A few weeks had passed since the battle with the giant eyeball. Once the coldest period of winter had passed, the chill naturally began to ease, and time flowed toward spring.
Of course, even if the cold was gradually easing, the days were still brisk, and snowfall was far from uncommon.
Nevertheless, the sun appeared more often instead of overcast skies, and it was no longer unusual for snow that had fallen the night before to melt away by midday.
Had the daytime temperature still been below freezing, it would have been one thing. But now that it had grown considerably warmer despite the occasional snowfall, the change inevitably began to affect the Gigant Turtle dissection.
No, to be precise, it was not the dissection work itself that was affected, but rather the Gigant Turtle's corpse.
Normally kept inside the Misty Ring, where the flow of time was stopped, the corpse would not rot. However, during dissection, it naturally had to be taken out.
In other words, time flowed normally for the corpse during those periods.
Given that, as the weather gradually warmed, the corpse would inevitably begin to rot as time passed.
Rei had already taken these circumstances into account when he decided that the Gigant Turtle dissection would be a winter-only job.
"For that reason, the Gigant Turtle dissection concludes today. To everyone who participated, thank you very much."
The Guild Staff Member overseeing the dissection bowed to the adventurers who had been participating up until today, as well as to the others with dissection skills and the residents of the Slum District.
Since the dissection rewards were fundamentally paid by the Guild, this was an extremely large commission for them as well. In fact, they were even considering making it a regular winter commission during the years of Gilm's Expansion Construction.
That was precisely why they decided to end the dissection today, even though they could have continued. The Gigant Turtle was still fresh—no doubt thanks in part to its own magical power, as despite being dissected for a considerable number of days, it showed no signs of decay and remained in perfect condition.
They knew it was still fresh even now, but they wanted to preserve that freshness for as long as possible.
Those participating in the dissection felt some slight dissatisfaction with the work ending today, but their sense of satisfaction was stronger, and they obediently accepted the Guild Staff Member's words.
...Naturally. They had received Gigant Turtle meat almost every day, eating what could only be called premium meat—or selling it for a handsome sum.
Their only true complaint was that they would not be able to eat Gigant Turtle meat again until next winter.
"There is still a little time before spring arrives. Please use that time to rest your bodies, exhausted from dissecting the Gigant Turtle day after day. Once the Expansion Construction resumes, it would be helpful if you could focus on that. With that, you are dismissed. As for your rewards, they will be paid as usual, so please collect them from the attendants."
At the Guild Staff Member's words, those gathered raised a cheer and headed toward the attendants distributing the pay.
Watching the scene, Rei spoke to the Guild Staff Member who had been overseeing the dissection.
"Good work today."
"No, not at all. The Gigant Turtle dissection was originally a commission with rewards covered by the Guild. Besides, overseeing such a large commission holds great significance for the Guild as well."
The Guild Staff Member broke into a full smile as he said this—a genuine smile from the bottom of his heart.
To Rei, it seemed like proof that his words just now had been neither flattery nor mere politeness.
Of course, from Rei's perspective, the Guild Staff Member appeared to be a highly capable person, so there was no way to know what he was truly thinking deep down.
"I'm glad to hear you say that. It helps us out too. I was telling the guys who came to dissect earlier—when we start the Gigant Turtle dissection again next winter, I'm counting on you."
"Yes, of course. ...Though I cannot say whether I will be the one overseeing it again next time."
"Huh... is that how it works?"
"Yes. This time I oversaw it because I had some free time, but by next year, there is a possibility I will be busy with work."
So said the Guild Staff Member, but Rei knew that the Guild had actually been extremely busy this winter.
Whenever he showed his face at the Guild, familiar faces like Kenny and Lenora had told him about the situation.
Of course, the reason for that busyness was the matter of the Cobolts appearing in Gilm. After Rei and his party defeated the eyeball a few weeks ago, no Cobolts or other monsters had leaped over the earth wall Rei built to enter the city.
However, they had been unable to stop the many monsters drawn to the dissection site each morning by the scent of blood and fragments of Gigant Turtle meat.
What disappointed Rei was that there were no unknown monsters among them.
And what pleased him was that Orcs had appeared on several occasions.
As a general rule, the meat of higher-rank monsters grew tastier with their rank.
But despite being a D-Rank monster, Orc meat possessed flavor that rivaled C-Rank, or in some cases even B-Rank.
While their reproductive rate was high, the fact that they used women of human, Elf, and Beastman races for reproduction meant that farming them was a concept that had never even been considered.
Such circumstances aside, for Rei, there was no doubt that Orcs were literally delicious monsters.
Especially for Set, who had a massive appetite, the more delicious meat there was, the better.
"Next year, huh. I wonder how far Gilm's expansion will have progressed by then. They said they're also building a Land Ship research facility and manufacturing plant."
"That's right. For the time being, several years... no, it will likely be a busy period lasting nearly ten years."
"Ten years, huh. ...I wonder what Gilm will be like by then. I'd certainly like to see that."
"Given Lord Rei's ability, there is no doubt you will still be around in ten years."
Looking at it objectively, Rei's ability was extremely high.
Furthermore, with Set as his Tamed Monster, along with Marina, Vihera, and the others, the strength of the party Crimson Lotus Wings could be called extraordinary.
