After finishing his business at the Guild, Rei went to pick up Set and...
"Ah, yeah. I figured something like this would happen eventually."
Rei muttered those words upon seeing Mirene and Yohanna facing each other in front of Set.
Both of them were among the top-tier Set Enthusiasts in Gilm.
Whether that was related or not was unclear, but the compatibility between these two was poor.
So much so that whenever they met face-to-face, they would exchange aggressive words and argue.
The fact that they only traded insults and never actually came to blows was likely because they both believed doing so would sadden Set.
"Fufufu. It seems I was able to reunite with Set-chan first."
"Ugh... if only my work hadn't run long..."
Yohanna's words prompted Mirene to show a frustrated expression.
Mirene was regarded as the rising star among the younger generation in Gilm, a place where skilled adventurers gathered.
...Of course, that rising star had been surpassed by Rei, who became an adventurer later than Mirene yet became an A-Rank Adventurer—the results hadn't been officially announced yet—in just a few years.
Then again, that was only because Rei was an outlier in every sense of the word. Looking at it generally, Mirene was still naturally treated as the rising star of the younger generation.
After all, there were rumors that Mirene would soon be promoted to a B-Rank Adventurer.
Additionally, Mirene had features refined enough to be called a beauty, yet possessed a friendly personality that made her popular among both men and women.
There were probably those whose image of Mirene was shattered by encountering her with Set, but at the same time, there were also those who felt that Mirene doting on Set was charming in its own way.
In a way, the argument between Mirene and Yohanna could be called an event symbolic of the peaceful nature of Gilm.
For Rei, who got caught up in the commotion every time he went to retrieve his partner Set, it was no laughing matter.
(Well, considering that the people who can't get into the Guild are watching with curiosity, maybe this argument isn't entirely meaningless?)
Looking carefully, there were even people betting on who would win between Mirene and Yohanna's argument.
If they resorted to force it would be one thing, but when it came to arguing over who would win, Rei thought that wasn't so easy to judge... but the two parties would probably work it out between themselves, so he decided not to worry about it for now.
"So, how long do you two plan on keeping that up? Set is troubled by it too."
To stop these two, all he had to do was bring up Set's name.
In fact, Set, seeing the two of them arguing like this, had been showing a disappointed expression.
"Alright, the argument seems to have settled down, so Set and I are heading out now. Thanks for playing with Set. Set."
"Gruu."
At Rei's words, Set rose from his lying position.
Mirene and Yohanna both looked like they wanted to say something to Rei, but since Rei had other things to do, he couldn't stay at the Guild forever.
Perhaps understanding that, Mirene and Yohanna didn't try to stop him.
...There were some who looked disappointed that the argument ended without a clear resolution, but that wasn't Rei's concern.
And so, having left the Guild, Rei and Set's next destination was the Laurie Dissection Shop.
Having requested the dissection of two bulls and one Orc Naga, he was very eager to see how they turned out.
Since Marina had recommended the shop, it was certain that their skills were not lacking.
That being the case, the prospect of eating that delicious beef to his heart's content naturally put Rei in a cheerful mood.
And with Rei looking so cheerful, Set—as if catching that cheerful mood himself—purred in high spirits.
Among those on their way home from work, many smiled upon seeing Set like that.
Proceeding along, they eventually arrived at their destination.
"Alright, I'm going down to the underground. Set, wait here for me."
"Gruu."
Rei couldn't help but think he could have brought Set along, since the underground space was quite large and the passages and gates were certainly wide enough for Set to pass through.
But unless he got permission from Laurie and the other craftsmen first, bringing Set down without authorization would be problematic, so he left Set on the surface.
Thinking he'd ask Laurie and the others about that later, he descended underground and arrived in front of the gate.
He had already memorized how to open the gate from watching Laurie, so he opened it without any hesitation and went inside.
Entering the underground warehouse, Rei looked at the craftsmen working there.
Each was focused on their own work, and none seemed to notice Rei's presence as he entered the underground warehouse.
It was a testament to how concentrated they were on their tasks.
(This might be because they work for a private business rather than the Guild, but they're certainly earnest.)
Of course, that wasn't to say the Guild's craftsmen were not earnest.
After all, the dissection of the Queen Bee corpse Rei had brought them was nothing short of splendid.
"Hey, got a moment?"
When Rei called out, one of the men dissecting a deer-like monster a short distance away noticed Rei's presence.
"Rei... ah, it's already that time?"
Being underground, there were naturally no windows.
The sound of bells telling the time also couldn't carry very far underground, so when one was absorbed in dissection work, the sound was completely missed.
Because of that, a system was in place where the shop above could immediately contact them if anything happened.
"From the looks of it, everyone's each doing their own work, so does that mean the dissection of the monsters I requested is already finished?"
"Yeah. The bulls and the Orc Naga, right? Those have been properly dissected and set aside. Still, while it's not uncommon to see unknown monsters in this line of work, that was a quite rare monster."
"Was it? ...Well, it is a monster from the Forest of Magic, so it makes sense you'd think that. So, what about the materials?"
"Give me your receipt."
"...What's that?"
