The assassins Rei and the guard had brought in were safely carried inside the Guard Station.
Having someone capable of interrogation already on-site probably made all the difference in this case.
Rei initially considered waiting there to hear what information they might extract, but when told that interrogations could take hours—and in some cases, days—he knew he couldn't sit around the station that entire time.
So after asking to be informed once they'd gotten anything useful, he left the Guard Station with Set.
"So, where to? That whole mess kicked off while I was out grabbing food, so I'm not really in the mood for street food anymore. ...Should I just head back to the Birth Tower?"
"Guruu."
Set nodded at Rei's words, though he looked slightly disappointed.
For Set, the recent encounter had probably put a damper on what had been a pleasant outing.
"Alright... then at least let's pick something up as a souvenir. That much should be fine."
With that, Rei headed to a restaurant he and Set had visited several times before and purchased Orc meat stew.
The stew was made exceptionally tender by being simmered for a long time with herbs. "Western-style kakuni" was probably the most accurate description.
Since it was western-style, it wasn't braised in a Soy Sauce-based tare but seasoned with sauce instead.
And it was genuinely delicious—delicious enough that even the adventurers, knights, and Lizardmen standing guard at the Birth Tower devoured it enthusiastically.
That was exactly why it made sense to buy it in large quantities.
...Though the simple fact that Rei and Set both loved it was reason enough.
(Since it's western-style, it actually goes really well with bread. Then again, things like pork kakuni buns exist, so I guess it's not that strange when you think about it?)
Mulling this over, Rei made his way toward the Birth Tower with Set.
"Guruu, gurururururu, guruu."
Set, flying toward the Treant Forest, purred happily.
The Orc stew, reminiscent of western-style kakuni, was one of Set's favorite foods. Rei buying it in such bulk must have made him eager for mealtime.
Seeing Set's delight, Rei felt a flicker of exasperation but still reached out and stroked the neck before him.
...Rei may have been giving Set a look of mild exasperation, but he loved the Orc meat stew just as much as Set did.
There were several restaurants serving similar dishes, but to Rei, this particular shop's cooking suited his tastes best.
Perhaps because they properly pre-boiled the meat with aromatic vegetables, the complete absence of any gaminess from the fat was a standout feature.
Incidentally, the broth left over from pre-boiling the Orc meat with aromatic vegetables apparently had enough flavor extracted to be repurposed for other dishes, though unfortunately Rei had never tried any of those.
"Oh, we're here."
The Birth Tower itself was fairly conspicuous from the sky, and aside from that, there was a vast lake nearby and a Slime that was still burning.
Whether having no shortage of landmarks was a good thing or a bad thing was hard to say.
While Rei pondered this, Set descended toward the ground.
Those who spotted Set's figure waved broadly in welcome. It wasn't just the adventurers waving—there were Lizardmen among them as well.
Of course, their enthusiasm was largely because Rei's presence meant a good meal.
Upon landing, the first to approach was... a knight.
He opened his mouth with a slightly worried expression.
"What happened? You were quite late."
"Ah... ran into a bit of a problem."
"A problem? Did something happen with those nobles, by any chance?"
At that, Rei shook his head... and then, come to think of it, noticed the noble and his private soldiers were nowhere to be seen.
"Where are those nobles?"
"A carriage came from Gilm and took them away. ...Though it probably won't amount to much of an issue."
"...It won't?"
"To be precise, it's more that it can't. Various faction power dynamics are at play with this incident."
Rei wasn't entirely satisfied with that explanation, but he was in no position to complain about it.
As a member of the Neutral Faction, he knew all too well the overwhelming gap in power between them and the King's Faction.
If the Noble's Faction were to seriously lend their strength, opposing the King's Faction wouldn't be impossible.
But that was easier said than done—nearly impossible, in fact.
There were still many within the Noble's Faction who looked down on or were openly hostile toward the Neutral Faction. Even if Duke Kerebel declared he would cooperate with the Neutral Faction to oppose the King's Faction, they would never stand for it.
Well, they might accept it on the surface, but after that they'd likely slack off or worse.
Considering those circumstances, Duke Kerebel couldn't afford to force cooperation with the Neutral Faction.
Even if Duke Kerebel himself held favorable feelings toward the Neutral Faction, he couldn't allow the Noble's Faction's influence to decline as a result.
After all, Duke Kerebel was the man who led the Noble's Faction.
"I see. ...Well, what happens to that noble doesn't really matter to me either way."
Listening to the knight, Rei couldn't help but wonder: from what he'd discussed with Daskar, wasn't Daskar fully prepared to oppose the King's Faction—or whoever they were—without holding back? But he kept that thought to himself.
This incident was, ultimately, something for a noble like Daskar to handle.
If some kind of request for assistance came through, Rei was ready to lend a hand.
After all, Gilm was the first place he'd arrived in this world, and it had been his base ever since.
He might leave Gilm for extended periods, but he had absolutely no intention of truly departing.
Because it was that kind of place to him, Rei didn't want to see Gilm disappear or become difficult to live in.
That was precisely why he was willing to cooperate if Daskar sought his help.
"Anyway. Let's say the noble matter is settled for now... could you take a look over there?"
