Early the next morning, having experienced the extraordinary taste of the Gigant Turtle meat, Rei stood in the same place as the day before—just outside Gilm.
However, several things were different from yesterday.
Most notably, there was a clear increase in the number of people who had come to participate in the Gigant Turtle dissection.
It was still early morning. The sun had yet to fully show itself, leaving everything in a dim haze.
Despite the gloom, those who had gathered to take part in the dissection radiated tremendous enthusiasm.
Naturally, Rei could easily understand why.
The reason was, without a doubt, the Gigant Turtle meat they had distributed the day before.
Rei himself had been astonished by how delicious it was. It wouldn't be strange at all if others who had tasted it were equally captivated.
It was only natural. Those who had eaten meat that incredible would tell everyone around them. Some might have even shared it with companions.
Having heard such talk—or having tasted the meat themselves—those who desperately wanted to try it, or wanted to eat it again, were surely the reason the number of people accepting dissection work had swelled.
"I'm glad to see the headcount go up, but... what about the Cobolts? If they pull too many people over to this side, I feel like they won't be able to keep them in check."
Rei posed the question to a nearby Guild Staff Member.
The man smiled at Rei's concern and replied.
"That part is fine. There are plenty of adventurers who figure it's more profitable to earn money by killing Cobolts themselves than to eat the Gigant Turtle meat. ...Though I can't say for certain what will happen once word spreads that the meat is being bought back at high prices."
"Whether anyone will actually sell it, I don't know."
"Ahaha. True enough. Honestly, I had some of the Gigant Turtle meat yesterday with my wife and daughter, and the taste blew me away. Once you've had that meat, the thought of selling even a little is simply out of the question. ...That's also why I increased the number of guards today."
As the staff member said, there were definitely more Guild personnel stationed around those performing the dissection than there had been yesterday.
Rei had heard things were quite hectic due to the Cobolt situation, but the fact that the Guild could still deploy this many people spoke to its deep pool of talent.
Though the Guild itself is probably busier than usual, seeing as they transferred staff over here.
For a brief moment, he pictured the resentful faces of Lenora and Kenny, but decided it was better not to dwell on that and deliberately pushed the thought aside.
"It'd be a big help if you could stay on top of that. The fool yesterday was just the one who got caught right in front of me, but among everyone who tasted that meat, we can't rule out the possibility that someone might get ideas."
"Gruu? Grururu!"
Set, who had been listening in on the conversation nearby, growled in displeasure.
Rei wasn't the only one who had eaten the Gigant Turtle meat yesterday—Set had eaten it too.
Naturally, the taste had left a powerful impression on the griffon. Hearing that someone might try to steal it, it was only natural for Set to get angry.
When it came to food, Set's desire was exceptionally strong.
Given that, his reaction was entirely expected.
"Hey now, settle down. If anyone tries to steal the meat, Set absolutely won't forgive them—everyone understands that now."
Rei stroked Set's head, calming him down.
In fact, those who had overheard the exchange and caught the sound of Set's growl were wearing distinctly tense expressions. As a deterrent, the growl had achieved the maximum possible effect.
"Anyway, as long as they do their jobs properly over there, it helps me out and I've got no complaints. I can leave things in their hands with peace of mind."
If this were someone he barely knew, Rei would never have been able to trust them so readily.
But Rei was deeply trusted by Daskar. He was an alias-holding High-Rank Adventurer who partied with the former Guild Master Marina, and he was someone the current Guild Master, Worker, could not afford to alienate under anything short of extraordinary circumstances.
At a dissection of Rei's own property—the Gigant Turtle—theft by the very workers performing the task would be absolutely unacceptable.
That was why Rei could confidently judge that there was no problem with leaving the site.
Of course, Vihera and Byune, and...
"Come to think of it, I'm not sure exactly when, but Elena and Ara said they'd come by to see the Gigant Turtle dissection. When they show up, look after them."
"...Eh?"
At Rei's words, the staff member fell silent for a few seconds before muttering that single syllable.
Elena and Ara. As a Guild Staff Member, he naturally knew exactly who Rei was talking about.
If it had been just one of them, he might have reasonably assumed it was someone else who happened to share the name.
But those two names together left no doubt. It was Elena the Princess General and her trusted confidant, Ara.
She was not merely famous in Gilm. Her name was known throughout the entire Kingdom of Mireana—no, not just the surrounding nations, but even distant countries. The thought that someone of her stature was coming was almost too much to process.
He had known that Elena was staying in Gilm, and he had heard the rumors about her friendly—or rather, romantic—relationship with Rei.
Even knowing all that, his honest feeling was that he would prefer to be spared if at all possible.
That said, there was no point in protesting now. It was also a fact that he had been instructed from above to accommodate Rei's requests as much as possible, given that Rei was the client.
And more than anything, the reason the staff member didn't show any outright dismay was because he knew Elena was not a tyrannical noble.
Gilm was ruled by Daskar, who led the Neutral Faction, but even under his governance, nobles with tyrannical attitudes were far from rare.
