The spears Rei purchased at the weapon shop were, as one might expect of weapons forged by those who had only just qualified as Blacksmiths, thoroughly mediocre in quality—not even second-rate, but third-rate, fourth-rate, or perhaps worse still. But for Rei, that was more than enough.
After all, these spears were meant to be disposable throwing weapons from the start.
Until now, he had obtained such weapons from the disposal bins that every weapon shop kept for items destined for the garbage heap, or else purchased them at prices barely above giveaway rates.
Compared to those spears with chipped tips or shafts on the verge of snapping, the ones sold here were at least forged by proper Blacksmiths, even if only apprentices.
Their disposable nature when thrown wouldn't change, but the stopping power on impact was undeniably greater than those brittle spears he had used before.
...Exactly how much greater was something he wouldn't know until he actually tested them, though.
Rei counted himself lucky to buy the spears in bulk. The Clerk was lucky to thin out the inventory. Having completed a transaction with nothing to lose on either side, Rei left the shop satisfied and wandered through the unfamiliar district, hoping to find other hidden gems.
That said... here he was in a place he had never visited before, without Set at his side, the hood of his Dragon Robe pulled low so his face was completely hidden. On top of that, the Dragon Robe's concealment effect made it appear to be nothing more than an ordinary robe sold anywhere.
But even so, while no one would be fool enough to recognize him as Rei and pick a fight in the places he usually frequented, a location he was visiting for the first time was a different matter entirely...
"Oops, sorry. If you want to get past here, I'll need you to hand over all your cash as a toll."
The man licked the blade of the short sword in his hand as he spoke. Several others nearby fixed predatory eyes on Rei, sizing him up like prey.
...In the sense of targeting prey, they were similar to the Abuelo Stall Owner Rei had encountered before, but even if the nature of their gazes was alike, their caliber was worlds apart.
Naturally, the Abuelo Stall Owner was overwhelmingly superior. The men currently accosting Rei were far beneath him.
"Hah. This kind of nuisance is best exterminated quickly."
The words that slipped from Rei's mouth drew expressions of clear displeasure from the men. Several turned bright red, veins bulging on their foreheads in sheer fury.
It was only natural. To these men, Rei appeared to be nothing more than a small-framed figure in an ordinary robe that could be bought anywhere. No matter how hard they looked, at best he seemed like a magic apprentice.
However, since even magic apprentices didn't always carry a staff as a Magic Catalyst, he looked like someone overwhelmingly inferior when it came to combat ability.
...If someone among the men had possessed even a slight ability to read or sense an opponent's strength, they might have recognized from the smallest gesture that Rei was a seasoned fighter.
But unfortunately for them, no such person was among their number.
"For now, get lost. I might not look it, but I'm an adventurer. You're not going to beat me. Honestly, if you've got the energy to pull this kind of pointless stunt, why not become an adventurer and earn an honest living? Right now, you don't even need to go outside Gilm—there's plenty of work right here in town."
With the Expansion Construction underway, just about everywhere was desperate for hands. Given that, anyone willing to work wouldn't have trouble finding a job.
For that matter, in Gilm—a city home to numerous skilled adventurers—extortion of this sort was extremely dangerous. This time they had picked a fight with Rei and gotten off lightly, but there were adventurers who would readily kill even unarmed amateurs.
In that sense, Rei was probably on the gentler side.
...What others would think if they heard Rei consider himself gentle was an entirely different matter, though.
"You bastard!"
As if Rei's words had pushed them past their limit, the men charged at him.
But they hadn't trained in any meaningful way—their only fighting experience came from brawling with ordinary civilians in the streets. Against Rei, even in numbers, they never stood a chance. In less than ten seconds, every last one of them collapsed on the spot.
"Guh... damn it... Sensei! Sensei! What are you doing? Help us out!"
As the man who had been knocked down but still retained consciousness shouted, a man eating skewers at a nearby stall walked over.
"Let me see. Honestly, having to rely on me is a real hassle. The guy you picked a fight with..."
The man called Sensei initially directed a gaze of exasperation at the fallen men, but the moment he turned his eyes toward the one responsible—Rei—he fell speechless.
Whether he had seen Rei before, or whether he possessed enough ability to sense the gap in their strength, Rei couldn't tell. But the man's face drained of color rapidly, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Ah... ahh..."
Rei looked at the man making those sounds and opened his mouth.
"So? You want a go?"
Shake, shake, shake.
The man shook his head so frantically that Rei found himself wondering if his neck would be all right.
Those startled by the man's reaction included Rei, of course, but especially the men who had picked the fight and were now sprawled on the ground.
Not all of them were conscious—most had been knocked out—but those still awake stared at the man they called Sensei, their bodyguard, as if wondering what on earth had just happened.
To these men, the bodyguard was an overwhelmingly powerful figure. He was someone they could never beat no matter what they tried, which was exactly why they had swaggered around so boldly until now.
Some of the people they picked fights with were opponents they couldn't handle on their own. But even against such foes, when the bodyguard stepped in, they won effortlessly.
That was why, even though they had lost this time, they had been certain that once the bodyguard intervened, victory was guaranteed.
And yet—what were they looking at now?
"If you're working as a bodyguard for this lot, you should be working as an adventurer instead. You've got decent enough skills, right?"
