"Hmm... yeah, I definitely prefer this side over the Slum District."
"Gruu? ...Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred in agreement as it walked beside him.
The fact that the stale stench of the Slum District was gone was probably reason enough for Set to look so happy.
Beyond that, Rei had also mentioned stopping by a food stall along the way—another reason for Set's delight.
Still...
Gazing at his surroundings, Rei found himself experiencing a strange sense of wonder as he looked at the residents who showed not the slightest concern about what had happened in the Slum District... or rather, didn't even seem to have noticed it.
If he had caused the kind of commotion he did today at a shop on one of Gilm's main streets, it would have unquestionably become a major incident. Serious enough that the guards... no, even the knights being called wouldn't have been surprising.
The only reason it hadn't come to that this time was solely because the commotion took place in the Slum District.
From Rei's perspective, he couldn't help but wonder if that was really okay, but the Slum District had its own order, and everywhere else had theirs.
That was likely why none of the people walking around cared about what had happened there.
Though the fact that Rei had been careful to prevent the fires from spreading to the surrounding buildings probably played a big part as well.
"Anyway, first... I should probably show my face at Marina's place."
In this incident, Lazaria, introduced by Black Dog as a guide, had been extremely helpful. Without her, it would have taken considerable time just to find where the enemy hideouts were. And if that had been the case, even if he had found them, he didn't think he would have been able to destroy so many organizations.
That was why he wanted to properly express his gratitude to Marina, who had introduced him to Black Dog in the first place.
...Though he also wanted to discuss the matter of the one who led Black Dog.
"Gruu..."
"Ah, come on. Don't worry. Even if we're going to see Marina, we'll hit a food stall first. Besides, even after meeting her, if we see a stall with delicious-looking food, we'll stop there too."
Hearing Rei's words, Set lifted its head, recovering a bit of energy from its previously disappointed demeanor.
For Set, meeting Marina was something to be happy about. He was happy, but... given his body size, not being able to go inside the clinic where Marina worked must have been disappointing.
"Once this matter is resolved, we'll be able to visit Marina casually again, so don't worry."
At Marina's house, it wasn't uncommon for everyone to eat together in the courtyard. Given that, it would be easy for Set to meet her.
...That said, since he would still need to serve as a guard at the lake and the Birth Tower for a while, Rei had no idea when they would next be able to return to her house.
As if reading Rei's thoughts, Set let out another disappointed cry.
"Hey, the skewers being sold at that stall over there... don't they smell really good? Want to buy some? You'll eat some too, right, Set?"
"Gruu!"
Set showed an incredibly energetic demeanor, hard to believe it had been making disappointed cries just seconds before. Even though Rei had been aiming for exactly that reaction, he still wore a slightly complicated expression.
That said, there was no mistaking the delicious aroma drifting over from a stall a short distance away—a scent that stimulated the appetite—and Rei had no intention of passing up the skewers sold there.
Is this... a unique tare?
Skewers were easy to make and easy to eat. That was exactly why the quality of the meat cuts, the grilling technique, and the seasoning made all the difference.
A bad stall would sell skewers so unappetizing you'd wonder how they could possibly be that bad. ...Naturally, such stalls went out of business quickly.
But the stall in Rei's line of sight stimulated the appetite with the aroma of grilling meat alone.
I remember seeing or hearing somewhere that at eel shops you could make a meal just from the grilling smoke. This smoke gives off that same feeling. ...In this world, it's bread instead of rice, though.
Thinking such thoughts, Rei lined up at the stall alongside Set.
Since it was giving off such an appetite-stimulating aroma, there was naturally a line formed in front of it.
It was already what could properly be called evening. Among those who had finished work early, some were feeling a bit hungry—and if they caught a whiff of the aroma drifting from this stall, what would happen? Naturally, it wouldn't be strange for them to think about buying a few skewers.
It wouldn't be strange, but...
"Hey, don't cut in line! Get in line properly!"
"Hah? You know who you're talking to?"
The moment Rei and Set started walking toward the stall was nearly simultaneous with one of the customers in line calling out someone who had cut in front of him.
Having just finished work, they were tired and hungry. Given that, it was only natural that some would be short-tempered...
"Hah? I don't care who you are! Everyone's in line, so get in line!"
"You... don't regret talking to me like that."
"Take that somewhere else."
The words reached the man who had cut in line, and simultaneously he felt a sensation of floating.
The next moment, he was on the ground.
That said, Rei had lifted the man slightly at the moment of slamming him down, killing the impact, so the man felt almost no pain.
But even so, being thrown to the ground and humiliated in public was an undeniable fact. Understanding that, he quickly scrambled to his feet.
"You—!"
"...You? Are you talking to me?"
"Of course... wait, that couldn't possibly be the case. Excuse me!"
Initially, the man had been venting his frustration at Rei and, depending on how things went, might have even considered throwing a punch. But noticing Set at Rei's side, he must have realized who was standing before him.
What happened to those who picked a fight with Rei—there was no one in Gilm who didn't know, and the man naturally knew as well.
That was why he had no desire to fight Rei and hastily fled.
...One of the reasons for that was probably that the man had heard the rumor about Rei having a strong attachment to food.
