"Well then, let's bring it out for now."
Prompted by Marina, Rei retrieved the Crystal Dragon's corpse from his Misty Ring on the stage.
Naturally, the area around the stage was concealed from outside view.
However, the one responsible was not Yigal, who had hidden the stage when Rei first arrived at the Guild, but Marina.
She had shrouded the stage with her Spirit Magic.
And she hadn't simply enclosed it behind a wall of earth. Instead, the area around the stage was enveloped in the combined power of three spirits—earth, wind, and water.
Through some effect, the stage was invisible from the outside, much like a one-way mirror. Yet from where Rei and Marina stood, they could see out perfectly.
Yigal had been shocked when he first saw it—or so one might expect. In reality, he accepted it as only natural given that it was Marina's Spirit Magic. Pleased to have received advice on his own spellwork, he had returned to the Lord's Manor in high spirits.
As one of Daskar's trusted subordinates, Yigal naturally had plenty of duties to attend to. He had stated that if Marina was taking over here, he would gladly return to his work, and departed.
"This is... incredible..."
Marina's voice leaked out in admiration as she gazed at the Crystal Dragon's corpse.
It was not in perfect condition—there were severed parts, starting with the neck.
But that very imperfection conveyed to onlookers a sense of what the battle must have been like.
"Well, it was strong," Rei said. "And it's definitely impressive. You can see why Lord Daskar wants to put it on display, right?"
"You're right. In fact, if Daskar finds out I got to see this corpse first, he'll probably be jealous."
Rei found that easy to believe. Daskar's eagerness to publicly display the Crystal Dragon's corpse spoke volumes about his feelings toward it.
That said, ownership ultimately belonged to Rei, and Daskar fully understood that.
"In that case, what do you want to do? Should I go fetch Lord Daskar now?"
"Let's not. Daskar is probably in discussions with Worker right now."
Daskar and Worker interacted fairly often. Both were busy with work at the moment, though, so they couldn't meet as frequently as they used to. Still, they kept in regular contact through letters.
The fact that Rei's special Promotion Exam had been arranged was the result of discussions between the two of them—proof that their communication was solid.
"Besides, if we're going to show it anyway, it's better to wait until the Crystal Dragon's corpse is properly arranged for display, don't you think?"
"Well, when you put it that way."
Since they had gone to the trouble, Rei could agree with Marina's opinion that it was better to present it properly.
"So, how should we set up the corpse?"
Rei knew he had no artistic sense for this sort of thing, so he intended to leave the matter entirely to Marina. She had come for that very purpose, so it seemed only natural to him.
Reading his intent, Marina thought for a moment and began issuing instructions. She was putting in tremendous effort, even using Spirit Magic to make the corpse look more imposing.
As a result, the severed parts—starting with the neck—floated in midair, appearing as though they were properly connected at the cut surfaces.
I see. So this is also why Marina was brought in. Spirit Magic really is incredible. No—what's incredible is Marina herself, for being able to wield it to this degree.
Those who could use Spirit Magic were fewer in number than ordinary mages, but they weren't nonexistent. However, if asked whether anyone could wield Spirit Magic at Marina's level, Rei couldn't possibly say yes.
Of course, the world was vast. It wouldn't be strange if someone out there could surpass Marina in Spirit Magic.
"Well?"
"Amazing," Rei said, nodding honestly at Marina's satisfied inquiry.
The Crystal Dragon looked so dynamic, so full of latent energy, that one might think it would spring to life at any moment.
Having drained the blood back at the warehouse was proving to be a wise decision. If blood still remained inside the corpse, it would have stained the stage.
That said, the blood of a new dragon species was a first-class material. If it had dripped onto the stage, there would have been no shortage of people clamoring for the portion it landed on. In that sense as well, extracting it beforehand had definitely been the right call.
Though, with Marina's Spirit Magic, she probably could have managed that anyway.
"Yeah, I know I'm repeating myself, but 'amazing' is the only word for it."
Hearing Rei's words, Marina's expression filled with satisfaction once more.
She had done this kind of work several times before, but the impression it left varied from person to person. What one person found pleasing, another might be unable to accept—such things were not uncommon. In a way, compatibility played a large role.
Given that, it wouldn't have been surprising if Rei had found Marina's arrangement unsatisfactory. That was likely why Marina seemed so relieved to know that he was genuinely pleased with the sight.
"For now, let's say it's complete. What do you want to do? Look at it a little longer? Or should I go call Lord Daskar?"
"Right. Let me look a little longer. I've been to all sorts of places, but this Crystal Dragon is a first for me."
Prioritizing her intellectual curiosity, Marina reached out and touched the Crystal Dragon, her expression satisfied by its texture.