Because of that, it was not difficult for the Guild Staff Member to imagine Rei and his party still active and thriving in Gilm even ten years later.
"That's true. I think so too."
Rei sincerely hoped that he would still be based in Gilm ten years from now.
That was how deeply memorable the city had become to him.
"For the Guild as well, the more Alias Holder adventurers there are, the better. Especially since this is a frontier, there are inevitably many troublesome monsters."
The Guild Staff Member said this earnestly.
Indeed, there was a major difference in the types and numbers of monsters inhabiting frontier regions versus non-frontier regions—in other words, a major difference in how safe it was to live there.
Of course, the concept of frontiers was merely something decided by humans, and whether or not powerful monsters appeared in non-frontier regions was an entirely separate matter.
For monsters, the concept of frontiers was completely irrelevant.
"I understand how the Guild feels."
Saying that, Rei turned his gaze to the adventurers receiving their final dissection pay of the winter—though there were others among them as well.
"It would be nice if an Alias Holder adventurer emerged from among them."
"You're right. I'd be happy if that happened."
The one who responded to Rei's words was not the Guild Staff Member, but Vihera.
Why Vihera was here was obvious to Rei without even needing to think about it.
Among the adventurers receiving pay, Byune was also present.
It was not particularly unusual for Vihera to be here as Byune's attendant.
...Though for Vihera, rather than being Byune's attendant, her real hope had been to fight the monsters drawn each morning by the scent of Gigant Turtle meat fragments and lingering blood.
However, what kind of monsters gathered was fundamentally random.
Given that, for every powerful monster that appeared, there were also those that could only be called weaklings.
And in the last few weeks, no powerful monsters like the ones Vihera hoped for had shown themselves.
(Or perhaps... the effect of that eyeball?)
He thought this fleetingly, but then realized the idea was not necessarily wrong.
The giant eyeball they had fought a few weeks ago was undeniably a powerful foe.
Since Rei had Elena, Marina, Vihera, Set, and other companions with him, they had been able to defeat it without being put in too much danger—but that was only because his party had been fully assembled.
Given that, there should not be many powerful monsters willing to approach the vicinity of Gilm, where such a powerful being had appeared and then disappeared—or rather, been killed.
Powerful monsters naturally tended to possess high intelligence and sharp instincts.
...Of course, there were some monsters, like the Goblins, that were completely lacking in both intelligence and instincts.
"I'm telling you, if an Alias Holder adventurer does emerge, don't go picking a fight with them right away."
"My, how rude. Do you really think I would do something like that?"
Vihera said this with a nonchalant air, but Rei let out a sigh as he replied.
"It's precisely because it's you, Vihera, that I think you'd do exactly that. Looking at your track record, there's no way I can feel at ease. Right?"
Rei sought agreement from the Guild Staff Member, but the one being asked found himself in a difficult position.
He felt that if he nodded, Vihera's impression of him would undoubtedly worsen.
In truth, that was by no means an unfounded fear.
Considering Vihera's personality, she would not drag out the incident for long afterward, but still, wanting to stay in her good graces was only natural for a Guild Staff Member.
Though she did not yet hold an alias, Vihera's ability was in no way insufficient to be considered an Alias Holder.
"Come on, Rei. Don't hassle the Guild Staff Member. ...More importantly, what are we doing now? We finished early today, so should we go get some Yaki Udon? Byune was saying she wanted some too."
The Yaki Udon in this case was not the kind sold at stalls around town, but the Yaki Udon made by the Abuelo Stall Owner who had been invited to Marina's house on the day they defeated the giant eyeball.
His method—grilling only the noodles to lightly char them, steaming them with ale, seasoning just the noodles rather than the toppings, and then tossing them with meat and vegetables—produced a Yaki Udon that Byune and indeed everyone in Rei's group had fallen in love with.
The finished dish itself did not look much different from ordinary Yaki Udon.
But take one bite, and the taste was clearly a cut above—better by a level, or perhaps even two.
Since Rei loved eating delicious food and was welcomed as a valued customer at stalls and eateries, the fact that he visited that particular Yaki Udon stall countless times had drawn interest from many.
...In reality, the stall had been prosperous enough to have a line even before Rei started visiting it.
Regardless, many stall owners—especially those running Yaki Udon stalls—wondered what was so special about it that Rei was so fond of it. Rei had even heard rumors that some of them tasted the stall's Yaki Udon and volunteered as apprentices, overwhelmed by its extraordinary flavor.
Rei felt the same way about wanting to eat that Yaki Udon.
"Sounds good. Let's stop by that stall on the way."
Even as he said this, Rei actually still had a large quantity of Yaki Udon stored away in his Misty Ring, leftover from when he had invited the stall to Marina's house for the previous celebration.
That Yaki Udon, made with Gigant Turtle meat and various other ingredients, was naturally still perfectly fresh since it was inside the Misty Ring.
If he took it out, he could eat Yaki Udon anytime—and due to the ingredients, it would be even tastier than what was currently being sold at the stall. But still, it was perfectly understandable to want freshly made Yaki Udon from a stall at a time like this.
And so, Rei set off for the Yaki Udon stall, bringing Vihera, Byune, and Set, who had been rolling around playing in the snow.