"Um, are you sure? I don't mean to be rude, but the whole festival idea was just something I blurted out, you know?"
Rei asked as if to make sure one last time.
From his perspective, he never expected Daskar to actually decide to hold a festival over it.
That said, it wasn't a bad idea by any means, so his tone wasn't particularly forceful as he asked.
"Umu, there is no problem. I am always working, so taking a single day off will not have much impact on the Expansion Construction. Besides, by moving together with work colleagues during this festival, coordination may deepen, and the progress of the Expansion Construction may increase compared to before."
Put another way, that also meant their relationships could deteriorate from going around the festival together, which could have a negative impact on the work—but Daskar did not seem to care about that.
"There is also the meaning of blowing away the summer heat.... What about it, Rei, are you opposed?"
He asked Rei again like this because the festival would also serve as the début for the Crystal Dragon—an extremely rare new dragon species even among S-Rank Monsters... the kind of monster that even an A-Rank Adventurer might only encounter once in a lifetime, if at all.
In other words, it would not be strange for it to be perceived as a festival to celebrate Rei becoming an A-Rank Adventurer.
Of course, in reality, that was merely the nominal reason.
After all, a large number of A-Rank Adventurers already existed in Gilm.
When such individuals were promoted to A-Rank, they never went so far as to hold a festival.
...If this were about becoming an S-Rank Adventurer rather than an A-Rank Adventurer, the story might have been different.
Even so, whether nominal or not, there was no doubt it would appear as though Daskar was playing favorites with Rei.
The fact that he favored Rei was true, and it was precisely because Rei had the ability, so there was no problem with that.
Even so, there would undoubtedly be those who grew jealous of Rei.
In that sense, Daskar probably asked Rei if he was all right with it.
Rei thought about that matter for a moment... then simply nodded, concluding that being the target of jealousy was par for the course for him.
After all, he had Set—a Tamed Monster that was an A-Rank Monster and a Rare Species, making it S-Rank equivalent—partied with Marina and Vihera, two beauties at a level where the word "peerless" preceded them, and at his current base, Marina's house, Elena—holder of the alias Princess General—was waiting.
On top of all that, he possessed the Misty Ring, an Item Box said to be one of only a few in existence in the world, and in addition to that, he owned multiple powerful Magic Items, starting with Death Scythe.
Given such circumstances, he judged that having one or two more reasons for others to envy him at this point was no problem at all.
"Understood. Then please go ahead with that."
For some reason, it was Daskar, who had asked the question, who was surprised by Rei's words.
It was Daskar who had asked, but he never expected Rei to nod so readily.
Still, since Rei had nodded, he did not bother asking again here.
Since Rei had nodded, he judged that Rei must have nodded with full understanding of what it entailed.
"Then let us do it as soon as possible. I'm not sure I should call it fortunate... but even if we hold a festival, there is no need to make it that large-scale. The preparations themselves will be managed in a few days."
Not "will be managed," but "will manage."
Those words expressed Daskar's enthusiasm toward the festival.
Hearing Daskar's mention of "a few days," Rei suddenly recalled his conversation with Worker.
"Now that you mention it, Worker told me it would take a few days to prepare the A-Rank Adventurer Guild Card. Since it's happening anyway, why not make that part of the festival's events as well?"
"...Are you sure that's all right?"
Doing so would invite even more jealousy toward Rei.
That was what Daskar meant by asking, and Rei nodded with full understanding of that as well.
"Yes. Considering the reason for this festival, it will draw attention regardless. In that case, it might be better to stand out boldly."
"Hmm.... Understood. Then, I'll leave it to you."
The fact that Daskar decided immediately was surely because he judged it would benefit Gilm.
It was already widely known that Rei was based in Gilm.
He was also said to be Daskar's Trusted Aide.
Under such circumstances, what would happen if they held a festival in Gilm to celebrate Rei becoming an A-Rank Adventurer?
It would show those around them the strong bond between Rei and Daskar... and Gilm.
Whether to call it fortunate or not, Gilm had not only the Neutral Faction led by Daskar, but also nobles from the King's Faction and Noble's Faction who had dispatched people for information gathering, and such individuals were present in the Noble District.
Such people were always trying to obtain information.
Given that, information about Rei was surely included among their important items.
Rei was a person of tremendous significance to Gilm.
Because of that, publicly announcing Rei's promotion in a major way through this event carried great meaning.
Rei naturally understood Daskar's calculations as well, but even so, considering the current situation, he understood that such an action would not be a bad thing for him either.
Or rather, if Rei belonged to a faction other than the Neutral Faction, being introduced as Daskar's Trusted Aide would be an unpleasant prospect.
However, in Rei's case, he had no intention of moving his base anywhere other than Gilm.
In that sense, being introduced as Daskar's Trusted Aide was by no means a bad thing.
Though, whether he would actually function as a Trusted Aide was a more nuanced matter.
"It might be interesting to display A-Rank Monster corpses as well.... Ah, but the dissection of the A-Rank Monsters has already started, hasn't it?"
Should I go to the Guild and have them stop the dissection for now?
At Rei's words, Daskar thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"No, A-Rank Monsters are somewhat rare, but they are not never brought into the Guild. There should be a fair number of Gilm residents who have seen one before."
In Rei's case, he had the Misty Ring, so carrying monster corpses was not difficult.
