"Set-chan, Set-chan, Set-chan, Set-chan, it's been so long!"
What Rei, Vihera, and Byune saw as they stepped out of the Guild was a female adventurer throwing herself at Set at the entrance, chanting his name like a broken record.
They could tell she was an adventurer from the armor she wore and the longsword sheathed at her waist.
But more than anything, what gave it away was that Rei recognized her from behind—and several of the people standing around her as well.
"Ah... Mirene, so you're back."
Rei called out her name, but Mirene was so consumed by Set that she showed no sign of having heard him.
Instead, the male mage beside her bowed apologetically and spoke.
"I'm sorry. It's been so long since we returned to Gilm—truly, a very long time. We came to the Guild to file our report, and Set happened to be here. It seems she just couldn't hold back anymore."
"Well, yeah. With Mirene, that's what happens. Especially since she hasn't been able to see Set for a while now."
Mirene—or more precisely, the C-Rank party Scorching Wind led by her—had been away from Gilm serving as escorts during the Reblurina affair.
For someone as famous a Set Enthusiast as Mirene, that situation was enough to trigger what could only be called withdrawal symptoms.
Rei understood this perfectly well, which was why he said nothing about her current state.
...The fact that Set didn't seem to mind was also a factor.
To Set, Mirene was someone who played with him constantly and showered him with all sorts of dishes—a beloved companion.
That was why he accepted her flashy displays of affection quietly... no, gladly.
"I wonder what would happen if someone who admires Mirene saw her like this. Though it'd probably already be too late for them."
When it didn't involve Set, Mirene was regarded as one of the most promising up-and-comers among the younger generation, thanks to her beauty, her attentiveness, and her approachability.
The fact that she led a C-Rank party despite being only in her early twenties was proof enough of that.
Having a peer like Rei—an extraordinary outlier—meant she hadn't stood out as much lately. But there was no denying that Mirene and Scorching Wind were recognized for their ability, as evidenced by their assignment escorting the envoy to Reblurina.
If she'd come back a little earlier, I could have taken Mirene and the others to the Treant Forest... no, seeing how she looks, she just got back. I can't ask that of her.
Rei trusted Mirene's ability.
Having fought alongside her many times, he could honestly say she was among the parties in Gilm he trusted most.
That being the case, he figured things would probably work out even if he brought her along to the current situation at the Treant Forest—but considering the fatigue from her long journey, he couldn't bring himself to push the request on her.
Of course, if he hadn't managed to recruit Vihera, he might have asked her even if it meant pushing a bit. But since he'd successfully gotten hold of Vihera this time, there was no need to go out of his way to impose.
"By the way, what ended up happening with the Reblurina situation?"
A faint note of disgust crept into Rei's voice as he spoke the country's name.
That was just how unpleasant a country Reblurina was.
After all, it was a nation that had dispatched agents all the way to Gilm to procure slaves.
Even so, as someone who had been involved in that affair, Rei felt he should at least hear how the negotiations with Reblurina had turned out. He put the question to Surnin—a member of Scorching Wind and the man who served as Mirene's voice of reason.
But Surnin's only response was to shake his head.
"We didn't go as envoys. We were there strictly as escorts. Naturally, they might have told us if we'd asked, but we wanted to avoid prying into such matters as much as possible."
"...I see."
That made sense when he thought about it.
Naturally, the negotiations with Reblurina would be treated as classified, and knowing the details would be dangerous in more ways than one.
"Well, the one thing I can say is... judging by the expression and demeanor of the negotiator, they seemed to have achieved a fair... no, a considerable result."
"You do know the outcome, don't you. Well, never mind. More importantly, Vihera and I need to get to the Treant Forest soon. Could you do something about this?"
Rei cut the conversation short because he sensed that if he kept talking with Surnin, he'd end up hearing things he shouldn't and getting dragged into all sorts of trouble.
He was already busy enough dealing with Lunora and Zozo. He had no time to get sidetracked.
Perhaps reading Rei's intent, Ekril—a woman standing a short distance away, also a member of Scorching Wind, in her late teens—called out to Mirene, who was still clinging to Set.
"Mirene, Mirene. Come on, let's go make our report to the Guild. If we stay here forever, we'll be in everyone's way."
"Ehh, but it's been so long... I mean, it's really, truly been so long since I got to see Set-chan, you know? Just a little more... please?"
"I understand how you feel, Mirene, but you're back in Gilm now, so you'll be able to see Set-chan anytime, right? In that case, you should call it a day for now. It looks like Set-chan has business to attend to too, and if you get in the way of that, he might end up disliking you, you know?"
Set might end up disliking her.
The moment those words reached her ears, Mirene released Set instantly.
Her reaction spoke volumes about just how desperately Mirene wanted to avoid being disliked by Set.
"Set-chan, I'm sorry. I was just so happy to see you again after so long, I couldn't help myself..."
"Gruu!"
Set purred as if to say he didn't mind.
Seeing that, Mirene wore an expression of utter, heartfelt relief—and then finally noticed the three people standing not far from her: Rei, Vihera, and Byune.
"Oh, my. It's been a while, Rei."
