Having finished his report to Daskar and humored him with a brief diversion, Rei left the Lord's Manor and headed to his next destination: a high-end inn in Gilm—the Wheat Inn at Dusk.
It was an inn Rei knew well.
Naturally. It was where he kept his own room.
(I never expected she was staying here. Or should I be surprised she managed to get a room at all?)
The Wheat Inn at Dusk was not particularly prestigious in terms of formal rank, but its food was excellent, it was equipped with various Magic Items for comfortable living, and while the lodging fees were steep, the inn enjoyed strong popularity.
Given Gilm's current situation, where people had gathered in massive numbers, there were many who sought rooms there.
Because of that, the inn should have been fully booked most of the time.
Despite that, Rei was surprised to learn that the elven scholar named Anastasia, whom Daskar had mentioned, had successfully secured a room.
At first, Rei thought Daskar might have pulled some strings, but it turned out Anastasia had simply arrived at the exact moment a room opened up by chance.
Though it was Daskar who had recommended the Wheat Inn at Dusk to her in the first place.
Perhaps Daskar had suggested the inn hoping Anastasia and Rei would cross paths.
(Then again, Lord Daskar should know I've been staying at Marina's house lately, and before that, I've been on guard duty at the Birth Tower, so he ought to know I'm almost never here...)
With these thoughts in mind, Rei approached Lana, who was standing at the inn's counter.
"Oh my, Rei-san? This is unusual."
Those were hardly words one would say to a guest who actually stayed at the inn.
But considering Rei's behavior in recent days, her reaction was perfectly natural.
"I've been a bit busy. More importantly, I heard from Lord Daskar that someone named Anastasia is staying here... well, an Elf, actually. I came to see her."
"Well now... If you'd like to see her, I can go speak with her first. Would that be all right?"
Rei didn't necessarily think it was an overreaction. Come to think of it, the other party was an Elf—and a woman at that—so such a cautious approach was perhaps not unwarranted.
Or perhaps something of that nature had happened while he was away from the Wheat Inn at Dusk.
The inn was expensive, so it wasn't a place where just anyone could easily secure a room.
Among its guests were those who held considerable social standing.
Such people wouldn't do anything foolish upon meeting a rare Elf... but even so, one couldn't say it was an absolute certainty.
If nothing else, Rei had seen plenty of people who had money but terrible personalities.
"Understood. Then please announce me. Like I said, tell her it's an introduction from Lord Daskar."
"Please wait a moment."
With that, Lana stepped out from behind the counter and headed upstairs.
Rei watched her go, then sat down on the sofa in front of the counter.
Though it was daytime, there were many people inside the inn.
That was likely because the guests staying here were not day laborers.
Which was precisely why, even during hours when most would be working at the Expansion Construction site, so many people could be found in the inn.
The patrons moving about the place glanced at Rei sitting on the sofa, casting questioning looks as if wondering why a child like him was here. Others, who were acquainted with Rei, offered light nods in greeting. Still others, who knew his true identity, lingered nearby, looking for an opening to strike up a conversation and get closer to him. The attitudes of the patrons varied widely.
Rei had been observing these people, but when he saw Lana coming down the stairs, he stood up.
Behind her was an Elf with green hair.
In terms of apparent age, she looked to be somewhere in her late twenties to early thirties.
Though, as one could tell from looking at Marina, an Elf's apparent age was completely unreliable.
Her features were refined, as was typical for Elves.
(She's... a woman, right? Yeah.)
What kept Rei from stating it with certainty, even while looking at an Elf with such beautifully refined features, was that the front of the Elf's clothing was flat.
To put it bluntly, the Elf had a figure that could only be described as flat-chested.
(No, better to avoid stirring up unnecessary trouble. Should I just think of her as slender?)
Most of the people Rei usually spent time with had figures that could aptly be called busty.
Elena, Marina, and Vihera were of course among them. Ara also had a chest larger than average, as did Kenny, the Guild's receptionist.
Byune was still a child, so there was no need to consider her in that regard... Among Rei's acquaintances, the one whose chest size was closest to the Elf coming down the stairs—presumably Anastasia—was probably Lenora.
However, Lenora was frequently teased about her chest by Kenny, who was more well-endowed, and yet Lenora's bust was at least average, if perhaps slightly below.
At the very least, it was large enough to confirm a visible swell even through her clothing.
"...I felt a strangely unpleasant gaze just now. Was that my imagination?"
The woman, who had finished descending the stairs while Rei was lost in thought, addressed him as she came to stand before him.
A smile played on her lips, but her eyes weren't smiling.
If you say something stupid right now, you do understand what will happen, don't you?
She didn't voice the words, but she fixed Rei with a gaze laden with that exact meaning.
Rei was slightly taken aback by her demeanor, but as if to cover for him, Lana spoke up.
"Anastasia-san, this is Rei-san. Rei-san, this is the Anastasia-san you were looking for. Well then, I'll take my leave."
She must have decided that introducing the two was sufficient.
Lana left them there and returned to the counter.
Left behind, Rei and Anastasia watched her go, then fell into silence, each seeming to hesitate over what to say to the other... After about ten seconds had passed, Rei broke the silence.
"Lord Daskar told me about you, so I came to see you..."
"Yes, I know. Something about him having something he wants me to investigate, or whatever. Honestly, that boy really does pass along troublesome work."