However, for adventurers other than Rei, the most they would have was a Simplified Version of the Item Box.
The amount they could store was limited, so for monsters with large bodies, carrying the corpse was impossible.
Let alone A-Rank Monsters—their materials were extremely valuable.
Having a professional artisan disassemble them would fetch a higher price.
Given that, those who would not attempt to dissect the creatures themselves and would instead transport the corpse as-is were not uncommon.
And if they were hauling an A-Rank Monster on a cart, the residents of Gilm would naturally gaze at it.
In that sense, a fair number of Gilm residents had experience seeing A-Rank Monsters.
Since they were going to the trouble of publicly displaying the Crystal Dragon, an S-Rank Monster, if an A-Rank Monster were displayed nearby, it was certain to diminish the impact.
"I see. Well, the Crystal Dragon does have a strong visual impression. Thinking about that, it might be better to hold off on displaying A-Rank Monsters."
"Sorry about that."
"No, there's no reason for you to apologize for that. I just mentioned it offhandedly."
Holding the festival itself was also something decided by Rei's casual remark.
Because of that, the matter of the A-Rank Monsters was also something he just tried mentioning offhandedly, so he had no particular dissatisfaction with being told it was a no-go.
"When it comes to a festival, we'll need a main attraction. I suppose that would be the Crystal Dragon."
"Umu. That is how it will likely be. Of course, if there were some other main attraction, that would be fine too. However, in that case, rather than an A-Rank Monster like Rei just mentioned, I would want something different... something other than a monster."
Rei was asked if he had any ideas, but what he came up with after thinking for a moment was something like having everyone carry a festival float together.
Or perhaps something like preparing a giant pole lantern, similar to those used in the Kanto Festival.
But as for the pole lanterns, Rei did not know the specifics of how they were constructed.
Besides, the festival would be held in a few days.
If asked whether it could be done in such a short time, it was a questionable prospect.
"Hmm, nothing comes to mind immediately. Ah, but since we're doing this anyway, how about events that highlight Gilm's characteristics?"
"Gilm's characteristics? What kind?"
From Daskar's perspective, Gilm had an overwhelming abundance of characteristics.
Being located in the Mireana Kingdom's sole Frontier, and the accompanying monsters and plants that could not be encountered elsewhere, or the fact that a large number of adventurers were gathered here, would all be significant in this case.
For those in villages and towns struggling with revitalization efforts, who had no notable characteristics to speak of, it would not be strange for them to bare their indignation and cry, "What extravagance!"
"Adventurers. Right now, a lot of people are coming to Gilm looking for work, and among them are many who pride themselves on their skills. Since we're at it, I thought maybe we could hold a Fighting Tournament involving those kinds of people, including adventurers?"
"A Fighting Tournament... the kind they do in the Bestia Empire?"
A bitter tone mixed into Daskar's words, and understandably so.
From Daskar's perspective, he had a terrible experience due to participating in a Fighting Tournament held in the Bestia Empire before.
As a result, the Bestia Empire had become a friendly presence to the Mireana Kingdom, but the various incidents that occurred during that time were something Daskar felt once in a lifetime was more than enough. Rei also had somewhat mixed feelings from the civil war he experienced.
No, rather, Rei had participated in that battle even more actively than Daskar, so in that sense, it was true that he had more feelings about it than Daskar did.
"That's right. We obviously can't make it as flashy as that one, so it would be on a small scale. And since we don't have Magic Items that guarantee you'll be fine even if you're injured, we'd need to prioritize safety, but..."
"...Rejected."
After thinking for about thirty seconds, Daskar delivered that verdict.
"Personally, I find it interesting, but if there is a high possibility of adventurers getting injured, then considering the work after the festival, I simply cannot permit it. There are a few skilled hands like Marina who can use Recovery Magic, but even such people cannot do anything if it's an instant death, can they?"
"That's true."
Rei nodded obediently at Daskar's words.
In truth, Marina's Spirit Magic could probably manage to reattach an arm or two even if they were severed, given immediate treatment.
But if a head were severed, even immediately afterward, reattaching it was not something she could do.
No matter how skilled a Spirit Mage Marina was, there were things she could and could not do.
Also, the fact that Gilm had an awkwardly large number of skilled adventurers was another problem.
In a battle between High-Rank Adventurers, they could easily kill a person even with weapons whose blades had been dulled for mock battles, and precisely because they were High-Rank Adventurers, their skills were evenly matched, raising the possibility that they would become too absorbed in the fight and forget to hold back.
Considering those circumstances, holding a Fighting Tournament would undoubtedly produce a large number of injured, and deaths would be unavoidable as well.
That would be a major minus for Gilm.
"If we were to do it, it would be after obtaining a Magic Item like the one used in the Bestia Empire's Fighting Tournament."
"We can't purchase one at a shop, after all... it would be nice if we could find one in a Dungeon or something."
"Or perhaps we could inquire with Magic City Ozos. Though I'm not sure if they could make one, and even if they could, they would likely demand an outrageous sum."
Magic City Ozos.
Hearing that name, Rei thought, "Come to think of it..."
It was a name he had heard many times before, but for some reason, he always forgot it right away.
He didn't know the reason, but as someone who wanted Magic Items, it was a place he thought he would like to visit someday.
After that, Rei continued his conversation with Daskar, discussing the festival... and during that exchange, he once again forgot about Magic City Ozos from his memory, unnaturally quickly.