The person who spoke to Rei wasn't the Mirene who had been melting over Set, but Mirene the leader of Scorching Wind.
...Though having seen how she'd acted moments ago, Rei's honest thought was that there was little point putting on airs now.
Still, pointing that out here could set Mirene off in who-knows-what direction, so as an act of mercy, he simply nodded without mentioning it.
"Yeah. Glad to see you all made it back safely. Sorry, but Set and I have some business to take care of right now. I'd love to catch up and hear your stories, but let's save that for next time."
"Huh? Oh, right. Sure, got it. We have our report to file with the Guild anyway, so don't worry about us."
With that, Mirene took Ekril and Surnin and headed into the Guild.
On the way, Surnin offered Rei a deep bow filled with gratitude before disappearing inside.
"...Going into the Guild is all well and good, but do you think they have the bandwidth to take Mirene's report right now?"
Vihera muttered the thought aloud.
Given the chaos the Treant Forest incident had already caused, was there anyone at the Guild with the time to process the report of Mirene's group, freshly returned from Reblurina?
Rei didn't know for certain, but whatever the case, the Guild had plenty of capable staff.
Given that, his best guess was that they'd manage somehow.
"It'll work out somehow. More importantly, let's get moving to the Treant Forest. We've already burned more time than we intended."
"...That time we burned was the time you spent chatting with them, if I recall."
"You could put it that way."
"There's no other way to put it. ...Well, standing around here won't accomplish anything, so let's hurry up, shall we?"
Prompted by Vihera, Rei nodded and walked over to Set.
"Set, sorry to keep you waiting. Alright, let's head back to the Treant Forest."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a pleased purr.
"So these are the Green Demi-humans... Their appearance is quite striking, but their form isn't all that different from a human's."
Rei, Set, and Vihera—who had hitched a ride by grabbing onto Set's legs—had returned to the Treant Forest.
The first words out of Vihera's mouth upon seeing Lunora and his group were exactly that.
"That's right. But Lunora and the others have a gentle disposition, so don't go poking at them unnecessarily."
"Rei, thank goodness you came back."
That voice rang out as Gyuramer rushed toward Rei, Vihera, and Set with an expression of relief—no, of genuine gratitude for the help.
Not a chance that expression is genuine.
As the man in charge of negotiations, Gyuramer's expressions were just another weapon in his arsenal when dealing with others.
That was Rei's working assumption, anyway.
And in fact, it wasn't wrong.
From Gyuramer's perspective, if a single expression could make the other party act exactly as he wished, that was precisely what he hoped for.
"Helped, how? Did something happen? From what I can see, it doesn't look like anyone new teleported in."
Rei surveyed the area as he spoke. The only ones present were the Green Demi-humans including Lunora, the Lizardmen clustered together in a group, and Zozo, standing perfectly still in one spot.
However, the moment Zozo noticed Rei's gaze on him, he began walking toward Rei.
"●●●"
He muttered briefly and bowed.
His demeanor was the complete opposite of when he had first looked down on Rei and attacked—now he carried himself like a faithful subordinate... no, a vassal.
Vihera, who had heard the general outline from Rei, was nonetheless surprised by the attitude of the Lizardman—a being clearly larger than an ordinary Lizardman, likely a Rare Species or High-ranking Species.
"Hey, Rei. Did you do something?"
"Ah, yeah. Did something, or more like—he attacked me, so I hit back and knocked him flying with the handle of the Death Scythe. Then for some reason, he ended up like this."
"Do Lizardmen have some kind of instinct to follow whoever defeats them? ...But I fought Lizardmen plenty of times in the Exil Dungeon, and that never happened."
"I'll explain that part later."
Rei suspected it was likely a trait of otherworldly Lizardmen—or perhaps Zozo was simply a fundamentally different type from ordinary Lizardmen, and that was the real reason. But he couldn't very well discuss his own background in a place like this, so he deflected.
In truth, he was already thinking that after dinner tonight, he should tell Elena, Marina, and Vihera everything.
"Hmm. ...Well, I'll look forward to it then. So, what should I do from here?"
"Simply put—I'll be taking Lunora, Zozo, and the rest to Gilm, and I want you to stay here in the meantime. There's a chance someone else could teleport in."
"And if I do, I might get to fight a strong opponent?"
"It's strictly a possibility, nothing more. There's just as much of a chance that no one shows up at all."
Vihera thought it over for a few seconds before nodding.
For her, standing watch here—where she might encounter a powerful foe—was far more appealing than patrolling Gilm.
Rei had brought her along precisely because he expected she'd see it that way, so her falling right in line with his plan was a satisfying outcome.
"Alright then, I'm counting on you. Though once Lord Daskar learns what's going on here, he'll likely send reinforcements right away, so I doubt it'll take that long. ...Right?"
When Rei asked Gyuramer for confirmation, Gyuramer nodded immediately.
"Yes, of course. The moment we get back to Gilm, I'll inform Lord Daskar and request additional forces."
"So I can't say exactly how long, but it'll probably be a fair amount of time. ...That alright with you?"
"Let's see. For now, I'll stand by here. Ideally, a strong enemy would show up, though."
Saying that, Vihera flashed a radiant smile.