"So the woodcutters you brought this time were well-behaved."
Lenora said as much after hearing the details from Rei.
When he had transported the first batch of woodcutters, a certain level of camaraderie had been established between Rei and the men.
But the woodcutters he had brought this time weren't exactly afraid of Rei—they simply kept him at arm's length.
Upon learning that the reason stemmed from the confrontation at that particular village, Lenora found it perfectly understandable.
"Yeah. Aside from that village, there weren't any problems. So what's going to happen to them?"
"That calls for sanctions, of course."
Kenny chimed in, having listened in on the conversation between Rei and Lenora.
As far as Kenny was concerned, anyone who deceived the Guild and acted hostile toward Rei was absolutely unforgivable.
"Come on, Kenny. Calm down. First, we need to look into what requests that village has submitted to the Guild... and what complaints they've filed. Once we have that information, then yes, some form of action may be necessary, just as you said."
Lenora steadied Kenny.
...Or rather, she was trying to steady her, but Lenora herself was naturally just as indignant toward the village and its chief.
If the Guild had made some kind of error on their end, offering compensation would be the right thing to do.
But exploiting that to turn a quick profit? That was simply unforgivable.
Part of it was her pride as a Guild staff member, but more than that, with someone like that serving as village chief, the odds of the village facing Guild sanctions were extremely high.
Of course, sanctions didn't mean armed intervention or anything of the sort. It would mean the Guild refusing to accept requests from that village, or demanding an outrageous sum in compensation—something like several platinum coins for the subjugation of a single goblin.
If that happened, the ones who suffered would be the villagers, not the chief.
For innocent villagers to be caught up in the consequences of their shortsighted, selfish chief was something Lenora could not possibly tolerate.
"That's ultimately up to the Guild's upper brass to decide, so I can't really say either way."
Naturally, Rei had also found the chief's attitude distasteful. But seeing how furious these two—arguably the parties most invested in the matter as Guild staff—already were, he somehow couldn't bring himself to get any angrier.
He decided to leave the village's punishment to the Guild and changed the subject.
"So, with this, we've got nearly twenty additional woodcutters. Does the Guild still need more?"
"Huh? Oh, yes. The request doesn't specify a set number. Of course, that's assuming you're still willing to continue, Rei-san."
Given what had just happened with the village chief, it wouldn't have been surprising if Rei said he wanted to drop the request entirely.
It was currently structured as a Nomination Request for him, but if he were to say he didn't want to continue after this incident, Lenora—no, the Guild—would have no choice but to accept that.
After all, they had asked him to take this on as a massive favor from the start.
Strictly speaking, if it were just a matter of travel, they could have used ordinary carriages to visit the villages and gather woodcutters without relying on Set.
That was precisely why, even if Rei refused to continue, it might inconvenience the upper brass who had issued the request and the Guild itself for not noticing the issue sooner, but they couldn't use that as leverage to pressure him.
...The truth was, Rei had plenty of other work to do besides gathering woodcutters.
"Hmm, hard to say. It depends on how many more they want to recruit. If it's just a few, I could manage. But if they need a larger group, it'd be easier to just have several carriages travel together."
When he had packed the woodcutters into the Set Basket for transport, the travel speed was undeniably fast, but the men crammed inside had clearly been under considerable stress.
The Set Basket, which normally carried about five people—and that was already with plenty of room to spare—had been stuffed with nearly ten burly men, all muscle from years of woodcutting.
Relaxing during the journey was out of the question, so they had been forced to take frequent breaks.
With carriages, though, if several were prepared from the start, there would be no need for such discomfort.
That said, there was an overwhelming difference in speed between traveling by carriage and traveling by Set Basket.
"Understood. I'll check with the higher-ups and convey your suggestion as well, Rei-san. Things should be settled on that front by tomorrow or the day after."
"That'd be a big help. ...Alright then, I'm heading out."
"Ah, wait, Rei-kun. Would you like to grab a light bite with me? I found a great little place recently."
Rei's interest was visibly piqued by Kenny's words.
For Kenny, who had been longing for a date with Rei, all the effort she had put into hunting for a restaurant with the right atmosphere and good food had finally paid off.
"Hey—Kenny! You haven't finished your work yet!"
"Oh, today's work is almost done. After that, I'm free, right?"
"Well, yes, but... Rei-san has his own things to do. You shouldn't push him..."
"Isn't that for Rei-kun to decide, not you? ...Well, Rei-kun?"
"Ah, right. Marina's actually making dinner for me, though..."
The moment Marina's name came up, Kenny faltered.
Many of the staff working at the Guild had been taken under the former Guild Master Marina's wing at some point.
...Though there were some who had only started working at the Guild this spring, so their connection to Marina was thinner.
"Umm, so... is that a no?"
"Nah, as long as it doesn't get too late, it's fine. I can just head to Marina's place after eating with you, Kenny."
