The day after speaking with Grimm, Marina headed to the Lord's Manor to inform Daskar of yesterday's developments, while Elena and Vihera ran through warm-up exercises in preparation for the main event.
...It should be noted that Ara and Byune would not be participating in this battle.
Part of the reason was that Byune didn't know about Grimm, but more than anything, it was simply a matter of insufficient combat capability.
Ara possessed enough raw attack power to deliver devastating blows with her Power Axe.
However, in every other regard, she was inevitably outclassed by the others, and in a fight against swarming enemies like the tentacles, she risked becoming a liability.
In Byune's case, the issue was even more fundamental.
Though she wielded the formidable weapon Hakumo, her attack power still fell short of Ara's.
While she surpassed Ara in speed, the tentacles were remarkably fast themselves, making it uncertain how effective Byune's agility would actually prove against them.
Ara had insisted that if Elena was fighting, she wanted to participate too, if only to serve as a shield... but naturally, Elena would never allow it.
In the end, the two of them had talked it over and reached an agreement that way.
As for Byune, she cast a somewhat worried glance toward Vihera, but upon seeing how much Vihera was looking forward to the battle, she couldn't bring herself to say anything more.
Now, the two of them sat together, watching Elena and Vihera's mock battle from Marina's courtyard.
Meanwhile, what was Rei doing?
"I'm glad to hear there don't seem to be any problems."
"We received a sudden notice from above yesterday... is something happening today, by any chance?"
He had come to the Guild to confirm whether the Gigant Turtle dissection suspension had actually been communicated.
The workers who had come from the Slum District in particular were staying in a warehouse provided by the Guild on the assumption that the dissection would continue.
Rei had been somewhat concerned about their situation, but according to Lenora, there seemed to be no issues, which came as a relief.
"Something happening, huh. There is, but there are various circumstances behind it. I can't really talk about it."
For the time being, Ranga had instructed him not to mention anything about the Underground Space or the tentacles.
Much less the plan to forcibly teleport the tentacles from the Underground Space—or those that would appear there—into the open and subjugate them with just Rei's group.
Even if he told someone that, under normal circumstances, no one would believe him.
Of course, Rei was someone who had accomplished one impossible feat after another, so depending on the person, they might actually take him at his word.
After all, the very fact that Rei's partner Set was a tamed Gryphon—in reality, Set had been created through Beast Magic—was itself something no one would normally believe.
However, since Rei actually did have Set as a tamed monster, even the unbelievable became acceptable when Rei was the one saying it. That foundation of trust was already in place.
Moreover, Lenora had known Rei since his very first visit to Gilm, so she was well aware of just how unreasonable he could be.
That was exactly why he couldn't share the details with her.
"I see. It's a shame, but it can't be helped."
Lenora, working as a Guild receptionist, knew full well that there were things she shouldn't hear—things better left unheard—so she accepted it without pressing further.
"Still, if Kenny finds out you stopped by, she'll probably be quite frustrated."
"You think so? We meet fairly often, so I don't think it's anything worth getting that worked up over."
Saying that, Rei glanced at the seat beside Lenora where Kenny would normally be sitting.
But today, being Kenny's day off, the person sitting there was a different receptionist.
Rei had spoken with her a few times, but they weren't particularly close.
The receptionist filling in for Kenny apparently sensed his gaze and looked up from the documents she had been reading.
"Is something the matter?"
"No, it's nothing. I was just thinking that Kenny would usually be making quite a ruckus around here."
"Ah, haha... That's true, isn't it."
She seemed to understand what Rei was getting at.
The receptionist cast a brief glance at Lenora and let out a deflecting laugh.
"Wait a minute, Myurina. Could you explain exactly what that look just now was supposed to mean?"
"It's nothing. I just thought that without Kenny here, Lenora must feel a little lonely."
While she wasn't someone Rei was particularly close with, to Lenora, she was a workplace colleague.
Rei watched their casual exchange, but it was about time he headed back to prepare for today.
(Ah, headed back... I just naturally thought "head back to Marina's house" instead of "go to Marina's house.")
Feeling slightly tickled by that, and a quiet sense of satisfaction at having thought so naturally, he spoke up.
"Lenora, I have business to attend to, so I should get going."
"Eh? Ah, yes. Um, apologies for showing you such an unseemly sight..."
"I don't think you need to be that embarrassed about it. Anyway, I'll be off."
With that, Rei headed toward the Guild's doors.
Perhaps because the Gigant Turtle dissection had been called off, there were more people than usual in the Guild and its adjoining tavern.
Several of them bowed their heads when they saw Rei.
They understood that it was thanks to him that they had work at all.
In fact, thanks to the Gigant Turtle dissection, Gilm was bustling more than usual this winter.
Being able to directly behold something that could be described as a small mountain was apparently quite a draw.
And when the dissection participants spent their earnings, or ate and sold the Gigant Turtle meat themselves, it added yet another layer of liveliness to the city.
In that sense, there were many who felt the sudden suspension of the dissection yesterday and today was a genuine disappointment.
That said, the reason no one voiced complaints to Rei was probably because many feared being barred from future participation if they caused trouble.
