On a quiet night, with only the sound of the breeze reaching his ears, Rei leaned against Set in Marina's courtyard and gazed at the starry sky.
(Wind... wind, huh. The fact that a breeze is blowing like this means the wind spirits Marina asked for thoughtfully arranged it?)
Marina's house was kept comfortable by spirits. Because of that, things like a natural breeze blowing through were normally uncommon. Of course, if Marina asked them to let the wind in, they would probably oblige.
(I hear it's been having tropical nights lately. ...Marina said that because of that, a lot of people are suffering from sleep deprivation, making silly mistakes at work and getting themselves injured.)
While it might not go as far as high-end establishments like the Wheat Inn at Dusk, even moderately upscale inns could use Magic Items to ensure a comfortable night's sleep. But for those staying in cheap inns—or those who couldn't even afford cheap inns and were sleeping communally in hastily built sheds near construction sites—the temperature not dropping and staying hot through the night must make it hard to sleep even when they wanted to.
(Even when I was in Japan, there were tropical nights and all that... but where I lived, it wasn't really much of an issue.)
In reality, Rei had lived in the countryside of Tohoku, and near the mountains at that. Due to that location, it wasn't uncommon even in midsummer for it to get chilly toward dawn. During the day, the temperature did rise to around thirty degrees, but perhaps because there were rivers and mountains nearby, it never felt as hot as the thermometer suggested. At the very least, it never stayed above thirty degrees even after nightfall like in the cities he saw on TV.
...The fact that if it was hot during the day, you could easily go swimming in the river was a big plus.
For Rei, the troublesome thing about summer wasn't the temperature but the bugs that came from nowhere. Even mosquito coils had absolutely no effect on them. Since they weren't mosquitoes, it might not be strange that mosquito coils didn't work.
"Gururu?"
Perhaps noticing that Rei was looking at the night sky and thinking about something, Set purred as if asking what was wrong. From Set's perspective, Rei concentrating on something looked cool, but the desire for Rei to play with him was also strong.
As if noticing Set's demeanor, Rei gently stroked his head.
"It's not like I forgot about you, Set, so don't worry about it."
"Guruu..."
At Rei's words, Set purred happily.
While stroking the body of the Set he was leaning against, Rei continued.
"Today was busy enough as it is, but don't you think tomorrow's going to be busy again in its own way?"
"Guruu!"
At Rei's words, Set quickly let out a cry. For Set, there were probably a lot of things on his mind regarding this whole affair. ...Especially since Antelme had tried to attack Rei in order to get to him. If Set thought he had caused trouble for Rei, whom he loved, it wouldn't be strange for him to have a lot on his mind as well.
While conversing with Set like that and gazing at the night sky, Rei suddenly noticed something flying at the edge of his vision.
"...Hm?"
At first, he wondered if Ielo had come out to play with Set, but since Ielo was still young, it went to bed early at night. It was fitting for a creature living on instinct, and it wasn't uncommon for it to fall asleep early in the evening. ...Though for all that, there were times when it seemed to wake up inexplicably and stay up quite late.
At any rate, what appeared at the edge of Rei's vision was not Ielo...
"Nielson?"
"Yahhoo~"
At Rei's words, Nielson came flying over, waving her hand happily. Nielson, whose energy was oddly high, would undoubtedly make anyone feel cheerful just watching her, but the summer night atmosphere that had existed until a few minutes ago vanished in an instant.
"What are you doing? You were supposed to be resting inside, right?"
For Nielson, who normally lived outdoors, buildings where people lived must have been fascinating. It had been the same when she entered Daskar's Lord's Manor and several shops, but Nielson had apparently been flying around inside Marina's house looking quite excited.
So why had she come out here?
Though Rei wondered this, looking at Nielson's high-energy state, he somehow understood. ...The smell of alcohol drifting from Nielson made it obvious without needing to think about it.
"Ahaha~. Well, it started getting a little hot, so I came outside~"
Nielson said as she flew, but her movement could be described as zigzag flying rather than zigzag driving.
"You're... drunk, aren't you? Well, I don't particularly have anything left to do today, so I don't care if you're drunk. Just don't get a hangover, alright?"
"Hangover~? What's that~... kyahahahaha!"
No good. Looking at her state, anything he said would be completely meaningless. Judging so, Rei decided not to say anything more.
"Anyway, once you've cooled down enough, go to sleep. You're heading back to the Treant Forest tomorrow."
The reason Rei was keeping watch like this was because Antelme might launch an attack as early as tonight. Given that, what would happen if Antelme showed up and Nielson the fairy was there?
It would undoubtedly become troublesome.
Antelme, who had set his sights on Set, would find Nielson, who was even rarer than a gryphon. If they could capture Antelme right then—or worst case, kill him—that would be fine. But if they failed and let him escape, thinking about how Antelme would act afterward gave Rei nothing but bad premonitions.
A fairy was at Marina's house. If Antelme spread such a rumor, whether they could keep Nielson's existence hidden would be questionable. Nielson, true to her fairy nature, was deeply curious and whimsical. If that were the case, and many of the adventurers in Gilm searched for Nielson... the possibility that she would show herself out of curiosity could not be denied.
(Well, in Nielson's case... or rather, fairies have the teleportation ability using a Fairy Ring, so even if she got caught, I think she could escape immediately.)