"Pretty quick on his feet for someone running away," Rei muttered, watching the man's retreating back.
Set lightly tugged at Rei's Dragon Robe with its beak. Rei could understand what Set was trying to say, so he nodded and took his place at the back of the line.
"Um, well... do you want to get in line ahead of me?" the man in front of Rei offered.
Rei shook his head. It wasn't that he particularly enjoyed waiting in line, but accepting someone's offer to let him skip ahead in the current flow would feel awkward.
"Don't worry about it. More importantly, has this stall been here for a while? Or did it just open recently?"
"Hmm, hard to say. Today's my first time coming to this stall too. But if it gives off this good of an aroma, you'd think I would've noticed it before."
From that remark, Rei could guess that the man in front of him passed through this street every day. Among those who had come to Gilm seeking work due to the Expansion Construction, some found work that suited them and stuck with it, while others did various different jobs. Since he was walking through the same spot every day, Rei guessed he was probably the former.
"In that case, I'm looking forward to it."
"Yeah. Once you get a whiff of this smell, you definitely want to eat."
As they conversed, the line moved forward, and eventually it was Rei's turn.
If possible, Rei would have liked to ask for the entire stock, but with a considerable number of people lined up behind him, he couldn't very well buy everything up.
So he purchased ten skewers for himself and Set, but...
"There are two extra."
The number of skewers handed to him by the stall owner was twelve. Since there were clearly more than what he had ordered, he pointed it out.
For Rei, the more skewers the better, so he had no complaint about paying more for them.
"Ah, those are a thank-you. For the matter with the person who cut in line earlier."
"Ah... well, if you're giving them to me, I'll take them, but are you sure?"
"Yes. When someone like that gets into a fight with another customer, at worst it can result in not being able to run the stall here anymore. Just think of it as thanks for preventing that. Also..."
The stall owner paused and glanced slightly toward Set.
There was Set, directing a gaze full of expectation toward him. Given its sharp five senses, the aroma of grilling skewers must have stimulated its appetite more than anything. Seeing Set staring intently at the skewers Rei held with round eyes, it wouldn't be strange to want to throw in a little extra.
"Thanks. I'll drop by again when I see you."
The stall owner bowed to Rei, who said this. Mindful not to get in the way of the other customers, Rei stepped away from the stall with skewers in hand and handed one to Set, who was looking at him with an expectant hurry up, hurry up gaze.
Even after giving one to Set, there were still eleven remaining, so before they could cool, he stored most of them in his Misty Ring and then brought his own skewer to his mouth.
"Huh. ...It's tastier than I expected."
He had already guessed from the aroma of grilling meat, but the meat that entered Rei's mouth had a firm chewiness, and the fat of the meat combined with the flavor of the tare coating it formed a trinity that made him unconsciously reach for the next piece on the skewer.
Though the flavor is a bit strong. Intentional? There are a lot of people coming off work.
Having sweated and depleted the salt in their bodies, the slightly salty tare would taste all the more delicious to them. Also, since they were coming off work, it wouldn't be strange for the owner to have anticipated customers who would buy these skewers along with ale.
"Grururu!"
Set, having finished one immediately, purred at Rei as if to say, Give me another one!
Rei, enjoying the taste of the skewers—that quintessential meaty flavor—handed one of the skewers he held to Set.
And so about ten minutes passed.
Rei and Set finished all twelve of the purchased skewers.
Thinking about it normally, one or two skewers would be a reasonable light snack before dinner, but at six each, it wouldn't be surprising to end up completely full.
However, for Rei and Set, that amount didn't even bring them to eighty percent full, barely reaching ten percent if that.
In a way, they could enjoy as much food as they wanted, but being able to do so was largely because Rei wasn't struggling with money.
"Today during the daytime there were a lot of unpleasant things, but maybe it was all a trial to earn these skewers. ...Maybe I'm exaggerating a little."
"Gruu? Grurururu"
At Rei's words, Set let out a cry indicating he felt the same way.
Thinking about it normally, being relentlessly targeted by assassins, then being struck by an intense sense of wrongness in Gilm caused by Daub, and as a result destroying several underground organizations in the Slum District—even so, the thought briefly crossed his mind that if it was all for the sake of eating these skewers, maybe it was fine.
Thinking about it normally, there was no way he could accept something like that, though.
"Ah, Rei!"
Having finished eating the skewers with Set and about to head to the next stall, Rei suddenly heard his name called and looked in the direction of the voice.
Standing there was a guard. He looked relieved to have spotted Rei.
"What's up?"
"What do you mean, what's up... it's about the assassins who were targeting you. A lot of them were tight-lipped, but we managed to get some information out of them."
"Ah..."
Now that he mentioned it, he had handed the assassins over to the guards. He remembered, truly belatedly.
With a slightly apologetic look, Rei spoke to the guard.
"Sorry. I already destroyed the organizations."
"...Huh?"
"Ah, but I didn't have time to destroy all of them, so I'd still like information on the organizations I haven't crushed yet."
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about? You destroyed organizations?"
"Yeah. It just sort of happened."
"It just sort of happened, destroying underground organizations?"
"Five of them."
"...Ah, I see..."
At Rei's words, the guard was unable to say anything more.