Rei left Zoraku's room with Kaonora and went to meet someone in the large room.
"Ah, Kaonora-san. And Rei-san too... I'm Lazaria. I'll be guiding you wherever you need to go, so please take care of me."
The one who bowed and said that upon seeing their faces was a girl who looked to be in her late teens.
Rei was slightly surprised by her use of the masculine first-person pronoun "boku," but he nodded at her words and spoke.
"It'll be tough in a lot of ways, but I'm counting on you."
The fact that a woman would be accompanying him through the Slum District was something the hostile organizations might actually appreciate.
It wasn't that Rei hadn't considered that, but remembering that Zoraku had said she could protect herself, he kept the thought to himself.
If she did have the ability to defend herself, then saying anything here would only make her uncomfortable—or so he reasoned.
"Yes. I'll do everything I possibly can. ...So, what will you do? Are we heading out immediately?"
"Do you know where we're going?"
"Yes. Kaonora-san told me. ...Given the circumstances, I thought it would be best to move as quickly as possible."
Can I trust her words? As Rei directed his gaze at her with that question, Kaonora nodded.
"Lazaria-san is reasonably strong. She also knows a fair amount about the current situation, so I don't think there's any particular need to worry."
"I see. If you're vouching for her, Kaonora, I'll leave it to Lazaria."
Since Zoraku deeply trusted Kaonora, if Kaonora was the one vouching for her... Rei accepted it accordingly.
At Rei's words, Kaonora bowed his head happily.
From Kaonora's perspective, this matter was less about his own word being trusted and more about Zoraku's word as his superior carrying weight, but even so, it was enough to make him happy.
...And within that happiness was the fact that he had been able to forge a connection with someone like Rei.
"Understood. Then I'll head out right away, so please get ready."
"Yes. Please wait in front of the hideout. I'll get ready and come right out."
With that, Lazaria bowed and hurried off.
Watching her go, Rei turned to speak to Kaonora.
"Alright, I'll wait for Lazaria outside. ...I appreciate the help with everything. Tell Zoraku I said thanks too."
"Understood. That said, I did imagine something like this would happen from the moment you brought that letter."
"...I'm sure you did."
Given Zoraku's attitude, Rei could only honestly agree.
That Zoraku revered Marina—who had given Rei the letter—as a sisterly or motherly figure was obvious just by looking at him. Though it seemed Zoraku wasn't particularly trying to hide it either.
(Is it related to him being a Half-Elf after all?)
As far as Rei knew, being a Half-Elf didn't necessarily mean being despised in this world.
However, that depended entirely on the region or household where the Half-Elf was born.
And seeing how deeply Zoraku revered Marina—not as a woman, but as a mother or sister—it wasn't difficult to imagine what kind of place he had grown up in.
...The biggest problem was that being seen as the man who had stolen Marina away was, honestly, not something Rei was entirely comfortable with.
"In any case, Zoraku-san is an excellent man. He's the one who led Black Dog this far, after all. ...And without Zoraku-san, I shudder to think what would have become of many of us, myself included."
For just a moment, a dark shadow flickered across Kaonora's expression as he said that.
Rei didn't know exactly what had happened or how things might have turned out.
But judging by Kaonora's demeanor, he could at least surmise that there was undoubtedly some kind of backstory there.
...Not that Rei had any intention of actually bringing it up, though.
"I see. Then I'll wait for Lazaria outside the building."
"Ah, yes, um, please be careful. They're organizations trying to assassinate you, Rei-san. You're charging right into their strongholds..."
Normally, if someone tried to do something so reckless, he would stop them without question.
But it was precisely because Rei was the one doing it that Kaonora didn't try to stop him.
Anyone who knew even a little about Gilm's affairs knew just how much power Rei possessed.
...That said, from Kaonora's perspective, the emerging organizations targeting Rei—emerging in Gilm, at any rate—were committing suicide by acting knowing full well what they were up against.
That was the thought born of having seen several organizations that had opposed Rei in the past suffer devastating damage.
(They may have no way back, but... it's unfortunate for them. If only they had talked things through with a Gilm organization from the start.)
Those attacking Rei this time were solely emerging organizations that had survived on their own strength.
Organizations that had already established prior contact with Gilm's existing groups were not among them.
Whether they had judged their own strength sufficient and come to Gilm without laying any groundwork, or whether they had tried to negotiate and been refused—either way, they hadn't coordinated.
Even Gilm's organizations wouldn't back someone or lend a hand without some form of compensation.
Given the current situation, perhaps some of these groups had simply offered too little in return.
Such were Kaonora's thoughts as he watched Rei's retreating back.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
About ten minutes after Rei stepped outside the building and settled in with Set, Lazaria emerged in outdoor clothes that were easy to move in.
...Incidentally, when Rei had come outside, several of the guards who were supposed to be protecting the building had been petting Set.
When Rei and Set had first arrived, the guards had been terrified of Set's presence, yet during the time Rei was inside, not only had the guards stopped fearing Set—they apparently wanted to dote on him.