He thought so, but there was still the possibility that she could be killed the instant she was caught in the worst case. If this were a D-Rank adventurer, even if Nielson was discovered and attacked, she could dodge and escape via teleportation. But Antelme was A-Rank. Moreover, considering his personality, it was hard to imagine him being in a party, which meant he had likely reached A-Rank solo. Because of that, the chances of Nielson being able to escape even if she tried were extremely low.
"Anyway, go to sleep. If you stay drunk like that, tomorrow's going to be rough. ...And if you get a hangover and vomit inside my Dragon Robe, that's going to be a problem for me."
"Ugh~... what's with you. You could keep me company a little longer."
Nielson muttered in dissatisfaction, but she apparently understood her current situation. Eventually, she flew back inside while zigzagging through the air.
"Seriously, is she really going to be okay? ...For that matter, what's even good about alcohol?"
"Guruu..."
Set also purred as if agreeing with Rei's words. Since Set had been created from Rei's magical power, his sense of taste was also influenced by Rei. Because of that, drinking alcohol... wasn't something he couldn't do, but he didn't find it tasty either. When it came to using alcohol in cooking, however, he could accept it without any particular resistance.
"Well, anyway... hm?"
Rei had been about to say they should take it easy today, but he suddenly noticed that the demeanor of Set, whom he was leaning against, had changed.
(Hey, don't tell me he actually came?)
Seeing Set's attitude as if he had detected an enemy, Rei readied himself to move immediately in case that was true. However, Rei, whose five senses were inferior to Set's, could not detect whether Antelme—or anyone else—was present. That said, since Antelme was also an A-Rank adventurer, it wouldn't be strange if he could hide his presence. ...Rather, it was only natural that he could.
Rei stood up and took out Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring. So that he could immediately counterattack whenever Antelme broke through the spirits' protection and entered the grounds.
"An enemy?"
"...Guruu...?"
At Rei's question, Set's tense demeanor from moments ago completely changed, replaced by a bewildered look. It was as if the enemy he had been tracking had suddenly vanished. And indeed, from what Rei could see, there was no mistaking that was exactly how Set felt.
"Set? Did you lose track of it?"
At Rei's words, Set purred apologetically.
Even while observing Set's demeanor, Rei showed no sign of stowing away the weapons he was holding.
(What does this mean? Did he erase his presence with some kind of Magic Item, magic, or skill? Or did he simply move away from the grounds of Marina's house? ...Both are perfectly possible.)
Though troubled by this, considering the current situation, there wasn't much he could do.
"Set, I'm going to take a quick look around the house. If an enemy comes here while I'm gone, can I leave it to you?"
"Guruu? ...Gururu!"
At Rei's words, Set first showed a worried look as if asking if Rei would be okay on his own, but still quickly nodded in agreement. It was true that he was worried about Rei, but it was likely because he believed in Rei's ability.
After giving Set's head a pat, Rei began walking through the courtyard.
As long as the spirits were protecting the property, even if they couldn't completely prevent the intrusion of someone like Antelme, there should be some kind of anomaly if he forced his way through. For example, hearing something like a spirit's scream.
But for now, there was no sign of that.
Whatever the opponent did, Rei in his current state could handle it.
Thinking so, the first place Rei headed was the direction of the house's front entrance. If someone were to enter the grounds of this house for some reason, normally they wouldn't bother coming from the front. They wouldn't, but the opponent was Antelme. Why would he need to go to such lengths to fulfill his own desires? Thinking along those lines, it wouldn't be strange for him to come openly from the front.
(In that case, it'd actually be easier to deal with.)
If they fought head-on, Rei didn't feel he would lose even against Antelme. However, that was strictly assuming they fought face-to-face. What would happen if they didn't come from the front but used underhanded tactics instead?
The time Rei had spent in contact with Antelme was only a few minutes—ten at most. Given such a short time, if asked whether he truly understood Antelme's personality, Rei probably couldn't nod honestly. But even so, just from that brief contact, he could grasp the general outline of Antelme's character.
"Now then... yeah, nobody's here."
Rei had arrived at Marina's front entrance—or more precisely, at the point where one would enter the grounds—but as expected, or rather naturally, there was no one there.
"I should head back before anyone sees me."
He would have liked to stay a bit longer and keep watch on the surroundings, but right now Rei was carrying Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear. A person armed with weapons in the Noble District at this hour. Not a sheathed longsword, but weapons with bare blades. If those patrolling the Noble District spotted Rei, it wouldn't be strange for them to mistake him for a robber or the like.
...That said, even in Gilm, there were few who used a large scythe like Death Scythe. No, not just few—Rei had never seen anyone other than himself using one. Considering the current population of Gilm, there might be someone who used a large scythe, but.
And Rei also carried the Twilight Spear in addition to Death Scythe. Someone using the Twin Spear Style would be even rarer than someone using a large scythe. And it was reasonably well known that Rei lived at Marina's house. Considering those circumstances, anyone who knew that the person in front of Marina's house was Rei probably wouldn't fault him for it.
"At any rate, he's not here."
Muttering that, Rei checked the other areas as well, but there was no sign of Antelme within the grounds.
In the end, Rei concluded that Antelme had come near the house but had disappeared without ever entering the grounds.