Eating the skewers sold by the suspicious stall owner, Rei walked down the street.
There was no doubt about it—that stall owner was no professional cook. His technique was simply too clumsy. The possibility that he was training to become one couldn't be entirely dismissed, but the sharpness of his gaze... that sharpness, so at odds with his ordinary appearance, kept nagging at Rei.
Gilm is currently taking in a huge number of workers for the expansion construction. Considering that, it wouldn't be strange for spies from some faction or another to be here. Or rather, it'd be strange if there weren't any.
The real question was which faction that spy belonged to—and what they were scheming.
The King's Faction is the most likely, huh?
The Neutral Faction, led by Daskar—the lord of Gilm—was currently on friendly terms with the Noble's Faction. Naturally, the ones dissatisfied with that arrangement would be the King's Faction.
But then again... Rei shifted his perspective.
It was true that the Neutral Faction and the Noble's Faction were on friendly terms, but that didn't mean everyone in the Noble's Faction welcomed the relationship. In fact, the very reason Elena—the symbol of the Noble's Faction—was in Gilm was because those displeased with the expansion construction, or with the Neutral Faction's very existence, had interfered with the project several times.
Furthermore, the possibility that someone within the Neutral Faction itself had sent a spy couldn't be denied either. There could be those who wished to lead the faction in Daskar's place, or those who sent spies intending to assist him.
And it wasn't limited to the Kingdom of Mireana; foreign powers could have dispatched spies as well. There had already been a major incident involving foreign infiltrators abducting people as slaves—an incident Rei had been involved in. No, it wouldn't be wrong to call him one of the central figures.
At any rate, thinking it through, it wouldn't be strange for any faction to send spies.
Or perhaps, if the spy had merely been gathering information, Rei might not have been so concerned. But the stall owner's eyes earlier had been sharp—like a predator sizing up its prey. He'd stopped showing that look after noticing Rei's attention, but from what Rei had observed, the man didn't seem to be gathering intelligence. It seemed more like a prelude to direct action—sabotage, perhaps.
Or maybe... I see. There's also the possibility they're after the Crystal Dragon's corpse.
The fact that the Crystal Dragon's corpse would be publicly displayed at the festival the day after tomorrow was still largely unknown. But in a sense, it was an even bigger draw than Rei passing his promotion exam.
Naturally, among those preparing for the festival, some already knew about it—and among those who knew, someone would inevitably tell others, unable to resist the superiority of being the only one in the know. "Just between us," they'd say. Once that happened, the rumors would spread like wildfire... and it was only a matter of time before someone decided to steal a piece of the corpse—not the whole thing, but even a single scrap of flesh or one scale would be enough.
But it's only been a day. To try to steal the Crystal Dragon's corpse that fast... no, that's not it. It's possible someone who was already in Gilm for information gathering or some other reason learned about it and sprang into action. If so... I should tell Lord Daskar... no, this is a job for Egg.
A former bandit, now serving under Daskar and handling Gilm's underworld. That was Egg.
Precisely because he operated in the shadows, it wouldn't be unusual for Egg to already know detailed information about the stall owner—or various other things Rei was unaware of.
With that in mind, Rei headed for one of Egg's hangouts—more accurately, one of their operational bases.
Normally, he would have had no obligation to go that far. But if the target was someone attempting to steal the Crystal Dragon's corpse, Rei wanted such a threat eliminated as quickly as possible. The fact that Set wasn't with him—and that he had no intention of visiting the Treant Forest—also factored into the decision.
In a way, it felt like a product of compromise as Rei made his way down the street.
"Hey, did you hear? The festival... it's the day after tomorrow."
"Really? I heard it'd be soon, but isn't that way too early?"
"Probably being held to coincide with Rei's promotion exam. Meaning the betting results will be settled the day after tomorrow."
"Man, you still haven't given up? It's already certain he passed."
The conversation between men taking a break from the heat, sipping fruit water by the roadside, drifted to Rei's ears. He could hear similar exchanges happening elsewhere too.
Lord Daskar must have made an official announcement. So the festival preparations will finally kick into high gear. That said, it's really only today and tomorrow—maybe it won't be that hectic? ...Or maybe because there's so little time, the preparations will be even more densely packed.
Although Rei stood in something of a starring role for the festival, there was nothing in particular he needed to prepare. That was why he could think about it so casually. But for those actually running stalls at the festival, it wouldn't be surprising if they had no time to sleep between procuring ingredients and doing prep work.
Lost in thought, Rei arrived at the tavern he was looking for. He hadn't come to drink the alcohol he could barely handle, nor to eat any particular dish. This tavern was one of Egg's bases.
Compared to a proper guard station, one might well wonder what on earth accounted for the disparity. But Egg's group was not an organization that could operate in the open. Besides, a tavern was an ideal location for gathering intelligence.
Upon entering, Rei scanned the interior. Though it was still daytime, about seventy percent of the seats were occupied. He couldn't help but wonder whether any of these people actually had jobs—but considering the sheer number of workers brought in for the expansion construction, some were bound to be taking the day off. Of course, it wouldn't be surprising if a few had slipped away from work, or had been fired for causing trouble.