Rei directed his gaze to where the knight was pointing and saw Orc corpses.
Not just one, but four of them lined up.
"What's with those...? Well, if they're here, they must have come in from the Treant Forest."
"Ah, right. They showed up shortly after you left. ...And that's the result."
"I'd expect as much."
Rei nodded in genuine agreement.
The ones entrusted with guarding the Birth Tower were, by design, skilled adventurers.
And among the Lizardmen, there were strong ones like Gaga and Zozo.
In a place like that, even an ordinary Orc—let alone an Orc King—showing up would be nothing but good prey.
Orcs were the worst possible encounter for women of any race, but at the same time, their meat was known to taste far better than their rank would suggest.
So much so that many adventurers believed you should hunt Orcs the moment you spotted them.
"So why are they still intact? Aren't you going to butcher them? What about draining the blood..."
"Ah, the blood's already been drained. All that's left is the butchering, but I was wondering if those Orcs could serve as a tribute to Set, if you wouldn't mind."
"...To Set? Why?"
"Guruu?"
Set, who had been at Rei's side, was startled to hear his name suddenly called. He stopped playing with the Lizardman Children and turned his gaze toward them.
Rei shook his head at Set to indicate it was nothing and sent him back to play.
Then he turned his attention back to the knight and spoke.
"If you're offering the Orc meat to Set, I'll certainly accept it gratefully, but... why all of a sudden?"
"It's partly because you helped us out with the noble situation, but beyond that, Set has been helping with the watch every night. This is meant as an expression of gratitude for that."
At the knight's words, the adventurers who had been listening nodded in agreement.
Seeing the knight and adventurers react that way, Rei accepted their wish to present a gift to Set.
For those standing watch at night, it was easy enough to appreciate just how much Set's presence helped.
...In truth, they were helped to a degree that even Rei, who was always with Set, couldn't fully comprehend.
In any case, Rei was well aware that most of the people here held genuine gratitude toward Set.
That was exactly why, when told the Orcs were being offered as a token of that gratitude, he accepted without hesitation.
"Set."
"Guruu?"
Set had just been told moments ago to keep playing with the Lizardman Children, but even having his name called again so soon, he showed no sign of irritation. If anything, he trotted over to Rei with round eyes brimming with curiosity, as if to say, "What? What?"
"Those four Orcs over there. The people here are giving them to you as a present."
"Guruu!?"
Startled, Set looked around as if to say, "Where? Where?"... and quickly spotted the four Orc corpses, purring with delight.
For Set, defeating an Orc himself wasn't particularly difficult.
No, given his abilities, it would be effortless.
But even so, receiving an Orc as a gift from someone was still an occasion of genuine joy.
Set was so visibly thrilled that anyone could see it—if the Set Enthusiasts back in Gilm had seen him, they would have been absolutely captivated.
Led by Mirene and Yohanna, the Set Enthusiasts numbered quite a few.
Naturally, whenever they encountered Set, they would offer him some kind of food.
That always pleased Set, of course, but right now, in Rei's eyes, he looked happier than at any of those times.
(This kind of thing has hardly ever happened before. No wonder he's thrilled.)
With that thought, Rei watched Set happily circling the area near the Orc corpses, purring with delight.
"If they'd not only drained the blood but butchered them too, that would've been even better for us."
"Easier said than done with four of them. Draining the blood alone took a fair amount of time. And we couldn't exactly do it at the Birth Tower."
An adventurer who had been listening nearby chimed in in response to Rei's remark.
Hearing that, Rei conceded the point.
Large Orcs exceeding two meters in height were not uncommon.
Transporting bodies of that size to a suitable location—far enough that the smell of blood wouldn't lure monsters or animals back to the Birth Tower—then hanging them upside down from tree branches to drain was time-consuming work. And that was after the considerable physical effort of moving the Orcs in the first place.
Even accounting for everything Rei had done—explaining matters to Daskar, getting ambushed by assassins while buying food, fighting them off, and hauling the unconscious ones to the Guard Station—draining the blood from four Orcs was about all they could have managed.
There was also a method of draining blood by submerging the carcass in water, but... Rei glanced at the lake for only a moment before immediately dismissing the idea.
Given the number of ferocious monsters lurking in it, submerging blood-scented Orcs in the lake would guarantee that the monsters and Fish would tear the carcasses to pieces.
The Orc corpses prepared as a present for Set would become completely meaningless.
Even Rei could predict that much.
"Then for now... shall we start butchering the Orcs? If we leave them sitting here, they'll go bad before long."
If he stored them in his Misty Ring, they wouldn't spoil or rot.
Rei knew that perfectly well, but butchering four Orcs' worth by himself was a considerable undertaking.
...The fact that Rei had never been particularly skilled at butchering in the first place was also among the reasons he wanted to get everyone's help.
When he first came to this world, Rei had been poor enough at butchering to call it a genuine weakness. By now he'd reached the level of "not exactly skilled"—possessing roughly average technique.
Even so, having someone to help made things undeniably easier.
(I did some chicken butchering back in Japan, but that's practically useless in this world.)
Sighing, Rei expressed his gratitude to those who had agreed to help with the Orc butchering.