Of course, if the Gigant Turtle dissection didn't resume not just today but tomorrow, the day after, and every day going forward, there might be some who would eventually voice their dissatisfaction.
(In that sense, I really do need to settle things with those tentacles today and be done with it. ...Well, with a battle in an open space, I have no intention of letting any of them escape, either.)
The inability to use large-scale attacks had been largely due to the battle taking place in the Underground Space.
If Rei had carelessly unleashed his magic, there was even a possibility of being buried alive underground.
Now that this constraint was gone, they could fight without holding back—and above all, having Set fight alongside them was tremendously significant.
Watching Set play with children outside the Guild, Rei smiled.
...However, that smile was not the kind one wore when watching something heartwarming. It was a fierce, predatory grin in anticipation of the battle to come.
"Eek!"
A passerby who caught sight of Rei's expression let out a small shriek.
Rei noticed the sound and reined in the smile he had been unconsciously wearing.
"Sorry."
"N-no."
The passerby accepted his apology but hurried away from the scene.
(Ah... I did it again. But if it's the kind of smile I was wearing, there should be plenty of people in Gilm who wear the same expression. I don't think they need to be that frightened.)
He reflected on it briefly, but thinking about the battle that would likely take place in a few hours, he couldn't suppress the aggressive mood rising within him.
Normally, Rei wouldn't wear that kind of smile even when facing ordinary monsters.
But this time, the enemy tentacles were entities fundamentally different from any monster he had fought before.
Rei alone could never have fought them—not fought them seriously—without borrowing Grimm's aid.
Grimm would teleport the enemy to them, and Rei and his companions would face that enemy together.
(It's similar to the Lemures situation, in a way... but it's still different.)
In terms of teleporting an enemy and fighting alongside companions, the format was the same as when he'd fought the Lemures in Emosion.
But while companions were companions, back in Emosion, they had been temporary allies, together only for that one occasion.
In contrast, those fighting the tentacles this time were Elena, Marina, and Vihera—three people plus Set, for a total of four and one beast.
This wasn't about the party Crimson Lotus Wings or anything like that. This was a battle with companions who would likely stand at Rei's side for the long years to come.
Under those circumstances, telling him not to burn with fighting spirit would have been impossible.
"Heeey. Sorry, but I have errands to run. Could you let Set go for now?"
At Rei's voice, the children who had been playing with Set pulled away, looking disappointed.
The reason they were this obedient was partly due to good parenting, but more than that, it was surely the knowledge that if they didn't listen to Rei, Set would look sad.
That was why the children obeyed without fuss and separated from Set.
...There were also adults among those playing with Set, but since they understood Rei's circumstances—not regarding the tentacles, but in the sense of his standing as an adventurer—they released Set as soon as Rei called.
"Grururu."
Released by his playmates, Set gave a disappointed child's face a gentle stroke with his tail, as if to say he still wanted to play, then padded over to Rei.
Rei stroked Set as the gryphon rubbed his face against him, then called out to the group.
"I can't today, but please play with Set again another time. Set enjoys playing with people, too."
With just those words, Rei left with Set.
The expression on his face was the same as always, and besides, much of it was hidden beneath the Dragon Robe's hood.
Even so, among those watching the man and gryphon depart, the adventurers who knew battle could see that Rei seemed slightly tense—and at the same time, excited.
"Hey, was something happening today?"
"Not sure. I don't think there's a monster attack or anything like that. The Cobolts that kept invading Gilm—apparently there's not much concern about them anymore thanks to the earth wall Rei made with his magic."
"...Then why is Rei like that? For that matter, the Gigant Turtle dissection is suspended today of all days."
"Ah... right. I was planning to have a drink with the meat I got today. That's a real shame."
"No, that's not what I mean... You're messing with me on purpose, aren't you?"
"I won't deny it. But the moment the Gigant Turtle dissection gets suspended, something's obviously off, right? Something definitely happened, but I think it's something we don't need to know about."
The man who had questioned Rei's attitude nodded in understanding toward his friend.
But even understanding that, it was an undeniable fact that he was curious.
Rei—among the adventurers in Gilm, no, among all those who possessed the means to fight—was one of the most powerful.
For that Rei to show such a battle-ready demeanor meant this was clearly no ordinary matter.
That said, no matter how curious they were, they wouldn't go so far as to follow him.
As adventurers who properly understood their own limits, they knew that if there was an opponent serious enough for Rei to fight at full power, being there would likely mean dying a pointless death.
"If it's an opponent Rei has to fight, and he loses, Gilm would probably take serious damage. What do you think about that?"
"Even if you ask me that... honestly, when it comes to Rei fighting, I can't picture him losing."
"That's... well, true."
Knowing Rei's strength, they simply couldn't picture him losing.
That was something anyone who knew Rei—who knew the combined strength of Rei and Set—would feel even more strongly.
"For now, there's no point in us worrying about Rei, so why don't we think about something else?"
"...Something else, like what?"
"Let's see. For example, there's a stall selling somewhat unusual nikuman. Do you know about it?"
"Unusual?"
His interest piqued by the mention of nikuman, the man stopped thinking about Rei altogether.