Rei guided Anastasia and Fana to the Wheat Inn at Dusk.
Naturally, Lana— the proprietress— trembled with her sturdy frame and smiled happily at the sight of a regular returning after a long absence.
When Rei asked if Anastasia and Fana could use his room for the night...
"I don't mind. The room's already been paid for, after all. Besides, I'd be happy to see someone actually using it for once," she said readily.
Fana had originally been living in Gilm, but since she couldn't prepay for an extended stay the way Rei could, she had likely already been evicted from her lodging. For the time being, she would be staying in the same room as Anastasia.
In Gilm's current state, there could never be enough inns to go around. Given that, once the payment deadline passed, it was only natural for an inn to conclude they couldn't keep lending a room to Fana indefinitely.
The room Rei rented was strictly a single. However, for two people— Anastasia and Fana— just for tonight, it wouldn't be much of an issue.
"Thank you for having us," Anastasia said.
"Please take care of us," Fana added.
They both bowed to Lana as they spoke.
With lodging secured for Anastasia and her companion, Rei's group parted ways with a reluctantly convinced Anastasia and Fana— who agreed to take it easy in the room for the day— and headed out into the city.
"So, what's the plan?" Vihera asked. "Heading back to Marina's house where Elena and Ara probably are? Or going to the clinic to see Marina? Maybe the Guild?"
"Good question. Do you think the Guild would have any information on fairies?"
"I doubt it. Probably not. Even if they do, I'd imagine it's very little."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
Vihera's assessment matched Rei's expectations exactly. Given that spotting a fairy was itself extraordinarily rare, he hadn't expected there to be much information about them.
Still, since we're back in Gilm after so long, it'd be best to at least greet Lenora and Kenny.
The fact that Rei had gone to the other world was, naturally, not reported to the Guild. Since the existence of the other world had to be kept as secret as possible, that was only a given.
Marina, the Former Guild Master, naturally knew about the situation, but she would never leak that information to the Guild. So from Lenora and Kenny's perspective, where Rei and his group had been was simply unknown. They knew Rei's abilities well enough to assume he wouldn't be killed so easily. Still, as adventurers, they understood that anything could happen.
Moreover, where Rei had gone was the other world. As long as its existence remained secret, even Lenora and the others couldn't have known where he was.
"So, what are we doing?"
Prompted by Vihera, Rei decided that visiting the Guild could wait. It would be better to stop by the clinic first. Perhaps they could get some kind of information about fairies from Marina.
With that in mind, he told Vihera they were heading to the clinic. Vihera seemed to have no objection to visiting Marina either, nodding readily.
"Alright. Let's do that, then."
Set also seemed to have no objections, purring in acknowledgment.
And so, the two humans and one gryphon made their way toward the clinic.
However, since Rei and Set were showing their faces for the first time in a while, several stall owners called out to them. For the stall owners, Rei and Set were major customers— though it was Rei who actually footed the bill. If things went well, a single purchase from Rei could generate the same revenue as dozens of customers. He was nothing short of a premium patron. However...
"Thanks for the food."
"Huh?"
After offering just that brief farewell, Rei headed toward another stall. The owner hurriedly called after him.
"W-wait! Aren't you going to buy in bulk?"
"Yeah, no. It wasn't a flavor worth stocking up on."
What Rei bought in bulk was strictly food that he— or Set— found delicious. In this case, Vihera was included as well. In other words, if it wasn't something he'd want to eat again, there was no reason to go out of his way to buy it in large quantities. Why would anyone deliberately purchase massive quantities of food they didn't even find tasty? It was obvious— yet the owner had been so distracted by the sheer volume Rei usually purchased that he'd completely forgotten.
"Ah..."
The stall owner tried to call out something to the departing Rei and Set, but they paid him no mind and moved on to the next stall.
"Damn it."
The owner muttered in frustration, but that wasn't going to solve anything. All he could do was improve the taste of his own cooking and hope to earn Rei's approval next time. Alternatively, he could accept that his food simply didn't suit Rei's palate and pursue his own unique flavor.
So while some stalls went unbought...
"Oh, this cold soup is good. Give me everything you've got. Pot and all is fine— how about it?"
"Oh, you appreciate this flavor! Nothing beats cold soup in this heat. Yeah, of course the pot's included— but please spare the Magic Item."
...there were also stalls that ended up selling their entire pot.
"Typical Rei," Vihera muttered with a hint of exasperation as she walked alongside him, sampling food from several stalls along the way.
Vihera, who loved battle— meaning she moved her body constantly— ate considerably more than the average woman. The fact that she didn't gain excess weight was likely because she never neglected her daily training. Considering how much she normally moved, there was no way she'd gain weight no matter how much she ate.
They ate their way through the stalls, occasionally letting the Set Enthusiasts— who hadn't seen Set in a while— play with him briefly. Sometimes, people who had arrived in Gilm during Rei's absence tried to harass Vihera, only to be effortlessly shut down. Through all of this, they continued through the city streets until they finally reached their destination.
