"Well then, let's celebrate another day ending safely... Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
At Rei's words, everyone showed their delight—clinking their cups together or immediately bringing them to their lips to drink.
...Naturally, since they were on watch duty tonight, drinking alcohol was out of the question.
Because of that, what filled everyone's cups was chilled fruit water.
Even so, the fact that those drinking looked so happy was likely because, despite it being night, it was by no means cool.
The bonfire they had going might have also been a factor—it was warm enough that a little movement would work up a light sweat.
Given that a lake was right nearby, it wouldn't have been strange for it to be a bit cooler.
Regardless, precisely because it was that hot, even cold fruit water instead of alcohol was plenty welcome.
"Still, to think you wiped out five underworld organizations in the Slum District. It's Rei doing it, so I can accept it, but I'm more surprised than anything."
One of the men eating near Rei said this with a hearty laugh.
Those present here were adventurers of considerable skill, trusted by the Guild.
Naturally, they knew full well that multiple underground organizations existed in the Slum District, and they also knew just how much strength such organizations possessed.
That was exactly why, when told that Rei had destroyed five of them in a single day, it would have been impossible not to be surprised.
"Is that so? Wiping out an underground organization... anyone here could manage it to some extent, couldn't they?"
At Rei's words, not only the man who had been speaking but the others as well wore complicated expressions.
As Rei said, anyone here could fight an underground organization on even footing.
But that assumed a guerrilla campaign—picking off members of the enemy organization one by one, or a few at a time—not the kind of head-on assault Rei had conducted.
Furthermore, within those organizations... or rather, since they were members of underground organizations, many of them were considerably strong.
Against such opponents, it was questionable whether they could win even in a one-on-one fight.
"We're confident enough in our own skills. But even so, there's no way we could pull off something like challenging an organization head-on and crushing it like you do."
"Is that how it is? ...Well, if that's the case, then fine. ...More importantly, shouldn't you do something about that?"
Rei's gaze drifted to the man near Anastasia.
He was trying to work up the courage to talk to Anastasia, but couldn't quite bring himself to actually speak to her.
Rei wasn't the only one watching the man's predicament.
Several others were also directing their gazes at the scene.
"Guy's got enough skill to be posted here, so he's a highly capable adventurer."
Haa.
One of the adventurers eating a stew of Orc meat near Rei said this with an exasperated tone.
"I get what you're saying, but for some people, fighting enemies is easier than calling out to a woman they've fallen for. ...Well, a certain someone I could mention seems to spend all his time charming nothing but beauties, though."
Another adventurer made this pointed remark while looking meaningfully at Rei.
Rei, on the receiving end of that gaze, understood exactly what the other man was getting at.
He was held in affection by Elena, Marina, and Vihera—three women who, while each beautiful in different ways, were all astonishingly gorgeous—and furthermore, he was constantly acting alongside Ara and Byune as well.
Given that situation, he fully understood that being the target of envious stares was only natural.
...Though as to whether Ara and Byune should be counted among Elena and the others alongside those three who held romantic feelings for him, Rei honestly had his doubts.
Ara acted alongside Rei strictly as Elena's close aide, and Byune was only with them because Vihera was traveling with Rei.
Of course, Ara and Byune did hold affection for Rei, but it was not the romantic kind between a man and a woman—it was the affection one held for a comrade or a friend.
To be more precise, Ara's affection was rooted in the fact that Rei was Elena's love interest, and as for Byune, her perception of him was probably that of "the person who gives me food."
Then again... even if he tried to explain all that, he didn't think he could do it well, and whether the other party would be convinced by such an explanation was an entirely separate matter.
No matter what Rei said, the fact that Ara was a noble daughter with features refined enough to be called beautiful wouldn't change, and Byune, now that she could eat as much as she liked lately, was developing an increasingly feminine figure.
Regardless of the truth, envying Rei for traveling with such a group was, in a sense, only natural.
Moreover, every adventurer here was a man.
Because of that, they likely harbored all the stronger jealousy toward Rei.
Even so, only those trusted by the Guild were posted here, so the fact that no one was foolish enough to pick a fight with Rei out of jealousy was fortunate for him in the sense that it saved him trouble.
"Well, one thing's for sure—today was definitely busy."
"Is that right. Then tomorrow might be busy too."
Rei felt a slight twinge of doubt at the man's manner, which suggested he had some kind of conviction behind his words.
But before Rei could ask about it, the man went off to talk to another adventurer.
Rei briefly considered following him to get a better explanation, but decided that judging by how the man had just acted, he wouldn't say anything even if pressed here.
"Lord Rei, thank you for your hard work."
Zozo approached and spoke to him using the Stone Tablet he carried.
"Yeah, did anything seem off with the Lizardmen today?"
"No, nothing in particular. Everyone has been living peacefully. Brother was a bit enthusiastic, though."
"That's just business as usual for him. ...Then it's fine. I just wondered if something happened with the lake."
Saying that, Rei turned his gaze toward the giant Slime that was still burning.
Just how many days had passed since Rei set that Slime ablaze?
How long it would keep burning was something even Rei, who had cast the spell, didn't know.
...If someone told him it would burn forever, Rei could believe it at this point.
