The next day, Rei headed outside Gilm early in the morning as usual to kill monsters drawn by the blood and flesh scraps left from the previous day's dissection, but...
"Haa."
It was Vihera who sighed, looking as though the whole thing were a hassle.
He had been fully expecting a formidable enemy to show up again today, but what actually appeared was a pack of Goblins.
"...That's strange."
Gazing at the Goblin pack, Rei furrowed his brow.
Until now, the ones here should have been Cobolts. And yet, the only creatures to appear were Goblins.
Given the recent Abnormality in Gilm—considering the Cobolt incident—this was clearly out of the ordinary.
"For now... is there anyone who wants to fight the Goblins?"
Judging that annihilating the Goblins took priority over thinking, Rei asked around, but no one volunteered.
For those here as guards, fighting Goblins was a waste of stamina. For those brought in for their dissection skills, getting injured in a fight with Goblins would only hinder the dissection work. And for the Slum District residents, Goblin meat was technically edible, but not something they had any desire to eat.
Moreover, if they simply did their dissection work, they would receive appropriate compensation and Gigant Turtle meat that made comparing it to Goblin meat laughable—so there was no reason to lay a hand on the Goblins.
Since no one volunteered in the end, Rei asked Set to wipe them out.
The sight of Set unleashing Fire Breath, Water Ball, Wind Arrow, Ice Arrow, and other attacks one after another from the sky was truly a scene that could only be described as a rout.
Then, Set buried the Goblin corpses underground using Death Scythe's Terrain Manipulation. Once preparations were complete, Rei retrieved the Gigant Turtle from the Misty Ring.
Not much time had passed since the actual dissection began, so the work itself had not progressed very far. That was exactly why those entrusted with the task got to work one after another.
"Still, I never expected there to be only Goblins," Vihera muttered beside Rei as he watched the Gigant Turtle dissection.
"Right. Honestly, the absence of Cobolts was surprising."
"...Do you think yesterday's incident is related?"
Asked about yesterday's events, the first thing Rei recalled was, unsurprisingly, the pink tentacles.
The plain man who had brought the Red Cloth had said they were connected to the Cobolts, so the absence of Cobolts here was certainly related.
"Thinking about it normally, they must be related. The most likely possibility is that my damaging the tentacles had something to do with it."
Including those connected to the mastermind behind this incident, all of the Red Cloth had been killed by the tentacles—no, "drained to death" was probably the better description.
Regardless, the fact that Cobolts were no longer appearing despite more than the predetermined number of people having been killed meant it was only natural to seek the reason there.
"Hmm... hey, Rei. When you investigate that mansion and the others, I'm coming along next time."
Rather than asking to be brought along, Vihera declared it as a fact.
At those characteristically Vihera words, Rei nodded in response.
He had known ever since hearing about the tentacles that Vihera hoped to fight them, so it was really a matter of course by now.
"Just so you know, those tentacles are different from the enemies we've fought before. They're a bit troublesome. You understand that, right?"
"Yes. Just touching the tips drains you of various things, right? I'll make sure not to touch them, so it'll be fine."
Vihera spoke with a voice full of confidence.
Seeing her like that, Rei smiled.
He knew Vihera loved battle, so he felt that this attitude was exactly like her.
"Understood. Then, I'm heading to the Guard Station after we're done here today. Want to come along?"
Before coming here, when he had stopped by the Guild, he received a message from Lenora asking him to come to the Guard Station when he had time.
That was why Rei invited Vihera along...
"Hmm... today, huh."
She hedged her words, likely because she still felt she was something of a guardian figure for Byune.
That said, Vihera's heart was strongly inclined toward fighting the tentacles.
Part of it was that only Goblins had shown up this morning, but more importantly, Byune had been growing stronger.
As things stood, the current Byune could crush Goblins and Cobolts without suffering a single injury, overwhelming them with absolute strength.
Even so, the reason she did not immediately accept Rei's invitation was largely because, as a guard for this request, there was no telling what kind of monsters might appear.
Depending on the situation, it wouldn't be strange for a B-Rank—no, even an A-Rank monster to show up.
The scent of the Gigant Turtle's blood and flesh held that much drawing power.
Thinking of worst-case scenarios, she would prefer not to leave Byune's side if possible.
That was what Vihera thought, but...
"Nn."
Byune walked up in front of Vihera and muttered briefly as usual.
Rei could not grasp the exact meaning of those words. But even so, he somehow understood what she was trying to say.
In other words...
"Byune is saying not to worry about her and to go, isn't she?"
"That's right. ...Hey, are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Nn!"
Without changing her expression, Byune indicated through her attitude that what Rei said was correct.
At Byune's words and demeanor, Vihera thought for a moment... and then nodded.
"Understood. Then I suppose I'll take Byune up on her offer today."
"Nn."
Byune's attitude said that was fine.
Vihera lightly patted Byune's head with gratitude.
Byune didn't let it show on her face, but she silently accepted the gesture, perhaps pleased.
"I should mention this, though—they only said they want me to come to the Guard Station. It doesn't necessarily mean we'll go straight to yesterday's mansion. And even if we do go, it doesn't mean there will be a fight."
Even as he said that, given yesterday's incident, Rei's expectation was that a fight would indeed be unavoidable.
