The day after the Antelme incident... naturally, Rei overslept.
That said, even after waking up and spending about five minutes in a daze, finally coming to his senses and checking the sun's position through the window, he wasn't particularly flustered.
After all, he had fallen asleep when it was already getting light out, so he had gone to bed knowing full well he'd oversleep today.
Between oversleeping when you intended to wake up early and oversleeping when you intended to oversleep from the start, the reaction upon waking is naturally different.
"Ah... it's still before eleven in the morning, huh."
After pulling a pocket watch from his Misty Ring to check the time, he glanced out the window.
There, surprisingly, was the sight of Vihera eating a meal alone.
"You woke up earlier than I expected. More importantly, what about Byune?"
Harboring that question upon seeing Vihera's state, Rei got dressed and left the room.
Then, just as he was about to head out to the courtyard, he stepped into the living room and...
"...Hm?"
"Mm?"
Inside the living room was someone Rei had never seen before.
That said, given that the man had been able to enter Marina's house, there was no doubt he wasn't someone with malicious intent.
"Are you... Crimson Rei?"
The man, who appeared to be in his forties, asked upon seeing Rei.
Since there was no hostility of any kind in his words, Rei nodded honestly.
"Yeah. And you are...?"
"Me? I am Graidle Shagia. Brother of the head of the Shagia Viscount Family."
Even hearing the name Shagia Viscount Family, Rei didn't recognize it.
But even so, he could guess why the man had come here... and Rei's guess was confirmed the next moment.
"Forgive me, Lord Graidle, for making you wait... Rei?"
Elena, who had entered the living room together with Ara, was surprised to see Rei.
Perhaps because she had never shown him the sight of herself meeting with nobles before, she looked slightly embarrassed.
"Yeah, I just woke up. Don't mind me, go ahead with your work. I'll have breakfast in the courtyard and head straight to work."
"Y-yes. Um... be careful out there."
Perhaps because greeting Rei in front of Graidle was also embarrassing, Elena said so with a faint blush on her cheeks.
Seeing Elena's demeanor, Rei considered teasing her a little, but since there were others present rather than just the two of them, he judged it better not to and headed straight for the courtyard.
Graidle watched Rei, who showed no particular concern for his presence, with evident interest.
Normally, even if someone wasn't the head of a family, one couldn't afford to so thoroughly disregard a person of noble bloodline.
At the very least, Graidle had never seen such a person.
No, if it were merely a matter of putting on an outward show of indifference, he had experienced such behavior before. But in Rei's case, he was genuinely showing that he had no interest in him whatsoever.
"So that is Crimson. I had heard the rumors, but... I see, he is a remarkable man. Those among the Noble's Faction who possess only pride would bring about their own ruin if they provoked him."
"Yes. I thought you would say so, Lord Graidle. However, there are many who cannot understand that."
Elena's words were something Graidle could fully understand as well.
The Noble's Faction to which he belonged—or more accurately, to which his family of origin belonged—while not matching the largest faction of the King's Faction, still had a considerable number of nobles among its ranks.
But among those nobles, there were many whose pride was meaninglessly high, or who, due to their own incompetence, valued only bloodline and nothing else.
To such people, the existence of Rei—someone who didn't acknowledge them at all, who didn't even recognize their worth—would surely be an unforgivable presence.
(Now then, regarding the matter I heard from Marina this morning... how will that turn out, I wonder.)
Unlike Rei, Elena had gone to sleep after it was already light out, yet she woke up at her usual time.
When that time came, Marina had already returned as well.
Though, unlike Elena, she appeared to have been up all night.
Since Ara had also still been asleep, Elena spoke with Marina alone for a while.
From Elena's perspective, she had been curious about why Marina hadn't returned with Rei and Vihera last night and had asked about it... and in the course of that conversation, she was told about the matter of Rei's promotion.
That said, Elena also knew Rei's strength, so she wasn't surprised by that itself.
In the first place, it was unnatural for someone as powerful as Rei to remain a B-Rank Adventurer indefinitely.
However, considering Rei's personality, while the promotion itself was one thing, the various things accompanying it—specifically, the fact that he would have more opportunities to interact with nobles—was something he would find disagreeable. This much she understood.
Even so, Marina had told her to leave it to her, and since she had said as much, Elena had ultimately decided not to intervene in the matter...
But exactly how Marina would persuade Rei remained a question.
"Here you go."
As Elena was lost in thought, Ara placed tea in front of both Elena and Graidle.
Elena, brought back to herself by those words, directed a grateful look at Ara.
Since Ara was always together with Elena, she likely knew that Elena had been absorbed in thought.
That was precisely why Elena sent Ara a grateful look for helping her refocus on the task at hand.
"Oh, good morning. I was expecting this, but you really took your time."
Seeing Rei come out to the courtyard, Vihera, who had been eating breakfast, called out to him.
"Well, if you're going to say that, you're taking it plenty easy yourself. No work today?"
"Yes, given what happened yesterday, I'm taking it easy today. Byune went to work on her own, though."
Rei was surprised by Vihera's words.
Last night, while they were awake and active, Byune had been asleep.
In that sense, it wouldn't be strange for Byune to wake up as usual.
However, the fact that she had gone to work alone under such circumstances was honestly surprising to Rei.