"Rei-kun, that's... well, it's very you, I suppose. But even if it's just a light meal, can you really still eat dinner afterward?"
"Can't say for sure without knowing what you mean by 'light,' but I'm a pretty big eater. I think I'll be fine. It's not like I have to finish every dish Marina serves, either."
At times like this, Rei's Misty Ring was a lifesaver.
Normally, leftover food would be saved for the next day, but naturally the taste would deteriorate considerably compared to when it was freshly made.
But stored inside the Misty Ring, where the flow of time was stopped—well, it wouldn't be exactly fresh since it went in after the meal, but it would still hold up far better than if it had been left sitting out.
That said, with heavy eaters like Set and Byune around, leftovers were essentially nonexistent to begin with.
"Hmm. Well, if you say so, I'm fine with it. It's been a while since we had a meal together, after all."
"Has it? Then for now... um, what should I do? I can't exactly just wait around here."
It was currently past four in the afternoon.
The Guild wasn't too crowded yet, but within another hour, adventurers who had finished their work would flood in to collect their pay, and the hall would be packed.
Rei lingering inside the Guild at that hour—even if he didn't take up much space—would be nothing but a hindrance.
But Kenny just smiled and reassured him.
"I'll have my work finished before it gets busy today. See, another girl asked me to cover part of her shift the other day."
Right? Kenny glanced over at Lenora for confirmation. Lenora seemed to recall the arrangement in question and, though clearly reluctant, gave a nod of acceptance.
(If Lenora's going along with it, it must be on the up-and-up.)
It had been several years since Rei became an adventurer.
He had known Lenora, who had been his assigned receptionist from the very beginning, long enough to read her personality like a book.
Judging from her demeanor that there was nothing wrong with Kenny's claim, Rei gave a nod.
"Got it. So where should I wait?"
"Hmm... the place I found is kind of a hidden gem. It's on the small side, so Set-chan wouldn't fit inside. I'd need you to leave him with someone. ...I really wanted somewhere we could eat together with Set-chan, though."
Kenny adored the lovable Set.
But a restaurant that could accommodate a three-meter-long griffon was, by nature, severely limited in number.
The shop Kenny intended to bring Rei to was small—eating there with Set was simply out of the question.
As Kenny explained the situation, Rei looked mildly disappointed but nodded in understanding.
Given Set's size, the number of establishments that could accommodate him was undeniably shrinking.
Even if he used Size Change to bring a smaller Set into a shop, if the skill wore off indoors, it would unquestionably cause a major scene.
"Understood. I'll drop Set off at... right, Marina's place, then come back. Will your work be done by then?"
Rei had initially considered leaving Set at the Wheat Inn at Dusk's stable, but on reflection, Marina's house was the better option. Elena and Ara were currently staying there, and Ielo—Set's friend—was there too. Plus, Set could run freely in the courtyard.
Knowing Set's personality, he would probably want to join Rei for the meal, but he would also be itching to romp around Marina's garden with Ielo.
"Yes, please. I should be done with today's work by the time you get back. ...Let's just meet up there!"
Hiding the thought that it would feel more like a proper date that way, Kenny flashed a smile.
Rei, completely oblivious to her reasoning, nodded without a second thought.
"Sure. So, where are we meeting?"
"Hmm, let's see. You know that small goods shop a little ways from the Guild? The one that got famous a while back for selling Set-chan wooden dolls."
"Ah, that shop."
Rei recalled the establishment that had made waves when it started selling Set's wooden dolls right around the time spring was getting underway.
This world had no concept of portrait rights, so there was nothing wrong with capitalizing on Set's image for business.
The fact that the shop owner had been treated to various dishes courtesy of Set probably didn't hurt either.
Since the shop wasn't engaged in any particularly shady practices, Rei hadn't given it much thought.
Neither had Set, for that matter—he let the shop do as it pleased without complaint.
Of course, if the owner ever tried something underhanded—like a bait-and-switch scheme passing off random fur and feathers as Set's, for instance—Rei would certainly have something to say about it.
But at the very least, there was no sign of anything like that so far.
If anything, the fact that the shop priced the dolls affordably suggested the owner was one of the Set Enthusiasts, motivated more by spreading Set's fame than by profit.
"Right. Let's meet there. Sound good?"
Rei nodded, confirming it was fine, as Kenny asked beside a visibly exasperated Lenora.
They settled on a meeting place but not a specific time—understandable, given that precise timekeeping was beyond the reach of most.
Rei did own a clock, but in this world, such items were genuine luxury goods.
...Though as a Guild receptionist, Lenora drew a comfortable salary, so it wouldn't be unthinkable for her to own one.
"Got it. I'll take Set over to Marina's place for now. See you later."
"Yes. Let's enjoy a lovely meal today."
With those parting words, Rei walked out of the Guild.