At the word "receipt" that came from the man's mouth, Rei tilted his head.
It wasn't that he didn't understand the meaning of the word "receipt."
He had received something similar from the Foreman at the Guild, after all.
But he had not received such a thing at the Laurie Dissection Shop.
Being told to produce something he'd never been given naturally left Rei confused.
However, seeing Rei looking so bewildered, the man also showed a puzzled expression.
Wondering why Rei didn't understand what he was saying.
After thinking for a moment, he eventually opened his mouth as if something had occurred to him.
"Did you perhaps come directly here without going to the shop on the surface first?"
"Ah... So that means I needed to go to the shop first?"
"That's right. This is a warehouse, you know? I'd think it's only natural to go to the shop first... well, come to think of it, Rei usually gets his dissections done at the Guild or does them himself. In that case, it can't be helped that you were confused."
According to the man's explanation, when dealing with a private business like the Laurie Dissection Shop, one first needed to check in at the shop front.
Now that it was mentioned, it made perfect sense, and Rei nodded in understanding.
"So, I just need to go to the shop on the surface and get it?"
"Please do. We've got the dissected materials and everything ready, so if you bring the receipt, we can hand over the materials. ...Though since they're unknown monsters, we couldn't tell which parts could be used as materials, so they're mostly intact."
"There's nothing to be done about that. I don't particularly mind."
In truth, for Rei, the bulls and the Orc Naga were important monsters primarily as food for himself and Set.
Materials would be nice to have, but what mattered more was how much meat they had managed to secure.
(The most expensive part of beef would be... the fillet, right? Or was it Chateaubriand? I feel like I might have seen something like that somewhere, or maybe not.)
As for fillet, he had eaten it as steak, treating it as something of a luxury.
However, he had never eaten Chateaubriand.
It was only a memory from cooking manga or TV programs.
...In reality, Chateaubriand was also a type of fillet.
To be precise, the thickest part of the fillet block was what was called Chateaubriand.
Even within the fillet, prices differed depending on the specific cut.
For example, beef tongue.
Depending on the supermarket or butcher shop, some sold a whole beef tongue rather than pre-sliced portions.
And the most tender, delicious part of the beef tongue was the Tongue Root at the base.
Next was the Tongue Center, the central part of the beef tongue.
And finally, the Tongue Tip, the tip of the beef tongue.
Once it came to the Tongue Tip, the price dropped considerably.
So much so that it wasn't uncommon for 500g of frozen tongue tip to cost around a thousand yen.
In any case, if even beef tongue varied that much in value depending on the cut, it was only natural that fillet prices also varied by portion.
"So, to get the materials and such handed over, I just need to go to the shop, right? Wait here a moment."
"Sure, I've got work to do too, so take your time."
Sent off with those words, Rei returned to the surface.
"Gruu."
Seeing Rei come up to the surface, Set, who had been lying down, purred.
It probably thought Rei had already stored the dissected materials and meat.
However, Rei patted the approaching Set's head and then spoke apologetically.
"Sorry, Set. Looks like I got the procedure wrong. I need to go to the shop first and get a receipt before they'll hand anything over."
"Grurru..."
Leaving the disappointed-looking Set behind, Rei headed to the shop.
"Welcome. ...Ah, Rei. You're here."
The clerk saw Rei and called out to him like that.
Wasn't Laurie supposed to be here? he thought, but the only person in the shop was the same individual who had been there when Rei visited earlier.
"Yeah, I went down to the underground warehouse first, but they told me I needed to get a receipt here."
"Did Laurie not explain that properly?"
The clerk voiced that question while pulling a sheet of paper from a shelf inside the counter, checking it, and handing it to Rei.
"Here, this is it. Sorry, if Laurie had explained it properly, we wouldn't have made you do this twice."
From the clerk's perspective, a famous adventurer like Rei... and one who possessed a Misty Ring, meaning a valued customer who might commission the dissection of large quantities of monsters, was someone they absolutely wanted to keep coming back to their shop.
That was precisely why he was treating Rei with such care and politeness.
Rei could more or less understand their thinking, and even so, being treated this way didn't feel bad.
"Got it. If anything else comes up, I'll use this shop again."
Rei's words were by no means mere flattery.
Depending on whether the dissection of the bulls and the Orc Naga met his satisfaction, he was planning to entrust the dissection of the Forest of Magic monsters currently stored in his Misty Ring to them.
Then again, the Laurie Dissection Shop was known as one of the finest dissection shops around.
Moreover, since it was a shop Marina had introduced him to, there was no cause for concern whatsoever.
Exiting the shop, Rei called out lightly to Set before heading back to the underground warehouse.
Since it was clear Rei would return quickly this time, the person who had spoken with Rei earlier noticed Rei's presence right away.
Not only that, but the others who had been doing dissection work also noticed Rei and approached at a slightly hurried pace.
"The receipt?"
"Yeah, here."
Saying that, Rei handed the receipt to the man.
The man then checked whether there were any issues with the receipt.
If he were careless here, he risked handing over another client's monster materials by mistake, so careful verification was necessary.
And... eventually deeming there were no problems, the man nodded.