"Alright, I'm off."
"Yes, yes. But no matter how late it gets, make sure you're back by the day before the Promotion Exam at the latest."
Marina gave that reply to Rei's parting words.
If this were about something else entirely, it would be one thing, but this was about the Promotion Exam.
With so many people already mobilized for it, Rei couldn't simply skip out because of his own circumstances—especially not over something like getting lost.
Well, if it came down to whether he could or couldn't, he probably could.
But if he did, his standing would undoubtedly suffer.
Knowing that full well, Marina had driven the point home.
"Don't worry. If Rei and Set look like they're about to get lost, I'll do something about it."
It was Vihera who responded with brimming confidence after hearing Marina's words.
Vihera had been chosen as the one to accompany Rei and Set on their shopping trip to another village or city.
In reality, rather than being chosen, it was more that Elena needed to act in her capacity as a member of the Noble's Faction, and Marina needed to work at the clinic—leaving Vihera as the only one left.
Ara and Byune were also options, but Ara had to assist Elena, and while Byune had grown fairly close to the group, detailed communication was still impossible without Vihera acting as translator. Both were ruled out.
"Is it really that hard to believe? For the record, I operated solo with Set right up until I formed a party."
Rei said that, but he actually had a fair amount of experience where taking a wrong turn had led to trouble.
Vihera probably knew that from their shared history. She watched Rei put on a brave front with amusement but didn't say anything out loud.
Perhaps uncomfortable under Vihera's knowing gaze, Rei spoke up.
"Alright, I should get going."
"Yes, take care. ...And if even Vihera can't save you, contact Elena through the Paired Orbs."
Those words made Rei wonder: Am I a child who got lost at a department store or amusement park?
Though for Marina, that might have been exactly how she felt.
At any rate, Rei left the house with Vihera and Set.
Byune was silent, but she still waved to Vihera with a slightly forlorn look.
Normally, it would have been strange for Elena and Ara not to be present, but a Noble had arrived that morning, and they were busy handling the matter.
Elena had been visibly dissatisfied—At this hour?—but if a Noble came seeking consultation at such a time, there was naturally a compelling reason behind it.
In fact, from what Rei could see, the Noble speaking with Elena wore a grave expression.
...Additionally, Nielson was still fast asleep, so she wasn't around.
(Sleeping inside a tree trunk is what Fairies do, right? She was just sleeping normally, though.)
Rei puzzled over this briefly, but figured that as long as she was a Fairy, something like that could be managed easily enough.
Ielo looked disappointed that Set was leaving, though.
"Well, we can't stand around here forever. Let's go."
Rei announced, and no one objected. Rei, Vihera, and Set departed from Marina's house.
"Rei, the road splits up ahead. Which way are we going?"
Vihera, clinging to Set's front leg, called out to him.
Rei thought it over for a moment...
"Left."
And made his decision.
He'd chosen left, but not for any particular reason.
If "just a feeling" sounded a bit too vague, then call it an Adventurer's instinct—something inside Rei told him left was the way to go.
And instinct carried enormous significance for Rei. He had overcome countless crises by trusting it.
So he confidently steered them down the left fork... and his instinct proved correct when a city came into view in under thirty minutes.
Of course, since they were following a road, it was only natural that it would eventually lead to a city or village.
"Set, land. Let's buy potions in that city. Wouldn't mind finding some delicious Local Specialty Dishes while we're at it, either."
"Gruu!"
Set let out a happy cry at Rei's words.
He was probably reacting to "Local Specialty Dishes" rather than the mention of buying potions.
Rei smiled at Set's reaction and rubbed the back of his neck.
Set purred with pleasure at the attention and began descending toward the ground.
"Seems a bit livelier than I expected... or is that just my imagination?" Rei muttered, surveying the city below.
Naturally, entering the city had caused some commotion on account of Set, but fortunately, the alias Crimson had become quite famous—and the fact that Crimson was accompanied by Gryphon Seto was widely known as well.
Thanks to that, while they were initially met with surprise, they were ultimately able to enter the city without any real trouble.
"Maybe it just looks that way because you've been staring at the City of Gilm all this time. Gilm just has too many people."
"Ah, that makes sense. Gilm has quite a crowd gathered there now. Come to think of it, it's only natural that this city—or any ordinary city—would seem less lively by comparison."
If an ordinary city's average energy level was a fifty, Gilm's would sit somewhere around two to three hundred.
Having grown so accustomed to that level of bustle, it was only natural to feel underwhelmed by a normal city's atmosphere.
"That's right. So what's the plan? Should we head to a Magic Item shop first? I don't know what kind of potions they'll have, but..."
If this were Japan, medications purchased at a store would all be of fundamentally uniform quality—though occasionally a manufacturing error would cause problems.
At any rate, in Japan one could count on consistent quality, but in Elgin, naturally, no such distribution network existed.
