"Heh... is that so?"
Even as she said it, Vihera's gaze lingered on Rei, as if she had more to say.
Rei understood exactly why she was looking at him like that, so he didn't seem particularly bothered.
When it came to the Snow Cyclops incident, one thing was certain: Vihera had wanted to fight it herself.
"Yeah. The Cobolt situation should be resolved before long. I handed Glanje over to Egg, so there's probably nothing to worry about anymore."
The base used to contact the person behind the Red Cloth.
The Guards had already found a suitable observation point and begun their stakeout.
After confirming that, Rei had handed Glanje over to Egg as promised—or more accurately, to Egg's subordinate, since Egg himself was absent—explained the circumstances, and returned to the Gigant Turtle dissection site.
What awaited him was Vihera, looking displeased.
"The Cobolt incident, huh... But I wonder why they used Cobolts of all things."
"I wondered the same thing, and so did the Guards. In the end, we couldn't figure out the reason. But it seemed like some of the Guards thought they probably just wanted sheer numbers rather than a few powerful monsters."
Rei's words only made Vihera scowl again.
From Vihera's perspective, if they were going to control monsters anyway, she wanted them to control something more powerful—something like the Snow Cyclops Rei had fought.
That said, if multiple Snow Cyclopses attacked as a group, the Earth Wall Rei had built would be easily destroyed. Or worse, they might simply climb over it without even needing to break through.
If that happened, unlike the Cobolts whose intrusion was being barely contained at the Expansion Construction site, the Snow Cyclopses could break through and rampage through the city streets.
Gilm had no shortage of skilled adventurers, but that didn't mean they could instantly slay Snow Cyclopses rampaging through town.
Above all, it was winter, and there were certainly no few people who spent their entire day in taverns.
If people like that tried to fight Snow Cyclopses, they would only end up causing even more collateral damage.
"For now, let's say tomorrow. Come with us tomorrow morning, Vihera. That way, there's a chance we'll find powerful ones among the monsters drawn in by the Gigant Turtle's blood and flesh."
Originally, Rei had even considered using Terrain Manipulation to bury the currently exposed soil and bring up different earth from underground.
But considering Vihera's mood, he couldn't very well do something like that.
Besides, for Rei and Set, there was the possibility of obtaining unknown Magic Stones, so it wasn't as though he'd be doing it reluctantly.
"Oh, is that so."
True to form, Vihera's mood improved instantly at those words.
But there were no powerful monsters yesterday, and considering that, it's not guaranteed there will be any tomorrow.
In the end, what kind of monsters appeared was a matter of luck.
Even if Vihera came here with Rei tomorrow morning, if they were unlucky, there might be nothing but Cobolts and Goblins.
Still, since she could only get what she wanted by trying, there was no option for Vihera but to give it a shot here.
"Gruu?"
Set looked toward Rei and purred.
It was an attitude that seemed to ask, "Can I go play?"—and his gaze was directed toward the labyrinth Rei had built from earth walls.
There, adventurer guards were currently cutting down Cobolts that had made it through the labyrinth.
It wasn't a particularly complex labyrinth, but for Cobolts, it was apparently enough.
"Ah, sure. Just don't get in the way of the ones fighting the Cobolts."
"Gruu!"
Set cried happily at Rei's words, kicked off the ground, and bounded toward the labyrinth.
Watching him go, Rei wondered whether Set wanted to fight Cobolts, try the labyrinth, or experience both at once.
That said, since he'd already given permission, Set probably wouldn't listen to anything Rei said now.
Well, if Rei seriously told him to stop, he probably would. But since Set had already gotten excited, there was no doubt he'd look disappointed.
In that case, since he wouldn't be getting in anyone's way, Rei decided to just let him do as he pleased.
"Sigh. Watching Set made me relax a bit."
Vihera, who had been observing the exchange between Rei and Set, had her lingering displeasure completely vanish, and she murmured with a smile.
Was Set aiming for this all along?
That thought crossed Rei's mind as he watched Vihera. But looking at Set already happily roaming through the labyrinth, it was hard to believe he'd acted with such calculated intent.
That was how innocently Set was enjoying the labyrinth.
"For now, when we go raid the ones orchestrating the Cobolt incident, take me with you."
"Well, having you along as combat power helps, so that's fine... but what are you planning to do?"
"It's obvious, isn't it? I'm going to ask why they did something like drawing in Cobolts of all things. Ideally, it would be nice to learn their method. Because then, we might be able to lure in more powerful monsters."
Vihera murmured with a full smile, her voice brimming with expectation.
Rei let out a small smile at such a typical Vihera response.
That was Vihera, all right.
Above all, fighting powerful unknown monsters meant the possibility of obtaining unknown Magic Stones for Rei as well, so it was a welcome prospect.
With that in mind, Rei glanced over at Byune, who was one-shotting Cobolts emerging from the labyrinth with Hakumo.
Rei was confident that Byune wouldn't oppose fighting unknown monsters either, since she also stood to benefit financially.