"I know. But I can't beat Gilm's monsters."
Ah, I see. Hearing the man's words, Rei nodded in understanding.
Someone who had come to Gilm for the Expansion Construction or as a merchant's escort, but whose skills fell short of what was needed to operate as a proper adventurer in Gilm. Because he was moderately skilled, taking on Expansion Construction work was somehow beneath his pride, so he had ended up working as a bodyguard for Thugs instead.
From Rei's perspective, if he was going to work as a bodyguard anyway, he should have found a position at a more reputable establishment rather than running with Thugs like these.
Of course, working as a shop bodyguard meant having to fight anyone causing trouble on the premises. Depending on the shop, if someone stronger than him showed up, he'd lose. Well, losing in itself wasn't all that unusual, but the man probably hated letting others see him go down.
"For now, I can more or less read the situation from your demeanor. ...I have nothing more to say. Do as you please. Rot here for all I care, or go work as an adventurer."
Saying that, Rei left the scene as though he had lost all interest.
Normally, he would have taken money or equipment from anyone who picked a fight with him, but the exchange with the bodyguard had killed that impulse.
...In a way, the man had perhaps done his job as a bodyguard, at least partially.
Rei walked away... and the bodyguard seethed at the realization that Rei hadn't even considered him worth acknowledging.
After this, the man would rouse himself and resume working as an adventurer, eventually rising to become a B-Rank Adventurer in the future... but that is a story for another time.
The men who had been in his party had been known at one point as unruly Thugs in Gilm, but that too is irrelevant now.
"Seriously, I was in such a good mood, too."
Having left the spot where the Thugs had cornered him, Rei found himself in yet another unfamiliar part of town.
It struck Rei as remarkable that stepping only slightly off a road he had traveled several times before could bring him somewhere he didn't recognize at all. Despite Gilm being his home ground, there were still places he had never seen.
Finding that oddly refreshing, he wandered the streets while eating a Sandwich he had bought along the way.
That said, with the Expansion Construction and the Festival the day after tomorrow, many people were rushing about busily. In that sense, even Rei felt a vague restlessness.
...He had witnessed a few brawls along the way but, judging that getting entangled in them would be a hassle, he had steered clear. If any of those disturbances had threatened to spill over and affect the surrounding area, it would have been a different story.
The presence of Guards and Adventurers hired to maintain public order was another reason Rei hadn't bothered intervening.
As he walked, he caught a voice drifting from a nearby eatery.
To be precise, it wasn't from inside the eatery but from a man eating at a table set up outside. When the shop was too full to seat everyone, they apparently put out tables like this—a sort of open terrace arrangement.
Among the patrons, a man working his way through a hearty Soup with vegetables and stir-fried meat, along with bread, opened his mouth.
"It's true, I'm telling you. The Golems made in that city are seriously high-performance."
The word Golem caught Rei's interest. He recalled that a certain type of Golem had been put to use in the Underground Warehouse at Laurie Dissection Shop.
It wasn't that Rei was particularly interested in Golems, nor did he have any plans to use one, but the novelty of it made him curious to hear more.
Partly because he was a little hungry, Rei drifted toward the man who had been talking about Golems.
"That's a fascinating topic. Mind letting me listen in for a bit?"
"Huh? Who are you, anyway?"
From the man's perspective, he had been trying desperately to convince his utterly skeptical friend of what he had witnessed, only for a stranger to butt in out of nowhere.
As the man showed clear irritation at having his conversation interrupted, Rei flagged down a Clerk and ordered Alcohol and food at random.
Naturally, the Alcohol wasn't for Rei—it was for the men who had been discussing Golems. It served as an information fee for letting him listen, and also to loosen their tongues.
"My treat. I've got a bit of an interest in Golems myself."
In truth, he wasn't all that interested in Golems. It was just that he had nothing in particular he needed to do today, so killing time was the stronger motivation. The fact that the Golem he had seen in Laurie Dissection Shop's Underground Warehouse looked rather convenient was another reason for his curiosity, though.
Golems were obviously not living creatures. As such, they could be stored inside Rei's Misty Ring. If there were a conveniently useful Golem out there, Rei vaguely thought it might not be a bad idea to buy one or two and keep them in his Misty Ring—and that was yet another reason he had decided to hear them out.
At any rate, the man who had been eyeing Rei with displeasure nodded in satisfaction when he heard the offer of free drinks and watched Rei actually place the order.
The man's friend, who had been on the receiving end of all the boasting, had no complaints either—someone was buying them drinks and, better yet, was willing to listen to the Golem talk in his stead.
Both men wore hoods, and neither seemed to realize that the person before them was Rei. From Rei's perspective, avoiding an unnecessary scene was a welcome bonus.
"So? What kind of Golems are there?"
"Yeah, so normally, Golems are made by Alchemists or Young Mages... folks like that, but those kinds of Golems always end up moving sluggishly. Like, you watch them and you can tell right away, 'yep, that's a Golem moving.' Monster Golems move pretty smoothly, probably something to do with the Magic Stone. But in a city called Egginis that's big on manufacturing Golems, I saw one that moved... well, saying it was indistinguishable from a human might be a bit of a stretch, but it moved like that."
Fueled by the Alcohol, the man launched into a detailed account of the Golems he had seen.