"Ah... so it really was no good, huh?"
"Gruu."
At Rei's words, Set let out an apologetic purr.
Stroking Set's head, Rei offered some comforting words. "Don't worry about it."
"Daar Wolves are low-rank monsters to begin with. It's only natural that you couldn't acquire a skill from its magic stone... though I was hoping, since it's been a while."
Death Scythe's Terrain Manipulation had leveled up thanks to the Dragonias Queen's core—something similar to a magic stone.
That was why Rei had given the Daar Wolf's magic stone to Set this time, thinking it might work for him as well. Unfortunately, it ended without him acquiring anything.
It was undeniably a very disappointing result for both Rei and Set.
"Gruru?"
Really? You're not mad? Set seemed to ask, turning his round eyes toward Rei.
Rei nodded and stroked his head again. "Lately, all sorts of monsters have been gathering in the Treant Forest. If we operate there, we might run into unknown monsters again, so don't sweat it."
"Gruu."
Perhaps encouraged by Rei's words, Set let out a happy cry... and then suddenly turned his head in another direction.
What is it? Rei wondered, but following Set's gaze, he found Marina cooking with the Magic Item oven he had brought out.
She was supposed to be keeping Nielson company today... As Rei glanced around, he spotted Nielson lying on her side at the edge of the table, looking as though she had been completely drained from her exchange with Marina.
Anyone who knew nothing about the situation would take one look at Nielson now and think she was a doll rather than a fairy.
(Well... she did go up against Marina in that state, so it's not surprising she ended up like that.)
To Rei's relief, whether she had simply cleared her mind after dealing with Nielson or had never intended to show that side of herself to anyone else, Marina was now back to her usual self—the Marina that Rei knew.
"It's starting to smell good."
A few seconds after Set had noticed, Rei understood why the griffon had suddenly turned toward the oven. Marina's cooking was sending a savory, mouthwatering aroma wafting from it.
"Let's forget about the magic stone over that food. Sound good?"
"Gruu!"
Like Rei, Set loved to eat. All the more so when it was delicious food.
Hearing that Marina's cooking was on the menu, Set immediately forgot all about failing to acquire or strengthen a skill from the magic stone.
In reality, the failure to acquire a skill from a magic stone wasn't because there was anything wrong with Set or Death Scythe—compatibility was the biggest factor.
If anyone was to blame, it would be fair to say it was simply bad luck. No matter how hard Set tried, there was nothing to be done about it.
"For now, judging by how things look over there, it'll still be a while before the food is ready. Set, you can go play with Ielo. Take Nielson and Byune along too, if you'd like."
"Gruu? Grururu!"
Leave it to me! Set purred, and immediately bounded off.
Of course, while the courtyard had a fair amount of space, it wasn't large enough for Set to run at full speed. He looked like he was running seriously, but he was actually holding back considerably.
(Once we get outside Gilm, he can really cut loose, so I don't think he'll build up any stress.)
Watching Set run around the courtyard with Ielo, Byune, and Nielson, Rei approached Elena, who sat in a chair reading some documents.
"What is it?"
Sensing Rei's presence, Elena looked up, brushing back her golden hair as she asked.
Rei was momentarily captivated by the sight, but he quickly shook his head to indicate it was nothing and spoke. "I was wondering what documents you were reading."
"Would you like to see?"
"...Are you sure?"
Rei was slightly surprised that she handed them over so readily. Since Elena was the one reading them, he had assumed they were something important.
"I don't mind. Besides, you should read these too, Rei. You had a run-in with the adventurer employed by the Zolgela Count House, didn't you?"
"Yeah, Antelme."
Rei had briefly explained the circumstances to everyone earlier. The confrontation had taken place in the Noble District, after all. And since Antelme was of noble birth, Rei had thought that Marina—the owner of the house where he lived—and Elena and the others who also lived there might be affected as well.
"Umu. The Zolgela Count House belongs to the King's Faction, so in that sense, they could be called a common enemy of both you and me."
"Well, enemy... Antelme certainly is one, but."
Though those around him treated Rei as Daskar's right-hand man, he personally didn't see himself that way. To someone like Rei, being part of the King's Faction didn't automatically make someone an enemy.
Within the King's Faction, there were a few people who were close to Rei.
For example, Maruka Quento, the daughter of Duke Quento, was one of the central figures within the King's Faction—a magical prodigy who could use three attributes: wind, water, and light. Though to Rei, the strongest impression she left was that despite still being a child, she spoke with the archaic verbal tic "ja."
There were a few other acquaintances in the King's Faction as well, and Rei didn't consider such people enemies. Naturally, even with them, if they attacked him, he would fight back.
"This Antelme person was apparently dispatched via a Nomination Request—not from the Zolgela Count House here in the Noble District, but from their main house in the Royal Capital. But this Zolgela Count House... they are quite dangerous in various ways."
"Dangerous? I mean, we only just talked about it. You've already gotten information on them?"
"No, that's not it. These documents came to me originally. Your story simply reminded me of the name."
Rei nodded in understanding... and at the same time, a question arose. "So what's dangerous about them? Well, given that they employed someone like that, I wouldn't be surprised to hear they're dangerous, but."
