant Turtle's blood.
But the monsters those adventurers were fighting were predominantly Cobolts.
...Yes, Cobolts that should normally be attacking Gilm.
(Huh? Could it be that the Cobolts that should be attacking Gilm are coming here instead, drawn by the scent of the Gigant Turtle's blood?)
Rei harbored such a question, but thinking about it, it was only natural.
Cobolts, as could be seen from their dog-like faces, possessed a keen sense of smell.
For such creatures to catch the scent of the Gigant Turtle's blood and come here was, in a sense, only to be expected.
Of course, since it was unclear why the Cobolts were attacking Gilm day after day, it wasn't guaranteed they were drawn by the blood scent...
(Given that Cobolts are actually coming here, that prediction wasn't wrong. Though asking to completely predict monster behavior was probably impossible to begin with.)
Vihera wore a displeased... no, an annoyed expression when looking at the Cobolts, likely because fighting them was simply uninteresting.
Vihera enjoyed combat, but she enjoyed fighting opponents who could stand against her, not one-sided massacres.
If such a fight was necessary, Vihera wouldn't hesitate, but she had no desire to voluntarily seek out that kind of battle.
"Well, it doesn't look like we need to intervene either."
Originally, monsters drawn in by the Gigant Turtle's blood scent—perhaps influenced by the fact that it was currently winter—had a high probability of being powerful.
Given that, those hired as guards for the dissection workers were correspondingly skilled.
For such people, dealing with Cobolts was not difficult.
Indeed, in Rei's line of sight, a battle worthy of being called a rout was unfolding.
However, watching that battle, Rei suddenly had a question.
Cobolts, unlike Goblins, had a habit of valuing their comrades.
Despite that, they showed no sign of helping or shielding injured companions. What was more, they seemed completely unconcerned even when their comrades were killed.
"Those Cobolts... something's off. Well, I suppose the fact they've been attacking Gilm every day is already strange to begin with. Besides, I don't understand why there are so many of them either."
"The fact they don't care about their comrades? That's been said since the Cobolts started attacking Gilm, but in the end, we still don't know the specific reason why that's happening."
Vihera replied immediately to Rei's words.
The fact that she could understand what Rei found questionable without him finishing his sentence was likely because she had known him for a fair amount of time.
Incidentally, in Rei's line of sight, Byune had somehow already engaged the Cobolts in battle, wielding Hakumo with its pure-white blade.
"Ah... is that okay?"
"Well, I suppose it's fine? It's not like you're forbidden from fighting Cobolts just because you haven't accepted a request, right?"
Since she hadn't accepted a subjugation request, Byune couldn't receive compensation for the Cobolts she defeated.
However, Magic Stones and subjugation proof parts could be sold back to the Guild, so it wasn't a complete waste.
Byune understood this as well, which was why she was defeating Cobolts and swiftly cutting out their Magic Stones and right ears as proof of subjugation.
"In Byune's case, she probably also just wants to move her body."
"Move her body? Isn't she doing combat training?"
Hearing the words slip from Vihera's mouth, Rei asked in apparent surprise.
Indeed, considering Vihera's personality, he thought she would never choose to skip combat training.
At Rei's words, Vihera smiled and shook her head.
"Of course not. She's doing the bare minimum... enough combat training to keep her body from getting dull. Fortunately, the backyard of the Wheat Inn at Dusk is reasonably spacious."
Rei knew that too.
Since it was a spot right near the stable, he had previously played with Set there.
"But just enough to keep her body from getting dull?"
"Yes, that's right. Byune's goal this winter is to improve her thief skills, like lockpicking, while maintaining her current combat ability. That's exactly why she picked the lock on your room, right?"
"Ah... I see."
At Vihera's words, Rei recalled the moment he returned from Anesis and entered the room he was renting at the Wheat Inn at Dusk.
Normally, picking someone else's lock and entering their room without permission would be absolutely unacceptable.
But when it came to a party member, the situation was somewhat different.
What's more, in Rei's case, he didn't keep any personal belongings in the room he rented; he used it purely as a place to sleep. He didn't feel any particular anger at having someone pick the lock and enter on their own.
"I feel like I was told something along those lines..."
Indeed, as a thief, Byune currently possessed extremely high combat power.
Considering her age, it was nothing short of unbelievable.
But since Byune was ultimately a thief, it was also a fact that her thief skills should take priority.