Considering those who had attacked without question, there was no guarantee that similar beings weren't lurking in the other mansions.
(If anything, Vihera is probably hoping for exactly that kind of opponent.)
Rei recalled those he had fought yesterday, but whether Vihera would be satisfied with their strength was honestly doubtful.
It was true they were definitely stronger than the Guards, but even so, they were only strong enough to lose to Rei without being able to put up a fight.
"Then wait here a moment."
Saying that, Rei temporarily left the spot and called out to the Guild Staff Member.
"Vihera and I are heading to the Guard Station. Can I leave things here to you?"
"Yes, I've heard the situation, so that won't be a problem. Here as well... since for some reason the Cobolts aren't coming today, it won't be as busy as it was until yesterday. It's a shame that maze you made isn't getting any use, though."
The Guild Staff Member's gaze drifted toward the maze constructed between Gilm and the Gigant Turtle dissection site.
Of course, it wasn't that intricate of a maze. It was merely designed to scatter the numbers when Cobolts attacked in groups.
Given it was such a makeshift structure, Rei was at a loss for words seeing the Guild Staff Member's disappointed expression.
"I'm glad you think so, but... well, if it's not being useful, then so be it. Anyway, I'm leaving this place to you. I know things are tough, but I'm counting on you."
The Guild Staff Member involved in the Gigant Turtle dissection served as the supervisor and needed to respond immediately if any problems arose. In that sense, his job was by no means an easy one.
Rei understood that as well, which was why he made a point of firmly entrusting things to him.
For the Guild Staff Member, this work also served as compensation for Rei, so he would never cut corners. Even under such circumstances, having Rei go out of his way to check in like this was extremely gratifying for someone actually doing the work.
After talking with the Guild Staff Member for a few minutes, Rei headed toward Gilm with Set and Vihera.
On the way, he noticed the Audience who had come to watch the Gigant Turtle dissection looking a little disappointed, and nodded inwardly.
For the Audience, the Gigant Turtle dissection was one thing, but seeing Vihera—a woman of peerless beauty—was probably another one of their pleasures. In that sense, it made sense that many people directed envious and jealous gazes toward Rei.
Of course, Rei was used to receiving those kinds of looks, so he did not seem particularly bothered.
"Hehe, could this count as a date too?"
Walking beside Rei, Vihera laughed happily and took his arm.
While feeling Vihera's abundant curves pressing against his elbow, Rei quietly averted his gaze and spoke.
"It feels a bit too dangerous to call it a date, I think."
"Guruu?"
Is that so? purred Set, who was walking on the opposite side from Vihera.
For Set, being able to go out together with Vihera and Rei was extremely enjoyable, so even if it was dangerous, it probably didn't bother him that much.
"Oh my, we don't know yet whether something dangerous will happen. You only received a message asking you to come to the Guard Station, right? Then it could just be an interview... well, maybe that's not the right way to put it, but it might be something like that?"
Vihera said that with a smile, but in her heart, she was convinced that since Rei was being summoned, there was absolutely some kind of dangerous event waiting.
After completing the procedures at the Main Gate, they headed to the Guard Station they had also visited yesterday.
Several passersby wanted to play with Set, but unfortunately Rei declined and kept walking.
And if Rei kept walking, naturally Vihera kept walking too—meaning that just as before, envious and jealous gazes were directed at Rei, who was arm in arm with Vihera.
If this were somewhere other than Gilm, especially a place they were visiting for the first time, there would probably be people who would try to pick a fight with him.
But among Gilm's residents, those who would do something so reckless were not exactly nonexistent—there just happened to be no such reckless people here.
"Ah, Rei. ...Vihera came too..."
The guard standing in front of the Guard Station looked happy upon seeing Rei, and then showed a complex expression upon seeing Vihera.
For the Guards, Vihera was an extremely difficult person to handle. The number of times they had been mobilized for incidents Vihera caused was easily in the dozens.
And yet, in most of those cases, the one who caused the problem was not Vihera but the other party, so as Guards, they could do little more than issue warnings.
They had warned her countless times that her Dancer- or Prostitutes-like clothing was the cause of such incidents, but when told it was a Magic Item or that it was suited for combat, the Guards could not exactly deny it.
"Well, if there's going to be rough work, Vihera will definitely be a combat asset. More importantly, is it alright to enter the Guard Station? Besides, for this incident, the more combat power we have, the better. Having more personnel who can deal with those tentacles will definitely help."
When they fought yesterday, the number of tentacles was not that large. Well, even so, they were opponents that would normally be difficult to handle, but with Rei's abilities, it had not been a problem.
But that was only the case as of yesterday. If more tentacles appeared, having more personnel to deal with them would naturally be a relief.
Of course, that was only assuming they ended up breaking into yesterday's mansion.
The guard in front of the Guard Station had not participated in yesterday's mansion search, but he had heard the details, so he nodded reluctantly.
"Understood, you can go inside."
"Yeah. ...Come to think of it, what happened to the people who participated in yesterday's search? Have they received any punishment?"
"No. Though there will likely be some kind of reprimand. But that will probably come after this incident is concluded."
Knowing there was no problem for now, Rei felt relieved.