"What about the Lizardman Children?"
"No problems. They're running around full of energy. ...Honestly, it's helpful that they don't seem frightened or wary of this world's adventurers at all."
"That's probably because children have such strong curiosity. Without that... who knows what would have happened."
If they could live in this world from a young age—not as adventurers in Zozo's world, but in this world—they surely wouldn't want to make enemies of this world's people in the future.
Well, there might be circumstances that led them to fight, but they wouldn't need to worry about them attacking unconditionally.
"I hope so. ...I hope this world turns out to be a wonderful world for us as well."
Rei looked at Zozo puzzlingly as he spoke, gazing off into the distance.
What exactly had happened to make him say such a thing?
...Though Zozo probably didn't realize Rei was thinking that either.
"Anyway, things are reasonably peaceful around here right now. Honestly, that's a welcome thing."
"Indeed. The Lizardmen have also been growing accustomed to this place, one way or another."
Zozo replied briefly to Rei's words... and then, Gaga appeared.
As always, Gaga showed off his three-meter-tall frame as he materialized.
For a brief moment, Zozo and Gaga exchanged words.
...If anything, it looked to Rei as though Gaga was asking Zozo for something, and Zozo was refusing Gaga's request.
Of course, that was only from Rei's perspective, and he couldn't be certain what was actually happening.
(Well, I don't think I'm that far off, though. ...I'm starting to get a slightly bad feeling about this.)
Rei had been thinking that based on Gaga and Zozo's demeanor, and as if to confirm his suspicions, Zozo opened his mouth with a sigh, and his words were translated by the Stone Tablet.
"Lord Rei, actually, Brother wishes to have a mock battle with you. ...Unarmed, without weapons, that is."
"...I see."
For Rei, having a mock battle with Gaga wasn't particularly unpleasant.
But unarmed, without weapons—the height difference between Rei and Gaga was simply too great.
(Given Gaga's personality, he wouldn't try to win through a fight that's pointlessly disadvantageous to me. If so, I should assume there's some other reason. I wonder what it could be.)
Harboring that question, Rei turned his gaze to Gaga.
Gaga met Rei's gaze head-on.
And after a few seconds.
Eventually, Rei let out a small breath and spoke.
"Alright, let's do it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Judging by how Gaga looks, I don't think he's going to back down."
Rei could tell from Gaga's demeanor that this wasn't a playful challenge—he had a reason for seeking this fight.
With that in mind, he decided it was fine to accommodate their request and gave his answer.
...In truth, since today had been busy in various ways, what he honestly wanted was to get a good night's sleep.
Upon learning that Rei had accepted the mock battle, Zozo said something to Gaga in the Lizardman language.
Rei couldn't understand the Lizardman language itself.
But even so, given the current situation, he could grasp what was being said.
"Lord Rei. Brother says he'd like to begin right away."
"Got it. Then... let's do it over there. Fortunately, there are no clouds tonight, so the moonlight should be plenty bright."
The light in this case referred to light for Gaga, not for Rei.
Originally, Rei had Night Vision, so this level of darkness posed no problem whatsoever—he could act without any issue.
Even without Night Vision, the fire from the burning Slime might have provided enough light.
"He says that won't be a problem."
Rei nodded at Zozo's words and left the area.
Naturally, Gaga followed behind Rei.
But it wasn't just him—the adventurers who had been eating dinner just moments ago also followed after Rei's group, for some reason.
...Among them were Anastasia and Fana, and beside them was the adventurer who had been hesitating to talk to Anastasia earlier, having apparently seized the opportunity presented by the current flow of conversation to finally speak with her successfully.
The others were shooting him looks that said look at him, making his move, but the man himself didn't seem to care in the slightest.
That group moved sufficiently far from the bonfire area.
Then Rei and Gaga faced each other.
A short distance away, everyone watched the mock battle with food in hand.
They faced each other for a few seconds.
Gaga kicked off the ground and stepped forward.
He swung his fist, making full use of his massive frame.
Naturally, without a long weapon like Death Scythe or the Twilight Spear, Rei's reach was short.
In a sense, Rei's combat style relied on those long weapons to compensate for the short limbs that came from his short stature.
Gaga naturally understood this as well, so he was fighting in a way that kept Rei from closing the distance.
But... even if Rei's attacks couldn't reach due to the difference in reach, that was only true if he attacked from the same position.
Evading Gaga's attack, Rei slipped into his range.
Contrary to his massive frame, Gaga's attack speed was by no means slow.
The Lizardmen were entirely unrelated to the phrase "big and slow."
But even so, to Rei, it was by no means fast.
Slipping into Gaga's range, Rei thrust out his fist to strike—
"Tch!"
At the sudden sound of wind being cut, he broke away from that position.
...And yet, the fact that he still managed to land a blow to Gaga's torso before withdrawing showed he hadn't let the opportunity slip.
Then again, since it was just one hit while retreating, the power behind it wasn't that great.
Well, against a normal opponent, it would have been enough to make them double over in agony, but this time, since his opponent was Gaga, it wasn't such a powerful blow.
And in the very next instant after Rei retreated, Gaga's elbow pierced through the space where Rei had been standing... and the two faced each other once more in silence.