The conversation that had dealt a heavy blow to Daskar's stomach lasted about thirty minutes.
Ideally, Daskar would have liked to hear more details from Rei, but given the paperwork piling up and the long line of people requesting audiences, he couldn't keep devoting time to their conversation.
In truth, Daskar would have preferred to talk with Rei even while working.
Not that he was looking forward to chatting, exactly—he simply felt that if he didn't press Rei for information now, it might come back to bite him later.
So Daskar used every free moment he had, but there was still a limit.
As a result, Rei couldn't go into much detail about the other world either. After wrapping up a rough summary, he left Daskar behind wearing an expression that clearly wanted to hear more. Prompted by Daskar's subordinates, he exited the Lord's Manor.
Set, sensing Rei's return, immediately came to greet him from the garden, and the two of them left under the Village Gatekeeper's watchful eye.
"Now then, what should I do next... I should probably go to Marina's house."
"Gruu!"
Set let out a happy cry at Rei's words.
Elena was currently living at Marina's house as well. For Set, that meant getting to see his friend Ielo—and being told not to be excited about that would have been unreasonable.
Rei, on the other hand, showed a slight reluctance.
Partly because he hadn't met Elena or Marina directly when he last returned, but more importantly, he judged that having only Vihera go to the other world would give Elena and the others quite a bit to think about.
According to Vihera, she had left a proper note behind—but that conversely meant she hadn't explained the circumstances directly to Elena or Marina.
The thought that he would have to be the one to explain all of that didn't sit entirely well with him.
"That said, if I skip visiting again this time... I feel like I'd be in for something terrifying later."
Munching on skewers of Orc meat bought from a food stall, Rei headed toward Marina's house in the Noble District.
Along the way, Children who wanted to play with Set, as always, approached them—but he asked them to let it go since he was in a hurry. After handing Set some nuts, he noticed a few of the children watching him happily eat them, but that was neither here nor there.
Continuing their walk, they soon entered the Noble District.
Midway, they encountered an Adventurer on patrol, but any Adventurer in Gilm who didn't know Rei's face was a fraud. A recent arrival might not recognize him, but even they wouldn't mistake Set at his side.
The patrol Adventurers showed no particular wariness and called out to him.
"Rei, heading home?"
Called out to by one of the group of five men and women in their twenties, Rei nodded.
"Yeah. Got some business to attend to. ...Though that house is technically Marina's, not mine."
"Which makes it Rei's house, right?"
The conversation wasn't connecting. Rei thought so, but digging too deeply into it seemed like it would lead somewhere unpleasant, so he let it slide and changed the subject.
"More importantly, there are quite a few patrols out. People sneaking into the Noble District?"
"Yeah. There are guys who wander in by mistake without knowing any better. Those aren't a problem, but... there are also some with bad intentions."
"Well... I suppose that's to be expected."
The Noble District naturally meant nobles lived here. And nobles living here meant there could be Gold Coins, Platinum Coins, jewels, or possibly even Magic Items.
In Gilm, where so many people had gathered, it wouldn't be strange for some to be thinking along those lines. No—such people were definitely there. That was exactly why Adventurers employed by nobles were patrolling.
"Besides... you know, near the Noble District... right?" the Adventurer said with a hesitant look.
Rei initially didn't understand what he was getting at, but soon realized. The high-class residential district not far from the Noble District, the entity that had existed beneath it, and the turmoil that incident had caused.
The Adventurer had been hesitant to bring it up because Rei had been deeply involved in that affair. Sensing this, Rei simply nodded.
"Don't worry about that. I'm not particularly concerned about it anymore either. Anyway, good luck with the patrols. It's because you're all out here that suspicious characters aren't getting in."
With that, Rei headed toward Marina's house with Set.
The Adventurers waved lightly at the two of them without making any fuss. That Rei was living at Marina's house was something most Adventurers already knew.
"Hope it explodes."
After Rei's figure had faded into the distance, one male Adventurer muttered those words.
He was living with a beauty like Marina—an absolutely gorgeous woman. And under the same roof were Elena the Princess General and Vihera, who, despite being a Battle Maniac, had a way of directly stimulating a man's desires. Being told not to feel jealous about that would have been unreasonable.
...In reality, Ara and Byune also lived there, and the two of them were actually quite popular as well.
"Don't be stupid. If you want beautiful women surrounding you like Rei, then get stronger."
Beside the man who had hoped it exploded, a woman told him with an exasperated look.
With a catch like Rei, even a woman would want to join the lineup. Though... if asked whether she had the courage to enter the ranks of Elena, Marina, Vihera, and the others, the answer would be no.
"Even if you say that, there's no way I could accomplish what Rei does."
The man said this with dissatisfaction, but the woman only directed a look of exasperation at him.
"Hmm, it really does feel like it's been a while since I've been back."
