Just as the Guild Staff Member had announced, a sizable group of people appeared at the Gigant Turtle dissection site just before noon.
That some of them wore dissatisfied expressions was likely due in large part to the hassle of traveling all the way from the Expansion Construction site.
Originally, Gilm was small enough that calling it a town was questionable at best.
Within it, the Expansion Construction was taking place deep in the interior.
Coming from there to here naturally took time and energy.
...Even so, the fact that they didn't voice their complaints directly was partly due to the shock of seeing the Gigant Turtle being dissected right before their eyes, but more than anything, it was because they knew Rei was the one who had commissioned the Guild for the dissection.
Under those circumstances, if someone were to voice complaints or, worse yet, act belligerently... Rei would undoubtedly step in.
There might have been some who would have complained openly had Rei not been present, but for now, Rei, Set, Vihera, and Byune were still on-site. ...Though Byune wasn't watching the Gigant Turtle's dissection so much as she was fighting Cobolts—or "rampaging" might be a more apt description.
"Oh, thank you all for coming. Well then, without further ado, please split into dissection and subjugation teams and get to work."
Even if they wanted to complain to the man who said that, as long as he was wearing the Guild uniform, they couldn't dare.
In the first place, most of those present had chosen Cobolt subjugation, which paid slightly better, over the poorly compensated Gigant Turtle dissection.
Penniless and intending to keep accepting requests from the Guild, none of them could afford to pick a fight with a Guild Staff Member.
(Huh? But come to think of it... if they joined the Gigant Turtle dissection, they'd get at least some meat. Wouldn't selling that to a butcher or a wealthy buyer bring in more money overall? Plus, if they were just guarding the dissection, they wouldn't even have to fight.)
Rei only realized this after the fact, but in truth, those who had opted for Cobolt subjugation were people who judged that killing large numbers of Cobolts would earn them more. ...Though there were some among them who simply hadn't thought of the idea of selling meat.
"With this many more people, won't the dissection go faster?"
"I wonder. Given the Gigant Turtle's size, I don't think it'll make much of a difference."
The phrase "a drop in the ocean" was probably meant for situations exactly like this.
Thinking that, Rei answered Vihera... and then turned his thoughts to the Cobolt situation.
When he first heard about the Cobolts, he figured that at worst, if he left Set at the Expansion Construction site, the monsters might be frightened off and the attacks would stop.
But the Cobolts, likely drawn by the scent of the Gigant Turtle's blood, showed no signs of fleeing or cowering even with Set present.
That bothered Rei.
If they were ordinary monsters, it wouldn't be unusual for them to bolt the moment they sensed Set's presence. Or they might be so paralyzed by terror at his very existence that they couldn't move at all.
And yet, the Cobolts that came here exhibited no such behavior whatsoever.
(There's no doubt they're not ordinary Cobolts. But... for all that, they're not particularly strong either.)
In Rei's line of sight, Cobolts were being effortlessly cut down by Byune wielding Hakumo.
That one-sided slaughter made it hard to believe they were monsters possessing enough strength to disregard Set's presence.
"Hey, you fought the Cobolts too, right, Vihera?"
"Huh? What's this all of a sudden? ...Yes, I did. Though they were nothing but ordinary Cobolts."
"But why do you think they show no sign of fleeing even with Set right here?"
"...Huh?"
Prompted by Rei's words, Vihera looked once more at Set, who was resting a short distance away.
To Vihera, Set was a Party Member, and precisely because of that, she hadn't thought much of his presence here.
But that was something only Vihera could overlook. Normally, it would be impossible not to notice the overwhelming presence Set commanded.
Let alone for monsters, who would be even more sensitive to it.
"Now that you mention it... oh, but monsters other than Cobolts are showing up here too, aren't they? Maybe Set isn't going all out, so they haven't noticed him. Or maybe the scent of the Gigant Turtle's blood is just that irresistible?"
"Hmm... well, I can't rule out that possibility, but..."
With the blood of a High-Rank Monster this massive, it wouldn't be strange for other monsters who caught wind of it to lose all reason.
But even hearing that, Rei could understand it logically yet still couldn't quite accept it. He knew the probability was high, but something about it still felt subtly off.
"Then why don't you try taking Set to the Expansion Construction site next time?"
"I thought about that too. But hunting Cobolts is an ideal source of income for those who can't afford to take subjugation requests outside the city, or who just find it troublesome to slog through the snow outdoors. I didn't think it was right to take that from them."
"...I get that, but what are you going to do if things stay like this? It's fine for now. It's winter, so the Expansion Construction is on hold. But once spring arrives and the construction begins in earnest? If the Cobolt attacks are still going on by then, the work will definitely fall behind."
Vihera's words were an undeniable fact.
Adventurers who could defend themselves aside, the majority of those working on the Expansion Construction were not adventurers at all, but laborers who had come to earn a wage.
Asking such people to work in a place where Cobolt attacks could occur at any moment was unreasonable.
No, even before that—if they heard about the Cobolt situation, they would simply refuse to work, prioritizing their own lives.
