Having settled things with Daskar — or more accurately, dumped everything on him — Rei's next destination was, naturally, the Guild.
He had been somewhat torn over whether to visit the Lord's Manor where Daskar was based or the Guild first, but in the end, the Lord's Manor won out.
When he considered which task was more important — briefing Daskar or handing over the magic-stone-less monster carcasses to the Guild — he decided the former took priority.
And so he had come to the Guild, but...
"Yeah, it's as crowded as ever."
Seeing the large number of adventurers inside, Rei muttered to himself.
Before the Expansion Construction began in Gilm, coming to the Guild at this hour wouldn't have meant the place was deserted, but the crowd had certainly been thinner.
Now, however, with the construction underway, even at this time — around nine in the morning — a considerable number of adventurers filled the hall.
Most were there seeking work, and the variety of available jobs was likely what produced this sight.
In reality, many had arrived even earlier, but with so many people, processing requests inevitably took time.
If it were one person at a time, the Receptionist could handle them quickly, but even so, it was not uncommon for each person to take about a minute.
One minute per person meant two minutes for two, ten minutes for ten, and thirty for thirty.
At that rate, processing everyone became genuinely difficult.
The result was the current situation.
Should I come back a bit later? No, but I want to get back over there as soon as possible.
If something happened at the lake, the troublesome part was precisely that it was the lake.
Since Rei had Set, even if something occurred far from shore, he could fly over immediately to check things out. But without Rei and Set, no one else could manage such a thing.
To prevent that scenario, Rei needed to return to the lake and the Birth Tower as quickly as he could.
As things stood, the sheer number of adventurers meant it would take a considerable amount of time before his turn came.
He also genuinely wanted to hand over the carcasses stored in his Misty Ring to the Guild as soon as possible.
He needed the Guild to dissect the lizard carcasses and properly confirm that no magic stones existed within their bodies.
As he was wrestling with this dilemma...
"Rei-san!"
Lenora, having spotted him, called out.
Naturally, Lenora was Rei's assigned receptionist, but she didn't handle only him.
When Rei wasn't around — or even when he was but she was busy — she handled requests from the many adventurers just as she was doing now.
The reason she still called out to him was probably because she knew he had been involved with the lake situation these past few days.
In other words, she figured he might have brought some important information about the lake.
"Could you come inside the counter for a moment? My superior would like to speak with you!"
At those words, a man in his forties who had been organizing documents a short distance from Lenora bowed toward Rei.
Seeing Lenora's superior, Rei was momentarily unsure of what to do, but he decided that speaking with the man was better than waiting in line or coming back later. He made his way through the queued adventurers toward the counter.
The adventurers in line felt displeased that Rei was going ahead without queuing.
However, since he wasn't actually cutting into their line, and more importantly, once they learned he was an Alias Holder, no one tried to pick a fight.
...Among them, a man who had just arrived in Gilm, seeing Rei's small stature, asked a nearby adventurer whether that really was him, but that was the extent of it.
In any case, after stepping inside the counter, Rei headed toward the seat of the Guild Staff Member who had bowed to him.
Along the way, Kenny winked at him while working, but Rei merely gave a light wave in response.
Then he addressed the Guild Staff Member who was organizing documents.
"Sorry for the trouble."
"Don't worry about it. If you're here, Rei, that means something's up, right?"
"Yeah. But not here. I'd like to explain the situation somewhere without people around. Can we use the second floor?"
At Rei's words, the Guild Staff Member thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Now then, what is this about? As you can probably see, we're quite busy right now. I'd like you to wrap up your business as quickly as possible."
A room on the second floor of the Guild.
It was only about four tatami mats in size, with various items of unknown purpose stored inside. After entering the room and taking a seat, the Guild Staff Member got straight to the point.
As he had stated himself, he likely wanted this done as quickly as possible given how busy they were.
Understanding the man's intentions, Rei skipped the unnecessary preamble and got right to it.
"Have you heard about the possibility that the lake monsters don't have magic stones?"
"Yes. I've heard. But it hasn't been confirmed yet, has it?"
"I've brought evidence that confirms it. I don't know if you're aware, but I'm currently stationed at the Birth Tower guarding the Lizardmen, staying overnight there. Last night, dozens of lizard monsters attacked from the lake."
"That's..."
Perhaps understanding what Rei was getting at from that alone, the man fixed Rei with a serious expression and spoke.
"And the magic stones?"
"There aren't any. Several of us dissected the monsters, and not a single magic stone turned up. Of course, I've also brought undissected carcasses so the Guild can examine them thoroughly. I'll hand them over after we're done here, so take your time and look into it."
"Let's do that. So, what are the characteristics of these monsters?"
"First, the mouth — or rather, the jaw — is long. Quite long. Also, there aren't just a few large, sharp fangs; there are countless small, sharp ones packed inside its mouth. On top of that, it can spit those fangs for ranged attacks. Additionally, the scales are quite hard. For Low-Rank Adventurers, dealing with the scales might be difficult."
Saying so, Rei shared all the information he knew.
Setting aside the biting power, the fact that the jaw-opening strength was weak after biting down apparently intrigued the man listening.
"They're troublesome opponents, but High-Rank Adventurers can handle them relatively easily, and even Low-Rank Adventurers might manage with some ingenuity."
