Having built an earth wall three meters tall — from the outside, at least — Rei and his group still had a fair amount of time before sunset. Their first order of business, then, was to find Marina so she could freeze the wall, just as they had originally planned.
However, Rei hadn't asked where she conducted her Spirit Magic training, so he was naturally at a loss as to where to look.
"No, this is... what am I supposed to do here?"
Rei murmured, though his tone carried nothing resembling despair.
Not finding her right now was somewhat troublesome, but once night fell, Marina would certainly return to her house in the Noble District — of that he had no doubt.
Given that, if it truly came down to it, he could simply explain the situation to her that evening and have her freeze the wall tomorrow. That, in itself, wouldn't be a problem.
...There was a chance the Cobolts might destroy the earth wall, but when Rei had tested it by hand, it had felt quite sturdy. The fact that they would struggle to dig through it with their claws was undeniable.
Rather than that, the odds were higher that they would use their claws to climb the wall, or trample their own companions, or employ some similar tactic to leap over it.
(Though whether their claws could even pierce the wall in the first place is another question.)
Thinking along those lines, Rei continued his search for Marina.
Along the way, he bought bread from a stall, picked up some skewers, got a soup loaded with toppings — behavior that, frankly, was very much in character for him.
Of course, while shopping at these stalls, he was also asking the vendors whether they had seen Marina, gathering information as he went.
Marina always wore a party dress, and with her beauty and the fact that she was a Dark Elf, she stood out considerably.
That was precisely why, if anyone nearby had spotted her, they certainly wouldn't have forgotten.
It was a reasonable approach to information gathering, but alas, he couldn't find any trace of her.
Instead, he did manage to discover a skewer stall using a somewhat unusual sweet-and-sour sauce.
"Gruu!"
Next, that place! — or so Set seemed to say as he purred and turned his gaze toward a skewer stall a short distance away.
"No, we just had skewers, didn't we? How about trying something different?"
"Gruu..."
Set purred disappointedly at Rei's words.
It wasn't that Rei disliked skewers. Quite the opposite, in fact — as fast food went, skewers were an extremely common fixture in Gilm.
Naturally, it was a simple preparation: just thread meat onto a stick and grill it. But precisely because of that simplicity, the variance in quality was significant.
The good stalls were truly delicious, but the bad ones would overcook the meat until it was tough, or conversely, serve it half-raw.
The seasoning also had to be devised by the cook, who needed to either prepare their own tare or purchase it from another establishment.
Even a simple salt flavoring required a genuine sense for cooking — too salty, or conversely, too bland, and the whole thing fell flat.
...That said, they had hardly ever drawn a dud among the stalls Set wanted to eat at so far.
Rei figured that Set's keen sense of smell — or perhaps his voracious appetite — had something to do with that.
"More importantly, look. The sandwiches they're selling over there..."
Look delicious — but Rei never got to finish the sentence. Right there, at a stall directly in his line of sight, he spotted a Dark Elf in a party dress he recognized.
Who it was required no thought at all to figure out.
Gilm was home to a foolishly large number of people, but among them, Rei knew of no one other than Marina who wore a party dress as everyday clothing.
"Which means... the one with her is the Dark Elf she's teaching Spirit Magic to."
Unlike Marina's long hair that cascaded down her back, the Dark Elf woman's hair was only about shoulder length.
She appeared to be Marina's disciple, but unlike her master, she was wearing leather armor.
In that regard, she clearly hadn't taken after her teacher.
Regardless, having found the person he was looking for, the option of not calling out to them simply didn't exist.
"Marina!"
Whether she heard him or not, Marina accepted a sandwich from the vendor and turned her gaze toward Rei.
As if following Marina's lead, the other Dark Elf looked his way as well.
Her features were better described as cute rather than beautiful.
In terms of age, Marina appeared to be in her twenties, whereas this girl looked to be around mid-teens — about Rei's age. No, depending on the observer, some might peg her as even younger than that.
After exchanging a word or two with the Dark Elf girl, the two of them headed toward Rei together.
"What is it? You should be at the Gigant Turtle dissection site, shouldn't you?"
"No, I had some business to take care of. I was looking for you, Marina."
"For me?"
"Yeah. The number of Cobolts coming through is no joking matter. It's causing a manpower shortage even at the Gigant Turtle dissection. So I built an earth wall at the area connecting to the outside, but if possible, I'd like you to reinforce it with your Spirit Magic. Specifically, I want you to wet it with water and then freeze it."
Marina's expression showed a flicker of surprise at the request, but once she understood what Rei was trying to do and how, her face settled into understanding.
"I see... Perfect timing. Mail, you come along too. This is the ideal opportunity to check the results of your training. ...Ah, that's right, I haven't introduced you yet, have I? I mentioned her before, didn't I? The Dark Elf girl I'm teaching Spirit Magic to."
Marina gave a push to the back of the Dark Elf girl called Mail, who had been standing beside her watching Rei, nudging her forward.
The reluctant Mail turned her gaze in turn toward Rei, Set, and then Marina beside her... before finally bowing her head toward Rei.
"P-pleased to meet you! I am Mail. I am currently being taught Spirit Magic by Marina-sama! I am extremely happy to meet Rei-san, who is such an important person to Marina-sama!"
Whether from nerves or not, the voice that burst from Mail's mouth was extremely loud.
So loud that not only Rei and Set, but even the passersby around them turned to stare.
...Of course, once they realized it was Rei and Marina standing there, most simply judged it to be business as usual and kept walking.