Despite her words, a smile surfaced on Anastasia's lips, and her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Seeing Anastasia like that, Rei got a general sense of her personality... At the same time, the fact that she referred to Daskar as "that boy" gave him a rough idea of their relationship.
She had likely known Daskar since around the time he was just becoming a knight, back when he went to the Royal Capital.
In that sense, there wasn't much difference between her and Marina. But while Daskar harbored a sense of intimidation toward Marina, here it seemed he purely admired her.
"I see. If you already know, then this will be quick. ...But this matter is genuinely important in many ways. Even if you're an acquaintance of Lord Daskar, I don't intend to show it to anyone careless."
"I know. You're Rei, right? Oh, you can just call me Anastasia. Anyway, I can somewhat guess what you've come for."
Hearing Anastasia say that, Rei felt somewhat outmaneuvered.
Daskar had spoken to her from the start with the intention of getting Rei and Anastasia to meet.
Though, considering Daskar's position, that was hardly surprising.
After all, with a Wisp that could teleport things from another world, it was only natural he'd want to do something about it as soon as possible.
"So, what's your assessment of me?"
As they sat facing each other on the sofa, Anastasia asked Rei point-blank.
That said, since Rei had only just met Anastasia, he couldn't very well take her straight to the Underground Space to begin her investigation, nor could he refuse outright.
"I'm not sure what to tell you. We just met."
"For something like that, intuition or first impressions should be fine, shouldn't they? We can't exactly keep talking forever to get to know each other, can we? You wouldn't say you need to deeply understand someone first, would you?"
Anastasia laughed as though making a joke.
She was probably just teasing, but because her features were so refined, the destructive power of that smile was considerable.
For some people, it wouldn't have been surprising if she'd stolen their hearts on the spot.
That said, when it came to beautiful women, Rei frequently traveled alongside the likes of Elena, Marina, and Vihera, so his resistance was high. ...The issue of her figure may have also played a role.
"Well, I suppose so. Lord Daskar holds you in high regard to begin with, so I shouldn't worry too much about that."
Her personality might have changed since they last saw each other years ago.
As if forgetting he'd said as much in front of Daskar, Rei told her that.
In truth, it was nothing more than intuition, as Anastasia had said, but Rei found himself somewhat convinced that she could be trusted.
Even so, it was necessary to take every precaution...
"Understood. In that case, I'll take you to the site in question now. But... as you can tell from how cautious Lord Daskar is being, this is a highly important matter. If you go telling others about this... you understand what will happen, right?"
Rei released a hint of killing intent as he looked at Anastasia.
Though he considered it slight, that was solely from Rei's own perspective.
Others—skilled adventurers, or the type of mercenaries hired as merchant guards—naturally reacted to Rei's killing intent.
An adventurer who had just entered the inn felt it and half-reflexively reached for the sheath at his hip.
A mercenary who had come out of the dining hall retreated the instant he felt it.
This continued for about ten seconds... but even under the weight of Rei's killing intent, Anastasia nodded without appearing bothered in the slightest and opened her mouth.
"It's fine. I wouldn't do anything to embarrass Daskar. ...Though I will say, it seems there are all sorts of fascinating things in Gilm, so I might end up getting distracted by them."
Rei hesitated over how to respond to Anastasia's words... and eventually spoke.
"For now, I think once you see what I want you to research, you won't be distracted by anything else."
That was something Rei could state with certainty.
A being like the Wisp, which could teleport entities from another world—there was no way she wouldn't be interested in it.
(Ah, but if I'm taking Anastasia there, I need to make sure she doesn't find anything related to Grimm. Like gemstones, and things like that.)
Rei didn't know the reason why, but Grimm had placed something like an emerald sealing a Wind Spirit in the Underground Space where the Wisp resided.
Considering that, carelessly bringing Anastasia—who was not Rei's ally in the sense of being trusted with their secrets—could very well lead to trouble.
(Wait? If that's the case, isn't it bad to take her as-is today? I should contact Grimm tonight...)
Rei thought so, but Anastasia was wearing a deeply intrigued expression, prompted by the words Rei had spoken just seconds ago.
There was no way he could possibly say he'd actually take her tomorrow, given the current situation.
He'd messed up.
Even thinking that, it was already too late.
Judging by Anastasia's current demeanor, telling her he wouldn't take her today would be unnatural no matter how he framed it.
If word of that reached Daskar through other means, it would raise questions.
Rei had, after all, repeatedly pressed Daskar about when the scholars were coming.
For that same Rei to not take a scholar to the Underground Space in the Treant Forest when one had finally arrived would be plainly strange.
Daskar wouldn't be unjustified in suspecting something had happened.
If that led to the Underground Space being investigated in detail, and the area connected to Grimm's laboratory was discovered as a result, that would be no laughing matter.
(For now... I'll just have her focus solely on the Wisp, and either hide anything else lying on the ground or temporarily store it in my Misty Ring.)
Half-forcing himself to accept that he could somehow muddle through, he addressed Anastasia.
"Anyway, shall we head to the site in question right away? If you have some business to attend to, tomorrow would work too."
Rei, hoping against hope that Anastasia might opt for tomorrow just in case...
"All right. I'll go get ready, so wait here for me."
But she said that with unmistakable enthusiasm and returned to her room.