Opening the magnificent door to the office—a door so overly grand that, despite having seen it many times before, Rei still hadn't grown accustomed to it—and stepping inside, Daskar looked up from his paperwork. The moment he confirmed it was Rei, a broad smile spread across his face.
"Oh, you're back. ...Bring us some black tea and something light to snack on."
"Understood."
The butler who had guided Rei there bowed at Daskar's words and took his leave.
Watching him go, Daskar rose from his chair and moved toward the sofa for guests.
"Have a seat over here, Rei. ...So, you passed the promotion exam?"
At Daskar's blunt question, Rei gave a straightforward nod.
Rei hadn't breathed a word about his exam results to anyone else, but when it came to Daskar, things were different.
Daskar was the lord of Gilm and the man who had made it possible for Rei to take his promotion exam in the Forest of Magic—an arrangement that would normally be unthinkable.
Moreover, once Rei became an A-Rank Adventurer, there was a possibility that Daskar would need to make various preparations on his end as well. Getting him ready ahead of time was undeniably the right call.
"So, how was the Forest of Magic?"
Perhaps even more than the exam results, that was what Daskar really wanted to know.
Given his position, Daskar could never permit himself to set foot in the Forest of Magic.
Unless there were extraordinary circumstances—like this time—it was simply out of the question. In that sense, this entire affair had been a genuine exception.
"Yes. The monsters there are definitely stronger compared to the ones outside the Forest of Magic."
With that, Rei began recounting the same details he had shared with the gatekeeper earlier—though in far greater depth.
He paused when the butler and a maid arrived with black tea and sandwiches, but once they left the office, he resumed his explanation.
Naturally, he said nothing about the Zephyle Clan's hidden base or related matters.
It wasn't that the thought of telling Daskar hadn't crossed his mind.
By the time Rei finished sharing what he deemed appropriate, roughly an hour had passed.
More than half the sandwiches on the table had already disappeared into his stomach.
"Hmm, I see. From what you describe, it certainly sounds dangerous."
"Right. Low-Rank Adventurers are out of the question, but even B-Rank or A-Rank Adventurers would be signing their own death warrants if they lacked sufficient strength or numbers. Also, a thief is essential. And a highly capable one at that."
In the Forest of Magic, Rei had Set, whose five senses were razor-sharp.
Thanks to that, he'd never been caught off guard by enemies. ...Setting aside the incident where the Black Snake sent him flying.
It was precisely because Set was there that they never suffered surprise attacks from monsters.
But what would have happened without Set?
Naturally, Rei's own senses were far sharper than an ordinary human's, so he likely would have avoided the worst. Still, a thief-type who could detect enemies was indispensable.
And as Rei had just said, not the kind of thief scraping by as a Low-Rank Adventurer, but a skilled operative working in a party alongside solid High-Rank Adventurers.
(Especially that fog monster... I wonder how ordinary adventurers would even handle something like that.)
The first solution that came to mind was simply running—the best course of action.
That said, he couldn't imagine the fog monster letting prey within its attack range slip away so easily.
Which meant that if fleeing wasn't an option, they'd have no choice but to fight... but if a thief couldn't pin down the enemy's position, their only recourse would be blindly unleashing wide-area attacks and hoping for a lucky hit.
"A thief... and a skilled one at that. That's a tall order."
Daskar furrowed his brow and murmured.
Thieves, while not as scarce as mages, were still uncommon. And most of the few who existed were Low-Rank Adventurers.
It wasn't that High-Rank Adventurer thieves didn't exist, but their numbers were exceedingly rare.
"Exactly. That's why I think the Forest of Magic should remain off-limits as a general rule. ...If someone carelessly provokes a monster in there, fails to kill it, and runs, in the worst case an S-Rank Monster could come charging straight into Gilm."
"True enough. In that case... hm? Wait."
Daskar had been about to agree, but something Rei just said gave him pause.
He thought for a moment—and then it clicked.
"Rei. Don't tell me... you defeated one?"
A what, exactly. Even without him spelling it out, Rei knew what he meant.
Given the flow of conversation, it would have been stranger not to.
"Yes. I defeated an S-Rank Monster—and a new dragon species at that."
Rei said it as casually as if remarking on the weather.
Daskar caught his breath.
If it were Rei, defeating two A-Rank Monsters was entirely believable. But those were A-Rank Monsters, not S-Rank.
And yet here was Rei, stating so matter-of-factly that he had slain an S-Rank Monster... and a new dragon species, no less. It would have been impossible not to be floored.
"I'm sure it's true if you say so, Rei... but is it really?"
Even as he affirmed his trust in Rei's word, Daskar still sought confirmation. That was how thoroughly the statement had caught him off guard.
"Yes, it's true. It's currently stored in my Misty Ring. ...I can bring it out if you'd like to see it, but if I do, you'll need a fairly wide space."
"Ugh..."
A groan escaped Daskar's lips.
On a personal level, he wanted Rei to bring it out and show him immediately. But producing a new dragon species would inevitably draw enormous attention.
Many people knew Rei had returned to Gilm after taking his promotion exam, but whether he had passed or failed was still unknown.
If he were to produce the Crystal Dragon's corpse here, it would immediately reveal Rei as the one who slew it.