It had genuinely been a while since he'd returned to Marina's house, so that feeling wasn't wrong at all.
Beside him, Set purred impatiently, wanting to go inside. For Set, getting to see his friend Ielo for the first time in a while was naturally cause for celebration.
"Gruu."
Nodding at Set's urging, Rei passed through the gate.
...In truth, Marina's Spirit Magic protected this house, automatically intercepting anyone who arrived with suspicious intentions—like the sort of people the patrol Adventurers had mentioned.
Since Rei and Set had stayed here many times, however, the Spirit Magic didn't flag them as suspicious, and they could enter normally.
And just as he was about to open the door—
"Whoa!"
The door opened a split second before Rei could reach it, and several Adventurer Trio emerged from inside.
Judging by their attire, they were unmistakably upper class—members of the nobility.
The men cast a brief, suspicious glance at Rei, but upon seeing Set—a Gryphon—beside him, they apparently realized who stood before them. Giving a small bow, they departed.
(Nobles who came for an audience with Elena.)
Elena had previously lived in the Lord's Manor, but had moved to Marina's house because so many people came requesting audiences. For those visiting the Lord's Manor, it was only natural that some would want to become acquainted with Elena as a bonus to meeting Daskar. Depending on the situation, Daskar might even become the secondary purpose.
That was why Elena stayed at Marina's house while in Gilm. Even so, there were still many who sought audiences with her. Elena bore the alias of Princess General and was even called the symbol of the Noble's Faction. If one belonged to the Noble's Faction, offering greetings was only natural, and even those who didn't belong often wanted to become acquainted with her.
Judging that the men just now fell into one of those categories, Rei told Set to go on ahead.
After seeing Set off toward the courtyard to play with Ielo for the first time in a while, Rei entered the house.
"What's the mat—... Lord Rei, was it?"
Perhaps noticing someone entering, Ara came to the entrance and spoke. She had probably thought the men who had left had come back, but upon seeing Rei, she smiled.
"Yeah. Sorry for being away for so long."
"No, I've heard the circumstances from Lord Daskar. Though I would have preferred it if you had met with Lady Elena when you returned last time."
"My bad. I was in a hurry last time. Is Elena here?"
"She's in the living room. I have some errands to attend to, so please excuse me. Make yourself at home, Lord Rei."
Rei had been rather conspicuously looked after, but since it was helpful, he didn't say anything about it. He wanted to express his gratitude, though.
Seeing Ara off as she left the house, Rei headed to the living room.
There, Elena was waiting for him with a radiant smile.
Elena, who had inherited an Ancient Dragon's Magic Stone, possessed extremely sharp senses. So sharp, in fact, that even from the living room, she could hear Rei and Ara talking at the entrance.
(No, that's beside the point.)
In the courtyard visible from the living room, Set and Ielo were running around playing. If Set was there, there was no way Rei wouldn't be.
"Umm... right, I'm back."
"Welcome back. It seems you were quite delayed?"
"Well, you see... a lot happened."
"A lot? Umu, it seems a great many things truly did happen. Why don't you tell me about it at your leisure? By the way, I believe Marina would also like to hear that story. As for Vihera... it seems she is with you, Rei?"
Elena directed a gaze at him that seemed to see through everything.
There's no need to demonstrate your prowess as the Princess General in a place like this... Rei thought, but he opened his mouth nonetheless.
"To put it simply, we were attacking what we initially thought was the headquarters of a Dragonias horde in the other world."
"I know that."
If she had heard from Daskar, it was only natural she'd know about that. Or rather, if she knew nothing about the Wisp, Daskar might have kept Rei's destination a secret—but unfortunately, Elena knew all about those circumstances.
"Then... right. For some reason, Vihera came to the other world."
"...I thought as much."
Elena, who seemed to have anticipated that much, brushed up her golden hair, which looked as if sunlight itself had been woven into it.
The one leading the Dragonias had golden scales, but even though both were gold, Elena's hair felt overwhelmingly superior.
(Maybe that's why I was unconsciously separating them into golden scales and golden hair.)
As he thought about that, Elena spoke.
"So, how is Vihera doing? Knowing her, I doubt she's having any problems."
"Right. She was actually fighting Dragonias gleefully."
"...Fighting? Vihera left for that world yesterday, didn't she?"
"Yeah. But before we returned, the Centaur settlement was attacked by several Dragonias. Vihera apparently took them down."
"That's quite a dangerous world, isn't it?"
"Well, normally it's not that dangerous. It's just that the Dragonias are too dangerous. That said, for Vihera, they seem to be just the right opponents."
Rei's words seemed to help Elena understand the general situation. She let out a breath laced with exasperation.
"That's typical of Vihera. In any case, it's a relief that she's safe. ...When she comes back, we'll need to have a serious talk with her."
Saying that, Elena wore a smile so intimidating that even Rei instinctively took a step back.