There were thieves in the world who prioritized combat power, but... honestly, within the Crimson Lotus Wings, in terms of combat ability, Rei, Vihera, and Marina—everyone except Byune—already possessed extremely high-level skills.
Under those circumstances, no matter how much Byune improved her combat power, it wouldn't be meaningless... but the payoff would be thin.
Rather, it was undoubtedly more effective for her to purely improve her thief skills.
"It's more helpful for Byune to improve her thief skills, isn't it?"
"I won't deny that."
For the time being, Rei possessed sharper senses than an ordinary person and could detect presences.
As for Set, its senses in that regard were sharp enough to surpass Rei in every way.
Given that, a thief's presence wasn't all that critical when it came to detecting enemies.
But... considering trap and lock disarmament, along with the many other special abilities of a thief, it was still better to have one.
Of course, if it came down to it, there was always the option of temporarily bringing in a solo thief as a party member, but the level of trust between someone temporarily added and someone you'd worked with for a long period was simply different.
"Right? Besides, Byune herself expressed the desire to focus on that."
"...I see."
His momentary silence was due to a belated sense of amazement at Vihera's ability to understand what Byune—who only ever said "Mm"—was trying to say.
When Rei first met Byune in the Labyrinth City Exil, she had spoken reasonably after the incident was resolved.
But when she came to Gilm with Vihera, she had reverted to only saying "Mm."
He knew from her time in Exil that she wasn't incapable of speech, but... still, Rei could only accept the existence of a Byune who only said "Mm" as simply the way she was.
Despite that, for some reason... truly for some reason, Vihera alone understood what Byune wanted to say.
Therefore, by using Vihera as a sort of interpreter, Rei and the others could grasp the details of what Byune was trying to convey.
Of course, after all the time Rei and the others had spent with Byune, they could get a general sense of the nuance even from a single "Mm."
Even during that conversation, Byune continued using Hakumo to dispatch Cobolts one after another.
Rei watched the battle, which could fairly be called a rout, but then glanced at Set and understood his earlier question.
(Ah, now that I think about it, it's strange that Cobolts are attacking even though Set is here. And other monsters too. ...Is the scent of the Gigant Turtle's blood that attractive to monsters? ...Well, it's not unthinkable.)
The Treant Forest, where the Gigant Turtle had appeared, was a place full of mysteries in many ways.
Considering that, it wasn't surprising that the Gigant Turtle, which had emerged from the Treant Forest, differed from ordinary monsters. If anything, it should be accepted as a matter of course.
For a brief moment, he wondered whether the Gigant Turtle might be connected to the Cobolts attacking Gilm day after day, but thinking about it, the attacks on Gilm had started before Rei and the others returned from Anesis.
If that was the case, the Cobolt situation was clearly unrelated to the Gigant Turtle.
...The possibility that some kind of synergistic effect had occurred couldn't be completely denied, though.
"Rei-san!"
Rei had been thinking about the Gigant Turtle and the Cobolt situation, but a voice called his name.
Turning his gaze toward the source, he found a Guild Staff Member there.
It was the person who had been discussing various matters with Rei regarding the Gigant Turtle's dissection.
Seeing the Guild Staff Member approaching with a serious... or rather, grim expression, it was impossible not to have a bad feeling.
"What happened? Judging by your expression, I can tell trouble has arisen."
"Yes. Actually, we just received a Communication from the Guild. The number of Cobolts that appeared at the Expansion Construction site today is reportedly quite low."
"...I see."
Nodding at the Guild Staff Member's words, Rei directed his gaze toward the adventurers fighting Cobolts around the Gigant Turtle.
Given that Cobolts were coming here, it was only natural that the number attacking Gilm would decrease.
"So the ones that aren't there are being diverted here instead."
"Yes. Since they have surplus personnel over there, a proposal has come in to send the idle workers here to help with the dissection and deal with the Cobolts. What do you think?"
"What do I think? As far as I'm concerned, I'm in favor of more hands for the dissection, so if there's no issue on the Guild's end, I don't see why not."
If Rei were the one paying the wages, he might have had to consider various complications.
But the compensation for this Gigant Turtle dissection didn't need to be paid by Rei.
Given that, as long as there was no problem on the Guild's end, there was absolutely no issue for Rei either... it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he welcomed the idea.
Hearing Rei's words, the Guild Staff Member broke into a happy smile.