"…So you've returned."
Daskar let out a deep sigh as he addressed Rei.
He set the document he had been reading on his desk and fixed Rei with a look of exasperation.
Then again, Daskar's reaction was only natural.
The Promotion Exam was tomorrow.
Yet Rei had left and shown no sign of coming back.
For him to suddenly return like this, it would have been strange if Daskar wasn't surprised.
"I'm sorry. I finished buying the potions in a day, but right after that, I got caught up in all sorts of problems."
"Considering it's you, I can accept that."
"Hahaha. Vihera said the same thing."
Vihera wasn't at the Lord's Manor.
She could have stayed, but they decided it was better for her to head to Marina's house first and let Elena know Rei was back.
Rei had no objections to that idea, so he let Vihera go on ahead.
Part of it was that he didn't want Vihera to sit through Daskar's complaints about him.
Though even if it was about him, Rei was ultimately the one who got dragged into trouble.
He hadn't gone looking for it, so he couldn't help feeling that getting complained to over it was a bit much.
However, even though he was caught up in trouble, he could have ignored it and returned to Gilm. Choosing not to—that was undeniably on Rei.
Of course, if Rei had ignored the trouble, many innocent people would have died as a result.
If that had happened, Rei would have been left with a bitter aftertaste.
And that was something he absolutely refused to accept.
So while Rei felt sorry for returning to Gilm late, he didn't regret his actions.
Seeing Rei's expression, Daskar must have decided that pressing the issue further was pointless.
He exhaled to shift gears, then spoke again.
"That matter is settled. So, there's no problem with you taking the Promotion Exam, correct?"
"Yes, I've prepared the potions."
"Potions, huh…"
Daskar's expression turned troubled at Rei's words.
As the lord of Gilm, he naturally understood the current potion shortage.
It wasn't as though every potion would vanish today or tomorrow, but the declining stock was an undeniable fact.
It was only natural for a lord to think that steps needed to be taken before the shortage became critical.
The question was how to procure those potions.
The simplest solution would be purchasing them from merchants.
The potions running short were primarily those used by workers within Gilm.
The high-quality potions that adventurers used when fighting monsters and sustaining injuries were still in considerable supply.
And the potions that could be purchased outside Gilm were generally of mediocre quality.
Of course, that didn't mean no high-quality potions were produced in other villages or towns.
"We're already addressing the potion situation. We're reaching out to skilled pharmacists and alchemists to come to Gilm."
"The same approach as the woodcutters, then?"
"Fundamentally yes, but there's a difference."
To fell trees in the Treant Forest, Gilm had recruited woodcutters from many villages and towns.
The difference was that the woodcutters came for seasonal work, and most returned home before winter.
Some did take a liking to Gilm, staying through the winter or even settling there permanently.
Unlike those woodcutters, Daskar intended to integrate pharmacists and alchemists into Gilm permanently.
Once the Expansion Construction was complete, a great many people would flock to the city.
Pharmacists and alchemists would undoubtedly be among them, but there was no telling how many would come, and it was possible only those with underdeveloped skills would arrive.
Considering that, securing pharmacists and alchemists of sufficient skill in advance was the obvious course.
For the pharmacists and alchemists themselves, the frontier city of Gilm offered access to rare materials that would be difficult to obtain elsewhere, making it valuable for honing their own techniques and experience.
Hearing Daskar's explanation, Rei nodded in understanding.
"If you've thought that far ahead, it seems I don't need to worry much about it."
"I hope so. You never know what will happen at times like these. Regardless of who's behind it."
Rei could understand that being a lord came with an overwhelming number of responsibilities.
Of course, even if he understood, there wasn't much Rei could do to help—beyond passing the exam and becoming an A-Rank adventurer as quickly as Daskar wanted.
After Rei recounted his experiences over the past three days, Daskar was stunned that he had gotten tangled up in that much trouble in just three days.
No—rather, he was even more surprised that Rei had resolved all of it in only three days.
It had been a busy three days for Rei, so he figured Daskar's astonishment was only natural.
The conversation wrapped up about thirty minutes later.
Daskar actually wanted to hear more, but with work piling up, he needed to attend to it.
"Gruu!"
Stepping out of the Lord's Manor, Set immediately trotted over.
He was in a good mood, having likely received some food from the cook as usual.
"All right, let's head to Marina's house. If we see any delicious food along the way, we'll buy some."
"Grurru!"
Set purred happily at Rei's words.
He'd gotten food from the cook, but not enough to fill his stomach.
Naturally, he wanted to buy snacks from any tasty-looking shops along the way.
"The security is pretty tight," Rei muttered as he walked through the Noble District, eating a salt-grilled river fish on a skewer.