Even without deep knowledge of monsters, most people would recognize that a Crystal Dragon was a High-Rank Monster—an S-Rank Monster at that.
In other words, the moment the Crystal Dragon appeared, it would be tantamount to announcing that Rei had passed his exam.
As the lord of Gilm, Daskar couldn't do something like that.
Well, if he tried to force the matter, he probably could. But in the current situation, Daskar couldn't bring himself to do such a thing.
"Understood. But you plan to have the Guild dissect that dragon, correct? In that case, would it be all right to make a grand announcement to everyone when the dissection takes place?"
"Huh? I mean, I don't mind, but... why would you do that? Honestly, the Crystal Dragon is quite imposing even as a corpse, you know."
"So it's called a Crystal Dragon. ...Setting that aside, the fact that you defeated such a powerful monster is a tremendous boon for Gilm... yes, it calls for a festival."
A festival? Rei found himself questioning, but since Daskar said so, he went along with it.
(When he says festival... honestly, Gilm already feels like one every day.)
He couldn't help thinking that.
Indeed, Gilm was currently packed with people who had come for the Expansion Construction, and catering to that crowd, a great many food stalls had sprung up.
To Rei, the word "festival" strongly evoked images of night stalls, fireworks, and Tanabata.
In that sense, having so many food stalls around wasn't far off from calling it one.
(Though... since I use the stalls on a regular basis, there's none of that special night-stall excitement.)
Okonomiyaki loaded with mountains of cabbage and virtually no meat.
Yakisoba with almost no toppings.
Takoyaki that, despite the name, sometimes inexplicably contained no octopus.
The kind of food that, under normal circumstances, one could never find appetizing—yet somehow tasted delicious when eaten in that special festival atmosphere.
Since coming to Gilm, however, Rei had frequented food stalls so often that the unique thrill of stall-hopping had faded.
(Maybe I should suggest a lottery or something? There's already gambling, so lottery-type things seem fine. ...Though it depends on what kind of lottery it is.)
When Rei heard "festival lottery," the first image that came to mind was the kind where you pull a string to win a prize.
But as far as he could recall, he had never won anything good from that sort of lottery.
According to rumor, the strings attached to expensive prizes were gathered in one spot and kept short so that customers could never pull them... or so he vaguely remembered hearing.
It was only a rumor, so he had no way of knowing if it was true.
"Rei? What is it?"
"No, it's nothing. When you mentioned a festival... I just started thinking about various things."
For a moment, Rei nearly said he was reminiscing about festivals, but caught himself and quickly changed his words.
Rei's established backstory was that he had lived deep in the mountains with the mage he called his master ever since he was born.
Given that, mentioning he had experienced a festival would raise all sorts of awkward questions.
In fact, he even considered that he might be able to tell Daskar the truth about himself.
That was how much Rei trusted Daskar.
A major reason for that judgment was Marina's trust in him.
Daskar had his embarrassing childhood history—such as having once proposed to Marina—held over him, making him somewhat awkward around her, but there was no denying the strong mutual trust between them.
If that was the case, perhaps now that he had become an A-Rank Adventurer, it might be fine to confide in him.
So he thought.
If he did, the conversation would naturally lead to explaining about Grimm—someone who admired the Zephyle Clan and had now become Undead.
(Well, even if I think it's fine to tell him, that's just my own opinion. I should probably hear what Elena and the others think before deciding.)
With that in mind, Rei continued speaking.
"Anyway, if things are going to get noisy over the Crystal Dragon anyway, why not make it a festival and really go all out? Wouldn't that be fun?"
"Hmm, that does sound interesting. Interesting, but..."
"Lord Daskar?"
Seeing Daskar hesitate, Rei prompted him.
At Rei's words, Daskar opened his mouth with a slightly troubled expression.
"No, it's just... a festival would mean... more work for me."
Rei glanced at the documents piled on the desk.
Compared to the last time he'd seen them, they'd decreased—not quite by half, but down to about seventy percent of their previous volume.
Even as Daskar processed paperwork, more kept arriving in a steady stream.
Still, the reduction compared to before meant the work had settled down to some degree.
Holding a festival under these circumstances would undoubtedly add to his workload.
For Daskar's health, perhaps it was better to call it off. Rei wavered.
Besides, it wasn't as though he'd suggested a festival out of any deep conviction. He'd just said it on a whim, carried by the flow of conversation.
Given that, there was no need to force the issue.
(Plus, I have no idea how the Guild would handle things during a festival.)
The documents Daskar handled were, precisely because he was the lord of Gilm, only this many—though it was still a mountain of paperwork.
By the time any document reached Daskar, numerous people had already reviewed it, processing whatever they could on their own.
That was why the documents that made it to Daskar's desk were strictly those that only he could handle.
In that sense, there was no question that the Guild was busier.
They were already stretched thin as it was, and on top of that, they'd been tasked with dissecting the monsters Rei had brought back.
Piling a festival on top of that could cause the Guild's workload to burst at the seams.
"Then should we call it off?"
At Rei's question, Daskar fell silent for a few minutes... and then shook his head.
"No. In the sense that everyone gets to enjoy themselves, this matters too. If a lot of people have fun here, work efficiency will ultimately rise as well. In that case... let's do it."
And so, on the strength of Rei's casual remark, a festival was hastily set in motion.