Looking out over the Earth Wall spreading before her, Vihera spoke with evident admiration.
"I see. With this, Cobolts won't be getting into Gilm so easily. Though, as you say, climbing over it from the Gilm side isn't particularly difficult."
"Yeah. I never expected them to try something like that. ...Besides, even if they got outside, it's winter. There are plenty of winter monsters stronger than the usual ones. If they actually went through with it... it'd be nothing short of suicide."
"I suppose so. But if staying in Gilm means getting caught, that changes the calculus entirely, doesn't it?"
"True."
They had intentionally lured monsters into Gilm — Low-Rank Monsters like Cobolts — and had sacrificed people to those dangerous tentacles to make it happen.
If caught, they would almost certainly face execution.
...No, there was even a chance that execution would be the lightest punishment on the table.
Considering all that, it wouldn't be surprising if they decided to gamble everything and climb over the Earth Wall to escape Gilm.
(Besides, there were few Cobolts today. In other words, even if they fled from here, the odds of being attacked by Cobolts like before are slim. It wouldn't be strange for them to think along those lines.)
As Rei stood there mulling this over while studying the Earth Wall, the cries of monsters suddenly echoed from the other side.
"Could Cobolts have shown up?"
He had just been thinking about how few Cobolts there were today, and now, as if to betray that very thought, had they appeared?
Before he could dwell on it further, Vihera kicked off the ground and landed atop the Earth Wall, leaving Rei's question hanging.
That movement — utterly devoid of any sense of gravity — was truly worthy of admiration.
"Oh, not Cobolts. Goblins."
"Goblins, huh. The Cobolts that were here every day vanished, so they probably got curious and came to investigate."
"So the Cobolts were here all along because they could get easy meals, and now that the Cobolts are gone, the Goblins figure it's their turn... that's what you're saying?"
"Probably. Can't really read a Goblin's mind, though."
In truth, Goblins often behaved in ways that left onlookers wondering why on earth they would do such a thing.
Rei had heard plenty of stories about people who took an interest in Goblin behavior and ended up suffering unexpected losses as a result.
"So? What's the plan? Are you going to deal with the Goblins?"
"No, too much trouble."
Vihera said it flatly and kicked off the Earth Wall with the same gravity-defying movement, landing back on the ground.
"Figured you'd say that. ...If there were Rare Species or High-ranking Species among them, it might've been a different story."
"Gyoaaaaaaaaa!"
"Gyakyogyakyu!"
"Gyuogyugyugu!"
As if to cut Rei off, the Goblins' cries grew fiercer.
Why? Rei wondered for a moment, but thinking about it, Vihera was standing on top of the Earth Wall — naturally visible to the Goblins on the other side. And if the Goblins spotted Vihera, making a fuss like this was only expected.
To them, Vihera was the finest prey imaginable. ...Whether they could actually bring down that prey was another matter entirely.
"Quite the popular one."
At Rei's lightly teasing remark, Vihera spoke with a look of clear displeasure.
"Being liked by those kinds of Goblins doesn't make me happy at all. At least if they were stronger monsters, maybe."
"First Cobolts, now Goblins. ...Rather than getting courted by any more strange creatures, want to head back into the city? I should go pick up Set, too."
There was still a fair amount of time before the appointed hour, but Set — who had split off to play with the Children on the way here — should be picked up sooner rather than later.
Since a major disturbance was all but guaranteed in the afternoon, they needed to get lunch in beforehand.
Vihera considered Rei's words for a moment... then nodded.
"You're right. Rather than the Goblins that are definitely in front of us, it's better to look forward to the strong enemies this afternoon. Alright, let's go. What are we having for lunch today?"
"Good question. It is winter, after all, so something warm sounds good."
Rei said so, though thanks to the Dragon Robe, he didn't feel the cold in the slightest.
No snow was falling at the moment, but winter being winter, the temperature was still brutally low.
...Even so, wanting warm food in winter was only natural.
(Sukiyaki, maybe... but I can't get the ingredients. No Soy Sauce, either. For that matter, how do you even make sukiyaki Tare? Sugar and... Alcohol? I'm missing the rest of the ingredients, too.)
Just remembering it made Rei crave sukiyaki, but with no way to gather the ingredients in the first place, there was nothing he could do.
Giving up on the thought, he and Vihera left the Earth Wall behind.
From beyond it, the Goblins' excited cries still echoed, but Rei and Vihera tuned them out.
"Come to think of it, if no Cobolts showed up today, the people who were still accepting Cobolt subjugation requests are probably going to lose a day's earnings."
"Maybe so. But it'd be a problem if there weren't people like that, right? Oh, but if Cobolts stop appearing altogether, then I suppose there's nothing to worry about."
"Hmm. If Cobolts never showed up again, that would be fine. But if this is because of the damage I dealt to those tentacles yesterday, there's no telling how long it'll last."
"True. If nobody's assigned to handle Cobolt subjugation and then it turns out they've actually reappeared... that would be no laughing matter."
If no one was present to subjugate Cobolts, any that climbed over the Earth Wall and slipped into Gilm by some means would pass straight through the Expansion Construction zone and reach the crowded city center.
And if they encountered people with no means to fight back... what kind of result that would lead to was all too easy for Rei to imagine.