"I agree with your idea, but what if the Magic Item the ones behind this incident have only attracts Cobolts?"
"A Magic Item... come to think of it, that was your theory, Rei. Though whether a Magic Item is truly the cause of this incident is still unknown."
Even while responding to Rei, Vihera's expression made it clear she didn't believe it was a Magic Item as he claimed.
At Vihera's attitude, Rei started to say something, but...
"Ooooooooooooh!"
Suddenly, a loud cheer echoed across the area.
What was that? Rei turned his gaze toward the source of the voice and found what appeared to be an adventurer, holding something that looked like a scale and rejoicing.
"...A scale?"
Why a scale? Rei voiced the question aloud.
The Gigant Turtle was, as its name suggested—despite various extraordinary aspects—a turtle monster.
Naturally, its skin bore nothing resembling scales.
No, to be precise, it should be said that it lacked the kind of distinct scales Rei was picturing.
But what the adventurer man currently in Rei's line of sight held was, without a doubt, exactly what Rei was imagining—the kind of scale you'd associate with a snake or a crocodile, the sort that typically came to mind at the word.
And the size of it was about that of an ordinary shield, or perhaps even larger.
"A scale, huh," Vihera replied briefly to Rei's murmur.
But her face also showed clear surprise.
"If the one doing the dissecting had it, that means it's a Gigant Turtle scale, right? ...I never noticed anything like scales when we were storing or taking it out."
Rei had touched the Gigant Turtle's body countless times.
After all, he stored it in the Misty Ring every evening and took it out every morning, so that was only natural.
Despite that, he had never once noticed that the Gigant Turtle's body had anything like scales.
"That's true. I looked at the Gigant Turtle quite a bit too, but I don't think there were scales anywhere. ...Which means, where on earth did that scale come from?"
If the dissection had progressed to the torso, it might have been possible—however slim the chance—to imagine it came from the stomach. But so far, dissection had only progressed to the legs.
Which meant, naturally enough, that the scale had come from a leg...
"Hey, where did that scale come from? I've touched that Gigant Turtle plenty of times, and I don't think it had scales like that."
Rei asked a nearby Guild Staff Member—not the one entrusted with commanding the dissection, but a different individual.
The Guild Staff Member, perhaps not expecting to be addressed by Rei, showed a briefly startled expression before speaking.
"Ah, yes. From what I heard, apparently there was a scale beneath the skin."
"...Beneath the skin? Well, if that were the case, I wouldn't have been able to tell at a glance... but is that really true?"
"The person who extracted it is definitely saying so."
Hearing that the scale was beneath the skin, Rei was genuinely and thoroughly baffled.
It was only natural. If he took those words at face value, it would mean the Gigant Turtle had scales on top of its flesh, concealed beneath a layer of skin.
If the scales had been on the surface, that would have been one thing, but having scales beneath the skin was something Rei simply couldn't comprehend.
"Wait a moment. Is that the only scale that's been found? From the looks of it, no one else seems to have one."
"Yes. For now, I believe it's just that one. ...Going forward, there's a possibility more scales might turn up."
"...I see. Rei, what do you think?"
Vihera asked him, but Rei was still reeling from what could only be called an incomprehensible situation.
Then again, the Gigant Turtle itself was an entity that could fairly be described as semi-incomprehensible.
Considering that, something like scales beneath the skin probably shouldn't be all that surprising.
Scales beneath the skin... was it using them as hidden shields or something? No, considering the Gigant Turtle's size, that scale is way too small.
It was just the right size for a human to hold—or rather, it looked like a slightly oversized shield depending on the person—but it seemed far too small for the Gigant Turtle to use for such a purpose.
So even if asked why there were scales beneath the skin, Rei had no answer to give.
"For now, if scales turn up from other places too, I could at least accept it as being that kind of creature. I just hope that one isn't the only scale. ...What do you think?"
"Even if you ask me, I don't know what kind of ecology the Gigant Turtle has. Honestly, I think there's nothing we can do about it. We have no choice but to keep dissecting and see, don't we?"
Rei had tried asking Vihera, but that was the answer he got back.
Without actually continuing the dissection, there was no way to know whether the scale was a fluke or whether similar scales existed on the other legs for some reason.
Still, one thing was clear: that scale was likely a valuable material.
Its shape alone made it perfectly serviceable as a shield with just a bit of processing, and it wasn't uncommon for scales to serve as ingredients for medicines and potions.
Exactly what kind of material it could become would require thorough investigation, but given the Gigant Turtle's rarity, Rei felt confident it would prove useful as something.
"For now, let's just hope that scale turns out to be a good material."
In the end, that was the conclusion they settled on.
For that matter, it was still unknown just how many unknown materials the Gigant Turtle's dissection might yield.
Given that, making a fuss over a single unknown material—considering what might still lie ahead—made him wonder just how much fussing they'd end up doing by the time it was all over.
The scale had been far more surprising than expected, but the Gigant Turtle's skin itself was no less an unknown material.