Rei had no intention of letting someone who was after Set slip away.
At the same time, he couldn't afford to let the man discover Nielson the fairy, who was currently hidden inside his Dragon Robe.
That meant he needed to deal with the person before him — the man claiming he would make Set his own — without waking Nielson, who had fallen into a food-induced slumber.
Given the current circumstances, managing both at once was a contradictory endeavor at best.
(What do I do? If I leave that guy alone, it's definitely going to cause trouble.)
Based on past experience, he could say that with certainty.
There had always been people who tried to steal his Misty Ring, his Twilight Spear, Set, and various other possessions — or, slightly less aggressively, came asking him to sell. It was precisely because he had dealt with such people before that Rei understood letting this man go would only lead to problems down the line.
(What to do? ...Nielson's the tricky part. If someone else were here, I could hand her over to them... no, that's impossible.)
If any of his companions were present, he might have considered entrusting her to them, but he dismissed the idea immediately. Nielson was sleeping soundly thanks to the Dragon Robe's simplified air conditioner function, which kept her comfortable despite the midsummer afternoon heat.
If he pulled her out of the Dragon Robe now, the blazing sunlight and ambient temperature would wake her instantly. And she would undoubtedly complain about being removed from her comfortable spot.
Once she started complaining, the men standing before him would hear her voice and try to find out who was speaking. If the fairy was ultimately discovered, the very secret Daskar was desperately hiding would spread unchecked.
That was not an outcome Rei wanted.
(So what should I do?)
The situation had reached a complete stalemate.
If he tried to force a resolution, his options were either to fight while keeping Nielson hidden inside his Dragon Robe — risking exposure — or to let the man go, knowing full well it would come back to bite him. Or perhaps...
"Hey! What's going on over there!"
Just as Rei was searching for a third option, a voice rang out across the area.
He turned toward the source and saw a group of adventurers approaching — clearly not affiliated with the man he was facing, but likely hired by a different noble.
Then again, their arrival was only natural. This was the Noble District, and the tension radiating from Rei and the man was the kind that could easily escalate from a quarrel into a deadly confrontation. The adventurers patrolling the area were bound to pick up on that and come to intervene.
(Well, that should settle things for now.)
Rei felt a wave of relief at the sight of them — until the man spoke.
"Shut up. Do you lot really think you can give me orders?"
Rei blinked in surprise.
Acting like that in this situation was guaranteed to cause problems — and not just for the man himself, but potentially significant fallout for his employer later. Why would anyone do such a thing?
The thought crossed Rei's mind for only a moment before he reconsidered. Given the man's behavior up to this point, it wasn't all that surprising.
(Normally, the arrogance of a noble fades when you're working as an adventurer...)
To be precise, adventurers who couldn't shed that kind of pride tended to die. It was only natural — who would want to work alongside someone like that? Unless someone was trying to use them, or had some other special reason, such people struggled to even form a party. That was why they were usually weeded out naturally.
But occasionally — truly rarely — someone with extraordinary luck or sheer ability survived, like the man currently standing in Rei's line of sight.
"What did you...? Hey, you there. You're employed by the Zolgela Count House, aren't you? We'll be filing a complaint about this incident. Consider yourselves warned."
"Wha—!"
The ones shaken by those words weren't the man who coveted Set, but the other adventurers traveling with him.
Naturally. They knew exactly who Rei was and had zero intention of getting into a dispute with him. The whole time, only the man they were accompanying had been picking a fight. They hadn't tried to seriously stop him — honestly, even from the short time they'd spent together, they could tell he wouldn't listen to a word they said — so they'd quietly decided to distance themselves if things escalated. But having their employer learn about this situation and having their reputations suffer as a result? That, they absolutely could not tolerate.
"We've got nothing to do with this! The ones arguing were just those two! Right?!"
When the man frantically called out to his companions, they all scrambled to agree, desperate to avoid being dragged down with him.
"That's right! It's not our fault! He's the one who picked a fight with Rei!"
"Besides, he's not even here on a Guild request — he came on a personal commission from the Zolgela Count House! Don't lump us in with him!"
Their shouts echoed across the area, and the third-party adventurers who had stepped in shifted their gazes toward the man who still showed no sign of abandoning his pursuit of Set.
"Your companions are saying otherwise. What do you have to say for yourself? ...Let me make this clear — your behavior is unacceptable. If you cause any more trouble, we'll treat you as a dangerous element and respond accordingly."
The man who made the declaration readied his weapon, and the other adventurers followed suit.
The man shot them an irritated glare... and eventually let out a heavy sigh.
"You. What's your name?"
It was Rei who asked.
If possible, he had no desire to get involved with someone like this. But judging by the man's demeanor, there was no question he would come after Rei again. Given that, he wanted to at least know the man's name so he could respond quickly if trouble arose.