A few curious onlookers, however, watched Rei's group with keen interest, as if wondering whether something entertaining was about to unfold.
"Ah, yeah. Calm down a bit. If you've been spending time with Marina, there's no reason to be that nervous in front of me, right?"
"Oh my, what do you mean by that? Are you perhaps saying I'm frightening?"
Marina spoke with a tone of dissatisfaction, but her eyes clearly held an amused smile.
"No! To think that Marina-sama, the Shrine Maiden of the World Tree, could be frightening... I would never think such a thing! Marina-sama is the woman I aspire to be."
"You certainly know how to say the right things. ...Well, just as Rei says, there's really no need to be so nervous. It's only for a short while until spring, but since Mail will be my disciple, you'll eventually learn how to deal with Rei and Set... as well as Vihera, Byune, Elena, and Ara."
Hearing Marina's words, Rei reflected anew on the fact that the people he called his own were truly an impressive gathering.
In this Kingdom of Mireana, there was Elena — daughter of Duke Kerebel, who led the Noble's Faction, one of the Three Great Factions, and who bore the alias of Princess General, renowned even in neighboring nations.
Though currently in self-imposed exile, Vihera was a princess of the Bestia Empire.
Marina held the vital position of Shrine Maiden of the World Tree among the Dark Elves.
While perhaps not quite reaching the stature of those three, there was also Ara, who commanded Elena's Escort Knight Order, and Byune, a descendant of the family that had founded the Labyrinth City Exil.
...Of course, Rei himself, who was thinking so leisurely about all this, bore the alias of Crimson, was accompanied by an S-Rank-equivalent Rare Species gryphon, and was feared as the Bandit Eater for hunting bandits as both hobby and practical pursuit — making him just as famous as the rest of them. If not more so.
"H-Hawa... awawawa... hawawawawa... e-every single one of them is an unbelievably famous person, isn't that right...!"
That was what tumbled from Mail's mouth upon hearing Marina's words.
But it prompted a sudden question in Rei's mind.
He, Elena, and Ara had only recently returned to Gilm, and this was the first time he'd met Mail.
However, that was because they had been away in Anesis. Those who had stayed behind in Gilm — Vihera, Byune, and the rest — might well have crossed paths with Mail, or so he reasoned.
Yet going by Mail's current demeanor, it was clear she had never met Vihera or Byune.
"Have you not met Vihera or Byune?"
"Eh? Ah, yes. Um... I haven't had the opportunity."
Rei accepted that as reasonable and once again turned his gaze toward Marina and Mail.
"So, freezing the earth wall won't be a problem, right? If you're willing, I'd like you to do it right now."
"Yes, that's fine. We'd just wrapped up today's practice, anyway. ...Right?"
"W-wait, Marina-sama, are you serious? You want me to... th-that's a little impossible!"
Whether from a severe lack of confidence or not, Mail shook her head frantically in denial.
Seeing that, Rei cast a glance at Marina that clearly asked, Is this really going to be all right? But Marina, on the receiving end of that look, simply sighed and patted Mail on the head.
"Mail, do you not understand what I've been telling you all along? You are already fully fledged as a Spirit Mage. And yet, why are you so lacking in confidence? That is your biggest flaw. You understand that, don't you?"
"Th-that's..."
At Marina's words, Mail couldn't offer anything in reply.
She herself understood that her timidity was her own shortcoming.
But even understanding that, timidity was something she'd been born with. There was no way she could fix it overnight.
"Good grief. If Mail had even a fraction of Rei's confidence, it would be enough."
At Marina's murmur, Rei raised a hand to stop her.
"A fraction? At that rate, wouldn't that make me a solid lump of confidence?"
"Are you not? ...Well, in Rei's case, it's not that you're all talk without the ability to back it up. You have the actual strength to match, so it's not a problem. ...Anyway, come on. Let's go."
With that, Marina handed the sandwiches she'd bought at the stall to Rei.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. I wasn't that hungry, anyway. In that case, it's better to put in a good effort with Mail now and then enjoy a delicious dinner."
Put that way, Rei understood exactly what Marina was getting at.
A delicious dinner — that was, without a doubt, a reference to a dish made with Gigant Turtle meat.
Those participating in the dissection were entitled to receive some Gigant Turtle meat, however small the amount.
But it wasn't enough to fill one's stomach. ...For someone with a small appetite, perhaps, but that was another story.
In that sense, Rei, who would end up with the bulk of the dissected Gigant Turtle meat, was truly blessed.
And Marina, who partied with Rei and ate dinner in her courtyard almost every day, could be considered equally blessed.
"Understood. ...Then let's get going. It's Mail, right? Are you okay with this too?"
"Eh? Ah, yes. ...Wait, I really am going? Au..."
Seeing Mail respond like that, Rei couldn't help but think once more, Is this really going to be all right?
But Marina, who was teaching Mail, was saying it would be fine — and Rei trusted her judgment.
"Come on, let's go. Mail, steel yourself. With your abilities, something of that level should be no problem at all."
"Understood. ...I'll do my best."
At Marina's words, Mail responded as though she had finally resolved herself.
(It's going to be fine, right? ...Can someone this timid really manage?)
Rei couldn't entirely suppress the thought, but right now they didn't have the luxury of arguing over such things. They needed to freeze and reinforce the earth wall as quickly as possible.
Besides, there was also the implicit backup plan: if Mail truly proved unable to handle it, Marina was right there and could use her Spirit Magic herself.
And so, Rei, Marina, Mail, and Set — three people and one gryphon — set off for the Expansion Construction site where Rei had built the earth wall.