To Rei, anyone who would employ such a dangerous person—and through a Nomination Request rather than the Guild at that—couldn't possibly be considered decent. Ironically, Rei himself, who had judged Antelme to be a dangerous person, was also viewed by those around him as a dangerous individual who showed no mercy even to nobles who opposed him—though not to the same extreme as Antelme.
"To put it simply, they are on the verge of losing a power struggle... no, it would be more accurate to say they have already lost. I see. So they dispatched Antelme to Gilm aiming for a reversal? But considering the travel time from the Royal Capital to Gilm..."
"Elena?"
"Sorry, I have a few questions. In any case, the King's Faction is the largest of the Three Great Factions. Because of that, internal power struggles are fierce."
"Well... I've seen scenes like that a few times before."
Rei himself had interacted with the King's Faction to a certain extent in the past. Recalling those exchanges, not everyone within the faction was friendly with one another, and he remembered witnessing power struggles happening internally.
That said, power struggles within the same faction were not uncommon. They were prominent in the Noble's Faction, for example, and even in the Neutral Faction—the smallest of the three—power struggles occurred, though not as actively as in the other two.
Even so, precisely because the King's Faction was the largest, its internal power struggles were also the largest in scale. That was why Rei had witnessed such things himself.
"In other words, the Zolgela Count House is losing a power struggle... so why send an adventurer like—what was his name? Antelme?—why send someone like that to Gilm?" Vihera asked, having been listening in on Rei and Elena's conversation.
"That much, I do not know." Elena shook her head.
The information Elena had access to was, at its core, general in nature—though to someone who knew nothing, it would seem like quite detailed intelligence.
"For now, we need to be cautious of Antelme and the Zolgela Count House. Antelme in particular could do something at any moment, and it wouldn't be surprising. I think we'll be fine in this house, but... he is A-Rank."
Marina's house was protected by spirits that prevented anyone with hostility or malice from entering. But if the opponent was an A-Rank adventurer, it wouldn't be surprising if they could deal with the spirits—naturally through rough means such as destroying or killing them.
It would be a different story if they could use Spirit Magic or possessed some kind of technique related to spirits. Rei had only spoken with Antelme for a brief moment, but even from that short time alone, it was easy to guess that he didn't possess such a technique.
That said, Rei also knew that judging an adventurer by appearance or first impressions was foolish. If anything, Rei himself was often underestimated in that regard, and he had crushed more than a few who had made that mistake.
"I think Marina will be fine, but we should probably let her know just in case," Vihera said.
When it came to Spirit Magic, everyone present had virtually unconditional, complete trust in Marina. The fact that even Vihera suggested telling Marina as a precaution spoke volumes about just how formidable an A-Rank adventurer was.
That said, not all A-Rank adventurers possessed fearsome strength—at least, not necessarily on par with Elk in Rei's estimation. Elk, after all, was a bona fide Alias Holder, bearing the same Axe of the Thunder God moniker as his party name. Even among A-Rank adventurers, the gap in strength between an Alias Holder and the rest was significant.
Above A-Rank there was only S-Rank, and S-Rank was fundamentally unattainable. In other words, A-Rank was effectively the highest rank an adventurer could achieve, gathering together those whose pure strength placed them above B-Rank.
Of course, since things like etiquette and decorum were also part of the requirements, it wasn't as if there were no B-Rank adventurers with strength equivalent to A-Rank—Rei himself being one such example.
In any case, even lumped together as A-Rank adventurers, the range was vast: from those who were only slightly stronger than a B-Rank to those whose strength approached S-Rank level. It was a mixed bag, though since they were at minimum stronger than B-Rank, it was a rather impressive one.
"What? Did something happen?" Marina, who had been cooking with the oven, approached the group—either because she'd reached a stopping point, or because she sensed they were talking about her.
"It's about Antelme, the one I mentioned earlier. I was thinking he might attack this house, so we were discussing whether the spirits here could handle it."
"Ah, him... It's troublesome when someone has power but still hasn't shed that noble privileged-class mentality. Normally they'd compromise to a certain extent, but because they have strength, they've gotten this far without ever needing to." Marina's tone suggested she had dealt with a similar kind of person before.
"So, how is it?" Rei asked.
"Let's see. If he isn't that strong among A-Rank adventurers, dealing with him should be possible. But if it were an Alias Holder like Elk, they would break through without a doubt."
"Then should we be on guard?"
"...Normally, I wouldn't expect anyone to do something so reckless. But that unshakable noble privileged-class mentality is exactly what makes this troublesome."
At Marina's words, everyone listening nodded. Then Elena, who had been watching Set play with Ielo, spoke up.
"Since Set is here, wouldn't we notice right away if this Antelme person showed up?"
"I hope so. But at A-Rank, it wouldn't be surprising if he could slip past even Set's senses. This is exactly when a detection Magic Item would come in handy, but..."
"...I have one..."
As if cutting into the conversation, Nielson, who had been sleeping on the table, spoke up.
She somehow managed to sit upright, and though she flinched slightly at finding Marina in her line of sight, she continued her explanation.
"Fairies are often targeted, so as a precaution, we do have that kind of Magic Item. Mind you, it only alerts us when someone approaches—it can't repel intruders."
At Nielson's words, Marina flashed a radiant smile.