"Hmm, I personally don't mind, but I can't say for certain without checking with the higher-ups."
Suchee had proposed that not only the workers here, but their families as well, could sleep and lodge in that warehouse.
Rei had put the question to a Guild Staff Member, and that was the reply he received.
"The real concern is whether, once spring arrives and the Gigant Turtle dissection is no longer possible, they would actually move out... I suppose that's the issue."
"Yeah... that possibility certainly exists."
Since it was a Guild warehouse, the roof and walls were solid.
At the very least, they wouldn't have to worry about suffering from drafty gaps or snow piling up inside like in the Slum District.
(Come to think of it, there was a time in middle school when snow piled up in the hallways.)
The mention of snow piling up inside a building reminded Rei of his middle school days.
The school building was decades old, built from wood rather than concrete, which was exactly why gaps had formed around the windows after so many years.
As a result, when winter came, snow would drift in through those gaps. Though only slight, it would accumulate in the hallways.
Walking through a hallway like that was one thing, but actually living in such a place was something Rei absolutely wanted to avoid.
And it wasn't just Rei — the same would undoubtedly hold true for the Slum District residents.
That was precisely why the Guild Staff Member worried they might squat in the warehouse even after the Gigant Turtle dissection was finished.
"If it were only the people coming here, they have families in the Slum District, so once the work dries up, some would naturally return. But if their families and friends are living there with them... we'd prefer to avoid heavy-handed measures if at all possible."
Given that it was a Guild warehouse, the Guild naturally would want to use it for various purposes.
If the Slum District residents refused to leave, the Guild would have to contact the guards — or in some cases, commission adventurers to forcibly remove them.
That was a natural course of action for the Guild, but the public fallout would be considerable.
That was why, honestly speaking, the Guild Staff Member wanted to avoid such measures if at all possible.
"But it's not guaranteed to turn out that way, right? Considering Suchee's character, I think she'd make sure everyone leaves once the deadline comes."
"Wishing it were so isn't enough to act on — that's how the Guild operates. ...That said, the shortage of hands for the dissection is also a fact. I'll make the recommendation to the higher-ups on those grounds."
"...You're okay with this?"
Given what he'd said so far, Rei had assumed the Guild Staff Member was opposed to his — or more accurately, Suchee's — proposal, so the acceptance took him by surprise.
Perhaps amused by the look of surprise on Rei's face, visible even beneath his hood, the Guild Staff Member let out a wry smile before speaking.
"Yes, of course. Regarding this Gigant Turtle dissection, we've been instructed to accommodate Lord Rei's requests as much as possible. It probably won't happen immediately even with the higher-ups, but I expect they'll ultimately agree."
From the Guild's perspective, they had entrusted Rei with numerous difficult requests over the years.
Tasks that would be downright impossible for an ordinary adventurer.
That was precisely why, for this matter, the Guild Master herself had directly instructed them to listen to his requests as much as possible.
Given that, as long as it wasn't an absurdly unreasonable demand, acceptance was all but guaranteed.
"I see. Then could you get permission from the higher-ups as quickly as possible?"
"Understood. I'll head to the Guild right now and submit the request."
Bowing once at Rei's words, the Guild Staff Member relayed something to another staff member who had been giving instructions to the dissectors a short distance away. The addressed man nodded and ran off.
...This location wasn't all that far from Gilm, but since it was still outside the city, the likelihood of monsters appearing was high...
(Well, it should be fine.)
The Guild Staff Member's movements were those of someone with a respectable level of strength.
Given that, unless an exceptionally high-rank monster appeared — at the very least, against the Cobolts that had been showing up most frequently — he could handle himself.
"Thank you for waiting. I've given instructions to notify the higher-ups of the general outline, so now it's just a matter of waiting for their reply. ...Though completely emptying several warehouses seems like it'll be quite a challenge. Especially at this time of year."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Well... when autumn comes, the adventurers work with a sort of 'one final push' mentality."
"Ah... well, that's true. Especially the question of whether they'll have enough money to get through the winter — nobody wants to work out in the freezing cold and snow, so they get desperate."
In other words, they worked that desperately, and as a result, vast quantities of materials and Magic Stones would get crammed into the warehouses.
Those would also be sold to merchants who came to Gilm to purchase goods, but since the merchants departed before the snow fell, any materials the Guild had purchased afterward couldn't be sold and naturally ended up in the warehouses.
Among the most common were, as expected, Gamelion materials — a hallmark of autumn.
Since the creatures themselves were fairly large, their pelts were correspondingly sizable.
...The fortunate thing was that most of the meat had already been sold by this point.
At any rate, they needed to clear out whichever of the Guild's several warehouses had the fewest materials stored in it.
"Ahaha, that's right. Though this year is quite different from usual due to the Expansion Construction."
"I'd imagine. I mean, when Cobolts are invading the city streets — and not just once but day after day, night after night — wouldn't it be better to just build a wall, even a makeshift one?"
"The upper echelon of Gilm is apparently already discussing that. The Guild has been pushing for it too, citing the adventurer issue. ...Though even a makeshift wall that keeps Cobolts from entering Gilm would require quite a large-scale construction project."
"Shouldn't they have done that kind of construction before the snow fell?"