"Crystal Dragon... huh. A fitting name."
"Just to be clear, I only came up with that name off the top of my head. It's not official."
"Oh? But this is a new dragon species, isn't it? That makes you the one to name it, Rei. Naturally, if the name were unsuitable, someone might tell you to change it—but 'Crystal Dragon' should stay as is."
Hearing her say that again, Rei found himself convinced. Looking at the corpse before him, the name was entirely fitting.
"Naming a monster, huh. Thinking about it that way, it's actually a bit moving."
Even in Japan—no, on Earth as well—discovering a new species meant you could name it. The same applied to stars; finding a new one gave you the right to name it. Knowing that, the idea of naming something stirred various thoughts in Rei.
Of course, in places like the Amazon in South America, one could find unknown creatures almost at will if so inclined.
"True. There are a fair number of people who care about that sort of thing. I don't particularly, though."
"The fact that you say that means you've had the chance to name something before. Otherwise, you wouldn't put it that way."
"You think so? If you don't care to begin with, there's no particular reason to worry about it. Well... but yes. I've encountered unknown monsters a few times, but I never ended up naming any of them."
Even while conversing with Rei, Marina's hand never left the Crystal Dragon's corpse. For several minutes they talked while touching it, until eventually she pulled her hand away with evident reluctance.
"Let's go call Daskar soon."
"Are you sure? I think you could take a bit more time."
"No, that's enough. Dragons are fascinating, but we can't stay here forever."
Even so, she couldn't entirely mask her disappointment. In her heart, she clearly wanted to keep touching the corpse and investigating it further. Marina wasn't particularly interested in monsters—but a new dragon species was apparently another matter entirely.
"Then let's go fetch Lord Daskar."
Rei descended from the stage with Marina and headed into the Guild.
Naturally, most of the guild staff knew Marina by sight. The ones who didn't were the staff brought in from other branches as support—but even they had at least heard her name, and one glance was enough to tell them she was no ordinary person.
The first to react among them were, predictably, Lenora and Kenny—Lenora because she was Rei's assigned receptionist, and Kenny simply because Rei had arrived.
"Could you pass a message to Daskar and Worker? Tell them preparations are complete and to come see for themselves."
Normally, Marina could have gone directly to the office where Daskar and Worker were, but she was no longer the Guild Master. As such, she couldn't simply use the stairs at the back of the Guild to reach the office on her own. Had this been an emergency, that would have been different.
Watching Lenora bow and head toward the back of the counter, Marina shot an exasperated glance at Kenny, who was already chatting with Rei.
"Kenny, shouldn't you be working?"
"I've finished a batch for now. I was actually just thinking I could use a short break."
A glance at the documents in front of Kenny confirmed that she had indeed reached a stopping point. Seeing that, Marina acknowledged Kenny's diligence and said nothing further as she spoke with Rei.
"Rei-kun, what exactly did you do?"
"That's still a secret. But I can guarantee you'll be surprised, so look forward to it."
"Oh, come on. You could at least give me a hint."
"It's not fun if you know in advance, is it?"
"Well... I suppose that's true."
A surprise wasn't much of a surprise if you already knew what it was.
That said, Kenny was also a guild staff member. She knew that the dissection team had been gathered at the warehouse. Or rather, their own workload had increased because of it—asking her to forget that would be impossible.
Pulling people away during such a busy period naturally meant there was a substantial reason behind it. It was impressive that she'd deduced it was connected to whatever Rei was being coy about.
A woman in love's intuition had probably played its part as well.
"For now, everyone will know about the stage soon enough. Just hang in there until then."
"It can't be helped, I suppose. I'm only trusting you because it's you, Rei-kun. You do understand that, right?"
If it had been anyone other than Rei, she would have found a way to drag it out of them. Kenny implied as much, and Rei nodded with a slightly troubled expression.
"My, how unfortunate, but that's all you're getting."
Marina's voice cut through Rei and Kenny's conversation. Kenny looked displeased, but following Marina's gaze, she spotted Daskar and Worker heading their way.
Seeing them, Kenny understood why Marina had interrupted and, however reluctantly, turned her focus back to her paperwork. Naturally, she couldn't very well chat with Rei about trivial matters right in front of the Guild Master and the lord.
Kenny's return to her documents coincided almost perfectly with Daskar and Worker's arrival at the counter, guided by Lenora.
"Rei, Marina. If you're both here, does that mean the stage is ready?"
"Yes. Thanks to Marina, it's all done. I thought it would be best for you to see it as well, Lord Daskar."
"Umu. Then let us go and see it at once."
All things considered, Daskar had clearly been looking forward to seeing the Crystal Dragon's corpse. He led Rei and the others out of the Guild without a moment's hesitation.