Though, during the time Vihera was away in the world of the Centaurs, Byune had also been taking jobs on her own.
Considering those circumstances, perhaps this wasn't all that unusual.
(In the end, it seems like the otherworld incident gave Byune a sense of independence... is that the feeling?)
For Rei, that was both a welcome and somewhat lonely thing.
If nothing else, it was proof that he too had been fond of Byune.
"So Vihera is taking it easy. What about Marina?"
"Ah, Marina came back in the morning, rested a bit, and then went to work. Unlike me, she couldn't afford to take it easy, I suppose."
"That would be the case for Marina."
In Vihera's case, there were any number of people who could patrol Gilm in her stead.
But for Marina, who worked at the clinic, those who could use Recovery Magic through Spirit Magic were not numerous. In fact, in Gilm, there was probably only Marina.
Which meant that if Marina were to take a break, treating the injured would become quite difficult.
Depending on the situation, her absence could mean some injuries couldn't be healed, potentially even increasing the death toll.
Given Marina's personality, she would never tolerate such a thing.
Furthermore, if the clinic were in such a state, there was a possibility that the people working there would also lose the motivation to work actively.
"Not many people can use Recovery Magic, after all. For anyone other than Marina, they rely on potions and medicines, so it's not like injured people can recover instantly either."
"...That's the norm, though."
Even when injured, it doesn't heal that easily under normal circumstances.
You have to endure the pain and wait for a complete recovery.
(When you think about it, Recovery Magic really is unfair. Well, potions and the like are pretty outrageous too.)
Unlike medicinal herbs, potions can heal wounds just by sprinkling them on, and while drinking them temporarily destroys your sense of taste due to how terrible they are, you can still expect a sustained healing effect.
If something like potions existed in Japan, there was no doubt it would cause an enormous uproar—they were unquestionably special existences.
Of course, if that were the standard, Rei's own existence was something that would be unthinkable in Japan.
"I understand about Marina. So what are you doing today, Vihera? If you're not going to work, are you just relaxing at home?"
"That's right. I was actually debating what to do. I'd like to go look around various places, but... what about you, Rei? Want to go look around together? Gilm has a lot more people coming in now, so it's different from before and quite fun."
"Well, I understand that, but... you've been patrolling Gilm every day, haven't you? Wouldn't you be tired of seeing those kinds of new sights?"
"I wonder. There's inevitably a big difference between looking around for work and looking around with the intention of playing. Between watching carefully for anything abnormal and looking around in a playful mood, that is."
"Is that how it works? Anyway, I have work today too, so I can't accompany you."
Rei, while not to the same extent as Marina, was also an indispensable force for the Expansion Construction.
Without Rei, transporting the lumber felled in the Treant Forest would be a struggle.
Above all, last night Nielson had remained in the Treant Forest because she was worried about her comrades and her home.
Today he had a promise to go pick her up—forced into it would be more accurate—and if he didn't go get her, there was a very real possibility things would get troublesome.
The possibility that Nielson, without waiting for Rei to come, would travel to Gilm on her own.
If such a situation occurred and she was discovered, it was not difficult to predict it would become an enormous commotion.
If that were the case, then there was no doubt Rei needed to go to the Treant Forest to pick her up.
"I see. Then, shall I go along?"
"I don't mind, but shouldn't you take it easy today?"
"Oh, you don't want me to come along?"
"That's not it. It's just that it's only been a day since yesterday. I'd prefer it if you stayed home, honestly."
With Antelme captured, there should fundamentally be no one invading this house.
Even if someone came, they shouldn't be particularly strong, and the likelihood of them breaking through Marina's Spirit Magic defenses was low.
Still, given the Antelme situation, he couldn't be completely at ease.
Vihera seemed to understand what Rei was trying to say as well, and directed her gaze toward Marina's house.
"Elena and Ara are here, so I don't think you need to worry about that."
Elena possessed top-class strength even in Gilm.
Ara, while not on Elena's level, still had enough strength that counting from the top would be faster.
Additionally, Ielo, who was currently running around playing with Set in the courtyard, while not high in attack power, possessed exceptional abilities in defense and reconnaissance.
Thinking about it that way, normally there shouldn't be anyone who would attack this house.
Above all, from what Rei had seen, there was no indication that Antelme had any companions.
If so, there was no need to worry about someone coming to avenge Antelme either.
"Even so, just in case. How about it? Can I ask you? Of course, I won't force you."
When Rei asked that, Vihera nodded after thinking for a moment.
"I suppose so. Understood. There's a chance—a real, slight chance—that an enemy might come. Thinking about that, it's probably better to wait here."
She looked slightly displeased, but Vihera nodded at Rei's words.
If an enemy really did come, she would fight them.
That was what Vihera thought as she gave her answer.
It wasn't that she thought this with any particular resolve; rather, she thought it because unless she expected something like that, it simply wouldn't be interesting.
Normally, one might wonder why she sought battle to such an extent, but Rei, who had after all known Vihera for a reasonably long time and had grown close to her, simply nodded without any particular concern.
"Then I'm counting on you. Next time I find a request that looks like it'll involve a good fight, we'll go together."
Rei offered those words as a follow-up in case no enemy came—which was the more likely possibility—and went to call Set.