"What's up, kid? This isn't the kind of place for someone like you."
Rei's face was hidden under a hood, and the Dragon Robe's concealment effect made it register as an ordinary robe, so the man couldn't have known who he was. Even so, the person who called out showed no hostility. Rei could tell the man was genuinely concerned.
Now that's rare.
Rei was surprised by the attitude. Based on past experience, situations like this usually drew drunks emboldened by alcohol, or thugs looking to shake down someone weaker. People who approached out of genuine concern were far less common. In that sense, the man was truly unusual.
"Don't worry. I know the owner of this place."
With that, Rei headed toward the counter.
The staff working at this tavern were Egg's subordinates. Some had joined later and didn't know the relationship between Egg and Rei—but fortunately, the face behind the counter was one Rei recognized.
"W-welcome. What can I get you?" the clerk asked as Rei took a seat.
"Just something light to eat, whatever's handy. And... is Egg here?"
"No, Egg is very busy with work right now..."
Rei nodded in understanding. After all, even he had managed to spot a suspicious character. For Egg, who was entrusted with Gilm's underworld, he would certainly already know about the matters Rei was aware of and be taking action.
Then maybe I don't need to bother telling him? No—judging by the look in that stall owner's eyes, it's definitely better to have him secured as quickly as possible.
While eating the dried meat and vegetable soup the clerk had prepared, Rei explained about the skewer stall owner from earlier. At first, the clerk listened with casual politeness, but when Rei mentioned that the man's gaze had been sharp, like a predator targeting prey, the clerk clearly sensed danger. After a moment's thought, he spoke.
"Could you tell me a bit more? That someone you consider dangerous, Rei-san... and someone we have no record of—if that's the case, it's possible this is someone we haven't identified yet."
The phrasing implied that there were indeed dangerous individuals Egg's group was already tracking. Rei noticed but chose not to point it out. He figured that if Egg's people already had such individuals properly identified and marked, there was no need to hear about them.
"Understood. First off, his appearance was ordinary—truly ordinary, the only word for it. Neither handsome nor ugly, just average features. The kind of face you'd forget by the next day even if you met him in person. That's what it was like."
For someone operating in the shadows, that was an extremely troublesome trait. Because his features were so forgettable, even locating him would be difficult.
"So where was this person? We'll get someone on it right away."
Rei gave the clerk the location of the stall from earlier. But a stall was a mobile shop—there was no denying the possibility that the owner, having seen Rei, sensed danger and had already fled. Even so, there was a decent chance he was still there, so the clerk headed to the back of the tavern.
There was no one else at the counter besides Rei, so there was no risk of the conversation being overheard. Ideally, they should have gone to the back to talk—but with the clerk gone, customers wanting to place orders were left hanging.
Several patrons were clamoring for another round of ale, but there wasn't a single waitress in this tavern. Maybe they appeared during busier hours, but right now it wasn't that crowded. As a result, the frustration of those disgruntled patrons was directed squarely at Rei—the one who had sent the clerk to the back.
"Hey, you. What'd you do to the owner? We can't get our ale because of you?"
When Rei had first walked in, this patron hadn't tried to start anything. But now he wanted another ale and the owner was nowhere to be found. That changed things. It wasn't unreasonable for the man, convinced he couldn't order because Rei had done something, to pick a fight.
What am I supposed to do here?
If someone had picked a fight with Rei when he'd done nothing, he could simply punch them and be done with it. But this time, it was genuinely Rei's information that had pulled the clerk away. Normally, someone else should have been stationed at the counter—but the intelligence Rei had brought was significant enough to make them forget about that.
"If you wait a little, he'll probably be back soon. Why don't you just relax?"
Rei offered the suggestion in a mediating tone, but that was simply his own take on the matter. To the man hearing it—fueled, perhaps, by the drink—he openly bristled.
"Don't mess with me! I want my ale right now!"
The man's heartfelt shout must have carried to the back, because someone appeared immediately. Not the same clerk who had spoken with Rei, but a different man.
"Ah, sorry about that. I'll get your ale right away, so please calm down."
The new clerk hurriedly handed the man a cup filled with ale. This clerk knew Rei's identity—and that was exactly why a brawl breaking out in the tavern would be so problematic.
If it ended as a common tavern fight, fine. But if it escalated to the point where the guards were called, it would undoubtedly become a serious headache. Only a very limited number of guards knew that this tavern was one of Egg's bases. If an ordinary guard showed up and started asking questions, it would definitely raise suspicion.
Of course, the people working here, while unable to operate openly, were still in Daskar's service. Even if they were hauled to a guard station and detained, their release was all but guaranteed. Guaranteed—but if it came to that, it would absolutely infuriate Egg.
On top of that, once a commotion like that occurred, the tavern would need to be shut down as a precaution, which meant all sorts of logistical headaches at the worst possible time.
So the clerk who had just come out did everything he could to placate the drunkard and keep the peace.