Some would never behave that way toward fellow nobles but would act high-handedly only when dealing with commoners. Others would throw their weight around even with those whose houses held lower titles.
...And, though very rare, there were even those who would pick fights with nobles of higher rank than their own.
The fact that Elena was not that kind of noble was an enormous relief for the staff member who would be the one interacting with her.
"Understood. We will make sure to receive Lady Elena properly. And the workers performing the dissection would certainly be thrilled if Lady Elena herself set foot on the site."
That was an undeniable fact.
The alias of Princess General was widely known even here in Gilm.
Starting with Rei, there were several other alias holders in the city, but the Princess General's name was still more widely recognized than any of theirs.
Furthermore, Elena possessed a beauty that one might be fortunate to see even once in a lifetime, which would undoubtedly serve as a Morale Boost for the workers at the dissection site.
The dissection crew wasn't made up of only men—women worked alongside them. Yet even they would be so captivated by Elena's beauty that jealousy wouldn't even enter their minds. They could only stare in awe.
...If only he didn't have the pressure of receiving Elena without a single breach of etiquette, the staff member might have been able to simply rejoice at Rei's words.
Even so, the fact that the visitor was Elena rather than some tyrannical noble was, without question, a considerable relief.
If a noble prone to tyranny were to show up, it would be "Hand over the Gigant Turtle meat," or rather, "Hand over the materials," or even, "Hand over everything."
There was no guarantee they wouldn't issue such unreasonable demands.
"Leave it to me. Though Elena and the others probably won't actually arrive until a bit later. ...Oh, and I think Marina, Vihera, and Byune will be coming too. When they show up, look after them as well."
"Eh."
The staff member froze. Among the names Rei had so casually dropped was that of the former Guild Master, Marina.
Vihera and Byune had visited yesterday as well, so being told they were coming today wasn't particularly surprising.
But Marina's inclusion changed everything.
The current Guild Master was Worker, but Marina, who had held the position for years, still wielded enormous influence.
This staff member had personally received Marina's guidance on many occasions, so hearing that she was coming must have been quite a shock.
Rei lightly patted the stunned man on the shoulder as if to say I leave the rest to you, then headed back into Gilm, taking Set along. The griffon still wanted to stay and keep watch for anyone attempting to steal the Gigant Turtle meat.
The staff member watched Rei's retreating back with a somewhat resentful gaze... but he decided that, for now, he needed to focus on his work, and turned his attention back to whether there were any issues with the dissection.
"Hmm... definitely fewer people here than yesterday. The adventurers seem happy about it, though."
Rei's gaze settled on the adventurers currently fighting Cobolts as he muttered to himself.
He was right. The increased number of Cobolts to kill had created a very welcome situation for adventurers who were short on money.
...In reality, those who were well-informed had already shifted to the Gigant Turtle dissection, calculating that selling the meat would fetch more coin than hunting Cobolts. Those who remained here were either poorly informed or simply wanted an excuse to move their bodies.
"Grururu? Gruu, grururu?"
Why are we here again today? Set growled toward Rei.
Here at the Expansion Construction site, most of the searchable areas had already been checked yesterday.
Given that, Set didn't see how searching here again today would turn up any clues.
While stroking Set's head, Rei spoke.
"It's not quite 'visit the site a hundred times,' but as long as Cobolts are actually attacking here, investigating is the only option we've got."
What Rei was searching for was the Magic Item controlling the Cobolts' attacks.
Whether it was truly a Magic Item at all, even Rei couldn't say for certain. If anything, having found nothing during yesterday's search, he considered the possibility quite low.
But the hunt for the Magic Item had always been partly about killing time, so he pushed those doubts aside and carried on.
Perhaps sensing Rei's reasoning, Set gave a throaty purr as if to say it can't be helped, then rubbed his face against Rei, asking for more petting.
Obliging the griffon, Rei stroked his head while puzzling over how to approach today's search.
After yesterday, scent and sound are pretty much ruled out. But... that means there really are no clues at all. Maybe I should try covering more ground on foot? Depending on what I find, I might stumble onto something else entirely.
With that decision made, Rei set off to walk the Expansion Construction site with Set at his side.
At the reappearance of Rei and Set for the second day running, the adventurers fighting Cobolts cast complicated looks their way.
They were out here risking their necks against Cobolts to earn money, while Rei just strolled casually around with Set in tow.
If a low-rank adventurer had been the one loitering about, someone would've surely shouted at them to stop getting in the way.
But no one would dare do such a thing to Rei the Alias-Bearer. As a result, they simply pretended he wasn't there and focused on the job in front of them.
"Hmm... you think there's something around here?"
Rei asked Set as he surveyed the area where building materials were stacked, but the only response was a shake of the griffon's head.
Even for Set, if there was nothing to find, he couldn't conjure something out of thin air.
Taking Set's cue, Rei moved on to another spot.
He was at least careful not to interfere with those fighting Cobolts, taking small detours as he made his way around.
And so, while searching here and there...
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Suddenly, what sounded like a woman's scream pierced the air and reached Rei's ears.