"No one's waiting in line."
"...Does that actually happen?"
Hearing Rei's mutter as he looked at the clinic, Vihera voiced the question. There were several clinics other than this one, so if it was full, it was only natural to think people could just go elsewhere. Of course, with Marina's Spirit Magic available, those with severe injuries that other clinics couldn't handle were better off coming here.
"Yeah. I've seen it happen a few times. Just shows how skilled Marina is. Anyway, let's see if she's available, and if she's not too busy, we'll move somewhere else and ask her about fairies."
"Right. From the looks of it, she doesn't seem that busy."
As Rei and Vihera talked, Set moved to a spot slightly apart on his own, without needing to be told. He had been to this clinic several times before, so he probably understood it wasn't a place he could enter.
Rei watched Set settle in, then headed toward the clinic entrance with Vihera.
Standing at the door, they could hear several voices from inside, but fortunately nothing that suggested a busy atmosphere.
When Rei knocked, the door opened immediately— as if they expected an injured patient— and a woman Rei had seen several times before appeared.
"Oh, Rei-san. It's been a while."
"It has. Is Marina here?"
"She just finished treating a patient and is resting. Shall I go get her?"
"Please."
The woman nodded and went to call Marina. She looked surprised to see Vihera, but only for a moment. There were plenty of adventurers who wore unconventional clothing. Besides, Marina herself wore a Party Dress with flashy openings at the back, shoulders, and chest. Working alongside someone like that, seeing Vihera clad in a thin, sheer garment that might belong on a Prostitutes or Dancer probably wasn't all that shocking.
In barely a minute, a familiar face appeared— one that, in that short time, already felt nostalgic to Rei.
"You're back. ...Is everything settled?"
"Yeah."
"I see. Good."
With just that brief exchange, Marina nodded, seeming to understand that Rei and Vihera had encountered no trouble.
"So? Coming all the way to the clinic means you have some reason, right? Not that I'd complain if you just came to see my face."
Marina flashed a smile that radiated an intensely alluring femininity. Rei was captivated for just a moment before nodding quickly.
"Yeah. Actually, right after we got back, a little problem came up."
"...Typical Rei."
To Marina, Rei was someone who always stood at the center of trouble. No— it would be more accurate to say he attracted it. Right after rescuing Anastasia and Fana from an unknown location in the other world, he had immediately stumbled into yet another problem. Even if he claimed he wasn't drawing trouble to himself, no one would believe it.
"Typical me? It's not like I go out of my way to cause problems. Anyway, I want to talk about it. Mind if we head to that café we went to before?"
"Sure. It's not busy right now, so that's fine. Though if a patient suddenly gets brought in, I'll have to go straight back."
"That's your job, so it can't be helped," Rei replied immediately. Since treating patients at the clinic was Marina's work, he fully understood her position.
Smiling at his response, Marina told them to wait a moment, went back inside, and returned in a matter of minutes. She had left instructions with the staff that she was going to a café and to call for her immediately if anything happened.
And so, Rei's group headed for the café.
"Thank you for waiting," the waiter said, placing cold tea, Fruit Water, and several light dishes on the table.
Once the waiter left, Marina sipped her Fruit Water and turned to Rei.
"So? What happened this time?"
"Fairies have appeared in the Treant Forest."
"That's..."
Rei had stated it plainly, but for Marina, the words "fairies have appeared" were shocking enough to stop her in her tracks. Even with her experience as both an adventurer and a Guild Master, the claim of seeing a fairy carried that much impact.
"Knowing you, I'm sure there's no mistake, but I'll ask just in case. This isn't a misidentification or anything like that, right?"
"Yeah. I got a good look at them. Not just me— Vihera, Anastasia, and Fana saw them too."
"...I see."
"I wanted to ask— have you ever seen a fairy, Marina?"
"No. Even when I was the Guild Master, there were reports of people seeing fairies, and apparently some searched based on those reports. But I've never heard of anyone actually making contact."
Naturally, Marina didn't believe fairies were fictitious. There were indeed a small number of people who claimed to have seen them, and even those who hadn't seen a fairy itself but had found traces of one were fairly numerous.
"I see. I thought that maybe, if anyone had seen a fairy, it might be you."
"Really? What makes you think that?"
"You're a Dark Elf, right? So I thought you might know something about fairies. Plus, you're also the Shrine Maiden of the World Tree."
To Rei, both Dark Elves and fairies had the image of beings closely related to spirits. He didn't actually know if that was the case— it was an impression shaped by manga, novels, anime, and games from his time in Japan, but...
"Unfortunately, I don't know much. For that matter, if it were simply a matter of being a Dark Elf or an Elf, then wouldn't Anastasia also have knowledge about fairies?"
Put that way, Rei couldn't argue further... and felt a wave of disappointment at the lack of leads.