"Right. That's why I want to hand over the carcasses. Is that fine? It's more reliable for the Guild to actually examine them directly than to just have an adventurer report it."
This wasn't a matter of the Guild not trusting adventurers' words.
It was simply that dissecting and investigating directly was clearer than hearing about it secondhand.
Proof that seeing is believing.
"Fair enough. Let's go, then."
"Oh wait, before that — there's one more thing to report. I informed Lord Daskar before coming to the Guild, so you'll probably get orders from above soon telling you not to interfere, but a large number of glowing flying jellyfish appeared at night. Unlike the lizards, though, they didn't attack — if anything, they were affectionate — so I don't think there's any need to fight them."
"...That's certainly..."
There were monsters with low aggression, but their numbers were exceedingly few.
As the man reacted with surprise at the notion that such creatures existed in the lake, Rei urged him toward the warehouse.
"Hoh, so these are... a monster I've never seen before. Though if you live in Gilm, it's not all that unusual."
A man in the Guild warehouse said with admiration as he looked at the several lizards Rei had taken out.
As he said, in the frontier of Gilm, discovering new species of animals, monsters, or plants was not particularly rare.
That was why the man — in his fifties, tasked with dissections at the Guild — dissected the lizards swiftly without any particular confusion.
As expected of someone long accustomed to this work, his hands showed no hesitation.
Even though it was a monster he was seeing for the first time, he dissected the carcass without a moment's hesitation...
"Hmm, there really are no magic stones."
He cut open the torso, checked all the internal organs including the heart, and delivered his verdict.
At his words, the others gathered around voiced their impressions, each wearing expressions of disbelief.
Most of those present were Guild Staff Members, but they weren't receptionists or those who worked inside the counter — they were essentially hired hands doing odd jobs.
Normally, even as odd-job workers, there was no shortage of work available right now... but since this was the dissection of a monster without magic stones, a certain caliber of personnel had been assembled in the dissection warehouse.
The main reason for doing so was to show them what a monster without magic stones actually looked like.
Even those currently assigned to odd jobs might be entrusted with monster dissection in the future, depending on where their careers took them.
In that sense, being able to witness the dissection of these lizards here was undoubtedly instructive.
...Though a monster without magic stones probably wouldn't appear again so easily.
"Doroi-san, is it really true there are no magic stones?"
"Yeah, that's right. If you're curious, take a look for yourself. From what I can see here, it sure doesn't look like there's a magic stone. Still, you'd better try dissecting one yourself. Fortunately, Rei brought a whole bunch of undissected carcasses. Be grateful."
"Thank you very much!"
The odd-job workers voiced their gratitude to Rei in unison.
Even as odd-job workers, they understood that being able to work at the Guild was extremely fortunate.
The pay itself was fairly good, and above all, for young men, working in the same workplace as a lineup of beautiful receptionists — with the possibility of getting to know them — was a significant draw.
If things went well, they might even end up dating one.
By working diligently, gaining experience, and acquiring various skills, they might eventually be able to work as full-fledged Guild Staff Members.
"Don't worry about it. From here on, these kinds of monsters will probably increase. Though as a monster without magic stones, it's not exactly a profitable one for adventurers."
"Ah, yeah, you're right. Without magic stones, adventurers' income takes a hit, after all."
One of the odd-job workers murmured earnestly in response.
Nodding at that, Rei placed the remaining carcasses from his Misty Ring onto the floor.
"Then for now, please handle the dissection and report the results to the Guild."
"Hm, leave it to me."
After exchanging words with the man who had just performed the dissection, Rei left the warehouse.
He heard the odd-job workers' words of gratitude from behind once more, but Rei simply answered with a light wave.
"Nngh... Well, I've finished what I needed to do. Now, what should I do next?"
Looking up at a sky that fittingly deserved to be called a clear May sky, Rei muttered to himself.
He knew he should get back to the Birth Tower as soon as possible, but with weather this fine, he felt tempted to make a small detour.
Then again, if something happens over there, it'd be rough. I'll just buy something from a stall and head back.
Zozo, whom he'd left behind, was probably worried too.
With that in mind, he rejoined Set, who had been playing with adventurers and passersby, and browsed the various stalls, buying whatever food looked tasty.
Among them, the one drawing a line was the Fruit Water stall.
It wasn't just regular Fruit Water, either — it was a stall selling chilled Fruit Water, cooled by a Magic Item.
As expected of something using a Magic Item, it was fairly expensive, but the cold Fruit Water was well worth the price.
"This is good. I'd like to buy more, but..."
"I'm sorry. We have other customers as well."
The shop owner, hearing Rei's words, said apologetically.
Indeed, there was still a considerable line at the stall, and many people wanted to buy cold Fruit Water.
If Rei bought a large quantity here, it would benefit the owner's profits, but the customers in line would no longer be able to purchase any.
If it were just about being cold, I could manage that myself. This Fruit Water has a different juice blend from the others.
If he simply wanted cold Fruit Water, Rei actually had some bulk-bought quantities remaining in his Misty Ring.
He had chilled them with snow during winter and stored them in the Misty Ring, so they were thoroughly cold — some had even turned sherbet-like.
But this stall's Fruit Water had a specially researched juice blend, which was surely why it had drawn such a crowd.
Regretting that he couldn't buy more, Rei decided to head back to the Birth Tower.