Rei's notice of the merchant's movement was largely accidental.
It was only in the instant the merchant drew his dagger that the man emitted a faint trace of killing intent.
The moment he sensed it, Rei moved almost reflexively. He kicked the knight out of the dagger's path, dodged the descending strike, and grabbed the assassin's wrist to throw him.
The whole exchange took mere seconds, but that was more than enough time for Rei to act.
"Rei!"
A different knight from the one who had been kicked came running toward him as he pinned the merchant down. Once the knight reached them, he took over restraining the man.
"Sorry. Appreciate the save."
"Don't mention it. Though I do wonder why he chose this exact moment to make his move."
Rei voiced the question to the knight now holding the man in his stead.
That the man pretending to be a merchant was some kind of assassin was beyond doubt. His movements had been far too practiced to claim he'd simply acted in a fit of rage.
But if that was the case, then he would naturally have known what kind of opponent Rei was. He'd feigned ignorance during his merchant act, but that should have been just for show.
So why deliberately act while Rei was present? It was a natural question.
"Might be because you showed up," the knight suggested. "How about it? Am I wrong?"
The knight holding the man asked, but received no response.
As the two watched, the knight who had been kicked finally rose to his feet and approached, his steps slightly unsteady.
"Yeah, that sounds right. You showed up, so he shifted some attention your way and took his focus off the guy. ...Never thought he'd be an assassin, though."
The knight spoke with a hint of irritation, his footing still unsteady. But that irritation was mainly directed at himself for letting his guard down.
As a knight—and a gatekeeper—having his attention drawn away by a stranger was quite possibly the worst thing that could happen to someone in his position.
"Well, the man was skilled, too. I barely sensed any killing intent until he drew his weapon."
"Even if you say barely, I didn't sense anything at all."
The knight who had been kicked wore a complicated expression.
A knight—especially one stationed in the frontier city of Gilm—possessed skill worthy of being called elite. Given that, he should have noticed the man's killing intent. That he'd completely failed to do so was no wonder he looked so downcast.
However, this was simply a matter of Rei being exceptionally talented in that regard. His body, originally created by the Zephyle Clan, was highly capable to begin with. On top of that, Rei had survived more battles than it would be foolish to try counting.
Monsters, humans, S-Rank adventurers. Considering all of that, it was only natural his ability to sense killing intent had sharpened.
"Anyway, we'll need to extract information from this guy first. —You think I'd let you?!"
The moment the knight mentioned questioning him, the pinned man made a suspicious move. Reacting instantly, the knight shot one hand to the man's jaw and locked it in place.
Whether he'd tried to bite his tongue or swallow poison hidden in a tooth—Rei couldn't tell. Either way, the knight's grip ensured he couldn't follow through.
(If poison was hidden in his back teeth, I'd think he could still maneuver it with his tongue... I guess it doesn't work that way?)
Seeing the knight looking satisfied as he held the man's jaw, Rei harbored the idle thought. But he figured that if one could swallow something just by touching it with their tongue, the poison would inevitably slip down during everyday activities like eating or drinking. He decided not to bring it up.
While Rei was lost in thought, perhaps drawn by the commotion outside, several knights and soldiers arrived. They gagged the man—no, the assassin—bound his arms and legs, and hauled him away.
"Rei, we owe you one this time. Thank you. ...Though if possible, I'd appreciate it if next time you could save me by a method other than kicking."
The knight bowed his head in gratitude, adding the last part with a wry, joking tone.
Even though Rei had held back, taking a direct hit was no joke. The knight's dented armor was proof enough of the kick's power. ...That said, the fact he could still talk and move around—albeit while enduring pain—showed just how tough someone called elite truly was.
"Yeah, I'll be careful next time. But you should be careful, too. ...The real question is why that assassin came here in the first place."
As Rei watched the assassin being led away, the knight shook his head.
"If you're asking me, I wouldn't know. For starters, why would anyone even target me?"
"Maybe you earned a woman's grudge?"
That came from one of the other knights who had stayed behind. Currently, in addition to Rei and the two original knights, several more were posted near the Lord's Manor gate—likely standing watch after the assassination attempt.
Rei understood and kept quiet, but the knight who'd been kicked wasn't about to let that slide.
"A woman's grudge? What are you talking about?"
"I heard, you know? About Rosinante at the bar."
"...So you're saying Rosinante sent an assassin after me? Not a chance."
Rei found himself somewhat curious about what had happened between the knight and this woman named Rosinante. But he decided there were more pressing matters to address first.
"From what I could tell, that assassin wasn't targeting anyone specific. It looked more like he just wanted to kill someone—anyone would do."
"Anyone? And I was the one who got picked? That's not funny."
The knight made no effort to hide his displeasure.