He called it tight because of the sheer number of adventurers patrolling the area.
The Antelme incident hadn't been that long ago.
Given that, it was only natural for the nobles living in the Noble District to be on high alert.
Rei had already put the Antelme affair behind him, so he felt the level of caution was excessive.
Then again, that was something only someone who had fought Antelme directly could say.
(Even if someone other than Antelme is plotting something, Marina's house has solid security thanks to the spirits, so there's probably no need to worry too much.)
Feeling a deep sense of reassurance at the comfort of Marina's home, Rei continued through the Noble District.
He passed many adventurers, but nearly all of them knew him. They exchanged brief words without stopping him.
As for those who didn't know Rei, like Antelme had… at least while walking here, he didn't encounter any.
From Rei's perspective, the fewer of those people, the better.
He absolutely wanted to avoid getting accosted by another odd character.
When he arrived at Marina's house, he found everyone gathered outside for some reason—Elena, Marina, Vihera, Ara, Byune, Nielson, Ielo… the entire group.
(Setting aside everyone else, even Marina?)
Marina worked at the clinic, so she couldn't just leave her post so easily.
Going to a nearby shop was one thing, but the Noble District was a considerable distance from the clinic.
Yet here she was.
It would have been stranger if Rei wasn't surprised.
"What's going on? Why is everyone here together?"
"My, the Promotion Exam is tomorrow, and you come back at this hour… You certainly seem relaxed."
Marina told him this with a radiant smile.
However, the look in her eyes wasn't smiling at all.
One glance was enough to tell she was definitely angry.
At the very least, it didn't seem like she'd listen to anything Rei had to say.
"Um, I'm pretty sure I contacted Elena through the Paired Orbs…"
When they spoke via the Paired Orbs, he hadn't just talked to Elena—he'd spoken with Marina and everyone else as well.
Given that, Rei hadn't expected Marina to be this angry.
"Fufu, that's true. But that was through the Paired Orbs, wasn't it? Compared to that, today we can speak to each other properly, in the flesh."
"Ah… yeah. No mistaking that we're meeting in person now. …Are you angry?"
Marina fixed Rei with a steady stare as he asked timidly, then eventually let out a deep sigh.
"If you're asking whether I'm angry, I am. But I heard what happened over the past three days through the Paired Orbs, and Vihera told me again in person. I can't stay angry after all that."
Rei finally relaxed at Marina's words.
He'd wondered if she was genuinely furious.
Well, she actually had been angry, just as she said.
"But listen. If you'd been off by one more day and missed the Promotion Exam, you definitely would have been dragged into even worse trouble than what you encountered this time. Understand?"
Rei nodded seriously as Marina spoke with an earnest expression.
He certainly hadn't intended to be late for the exam, and he had made it back in time.
But if he had been delayed, it would have undoubtedly caused a major uproar.
An A-Rank adventurer—aside from the special existence of an S-Rank adventurer—was the highest rank of adventurer.
Even here in Gilm, there weren't that many A-Rank adventurers.
The Promotion Exam to reach that rank was a special event for the Guild.
Moreover, this time the exam was being held in the Forest of Magic at Daskar's request, making it all the more significant.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. …But if something similar happens again, I'll probably do the same thing."
"…I suppose so."
Marina had known Rei for a long time.
She understood his personality perfectly.
If someone needed help for whatever reason, Rei would find some excuse to lend a hand. That much was certain.
"For now, go to the Guild and see Worker. He's worried too."
"Worker is?"
To Rei, Worker always seemed like the picture of composure.
He couldn't even imagine the man being anxious or rattled.
"Of course. Worker has been pushing himself considerably to prepare for this Promotion Exam. And then the very person taking the exam doesn't show up until the day before. You can't expect him not to worry."
Put that way, it made sense.
Rei thought about it and nodded in acceptance.
"All right. I'll go show my face. I didn't mean to worry Worker that much."
"Would it kill you to think before you speak? Well, it seems you did buy the potions, so I suppose it's fine."
"Yeah. I managed to purchase potions in several towns and villages."
Naturally, they weren't the highly effective sort that veteran Gilm adventurers used.
Still, buying them elsewhere was better than trying to gather them in Gilm during the shortage.
"The potion shortage, huh. That should ease up a little before long."
"Really?"
Rei was surprised by the words that came out of Marina's mouth and asked her to repeat herself.
When he had spoken with Elena through the Paired Orbs, he'd also had a decent conversation with Marina.
But she hadn't mentioned anything of the sort at the time.
That was why he was puzzled—but if Marina said so, it was probably true. That confidence was likely thanks to her history as the Former Guild Master.