When the guards were caught petting Set by Rei, they froze solid... but Rei decided to turn a blind eye.
To begin with, seeing someone dote on Set was hardly unusual for Rei.
When traveling through normal areas rather than the Slum District, even men far tougher-looking than the guards here would casually pet Set.
Thinking about it that way, the guards petting Set wasn't really something to be concerned about.
That said, that was purely Rei's own impression.
For the guards who had actually been petting Set, it wouldn't have been strange for them to feel embarrassed at being seen.
And so, in the midst of this awkward atmosphere between Rei and the guards, Lazaria arrived.
For the guards, Lazaria was a welcome sight—someone who could break through the tension.
...Also, the fact that Rei would be leaving was undoubtedly a huge relief in this situation.
"Alright. Then let's go. ...Set, you ready?"
"Gruu!"
At Rei's voice, Set purred as if to say he was fine.
Lazaria was momentarily startled by Set's appearance... but when Set turned his round eyes toward her, her fear vanished in an instant.
Knowing beforehand that Rei had a gryphon named Set as his tamed monster was probably a big factor here.
"Um, well... nice to meet you. I'm Lazaria."
"Gururu."
Set purred a greeting.
Watching the exchange between person and creature, Rei thought about the name Lazaria.
(It sounds delicious, like lasagna. Ah, now I kind of want to eat some.)
In Japan, Rei had lived in the countryside, but even so, there were a few dining halls, restaurants, and family restaurants around.
When eating at such places, he had tried lasagna several times.
It hadn't been surprisingly delicious or anything, but he had definitely thought it was good.
That was why he wanted to eat something similar in this world if possible...
(But I have absolutely no idea how to make it.)
Rei had spread dishes like pizza, nikuman, and udon throughout this world, but that was only possible because he at least roughly knew how to make them.
With lasagna, however, he didn't know the recipe.
He knew that using tomatoes, ground meat, and some kind of spices would make meat sauce, and that using milk and wheat flour would make white sauce—but that was it.
Also, Rei naturally had no idea how to make the pasta used in lasagna either.
He knew that the difference between udon and Chinese noodles was the presence or absence of kansui, but how pasta was made was something Rei simply didn't know.
He had made pasta using dried pasta and retort sauce before, but that was about it.
(Ah, but could I make it with udon...? Could I? I hope so...)
That said, udon lasagna wasn't exactly something Rei was eager to try.
If he used udon dough to make lasagna in this world, lasagna would come to be recognized as a dish made with udon dough here.
"Rei-san? Is something wrong?"
While Rei was thinking about lasagna, it seemed Set and Lazaria had finished their greetings.
"No, I was just thinking about what to eat for dinner tonight."
"...You certainly are relaxed."
She had assumed he was thinking about the upcoming battle, but to be told he was actually thinking about dinner—it would have been more surprising if she wasn't surprised.
Even Lazaria, who had a certain degree of skill, was nervous about heading to the hideouts of underground organizations—ones that had absolutely nothing to do with them, emerging groups at that.
"Most of the assassins the enemy has sent so far, I didn't think were all that strong. And that's with the organizations sending their skilled assassins, so when I think about fighting them normally, I'm not too worried on that front."
Even as he thought that, Rei continued in his mind—except for Daub, with his balloon-like physique.
Since Daub was someone who could fight evenly with Set, Rei needed to be appropriately cautious when fighting him.
That said, it meant Daub was the only one he needed to be wary of.
...Though there was no guarantee that a strong assassin who hadn't appeared before Rei yet didn't exist.
(Ah, and there's also the one who attacked me in the Slum District, whether it was hypnosis or brainwashing.)
An enemy who didn't fight head-on but used the people around them to attack.
An opponent who fought that way was undeniably troublesome for Rei.
It was precisely because he was with Lazaria now that such an opponent was especially problematic.
"For now, Lazaria, you just need to focus on guiding me to the enemy hideouts and protecting yourself. ...I doubt it'll happen, but don't try to help me and charge into an enemy hideout or anything, alright?"
"Of course. I understand my own abilities."
Someone who accurately knows their own strength is trustworthy, even if that strength isn't particularly high.
They won't overestimate themselves, get carried away, and end up captured by the enemy, becoming a burden to Rei.
"That would help me out too. Right?"
"Gruu?"
At Rei's words, Set tilted his head as if to say "What?"
While Rei had been talking with Lazaria, Set had apparently been bored and was playing with the guards again.
Seeing tough-looking guards happily petting Set was, in a way, quite abnormal.
Given the current situation, Rei honestly wanted to retort about whether they should really be doing that.
This was the Black Dog hideout, after all—the guards should be properly defending it.
Or perhaps, with Rei and Set here, they figured there was no need for guards at all.
"In any case, staying here indefinitely is problematic for various reasons. Let's get going soon."
"Understood."
Lazaria nodded at Rei's words, and Set, sensing this, stopped playing with the guards and walked over to Rei.
And so, the two and their companion set out through the Slum District to crush multiple underworld organizations.