Of course, it would be ideal if they never crossed paths again.
"Antelme Saraina. Remember it."
Antelme Saraina, huh.
Should I ask Marina about him? As a former Guild Master, she might have information... no, given his noble background, Elena would probably be the better source.
With that in mind, Rei spoke.
"I'm Rei."
"...Hmph. No family name, even? You should feel honored you were able to speak with me at all."
"I've had the misfortune of meeting a troublesome character, so I can't say the feeling is mutual."
Those words clearly didn't sit well with Antelme. He glared at Rei.
"Remember this."
Whether he judged that pressing the matter further in this situation would be unwise or not, he left it at that and walked away. His companions, apparently deciding that remaining would be dangerous, hurried after him — no doubt fearing they'd be held accountable for the incident if they stayed.
They probably weren't even in the same party as Antelme, but as long as they were traveling with him, his actions reflected on them regardless.
As Rei watched them go, the Adventurer Man who had cut in — and who had, in a sense, just bailed him out — approached.
"You really got tangled up with a piece of work, huh."
"Yeah. Honestly, I never expected to find someone in the Noble District who doesn't know who I am."
"You were away from Gilm for a while, right? He showed up while you were gone. On a personal commission, not a Guild one."
"Come to think of it, they did mention something like that. ...But even on a personal commission, wouldn't his employer have told him about me? Not to toot my own horn, but I'm a fairly unique presence here in Gilm."
Normally, calling yourself a special existence would be a bit embarrassing. But in Rei's case, it was simply the truth. His alias, Crimson, was known even in surrounding nations, and he was widely regarded as the trusted right hand of Gilm's lord, Daskar.
The former reputation spoke for itself. As for the latter, the label had stuck naturally as a result of carrying out Daskar's requests. To Rei, Daskar was a man worthy of respect and a remarkably generous client who had once given him a Magic Tent — but not someone he had sworn loyalty to.
Regardless, any noble in Gilm would naturally know of Daskar, and the idea of one of them laying hands on Rei — regarded as Daskar's closest operative — was all but unthinkable.
And yet, Antelme had just tried to attack him. For someone working in this district, that was simply incomprehensible.
"He's apparently a former noble, so he probably doesn't bother listening to others. Anyway, we'll be filing a complaint from our end as well. ...To be precise, my noble employer will, not me."
"Understood. But if he doesn't listen and comes picking another fight, we'll respond in kind. By the way — the noble employing Antelme, the Zolgela Count House... which faction do they belong to?"
"The King's Faction."
"The King's Faction, of all things."
Rei let out an exasperated sigh.
If they were a Neutral Faction noble, they wouldn't dare pull something like this in Daskar's city. And even if they did, Daskar could mediate and resolve the issue. If they belonged to the Noble Faction, Elena — daughter of Duke Kerebel, who led the faction, and widely regarded as its symbol — could intervene on his behalf.
But the King's Faction was a different story. They stood in opposition to both the Neutral Faction and the Noble Faction — the two factions that had joined forces against them.
Rei did have some acquaintances within the King's Faction, but none were close associates like Daskar or Elena. Having them mediate was virtually impossible.
"Well, be careful. Guys like that think they can do whatever they please and get away with it. ...Actually, from what I heard, he completely demolished the adventurers the Zolgela Count House had previously employed in a mock battle. He's A-Rank, so his combat skills are the real deal. ...His combat skills, that is."
In other words, everything besides his fighting ability was a problem. Not that Rei needed to be told — he had already gathered as much from his brief exchange with the man.
"For now, I'll keep my guard up. If he does come at me, I just need to respond accordingly."
As an A-Rank adventurer, Antelme technically outranked Rei, who was B-Rank. However, Rei was an Alias Holder — a rarity even among B-Rank adventurers — while Antelme held no such title. Viewed objectively, their combat power was roughly even.
On top of that, Rei had no intention of losing a head-on fight with the man. He had already fought and won against Elk — an A-Rank adventurer and the holder of the alias Axe of the Thunder God — in direct combat. And unlike Antelme, Rei wasn't fighting alone; he had Set at his side.
There was nothing to worry about.
"Please do. Just — if it comes to a fight, don't do it in the Noble District. It would... genuinely become a catastrophe from the bottom of my heart."
A battle in the Noble District — especially between an A-Rank adventurer and an Alias Holder — could cause unimaginable damage. Rei excelled at wide-area annihilation magic in particular. The thought of such spells being unleashed in a residential noble district was no joke, and the Adventurer Man's concern was entirely justified.
Rei understood that well enough. He nodded — though with a hint of reluctance.
"I get that. But come on — do you really think I'd use large-scale magic in a place like this? I'd hope you'd give me at least that much credit."
The Adventurer Man hastily clarified that he hadn't meant it that way — he was only saying it just in case.