If he'd been targeted for a clear reason, he could have accepted it, even if he didn't like it. But if the killer just wanted a body and he happened to be the unlucky one, that senselessness was enough to make anyone furious.
At the very least, if Rei had been in that position, he would've been absolutely livid.
"That said, the idea that anyone would do is purely my guess. Unfortunately, I don't know the actual truth. You'd need to ask him directly."
"...Yeah. Fair enough."
Though still dissatisfied, the knight conceded. An unclear situation left a bad taste in his mouth—but given the circumstances, there was nothing to be done about it.
"With that in mind, good luck with the assassin situation. I'd stick around to learn more, but I can't leave the Birth Tower unattended."
"I know. I was the one targeted, so we'll handle this ourselves and see it through."
When the kicked knight said that, the others nodded as a matter of course.
This fight—though calling it a mere fight felt too mild—was one where someone had picked a fight with the Knight Order. Depending on how it was perceived, it could even be seen as someone challenging Daskar himself.
Given that, Daskar would have to make a clear and decisive response. Staying silent would only invite disrespect toward him, and that would hinder his ability to govern Gilm.
Above all, leaving someone free who was targeting his life was simply unacceptable for Daskar's peace of mind. He was already working nonstop with barely a moment to rest. Letting a would-be assassin roam free in Gilm would only pile even more stress on top of what he already carried.
"I see. Then, good luck. I'm rooting for you."
"Appreciate it. ...Oh, and about this incident—"
"I know. I won't tell anyone, so don't worry."
Rei cut him off before he could finish.
Fortunately, there was no one else around the Lord's Manor. Unlike the previous year, since Daskar was declining to meet with merchants, no crowd had gathered at the gates. Thanks to that, no one had witnessed the scene of the knight being attacked.
...That was exactly why it was no surprise the knight wanted to keep things quiet. By handling it in secret, they could sow at least some confusion among whoever had dared target Daskar or the Knight Order.
Rei understood this perfectly, which was why he'd agreed to keep his mouth shut.
If whoever sent the assassin happened to possess some kind of Magic Item, there was a chance they'd come snooping around—but fortunately for the knights trying to resolve this on their own, the assassin hadn't been carrying any Magic Items at all.
For Rei, who collected them as a hobby, that was perhaps the more unfortunate outcome.
In any case, as he'd said, Rei currently had no desire to stray too far from the Birth Tower—or more precisely, from the underground space at the heart of the Treant Forest. So he told the knights to do their best, asked them to send word if things truly went south, and left the Lord's Manor with Set.
Having finished their business in Gilm, Rei and Set headed straight back to the Treant Forest—more precisely, to the Birth Tower—just as they'd told the knights they would.
Before leaving the city, they'd made a few stops at food stalls and stocked up on various items, but Rei didn't consider that a detour. The food from those stalls was meant to be served during camp meals, and the cost would later be reimbursed by Daskar. In other words, the stop was practically half work.
They were already being resupplied via carriage, but perhaps because the suppliers knew Rei was doing the cooking, the provisions delivered were rather unimpressive—mostly preserved foods like dried meat and hardtack. Most of it was stored at the Birth Tower as the Lizardmen's rations.
(The dried meat here is just salty. If only they could use spices, they could make something a bit better—something like the beef jerky they sell back in Japan.)
When Rei had lived in Japan, his father had once bought beef jerky as a snack to pair with alcohol. The difference between that and this world's dried meat was unmistakable. But that was only natural—dried meat in this world was made with preservation as its top priority. The beef jerky Rei remembered prioritized taste above all else. Looking at the expiration dates on store-bought jerky back in Japan, they were far too short to be considered preserved food.
Until now, spices had been unavailable—or rather, they existed but were prohibitively expensive—so the dried meat made in Gilm put preservation first and taste second. But now, thanks to the Green People, there was a real possibility of producing spices locally. Preservation would still come first, no doubt, but there was every chance the dried meat could turn out at least somewhat more palatable.
"Rei? You're back?"
One of the adventurers spotted Rei as he approached on Set's back and called out to him. The other adventurers and the Lizardmen noticed him too, offering greetings and bowing their heads.
Rei returned their salutations as he made his way toward the Birth Tower, but then he suddenly stopped.
"Gruu?"
What is it? Set's gaze turned to Rei.
Rei scratched Set's head absently, his eyes drifting toward the lake.
There, at the end of his gaze, lay a sizable catch—a fish roughly two meters long, its mouth full of visibly sharp fangs.
"Uh... that fish. If that's a fish, does that mean you caught it in the lake?"
The adventurers and Lizardmen nodded with unmistakable pride. Looking more closely, several of them had light injuries—which was all the answer Rei really needed.
At his words, the adventurers and Lizardmen he'd addressed broke into smiles and nodded again.