Even adventurers capable of fighting Cobolts would struggle to respond if caught off guard in the middle of construction work.
"I see. It's fine for now, but we can't leave things as they are forever. In that case..."
Rei paused, then called out to the Guild Staff Member a short distance away—the man effectively in charge of the Gigant Turtle dissection.
"Hey, got a moment? I'd like to talk about something!"
His voice must have carried. After issuing instructions to several subordinates nearby, the Guild Staff Member hurried over.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Sorry to pull you away when you're busy. I wanted to ask you about the Cobolt attacks."
"Huh? Ah, certainly."
He had probably expected a question about the Gigant Turtle dissection. The Guild Staff Member showed brief surprise before quickly composing himself and waiting for Rei's question.
"Cobolts have been attacking Gilm every day and every night now. Thinking ahead to spring, isn't that going to cause all sorts of problems?"
"It is."
The Guild Staff Member stated it plainly, without a moment's hesitation.
That attitude itself spoke volumes—the current situation was far from good.
The reason he didn't seem more desperate was likely because there was still some time before spring arrived.
The optimistic hope that things would be resolved by then.
...That said, the vast majority of Gilm's adventurers were genuinely skilled.
While the influx of people drawn by the Expansion Construction included many who couldn't exactly be called skilled, it wasn't unreasonable to think that if Gilm's adventurers got serious, they could resolve this without issue.
"I think it'd be best to start planning now so you're not scrambling when the time comes. Someone holding a grudge—wait a second."
Rei cut himself off mid-sentence as a thought struck him.
This situation, for the time being, was being welcomed by the penniless adventurers.
But viewed objectively, if this was being caused by some human factor, it was undeniably an act of interference against Gilm... no, it could even be called a hostile act.
Even if they were only Cobolts, luring that many monsters into Gilm was naturally nothing less.
"Is something wrong?" the Guild Staff Member asked, puzzled by Rei's abrupt silence.
As a precaution, Rei pressed further.
"Just to be sure—is there any method, ritual, Magic Item, or spell that would specifically draw only Cobolts to Gilm?"
"Huh? Umm..."
The Guild Staff Member pondered Rei's sudden question.
As a Gilm Guild Staff Member—and one entrusted with a matter of this scale—the man held a relatively high position within the organization.
In a manner of speaking, he was Lenora and Kenny's superior.
As such, he was privy to a great deal of information that even Lenora and Kenny weren't aware of... but he quickly shook his head.
"No, unfortunately I've never heard of such a thing. When this situation began, the Guild looked into the matter under Lord Daskar's instructions, so we can say that with certainty."
Given that Gilm was situated in the frontier, the knowledge stored within its Guild was far more extensive than that of an ordinary branch.
Under Daskar's orders, nearly all the Guild Staff Members had combed through their records for anything of the sort, so he could state with confidence that no such thing existed.
However..., the Guild Staff Member continued.
"That said, it wouldn't be strange for there to exist techniques, magic, or Magic Items that we're simply unaware of. Nor would it be unusual for an Alchemist who created such a Magic Item to be out there. And if it came from a Dungeon or the like, there's always the possibility of a Magic Item we have no record of surfacing."
"...I suppose so. Which means if this was caused deliberately, we don't even know how it's being done specifically."
"Unfortunately, that's correct. Besides... the number of people who hold a grudge against Gilm is easily more than just ten or twenty."
Rei had to concede the point.
Because Gilm sat in the frontier, it offered easy access to rare materials, ores, Magic Stones, and all manner of valuable resources.
There were those who envied that prosperity, those who saw it as a town ruled by Daskar, leader of the Neutral Faction... and those who knew it was currently undergoing Expansion Construction, seeking to expand its reach even further.
Considering all of that, the number of people who bore a grudge against Gilm or wanted the construction to fail could easily be in the hundreds, not just tens.
"If it's not deliberate, then there could be a High-ranking Species or Rare Species behind it, but there haven't been any sightings of those, right?"
"Correct. No such reports so far. We even had several adventurers with exceptional scouting abilities investigate the area..."
The Guild Staff Member shook his head. None were found.
In that case, Rei had no choice but to consider a human cause rather than a High-ranking Species or Rare Species.
(Or perhaps there's a High-ranking Species or Rare Species with an ability like Set's Optical Camouflage. ...Personally, that would actually be the better outcome for me.)
If there was a monster with an ability like Optical Camouflage, defeating it and claiming its Magic Stone could potentially raise Set's Optical Camouflage level.
Rei knew from experience that Optical Camouflage had an enormous impact in combat, and it was undoubtedly an incredibly versatile skill outside of battle as well.
"For now, interference from the Noble's Faction... I think we can safely rule that out."
With Elena herself present in Gilm, pulling something like this would be tantamount to suicide.
Granted, that was only if Elena found out—if someone carried it out without her knowledge, she wouldn't be able to intervene.
"What else..."
Pondering that, Rei suddenly recalled the group that had been causing a stir in Gilm before he left for Anesis.
"Come to think of it, what happened to that Red Cloth group that was causing trouble before I headed to Anesis? I haven't heard a word about them since I got back."
He asked.