Merchants transported goods, of course, but they couldn't possibly carry the kind of volume that a modern supply chain handled.
Given that, the majority of products sold in any given city were made locally—a locally produced, locally consumed arrangement.
Which meant the potions sold in this city were crafted by its own Alchemists and Pharmacists, and a potion's effectiveness varied greatly depending on the maker's skill and the materials used.
That was exactly what Vihera was worried about.
"Even so, better than nothing. And even if the quality is a bit lacking, there are plenty of uses for them."
Even if Rei didn't use them himself, there was always the option of using potions on someone else—specifically, someone who was decidedly not friendly.
At the very least, Rei had no intention of wasting good potions on a hostile opponent.
Using potions on a hostile opponent? Considering what had happened with Antelme, that should be obvious enough.
After severing someone's limbs, potions had their uses—applying just enough to stop the bleeding so they wouldn't die from blood loss. Or even if not fully stopping it, at least reducing the loss. In that sense, even low-quality potions served a purpose.
Of course, if he had reliably effective potions, he wouldn't bother with such measures—he'd use them on himself or have others use them.
In that sense too, the more potions, the better.
"If you say so, Rei, then I'm fine with it. Still, I'd feel better if they had potions you could actually use normally."
"I'm not arguing that. ...Alright, let's find a Magic Item shop first. With a city this size, there should be a few."
"In that case, wouldn't it be fastest to just ask someone? That'd save us time wandering around. ...Though I don't mind strolling through the city with you, Rei, so taking our time wouldn't be bad either."
"I wouldn't mind that either, but given the situation, I'd like to buy potions as quickly as possible."
"Oh, is it really that urgent? I mean, there's no need to dawdle, but we should still have some time to look around, shouldn't we? We did come here partly to find this city's Local Specialty Dishes."
"We do have time for that, but if we take too long, merchants from Gilm might show up here to buy potions. Once we've secured what we need, I'm all for taking it easy."
Rei's words drained Vihera of any urge to argue.
She hadn't actually heard anything about Gilm running short on potions, and she had no idea how much stock was currently on hand.
But even so, merchants were creatures who chased profit. It wouldn't be surprising if they'd already set out to purchase potions.
And if such merchants came, it wouldn't be surprising for them to arrive at this very city.
Of course, the only reason Rei and his group had been able to travel from Gilm to this city in the blink of an eye was because they'd flown—riding on Set or hanging from his front legs.
Without such means, merchants who had no choice but to travel by carriage to haul back their goods would take far longer to arrive.
That, however, only applied to merchants who had departed Gilm sometime today.
If there were those who had left not today, but yesterday, the day before—or in some cases even earlier—it was entirely possible for them to be arriving right now, even as they stood there.
With that in mind, Rei and the others set out immediately to find a Magic Item shop and purchase potions.
They stopped at a food stall to gather information, bought something to eat, and asked for directions to a shop that sold Magic Items.
The food from the stall was thoroughly mediocre—neither bad nor good, just forgettable.
"That was underwhelming," Vihera said once they were well clear of the stall.
Rei nodded in agreement, and Set purred as if to voice his own consent.
"If you think of it as the information fee for getting directions, it wasn't that bad. Underwhelming, sure, but not so terrible that it was inedible."
Even so, Vihera still looked vaguely unsatisfied.
As far as she was concerned, she probably would have preferred food that was properly bad rather than stuck in lukewarm mediocrity.
"Grururu?"
As they walked down the street, Set suddenly purred.
There was no trace of caution in the sound, though.
Reading from Set's demeanor that whatever lay ahead wasn't dangerous, Rei turned his gaze in the direction Set was watching.
A group of several children appeared at the end of that gaze.
(I see.)
In Gilm, children would always try to play with Set.
These children probably thought the same—that Set would play with them too.
Up until now, in every city Set visited for the first time, children's reactions to seeing him fell into two categories: those who were frightened by his enormous size, and those who approached out of sheer curiosity.
The former would realize there was nothing to fear after a brief interaction, but the initial shock risked setting them to tears.
In that sense, Rei had always preferred the cautious type...
"Whoa!"
One of the children let out a loud cry upon spotting Set.
If they started crying, he'd need to leave immediately.
Bracing himself, Rei watched and waited—only for the children to come running toward Set with beaming faces.
"Amazing, amazing, amazing!"
For these children, even a creature spanning over three meters in length didn't seem frightening at all.
If they'd been adults, fear might well have overtaken any sense of wonder. But fortunately, these children harbored no such preconceptions.
The fact that the first child to exclaim was the leader of the group probably helped dissolve the others' surprise and fear as well.
As a result, Set found himself completely surrounded by children.
"Hey, mister! What's this amazing thing?"
The first child who had spotted Set asked eagerly.
Rei considered how best to respond... and decided to have them guide him to the shop he'd learned about from the stall, explaining about Set along the way.