"...You're right. I think so too, now that it's come to this. That said, nobody initially expected the Cobolts to appear in such overwhelming numbers and keep invading like this. Goodness, I wonder what's causing it all."
The fact that this was the first large-scale Expansion Construction since the founding of Gilm was likely one of the reasons.
Plans had been in the works for some time to increase Gilm's capacity, but the existence of the Treant Forest had accelerated those plans all at once.
However, the most significant factor was probably the intent to provide Class placement for the adventurers who had come to Gilm for the Expansion Construction.
Initially, no one had anticipated that Cobolts would attack in such numbers, so rather than building a makeshift wall, they needed to advance the Expansion Construction even a little further.
Those various circumstances had intertwined complexly, resulting in the current situation.
"Even so, they apparently did build a makeshift wall in a hurry? Though since it was truly makeshift, against the massive waves of Cobolts, it was pretty much useless."
The other Guild Staff Member who had been giving instructions to the dissectors a short distance away chimed in.
Hearing that explanation, Rei thought for a moment... and then spoke.
"I'll ask just to be sure — Gilm's upper brass and the Guild aren't exactly accepting the current situation where Cobolts appear endlessly, right?"
"That's right. The higher-ups honestly never expected things to turn out like this either."
"In that case, if we could prevent Cobolts from entering Gilm — or at least drastically reduce their numbers — is it safe to assume the freed personnel could be redirected to the dissection here?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, that would definitely increase. ...Though the Cobolts might be even more attracted to the Gigant Turtle's blood scent and come here in greater numbers."
"Would the Slum District residents be a problem? Cobolt meat is valued as a food source for them, right? I heard they also sell the materials and Magic Stones."
Rei asked based on what Suchee had told him, but on this matter, both Guild Staff Members exchanged troubled looks.
Eventually, the dissection supervisor spoke with a difficult expression.
"To be honest, we just don't know. It's true the Slum District residents have obtained a considerable number of Cobolt corpses, but..."
"In that case, would it be all right if I went ahead and built a wall where this place connects to the outside?"
"...Huh?"
For a moment, the Guild Staff Member seemed unable to grasp what Rei was saying.
That he recovered his wits and started thinking it through so quickly was proof of this man's competence.
"I'd need to run it by the higher-ups, but fundamentally I don't see an issue. As for the Slum District... given that they've already obtained large quantities of Cobolt corpses, I doubt they'd face food shortages... probably, though I can't say with certainty."
"For the Slum District residents, Cobolts are a resource — something they can obtain without taking dangerous risks. If that were suddenly cut off, we can't deny the possibility they'd harbor resentment."
Rei nodded in understanding at the other Guild Staff Member's words.
To the Slum District residents, Cobolt corpses were a cash cow.
If Rei did something that cut off their access to that, he would certainly earn their resentment.
He understood that, but he considered increasing manpower for the Gigant Turtle dissection to take priority over avoiding the Slum District residents' resentment.
"But how exactly would you build a wall?"
"Ah, my Earth Magic can handle that. It's just... I'm not all that skilled with Earth Magic, so the wall itself won't be particularly tall."
To be precise, it wasn't Earth Magic but Terrain Manipulation, a skill of Death Scythe.
At its current Level 4, he could raise or lower the ground by one hundred and fifty centimeters within a radius of seventy meters.
...Ordinarily, a height of one hundred and fifty centimeters would be something even a Cobolt could easily leap over.
But if he raised the ground by one hundred and fifty centimeters to form a wall and lowered the ground outside Gilm by one hundred and fifty centimeters, the resulting effective wall height would be three meters.
Three meters might not completely stop Cobolts... but it would shut out the vast majority of them — or so Rei estimated.
"I see, Earth Magic. I think doing something is better than nothing, but with an earthen wall, wouldn't Cobolts just dig through it?"
"Well, that can't be helped. As a countermeasure... let's see. If I asked Marina to use Water and Wind Spirit Magic to freeze the earthen wall, wouldn't that provide at least some resistance against digging?"
What concrete effect freezing an earth wall would have — Rei didn't know either.
But it was easy to predict it would have higher durability than simply building an ordinary earthen wall.
"Marina-sama, huh... ah, yes. That's right. You're in a party with Marina-sama, Lord Rei, so you could pull something like that off."
Saying so, the Guild Staff Member directed a gaze of reverence toward Rei.
To him, Marina's impression was that of the great former Guild Master.
That was precisely why Rei, who could casually ask Marina for a favor, was someone worthy of reverence.
"So with that said, could you get the Guild to relay the matter to Gilm's upper brass as well? If permission comes through, I'd actually like to build the wall today."
"Today? ...You're as quick to act as ever. Understood. Then I'll have someone run to the Guild again—"
"Hold on."
I'll have someone run—
Before the Guild Staff Member could finish, Rei raised a hand to stop him.
Not understanding why he'd been halted, the Guild Staff Member cast a questioning look his way. In response, Rei called over Set, who had been keeping watch on their surroundings from a short distance away.
"Gruu?"
What is it? Set rumbled from his throat. While stroking Set's head, Rei addressed the Guild Staff Member.
"I'm free right now anyway. ...Couldn't find any kind of Magic Item, either."
Rei muttered that with a slightly disappointed air — no doubt because he'd been unable to find a Magic Item that attracted Cobolts.
And so, Rei set off for Gilm together with Set.