Gilm was a frontier settlement, and many of its residents were former adventurers.
There were more people here who could fight than in an ordinary town or village, but not everyone fit that description — and if Cobolts encountered the Children, the outcome didn't bear thinking about.
"Well, that's why lookouts are absolutely essential. Even before I built the Earth Wall — before the Cobolts started appearing in large numbers — guards were posted to keep monsters from entering Gilm through the Expansion Construction site."
As they talked, Rei and Vihera passed through the construction area... and upon reaching the city streets, spotted Set playing with the Children.
Since it was near the Expansion Construction site, there were plenty of vacant lots in the vicinity — more than enough space for the Children and Set to play.
"How heartwarming."
Vihera murmured as she watched the Children playing tag with Set.
Of course, she could say that only because she knew what Set was.
If someone who knew nothing — someone seeing Rei or Set for the first time — witnessed the scene before them, they would almost certainly assume a Child was being attacked by Set... by a Gryphon.
Then again, there was probably hardly anyone in Gilm who didn't know about Set.
"True. I absolutely won't let this sight — so many people who adore Set — be destroyed by a Cobolt attack."
For Rei, who considered this place his base, his home, the thought of Cobolts running rampant here... and the pink tentacles that were likely summoning them running rampant as well, was something he could never accept.
That was why he was fairly motivated for this operation.
...It probably also had something to do with the fact that he had been hoping the means of controlling the Cobolts was a Magic Item, only to consider that it might actually be some kind of ritual or entirely different method.
"Gruu? Grururururu!"
He must have noticed Rei and Vihera talking.
Set, who had been playing with the Children, purred happily while looking in their direction.
And in complete contrast to Set's delight, the Children wore disappointed expressions.
The agreement had been that they could play with Set only while Rei was inspecting the Earth Wall — so now that Rei was back, everyone understood that playtime was over.
They still wanted to keep playing, but not one of them voiced a selfish complaint.
They knew that if they whined here, they wouldn't be included next time... and more importantly, they had seen it happen before.
That particular Child had been forgiven after apologizing to both Rei and Set, but the honest truth was that none of the Children wanted to go through something like that themselves.
"Sorry, we've got things to do, so we'll be heading out soon. If there's another chance, play with Set again, okay?"
"Gruru."
As if echoing Rei's words, Set purred.
The Children, looking a bit disappointed, waved and ran off to find a new game.
Rei stroked Set, relieved to see them running in a direction away from the Expansion Construction site.
"Gruu, grururu, grururururu!"
Clearly delighted by Rei's touch, Set purred in high spirits.
For Set, being petted by the Children he had just been playing with or by people who doted on him was certainly pleasant — but being stroked by Rei was evidently the best of all.
As if asking for more, Set rubbed his head against Rei.
Rei smiled at the display and kept on petting him...
"Hey, it's fine to do that, but shouldn't we go eat soon? We'll be busy this afternoon, and I'd like to get lunch in early if possible."
Vihera cut in, looking slightly displeased.
She wasn't jealous of Set — but even so, watching Rei pet Set alone while she stood right there beside him, it wasn't as if she had no feelings about it.
...Normally, that would be called jealousy, but Vihera herself showed no sign of realizing it.
And Rei, who had been stroking — frankly doting on — Set, didn't seem to notice either. He simply nodded in agreement, as if it were the most reasonable suggestion in the world.
"Right. Let's go eat, then. ...What are you in the mood for?"
"Let's see. It sounds like we'll be moving hard this afternoon, so I want a proper meal."
Normally, before intense physical activity, one would opt for something light... but apparently Vihera saw things differently.
Not that Rei disagreed with her, and Set was always on board for more food, so no one raised any objections.
"In that case, not Sandwiches or skewers — a proper restaurant. The question is what to order."
Partly because he had just been thinking about sukiyaki, Rei found himself wanting something like a hot pot.
"Right. Since it's winter, how about piping hot stew? And not just a thin, drinkable one — a hearty stew with plenty of Toppings. A stew you eat, not drink."
"Gruu!"
As if responding to the phrase "a stew you eat," Set purred happily.
For Set, the act of eating clearly won out over drinking.
"Stew, huh. Cold season suits it perfectly. I'd want bread to go with it, and maybe order a few other dishes on the side."
"True. Stir-fried meat and vegetables with bread... udon would be nice, too."
"I wouldn't mind having Nikuman again, it's been a while... but that might be tough."
The dishes Rei had helped develop — Nikuman chief among them — were quite popular in Gilm, partly because he had taught the shops to make them as winter fare.
However, the original shop — the one where Rei had personally taught the recipe — naturally commanded the highest popularity.
Buying from that shop meant waiting in line, and even then, getting enough to satisfy Rei and his group was no simple matter.
(If sukiyaki is out, then maybe oden... hmm, how do you make oden Dashi, anyway?)
What Rei had used back in Japan was Dashi made from packaged oden seasoning.
Because of that, he had no idea how to make oden Dashi from scratch.
(Hanpen, beef tendon, konnyaku noodles, potato, daikon, egg... and then at the end, pouring the oden broth over rice... ah, I really want oden now.)
He thought wistfully about how much he wanted oden... but ultimately, just like with sukiyaki, not knowing how to make it, he gave up with lingering regret.